Not to single you out, but we as fans have to get passed this notion that we are going to find our QB in the 2nd, 3rd or 6th round. Its just not going to happen. If there are two top QB's in this draft and the Jets are picking within 5-7 spots of where they are projected to go, then we have to get one of them. Luck and fate have been strangers to the Jets. Eventually you just have to force the issue and get the best guy available. Even if it costs a lot. Even if there are doubts. Getting a franchise QB AND properly developing him should be the only concern of this organization at this point.
You know that Mariota is a shotgun-only QB, right? Can you just see the headlines when the Jets have "traded the farm" for him and he's having issues with his footwork in training camp? If you're making a big trade for him you definitely need to be planning to run something similar to the Oregon Ducks offense. If you try to put him in a WCO the odds are you'll have some real bumps on the road before he makes it.
Ugh...the footwork argument again. If you watch Mariota's footwork in the pocket you can tell he's not going to have any trouble with drop backs from center. Because of Mariota's footwork I actually think he would work well in a WCO in addition to an offense like Oregon's. Not to mention he's been working on it in preparation for the the pre-draft process AND will have at the very least a Pro-day showing teams he can do it AND individual workouts. Geno has trouble with taking snaps from center not because he was a "shotgun-only" QB; Geno actually played in a pro-style offense his sophmore year. It's because his footwork is just BAD; that's every where, under center, shotgun, in his house, on the dance floor, on the moon...you name it.
Don't tell me, he's also "raw"? Lol still shitting on college QBs. Never change BWay. Great entertainment. _
Exactly. I'm not a draft expert, I don't know what I to look for in college QB's. But I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who thinks you could take Mariotta and put him in a WCO or traditional NFL offense and be successful his first year. The learning curve is way too steep and the media/fans would write him off before the year was over. If you draft Mariotta, it has to be because your coaching staff has a plan and they know how to use his skill set in the NFL. Like Harbaugh did with Kaepernick. If you draft him and think you'll fit him into your already established offense, then you'll see the Geno experiment all over again. I don't know how good Mariotta can be in the pro's, but it'll take some real patience and ingenuity on the coaching staff's part to develop him. Neither of which we have as currently constituted with this coaching staff.
I think Mariotta is a better prospect than some are giving him credit for. His football iq, intangibles and freakish athletic ability far outweigh his system concern. The only real worry I see with him are his fumbles. I'm going to be very surprised if he is not the first pick of draft.
I do agree that Mariota is better than Geno. And I wouldn't be as upset if we drafted Mariota as I was when we drafted Geno
Think about what you're saying though. You want to make a big trade for a great college QB in order to bring him into the NFL to run a different offense. What are the odds that one of the transitions he has to make in that process trip him up and maybe cause him to not be a very good NFL QB? Transition 1: NCAA to NFL. This is a huge transition for any player to make, that's why there are so many busts. Transition 2: Ducks Offense to WCO. Shotgun to under center half the tme or more. Another huge difference. Transition 3: Big play running QB to guy who scrambles now and then. Another huge difference because Mariota is not going to be going 60 yards up the gut every other game in the NFL. NFL players are bigger and faster than NCAA players and those gaps just don't exist in the NFL and when you get a rare opportunity everybody tells you to slide as soon as a guy gets within 5 yards of you. Transition 4: NCAA players recruited to play in the Ducks Offense to NFL players who come from a wide range of systems whose skill sets don't necessarily compliment Mariota's. There's just a lot of change from Oregon to the Jets. Are you willing to make a huge gamble to get Mariota with the understanding that if the move doesn't work out the Jets are going to be terrible for awhile?
Mariota certainly may struggle early as any rookie QB would. However, I can GUARANTEE it won't be because of the same reasons as Geno (i.e., bad footwork, poor understanding of situational football, poor anticipation..etc.).
The Oregon head coach said something interesting earlier this season. Mariota got picked off for the second time on the season (very low ratio of pickoffs for him) and the coach said he was glad the pick had happened because it pointed at the elephant in the room - which is Mariota's attempt to make every throw he can instead of throwing away the ball now and then when that would be the better course of action. The coach didn't say this because Mariota is hurting the Ducks by getting picked off a lot. He's not, the Ducks are just fine with him doing that. He said this because Mariota is going to have real problems in the NFL if he continues to do that. He's going to throw lots of picks in the NFL is he continues to do that. Trying to make every throw in an offense where most of the time your receiver has 5 yards on his man is one thing, doing it in an offense where half the throws are contested is another. Editing: it was Scott Frost the Ducks offensive coordinator who said it after the first interception of the year against California. What he actually said is that Mariota makes throws even when his receiver has had trouble on the route, getting knocked off of it or losing leverage. Mariota tries to course correct the throw and complete it anyway, when what he really should do is throw it away most of the time in that situation. This also brings up the reads question because if a receiver is having trouble on a route you really should be ignoring him in favor of another read or throwing it away.
I'd probably have to defer on your judgement on that one. Like I said, I'm not draft guru. I don't really start looking at college players until after the season is over. And please don't misconstrue my comments to make it seem like I think Mariotta=Geno. Sorry if it came across that way. I just think you have to be careful with these QB's who come from a system like Oregons. If the Jets take Mariotta, I hope its because they have a plan on how to use him and will tailor the offense to his skills. Not just because he's the consensus number one QB in the draft.
I hate it when teams draft QB's and then try and change them to fit "their style" of offense. If i'm drafting a QB, i'm trying to run what he is best at running. Not the other way around. Let the kid do what got him to the big stage, otherwise don't draft him.
I trust my eyes. Even more I trust Mariota's character; that why he has a very low bust potential. With regards to the items listed, transition 1 doesn't even need to be brought up as it is the case for all players. Assuming we are still running a WCO, I don't think Mariota will have a big issue with item 2 because of what I've written previously. Transition 3 while he won't be able to break off 60 yard runs on the regular, I can easily see him able to get the occasional first down with his legs like our 34 year old QB. Transition 4 I have no idea what you talking about.
Don't know about the coach but I've watched him 10 plus times in addition to some cut ups with all his snaps. In the games I saw, he threw the ball away quite a bit, as well as tucked it and ran or take th check down when the defenses took the down field stuff away. That's why I don't think he will be throwing a lot of INTs in the NFL. Note I'm one of those idiot Jets fans that still thought Sanchez could be an effective QB after watching every single game he's played so what do I know.
Has Vick even played well in any game yet this season? There's a big difference between playing well and not sucking as bad a Geno has
This is what's going to happen to Mariota - Mariota's college offense isn't translatable to the next level.
