There seem to be some rumblings of a quarterback controversy in Nashville.
Marcus Mariota is entering the final year of his rookie contract but the Titans organization decided not to give him a new long-term deal this past off-season. And Ryan Tannehill, the former Miami Dolphins signal-caller acquired during the spring, was landed by Tennessee with the preconceived notion of being nothing more than Mariota’s backup.
Fast forward to training camp and through the first two preseason games, after which some people feel that Tannehill has looked better than Mariota. Although the norm around the league, Mariota has played minimal snaps whil Tannehill has played a lot more, with most of that playing time coming against the other teams’ second and third strings — you know, some guys who won’t survive cutdown day.
Let’s compare the two signal-callers.
Marcus Mariota
The former No. 2 overall pick out of Oregon in the 2015 draft was selected to start right away. And what a start he had. In his first game, Mariota threw for four touchdown passes, only two incompletions, and a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3. All of that, and he didn’t play most of the fourth quarter because the game was out of hand. And it all came on the road against the only player selected ahead of him in the draft: the Bucs’ No. 1 overall pick, Jameis Winston.
Since then, Mariota has shown flashes of brilliance, most notably in a recent Wild Card game when he put the team on his back and came back from a 21-point deficit against the Chiefs. That’s not to mention that whenever he plays against the division rivals from Jacksonville, it seems to bring his best.
Last year was disappointing because he was sidelined for a while with a nerve injury. He also lost his favorite target and security blanket, tight end Delanie Walker, during Week 1 against the Dolphins.
Ryan Tannehill
The eighth pick of the 2012 draft out of Texas A&M, Tannehill has also shown flashes of brilliance of his own in Miami. But his team never finished a season better than 8-8 with him at the helm. And unlike Mariota, he did get his big-money deal, inking a six-year, $96 million dollar extension in 2015, only to be traded half-way through that deal.
On paper, Tannehill was given enough talent during his time with the Dolphins. His receiving corps included Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, and Albert Wilson. Running backs through Tannehill’s tenure included Jay Ajayi, Kenyan Drake and future Hall of Famer Frank Gore. That should be enough talent for even a mediocre signal caller to have success.
Bottom Line
Titans fans just want to win, regardless of who is under center. And depending on who you ask, you’ll get a surprisingly close to an even split: some will say Mariota while others want Tannehill.
For now, it should be Mariota’s job to lose. He has shown enough when healthy to warrant that. With the return of a healthy Walker and a much-improved receiver depth chart — plus if Derrick Henry can run this year like he did the last handful of games last year — combined with Mariota not missing games, this team could get to the playoffs and Mariota could find himself deserving of that new long-term contract.
While the Titans have a better chance with Mariota under center, at the same time, if the team comes out the gate slow with a record like 0-3 or 1-4, will head coach, Mike Vrabel, continue to stick with him or make that switch. Tannehill was brought in as nothing more than an insurance policy; a better back-up quarterback than Blaine Gabbert, last season’s No. 2, for sure.
Mariota may be on a short leash, but he’ll be the No. 1, leaving Tannehill at No. 2. It’s a solid quarterback room, and we may just see great things in Nashville this season … and dare I say January football.
One Response
I definitley would’ve called you crazy then. But apparently you were on to something that the Mariota fans including myself were blind to.