http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/163964/marcus-mariotas-pro-day-gets-underwhelming-review
For
Marcus Mariota's sake, hopefully he fared better in his private workout with the
Tennessee Titans than he did at his pro day.
"I thought it went OK,” Mariota told NFL Network after his workout Thursday. “There were some misthrows here and there."
Analyst Mike Mayock, who was part of Mariota’s TV interview after the workout, told him he was a little uptight early and trying to be too perfect but got better as he relaxed.
Mariota agreed.
The Heisman Trophy winner worked from under center and huddled between plays, two things that were not part of what he did in the
Oregon Ducks' offense.
I didn’t get to see it on TV, but it’s always a surprise when a quarterback’s pro day workout is reviewed as anything other than great,
Charlie Casserly of NFL Network said he wouldn’t grade the workout based on having watched it on TV.
“I like a lot of things I see about the guy,” he said. “He’s not a sure thing. So you're going to take him, there is a little bit of hold your breath here."
ESPN.com’s
New York Jets reporter Rich Cimini watched it on TV and wrote that he agreed with some in attendance that it was “
underwhelming.” This is what he wrote.
“Mariota's ball placement was off on some short and intermediate throws. He underthrew a couple of long balls. He overthrew a couple of long balls. He put too much air under a couple. He was much better on seam routes, post routes and any type of crossing routes, where he showed nice timing and anticipation.”
Lindsay Rhodes of NFL Network said it was a 65-throw script devised with Kevin O'Connell, who trained Mariota for the combine before joining the
Cleveland Browns' staff.
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@Pesci
@Emperor_ReinScarf
Defend your boy.
Nick Foles; "
Foles was terrible. He couldn't throw a spiral. Obviously, the weather conditions played a part in that but in reality, it only accentuated that he couldn't throw a spiral." "
Nick Foles fails to impress at Arizona pro day". "He was average .... he didn't drive the ball like you'd expect a quarterback of his size to and he has only average accuracy once you get past 15 yards, so I can't imagine that anyone is raising his grade based on what they saw Monday"
Cam Newton; Results were "
mixed" after Cam Newton completed only 50 out of 60 attempted passes at his pro day. It was noted as being "
solid but not spectacular". "
There wasn't anything from the pro day that really stood out from Newton"
If you take it back to Newton's performance at the NFL Combine where he reportedly struggled in throwing drills, it gets even more interesting. Newton completed only 11 out of 21 and "struggled with his accuracy in the throwing drills, frequently overthrowing receivers" CBS' Rob Rang gave it a "
D" grade.
Drew Brees;
These quotes were from Drew Brees' performance throwing at the NFL Scouting Combine
"Of Brees’s 20 balls, 11 were solid throws and nine were poor. He one-hopped a simple out-cut and overthrew another. His long throws — the post-corner and the streak — were wobbly, setting off alarms throughout the league."
From Mel Kiper "Purdue's Drew Brees, may have lost some ground. While he was solid in the shorter areas, he struggled some throwing the ball down the field"
amarcus Russell; From ESPN's Todd McShay “I can’t remember being in such awe of a quarterback in my decade of attending combines and pro days. Russell’s passing session was the most impressive of all the pro days I’ve been to."
Jon Gruden "The workout Russell had was Star Wars. It was unbelievable"
Lane Kiffin "We were very impressed. He had a great day. He seems very first class, very easy to get along with. No doubt he was a great leader here. That's why everybody wants him now"
Mike Mayock "
The best pro day I ever saw was Jamarcus Russell" (Mayock quantified that statement and was never a big Russell supporter. This was just a comment on the pro day itself.)
Blaine Gabbert;
Blaine Gabbert turns heads at Pro Day. Mike Mayock said "The kid confirmed everything you want to see in a franchise quarterback. I thought he did as good as he could have. His footwork was real clean. His arm was real accurate, and his arm strength was great."
One AFC Scout "
I didn't see anything I didn't like"
"
Blaine Gabbert definitely gave the Panthers something to think about with the number one pick"
Sam Bradford; After completing 49 out of 50 passes long time NFL scout said "
Best workout I've seen since Troy Aikman"
"
The guy was fantastic. The guy threw every route. He did not throw one bad pass"
Mike Holmgren "I don’t think he made a mistake."
Pete Carroll - "He hit every ball. He was dead on. He looked great."
Brandon Weeden;
Mike Mayock - "He made every throw you can make .... The ones I wanted to see were outside the numbers. I know he can drive it inside the numbers, I know he can throw the seam, the deep in cuts — he showed me that in the game. What I saw today was the ability to drive it outside the numbers. . . . He showed every throw, he made every throw, and it was really impressive."
Geno Smith;
Geno Smith impresses at pro day after completing 60 out of 64 passes at pro day with two drops.
Eagles Senior Advisor Tom Donahue "Geno was outstanding. He's got great velocity on the ball. He's very accurate and he can make all the throws"
"Once considered a late first rounder, Smith's stock rose perhaps as high as into the top five in what could be his tipping-point pro day." -
USA Today
Chris Weinke ""If you walk away from this and don't think he's a top pick, I don't know what else Geno can do"
Jake Locker; "
Locker nearly flawless at UW Pro Day"
ESPN's Brock Huard "Locker aced the test .... as good as I've ever seen him throw"
After completing 38 out of 40 passes at
Huskies Pro Day "Jake Locker has shown significant improvement in terms of his footwork, in terms of his accuracy, the whole package"
Colin Kaepernick;
Pro Football Talk "Kaepernick hit 36 of his 38 throws on campus, not including a couple of drops."
Walter Football "Colin Kaepernick had a superb Pro Day, completing 36-of-38 passes in front of the Panthers and Jaguars."
