Lovie Says Mariota Has Made All The Throws
February 18th, 2015
There’s the chat Lovie had today in front of NFL Network cameras and media this morning. And then there was the chat Lovie had with Joe and other media away from the spotlight.
It was there that Lovie planted a Marcus Mariota flag that many thought couldn’t be done yet.
Lovie was asked about whether he needed to see Mariota throw into “tight windows” and other NFL-style completions not seen regularly in the University of Oregon offense. The Bucs head coach said he’s already seen plenty.
“I think there is enough throws for you to like what [Mariota] has done. I’ve seen him complete every throw that he’ll have to make in the NFL,” Lovie said. “And I know part of the game and system he runs there are a lot of flare routes and different screens, and people tend focus on that, but I think you can find him completing and throwing into tight windows throughout.”
On Mariota, Lovie added, “what I see is a big strong athlete that’s great off the field and on, that’s won a lot of football games, protected the ball, given his team an opportunity to win quite a few games.”
For those keeping score, this morning Lovie said he is comfortable with Jameis Winston being the face of his franchise, he has seen it all from Mariota, and Glennon can be a franchise quarterback.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:17 pm
Clearly L&L&GBoyz….favor Mariota !
February 18th, 2015 at 1:19 pm
Exactly what he should be saying right now.
It would be stupidity to tip our hand at this point.
Let a few offers get thrown our way
February 18th, 2015 at 1:20 pm
I’ll be happy with Mariota. Rather get Winston though. As long as we dont trade out of the top 5, I’m good.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:21 pm
LOL at the Glennon line to basically dispel any reading between the lines.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:21 pm
With Lichts background with the Pats….don’t be surprised when the Bucs trade down….
February 18th, 2015 at 1:24 pm
Translation:
February 18th, 2015 at 1:24 pm
Capt Tim… why is it stupid to tip out hand? We have first pick and we aren’t trading it.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:25 pm
Ah yes, let the games begin.
Lovie has zero incentive at this point to let anyone … including Joe … know who he favors to lead the Bucs in the future.
I see no reason to doubt that he likes Winston, Mariota and Glennon … and that’s really all he’s said.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:27 pm
This is a business and they are not going to say what they are going to do until they have seen all the offers including the last minute ones because they hold the first pick and they can have their player picked and see if the offers make sense. They have 10 minutes to pick first after it starts.
I hope they pick Mariota but I will have to be happy with whatever they do. Joe will keep them straight.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:27 pm
OK SO LOVIE HASNT REALLY SAID ANYTHING
February 18th, 2015 at 1:33 pm
No thanks winton please
February 18th, 2015 at 1:35 pm
I honestly think the Bucs would be more than happy take Winston or Mariota. Dream scenario for me is to trade down to get the 2nd overall pick and adding a 2nd or 3rd rounder this year. That way we’re still guaranteed one of the 2 QBs.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:38 pm
Can you picture Joe shuddering as he wrote this post?
February 18th, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Lovie & Licht are saying exactly what they should be saying at this point in the process….they have a process that they use that they beleve in and they are not going to make any comments that tip their hand.
Anyone reading anything into what they are saying (including Joe) are simply looking at it with their own bias.
If they do this right…..when they make their choice…..most of the fanbase will be happy with the decision because it will have been based on considerable discernment.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:41 pm
Listening to Lovie, Licht and a few of the other NFL coaches today, I think that somebody should call Smokey The Bear
February 18th, 2015 at 1:44 pm
Its Mariota, no question. I think the whole “face of the franchise” Jameis thing is them just muddying the water in the pond.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:45 pm
Finally, Love speaks the truth.
Now let’s hope they draft Mariota.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:46 pm
Listening to what Lovie said at the press conference, on ESPN and on the radio, and what Licht said earlier also, what they said, how they said it and who they said what about, it sounds to me like they have not totally ruled out trading out of the #1 position. I would not be for that, however I’m just going by what I’m hearing. Hmmm
February 18th, 2015 at 1:47 pm
The fact Lovie can spend Sunday Mornings in Bible study with Mariota as opposed to spending Sundays at the Mons with Jameis will likely be the deciding factor. Jameis has to blow Lovie away in the interviews because you know Lovie will be eating the good Christian boy Mariota up.
February 18th, 2015 at 1:51 pm
Joe was mumbling when he asked him to repeat that. Lovie told Joe he sounds like Shameis when he mumbles!
February 18th, 2015 at 1:51 pm
Lovie is an experienced head coach, even if the team last season looked like it was being coached by a fan in the stands. Expect the Bucs to not give anything away leading up to the draft. It’ll be a stream of positive comments for both QB prospects to balance off the Glennon as a franchise QB talk.
