Tennessee Titans: Eddie George says ‘no excuses’ for Marcus Mariota
Tennessee Titans great Eddie George says there’s “no excuses” for quarterback Marcus Mariota in 2019.
Former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George believes that quarterback Marcus Mariota has to produce this season, saying there’s “no excuses” for the Oregon product in 2019.
George was a guest on The Midday 180 show and had this to say about Mariota.
.@EddieGeorge2727 on Marcus Mariota: "Really no excuses for 8 this year, he has to get it done, I think he knows that." #Titans
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) August 21, 2019
After some up-and-down seasons through four years, Mariota is in a true “show me” season. The Titans are making him play out the final year of his rookie deal without an extension, and now he’s playing for a new contract in 2020.
Some of Mariota’s past struggles can be blamed on him. However, there are a slew of reasons why simply putting it all on his shoulders isn’t fair, whether it’s because of shoddy offensive line play, a lack of weapons to throw to, or the revolving door of offensive coordinators.
Now that it seems he has the best group of pass-catchers of his career and an improved offensive line, Mariota’s supporting cast has never been better. On top of that, hiring Arthur Smith as the offensive coordinator gives Mariota at least some continuity.
Perhaps the biggest key to his success in 2019 is health. Mariota has never played a full 16-game season, and was slowed by numerous injuries as recently as last season.
The Titans will hope that the extra weight added to his frame will help him better absorb big hits, along with an approach of living to play another play, which means getting rid of the ball more often when it makes sense to, instead of putting his body at risk.
The reasons for optimism with this 2019 Titans team are legit. Even with the issues with Mariota, the Titans have gone 9-7 in each of the past three seasons, and nearly made the playoffs in 2018 with Mariota on the shelf.
One big difference from years past is that the Titans have an insurance policy in backup Ryan Tannehill, but there’s no question Tennessee would like to see Mariota take that next step and become the long-term solution behind center.