Dick Vitale Pleads For Marcus Mariota
December 16th, 2014
Dickie V is campaigning for the Bucs to draft QB Marcus Mariota. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
Dick Vitale is one of the Tampa Bay area’s jewels. The guy does so, so much charity work and is a rabid supporter of local sports teams, a long-time season ticket holder for both the Bucs and the Rays.
(From high above the Fruitdome, you can see the lights shine off Vitale’s bald dome. His seat is right next to the visitor’s dugout on the home plate side. Front row, bay-BEE!)
Vitale, a basketball Hall of Famer, is a social media-aholic. He is always posting photos on Instagram — often of his meals and his chance encounters with fans, including Bar Refaeli, and offering his thoughts on Twitter.
Despite being a Bucs season ticket holder, Vitale was in a good mood Sunday night. Not so much because the Bucs lost, but because the Jets won. You see, the Jets win helps the Bucs in their quest for the No. 1 overall pick.
And Vitale, a proud resident of Sarasota, has made no bones about it. He wants the diaper dandy from Oregon as the next Bucs quarterback, Marcus Mariota.
Thnks Jets 4 helping my Bucs – MARIOTA BABY is just what football Gods rec 4 BUCS BABY ! http://t.co/1T3phs7gcY
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) December 16, 2014
Now remember, last year Vitale wept when the Bucs passed on Johnny Football. Joe finds it a bit strange Vitale wouldn’t want an in-state guy, Jameis Winston.
Then again, Vitale is a big-time booster of Notre Dame. His daughters played tennis there. So being a Domer, Joe can sort of understand why Winston gives Vitale the chills.
December 16th, 2014 at 11:04 am
Vitale’s chills about Winston probably have nothing to do with schools and everything to do with character.
December 16th, 2014 at 11:06 am
FSU and Oregon are going to face off on January 3. My prediction: One QB will shine and one is going to lay an egg. After that game, there will be no debate over who will be the first QB taken. I don’t have a prediction on who it will be, but we’re going to see who can perform when the lights are on and who can’t.
December 16th, 2014 at 11:12 am
You can’t afford to screw up #1 pick. Talent and ability are only one part of the franchise qb formula for success. You also have to be mature a leader a hard worker. On that count, I think Winston is to big a risk. I’d be looking at mariotta or trading down. Get a #1 next year anda 2nd and a third this year. Maybe only drop like 4-5 spots..
December 16th, 2014 at 11:15 am
What a minute, Mariota doesn’t do to Duke….
December 16th, 2014 at 11:18 am
winston has played and brought his team back, (including National Champ game) with the “lights on”
This Oregon game has meaning, but dude hasnt lost a game in 3 years
December 16th, 2014 at 11:20 am
The one thing that separates Manning, Brees, Brady, Rodgers, Wilson, Luck.. from the pack is work ethic and decision making. None of the guys are superior athletes but they make up for it with the film room work. Film room work is a decision, one that is based on arranged priorities. You must consciously choose to not go clubbing, chase skirt, pollute your body, etc. Both Mariota and Winston have proven themselves to be superior on the field. Only one has demonstrated the decision-making skills that would lead me to believe that the film-room would take precedence over all.
Vitale is spot on.
December 16th, 2014 at 11:26 am
I don’t think the FSU Oregon game should mean much as far as which QB is the one to pick. It’s a small piece, but that’s it. I say that as a Mariota guy, and I truly believe he is going to light the Seminoles up. However, it’s just one game. People have bad games and people have great games. It doesn’t mean they are terrible, just like it doesn’t mean they are great.
December 16th, 2014 at 11:26 am
Great post Nick!
December 16th, 2014 at 11:29 am
Thanks, HawaiianBuc!
December 16th, 2014 at 11:31 am
“FSU and Oregon are going to face off on January 3. My prediction: One QB will shine and one is going to lay an egg. After that game, there will be no debate over who will be the first QB taken.”
That game should be almost irrelevant when evaluating those two guys. It’s one game. The Bucs should be looking at their entire body of work before making a decision.
December 16th, 2014 at 11:59 am
Nick Says:
December 16th, 2014 at 11:20 am
The one thing that separates Manning, Brees, Brady, Rodgers, Wilson, Luck.. from the pack is work ethic and decision making. None of the guys are superior athletes but they make up for it with the film room work. Film room work is a decision, one that is based on arranged priorities. You must consciously choose to not go clubbing, chase skirt, pollute your body, etc. Both Mariota and Winston have proven themselves to be superior on the field. Only one has demonstrated the decision-making skills that would lead me to believe that the film-room would take precedence over all.
Vitale is spot on.
