Advantage Mariota
September 13th, 2015
The headlines were accurate. Today very much was a battle between Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, America’s Quarterback.
And that in-game duel was every bit a first-round knockout.
Joe’s thinking Tyson-Spinks.
Mariota wrapped up three quarters of work — he was lifted for Zach Mettenberger — with impressive numbers. Mariota was a special 13-of-16 for 209 yards and four touchdown passes and no interceptions.
Jameis was dreadful. His two first-half interceptions were miserable, ill-advised throws. His final line was 16-for-33 for 210 yards, padded by some garbage time success.
No, Joe’s not about to say the Bucs drafted the wrong quarterback. It’s way too early for any kind of call like that. But Joe surely can’t argue with those freaking out about today’s no contest quarterback duel.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:39 pm
JBF just had worst off-season in its history.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:39 pm
Joe needs to eat humble crow since he published that Jameis was the better quarterback than Mariota. Today’s game proved that Mariota is for real. Real wake up call for all the fans who said Mariota cannot play in this league
September 13th, 2015 at 7:40 pm
I disagree completely. It was Jameis vs LeBeau and LeBeau won. It was Mariota vs Lovie/Frazier and Mariota won. That should say quite a bit about our coaching stuff. I don’t care THAT much for Winston, hell, I’m a ‘Bama fan for life, but there’s really NO NEED whatsoever to put this kind of pressure on a rookie QB who got stuck with a BAD coach. So saying that it was all about Mariota vs Winston today doesn’t help at all.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:40 pm
DISGUSTING. EMBARRASSING. PATHETIC.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:41 pm
Mariota has better coaching which always helps. They had the perfect game plan to dismantle the soft Lovie defense. Jameis appeared to have nothing that resembled a decent game plan.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:41 pm
joe does NOT know QBs!
admit you are wrong…Freeman, Manziel, Winston????
September 13th, 2015 at 7:41 pm
IF you missed today’s Bucs game it is going to be shown again on The Comedy Channel
September 13th, 2015 at 7:43 pm
You choose Winston to put people in the stands. It worked. You have them in the stands for one game. Next?
Jameis at this stage is too slow for an under center QB. He is like Tim T. Tebow however is faster and runs better. I would say he is 3 to 4 years from hitting stride to becoming a good starter. As far as a franchise savior, I don’t see it. On the organization, the team looked like an Octopus trying to F*** a bagpipe.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:43 pm
i’ve been a bucs fan since 1993… I was so pissed off when we didn’t take the Oregon QB first… I’m no fair weather fan, but it clear as night and day who got the better qb. doesn’t take a full season to figure that out after this butt whopping. I’ll be rooting for the Tits and the I’ll still follow the sorry yucs as my 2ndary team. Too early to fire Lovie? As bad as Jamis was, the D was even worse… Pathetic display on D. Ronde is right… You can’t bank on turnovers to keep you in games… Not again quality teams. Not that the Tits are quality… battle of too spit teams and the yucs this got the spit kick out of them. Siege the day? LOL…
September 13th, 2015 at 7:43 pm
It’s too early to say James is a bust, and it’s way too early to say Mariota is a gOD.
Only time will tell how their professional development will play out. If you’re trying to make any proclamations after one game, you are a fool. It’s one game. Only time will tell…
September 13th, 2015 at 7:44 pm
“No comment” – Lovie Smith
Ha! Jk but I can’t wait to see the PC!
September 13th, 2015 at 7:44 pm
Overheard in a Tampa sports bar right after the game:
“Ainnothin wrong with this team that a new coach and GM, one that can evaluate talent, cain’t fix.”
September 13th, 2015 at 7:46 pm
@DB55
The PC? What does that even mean?
