We were back in an uncomfortable, and unfortunately familiar, place on Thursday night with Tua Tagovailoa suffering another scary concussion in a loss to the Bills.
Dan Le Batard and the Shipping Container discussed the latest concussion for the Miami quarterback on Friday’s edition of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.
Dan points out that thanks to his history of concussions, Tua is more susceptible to another concussion. What looked like a fairly benign hit from Damar Hamlin, the Bills player who almost died on the field two years ago, on contact initiated by Tua led to not just another concussion but more concern for Tua. Dan says he’s always worried about Tua, comparing it to watching something made of porcelain shake in an earthquake. Dan’s worried about Tua — inside the pocket, outside the pocket, anytime he runs. Dan doesn’t even want Tua running at this point, he’s not watching football this way with anybody else.
Stugotz said it was an amazing moment to see the emotion from Mike McDaniel. He was concerned about his friend, about the guy who has taken this journey with him since he became Miami head coach. Stugotz points out football is a violent sport, and some guys get out of it fairly unscathed and others don’t. And obviously at this point, Tua is one of those guys who hasn’t been able to get through it without some serious consequences.
In the end, Dan says the shaky foundation that the Dolphins are built upon becomes secondary to somebody playing through problematic brain problems that are noticeable to all. That can’t even be hidden by football, when the game has been able to paper over such problems in the past. Tua, Dan says, can’t have a concussion quietly. And are we back to the point where he has to have the conversations with his mother about retiring that he told Dan he had in the past.
Have we seen the last of Tua on a football field? Only time will tell, even as former players like Dez Bryant and Shannon Sharpe are suggesting that maybe it’s time for Tua to step away. But we can say that we’re all hoping for the best for Tua as he recovers with football certainly a distant second to simply Tua’s health as a human being.
Make sure you tune into The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network!
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Local Hour: Tua Tagovailoa…
Today’s cast: Dan, Stugotz, Chris, Jeremy, Jessica, and Mike. Here we are again after yet another concussion for Tua Tagovailoa. Dan and Stu are here on a Friday with the Shipping Container and discuss every aspect of what it felt like to watch Tua down on the field before leaving the game and what it means for both his and the Miami Dolphins future. Could this have ever been prevented? Have we ever watched a player with the same concern as we watch Tua? Could he step away from the game? Should he? Then, the crew dives into the x’s and o’s of what happened on the field prior to the injury as Mike McDaniel’s offense struggled and Josh Allen and the Bills continued to own Miami. Plus, Chris and Jeremy are in very different places as Dolphins fans after Tua’s injury with one of them wanting to rely on the doctors and another hoping to never see him on the field again. Are both of their feelings valid in this scenario?
The Big Suey: Josh Allen’s Pistachio Farm
Is it even possible to be safe playing football? Is Tua’s body potentially just not built to play this sport long term? There are more angles for Dan, Stu, and the Shipping Container to discuss regarding Tua Tagovailoa. Then, the Bills are more dominant over the last several seasons than we realized, Al Michaels hates dynamic kickoffs, and Chris Cote is furious about Josh Allen’s pistachio farm. Plus, Ken Jennings and a serial killer, a UCF-Antonio Brown story Mike Ryan wants to discuss that Jeremy doesn’t, Nick Saban’s lobbying, and Stugotz’s Top 13 QBs the Dolphins should call.
Postgame Show: The Dwyane Wade Statue
The Heat have announced plans to unveil their new Dwyane Wade statue later this year, and Dan wants to see if Stugotz can follow through on his promise to make sure it doesn’t get built.
VIDEO
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