Marcus Mariota was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in Week 1 against the Buccaneers. For those who graduated from the "Skip Bayless School of QB Analysis," it’s enough to justify starting him on your fantasy team.
Except it doesn’t, it’s Week 1 and everyone needs to calm down.
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Not being overly critical, Mariota did post a perfect passer rating in Tennessee’s 42-14 victory. The rookie QB was 13-of-16 for 209 yards, four TDs and zero INTs. One can easily immerse themselves into vanilla statistics and anoint Mariota as the next elite QB in the NFL, but delving into said statistics reveal a greater truth.
Titans were smart in what they asked Mariota to do. That factored in to a perfect storm. Oregon offense + Tampa 2 D + OL protection + YAC
— Jayson Braddock (@JaysonBraddock) September 16, 2015
Of Mariota’s 209 yards, only 89 were in the air, per NFL.com. Titans WRs accumulated 120 yards after the catch, and nearly 33 percent of the passing plays were play action by design (Mariota finished 5-for-5 in play-action passes, per The Tennessean).
That usage rate only rivals the Eagles in 2014, who ranked No. 1 in play-action calls (33 percent), per Football Ousiders.
Ken Whisenhunt relied heavily on a read-option offense to exploit the Tampa 2 Defense, and wisely kept the training wheels on Mariota’s arm.
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We’ve seen this before. We know how it ends.
RGIII took the NFL by storm when he defeated the Saints in 2012. En route to an NFC Offensive Player of the Week award, the former second-overall pick dropped a 143.9 passer rating in his NFL debut.
Vince Young managed to do the same as a rookie.
#Titans QB Marcus Mariota is AFC Off. Plyr of Week. He's first #Titans offensive rookie to win the award since Vince Young in 2006.
— John Glennon (@glennonsports) September 16, 2015
You wouldn’t want either leading your team under center.
Not to say Mariota will eventually delve into the depths of QB irrelevance, but allow him to throw the ball for more than 15 yards before you put him in the Hall of Fame.
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