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I'm glad someone had the stones to finally talk about Mariota's status in 2019 and beyond. That's been the elephant in the room that no one on TR has been willing to talk about!

Prologue I lack a platform. I don’t write for a website and my life doesn’t well lend itself to podcasting, for now at least. I use twitter but mainly it’s just to be a bombastic, sarcastic asshat prone to unintelligible, garbled typos. All told, I rarely give true insight into my thoughts on anything beyond the righteous rage that emboldens my tweeting about the current POTUS. Nothing about those thoughts is fronted. They’re just bare, hard honesty that boils over in less than considered or moderate language. Everything else is simply fun – for me – and not any true conveyance of a full opinion. I don’t really express my real, full opinions. Even related to the Titans. Even as much as I tweet about them. Twitter, for me, is like banter … only … uh … with myself. I’m very cool, I know. Despite that, I have 720 followers on twitter. Not so many for some but it always surprises me, as it’s far more than I deserve. Yes, most of them likely muted me long ago and many that remain are spam accounts … but at least some must follow me for a reason, right? RIGHT!? Well, maybe. And this blind hope that some may care, combined with my own long-held preference for hearing myself talk, is all a rather wordy way to say that I might, sometimes, care to express a well-formed(ish) thought. And so, here we are. The Thought I. Love. Marcus. Mariota. The Why I love him in a way that I never loved Jake Locker. Or Vince Young. And certainly not Kerry Collins. Matt Hasselbeck probably earned my regard more than all of those guys combined. But Mariota? Look, he’s an accomplished QB (in college, at least). He works hard. He’s humble. He’s provided some clutch moments. The Titans have 3 straight winning seasons under him. They won a playoff game. And, in recent years, the Titans own the Jags almost as much as Luck owns the entire Titans franchise. This is especially fun because the Jags are a mouthy bunch full of attitude and everyone needs at least one gimp hanging in the basement. Also … well … also, set that all aside. I love Marcus Mariota because he’s just a fundamentally fucking good human being, ok? OK. The But But I think I’ve moved on from thinking he’ll ever take the next step and be a true franchise QB – the kind that makes the Titans a Super Bowl contender year in and year out. And so, I’m largely stepping back from his future with the franchise. Yes, I’ve been tweeting negatively about Marcus of late but it’s mostly tongue-in-cheek. Still, I admit that there’s truth behind the front and that truth is what this post is really all about. It’s more than just the injuries, though those matter. It’s the fact that every coach he’s had (and he’s had many) seems to think that the best offense to be designed around him is one that tries to run the ball (see: Something other than having Marcus pass the ball). It’s hearing Greg Cosell express consistently wary opinions of his play on the Midday 180. It’s my non-scout eyes telling me that he struggles with pressure, has inconsistent footwork and seems late to diagnose. It’s the fact that he plays the most important position in football (a position manned by an elite few, an adequate handful and a cadre of pathetic hacks who can barely hang … a position where veritable bums remain employed just because they have a pulse) and his own team, run by people who did not draft him (see: Important), decided not to guarantee his continued employment by utilizing the 5th year option. You can quibble over the finances of the 5th year option instead of a new contract but any reason you cite is irrelevant if the Titans truly believed he was a franchise QB. They don’t. They wonder. And so do I. You can note that I don’t break down film and hardly count as an expert on QB play. Of course you’re right. But my opinion matters to me. That’s actually why it’s my opinion. Besides, I bet you’ve noted many of the same things. You just excuse them more. You can cite that Greg Cosell isn’t the only expert out there. Besides, he can be a bit pedantic for some. This is true, though I tend to value his analysis. And if it were just hi (or if I didn’t hear it from him regularly on the Midday 180) I might set it aside. But it’s not just him. He’s merely an easy example for me to use. You can argue the benefits of controlling the ball and say something about how Henry’s play demands more usage and we don’t even know what King Arthur will really do now that he’s the OC. Sure. Prattle on. But passing the ball is simply more efficient (there are ample stats to prove this) than running the ball and the NFL continues making it more and more viable with rule changes. The NFL likes scoring and scoring is best achieved by passing the ball, assuming you can do it well. Look, I could cite the trend away from paying great backs. I could cite innumerable passing records that all stem from recent years. I could note that a QB’s career has a longer shelf life than that of a RB and basing an offense on the QB leads to a more certain long-term viability. I could do all these things and more - but I don’t have to. If you have a modicum of intellect, you already know that passing the ball is