Jameis, Marcus: ready— or not Thursday, August 13, 2015 4:12pm 
Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota will forever be linked.Winston plays Saturday night when the Bucs visit Minnesota, while Mariota and the Titans head to Atlanta tonight. It's the first of four preseason games prepping the rookies for Sept. 13 when they square off for the first time as professionals in their teams' season openers at Raymond James Stadium.As long as they are playing, when you hear one name, you'll probably hear the other. So with Winston and Mariota having gone through 11 training camp practices, here's a look at their progress:Q. How are they mastering the passing game? Winston: The Bucs don't want discourage him from being aggressive, but they've pressured him with blitzes so he can learn from mistakes. He's thrown plenty of interceptions in practice, yet shown steady improvement with his completion percentage rising since the start of camp. "He's got a short memory," quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian said. "Every snap is an independent event. So he does a good job of putting the previous snap behind him and moving on." Mariota: The former Duck came to Tennessee first needing to show he could simply run a huddle and take the snap under center after not doing either at Oregon. Mariota has had no issues with either with only one botched snap in camp. So far, Mariota has thrown 186 pass attempts at camp without being intercepted. "It's getting the combinations that we're using with the receiver and just getting used to those in the reads against the defense," Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said.Q. How are they growing into their leadership roles? Winston: Winston's light switch always is on with his electric smile and engaging personality. But teammates and coaches say he has shown he knows when to tone it down and just be one of the guys. Winston's veteran teammates probably appreciate the rookie rejecting the notion that he is the face of the franchise just because he was the No. 1 overall pick. "I don't believe it's my team. It's our team," he said. "It's my role to play quarterback." Mariota: He seems to operate mostly on a dimmer switch, knowing when to turn it up. Teammates joke reporters might be lucky to get a two-word answer from Mariota inside the locker room. But veteran wide receiver Harry Douglas said Mariota leads by example. "Trust me, I haven't seen many like him in my life," Douglas said. Q. How are they taking command of the huddle? Winston: Winston has immersed himself in the playbook, picks the brains of veterans and exudes confidence players say is contagious. He carries all of that into the huddle. "I think the best surprise is when you are not really surprised. You have a perception of what someone should be like, and with Jameis that's what it's been," coach Lovie Smith said.Mariota: He speaks up loud and clear, and the rookie looks like he's run a huddle for years. "Out here, it's a different story and a different Marcus," Titans wide receiver Kendall Wright said. "That's just his home out there, and that's how he treats it."Q. What do defensive teammates say makes them special? Winston: "He's a gunslinger," cornerback Alterraun Verner said. "He's going to make rookie mistakes, but there's no sense of panicking if he throws a pick or has a bad read. ... I don't ever fell like he's rattled or shaken. I've seen him make bad play, bad play and then bomb, bomb."Mariota: "He's doing a great job making the right passes," cornerback Jason McCourty said. "I think with that as a rookie quarterback being able to manage the offense, get the guys in and out of the huddle and make the right decisions will go a long way."Bucs at Vikings8 p.m. Saturday: Ch. 8, 620-AM, 103.5 FMlink
