Mariota > Winston..

If you watched that game and came away with thinking Mariota was the better pro prospect, I don't know what to tell you...

 

I said that on twitter and got flamed pretty bad for it, lol.

 

it's the what have you done recently mentality, not what have you done.

Jameis is staying another season now that he's clear from all misconduct charges. He will have another season to really work on his game and clean it up more. There were some mistakes I was not comfortable with, and I think another season will benefit him.

But his team did him no favors yesterday.

Two fumbles, two dropped INT's, failure to stop Mariota on a 3rd down - even one time had him completely draped and didn't finish the sack and that drive ended on a touchdown.

missed field goal, missed opportunity at 4th and goal.

The mistake Jameis made was that fumble in a moment where it was pretty much over - his whole team was defeated and he was trying his best to create something out of a broken play because his team was down 3 scores already.

But all those other mistakes, you can do that against Lousville and be down 3 touchdowns at the half, you can't do that on Oregon. Mariota didn't create those mistakes.

I felt bad for Cook after the game, this kid is a true freshman, a very good one actually, and he had a costly fumble to open the second half which would have swung momentum to FSU.. they score that drive and FSU has a whole new attitude the rest of the game.

 

Jameis staying another season is far from a confirmed fact. It's speculation based on Jameis giving one of those very typical "where my mindset is right now" statements after the game about his not really worrying about the NFL Draft yet.

 

He really does want to play baseball though. But by staying another year he risks turning into Matt Barkley who would've been a top 5 pick had he come out in his junior year. Winston's stock is pretty high right now, it'd be a big risk coming back to FSU next year and having a bad year or wind up getting hurt. FSU is about to lose about 10-15 guys to the draft this year, though if Winston stays he could convince some guys with another year of eligibility to stay as well to compete for another title. But we saw the huge dropoff in play this year especially on defense compared to last year and it nearly derailed their season. They simply lost too many playmakers to the draft. FSU does have some young, promising underclassmen to build on but after their performance yesterday I'd be worried. Cook would be the exception, he had a good year but made one costly fumble though he looks promising. Everyone else just didn't do their jobs. Unfortunately Jameis is going to receive a lionshare of the blame but anyone that was actually paying attention could see his team let him down.

 

I think Jameis Winston's physical stature and talent is too much for him to get Barkley'd.

That was the real problem with Barkley. Not very tall, not a very strong arm.

 

True, I just used that comparison because Barkely's stock was at an all-time high after his junior year and he probably should've went into the draft to capitalize on that. He thought he would only get better, but it didn't work out for him. Jameis is immensely more talented than Barkely ever was, but all I'm saying is coming back next he risks getting hurt, or being brought down by having lesser talent team around him. There's also a good possibility of him doing something boneheaded again off the field. If I was Jameis, I'd would declare for the draft and get that top 2 money.

 

Worst that could happen to him is getting Leinart'd. Leinart at one point supposed to be a number one overall then went tenth overall. If Winston goes any lower then I don't think he was bound to go that high ever.

 

All the draft/mock sites have Tampa taking Mariota. Practically across the board. I still like Winston better.

To me the big pro's in Winston's column are...
- works the middle of the field with anticipation
- drops it in the bucket down the sidelines
- works the ball between levels of the defense
- progresses through reads with good tempo to get to his checkdown
- physical strength (especially lower-body) to brush off contact
- balance and feel in the pocket

He's just such a natural QB. Has been since he started as a RS freshman. Lots of the stuff he does from the pocket into tight windows is just RARE for college QBs, let alone a RS frosh/sophmore taking over a title contender. He should come out this year, imo.

 

Tampa will have to hire the right offensive coordinator in order for Mariota to succeed. The current offensive system which Lovie Smith brought from Chicago, isn't going to cut it for Mariota, will work fine for Winston but Mariota will need that fast pace no huddle offense in the NFL in order to succeed.

 

I don't think they're using a system Lovie brought from Chicago. He hired Jeff Tedford to install his system. But then Tedford had health issues and basically missed the season. I think they're open for whatever but you're right they will need to tailor the system to Mariota and we should actually get a fair idea of which way they're leaning by who they hire for OC.

 

I think Mariota could be successful in an offense similar to what Tannehill ran this year; a ton of short passes and read option.

He'll definitely have to work on his intermediate throws though. Watching the game yesterday, you could clearly see a disparity in this area with compared to Winston. Jameis can absolutely rip it into tight spots, whereas Mariota seems to be a little passive (probably why his INT % is so low)

 

I hate for everyone to get their impressions off just one game. On the other hand I been watching Mariota a while and you're absolutely right he's got shaky accuracy when asked to throw further than a certain distance.

 

How far?

 

I'd say about 25 yards, finger tip to finger tip.

 

I've read speculation that Jameis loves baseball more than football. Anyone believe that statement to be true? Is there any chance he chooses to go the Drew Henson route?

 

There were reports that Lovie wanted to bring in Mike Mularkey for OC. Now if I was a Tampa fan, I'd be concerned. When was the last time Mularkey led a successful offense?

 

IMO hiring Mike Mularkey would point toward Mariota because Mularkey is a very experimental type of OC who will try anything. He's not really a strict adherent to any system. That's what they're gonna need if they draft Mariota.

 

He's also a horrible play caller who gets cute at the most inopportune time. His offenses also tend to rank near the bottom of the league. He was a disaster when he was here as OC. There's a reason Mularkey hasn't been an OC for a good while. I see what you're getting at, but he's just a bad playcaller IMO.

 

Apparently, Tennessee blocked TB from interviewing. If I'm a TB fan, I'm sending thank you cards to Wisenhunt. Trestman would be an intriguing hire to pair with Mariota. JAX is supposed to be interested too though.

 

Agreed. I think Trestman would be a good fit there.

 

Jameis Winston has declared.