generally preferable. Yes, the Titans should use Henry some. Sure. But they’re so far to one end of the spectrum on minimizing the pass game that you have to question (again, intellect is assumed) why they always run their offense through the RB instead of the QB. You have to. And the bad WRs of the past aren’t the only answer. You could argue injuries have only caused him to miss a few games each year … but that not only ignores fortunate timing but would also undercut that his entire 2018 season was spent with a hand he couldn’t feel and recurring injuries that resulted in him getting banned from the final game on account of possible career-ending consequences if he played. It’s not just the games he misses; it’s that the impact of his injuries is significant. Nobody really argues that injuries don’t matter anyway. I’ve only ever seen it noted in passing as a curiosity. Everyone knows that if he’s injured again … his Titans career (as a starter at least) has likely reached its end. The Context Marcus Mariota has been dealt a rough hand in some ways. Certainly it’s not ideal to be playing well as a rookie and have your coach fired mid-season. It’s not ideal to spend the next two years under a twice-failed head coach who was such a bag of damaged goods that winning 9 games both years, making the playoffs and even winning a game there (sparked by clutch MFing Marcus, btw) wasn’t enough to get him into year three. It’s not ideal to have your next OC get hired away (somewhat inexplicably) after a single year of questionable results. And, no, even though I have high hopes for King Arthur the Wise, it’s not ideal to be going into this all-important year with yet another first-time OC. There are plenty of reasons that all of this has happened and I’ll always wonder what could have been … but the reasons hardly matter. What has happened is a perfect recipe to undermine and ultimately destroy a QB prospect. It just is. This doesn’t excuse Marcus. He’s played into all of these changes and challenges, I’m sure. And, perhaps (see: Unfounded speculation on my part), the fact that he’s a real human being means that his drive isn’t all-consuming like some of the great QBs. Maybe he makes time for real life and this humanity has limited his development. Maybe his nice guy persona has failed to set an appropriate tone for teammates to follow (yes, in spite of his own hard work). Some people really do work harder when the QB is in their face demanding competence. And, yes I’ll say it, maybe he was always just a too-limited QB and this is simply becoming undeniable as time moves on. We’ll never know the full tally of why and what has all led us here. But ‘here’ isn’t a great place to be (see: Understatement). Marcus still struggles with things that I, at least, don’t think he should. He still isn’t setting himself apart as that emerging player in camp. And there are still plenty of rumors and suggestions that coaches aren’t all-in. You can discount them but it’s not just one person – it’s a solid handful of people. Someone with the Titans is talking, I’d bet your life on it. The Alternative In their backup for 2019, the Titans have a second maybe / maybe not QB in Ryan Tannehill. This post is fast becoming too long, so I’ll condense it all to say that I don’t think Tanny offers as much with his legs but he may well be the better passer at this point. That’s not enough to move on from Marcus right away … but it could be enough if the right cards fall. And that’s probably why they got a guy of Tanny’s ilk in the first place. He’s not just insurance for injury, he’s insurance for straight failure. The Opinion I think you have to give Marcus the chance to show out in 2019. An argument could be mounted to suggest that, if the Titans staff truly thinks Tanny is better, it’s better to rip the band-aid and shift now instead of during the season … but that’s not the best argument, imo, and it would ignore that the Titans keep saying that they’re committed, so the hypothetical ‘if’ isn’t very likely. Marcus is almost certainly going to be the QB in week 1. But I won’t guarantee much after that. The Titans have a stellar defense and an improved nucleus of receiving options. Outside of QB, they’re actually pretty primed. If the team struggles to win early, especially if Marcus issues uneven performances during that stretch, Tannehill could become the starter over a healthy Mariota. I’ve noticed that people don’t like discussion of this possibility, as if it’s far-fetched, but the reality is that teams are often compelled to make a change in the pursuit of a spark to alter the course of the season. And where will the Titans make a change? Well, there’s probably some fire to the smoke that Titans staff are unsettled regarding Marcus - again, if they were convinced of his aptitude then the finances of using 5th year option instead of a new contract probably don’t matter as much as their true belief in Marcus. This uncertainty lends greater potential to the QB change than already exists in default. It’s actively likely to happen if the record looks bad early. Oh, and the opening stretch of the Titans’ schedule looks rough. And Lewan is out for the first 4 games. And King Arthur is green. The Opinion Part II I don’t think Marcus starts all 16 games this year, even if he’s healthy. And I’d love to be wrong. Because I love him. I really do.

