http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/79816/marcus-mariotas-mental-mastery-drives-ducks-offense Marcus Mariota's mental mastery drives Ducks offense By Adam Rittenberg | ESPN.com EUGENE, Ore. -- Marcus Mariota defies standard definition, so don't view him through such a primitive lens. Change your settings before it's too late. Mariota is best enjoyed in high definition, and not just because of the Technicolor uniforms he and his Oregon teammates wear in games. Mariota's mental mastery of Oregon's offense is becoming once-in-a-generation type stuff. The Ducks junior is functioning on a level rarely seen among college quarterbacks, a plane that has coach Mark Helfrich describing him like a post-doc student, enrolled in "Quarterback 303" or "Mariota 505." Mariota doesn't fit the sometimes significant, somewhat meatball-y image of a tomato-faced quarterback spewing fire and passion with neck veins bulging and, often, mixed results (hello,Philip Rivers). He can lead with emotion -- more on that later -- but it's not his secret sauce. [+] Enlarge AP Photo/Ryan KangOregon quarterback Marcus Mariota is operating at a historically high level. The numbers illustrate Mariota's complete command of Oregon's offense. Season: 26 touchdown passes, two interceptions, an FBS-leading 187.2 quarterback rating, 10.2 yards per pass attempt (second in FBS), 68.1 completion percentage, 5.8 yards per rush, seven rushing touchdowns. Career: 89 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions, team-record 644 completions, 66.4 completion percentage, 171.2 quarterback rating, 31-4 record as Oregon's starter and 10,760 yards of offense. His career QBR of 88.4 is the second highest among players in the past 10 seasons, just ahead of Heisman Trophy winners Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston and just behind Cam Newton, another Heisman recipient. "He's freakishly smart, especially when it comes to football," Ducks offensive coordinator Scott Frost told ESPN.com. "He sees things and processes things so quickly that he just doesn't make a ton of mistakes." Mariota's mistakes also underscore his advanced approach to the game. Frost attributes most interceptions to two primary causes: bad eyes and getting flustered under pressure. Mariota's interceptions stem from overthinking, but not in the standard sense. Helfrich calls it "thinking along with the route," which is fine as long as the route is run correctly. But if Mariota's intended target veers off course or loses leverage, Mariota course corrects by still throwing on time and on target, when the right throw would be to the sideline benches. "He knows what that guy's supposed to be doing," Helfrich said, "and almost tries to will it back. If the guy's running the wrong route, just throw it away." Mariota's second-quarter interception Oct. 24 against Cal snapped a streak of 253 attempts without a pick, the second longest in Pac-12 history behind a run of 353 attempts set by, yep, Mariota. More on Oregon For full coverage of the Ducks, check out the Oregon blog, part of ESPN's College Football Nation. Blog More: • Oregon's clubhouse page • ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog "I was giving him crap, like, 'I'm so happy you threw that because of this elephant in the room,'" Helfrich said, before adding, "Not really, and it was a mental mistake." Oregon can live with such mistakes because they happen so infrequently, and because Mariota's mind is normally such an asset. It is Frost's and Helfrich's jobs to teach quarterbacks about coverages, how to anticipate blitzes and how personnel fits a particular play. But they can only do so much to help their players absorb the information. Mariota makes it easy for them. "You don't even have to draw it up," Helfrich said. "You can just talk about it and he gets it. That's such a huge deal for that quarterback to be able to think about it over and over again without having to watch it, or even without having to do it. Because that's a thousand reps you can have without wear and tear of playing anybody." Mariota processes at 5G speed, which helps when he's under duress. "Unflappable," one Pac-12 assistant described him. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Mariota ranks second among Power 5 quarterbacks in completion percentage against the blitz this season (76.5). He's seventh in yards per attempt against the blitz (10.4) and third in percentage of passes resulting in touchdowns against pressure (17.6). "I don't see his blood pressure going up," Frost said. "When he's in there, he stays calm and executes." But Mariota's calmness and kindness has been interpreted by some as a drawback. Is he too chill to lead an NFL locker room? After Oregon's 45-16 win against Stanford on Saturday, Mariota was asked if he's too nice. "That's people's opinions," he said. "When it's all said and done, I believe that my teammates will know who I am and play for me, and that's all you can ask for." It's all that matters right now. Mariota is a more cerebral quarterback, and, as Helfrich often says, Oregon's quarterbacks don't have that "look-you-in-the-eye moment in the huddle" because the Ducks don't huddle. But he also has evolved from the high school kid so quiet during an Oregon camp that half the staff wasn't sold on him, preferring his polar opposite, Manziel. "When it comes to competition, he's as cutthroat as anybody," Frost said. "Marcus is at a place where he's been the front-runner for being the first quarterback [drafted]. Any time you're that guy, there's more scrutiny. "They're trying to find something wrong with him." Let them nitpick. It's their jobs. The rest of us should appreciate a player who doesn't come around very often at the college level, one with a strong arm, nimble feet and, most important, a beautiful mind.
