Breer: Rams Will Work Out Winston & Mariota Next Week

[CGI_Ram]

Neither is considered close to an Andrew Luck can't miss talent.

But, they wouldn't be available for trade if they were.

 

[thehammer]

Good luck finding a QB. Because if that's your standard, there will be very few guys over the next 5-10 years that meet it.

hyperbole
1.obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2.an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”.

reality is best qb's in a weak draft of qb's....in a very weak draft year.

 

[jrry32]

hyperbole
1.obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2.an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”.

reality is best qb's in a weak draft of qb's....in a very weak draft year.

Andrew Luck and Sam Bradford were the two best QB prospects of the last decade. Winston is a #1 overall caliber QB.

 

[thehammer]

Andrew Luck and Sam Bradford were the two best QB prospects of the last decade. Winston is a #1 overall caliber QB.

in your opinion....I have a different one..time will tell which one of us is right

 

[Sleepy1711]

View: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-am/0ap3000000485673/Rams-working-out-Mariota-on-Thursday?icampaign=nflcom-cs-homepage-videoswap_generic_nfl


This could get interesting.. I mean I would love for the Rams to draft this guy.

 

[oldlarams]

@AlbertBreer
A Rams contingent of Jeff Fisher, Les Snead, Kevin Demoff, Frank Cignetti & Chris Weinke will be in Eugene today to work out Marcus Mariota.

How many people went to visit Petty?

 

[TheDYVKX]

How many people went to visit Petty?

No idea with Petty, but it's interesting that our HC, GM, OC, and QB coach all went for Mariota. There's obviously a lot of interest there.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

No idea with Petty, but it's interesting that our HC, GM, OC, and QB coach all went for Mariota. There's obviously a lot of interest there.

I never felt that interest in Winston is genuine. Fisher does not like risk takers. He likes his QBs to play it safe. He loves ball security.

Mariota fits the bill IMO.

 

[RamBill]

Albert Breer @AlbertBreer

A Rams contingent of Jeff Fisher, Les Snead, Kevin Demoff, Frank Cignetti & Chris Weinke will be in Eugene today to work out Marcus Mariota.

 

[RamBill]

Rams to work out Mariota
By Nate Latsch

http://stl.scout.com/story/1538041-rams-to-work-out-mariota

The St. Louis Rams sent a contingent of front office personnel and coaches to the University of Oregon to work out quarterback Marcus Mariota on Thursday, according to media reports.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network reported that head coach Jeff Fisher, offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke, general manager Les Snead and chief operating officer Kevin Demoff traveled to Oregon for the workout.

Albert Breer
A Rams contingent of Jeff Fisher, Les Snead, Kevin Demoff, Frank Cignetti & Chris Weinke will be in Eugene today to work out Marcus Mariota.

Breer also reported, via Twitter, that Mariota has had known private workouts with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and San Diego Chargers.

The Buccaneers and the Titans have the top two picks in the upcoming NFL Draft and, obviously, the best chances to select either Mariota or Florida State’s Jameis Winston, the consensus top two quarterbacks in this draft class. The Jets have the No. 6 overall pick, while the Rams have the 10th and the Chargers have the 17th selections in the first round.

The Rams have made no secret of their desire to select a quarterback in this draft, even after trading former No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford to the Philadelphia Eagles for Nick Foles. Foles only has one season remaining on his rookie contract.

St. Louis used just one draft pick on a quarterback since selecting Bradford — taking Garrett Gilbert, who was released in training camp, in the sixth round in 2014 — and it came back to hurt the Rams the last two seasons when Bradford suffered knee injuries.

After trading for Foles, the Rams traded a seventh-round pick to the Houston Texans for quarterback Case Keenum, who they had on the 53-man roster early in the 2014 season but was released. They also tendered a contract offer to Austin Davis, a restricted free agent who started eight games last season.

The starting quarterback job is Foles’ to lose, while Keenum and Davis will compete for the back-up spot in training camp — assuming another team doesn’t offer Davis a more lucrative deal.

It is unlikely if Mariota would fall to the Rams at No. 10 or if they would be willing to mortgage some of their future draft picks to move up into a spot where they could take him. Thursday’s workout is probably just an example of the team doing its homework on one of the top prospects in the draft with the possibility that the quarterback could be available when they pick.

It is probably more likely that St. Louis selects a quarterback for the future in the second or third rounds, with players like UCLA’s Brett Hundley, TCU’s Bryce Petty or Colorado State’s Garrett Grayson as possibilities.

 

[WestCoastRam]

They're either really interested in Mariota or "signaling" that they're really interested or some combination of both. The only thing I know for sure is that they're not not interested in Mariota.

Boys! I cracked the code!!!!!!

 

[DR RAM]

I hope they work out Hundley, right after Mariota. Would be a good comp for us, to help gauge value. Is there a big difference in development between everyone else, except for Winston?

