LOL GA2012MOM, you seem to have dodged a lot of bullets with that one!
I think there was on glaring issue with Mariota, and it could be fatal in the draft. Spread quarterbacks have a hard time making it in the NFL in general, and one of the things that came up last night was that when Oregon had third and long situations, Mariota couldn’t convert. He does great in the Oregon system, but the failure to convert on third down raised a red flag to me. The defenses in the NFL are orders of magnitude better than the college defenses, and if you need a third and short, so you can use the tricks of the spread offense (play action, triple option, read option, quick pass) to get a first, you are going to have a very hard time in the NFL. I don’t think Mariota was horrible, but I think his weaknesses were on display. Me, be the betting sort I am, if I was GM, I would be waiting until the Jones kid comes out in the draft and see what I could do with him. He has the size of Cam Newton, with similar running abilities, but he has pocket presence and the ability to look for receivers that is well advanced, especially from a kid who has barely started. He has the kind of freak athleticism Gronkowski does on NE, and I think he has the makings of a hell of a QB, without apparently the baggage Jameis Winston has (all accounts of Jones is that he doesn’t have the attitude problem that Winston or Manziel have/had, and that he is both a dream to coach and also knows how to handle himself).
My guess is that Mariota will be drafted ahead of Winston because of his off field issues and his attitude, and that Tampa Bay will likely draft him first round they are that desperate for a QB. I right now don’t think Mariota will do that well in the NFL, but at the very least Tampa Bay would be smart not to start him. It would be interesting to see if Philly and Tampa bay do a deal so Chip Kelly could get Mariota, do something like trade Foles and their first round to move up to 1st to take Mariota.
I think Jones should come out now.
I was at the big game. And now, thank God, I’m home, lol! A few thoughts:
-Jerry’s world is amazing. The Jumbotron itself is a thing to marvel at. But there are not a lot of bad seats there-- so I was glad to discover I still did watch the ‘real’ game. That screen though-- wowza. The flow of the place isn’t great, though.
-They don’t let people in until two hours before the game. Since most of the fans were on charter trips, everyone got there early (via buses), and FROZE. I saw a lot of people without appropriate coats and clothes. People were icicles when they finally let us in. It was awful.
-The confetti was gold, and it was really neat to see. It hung in the air like mist.
-We were so outnumbered by OSU fans it wasn’t even funny, lol.
- They never showed the OSU cheerleaders on the jumbotron but showed the Oregon ones ALL THE TIME. Was it like that on TV? People started making comments (including OSU fans) that the Ohio cheerleaders must be homely. Yeah, that wasn’t nice. But it was quite noticeable.
-Duck fans were very confused when the O-H-I flags came out. We thought it was secret handshake thing.
-OSU band so much better than Duck band not even funny.
-Ezekiel Elliot is a freakin’ beast.
-Our town is sad because they wanted to win for Marcus Mariota, who is the nicest kid in the world.
But though we missed many of our best players, OSU was just a machine.
-Duck and OSU fans seemed to be very friendly to each other.
It was cool to go but very nervewracking, even days before the game. And so expensive and such an obvious moneymaking juggernaut-- but an interesting experience. Congrats Buckeyes!!