Titans Watch: 10 More Days
September 3rd, 2015
Chucky fingered Marcus Mariota as his rookie of the year.
Joe’s already called opening day against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 13 in Tampa a “must-win.”
It’s not a must-win for the standings. Duh. But it is necessary for the psyche of a fanbase that hasn’t seen a home victory since 2013, and compares Jameis Winston to Marcus Mariota.
The state of arousal in Tennessee is in full swing after Chucky declared yesterday that he has seen enough; Mariota is his offensive rookie of the year.
The Titans’ official website recorded Chucky on a conference call. Here’s a snippet:
“I have seen him, and I think his mental toughness has been on display, No.1,’’ Gruden said. “You saw him turn the ball over against Atlanta, a couple times I think, in the first 10-15 plays. And then you saw him string together some really good football. I saw him fall way behind on the road at Kansas City, then he hung in there and engineered a couple of really good drives. I like the way he is playing under center. Ken Whisenhunt has put him under the center a lot. It looks like he is in rhythm, he is doing some really good things and I think he has impressed a lot of people with the way he has thrown the football.”
Mariota has completed 19-of-27 passes for 252 yards in three preseason contests, and has a passer rating of 84.2. He has just 17 rushing yards on five carries.
Joe has watched every snap of Mariota this preseason, and what Mariota has — that Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback, does not — is a stable offensive line. But Joe also has to give it up to how “pro-ready” Mariota looks. That wasn’t expected.
Mariota has four scoring drives in 10 possessions. Jameis has four scoring drives in 21 possessions.
That’s all fine and dandy, but none of it’s real football, playing a 60 minute game and having a defensive coordinator do everything to stop you.
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:40 am
I like Mariota. Great kid with class and plenty of talent. But I also like Aaron Rodgers for the same reasons.
But Fameis is our QB now and I like him best of all. I’ll simply keep pounding the drum…Mariota is irrelevant when it comes to Fameis…Fameis will not be tossing any passes to Mariota…Mariota will not be blocking for Fameis..nor obviously the other way around.
I could care less about which QB garnes the most awards, the best stats etc.
There is only ONE stat that matters! W-L
Just win baby!!!
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:41 am
Mariota has looked okay but Amari Cooper will probably win
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:46 am
@Joe … “That’s all fine and dandy, but none of it’s real football”.
The Bucs and Titans look like they’ve taken very different approaches to preparing their rookie QBs for the season. Personally I’ve been impressed with Marcus Mariota, and I’d surmise that he’ll have a very good rookie season. But so can Jameis … it all comes down to how well our OLine develops and protects him. Right now there are a lot of question-marks, but we’ll see what they’ve got soon enough when ‘real football’ starts.
The one thing I haven’t seen much of in Bucs preseason is quick short passes to keep the opposing DLine honest, and still not enough runs (except to start the games). Gut feel is that the Bucs will rely heavily on those to open up the season.
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:48 am
When you get married….it’s not a good idea to be concerned with what an ex-girlfriend is doing with her new husband…..
It’s obvilously tempting to make comparisons going forward….but these two rookies are on different teams and that makes comparisons unreliable.
September 3rd, 2015 at 9:50 am
@Stpete
I’m fairly confident many people who much rather be proven right, than the Bucs winning games.
“I wanted Mariota, and I would much rather I look correct than the Bucs be successful, ergo, I continue to root for Mariota even though I claim to be a diehard Bucs fan, and want him to win vs TB, so I can pound my chest.”
I root for Buccaneers. I don’t care if they wore hideous orange and blue or partied on Evan Shapiro’s yacht in Coral Gables. Once a Buc, I pull for them*.
*I thought Freeman was a bad pick. But, I totally rooted for him to be the best Bucs QB ever. I gave him at least 3 years before I could see the writing on the wall. He sucked. On top of sucking, he imploded and then tried to blame the team. Screw that guy.
