31 NFL teams could have a major problem soon!
31 NFL teams could have a major problem soon!
With the recent announcement that Jameis Winston will enter the 2015 draft everyone is chiming in on whose better Mariota or Winston.
Todd McShay on Mariota and his transition to the NFL.
“The one thing I don’t see with him is the anticipation as a passer,” McShay said. “It’s just because in that offense, there’s not a lot of opportunity to show that. The other day (against Florida State), he missed some throws he needed to make. You see a few of those every game. No one’s perfect.”
“But Marcus misses a higher percentage of intermediate and vertical throws than you’d like to see ideally. And you combine that with the fact that (in Oregon’s system) he doesn’t have to anticipate and throw to a spot.”
Eric Adelson, Yahoo Sports
Adelson seems to favor Winston over Mariota, though he questions whether either would be a good fit for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have the No. 1 pick. He calls both Winston and Mariota “system quarterbacks,” saying Winston could suffer without Jimbo Fisher coaching him (Bucs Coach Lovie Smith isn’t exactly a quarterback guru) and questioning whether Mariota could thrive solely as a pocket passer.
Chris Burke, Sports Illustrated
Seems simple, but this is the type of play NFL wants to see from college QBs. Jameis gets to third read with ease. http://t.co/zwWIoKfaI8
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) January 7, 2015
Mel Kiper Jr.
In December, Kiper said he didn’t consider either quarterback to be a team-saver. “There is really no franchise quarterback in this draft,” Kiper said on a conference call, per NJ.com. He did have Mariota ahead of Winston on his big board. Kiper said Mariota had “a lot of talent” while dinging him for some inaccuracy issues. Kiper was much more wary of Winston, noting his statistical drop-off this season and his noted off-the-field issues. “He’s not a franchise guy anymore,” Kiper said.
So with everyone chiming in the general consensus is that Mariota is behind Winston in this year’s upcoming NFL draft. The word system Qb tends to fly out of everyone’s mouth when mentioning Mariota. This could cause the Oregon RS Sophomore to slip in the draft. Which is why I believe the rest of the league could be in trouble. What’s wrong with a system Qb if he falls into the very system he runs? If Mariota slips and is within reach of Eagles HC Chip Kelly picking at #20, LOOK OUT NFL. I don’t think Kelly will hesitate for a second to pull the trigger on a reasonable trade up to go get Mariota. With as much trouble as the Eagles offense has given NFL defenses the last 2 seasons everyone forgets that they’re doing it without the ideal Qb for the system. Sure Nick Foles has been great for Kelly, but he is not a real threat to run the ball. The read option just doesn’t have the same effect. Teams key on Lesean McCoy which allows Foles or Sanchez to pull the ball and get 3-5 yards a carry. They don’t even give a second thought to either of them keeping the ball. If an Eagles Qb does keep the ball it’s really not a huge threat to the opposing defense. Now imagine Mariota in that backfield. The opposing defense must remain disciplined and not sell out to stop McCoy. If they don’t Mariota has the homerun speed to really gash them. What better option at Qb is there for Chip Kelly, someone who knows your offense and runs it better than your current Qb. The learning curve would greatly decrease for Mariota in this situation and I believe give him the ideal environment to succeed in the NFL and leave the rest of the league scrambling for answers!
Lightfield
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