@ Joe
Mike Jenkins looked better than you today
September 13th, 2015 at 7:46 pm
My take is that once again we allowed the dam to break in the first two possessions of the game. Not happy with Koetter on his passing scheme at all. As stated in the article, Mariota was tailored for success. Quick 3 step drops, max protection, screens/dumps. Winston instead was tasked to throw 15 yard outs and 5/7 drop routes. Our coaches were Pwned plain and simple. I liked Winston’s drive and determination when it was already over. He will certainly get alot better as the season progresses, but will our coaching? That is the question. Props to Mariota, kids is good to say the least.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:46 pm
Joe…maybe we can lay off the “America’s Quarterback” garbage for a while now. I’m not going to say “I told you so” after one game, but you can clearly see why those of us who were for drafting Mariota felt that way. He was athletic, poised, accurate and composed…and finished the day with a PERFECT QB RATING. Winston, on the other hand was a hot mess for much of the game. Winston will play better I’m sure, be its clear he (and this whole team) have a long way to go to get back to playing competitive football!
September 13th, 2015 at 7:46 pm
While its certainly way to early to label either qb, I’ve got to say that Mariota’s near non-existent windup vs. Jameis forever and a day windup were startling (seeing them back to back).
I seriously hope that we didn’t whiff, again, on a qb.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:47 pm
Doesn’t matter. Joe’s job is not to pick QBs for the Bucs (thank God, although he couldn’t do worse than Bucs personnel who ARE paid to do this). He fell for the Jameis hype, like many others did.
The sad fact is that the people in charge of this team have never been any good at picking QB talent, and even when they had it (Steve Young, Doug Williams) they threw those QBs away. Cleveland and Tampa can commiserate as the worst teams at drafting and developing QB talent (at least Cleveland had Kosar and Otto Graham). The TB streak continues.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:50 pm
JW had a bad game because he’s a rookie QB. Right?
September 13th, 2015 at 7:50 pm
MARIOTA WAS THE OBVIOUS PICK AND WE BLEW IT.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:51 pm
We have the most obvious defensive schemes in the league!!!! Anybody playing QB can move the ball against whatever defensive call that’s made by Lovie. Unless he adjust this will be how this season goes. Winston didn’t play horrible, he played like ROOKIE & Mariota played like a all-pro thanx to Lovie. I promise you Mariota wouldn’t have as good as game all season like he did today. If Winston was going against Lovie D today I can only imagine how great his stats would’ve looked. Mariota had 4 TDs passes & barely 120-150 yds at one point LOL comical. You have to laugh at this b/c if you don’t you would cry at how poor this scheme is!
September 13th, 2015 at 7:52 pm
Just back from RayJay. Jameis will be okay; he made some bad, rookie decisions. He’ll learn, and get better and better. Mariota was in command the entire game – in the pocket he was poised, confident and accurate; on the run he was equally accurate. He did not look like a rookie. He was better prepared.
Jameis suffered from poor blocking; if it does not get better it will shatter the young man’s confidence. He was throwing on the run most of the game – not his forte. The Bucs were simply not ready to play a rookie QB.
Coaching was awful. The Titans ran a play, a fake inside handoff followed by a quick throw over the middle. The first they ran it – touchdown. The next time they ran it – 13 year gain. The third time – another gain. There was no adjustment on our defense. Out coaching staff was asleep.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:54 pm
1st QB in NFL history with 4 TD poo asses in the 1st half if his 1st game…
Highest QB rating in the league after Week 1…
Most TQ passes in the league after Week 1….
Mariota is basically instantly one of the best (if not THE best) QB in the League.
SMH, Bucs front office. You suck.
September 13th, 2015 at 7:57 pm
Poo asses…. LOL. Typo
September 13th, 2015 at 7:58 pm
Oooh yeah,Winston will do better because,DUHHHH…..how can you look any f@#@$ing worst.He better do a lot better,DUHHHH>>>>FUC#ING IDIOTS!
September 13th, 2015 at 8:03 pm
Duh
September 13th, 2015 at 8:04 pm
If the Bucs would’ve drafted Mariota he would have looked awful as well. How did this team get better?
September 13th, 2015 at 8:08 pm
“and everyone laid the blame on Ruben Jame(i)s….”
