Dolphins fans had reason to be excited when Miami acquired star wide receiver Tyreek Hill in a trade with Kansas City in March. Their enthusiasm for the team’s quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, however, is a little more tempered to say the least.
On Wednesday, the Dolphins’ Twitter account shared a now-viral video that showed a wobbly throw by Tagovailoa to Hill, who had to almost come to a stop before turning around to catch the pass.
The hype video didn’t serve its purpose, according to some fans. It didn’t go over well with some former NFL players, either.
“Social Media team definitely posted this under thrown ball for the social engagement,” former Super Bowl champion safety Will Blackmon tweeted.
“The Miami Dolphins social media team did Tua NO favors,” Pat McAfee tweeted Wednesday, while picking apart the video on his Sirius XM show.
“How is this the first video we see of Tua and Tyreek?” McAfee asked Gump Cathcart, a regular on the radio show. “It can’t happen. Can’t have it.”
Cathcart replied, “As someone who lives and dies on the internet, this was very tough to watch with the rocket emoji, putting it out. I mean, come on guys, what are we doing?”
Even before the Dolphins’ video fail, there was concern about Tagovailoa’s ability to get Hill the ball downfield. The former first-round pick has faced scrutiny about his arm throughout his two seasons in Miami, and he remains under a microscope going into next season.
Hill didn’t seem worried about the outside chatter over his new quarterback when he landed in Miami in March. The Chiefs traded the six-time Pro Bowl wideout to the Dolphins for five draft picks.
“Tua is one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the NFL,” said Hill, who signed a four-year, $120 million extension, including $72.2 million guaranteed. “So just his ball placement, getting us the ball in space — you know, perfect placement — and us utilizing our speed. Utilizing our best asset, and that’s just being dangerous.”
Now it’s up to first-year head coach Mike McDaniel to figure out the best way to “utilize” the speedy and dynamic receiver and his quarterback.