Mariota Wins Battle of Rookie QBs

Did we mention that Mariota is really good? The blocking is mediocre at best, and so is the play-calling, and therefore so is the rushing attack.

Mariota did not stop here, the rookie has been a force to be reckoned with on debut. But in order for him to win over the Tampa Bay fans, he’s going to need to show that he can continue to get better from week to week, even if it’s just in small doses. During most of his college career Winston has been on the other end of scores like this, so how does he plan on dealing this game?

It was a particularly impressive win that showed progress from last season for the Titans. Morris played against the starters on opposing defenses while Jones played more against the second string, but almost four full yards per carry is a big difference in efficiency between the two running backs.

It didn’t turn out that way though, as Frye became yet another name on the list of Cleveland QB failures. After that happened he got the flag, ‘We were like, oh, man. We can’t, you know, come out and do what we wanted to do’.

An all-time great quarterback, Jim Kelly is still the face of the Buffalo Bills. The Titans quarterback set an National Football League record with four touchdown passes in the first half of his first game. When looking for the NFL Rookie of the week, it seemed pretty clear that the writers were going to easily look at the game between the top two picks in the draft before the week.

“Jameis didn’t play well”, said Lovie Smith.

Only playing for 10 seasons, Kelly’s numbers don’t match up against some of the longer tenured passers of all-time. Poise in the pocket was one of the most notable.

Wright needed to step up and help out his rookie quarterback (or so we thought) and step up he did. So the fans did the only thing they knew they could do, and that was to boo Winston, his 70 yards and two interceptions into the locker room. However, despite Winston’s shaky play on Sunday, the Buccaneer faithful shouldn’t get too nervous yet – comebacks are his specialty, after all.

In his Offensive Rookie of the Year winning campaign in 2011, Newton threw for over 4,000 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for over 700 yards and 14 touchdowns. But we bounced back. He also threw a fourth touchdown in the third quarter before he was pulled out of the game.

Of course, Marino went on to have an all-time great career over 17 seasons. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and defensive end Jacquies Smith each had sacks, but Mariota was consistently given enough time to make quick reads and find open receivers. Drafter #2 overall by the Washington Redskins in 2012, Griffin was supposed to be the savior of the franchise. Let’s also not forget the Titans, just like the Bucs, were starting a rookie quarterback.

The Buccaneers play the New Orleans Saints in their next outing.

Mr. flawless was the cucumber cool Mariota, who finished with a spotless 158.3 passer efficiency rating. This season, he was benched before the year began.