NFL Draft, get here quick please!
February 18th, 2015 at 1:54 pm
Marcus Mariota is by far the best pick for the Bucs at #1. He will start a culture of winning here, be a Hero in Tampa, and give the Bucs a face of the franchise that the fans can be proud of. He’ll be dynamic and exciting and will start to fill up Ray Jay again. Draft him and move forward with no worries, concerns or reservations
February 18th, 2015 at 2:01 pm
Totally typical coach speak before the draft.
They all like to keep their options open.
I imagine throughout draft history no team has stated their intentions this far before the draft.
So he says good things about everybody. He would gain nothing by saying who they are going to pick, if he even knows who they are going to pick.
Get as much evaluation in as possible before pulling the trigger, only makes sense.
February 18th, 2015 at 2:08 pm
@Lovie equal blackouts,
Any good businessman knows to keep their options open and see how much they can leverage. Always.
That is why they won’t, and shouldn’t, tip their hand yet.
They would not be doing their job if they didn’t see all the possible offers and who is truly interested in trying to trade up / draft one of the 2 QBs.
February 18th, 2015 at 2:12 pm
I understand all this dumb coach speak when you aren’t picking first, as in trying to throw off the teams drafting in front of you and sometimes behind you from jumping you. But, when you own the first pick in the draft there is no need for all of these silly shenanigans.
February 18th, 2015 at 2:16 pm
Clearly, now, Mariota is coming to Tampa. The only knock on Mariota is that he hasn’t made many NFL. Lovie just refuted that and now it’s basically a lock that we draft him. Haha, Winston Whackjobs. #MariotascomingtoTampa
February 18th, 2015 at 2:28 pm
Since this comment is positive towards Mariota I will now toss out all of my previous arguments that these sort of comments mean nothing. There is now no doubt that Mariota will be the #1 pick.
February 18th, 2015 at 2:30 pm
Joe says, “For those keeping score, this morning Lovie said he is comfortable with Jameis Winston being the face of his franchise, he has seen it all from Mariota, and Glennon can be a franchise quarterback.”
None of these concepts contradict either of the others. Another sad attempt to create controversy. Pathetic!
How are the ad sales going, Joe? Haven’t seen many new advertisers lately.
February 18th, 2015 at 2:31 pm
the bucs didn’t know they’d finish dead last or how these QBs would grade out at the end of the year, but they’ve known since at least October that they should be scouting the top third of the first round with a focus on potential franchise QBs. I suspect they made up their mind about which QB they prefer weeks ago. while everybody is asking them about the #1 pick over the next 2 months, they are probably more interested in vetting out the rest of their draft board
February 18th, 2015 at 2:34 pm
here is why it is stupid to tip the hand. say we favor winston think he is the better player, and we say so. then he gets in a car accident breaks both legs and dislocates his shoulder. are we boxed in? will we be giving the perception of dishonesty or that we are drafting the ‘lesser talent’ if we take marriotta? that is why.
February 18th, 2015 at 2:42 pm
get more ads joe takes forever to go from one article to next
February 18th, 2015 at 2:44 pm
I said this before, and I’ll say it again…anyone stupid enough to believe that the Bucs have made up their mind already (on any player) has not followed football very long! We are still 2 months + until the draft and anything can happen (and often does)! Misinformation runs rampant. And those at the top of the board often leak info (true and false) to try to manipulate others. The Bucs MIGHT favor Winston at this point….OR it might be Mariota, but there is still the combine, pro days and individual workouts to get through. Plus don’t forget we still have two months worth of ups and downs for these players to endure. There will be HEAVY scrutiny on each of these players in the next few weeks! There could be failed drug tests, arrests, injuries, accusations and negative public sentiment to contend with too. Every year there always seems to be those players who rise and fall…case in point: Joe’s beloved Johnny Rehab! Remember those last year who predicted him going inside the top 5-10 picks? (Including Joe) Well what happened? After much scrutiny, teams decided that his partying lifestyle and lack of commitment to his craft weren’t worth the risk, and he slipped considerably! Ask the Browns if they’d like to have that pick back again, and I guarantee you the answer would be “hell yeah!” My point is, whether you’re in the Winston camp, the Mariota camp, the trade down camp or any other….IT’S ALL JUST SPECULATION AT THIS POINT! Let the process shake out and we will find out in just over 60 days how the Bucs really feel. In the meantime, enjoy the fact that we get first dibs on anyone we want!