— Kenny Rogers
September 13th, 2015 at 8:08 pm
Those of you claiming (after one game) that Mariota is great….go look at RG3’S first game…hell look at his first season. I’m disappointed to say the least. However, at this point with either QB… it’s way too soon to say that either was the right/wrong pick. Look at Andrew Luck’s first game.
Did you notice that Tampa’s D resembled the Titan’s prevent D.
September 13th, 2015 at 8:11 pm
We drafted the wrong guy simple end of story.
This is the 800th time I have said it on the site
September 13th, 2015 at 8:13 pm
You guys just have to stop with the kool aid and I’m the freaking optimist here.
Fameis is simply NOT as talented as MM. He has clumsy feet, those two ints were NOT on the OL or the coaches…one was a simple out..he had plenty of time..the other a swing pass..again not the OL’s fault…for somebody with a supposedly high football IQ I just do not understand.
#3 just doesn’t have the same skill set as MM. But that’s not the end of the world. He doesn’t need to be better than MM…he simply needs to be good enough to give us a chance to win. Until he checks his ego and gets his head out of his posterior that ain’t happening. Seriously I give him next week in N.O. and if he plays this poorly it’s time to look at MG8. Yes #3 has a greater upside but I want to win NOW!!! If MG8 is more NFL ready because of his experience, and actual brains, and if he LISTENS to Koetter…then play him.
Aaron Rodgers learned on the bench and so can Fameis if it comes to that. I do not want to sacrifice this season just to let him learn from all his mistakes. I want to win now!!
September 13th, 2015 at 8:13 pm
eptember 13th, 2015 at 6:44 pm
Hey. I will make sure and be in a few articles so joe can see. I don’t care if it’s one game. Jameis looks as slow as a damn cow. I know bucs needed qb but preferred Mariota over Jameis. The way joe bashed Mariota and praised Jameis every day since today was
Comical. Even the other day with the dick lebeau article joe made sure to call out the remaining Jameis haters. Again I hope things get better but think I have seen enough after one game. I knew Jameis would throw a pick or two a game but didn’t realize he would look this bad. A liability.
Joe u are a moron and I can send u a big dog terd if u promise to eat it. The bucs should ask u before the draft who u like and go the other direction. Aka Johnny football. So funny how joejameisfan.com has produced 18 articles a day about his man crush and attacked anyone who said something negative about Jameis. Joe will right that people will be upset with Jameis after one game. Again. I already know how this plays out. Look at previous post. I knew Mariota would be good
September 13th, 2015 at 8:29 pm
IM GLAD I KEPT MY MARIOTA BUCS JERSEY, WINSTONS IS IN THE TRASH CAN ALONG WITH MY HOPES FOR THIS SEASON.
September 13th, 2015 at 8:33 pm
@SeminoleBill … “Jameis suffered from poor blocking; if it does not get better it will shatter the young man’s confidence.”
I was at the game too Bill, but we apparently saw 2 different games. OLine blocking was not that bad at all … actually it was quite a bit better than what I expected. Winston was simply lost in that game. On far too many passing downs, he had no clue how to use the pocket. He was way too slow in his reads, and he was keying on 1-2 receivers instead of seeing the whole field. Plain and simple: Jameis was in no way, shape or form ready to play in that game. I don’t give a rats how confident he tells people that he is, that was an abysmal performance from the Bucs offense … but that’s because of Jameis, not the rest of the offense. Martin and Rainey looked decent, VJax and S Jenkins looked pretty good, and the OLine held its own. Put the blame where it belongs: on an ill-prepared rookie QB who isn’t ready for the big-time and also on the coaching that didn’t get him ready adequately during the preseason.
And speaking of coaching, Marcus Mariota looked so good because the Bucs defense looked so bad. Not just looked bad, they were bad … really bad Tackling was ridiculous; I’ve never seen a Bucs team tackle that poorly. WRs and TEs were literally running free all over the field, particularly on underneath routes. And I won’t even bring up our almost total lack of pressure on the QB. Oh wait, I just did.
This is going to be one long season …
September 13th, 2015 at 8:37 pm
Bucs backed the wrong thoroughbred
September 13th, 2015 at 8:41 pm
Mariota made the history books as well…not only was he one of only two rookie QBs to throw so many TDs in a single game, but he was the only one to do it in his first half of football.