I personally don’t think there are enough Mariota threads.

Honestly this board has become so fucking retarded it’s barely readable anymore. The non stop, unrelenting criticism of Mariota has basically reached the point where it’s almost an addiction, it’s like half the board is just bloodthirsty. It’s at the point now where completed passes are ripped. It’s nuts. The best part is I recorded the game & watched it this morning. I literally predicted exactly what would he said, I really didn’t even have to come to the board. The first pass to Delanie everybody is going to say was underthrown.. There was clearly a LBer a few yards in front of Delanie, if he led him the LBer would’ve at worst knocked it down. You can’t always lead every receiver, defenses flood the field with all different types of zones. Mariota is one of the better QB’s in the league at throwing behind guys to make the completion or not lead his guy to a big hit. On the pass to Lewis I thought it was plain as day that Mariota had pressure in his face & Shelton easily could’ve batted it down. He had to throw high. Only on TR can Mariota be ripped on an 87 yard TD drive, inspire of a ticky tack penalty calling a 30 yard TD run back & a drop of a beautiful deep out. This place is NUTS. Fucking. NUTS.

His TD pass was only worth 6 points. Tannehill would have thrown a 10 pointer.

Somewhere in between the Mariota haters and the Mariota is great-ers, there are some of us that are waiting to see how he does his first few games this year in a pretty tough schedule.

This is the best Titans team that Kyle has seen since last season!

God Bless Benson and his Family. So sad. Everybody knows Oman is going to the hot spot when he departs. His football team will be led by VY and Mariota alternating downs. His RB will be Eddie and LDW. He's gets DGB and Chris Sanders for his WR. His best OL is C. Warmack. Deron Jenkins is going to be the star of his defense, K. Dodd leads the DL, it goes downhill from there. One good part is he will have access to the messageboard. One bad part, his keyboard won't work.

Having read the game thread I would have no idea that MM QBR was a 123.8. You boys are having an interesting preseason.

In the past I have agreed with this. But i'm starting to sway the other way a bit due to the NFL and Directv being inflexible with the packaging. The NFL keeps giving Directv exclusive rights to Sunday Ticket, which forces consumers to get Directv (as opposed to cable or nothing at all). And then they force you to buy all the games. For someone who doesn't watch a lot of regular TV, if they just get the cheapest Directv package they're basically paying about $1,100 a year just to watch the 13-14 non-primetime Titans games. Quite frankly that's way too expensive and monopolistic. There needs to be some a la carte options. We should be able to buy a team specific package or individual games. And it shouldn't be tied to Directv anymore.

Holy self-important diatribe!

I think watching new-newish posters react to these threads is one of my favorite things about this place. My second favorite is watching them get conned by Bongo.

Laughing about someone's death? You people are honestly the worst.

Marcus looked competent on that drive! Then....he goes balls out on a preseason 2 pt conversion. I expect to hear of elbow numbness soon. RIP in peace.

No I’m not, but you are a Mariota troll now.its understandable to have doubts but you comment about him nearly every football thread regardless of topic. I’m rooting for the Titans, if you remember, I wanted them to draft Williams instead of Mariota. But Mariota is the best qb on this team, and the constant arguments between the die hard sides has been unbearable. You guys have been repeating yourselves for months and it’s stale AF. There are plenty of things to talk about besides him and this place has become saturated and you used to be better than this. September 8th can’t come soon enough.

Pretty much why I’ve tried to avoid the QB talk most of the offseason. It’s 2 die hard sides yelling at eachother about how wrong the others are, and then some of us in the middle who have said “Mariota needs to play better but he gives us the best chance to win. This is the best team he’s had around him, he’s in the 2nd year of a system for the first time, no excuses. None of this talk even matters until sep 8th because there isn’t a controversy. He is starting week 1 barring injury.” These people have driven themselves either crazy or into troll territory with their constant shit throwing.

By the way ... Delanie Walker is the man. At his age, back from a dislocated ankle, doesn't look like he's missed much.

I posted this in another thread by accident... I love the fact that the punter job has been on lock down for over 20 years. Hentrich held down the fort for 12 years and now Kern has had it locked down for 9, heading into his 10th here. We never talk much about it, but a guy who can give the opponent a long/hard way to go is important and we haven't had to worry about it in 2 decades.

Both QBs played well, mariota against starters and Tanny against backups. We should be happy for both.

obsession noun ob·ses·sion | \ äb-ˈse-shən , əb-\ Definition of obsession 1: a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feelingbroadly : compelling motivationan obsession with profitshas an obsession with gambling 2: something that causes an obsessionLosing weight can be an obsession that results in the avoidance of certain foods. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsession

You know, you should really warm up and stretch before you reach that hard.

Titans are so lucky they didn't trade for him

Kyle is basically Kimmy

The ball just isn't arriving where it needs to be at the required velocity and receivers are having to break stride to catch balls. It looks like a fucking fire drill out there with all the stop, drop, and roll receivers have to do to catch balls. It was better than last week but I can't imagine being satisfied with it. And these were the #1s that Mariota has been practicing with for months so I expect better chemistry than that.

Damn, Saffold should take a pregnancy test after that one.

It’s almost September 8th..... it’s almost September 8th...... it’s almost September 8th...... it’s almost September 8th......

I took it as negative reinforcement. Kind of like when my mom told me id never amount to anything. She was right but I tried everyday to prove her wrong.

Short version Jamal: I was wrong, the Titans are saddled with Maroita and Tanny will soon start.

In regards to the president; you’re state better not fuck it up again. In regards to this thread; this is like throwing Pride and Prejudice into the chimp cage at the zoo.