February 18th, 2015 at 3:02 pm
@ jeagan1999
I completely agree…..it is possible, however for them to be leaning toward one or the other…but they would never make that public.
At the very least…they want Buc fans to think they did all their proper due diligence before making the choice….and you can’t do due diligence until you do diligence.
February 18th, 2015 at 3:02 pm
@SuperSam
For you to say anything is “no question” at this point in the process, is pretty asinine. I don’t see how you can draw any conclusions about anything based off of anything Lovie said today.
February 18th, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Ha ha ha Erik’s buying me a Winston jersey.
#MariotascomingtoTampawhileridingthepineonanotherteam
February 18th, 2015 at 3:15 pm
@jeagan1999, one of the guys could also get abducted by aliens or terrorists. yes, all kinds of things can happen, but the next 8 weeks doesn’t change what these guys have put on tape for the last 2 years or the type of people they are at their core, and those aspects have been under scrutiny probably as far back as last offseason, but definitely since somewhere between the bucs being 1-4 and 1-7. they’ve had the luxury of honing in on a couple of guys and not scouting the entire field. they have likely been digging into the backgrounds of both players for months, Licht & the scouts ought to have been watching every game both guy played this year at least 5 times, and i guarantee you they have experts of some kind who have been tracking every beat of Winston’s legal issues. so, yes, if somebody suffers physical trauma or does something unspeakable, it will change their plan. but aside from seeing both kids in a film room, or seeing one or the other blow off the process like Geno Smith reportedly did, i am confident they had a Plan A and a Plan B pretty well settled on before the Superbowl ended.
February 18th, 2015 at 3:22 pm
@jeagan1999, i believe that especially when it comes to the first 2 rounds, alot of the movement up and down boards is just theater for the draft analysts to update mocks 12 times in 12 weeks and for NFL Network and ESPN guys to fill up air time. It was always acknowledged that many teams had manziel as low as the 3rd round but you get more eyeballs and website hits if he starts high, engenders a ton of debate, then drops to where more people saw him going from the start. certainly as a team’s focus shifts from pro players to college players all kinds of new information comes to the fore, but of the 200 or so guys that might be on any team’s draft board, i would bet the majority of them are around the same spot on the board in April as they were in January when the CFB season ended. Licht seems to be pretty adamant that leaping and running drills don’t change much for him, and it’s common to hear people bemoan the stupidity of combine numbers until there is dead air to fill between FA and Draft Day
February 18th, 2015 at 3:30 pm
Protects the ball well. Hmm sounds like a guy lovie like wouldnt but his team in bad spots with oh say 18 ints
February 18th, 2015 at 3:30 pm
87, I gotta admit that was a pretty funny hashtag. I still don’t understand why u guys want Winston, but I really don’t think it will ever happen, so whatevs.
February 18th, 2015 at 3:34 pm
btw…I saw people claiming Mariota was too afraid to throw at the combine (stupid people). He’s doing it. Where are they now?
February 18th, 2015 at 3:54 pm
I think it was stupid for people to say he was scared to throw at the combine. I think it is stupid to say any QB is scared to throw at the combine. No reason for any of them to. They can all throw at their pro days.
February 18th, 2015 at 4:06 pm
Hmmmm. Joe might have an ulcer after that. Looks like Lovie likes the upside of Mariota.
As much as Lovie hates INT’s, maybe he watched one reel to many of Winston tossing up INT’s last year.
February 18th, 2015 at 5:17 pm
I want JW……but Lovie is gonna go with MG and trade down for a bunch of picks. He’ll take care of both lines and get some secondary help. Ya know….
He’s starting to look like a genius. He spared MG from getting killed last season and guided the Bucs to the 1st pick in the draft. He’s gonna cash in and get some beef for the lines.
He said MG is the future.
February 18th, 2015 at 5:26 pm
Follow up……I would not be surprised if they trade with the Eagles. So, let’s look ahead. Mariotta and the spread offense won’t pan out in Philly ’cause the NFL will learn to stop it. And maybe JW does go off the rails at Mons Venus. Lovie comes out smelling like a rose with MG and a beefed up offensive line.
February 18th, 2015 at 5:46 pm
If Winston stock is so high why aren’t there more reports about teams trying to move up the draft to get Winston. There are way more reports about teams interested in moving up to pick up Mariota. Just saying. Since Winston is just slightly behind Luck based on the expert analysts.
