The NFL draft is kind of like birthday presents. You'll get some really awesome gifts (Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Teddy Bridgewater), pretty terrible gifts (Ryan Leaf, Jamarcus Russel) and really great surprises (Tom Brady, Russel Wilson). And every year, the hype for the "gifts" always seems to increase infinitely. The two biggest gifts in this years draft are (obviously) Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston. Many people will use the "Ready, FIRE!, Aim" tactic when debating the two QB's. They will say that Mariota is far more mature and the overall better QB without thinking twice. But not so fast, I believe we all need to slow down and break them down before making rushed conclusions.
Size: Mariota: 6-3 209 lbs Winston: 6-4 230 lbs I've never been a huge believer in QB size. Many "smaller, poorly built" signal-callers have gone on to have great NFL career. I do believe, however, that Winston is the better built QB. Mariota could thicken up as he matures, though. Stats: Mariota: Year TD INT YDS RAT QBR 2012 32 6 2,677 163.2 86.2 2013 31 4 3,665 167.7 88.0 2014 42 4 4,454 181.7 90.8 Winston: Year TD INT YDS RAT QBR 2013 40 10 4,057 184.8 89.4 2014 25 18 3,907 145.5 74.5 Everyone forgets about just how good Winston was in 2013. He was one of, if not the most dominant freshman college football has ever seen. Sure, he might have stunk it up this year, but I believe a lot of that had to do with the huge loss of talent at Florida State. Mariota's stats, on the other hand, are inflated because of the fast-paced system at Oregon and should not be trusted. His stats will not look nearly as good in the NFL. Playing Style One of the biggest trends in the NFL right now is the running QB. That is going to die. Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III, Russel Wilson and Johnny Manziel are all examples of a phase in the NFL that sees QB's accumulate +700 yards and +8 rushing TD's per season. Unfortunately, these QB's risk getting hammered every time they run in the open field. This is Mariota's style, and it will be the factor that dooms his career. Winston, on the other hand, is a pocket QB with the ability to scramble when a play breaks down. Bingo. It's how QB should be played. It has been proven time and time again. His style of play will add at least 5 years to his Hall of Fame... I mean future NFL career. Personality This is the point I've been wanting to get to. You can make fun of Winston's crab legs and off-field issues all you want, but he has the drive to be successful. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get his team the W. If I could create the perfect QB, I would want him to have a very fiery charisma that can take over in a "pressure" situation and become "Mr. Clutch". He showed us this in the 2013 BCS National Title game against Auburn. And as for Mariota... The jury is still out on him. Yes, he did beat Winston head-to-head. But he could have performed better in the 2014 CFP Championship. Plus, he had some very poor games against Stanford and UCLA earlier in his career. Conclusion Both of these fine QB's are very talented. But in the end, Winston is the better prospect when you compare size, statistics, playing style and personality. I am willing to guess that (barring injury and off-field issues) Winston also has the better NFL career. It will be very exciting to see both QB's progress throughout their careers, and I wish them both the very best of luck. Hopefully they will be affluent in their arise with the rest of the young QB's in the NFL.
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Buccaneers- Nate- Jameis Winston (QB) Mason- Marcus Mariota (QB) No way I see the Buccaneers going any other way than Mariota he is the most pro ready quarterback out there. Titans- Nate- Leonard Williams (DE) Mason- Leonard Williams (DE) The Titans won't be looking for a quarterback this year I expect them to take best available. Jaguars- Nate- Shane Ray (DE) Mason- Randy Gregory (DE) The Jaguars are in large need of a DE they should take one here. Raiders- Nate- Amari Cooper (WR) Mason- Amari Cooper (WR) The Raiders are starting James Jones and Andre Holmes at the wideout spot, need I say more. Redskins- Nate- Landon Collins (WR) Mason- Brandon Scherff (RT) The Redskins could really use some help to shore up that horrid offensive line of theirs, Brandon Scherff should fall to them here Jets- Nate- Marcus Mariota (QB) Mason- Vic Beasley (OLB) I expect the the Jets to take best available at this spot. Bears- Nate- Shaq Thompson (OLB) Mason- Jameis Winston (QB) I expect Jameis Winston to fall during the draft falling all the way to the Bears who need to make a decision on Jay Cutler this year. Falcons- Nate- Vic Beasley (OLB) Mason- Shane Ray (DE) Falcons should just take best available here. Giants- Nate- Brandon Scherff (RT) Mason- Landon Collins (SS) The Giants have a fairly decent starter at the SS position right now in Antrel Rolle, but he is getting up there in age The Giants would be a fool not to take Landon Collins here. Rams- Nate- Devante Parker (WR) Mason- Devante Parker (WR) Rams are one of many teams in desperate need of a receiver they should take one here. Here at RationalFanz we like to rank our own college basketball teams in a pretty systematic way. We poll all writers in our staff (Excluding Nate for this week) about their Top 25. We then compile those for the week and give 25 points top each first place team 24 to second and so on and so forth, so without further ado your RationalFanz college basketball top 25 for the week. #1: Kentucky (100)- Kentucky is the obvious number one and will be until they lose. #2: Virginia (96)- The only way Virginia goes up to number one is if Kentucky loses. #3 Gonzaga (90)- Mark Few always has his team in the national title/ number one team hunt this year is no different. #4 Duke (88)- This one was a bit suprising to me considering their back to back losses, but their win over Louisville solidified them as the number four team in some of our voters eyes. #5 Villanova (83)- Ryan Arcidiacono is playing at a high level for this Wildcats team helping them to stay in the top five. #6 Wisconsin (79)- That loss to Rutgers last Saturday really hurt this team in the rankings but with a nice win over a solid Nebraska team they stay pretty high up in the rankings #7 Louisville (76)- Louisville drops only one spot this week after dropping a tough home game to the Duke Blue Devils #8 Arizona (71)- Arizona has continuously played well this season picking up a big win Saturday night over top ten team Utah. #9 Iowa St (68)- Hilton Coliseum is one of the toughest arenas to play at year in and year out and Kansas found that out this weekend. #10 Kansas (62) Kansas lost to a tough Iowa St. team at Hilton Coliseum no shame in that, that's why they only drop one spot. T#11 Utah (61) T#11 Notre Dame (61) #13 Maryland (51) #14 Wichita State (49) #15 North Carolina (44) #16 Oklahoma (34) #17 Texas (33) #18 West Virginia (22) #19 Baylor (20) #20 Northern Iowa (19) #21 VCU (18) #22 Arkansas (16) #23 Seton Hall (9) T#24 Iowa (7) T#24 Oklahoma State (7) 20 losses. 