The importance of keeping Tua Tagovailoa healthy can't be overstated for the Miami Dolphins. Much of it rests on LT Patrick Paul, who's fine with it.
MIAMI GARDENS — There can be no question after last season that moving forward, the fortunes of the Miami Dolphins revolve around quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. If he’s doing an interview, chances are even Tagovailoa is going to hammer home the point that he must stay healthy.
At the top of the list of players in charge of making that happen: Patrick Paul.
It’s a lot of pressure on a second-year left tackle — unless you ask Patrick Paul.
“No, I don’t feel any pressure,” he said.
All it could take is one edge rusher blowing past Paul for the Dolphins’ season to go up in flames, yet Paul doesn’t feel the heat?
“I’ve always been this confident,” he said. “It just comes from my parenting. My dad is a very confident man and that’s a guy I look up to, so I learned from him and I know what I can do.”
Tua Tagovailoa knows he must make smart decisions
Paul, who arrived as Miami’s second-round pick last year, does not protect Tagovailoa’s blind side, as you’d expect for most any other NFL quarterback. Since Tagovailoa throws left-handed, his blind side is protected by right tackle Austin Jackson. But because many of the league’s top pass rushers line up on the defense's right side, that puts the onus on Paul as well as Tagovailoa himself.
"Is this the right thing to do in the heat of the moment where I’ve got to make a split decision on should I go for the first down, should I not, should I do this on fourth down, should I not?" Tagovailoa said. "And then given the circumstances, right — is it to go to the playoffs, is it to win a must-win game. You’ve got to throw all of those in there. But I think the most important thing is I’ve got to be more selfless instead of being selfish and I’m thinking this is what the guys want from me."
Paul has the advantage of recently retired Terron Armstead serving as his mentor last year. Even with Armstead on the team, Paul appeared in all 17 games, starting two at left tackle and one on the right side.
As if that weren’t enough of a learning experience, he said he spent the offseason studying tape of “probably every single tackle for all of the 31 other teams.”
That’s before he even stepped onto the training camp practice field, where every day he faces the trio of Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips and Chop Robinson. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is looking forward to turning all three loose on quarterbacks at the same time. There’s no reason to think it’s a just smokescreen to throw off offensive coordinators.
Paul knows, since he has to go against them daily.
“Oh, shoot,” he said. “We’re getting after it every single day and it’s going to be fun.”
Paul has the size for the job. At 6-feet-7 and 326 pounds, he stands out even among fellow offensive linemen, who aren’t exactly petite. So imagine what it’s like when he’s out in public.
“A lot of it is curiosity,” he said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, what does he do for a living?’ They’ll just look at you and see you’re big. Most people don’t say anything, but if they do, they’ll just ask if you play any sports.”
He does, matter of fact. Happily.
“I love this game and I love everything that it brings,” Paul said. “That has always been my dream. So every day I come in and I’m excited. It’s like Groundhog Day.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Patrick Paul ready to protect Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Category: Football
