I'm not a Oregon fan but this guy is pretty damn good! It made me laugh when all the haters were all over him last night because the Ducks got beat down. He was 24-37 for 333 yards with several key drops. The one long drop killed all the Ducks momentum in the 1st half. He got pressured pretty hard but he hung in there. He could stand to gain 10 lbs of muscle but that's prob true with most college kids transitioning to the NFL. He got knocked around pretty good...esp on some running plays but he hung in there. As far as the NFL goes....imo he would be best suited in some kind of Seattle offense where he can move around from the shotgun but he's a smart kid and hardworking so he could do well in any system with enough talent around him. In a few years the old timers like Manning, Brady, Brees, Romo, Rivers, and Roethlisberger will be gone or past their prime and there isn't much left at this point? I've seen comparisons between Kaepernick and Mariotta but Kaep doesn't have a feel for the pocket and loads up too much on his throws. Mariotta is 10x more accurate with a more catchable ball.
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Oh great here come the Mariota fanboys right on que. Just like the Tebow and Johhny fanboys beforeComment -
Look i'm not saying he's in those guys league of futility but seriously take your heart out of this for a sec. Dude was being watched by NFL scouts last night and he was terrible in the Red Zone and 3rd down under Ohio States defense. NFL defenses are way better than what Ohio State threw at him last night. He's just another project Spread QB imoComment -
He was off at times but terrible? He threw 1 td pass in the red zone on the 1st drive and would've had another when he made a nice throw to find the TE in a crowd of people but OSUs def back made an alert play and pushed the guy out of bounds. Who knows? I saw Drew Brees in college and thought he'd be a bust. Who thought Russell Wilson would be this good? In their kind of offense anyway? Mariotta is half a foot taller and faster than either one and def a better arm than Brees ever hadComment -
I'm just impressed with his smarts. I don't care what kind of offense you run and who you play....40+ tds and 4 interceptions (last play last night was only his 4th) is specialComment -
I don't know Fred, but I have my doubts about Mariota on the next level. Great college QB does not automatically mean success in NFL of course. Ran an O in Oregon completely different from a Pro style NFL O. He needs to work on being more of pocket passer. Any one who thinks he will succeed on the level like he did in college is fooling themselves imo. Time will tell.Comment -
Yeah, of course Mariota needs to find the right fit for his skills. But to say he will be a top 5 QB in 3/4 years are lofty expectations similar to his college career. Really think he has the intangibles of being smart, a winner, no off field problems, etc. But if his game translates to the next level is uncertain imo.Comment