Should Marcus Mariota Be A Priority For The Commanders?

WJFK-FM / 106.7 The Fan

The Commanders are going to be in the market for a backup QB behind Jayden Daniels... Should Marcus Mariota be a priority for Washington?

Transcript

00:00Whether or not he can duplicate what he just did. I always use the saying

00:06Is it easier to write the first bestseller or the second and I think in the league it's easier to write the first

00:11But now you got to replicate with everybody gunning for you

00:14Everybody knowing what you do everyone's gonna watch the tape all offseason find your tendencies

00:19This is what coordinators and defensive coaches and quality control people get paid to do and that's going to be what they're working on

00:27And if you're Daniels, you got to stay one step ahead of them when you leave and you pull the ball down and roll

00:32to your left you

00:34are

00:35Going to run when you roll the ball throw the ball, you know run into your right

00:40You're going to probably keep the play alive and try to throw it down the field

00:45Those little tendencies get found out over the offseason

00:48Like you though. I think what Washington's unearthed here is a floor elevating

00:54Star and a top-ten quarterback in the league as

00:59of the start of next season

01:01Very likely and then the only thing left to debate really is what is the ceiling? What are we talking about here?

01:08In a league where you've got your borough Alan Lamar

01:11Mahomes tier so to speak in my homes is the best of that group, obviously

01:15But that that's your Mount Rushmore. Can he crash the party?

01:19I mean is he someone who could be a perennial MVP candidate who because he's on your team?

01:24So you were what you were just saying like you're going to win tennis games every single year

01:29Surpassing the Hertz's and those guys that have the good years in the bad years

01:32Where is he on that Jalen Hurts level, which is fine, too. He's played in a couple Super Bowls

01:35He's won a Super Bowl, but where it's not always

01:39Going to be special. It's not always going to be elite

01:42But he's a winner and he keeps you in a lot of games and he's a dual threat and maybe the numbers aren't gonna be

01:48Transcendent and win MVP awards, but you're going to have a lot of success

01:53We're gonna find that out starting this coming season with Jaden Daniels, but just the fact that they have finally

01:59Answered the question that they finally don't have to worry about this anymore

02:04Assuming he can stay healthy. That's yeah that they don't have to deal with quarterback for years to come

02:10They are in the catbird seat in the NFL

02:13This is the difference between the teams that have a chance and don't is just do you have the right quarterback?

02:18And it's a very small group of teams that do and they're finally in it. It's been decades since they were in

02:23Yeah, it's the shtick I used to do for various teams around the league

02:26but a lot of GM's a lot of you know heads of player personnel and scouts and people would pat themselves on the back and

02:32Walk around like they were geniuses and my whole point a lot of times was your key card still works

02:36Because you have blanket quarterback for a long time

02:39It was in Green Bay where I don't think they actually managed the roster all that great

02:43But that Aaron Rodgers makes you a lot smarter makes everybody look good until of course everyone wore out there welcome

02:47We know the story but when you have this correct and it's not just the ability

02:52It's everything that surrounds him right the he's the son here of the solar system and everybody kind of surrounding him

02:58It's a there's a calm. There's a confidence as a preparation. It's not fraudulent

03:03It's not you know

03:03once a week for Instagram where you're pulling the tire or or jumping over this one thing and

03:08Letting everybody know about the grind. It's the actual grind

03:11There's a difference between doing it and saying you're going to do it for for clicks and and for credit

03:17You actually do it because it makes you a great football player and there's a is a killer instinct there and I hate that cliche

03:22But that's what it is where if you give him a chance, you're going to get beaten

03:27I mean, that's that's what happened. We saw it. It wasn't one of those things where it happened one time

03:31It happened multiple times again. The thing I tried to say this the other day

03:37Was gonna radio hit someone they're asking me about so and finally by the way about Jayden Daniels and I said

03:41Here's the thing that people I don't think you're talking enough about

03:44Their running game was irrevocably broken. You can decide why it's up to you smart people to have your debate

03:51Enjoy it you want to tell me about this thing that thing defense has figured out by Robinson lost a step offensive line this the answer

03:56Is probably yes, I don't care

03:58They basically played keep away and clock management ball with a rookie quarterback and no running game

04:04That was their recipe to win game after game after game after game in must-win situations

04:10Down the stretch and that's beyond incredible. Well, it's just the first time I've ever seen a team

04:17With a rookie quarterback put so much on a guy's plate. Mm-hmm and still keep winning

04:22There have been rookie QB's that have won in playoff games or gotten a championship games in their conference

04:27But they've done it with a defense first operation

04:30Or they're just handing it off constantly and playing caretaker and Washington was being dragged into the fight by Daniel

04:37making plays with his legs running around

04:39Making plays with his arms throwing the ball or extending plays and making big plays throwing downfield

04:44And he just did it throughout the regular season and throughout the playoffs. It was amazing

04:48So let's separate him because I think we've you know

04:52Said what needs to be said there?

