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Sunday, September 13, 2015

In First Battle of 2015 Star Rookie QBs Marcus Mariotta Tops Jameis Winston in a Landslide

Holy Moly. Winston was held by most experts to be the surer bet. Mariotta was believed to have great potential but maybe more of a project whereas Winston was supposed to be the one who could learn right away.

The knock on Mariotta was that he's a system QB-which is why there were all the rumors of Chip Kelly trading the store to catch him at number two.

Now probably Eagles fans wish he did-though we'll see how Sam Bradord does-he starts against the Falcon's in just a few minutes.

At this point we have to hand it to Gruden who never bought into the idea that Mariotta was a mere 'system QB.'

“I don’t understand why [Mariota] isn’t the No. 1 player in this draft on Mel Kiper’s Big Board,” Gruden said, via Rotoworld.

Gruden disagrees with those who think Mariota is a product of Oregon’s offense and not a fit for the NFL.

“I don’t know anybody in this draft that can do for a football team what Mariota can do,” Gruden said. “He can read the field. That whole thing about Oregon being a no-huddle, dive-option team, that is just a narrative resulting from a lack of information. The Ducks run a lot of pro-style concepts. Mariota does a lot with the protections. I’ve seen him throw the ball with touch and timing in tight windows.” The former Bucs coach points out that Mariota is the same size as Jameis Winston but runs 4.52 forty. He is incredibly elusive, and man, is he a playmaker and a great competitor. I see him functioning in the pocket, out of the pocket, and if you want to run a zone-read, he’ll rip the defense apart. He is like Russell Wilson, only he is 6-4.”

In other words, Gruden thinks the Buccaneers are going to make a mistake tomorrow night when they pass on Mariota and pick Winston."

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/29/jon-gruden-i-dont-get-why-marcus-mariota-isnt-no-1/

At the point, Gruden certainly wins prophet of the year. As for Winston the rap was him was that he was supposed to be a quicker learner than Mariotta but he had some off the field troubles with the law that were a worry.

The tradeoff then was Mariotta who has a much better personal image but may be a little slower to learn and Winston who would be a quick learn but might be a risk for off the field troubles.

Turns out there is no tradeoff at all as this first week was an absolute blowout for model citizen Mariotta over bad boy Winston:

"Winston, the first pick of the draft to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, came out after Tennessee Titansquarterback Marcus Mariota, the first pick of the draft, threw a touchdown on his first drive. And Winston threw a touchdown too! It's just that it also went to the Titans."

"Not sure exactly what Winston was seeing or doing on a short out route, but he threw it right to Titans defensive back Coty Sensabaugh. If Sensabaugh was his intended receiver, it was a really nice pass. Probably not though. Sensabaugh picked it off and had the easiest 26-yard touchdown of his life."

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/jameis-winston-s-first-career-pass-is-a-touchdown-----by-the-opponent-205318811.html

It was a taste of things to come. Mariotta with 8 minutes left in the fourth has led the Titans to a 42-14 lead. He has 4 TDs and 0 INTs on 13 of 16 completions for a perfect 158.3 QB rating
Winston's numbers are looking a little better now as he did just his 2nd TDs along with 2 pics-but one of those was the first pass for the pic six. 
He is 11 of 20 for 148 yards and a QB rating of 72.5. So he may be doing a little better though that last one was someting of a garbage TD. 
https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/tennessee-titans-tampa-bay-buccaneers-20150913027/
But even though he may well come back, Mariotta right now seems the quick read. 

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