————-
I’m sure even the best QBs have had their moments of total stupidity. Peyton Manning once put his bare genitals and butt on a female trainer while at UT. http://elitedaily.com/sports/peyton-manning-raised-much-hell-college-jameis-winston/805327/ You can’t judge a person at what they do at 20 years of age…they do tend to grow up quite a bit.
December 16th, 2014 at 12:08 pm
Spot on Nick! There’s so much more that goes into an NFL QB then talent and what they did in college. Think if you ran a business and needed a Sales Manager, both have excellent resumes however one had some questionable accusations or misdemeanors. I’m going to go with the one that didn’t, if any if you had your money and future on the line I would hope you would do the same.
December 16th, 2014 at 12:25 pm
I totally agree…boys will be boys…what is wrong with an animal that assaults a female student while his room mates are filming it?? Of course she pleaded for him to do this while they watched….just ask them for the video so we can all relax about Winston because the video proves his innocence!! Oh wait…they destroyed the 1 piece of factual evidence that proves Jameis is not an animal?? Hmmm…sounds like a smart decision maker to me!
Of course….if his offensive linemen do a great job blocking for him and he cannot afford to buy them dinner like Tom Brady does, he can always go to Publix and steal their dinner!!
Because, he is Jameis Winston and the laws of Florida do not apply to him!
Me thinks Mr. Vitale has a point!
December 16th, 2014 at 12:28 pm
Brandon, I’ve been bringing that point up for weeks. Had twitter been around during that draft, Manning would have been the one with “questionable character” and Leaf would’ve been seen as the safer pick.
People who are saying that Jameis is dumb, has no IQ, and doesn’t spend any time in the film room clearly have no idea what they’re talking about.
Anyone who actually knows Jameis knows that he’s the hardest worker on the team, bright in the classroom and on the football field, and has conducted himself well. He’s going to shine during the interview process.
Here’s just one Jameis story that hasn’t gotten the same run as false allegations from autograph hounds and cleat chasers
http://thebiglead.com/2014/09/22/sean-maguire-parents-jameis-winston-use-the-phrase-class-act/
December 16th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
@Greg Schiano
Yea, a cleat chaser would never make up allegations like this
Sincerely, Brandon Banks
December 16th, 2014 at 12:44 pm
@creamsicle
Isn’t that seem a little odd that just a little while the prosecutor decided not to prosecute him escaping with jail time and ruining his life he still went out and stole something? That’s crazy to me. Sick of hearing oh he’s young, he’s on the National Stage excepting the Heisman you aren’t just a kid anymore. Everyone in the country knows who you are and you should represent your school and your family much better. What ever happened to his deposition the week of the FL game? Decision after all the games I’m sure?
December 16th, 2014 at 12:46 pm
I love Dickie V…but he also lobbied for Willie Taggart and the jury is sure out on him
December 16th, 2014 at 12:54 pm
dickie v. oh no! 87. mariota over Winnie Winston!
December 16th, 2014 at 12:55 pm
@PatrickBucs
First off, it wasn’t a “deposition” after the Florida game, it was a disciplinary hearing held by FSU. I would recommend looking up Jameis’ statement he made at that hearing detailing what happened that night. It gets a little graphic so I won’t post a link here but I think there’s little doubt at this point that what happened that night was consensual and Jameis just took home the wrong girl (a self declared “cleat chaser).
As far as the crab legs go — if you think walking out of Publix w $20 of merch is a reason to pass on him, then that’s your prerogative. I don’t agree. I know I walked out of bars with pint glasses and out of restaurants with steak knives when I was in college. Of course that was wrong, but I just don’t see it as a reason to label a kid as a thug or a character concern
Seriously, read any interview about Jameis with someone who has spent time with the kid and you’ll only come away with glowing reviews.
December 16th, 2014 at 1:27 pm
She’s a gold digging whore that’s about it as far as the story goes. She wasn’t drugged or drunk. She played him and now she can’t wait to cash in. Pathetic trash is what she is
December 16th, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Also, for those of you saying that the Jan 1 game should be next to irrelevant towards draft status:
What better simulation for how a kid is going to handle the pressure could there possibly be? How are they going to react when it’s 4th & 4 with the playoffs on the line and down by 4? How are they going to react knowing they are going head to head with their competition to be the first QB off the board?
I’m not saying throw out everything they’ve both done….I’m saying that we’re going to see if one, both or either is capable of performing under the brightest stage in the college game. It’s going to be a blast to watch
December 16th, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Amazingly no other QB is in the same position. I guess trouble just finds him.
December 16th, 2014 at 1:45 pm
We need Jameis Winston. Mariota is another RGIII. What running quarterback last in the league very long?
