What's your Mariota threshold?

[Alcibiades]

From what we've been able to determine, mine is 7 inches, and @woolfolksunclesuncle is 8 inches. I'm trying to catch up though.

[Alcibiades]

More seriously, look...we all know the deal. This guy has to prove that he can play at a high level AND stay healthy this year. It's that simple. If he can't do BOTH, the Titans have to start looking elsewhere. I hate it. Mariota flashes real brilliance at times, but he MUST stay on the field and get a system down that can actually put up some points. We have a great defense right now, and our offense isn't balanced enough. If Henry continues to get it, like he did this past December, that helps everyone, but he can't do it alone.

[big2033]

Rotoworld:

 

Paul Kuharsky reports Marcus Mariota plans to play 12-13 pounds heavier than he was in 2018, checking in around 230.

Kuharsky reports that the change was at the behest of the team, and that Mariota had previously emphasized agility over weight, which the coaching staff hopes will increase Mariota's durability. In four seasons, Mariota has never appeared in all 16 games. Mariota finds himself in the Ryan Tannehill zone in Nashville, entering into what seems to be his last chance to claim the starting job for the long haul. Ironically, it is Tannehill who will be backing him up.

[wiscotitansfan]

I wore a Titans shirt to work today and 2 people asked why we didn't draft a QB or ask if I expect him to not suck finally.

[OILERMAN]

2 hours ago, wiscotitansfan said:

I wore a Titans shirt to work today and 2 people asked why we didn't draft a QB or ask if I expect him to not suck finally.

I work with mostly Dallas fans. The perception of Mariota is he's a bust

[StephenIsLegend]

16 minutes ago, OILERMAN said:

I work with mostly Dallas fans. The perception of Mariota is he's a bust

What do they think of Dak?

[OILERMAN]

3 minutes ago, StephenIsLegend said:

What do they think of Dak?

It's mixed but he got it turned around after the Titans game and played much better. There are still doubters though. They are pretty much resigned to the fact he's getting extended 

[StephenIsLegend]

3 hours ago, OILERMAN said:

It's mixed but he got it turned around after the Titans game and played much better. There are still doubters though. They are pretty much resigned to the fact he's getting extended 

A good majority of my friends are Dallas fans (super uninformed though) and they mostly think Dak isn’t good either. 

[nine]

After re-watching some of Marcus’ all-22 footage from 2015 & 2016 and comparing it to 2018...his pocket presence has actually regressed rather than improving.  

 

In his first two seasons, he was noticeably better at keeping his eyes downfield while extending a play and finding his third or fourth read.   Last year was a different story;  rather than keeping his focus downfield, he routinely dropped his eyes and looked to run at the first sign of trouble.

 

Mularkey obviously encouraged Mariota to make liberal use of his legs...and I strongly suspect Vrabel/LaFleur made it an even greater point of emphasis last year, to the point of having him doing running drills with the RBs.  And not surprisingly, Marcus’ mindset and play reflected their emphasis on running.

 

(Another hint: Go back and review Vrabel’s comments from his introductory press conference.  He makes 2-3 separate references to Marcus’ athleticism and utilizing him as a runner...but nary a word about his continued development as a passer.)

 

The organization obviously has some level of faith in Marcus as a franchise-caliber QB;  otherwise they would have released him before his salary became guaranteed.    

 

But they can’t expect him to make significant strides and get where he needs to be as a pocket passer if they keep encouraging him to tuck and run at the drop of a hat.  

[OILERMAN]

3 hours ago, nine said:

The organization obviously has some level of faith in Marcus as a franchise-caliber QB;  otherwise they would have released him before his salary became guaranteed.    

Not necessarily, he was injured and there wasn't a replacement that was an upgrade

[Justafan]

9 hours ago, OILERMAN said:

I work with mostly Dallas fans. The perception of Mariota is he's a bust

I work around Dallas fans too.  They also think Dak is a star.  They are complete homers and delusional about their team in a way that makes this board seem like fanatical critics.  

[OILERMAN]

14 minutes ago, Justafan said:

I work around Dallas fans too.  They also think Dak is a star.  They are complete homers and delusional about their team in a way that makes this board seem like fanatical critics.  

I'd say that's more mixed, lots of Dallas fans think giving Dak an extension is a mistake

[nine]

Keep in mind, a lot of Cowboys fans couldn’t wait to get rid of Tony Romo.

[Alcibiades]

Signing Tannehill was telling. Whatever you want to say about his time with the Dolphins, he's a potential starter in this league. He knows it, and our GM knows it. He probably thinks he can take Mariota's job at some point, and he may be right. Meanwhile, Mariota will be motivated to prove that he can hold Tanny off and keep his job. It was a very smart move by JRob, and one way or another, it gives us a QB  that can play until (and if) we need to draft one.

[BudsOilers]

10 hours ago, nine said:

After re-watching some of Marcus’ all-22 footage from 2015 & 2016 and comparing it to 2018...his pocket presence has actually regressed rather than improving.  

 

In his first two seasons, he was noticeably better at keeping his eyes downfield while extending a play and finding his third or fourth read.   Last year was a different story;  rather than keeping his focus downfield, he routinely dropped his eyes and looked to run at the first sign of trouble.

 

Mularkey obviously encouraged Mariota to make liberal use of his legs...and I strongly suspect Vrabel/LaFleur made it an even greater point of emphasis last year, to the point of having him doing running drills with the RBs.  And not surprisingly, Marcus’ mindset and play reflected their emphasis on running.

 

(Another hint: Go back and review Vrabel’s comments from his introductory press conference.  He makes 2-3 separate references to Marcus’ athleticism and utilizing him as a runner...but nary a word about his continued development as a passer.)

 

The organization obviously has some level of faith in Marcus as a franchise-caliber QB;  otherwise they would have released him before his salary became guaranteed.    

 

But they can’t expect him to make significant strides and get where he needs to be as a pocket passer if they keep encouraging him to tuck and run at the drop of a hat.  

I think this idea that his pocket presence declined due to coaching is a classic example of transference regarding the player.  His coaching from game 6 to game 44 was with Mularkey and Jason Michaels encompassing half of 2015 through 2017.  The idea that Mularkey didn't want Mariota to throw from the pocket and make reads didn't apply when he coached Tommy Maddox, Drew Bledsoe, and Matt Ryan.  He literally averaged 4 runs a game with Mularkey as HC and some of those were scrambles off of pass plays.  He was not used like a Mike Vick, VY, Kordell, or LaMarr Jackson who averaged double or more the runs that MM did.

 

What changed?  Well, Mariota was injured to end 2016 from a hit when he was climbing the pocket.  Perhaps it made him gun shy.  Add in that teams obviously adjusted to the offense in 2017 so things that Mariota thrived at are being taken away.  Likewise, opposing scouting reports certainly identified things Mariota struggled with.  Disguised coverages, untimed blitzes - things that force MM to adjust and that's generally when his mechanics/accuracy goes up and down.

 

Kind of like in baseball - if the batter is killing fastballs, the next time around he's going to see change ups and breaking balls until he adjusts.

 

Now, if they can use a good running game as a base and use him from time to time as a runner/scrambler, it should put them in position where they can use play action to get single coverage and hit explosive pass plays.  The real issue is how they operate in the red zone.  He's got to be a better passer down there than he has been in the last two seasons, when he's been poor.  The Miami game pre-nerve injury is a perfect example.  Throws late to Stocker on a wide open play that turns a TD into a stop at the 5.  Throw OOB in the end zone.  Hits a 4th down pass to Davis but it was late and behind him, allowing the defender to close and stop him so zero points.