September 3rd, 2015 at 10:01 am
REAL LOGIC^^^
September 3rd, 2015 at 10:06 am
First of all, naming a ‘winner’ (of ANYTHING), before there is even a contest, is just a little foolish. We have all seen it in here by posters proclaiming all kinds of wild fantasies in relation to their favorite player.
Secondly, the only award, in the NFL, that gets everyone truly excited, is the Lombardi Trophy.
And lastly, I do not care if ANY Buccaneer wins ANY award, as long as they win games. Awards are just for contract negotiations, and fans to brag about when their team is a loser.
September 3rd, 2015 at 10:18 am
Many of us who were pro-Mariota leading up to the draft felt that all the talk that he wouldn’t be able to translate his game to the pros, or wouldn’t be able to play under center, or wouldn’t be able to read pro defenses, etc was totally wrong. This is an itelligent and athletic kid who can make all the throws and learn to adapt his skills to work at the highest level. I still am excited about Winston…in the long term….but I would not be surprised if Marcus has more early success than Winston.
September 3rd, 2015 at 10:22 am
Would the Bucs look any better now had Mariota been the pick here. Right now it appears that might be possible, just going by what I have read. How many times have the Bucs beat the Titans in a regular season game, only once that I can remember. I am hoping for a second win but I would not bet much on it. Anything can happen and usually does.
September 3rd, 2015 at 10:34 am
@TBBF
LMAO…that is a GREAT analogy and says what I have been trying to say perfectly.
September 3rd, 2015 at 10:48 am
Pro-Mariota supporters are really just closet racists.
September 3rd, 2015 at 10:55 am
@Joe Cool
Pro-Mariota supporters are really just closet racists.
Really? Seriously do you believe that? I certainly concede that in the debate leading up to the selection we had a few racists show up here. But there are plenty of great posters who just believe MM was a better pick.
Jeagan and BucBonzai are not racists and they supported Mariota…as did I.
87 kept trying to win me over to Fameis. But I wasn’t as down on Fameis as I was positive about Mariota. But I have no problem admitting when I am wrong.
Right now I feel like 87 was right and I was wrong. Of course there hasn’t been a down of football played and so I could be wrong thinking I was wrong to begin with. LMAO
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:02 am
Hoe cool I mean joe cool you are not cool you are a idiot- simple as that
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:07 am
Does Tenn have that much better an oline? Perhaps coaching wise . Mariotas athleticism makes them look better imo. Its one of the things the mariota “clingers” stressed in the leadup to the draft. We all expected the oline to be a work in progress so it didnt make much sense to pick the guy who relies on a cleaner pocket. Anyways its not about optimist or pessimist or wanting the bucs to lose (which i don’t) its just football talk, can we please just have rational discussion like adults and stop the put downs and baseless chatter (all pro mariota’ers are racist? Nonsense)
And honestly I wish Koetter would dumb down the gameplan for jameis like whisenhunt is doing for mariota. Let jameis get used to the speed oft he nfl before putting so much on his plate. I know jameis does not lack confidence, but that can be whittled away if all he does is take sacks or throw ints.
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:08 am
It’s gonna be a long season
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:14 am
Oh what, I can’t troll on here like everyone else does?
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:17 am
“Joe also has to give it up to how “pro-ready” Mariota looks. That wasn’t expected.”
While it’s true that the Joe(s) aren’t in the minority with this thought, I remember reading several sources after thr draft eho thought this “pro ready” thing was overblown. I am rooting like hell that we beat the Titans next week and I “hope” that Jameis is HALF as good this year as the Joe(s) think. But… there has never been much doubt that Mariota is far superior athletically and that he is a “leader” (by example, not hype or vocally).
I sincerely hope that the Joe(s) haven’t brainwashed themselves and painted themselves into a corner with their Jameis adulation (bordering on idolatry).
I mean, face it guys, Mariota has far outshined him in the preseason and shown “unexpected: abilities to handle “pro style” while Jameis has certainly NOT shown MORE than what was expected, But, everyone to their own opinion, Let the Joe(s) (typically) blame the offensive line for the discrepancy in performances between the two players – they ALWAYS DO !
