Tennessee Titans fans will get their chance to see Jameis Winston…sorta
By Will Lomas
There are some Tennessee Titans fans that were hoping on draft day that Jameis Winston would fall, and many that thought he was the right choice even if Marcus Mariota was there (I know crazy how wrong they were, right?). Well, the more I think about this game, the more I think this is the perfect opportunity for Titans fans to see exactly what that world would have been like.
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The great thing is that this is the perfect time for the comparison. Both players have a five-game sample size, and we are starting to get a feel just who both quarterbacks are. Let’s break down just how similar they are.
Yards per game (in games where they played the majority of the QB snaps):
Jameis Winston: 234.8
Zach Mettenberger: 232.5
So, for those that thought that Winston was a gunslinger that was piling up yards while Mettenberger couldn’t put drives together well enough to compare in this category, guess again. Man, how much closer can you get without overlapping. Both players love the deep ball and heaving it which is exactly why when they hit they look great, it isn’t conductive to leading a team.
Completion %:
Jameis Winston: 56.6%
Zach Mettenberger: 59.8%
Again, for those that are going to argue that Winston looks better so far in his career…um…no. He has a worst percentage than Mettenberger, but that isn’t even a fair comparison. Winston is feeding his running back dump offs consistently and isn’t utilizing his massive wide receivers. In Mettenberger’s last game in 2014, two of his top three receivers were Derek Hagan and Kris Durham. Heck, even defensive tackle Karl Klug got a catch for 9 yards.
Mettenberger had no business being as accurate as he was and he was playing with players who aren’t even in the league anymore. On the other hand, Winston is throwing to Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, who are both 6’4″+ targets.
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TD:INT ratio:
Jameis Winston: 7:7
Zach Mettenberger: 8:7
Again, this comparison is so close on paper. I know there are some players that are similar in a few categories, but these quarterbacks are eerily similar in so many categories. This is the most telling, because both are “gun-slingers” that have little disregard for the ball in the air, and live for the home run ball.
Everything else:
There is really no category that Winston beats Mettenberger in. Mett has the edge in longest pass TD, YPA, QBR, or anything else having to do with being a passer in this league statistically.
For those that want to talk wins, sure Winston has two wins on his record and that is great. However, in both of those games Winston passed for a combined two touchdowns and got three or more field goals from their kicker to win those games, so don’t put those all on his back.
I think that Jameis Winston’s highs are definitely higher than Zach Mettenberger’s, but as far as what they have done in the NFL through 5 games they aren’t that different no matter how you spin it. This should give fans a distorted look at what this team could look like with Jameis Winston in the fold. My guess? Chunk gains and sputtered drives that don’t look like the smooth drives that we have seen from Marcus Mariota. However, I thin DGB or Justin Hunter will make a huge catch down the field on a bomb, and some people will think that is amazing.
No matter what happens, Marcus Mariota is the answer at QB for the Titans. I repeat Marcus Mariota is the answer at QB for the Titans. Don’t let whatever happens this weekend confuse you of that.