Congrats you mastered the Oregon Offense! Fans of Joey Harrington reading this article be like: lol - just busting yall balls. Lamborghini Mariota lawd have mercy
So you're saying he's better than Tebow? ---Just foolin, I know somebody's going to take this too seriously.....probably even after I add this disclaimer.
Just got done looking into this kids highlights and game film.... mannnnnnnn was i sleeping!!!! DRAFT THIS BEAST!!! I had no idea he could move that fast on his feet... footwork looks amazing in the pocket... has the poise of a veteran NFL QB.. im sold. #SuckForTheDUCK
Honestly starting 1-8 (9?) sucks but the one positive is it's gotten me so much more into college football. I've never really been a fan but with the idea of having a top 2 pick in my head I've been watching to evaluate the top talents, and man it's fun. Can't wait to watch this kid tonight after I'm done watching Cooper.
Brains, high football IQ, able to read defenses at 5g speed....no that won't cut it. Let's go for the college athlete with his head up his ass. LOL. There is not one option and the Jets better act on it. Suck and suck for the top duck.
Oh wait, he's never run a pro offense against college kids as a college kid. All those pro set college kids that are inferior players will be better pros!! So stupid. _
Yup, its mostly raw ability that counts, acclimation to certain things like dropping back or making multiple reads at once is nice and can be seen as a make or break bonus, but a quality prospect is a quality prospect. Mariota's a first round talent on potential alone, no doubt about it.
Kinda disappointed about that ridiculous play in Oregon-Utah. I would have liked to see how Mariota responded to being 14 down on the road.
I'm going to be very surprised if Mariota is not the 1st pick in the draft. The offense he is in is a valid concern but his intangibles, football IQ and freakish athletic ability far outweigh that concern. If that is his biggest concern, really his only concern, I'm not that concerned and I doubt any GM would be. Bottom line, we need to keep losing. Unfortunately even that wouldn't guarantee Mariotta but being as close to 1 as possible could put us in drivers seat for trade up.
I appreciate the Rex pun in your username. Unfortunately we'll both probably be in search of new username puns this offseason.
As for Mariota, this is only the second time I've watched him live. His ability to throw on the run absolutely jumps off the screen, I honestly don't see many NFL qb's who can throw on the move like him. Obviously, his speed is also ridiculous, but that's a given. He just outruns everybody when he gets in trouble, it's like a video game. I've watched a ton more Winston than Mariota (west coast games start late) but I'm far more impressed with Mariota than I have been with Jameis. Usually I worry about quarterbacks who use their legs to their advantage a lot because you never know if it'll translate to the high speed pace of the NFL, but this kid is so fast I hardly have any doubts about that.
Mariota just ran in for a TD to ice what was a close game against Utah. The kid throws a really nice ball with great touch on most short and intermediate passes. The Jets really need this kid to turn start turning this mess around.
Daniel Jeremiah: "Mariota is going to be a very tough evaluation. Special athlete but can he win from the pocket? Nobody knows."
Do you have any amazing game film to share? I would like to see the astounding footwork he has throwing from the pocket, because from what I have seen, he rarely throws from a positive stance, even from a clean pocket to an open receiver. I've seen the guy actually square his feet to the LOS on many occasions, which you should choke about, and when the ball gets to the receiver, they have to jump or scoop for the pass. A lot of other times he's either jump passing or throwing off the tip of his heel. He's obviously a smart QB in terms of situations, and he's almost got Kaep speed, but the QB discipline has been lacking most of the times I've seen him play.
Lol on youtube you'll find some in his most recent highlight tape... Thats what made me watch this game tonight... But mostly he's doing college option shit that will go bye bye in the nfl... Hope he can make a smooth transition