February 18th, 2015 at 6:10 pm
MTM Says:
February 18th, 2015 at 5:46 pm
If Winston stock is so high why aren’t there more reports about teams trying to move up the draft to get Winston. There are way more reports about teams interested in moving up to pick up Mariota. Just saying. Since Winston is just slightly behind Luck based on the expert analysts.
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Because everybody with a brain already has Winston going to the Bucs at #1 overall.
February 18th, 2015 at 6:19 pm
Lol Lovie says nothing but positive things about all 3 potential QBs and the Mariota lovers like Erik are now saying its a lock and trashing the Winston fans. Get a freaking clue Erik. Nothing, and I mean nothing, they are saying right now can be taken as truth. On top of that apparently you didn’t notice that Mariota was not the only one being talked about in glowing terms. What a freaking joke some of you guys are. I would love to run into you guys at the poker tables at the Hard Rock sometime.
February 18th, 2015 at 6:39 pm
So, Joe, I have some great options at QB; don’t you think?
February 18th, 2015 at 7:58 pm
I agree that nothing can be believed at this point. Maybe a couple days before the draft they will reveal their intended pick, but some teams don’t.
That said, if Erik is predicting a certain pick, Bucfan4life, why should his opinion count any less than yours?
I’ve come to notice…the thugs want Winston. If you disagree with them, they are all over you, bad mouthing. Rarely do the people who want Mariota do that. It appears Winston is already contaminating the town.
But, my personal opinion is that Mariota is, and will remain, the better quarterback. Whether Lovie and Licht have enough sense to take him is still up in the air.
February 18th, 2015 at 8:02 pm
I wonder…when Lovie was hired, he wanted an Eagle’s like offense. If he were to say that now, it would make the pick very obvious.
So, does he still want that and isn’t voicing it? Certainly Dirk can do either.
Whatever else, this first pick has a lot of drama to it. There are going to be complainers either way, and heaven help the bucs if they don’t get a starting QB out of this draft.
February 18th, 2015 at 9:27 pm
For any fan that thinks this means we’ll draft Mariota – it doesn’t.
This is just Lovie ‘making nice’ about one of the potential draft pick who he’s come here to grade.
Prior to the pick, no one will ever know which way either of them are leaning.
For those who think we’ll tip our hand because having the first round pick means we CAN tip our hand? …surely you know Lovie Smith better than that!
EVERY pick has a price…while I think that price is going to be EXTREMELY high…if some team is willing to pay their price, L&L will entertain all serious conversations.
Until they interview these two kids…I really think it’s a wide open competition. BOTH of them have major concerns, both have incredible talent.
February 18th, 2015 at 11:07 pm
Brandon Says:
February 18th, 2015 at 6:10 pm
MTM Says:
February 18th, 2015 at 5:46 pm
If Winston stock is so high why aren’t there more reports about teams trying to move up the draft to get Winston. There are way more reports about teams interested in moving up to pick up Mariota. Just saying. Since Winston is just slightly behind Luck based on the expert analysts.
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Because everybody with a brain already has Winston going to the Bucs at #1 overall.
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Solid and succinct comeback Branton. Also very true.
February 18th, 2015 at 11:07 pm
Brandon
February 18th, 2015 at 11:30 pm
BuccaneerBonzai Says:
I’ve come to notice…the thugs want Winston. If you disagree with them, they are all over you, bad mouthing. Rarely do the people who want Mariota do that. It appears Winston is already contaminating the town.
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Thugs? We’ll steal your fricken lunch money and push you down. Boo Hoo.
February 19th, 2015 at 12:20 am
Bonzai, the entire offense would have to be overhauled. Neither Vjax, Evans or ASJ would fit in a spread offense as there is very little speed and that is a requirement in that system.
February 19th, 2015 at 7:51 am
@Bucfan4life…uh, you do realize that Mike Evans was Johnny Football’s number 1 receiver…in the ultimate spread offense (at the time) in all of football.
ASJ – also comes from a spread. I’m not as familiar with VJax, but with 2 out of the 3 Bucs WR’s you listed being NATURAL spread receivers, I’m sure it wouldn’t be that difficult for Vincent to figure out.
See the beauty of the spread is that the scheme kinda makes the WR’s look REALLY freakin’ fast…especially in the 3rd quarter…when the defense has been on the field too long, unable to substitute, chasing a fleet footed receiver.
…what would make it really special is to have a QB that ran it to perfection last season. The one Marcus Mariota played for….
February 19th, 2015 at 9:04 am
@ Brandon
Because everybody with a brain already has Winston going to the Bucs at #1 overall.
You probably right every GM with a brain doesn’t want anything to do with Winston. It would be career suicide.