December 16th, 2014 at 2:28 pm
BananaHammock needs to lay off Winston’s banana. Anyone who read the Jameis statement know that Jameis didn’t write that, he probably didn’t even proof read it. If Jameis is going to refuse to give his account in person to people that could hold him accountable then do that completely. Don’t refuse to testify then have your lawyers release a statement to the media that you sure as dookie didn’t write. Honestly, the conversation probably went like this:
Lawyer: So what happened that night Jameis?
Jameis: She was showin me dem boobies!
Lawyer: Okay, so “she had the capacity to consent to having sex with me and she repeatedly did so by her conduct and her verbal expressions. I never used physical violence, threats, or other coercive means towards her”
The problem is that Jameis hasn’t HAD to tell his side without his lawyers approval. Also, it’s not just about the rape…or the BB gun….or the coke…or the crab legs…or the shouting, it’s about all of those things combined.
I’m a Gator fan and I hate FSU, that being said, I love Derrick Brooks. If Winston didn’t have all of these off the field issues I’d be fine with the Bucs taking either Winston or Mariota but that’s not the case.
FSU fans like to drag in the cleat chaser story and the Banks story like they mean something. So what she’s a cleat chaser, it’s just a term used to describe jocks, so basically she like jocks. If liking a cheerleader was called being a cheer chaser then watch out, we know those cheer chasers are only out to get those pompoms. It’s not like the cleat chasers were a group of girls trying to find freshman QBs who hadn’t played a down to accuse of rape in hopes that one day they would be great players whom they could try to sue.
Banks is just one situation and completely separate from this one. Being a Gator, that’s like saying Hernandez is innocent because OJ didn’t merk anyone (in the words of Jimbo: no change, no crime, no victim). In the Winston situation she had NO idea who did it…until she saw him in class. FSU fans gawked at that because of her description that she gave police….until the DNA came back a match. The list goes on and on.
Then on top of it Winston’s really regressed this year, sure he lost a lot of talent around him but he’s probably lost more than Mariota had to begin with. He’s been a turnover machine in the first half. All of these factor lead me down the Mariota path.
The moral of this rant…Suck for the Duck
December 16th, 2014 at 3:17 pm
@itsdookie
Well said.
Phil Says:
December 16th, 2014 at 1:45 pm
We need Jameis Winston. Mariota is another RGIII. What running quarterback last in the league very long?
Proves to me you don’t watch him play. He’s averages 8 runs a game in his career. Did you see the cannons he threw after escaping the pocket on his 3rd and 4th reads? Obviously you didn’t so good analysis though.
December 16th, 2014 at 3:56 pm
It seems to me that fan desire for Winston or Mariota is about 50/50. So 50 percent will be rejoicing if we take one or the other. Lovie’s methods are to make 100 percent of Bucs fans angry based on what I have observed. That being said, he will probably go OL and defense first and second and grab some someone like Dak Prescott in the 3rd. Yeah, that will excite everyone. I have decided to just wait and see. It is fun to speculate but how often does it work out the way most people predict?
December 16th, 2014 at 5:32 pm
I would have taken Hoyer this year over what we had at QB, in fact, he may still find his way into a Bucs uniform and we could pick up a rookie QB in the later rounds, concentrating on Oline instead in the early rounds.
December 16th, 2014 at 5:49 pm
Running QB? Hahahahhaa
December 16th, 2014 at 7:30 pm
It would better to have a pretty god Mariotta here than a great Winston. Character is a high value for a QB, especially here in Tampa, the land of nightclubs. Deciding to shut the night down early and get some rest is something I don’t Jamieus is capable of. I believe that Mariotta can stand up and say no when he should, that’s the guy I want back there because even the best Quarterbacks cannot throw TD’s from Orient Rd. Jail.
December 16th, 2014 at 8:47 pm
“What running quarterback last in the league very long?”
You guys obviously do not and have not watched Mariota play! I get that it’s difficult because of the time zones. But he has a great arm as well as legs.
They both could become great players. Jameis more of an accurate Cam Newton type and Mariota as a cross between Kaepernik and Rodgers.
But to answer your question. Uh Michael Vick? Jim Harbaugh? Donavan McNabb? John Elway? Steve Young? Fran Tarkenton? Randall Cunningham?
December 16th, 2014 at 9:58 pm
You gotta love Dickie V as he is one of the few national media icons who do not pile on the Tampa Bay sports scene whenever given a chance. When LeRoy Selmon passed away I think Vitale, Berman, and Skip Bayless (Boomer Sooner himself) were the only 3 who took time in their monologues to mention Selmon and what great things he did for Sooner and Buc football, USF athletics and the Tampa community in general. I know the Bucs really need help in the trenches but the call for a franchise qb gets louder with each McNown interception, fumble and Buc loss; guys like Vtale help bring that fervor into the national spotlight and will make it more difficult t trade that #1 overall down for more picks…. Welcome to the Mariota mob Mister Vitale!