September 13th, 2015 at 8:42 pm
All within me wanted to say “I told ya so!” since I was the biggest pusher to take Mariota…but I won’t.
Because I think Winston is much better than today’s performance. The whole team is.
September 13th, 2015 at 8:45 pm
I’m not about to give up on Jameis after just one game. However, it was quite obvious today that the Bucs drafted the wrong QB
September 13th, 2015 at 8:46 pm
I’m not about to give up on Jameis after just one game. However, it was quite obvious today that the Bucs drafted the wrong QB.
September 13th, 2015 at 8:50 pm
This game is an indictment not on Winston or Mariota but on how bad Lovie’s tenure has been in Tampa. He is an awful coach. His Defense doesnt work anymore and he has no clue when it comes to offense.
Jameis haters have probably had speeches written up for months now for the first time Winston had a bad game and nothing will stop them from spewing their stupdity over and over. Stop wasting your energy on their ignorance. But I will agree that Mariota had the better day to day, mostly do to much better coaching.
September 13th, 2015 at 8:54 pm
Again, card carrrying member of Jameis’ fan base here. I own his jersey.
He threw ugly balls today, ducks. I don’t get it.
September 13th, 2015 at 9:01 pm
Couch, are you freaking blind? Better everything. Not just better coaching.
September 13th, 2015 at 9:03 pm
Again folks RG3 won rookie of the year and great Derek Anderson also tore up this defense last year (twice). So you Mariotta loves just slow down. But of course one game does make a career.
September 13th, 2015 at 9:15 pm
You’re right Ndog. But you Couch and a few others called us stupid for even suggestion that Mariota was the better pick. You and I went at it before about all this. You basically promised Jameis was “pro ready” and Mariota was years away if he could even handle an NFL offense at all. Today one guy was a star and one was clumsy, slow, and made terrible decisions. This is not up for debate. We’re not stupid for thinking Mariota may have been the better pick. Not nearly as stupid as anyone who wants people to deny what their own eye’s saw today. Again, I will agree it was one game, but you, Couch, Joe, 87, and a few others, deserve all the humble pie you can eat today.
September 13th, 2015 at 9:19 pm
Never choose the slow quarterback with an average release with an offensive line like the Bucs have now.
Mariota was the correct pick to play behind this line. He has the kind of quick release that hides a bad line like the Bucs have now.
MM makes those around him better, Jameis is merely another in a long line of FSU quarterbacks who are more hype than talent.
September 13th, 2015 at 9:22 pm
Mariota was the obvious choice with the first pick in the draft. Winston has bust written all over him. When I listen to interviews of Jameis I hear no intelligence. When you have a superior athlete with his head on straight with obvious intelligence, how do you pick a buffoon like this instead. His red flags had red flags. Where is Buc1987 now?
September 13th, 2015 at 9:24 pm
Baugh, I hate thinking you might be right. Mariota’s release is almost Marino quick.
September 13th, 2015 at 9:24 pm
I never called anyone stupid, though you are sounding extremely stupid with your ignorant posts proclaiming Mariota to be some great QB after 1 good game against an Incompetent Lovie Smith defense.
I got nothing against Mariota I just dont think you risk the #1 overall pick on a guy with major questions marks on the field. I still think Winston is the better pick and no way am I silly enough to make any kind of judgement after 1 game, but continue to spew your ignorance Chris K.
September 13th, 2015 at 9:34 pm
Hmmmm you did more then once, and if you read your last comment you just did it again. So obviously I just proved you to be the liar and not me. If your eyes couldn’t see what everyone else saw today, then maybe just might be qualified to work in player evaluation for the Bucs. They might have openings soon enough.
September 13th, 2015 at 9:48 pm
This is exactly why I was so PO’d when the Bucs passed on Mariota. His talent was so obvious to me. His quick release, accuracy etc. He is a pocket passer who can also run, not vice versa. Don’t be in denial, just admit what is now obvious, our beloved Bucs once again drafted the wrong guy!!!!! Lovie and Jason Licht can pack up and go after this epic mistake that will set the franchise back for many years. And we will just watch Mariota and wish we could go back in time and draft over!
