More national attention for Tennessee Titans
By Les Bailey
On Wednesday, the Monday Morning Quarterback Peter King dropped in on a Tennessee Titans practice session and on Friday it was the crew from NFL.com. Ian Rapoport and Kurt Warner saw another flawless peformance on Day 7 and like Peter King, came away with same praise for rookie quarterback, Marcus Mariota.
More at Titan Sized: Dick LeBeau speaks on Tennessee Titans training camp.
Mariota’s quiet demeanor and command of the game at this point in his development has even impressed former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner.
Warner, who took Ken Whisenhunt‘s Arizona Cardinals to a Super Bowl said that although Marcus Mariota doesn’t fit coach’s blueprint of an NFL quarterback, he now has something to work with.
"“Ken has to have a quarterback,’’ Warner of Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt. “I don’t care what coach you are, it’s tough to find one who can survive for a long period of time without a quarterback. The whole organization and Ken will be behind the 8-ball until they find somebody. Right now, it’s an uphill climb.”"
He came and he saw, and upon leaving town, Kurt Warner said he thinks Ken Whisenhunt and the Tennessee Titans have their quarterback for the future.
"“You check all the boxes physically, no question, not that you had a lot of boxes to check. You see the ball come out quick, you see plenty of velocity on the ball. I don’t think there is any question about the footwork and that kind of stuff, we knew he was a great athlete from that standpoint,’’ Warner said of Mariota."
Although Kurt Warner and Marcus Mariota have completely different styles Whisenhunt said, they have the same mindset in the way he prepares and the way he carries himself, he and Kurt have a lot of the same similarities.
Warner took the Cardinals to Super Bowl XLII as a pure pocket quarterback, and of course, he beat the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV using the same techniques with the St. Louis Rams.
Ian Rapoport said that Mariota was actually years ahead of expectations. The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner is getting high marks in leadership, mental acuity with an ability to quickly pick up the playbook.
Most experts thought his penchant for taking care of the football was a product of the system he played in at Oregon, but after seven days without an interception or fumble, many are starting to realize it may all be Mariota.
Rapoport also had this to say about Mariota and the Titans:
"“It is simply his team,” Rapoport continued, adding that the team has taken on a quiet confidence that they will better than people around the league are projecting."
I’ll have to admit, I thought the Monday Morning Quarterback gave Titans fans lip service to what he saw on Wednesday at Saint Thomas Sports Park, and I felt much better after the NFL.com people left town.
I was inspired with Ian Rapoport’s remarks, but when you have a proven NFL quarterback like Kurt Warner heaping praise all over your quarterback, you have to get excited about the upcoming season.
Marcus Mariota has brought a cool, calm level of excitement to this team that hasn’t been seen in a lot of years. Not even with the coming of Vince Young, and for sure not with the arrival of Jake Locker.
During the NFL Draft, I remember ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer saying that Jameis Winston was the more NFL ready quarterback, but that Marcus Mariota had the bigger upside over time. I’m not sure that Dilfer was right about the time factor.
We will get a chance on opening day to see for ourselves when the two meet in the week-one matchup in Tampa on September 13th.
Just over a month….I don’t think I can wait!
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