needs to be shared with those that don't have the post count to see it:from Jay AuggsThe only thing I will say in response to SRs article is, to me, it comes across as fairly obvious that quite a bit more research is needed from him to understand the Oregon system, Mariota's role in it, and Mariota as a player. I won't go into detail, but, for reasons forced on me by family ties (I neither played at Oregon or went there - I played my college football in the Northeast), I probably know Oregon as well, or maybe even better than MC or other FSU die-hards know that team. And there are a ton of myths about the offense that are fairly common. A few quick ones:The offense is called a spread, but that's because it is the easiest way to describe it. My description would be multiple, in that, if there is an offensive concept, anywhere, it has been incorporated into it. That includes, a VERY close comparison to what the Koetter offense looked like in the down the field passing game. Yes, Oregon's design puts WRs in space, and Mariota has easy completions all the time, but a lot of that is because Marcus is one of the best players to ever come through college in the way he can manipulate safeties with his eyes, body position, and play action. Get copies of the coaches film of Oregon games, and you will see him absolutely making really good safeties look silly. The kid has studied how Manning does play action, and has done everything to incorporate that same type of process into what he does. Sometimes the WRs are open by design, but sometimes they are that wide open because Mariota has just completely made him look stupid. I don't think the latter can be fault (although admittedly will be much harder in the NFL).Another way to think about this offense however, if was just simply a spread, then I don't see how Chip Kelly is the sought after coach that he is. I mean, the Eagles just gave him full control of the team after a year in which they didnt make playoffs. Let that just sink in and then ask yourself why. Because across many NFL circles (and maybe those that run different to SR) he is known as one of the greatest offensive minds since Bill Walsh. A lot of what the QB is asked to do in that system is some of the hardest stuff for a QB to learn in the NFL, but Mariota does it flawlessy. MM will have his issues in the pros - namely short and intermediate accuracy issues has his HUGE problems - but where he is short in some areas he is well advanced in others. And those include areas in which folks who believe Oregon's offense is a simple spread completely discount.Additionally, Marcus Mariota is not a running QB. He is a passing QB. He can definitely take off and run with the best of them, but he looks to pass and buys time with his legs to pass. I would say him and Russell Wilson are very very similar in this aspect. An uncanny ability to make the correct decision to run vs. pass, versus a propensity to do either/or.In fact, I bet some didnt realize that Mariota led all of college football in passing yards per attempt. A lot of misconceptions still out there (while still a lot of fair arguments against him).I do still think Jameis will be the pick however I would prefer Mariota. Mariota will need a year or so to really get his groove and surpass Jameis, and I just don't think Lovie has that luxury. I do, however, think that the misconceptions of the Oregon offense, mainly due to the fact they play late at night on the East Coast most times, are hurting MM in some folks eyes. But that is what the draft evaluation process is for....Hopefully will have time to dive into this in more detail later on as well.