Arm Strength - Hundley
Speed - Mariota, Hundley, not far behind.
Elusiveness - Hundley, but close.
Accuracy Overall - Very close. Both throw outstanding short, swing type balls. Hundley has better mid range, Mariota better deep.
Short ball accuracy - Same, excellent.
Middle accuracy - Hundley, better zip on ins, outs, and back shoulder throws. Mariota struggle a little here when rushed.
Deep ball accuracy - Mariota, notable, both hit and misses.
Accuracy on the run - Hundley, better mechanics with feet.
Release - Close. Both, very good.
Ball security - Both pretty good.
Mentality - Hundley, been tested. Mariota not beaten to death every Saturday.
Leadership - Hundley seems like more of a natural leader, very confident. Mariota, very quiet, humble leader. Both, very competitive.
Wins - Mariota
Personality - Hundley.
Character - Same, very good.
Better talent/system/OL around him - Mariota, not close.
NFL ready - Same, limited packages at first.
Overall Strength/Size/Bulk - Hundley. Mariota taller, thinner.
Processing/decisiveness - Mariota.
Combine testing numbers/performance - Very close.
Better Pro Day - Hundley
Sparq - ?
Wonderlic - Mariota = 33, very good. Hundley = ? Can't find it.

All based on my opinion, trying to be objective, but obviously, everyone is subjective in some way, or another.



Arguably, top 5 guys stats below. Didn't include rushing stats:


Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 13 230 336 68.5 2677 8.0 9.1 32 6 163.2
SO QB 13 245 386 63.5 3665 9.5 10.6 31 4 167.7
JR QB 15 304 445 68.3 4454 10.0 11.5 42 4 181.7

Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 14 318 478 66.5 3740 7.8 8.0 29 11 147.7
SO QB 13 248 369 67.2 3071 8.3 8.5 24 9 153.7
JR QB 13 271 392 69.1 3155 8.0 8.6 22 5 152.7

Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 14 257 384 66.9 4057 10.6 11.5 40 10 184.8
SO QB 13 305 467 65.3 3907 8.4 7.7 25 18 145.5


Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 4 43 77 55.8 542 7.0 4.1 2 6 108.0
SO QB 6 78 138 56.5 946 6.9 6.9 7 3 126.5
JR QB 14 297 478 62.1 3696 7.7 7.7 23 11 138.4
SR QB 13 270 420 64.3 4006 9.5 10.3 32 7 166.2

Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 6 3 4 75.0 43 10.8 10.8 0 0 165.3
SO QB 6 7 10 70.0 97 9.7 11.7 1 0 184.5
JR QB 13 250 403 62.0 4200 10.4 11.7 32 3 174.3
SR QB 12 270 428 63.1 3855 9.0 9.6 29 7 157.8

Thoughts? Guesses? No cheating.

 

[A55VA6]

Interesting that Fisher, Snead, Demoff, Cignetti & Weinke are all there. They must be taking a real hard look at him.

 

[oldlarams]

Arguably, top 5 guys stats below. Didn't include rushing stats:


Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 13 230 336 68.5 2677 8.0 9.1 32 6 163.2
SO QB 13 245 386 63.5 3665 9.5 10.6 31 4 167.7
JR QB 15 304 445 68.3 4454 10.0 11.5 42 4 181.7


Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 14 257 384 66.9 4057 10.6 11.5 40 10 184.8
SO QB 13 305 467 65.3 3907 8.4 7.7 25 18 145.5

Thoughts? Guesses? No cheating.

The only 2 that Matter.

Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 13 230 336 68.5 2677 8.0 9.1 32 6 163.2
SO QB 13 245 386 63.5 3665 9.5 10.6 31 4 167.7
JR QB 15 304 445 68.3 4454 10.0 11.5 42 4 181.7

Mariota


Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 14 257 384 66.9 4057 10.6 11.5 40 10 184.8
SO QB 13 305 467 65.3 3907 8.4 7.7 25 18 145.5

Winston

 

[RamBill]

How Marcus Mariota might fit the Rams
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...rcus-mariota-might-be-a-good-fit-for-the-rams

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- We've spent plenty of time in this space exploring the possibility of the St. Louis Rams landing Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. The Rams are known to have interest in Mariota and are spending Thursday in Eugene working him out.

But let's put aside the question of whether he could slip to the Rams at No. 10 or if they might trade up to land him (for what it's worth, I believe the latter is more likely than the former). Instead, let's consider how Mariota might fit in St. Louis from a scheme perspective.

Looking at it from the outside, Mariota seems like he might not be the right guy for the Rams. His athleticism and playmaking ability automatically calls into question whether the Rams' ground-and-pound approach would best utilize his skills. But that might not be fair to either Mariota or the Rams.

The Rams don't ask their quarterbacks to do a ton when it comes to the passing game. In fact, one of Mariota's greatest skills fits right in with the first thing the Rams look for in a quarterback: play-action passes.

