Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota are expected to bring in the most sensible of their careers right now.
The first two picks in the 2015 draft were to be the faces of the Tampa Bay and Tennessee franchise, and the star quarterbacks.
Instead, they are entering their sixth NFL season as substitutes in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and many, if they can ever return to the track they should take when writing.
“Can you come back? Of course,” said former NFL quarterback and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky. “Will they come back? To be fair to you, to get lucky. You have to move to the country. Array.. Their stories aren’t written yet. But they will have to remain patient with impatience, which means that you will have to keep painting and know or wait, with your hands crossed, that this opportunity will present itself. And when you do, call.
Being sidelined by the team at home is not the same for quarterbacks caught up in the top of the draft. Of the 27 quarterbacks decided in the first two before Winston and Mariota since the 1970 merger, 17 began their sixth season in the NFL in the same franchise they had held their careers in, adding John Elway and Eli Manning, who were traded during their drafts.
Four of the quarterbacks, Rick Norton, Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch and JaMarcus Russell, never played after their fifth season.
Winston and Mariota target six others who have replaced teams, as well as players like David Carr, Rick Mirer and Robert Griffin III, who have never become constant starters in their new homes, and others like Jeff George and Sam Bradford have. bounced in some places.
The only good fortune of this organization is Jim Plunkett, New England’s first overall pick in 1971, who revived his career with the Raiders in 1980.
Plunkett was usually mediocre in his five seasons with the Patriots and discovered little luck in two seasons with San Francisco. Then, after spending the 1979 season as a replacement for Oakland, Plunkett returned to the starting line-up mid the next season, and led the Raiders to two Super Bowl titles in four seasons.
Winston and Mariota must now follow this path.
“I would say the most vital thing for either of us right now is that they can be informed to play the task and play the position at a high point without having the strain to force him to win us football matches,” Orlovsky said. “I’ve been saying this for a long time. It’s very difficult for young field marshals: “Hello friend. Not only do you have to be informed of this game book, but you also have to pass, run on the field, be informed of the defensive playbook and execute it as opposed to what they do in 3 seconds: well, 65 times in a row. And you also have the effort to win the football game, because if you don’t, you’re going on to be manipulated by the media and by the fans. “It’s a lot to do.”
Winston seeks to resurrect his career in New Orleans, where he can be informed by one of the top-noted offensive coaches in the game, Sean Payton. And see first-hand how a smuggler shown as Drew Brees tackles everything from practice to dissecting safe blankets.
His stay in Tampa from the most sensible to the lowest, with a three-game suspension in 2018 for allegedly making unwanted sexual advances in an Uber driving force and his 30 interceptions last season low points.
But Winston also threw 33 TD passes and led the league with 5,109 yards last season, a sign that skill is the challenge in his career.
“You have to be a student of the game,” he said before this off-season. “So now I have the possibility to dig deeper into this painting and I have a (alleged) Hall of Fame quarterback that I’m reporting on instead of looking to be informed by myself or employ Google.”
Mariota lost his initial assignment last year in Tennessee to a former first-round recruit who fell to Ryan Tannehill. While Winston’s upheavals were too careless, Mariota has been too cautious.
He was caught in 11% of the worst league, in addition to his setbacks in the last two seasons because he seemed too hesitant to get rid of the ball.
He can now play with a quarterback who is one of the fastest to pitch Derek Carr, and be informed by a full offensive coach like Jon Gruden.
“It’s interesting, ” said Gruden last week. “It took off several times today and I was thrilled. He got hurt, but it looks like the ankle went a turn. He is a dazzling game maker with his feet and that is the key to his game. I’ve noticed some flashes.” of that today, it’s exciting.”
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