Shannon Sharpe Slams Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa for ‘Receipts’ Comments
Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins fired shots on Wednesday of Week 16 (Dec. 20), and they looked to hit a chord with NFL Hall of Famer turned TV personality Shannon Sharpe.
Sharpe answered with a viral rant of his own when Tagovailoa went off on the national narrative that he’s carried by playmakers like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, noting that he “keeps receipts.” It aired on ESPN’s “First Take” on December 21 and was published on X by Sun Sentinel reporter David Furones.
“He doesn’t care but he spends 90 minutes at the podium telling you he doesn’t care,” Sharpe said. “Where was this attitude after the Tennessee loss?”
“That was your time!” He continued. “No, don’t go up there [after] beating the [New York] Jets.” You defeated the poor, inept Jets. You hang 30 on them, they receive nothing, and now you want to beat your chest on the Empire State Building like King Kong? You’re standing there like Dan Marino, bro. Stop pretending.”
Sharpe didn’t stop there, saying, “We remember what you were before Tyreek got there.” Let me tell you how badly [Miami] desired Tyreek. Davante Adams received the greatest wide receiver contract in history… the Miami Dolphins moved heaven and earth to obtain Tyreek — foregoing significant compensation — and made him the highest-paid receiver in NFL history.”
“You want to get up here and pretend like you the driving force?” Sharpe questioned, adding that if Tagovailoa is keeping receipts, he’s got some too.
The Miami Dolphins are preparing for a critical measuring stick battle against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16.
Although Hill is expected to participate, Tagovailoa went off on a tangent on December 20 after emphasizing that the Dolphins’ approach does not alter regardless of whether guys are available.
“Everyone wants to make this — I keep saying it — about me, about Tyreek,” Tagovailoa told reporters ahead of Week 16.
“I understand that my platform and who I am in this league as a quarterback makes me — if you want — polarizing,” the quarterback went on to say. “Whether or not I’m the best. Whether or if I’m the worst. I couldn’t give a damn. I don’t pay attention to it.”
He jokingly referred to Dolphins Senior Director of Football Communications Anne Noland as his “bearer of bad news” if she decides to communicate any weekly criticism.
“If that’s what the narrative needs to be and we’re able to win games, and we’re able to go where we want to go as a team, I am the worst football player, if that’s what you want,” he finally said. “I don’t mind. I honestly don’t… I’m just here to do my job, which is to assist our players in winning games.”
what is known as the “dichotomy” is defined as “a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.”
According to ESPN beat writer Marcel Louis-Jacques, Tagovailoa’s 2023 numbers fit the word well.
“The Tua Tagovailoa dichotomy in 2023,” Louis-Jacques wrote on December 21, beginning with some statistics that lessen his high level of QB play:
“Only [Patrick] Mahomes has accumulated more yards after completions.” Only Mahomes and [Brock] Purdy have a higher YAC [yards after catch] average. The fifth-highest percentage of attempts at or behind the LoS [line of scrimmage]. AY/Att [air yards per attempt] ranks 17th.”
Then there was the good:
“BUT ALSO… Most 50-yard completions (that go 20+ air yards). 9th-highest percentage of efforts 15+ AY [air yards]. On passes of 20+ AY, he has the fourth-best completion percentage. The highest percentage of TD/ATT on passes of 20+ AY. Sixth in completion % over expectation on 20+ AY throws.”
All of these factors led Louis-Jacques to conclude that “Tua is not pushing the ball downfield at the same rate he did in 2022 + a much higher percentage of his attempts are at/behind the LoS (18.5% vs 29.5%), and his receivers do a lot of work after the catch, BUT, he remains one of the most effective downfield passers in the NFL.”
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