Why Mariota Will Be A Better NFL Quarterback Than Winston
All the latest mock drafts have Winston going #1 to Tampa Bay and Mariota falling to #6 and some even farther. Mariota threw for 10,796 yards at Oregon with 105 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Mariota also added an astounding 2,237 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns. He is the definition of a dual-threat quarterback. Winston finished college with 7,964 yards and 65 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. While Winston can run, he is more suited for a pocket passing offense in the NFL.
The NFL is moving more toward the mobile quarterback running a spread option offense. The main teams running this are the Eagles, 49ers, Panthers, and Seahawks. Mariota would make any team better because of his pure athletic ability. If he gets drafted into the correct system, he will flourish at the next level. The same could be said for Winston.
I believe Mariota will have a better career in the NFL because he can always perfect his pocket passing skills. Mariota has a fantastic arm and can throw the ball down the field with ease. Mariota’s best on the field characteristic is by far his speed. You cannot teach speed, no matter hard you try to. Mariota can zoom past defensive players, as he did so often in college. But above all characteristics, his most intangible characteristic is his character. Mariota is fantastic leader and great man of integrity. You can count on him to not make your organization look bad. Winston may be a fiery inspirer, but his character isn’t all there. Winston is not someone you want to represent your organization at all.
What do you guys think?
Caleb On Sports 
Marcus Mariota played one extra year in college (Winston only played 2). Mariota is fast, but defensive ends in the NFL can run a 40 yd. dash in 4.4 seconds or better. Like you said only 4 teams in the NFL run a college spread offense; 49ers (with Colin Kaepernick) – 15th pick, Eagles (best case scenario) – 20th pick, Panthers (with Cam Newton) – 25th pick, Seahawks (with Russel Wilson who will be the highest paid Quarterback in the NFL nest year) – 31st pick. There is no way way that Mariota falls to the 15th pick or after, and even if he does, which team besides the Eagles (with Chip Kelly as the head coach) would actually need to take a QB? Also, besides last year, how many teams with a spread offense have won a Super Bowl? Yes, Russell Wilson won in 2014 but was that because of him or arguably the best defense of the past decade? And who can forget Skittle eating Beast Mode? Winston has character issues, obviously, but who in the NFL, with the exception of a small percentage, doesn’t? The kicker is that Mariota needs a team with a certain scheme to draft him and Winston does not. Winston has already proven that he can run an offense that 80% of NFL teams run. Who knows which QB will have more success in the NFL but the numbers and the situation point towards Winston. Can Mariota throw from the pocket?
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I’m a Buccaneer fan…and like you, I’d prefer to use the first overall pick on Marcus Mariota, and for many of the same reasons you list. Unfortunately, the the geographical TV audience, as well as a majority of the local fanbase, heavily support picking Jameis Winston (probably due to the proximity of FSU).
However, based on the polls I’ve seen and whether those polls are taken inside the state of Florida versus national polls, there seems to be a stark contrast: Inside Florida: it’s 70/30 in favor of Jameis Winston, but the national polls flip those numbers in the opposite direction: almost 70/30 in favor of Mariota as the top rated pick.
I’d agree with the “pros” you list for each of the QB’s, but the main reason for the debate is each players “cons”:
Mariota: In his 3 seasons as starting QB for Oregon, he’s never taken a direct snap under center. He also does not call plays based on reading the defense, that is signaled to the offensive line, WR’s and the QB by a coach holding up a sign with 4 pictures on it, after each play. That’s pretty significant if Mariota goes to a team that is NOT planning to run a spread – maybe not as much if he goes to a team that plans on implementing more spread concepts. Although, most teams run the spread along with a version of the west coast offense (WCO)…which requires the QB to move under center (ala Russell Wilson). So Mariota isn’t just going to have to learn to read NFL defenses, and a new offense that will sometimes have him under center, he’s also going to have to communicate verbally with the offense in a huddle – which means that until he adjusts – he will be hesitating while mentally processing.
Now, Mariota is a bright enough athlete (he graduated with a degree in General Sciences with a 3.22 GPA…and he GRADUATED in 3 years while playing at an elite level, at a major university), to learn any new system…but it means he WON’T be ready to start for some time – UNLESS the Bucs ask Koetter to install a spread-option similar to that run by Seattle, San Francisco, Carolina, and Philadelphia.
Winston: BIG RED CHARACTER FLAGS. You can still watch a YouTube video of Winston standing on a table, while yelling obscenities at under-age coeds as they walk by AFTER JUST being cleared of RAPE charges. He then walked into a local grocery store, grabbed a bunch of King crab legs, and purposely left WITHOUT paying. just before the season. His weight ballooned to 248 lbs (he’s since dropped to 231 lbs, but internet pictures show that it’s not a “toned” 231). During the season he displayed a lack of discipline (both to the offensive philosophy and to his head coach) as depicted earlier in the year, when an argument between Winston and Fisher was caught by the TV cameras – with Fisher yelling at Winston to “how about letting me call the *&%$ plays once in awhile…”, and AGAIN during the epic collapse during the biggest game of Jameis Winston’s career – during the college football playoff’s against Oregon. Jimbo Fisher was caught on camera threatening to BENCH his star QB if he didn’t calm down and start playing within the offense…
We’re also not sure what offense our new offensive coordinator is going to install – it could be the system he ran in Atlanta, with Matt Ryan – making for a system that Jameis Winston would fit. …but if Koetter installs a system similar to Seattle Seahawks spread-heavy offense – which is a possibilities because Koetter served as Chip Kelly’s offensive coordinator at Oregon…making for a system Marcus Mariota could be comfortable in…
But that’s a story for another post – for now, it’s a storyline we’re following REEEEAAALLLYYY closely!
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I couldn’t agree more with everything you said above!! I just think that Mariota wins because of his strong character. Winston just doesn’t have good character or moral at all. I wouldn’t want a quarterback to lead my team who can barely lead himself! Hope you can follow and stay up to date with my blog!!!
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Asking questions are in fact nice thing if you are not understanding
anything fully, however this article offers pleasant understanding even.
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Why viewers still use to read news papers when in this technological globe all is presented
on web?
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