20 losses to a team that many thought would break the Jordan Bulls' regular season record of 72-10. What happened? Growing pains is an answer most people like to say but when the infamous Heatles first came together they were figuring things out by this point in the season. The Cavs have made two trades over the past couple weeks, obtaining J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Timofey Mosgov while losing Dion Waiters, Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk, and a couple draft picks. These are perhaps the most desperate moves that have been made this season. I don't know if anyone has noticed but the Knicks are doing horrendous this year. J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were certainly not the the whole problem, but they were definitely a part of it. J.R. Smith is known to be one of the more selfish players players in the leagues and Iman Shumpert isn't much better. They will not solve any of the Cavs' problems but most likely create even more. Secondly, the trade for Timofey Mosgov made more sense, considering that they needed a center ever since Anderson Varejao went down for the season. However, Mosgov gets dunked on left and right. Too many times he is on the wrong end of a poster that would be hanging up in a 12 year old's room. As seen here as Blake Griffin destroys his soul. Although Mosgov can be a decent center at times he is no Anderson Varejeo.
The point being made about these trades is that it's halfway through the season. You haven't figured out how to play together as a team before these trades were made. Why would adding more new faces fix that? Have no fear though Cleveland fans. You still have the best player in the world in Lebron James, an all star power forward who can score from anywhere on the court, and a young point guard who won a gold medal this past summer on the USA team. One day it will all come together. However as of right now, things will most likely get worse. It's week one the Seattle Seahawks are walking off the field victorious over the Green Bay Packers after running all over them 36-16. Aaron Rodgers finished with 189 a touchdown and a pick. While his counterpart Russell Wilson finished with 191 and two TD's both very similar statlines but it's the run game where Seattle really took over.Eddie Lacy finished with 37 yards and no touchdowns but Marshawn Lynch had 110 with two touchdowns. Fast forward to the NFC Championship game this week it may be a reversal of the script for the Green Bay Packers who are riding Aaron Rodgers and his strained right calf along with Eddie Lacy and his recent dominance stretch to the NFC Championship game to face the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are bound to put pressure on Aaron Rodgers flushing him out of the pocket, they should be able to force him to make quick decisions on the run where he is typically good but may not be as good as usual with the leg injury. Matchups to watch: Seahawks running game vs the Green Bay defense. Packers last two playoff defeats have come at the hands of a team with a mobile quarterback and solid running game. Enter the Seattle Seahawks. Russell Wilson averages about 50 rush yards per game along with 7.7 yards per read option play. While the Packers allow 6.2 yards per read option play. Expect the Seahawks to try and run the ball down the throats of these Packers. Eddie Lacy vs. the Seahawks front seven. The Seattle defense has played exceptionally well as of late beating the Carolina Panthers last week 31-17. They allow 3.4 yards per rush this season second best in the NFL. But when the only four times the Seahawks have lost they've been defeated by a team that continuously likes to run the ball. Their only four losses have been when the opponent rushes more than 27 times. Expect Eddie Lacy to play a large role if the Packers expect to win. Game Predicitons Mason: Packer 28 Seahawks24 Taj: Seahawks 28 Packers 24 Evan: Seahawks 21 Packers 17 Nathan: Seahawks 24 Packers 17 Andrew Luck is spectacular. In his young career he has set records for passing yards in a quarterback's first three years, records for touchdowns, yards in first five career playoff starts you name it. There's only one problem with the Colts' AFC Championship matchup: it's against the Patriots. Of all the teams Andrew Luck has played more than once, the only team he hasn't beaten in the New England Patriots. Not only has he never beat them, he's never even come close to beating them. Last year's Divisional Playoff game that featured the Colts and the Patriots ended in a 43-22 trouncing with Andrew Luck throwing four interceptions. There's no reason to think this year's matchup will be any different, right? I mean, the Colts turned the ball over a staggering 31 times this year, didn't they? That may be true, but this isn't the same Colts team as last year. Andrew Luck took a huge step forward by throwing 40 TD's on the season. Also, the Colts have been able to muster some semblance of a running game in recent weeks, having run for a touchdown against the Bengals and Broncos. Vontae Davis is a probowl cornerback and Arthur Jones, the Colt's biggest defensive tackle that didn't play against the Patriots earlier in the year when Jonas Gray ran for 201 yards and four touchdowns, will reinforce a Colt's run defense that has improved over the last few weeks. In the End, it will be Andrew Luck who will have to step up his game and beat the Patriots. If the neck beard can avoid turnovers, the Colts will have a legitimate shot at advancing to Super Bowl 49. Game Predictions Evan: Colts 31 Patriots 28 Taj: Patriots 35 Colts 31 Mason: Patriots 38 Colts 27 Nathan: Patriots 31 Colts 28 |
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