Quote:LOL. If you watched the game Teddy looked horrid, and for that matter Derek Carr looked nearly as bad. While these two did finish with better rookie stats than Blake, I think it's more than fair to argue that Blake, even with his porous game against the Panthers, looks much, much better than Teddy and Derek. Needless to say, Winston has looked like garbage throughout the preseason and especially week one.


 

As for Mariota, I'm simply wondering if he'll be able to keep it up after teams gather tape on him. He has a very low release, and NFL history has shown that such a release usually comes back to bite players. The Bucs actually dropped an easy pick-six that would have dropped his qb rating to a 132.3. I know the kid is tall with an extremely fast release, but will he still be considered a football god after defenders realize they can knock down his passes by getting a hand up?


 

Speaking of a perfect qb rating, I'm surprised we don't see this more often. A few deep passes with enough TDs wihout an INT will get a qb there. I'm often looking at college qb results that would easily be a perfect rating in the NFL.

 

To say the Bucs dropped an easy pick 6 isn't being genuine, or perhaps ill-informed. It's true Mariota made a bad throw and the LB made a great play on the ball, but if you saw the front angle of the play you could see the LB was only able to get one hand on the ball and it was below his knees. I've been watching football for a long time and that has never turned into an easy pick 6. As for not being to able to stand tall in the pocket and get the ball out over defenders, all you have to do is look at Mariota on his first drive--the 20+ yard completion on 3rd and long. 

 

But regardless, one throw considered in isolation is besides the point. Look at Mariota's overall body of work since being drafted. He's done nothing but drawn rave reviews from coaches and every player he's worked with or played against. From the entire preaseason to game one, Mariota has show extreme poise and leadership. He has tremendous accuracy, anticipation, and awareness. He goes through reads well and throws with an incredibly quick release. Not to mention he has been great throwing on the run too. Of course it is still early in his career and he will have many tougher tests to overcome. He is going to make mistakes and he has a lot to learn, but negatives have been few and far between. The guy is the best QB prospect since Luck, and has the potential to be the best QB in the league. 

 

Does it even matter that Blake may or not be better than Carr or Bridgewater (I think he isn't), because they both suck too. Until the Jags get a QB with the type of production of Luck or Mariota, they will not be able to compete in the AFC South.

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