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:31 am
The o-line actually wasn’t that bad. It’s just hard to block 7-8 guys when you only have 5. Sure Winston forced the ball when he had 3 guys in his face, but that’s part of what preseason games are for. To iron out the wrinkles and correct mistakes. Especially from rookies.
September 3rd, 2015 at 11:35 am
Joe Cool Says:
September 3rd, 2015 at 10:48 am
“Pro-Mariota supporters are really just closet racists.”
Funny…I heard the same thing about anyone that didn’t like Obama for the last 7 years. They all must be racists…
September 3rd, 2015 at 1:14 pm
I was afraid of this…. Oh boy Winston gang. Mariota looks more pro ready than Winston does
September 3rd, 2015 at 1:16 pm
Mariota winning the AFC ROY and Winston winning the NFC ROY would be pretty cool…. I’d say it’s pretty much a lock for Mariota and 50-50 chance for Winston. Although, I’m supporting Winston wayyyy more than Mariota in general now that he’s our QB.
September 3rd, 2015 at 1:23 pm
@StPeteBucsFan….don’t worry about morons who throw around incendiary terms like “racist”” with no evidence to back their ridiculous claims.
My father once told me…”Never try to argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level, and then beat you with experience every time”!
September 3rd, 2015 at 1:28 pm
a. screw u Gruden
b. no way – that team has no wide receivers
September 3rd, 2015 at 1:42 pm
@Jeagan Your father was a very wise man. And what’s that other saying about arguing with pigs…you simply get all dirty and the pig loves it or something like that.
@LargoSam
Mariota has far outshined him in the preseason and shown “unexpected: abilities to handle “pro style” while Jameis has certainly NOT shown MORE than what was expected
I wanted to bold the part I’m perhaps nitpicking. But to recap…FAR OUTSHINED?
The Bucs are 1-2 and the Titans are 1-2 in three meaningless games. But if we’re going to attach soooo much meaning to PS games at least let’s be fair.
Marcus and Fameis are tied at 1-2. Agree that MM has shown more than expected and perhaps Fameis less but that has far more to do with “expectations” than reality. Both QB’s have played pretty much like I expected.
And so again guys IF we must pass judgement on 3 freaking PS games let’s do it right.
MM and the Titans are 1-2..the SAME as the Bucs. MM has thrown for TD’s Fameis has rushed for two. Do we really care?
More perspective..Fameis and the Bucs and the WORST coach to ever walk and NFL sideline (snark font off) are currently tied with Seattle at 1-2.
Tied with the Dixie Chicks at 1-2…and N.O. is still winless at 0-3!!!
I can only imagine how Dallas,Realist and Tmax would feel about it if they were Aint’s fans. Aging QB loses his top receiver. A defense worse than the Bucs loses their top player in Gallette and they are winless in the P.S.
If we’re jumping off the Sunshine Skyway N.O fans must all be jumping into Lake Ponchartrain about now.
September 3rd, 2015 at 2:21 pm
I can’t believe no one else has pointed this out. Mariota has had 10 drives, that’s 3.3 a game. It seems a lot easier to script 3 drives a game for a qb than 7. I am happy with the extra exposure Winston has gotten and I think that will benefit him more than the way Mariota has been handled.
Please media keep hyping up Marcus Mariota please
September 3rd, 2015 at 3:13 pm
I would expect nothing less than the Buc’s to select the wrong QB.
September 3rd, 2015 at 3:59 pm
Jo Mamma
Argue for your limitations and they are yours. I rarely argue with someone who simply is starting from such a point of negativity. Hope the rest of your life isn’t like that.
September 3rd, 2015 at 6:08 pm
So far the haters have been wrong about Mariota and all fronts. Let’s just hope we win against them.
September 3rd, 2015 at 6:30 pm
Gruden picked Mariota as the #1 before the draft, what else is he going to say?
He is a ESPN B*tch now.