04:53They've got their starting quarterback and the only guy hopefully that takes a snap next year

04:57But both of their veteran backups are free agents they have nearly 30 free agents on

05:03the roster you're looking at offense defense special teams and

05:07Two of them are their QB's and Marcus Mariota who came over from the Eagles and Jeff Driscoll who most recently played for the Browns

05:15We didn't see Driscoll play in any games, but remember Driscoll outplayed Mariota. I thought in the preseason

05:21He had some really good moments. I kind of think he can play as a backup. He's got some Mariota tendencies

05:26He's mobile little runs a lot. Yeah, he's an athlete. He can make a play or two

05:31The arm is not great, but it's enough, you know, honestly, who am I talking about like Mario?

05:35Yeah, right. It kind of reminds me of of him

05:38But Mariota was so damned good when he played this year you think about the games he got into okay

05:45so I think he threw three passes in the Cleveland game they won by a million, but when

05:50Daniels got hurt against Carolina

05:53Mariota came in and they scored 40 points in that game

05:56They had scored at the time of the injury to Daniels. I think seven points

06:00He went 18 of 23 through for 205 yards competing almost 80%

06:05two touchdowns no picks and he ran

06:08Effectively in that game for 34 yards as well. It was a Jaden Daniels statline. They took Daniels out of the offense

06:14They dropped Mariota in with a claw machine and they didn't miss a beat. It was the same offense

06:19It was the same success through the air. It was the same success on quarterback runs

06:23It was as if Daniels was still out there. What a compliment to Marcus Mariota

06:28Then came the final week of the season week 18

06:31Against the Dallas Cowboys when Daniels actually had his worst week of the season if you remember in the first half of that game

06:37Yep, he stunk up the joint. Yeah, and the whole offense did it wasn't just him, but he was not right

06:44The Dallas Cowboys in that game had a plan that was working against Washington

06:50Then they made the switch at halftime not because Daniel struggled because they wanted him to be healthy for the Bucs playoff game coming up

06:56Mariota comes in and goes 15 of 18

06:5983% of his pass is complete for a buck 62 more touchdowns no picks

07:03So that's four touchdowns no picks in the two games

07:05He played in he only took a couple sacks and he ran five times for 56 yards including a 33 yard fourth down run huge

07:12We also rushed for a touchdown again. It was Daniels esque

07:15If you take Mariota's name off the two performances and put Daniels his name on it

07:20They just are kind of middle-of-the-pack performances for him this season that blend in really well with how he played

07:26That is how good Mariota was

07:28It's also a compliment to Cliff Kingsbury and the offense that twice

07:32You had to play a half or more of football without Daniels and your offense had some of its best halves of the season indeed

07:39It would seem to me like Mariota needs to be a priority then to bring back at just 31 years old

07:45So now it obviously takes through to tango if Mariota somehow believes that and again, I'm just making this up

07:51I would disagree with this but just maybe

07:54Hey there, it's not a very deep quarterback draft. So team that's in need of some stability there. I'm making them up

08:01How about the Raiders or let's say the Giants don't get Stafford in the sweepstakes or whatever?

08:05You want to you want it? You want me to be the guy I can do that

08:07I can do what I just did here in Washington. Look at the scheme. Look at the design

08:10You give me something similar. I'll put up a pretty decent season. You won't bottom out now again

08:15It's not something that I would do personally if I was a team

08:18I would just not be in that business of having him start 17 games. I think that's a recipe for mediocrity, but

08:23This fit here was perfect if he's cool with

08:27Continuing this role. I'll give him a raise to do it. Honestly like to me

08:31It's less about his play in those moments and it was awesome

08:34I I don't disagree with a single word you said because it's factual. It's what happened to me

08:38The value is Daniel swore by him and think of that Atlanta game when it's there's nothing happening

08:44There's no plays that are being run that are worth the damage just Daniels going

08:48And he gets his clock cleaned

08:50right at the goal line on one of those rebounds around like a pinball gets the wind knocked out of him even to the

08:55Point the Washington has to call a timeout and we've seen we've all seen the video of it

08:59Mariotta comes over to him picks him up. Just get your wind

09:02Gives him kind of that look, you know last-minute Rudy style pep talk

09:05Go use your guy given abilities to go win the game. Whatever that is. I'm paying for that

09:09He lived it is number two pick. He was the Heisman Trophy winner that they have a good rapport

09:13That's not nothing to me like and it's part of it, but the guy played awesome in your offense

09:18Like he literally played at the level of your starter in a very small sample

09:22Who was the talk of the league the rookie of the year and fifth or sixth or whatever and an MVP voting?

09:28What opposed this to you guys though on the MGM National Harbor listener lines next how big of a deal would it be to keep?

09:34Mariota around or do you think it's kind of a replacement level thing backup quarterback?

09:39A lot of guys could come in for a couple quarters and play. Okay

09:43Doesn't matter if he walks

09:45Insignificant Driscoll or some other guy like Mariota, you know, whether it's Justin Fields or somebody else could come in here and be similar

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