Mariota not only threw plenty of play-action passes for the Ducks, he excelled at them. According to Pro Football Focus, Mariota led the nation in play-action pass attempts, faking the handoff and throwing on 51 percent of his dropbacks. By way of comparison, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith had the highest percentage in the NFL last year at 31 percent.

When using play-action, Mariota was 133-of-195 for 2,361 yards with 24 touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Rams didn't use play-action as much as they'd like last year, opting for such calls on 97 dropbacks for the season (tied with the Jets and Falcons for 22nd in the NFL). But that easily could be a product of not having an offensive line that was capable of protecting the quarterback or a running game operating at a high level on a consistent basis.

In play-action, Rams quarterbacks were 63-of-90 for 732 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions for a passer rating of 108.7, which ranked seventh best in the league on such plays. Given that success, it's something they'd like to do more of in 2015.

"I don't think it’s any different than anybody else," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said of his offense at February's NFL combine. "It’s a run game. Need to run the football. And you need to complement your play-action game to the run game, and you know, play good defense and play good special teams. That’s the very basic theory."

Of course, a big part of Mariota's appeal is that he can make things happen when on the move. He made a big leap in that regard in 2014, when he completed 61 percent of his passes with an average of 8.2 yards per attempt and six touchdowns against only one interception while on the move.

The numbers are even more impressive when Mariota had time to set his feet, which apparently was a regular occurrence. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, he completed 70 percent of his passes with an average of 10.4 yards per attempt with 36 touchdowns and three interceptions with his feet set in 2014.

In other words, Mariota might be able to transition to the NFL better than many (yours truly included) initially thought. It also doesn't hurt that Fisher once worked with a mobile quarterback with big college production and watched him develop into one of the better quarterbacks in the league.

That was Steve McNair, who is a different player than Mariota but came with some similar traits. Maybe the thought of bringing Mariota along in St. Louis isn't as big of a project as it might seem on the surface.

"I still think it’s an individual thing," Fisher said at last month's NFL owners meetings. "The progression is related to the individual player. Some players come in and should and will play sooner than others. We stuck to our plan with Steve. We got him experience the first couple of years. He started his third year and fourth, but I think it’s on the player. So much of it has to do with the individual player and philosophy."

 

[DR RAM]

The only 2 that Matter.

Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 13 230 336 68.5 2677 8.0 9.1 32 6 163.2
SO QB 13 245 386 63.5 3665 9.5 10.6 31 4 167.7
JR QB 15 304 445 68.3 4454 10.0 11.5 42 4 181.7

Mariota


Class Pos G Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
FR QB 14 257 384 66.9 4057 10.6 11.5 40 10 184.8
SO QB 13 305 467 65.3 3907 8.4 7.7 25 18 145.5

Winston

Except, we may, or may not, be in a position to draft either of them.

 

[RamBill]

Rams QB workout tour begins with Oregon's Mariota
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_583bfa08-cf6f-51fa-8d91-d7359e0e6eff.html

Instead of bringing quarterback prospects to Rams Park for pre-draft visits, the Rams once again are going out to them.

As was the case last year, coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead are leading a group of Rams officials and coaches on a jet-setting tour over a long weekend. The group was in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday to work out Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.

The Rams will also have private workouts with Baylor's Bryce Petty, Colorado State's Garrett Grayson, UCLA's Brett Hundley, and according to the NFL Network _ Florida State's Jameis Winston.

It's not known if Oregon State's Sean Mannion is also on the list.

Working out Winston and Mariota, who are projected to go first and second overall respectively in draft April 30, could be viewed as merely a matter of due diligence. But the Rams could be considering a possible trade-up for Mariota.

Besides Winston and Mariota, none of the other QB prospects are expected to go in the first round, although Petty, Hundley, and perhaps Grayson could go in Round 2.

By league rule, these private workouts can only be conducted in the metropolitan area of the player's college campus or his hometown. Hence the tour by the Rams contingent.

Players who make visits to the facilities of an NFL club, the so-called top 30 visits, are not allowed to have workouts there.

Even with the Sam Bradford trade that brought Nick Foles to the Rams from Philadelphia, Fisher has said that the team plans to draft a quarterback.

So far the Rams have had 15 confirmed pre-draft visits at Rams Park, but none of the 15 has been a quarterback. Teams are allowed to have up to 30 pre-draft visits:

OFFENSIVE LINE

Tackle/guard Jamon Brown, Louisville; guard/tackle La'el Collins, Louisiana State; guard Jamil Douglas, Arizona State; center Cameron Erving, Florida State; tackle D.J. Humphries, Florida; guard Tre Jackson, Florida State; guard Ali Marpet, Hobart; tackle Andrus Peat, Stanford; guard Laken Tomlinson, Duke.

WIDE RECEIVER

Amari Cooper, Alabama; Dorial Green-Beckham, Missouri/Oklahoma; DeVante Parker, Louisville.

DEFENSIVE END/LINEBACKER

Vic Beasley, Clemson; Bernardrick McKinney, Mississippi State; Shane Ray, Missouri.