We didn't see anything amazing from Mariota .....but if we're nitpicking every throw and highlighting every imperfection, we also have to give credit for the positives. One of his biggest issues last year was that he was overly cautious and held the ball forever waiting for a receiver to get wide open...which led to a ton of sacks. We didn't see this at all last night as he had several targets to receivers who weren't necessarily wide open...but he made the throw and gave them an opportunity to make a play. It seems to me the throw to AJ Brown was the very definition of a 50/50 throw that many have been clamoring for....which is part of the reason they drafted AJB in the first place. The QB just throws it up where his big WR can go get it by overpowering a smaller DB....or he draws the DPI. On that same play, Marcus showed good pocket presence by stepping away from pressure and spinning into the open field. Last year, he would have bailed on this play and taken off running; instead, he keeps his eyes downfield and delivers the throw. Another positive. We also saw a play where Mariota's first read is covered.... he finds Jennings on his second or third read for a quick 5 yards. Solid. People have complained about the low throw where Delanie Walker catches it as he's going to the ground. But Marcus also deserves credit for making the play work by looking of the LB and pulling him 2-3 steps out of position, then dropping it in behind him. There were am awful lot of shortcomings to Marcus’ game last year; it’s unrealistic to expect everything to suddenly be fixed all at one time...like waving a magic wand or something. He wasnt spectacular..,but it was solid and productive performance. If he can play like that consistently, they’ll win a lot more games than they lose.

That Lewan suspension is so frustrating, especially when you see how good he and Conklin have looked this preseason, both have been opening up some really nice holes in the run game, Henry could be devastating on the OZ when both those guys are back starting.

Not even being funny, it's a fucking retard thing to do in a preseason game

This is hilarious.

God, I hate this cunt. I hope the Titans intercept him 4 times and sack his ass 4+ times

The team's twitter feed feels the need to celebrate basic completions by a 5th yr. QB. It's sad and quite a shame. Says it all, really. Kuharsky is exactly right that people are circling the wagons, but the end is coming and its inevitable.

This alone makes the game worth watching. At least for a bit.

Entirely possible. And I completely get why a lot of folks are already done with Marcus and ready to move on. I also get why some refuse to allow credit when he does play well; after all, there are agendas to prop up and support. But I must admit...I find myself annoyed when naysayers go to great lengths trying to show that a good, solid play/performance was actually terrible and everyone else is just too dumb to see it. I’ll offer an opposing viewpoint and often provide proof to support my position....and if they still insist that the sky is green, that’s fine. Because I know that in most cases, someone far more knowledgeable than I will eventually say the same thing I was telling them in the first place.

I'm sure you don't realize that Mayfield had a higher passer rating throwing to his left than Mariota did. In this data set, he threw for 10 TD's, 1 less than Mariota did all season. The throws to the left beyond 15 yards: Mayfield with a meh 85 Passer Rating. Mariota came in with an impressive 60 with a TD and 3 picks. Mariota homers really shouldn't try to troll other NFL QB's.

Is that something worth bragging about? "Hey guys. See that pile of shit over there? I OWN THAT."

It's a message board. Very few of us can 'analyze' the technique of the Guard (except, of course, when Saffold rekindles our Andy Levitre syndrome responses). But we all imagine we are the QB. Of course when we take our 3-step drop in our living room, we have no pressure in our face, our receivers are always open, the safety is never bating us into a bad throw, and our peripheral vision is always 20/20. As Brad Hopkins said yesterday, Marcus biggest problem, and likely the reason he has not been extended, is more about his AVAILABILITY than his ABILITY. But honestly, at this point, I could give less than 2 f's about it. I just want to watch a football team that is winning and brings a little something interesting to the field. If that Is MM, great. If that is Tannehill, fine. We are all message board experts. So I will use all lf my 40+ years of expertise and say that preseason means less than squat and if MM can't stay healthy, even if his first 5 games are QB'd at a 123.8 rating, he won't be extended. After that, alway forward, never back.

Raiders have a clown at GM. A clown as head coach and they are upset that a clown they signed is being a clown. I love this circus!

Just wait til you die. It’s going to be fucking euphoric around here.

Yesterday: "It's quite simple. Good QB's put up good stats". Today: "I know those are pretty good stats but it doesn't matter because it was still bad!" I won't defend Mariota. He's been what he's been but give me a fucking break with these hot takes and the accusations that if you disagree with me in any way you don't understand what you're watching. The hubris lately is almost unbearable. We're all just drinking beer and watching a fucking game for christ's sake.

Statistically, McNair would be way better in today’s game than he was under Fisher’s conservative offense. Hell, look how much better he was under Heimerdinger later in his career after Eddie got hurt and they were forced to let him throw the ball.

Joel, when did you become a ‘fan’ of the team?

He is black and was president. And a democrat.