Some things go deeper than the NFL’s divisive rivalries – even between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets. Jets and Dolphins usually go together like dogs and cats; even amid the deceleration of both franchises over the past decade. But when asked about his former Miami Dolphins team-mate Tua Tagovailoa at The Zach Gelb Show last week, Quinnen Williams, the Jets’ defensive striker, offered his quarterback a lot of love.
“I think (Tagovailoa will be) an incredible quarterback, man. He’s an incredible leader. Great arm, great player, great leader, just a great teammate in general, man, and I just think, like me, some guys need more time than others to become that player that everyone knows they can be in NFL, ”said Williams.
“He probably struggled a little bit in the first year, man, but I’m pretty sure he won’t have a hard time in the second year just because of the learning and experience he got from having the chance to be in the field in the first year, and the things did it wrong in the first year, he won’t let himself go wrong again in the second year. This is how we build in Alabama ”.
Williams and Tagovailoa coincided in the 2017 and 2018 seasons at Tuscaloosa and won a national championship together in early 2018, after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs at the College Football Playoff. So Williams saw the best that Tagovailoa can offer. And, to be fair, the Dolphins saw the best that Williams can offer with his 2020 play against Miami. Williams was an absolute terror in both games against the Dolphins, overcoming gaps in the front with speed and strength. Williams scored the Dolphins by 1.5 sacks in his second showdown of the season, a 20-3 victory for the Dolphins with Ryan Fitzpatrick in charge amid Tagovailoa’s thumb injury.
The next time the two teams meet, it will be the first time that Williams and Tagovailoa will line up as starters against each other in the NFL – and I hope Tagovailoa can prove that his former college colleague is right to help Miami stay comfortably. ahead of New York Jets in the standings.