#360view: Mariota a name to remember after standout opener

Jay Asser 09:26 17/09/2015
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  • Dream debut: Marcus Mariota came out on top

    First off, let’s get it straight. It’s Marcus MAR-ee-OH-tah, not MARY-oh-tah. We might as well start getting it right because the rookie quarterback is already making a name for himself.

    The NFL season is only one week old, but it’s hard not to be excited about both Mariota’s present and future.

    It was a stage that couldn’t have been scripted better: Mariota, the second overall selection in this year’s draft, versus top overall pick and fellow quarterback Jameis Winston in the season opener.

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    It’s impossible to judge the decision made by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to take Winston over Mariota on the basis of one game, but as much as any rookie could have won the head-to-head, the Tennessee Titans prospect did.

    Mariota carved up Tampa Bay’s defence by slinging four touchdowns in the first half and finishing with 209 yards on 13-of-16 completions for a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Whether it was from a statistical standpoint or the eye test, the 21-year-old passed with flying colours.

    In comparison to Winston, who threw a pick-six on his first pass as a pro and struggled throughout, Mariota’s performance stood out all the more.

    Not since Robert Griffin III dazzled in his NFL debut has a rookie quarterback looked so thoroughly impressive. With as steep as RG3’s fall from grace has been, it’s worth reminding that during his rookie campaign, there was a leg-itimate narrative of him being the better option over Andrew Luck.

    There are similarities between Mariota and RG3. Like the Washington former phenom, Mariota put up gaudy numbers in college within a quarterback-friendly system at Oregon that used misdirection, movement and simple reads.

    The lack of experience with an NFL-style offence, such as the one Winston played in at Florida State, was the biggest knock on Mariota heading into the draft and was a major reason why he was chosen as the second quarterback off the board.

    What allowed RG3 to flourish from the get-go was Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan tailoring the system to the one his quarterback played in at Baylor.

    Similarly, Tennessee incorporated elements of Oregon’s offence into the gameplan for Mariota in Week 1. That certainly eased Mariota in, but the scheme alone wasn’t why he had so much success.

    Mariota’s accuracy was precise, his throws decisive and his decision-making was on par with that of a veteran quarterback. He barely used his legs to create plays either, which he has plenty of ability to do and should use more going forward.

    All in all, it couldn’t have been a better start to what should be a long career. It’s certainly a small sample size, but it looks like Mariota can be the real deal.

    Extra yardage goes a long way

    Small margins: Vikings’ Blair Walsh (r).

    It didn’t take long for the NFL’s extra point rule change to make an impact.

    The spirit of moving the extra point after a touchdown back 15 yards, resulting in a 33-yard kick compared to a 20-yard kick, was to make it less of a sure thing.

    Through Week 1, that was the case as teams combined to make 71-of-75 extra points for a conversion rate of 94.7 per cent. That’s not exactly a challenging rate, but it’s much less of a layup than the 99.1 per cent collective success rate of the previous 10 years.

    With the extra point moved back, it makes sense for more two-point conversions to be attempted. In Week 1, teams converted four of five two-point conversions, though they all came from teams that trailed.

    Over the previous 10 seasons, two-point plays have been successful 47 per cent of the time, but that figure has been an even 50 per cent over the last five years.

    It doesn’t take a math major to realise that by the percentages, if you attempt the new extra point 100 times, it would return roughly 95 points. But if you attempt 100 two-point conversions, it would return about 100 points, going by the trend of the past half-decade.

    The difference is a small advantage in the grand scheme of things, but an advantage nonetheless. 

    Ironically, NFL coaches who do everything in their power to exploit those advantages, continue to be ultra conservative for the most part.

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