Dungy practically begged Lovie to draft Mariota! But they drafted Winston. Why? Because he was an ALPHA MALE, and Mariota was a quiet little mouse! How did that work out? Big tip: NEVER, and I mean NEVER let the players tell the Coach and GM who to draft!
September 13th, 2015 at 9:59 pm
Holy crap. But for real, it’s one game as far as Winston vs. Mariota. Brett Favre’s first pass was a pick 6. Luck and Peyton both threw 3 picks in their first game. We are a long way away from being able to judge who the better QB is. Mariota was great, but did he really do anything special? He threw nothing but slants, yet we made absolutely zero adjustments to eliminate them. We were so badly out coached it wasn’t even funny.
From my perspective, you could clearly see the game was moving to fast for Jameis. He’s a pocket passer, and pocket passers normally struggle with the speed of the game initially. He struggled to read the defense, and as we all figured his protection wasn’t great. He will get better (I think), but he is not the one to panic over. The rest of the team and coaching staff is a far different story.
September 13th, 2015 at 10:58 pm
What does this game prove?
?.. it proves that both the coaches and the majority of fans were wrong about one thing. Jamies Winston was not the most pro ready Quarterback on day one. Period. How it will go from here is anybody’s guess.
September 14th, 2015 at 1:17 am
Joe, your credibility just took a massive and fatal nosedive. Mariota was always the one. Your drum banging for Jameis over the off season has finally been proven to be a load of bollocks. Goodbye
September 14th, 2015 at 9:40 am
Hey Joe! Remember me!?!?
I’m the guy who wanted Brandon Flowers over Aqib smoke weed Talib.
The guy who screamed for Gruden to trade up for Megatron.
The guy who wanted Golden Tate not Regus Benn.
The guy who was stunned when the Bucs didn’t try to trade up for Robert Quinn.
The guy who thought Kuechly was a future Hall of Famer, an obvious pick that the Pop Star passed on for a run stopping safety.
The guy who had Teddy Bridgewater rated the #1 player in the draft.
And finally…………………..the guy who rated Mariota far ahead of Winston as the #1 player in the draft.
I warned you about Manziel/Bridgewater, I doubled up to try to convince you to give up the Winston obsession for the Mariota bandwagon. I was right again while Joe (and the Bucs of course) were WRONG…AGAIN!!!
This site has become unreadable (because of the America’s QB hype train BS) and I don’t bother giving Joe clicks anymore, but I had to come back just this once to say my piece.
My job isn’t tied into the Bucs so I’m fine with being patient until the Glazers figure out how to build a competitive football team. There’s plenty of other football games to watch in the mean time. Joe, on the other hand, is gonna have to live in the poop-ridden bed that he’s made for himself. Have fun with that!
P.S. the turd I just dumped in the toilet has a better track record of evaluating talent than Joe (and Gruden, and Dominik, and Licht) does.
I’ll be back in 2016 for draft season to share my insights and watch the vast majority of you fumble & bumble at projecting talent. Peace losers.
September 14th, 2015 at 10:43 am
That game was unbelievable, I expected Mariota to outplay Winston, but Winston is even worse than I expected and Mariota is even better than expected. Jameis clearly doesn’t have the goods to be a successful NFL QB. He can’t read defenses, he telegraphs passes, his arm strength is suspect, his deep throws are inaccurate, his baseball-like wind-up delivery is slow, and he is as immobile as the Statue of Liberty. Oh, and he’s a crummy person, too. Mariota was clearly the pick, and the Bucs blew it.
JBF should shoulder a lot of the blame for the Bucs blowing the draft pick, the Joes force fed the town the “Chase for Jameis” garbage and were all over the radio pimping him as the savior of the franchise.
Can we just get Josh Freeman back? At least it was entertaining to see him out partying in Hyde Park until dawn.