Herbstreit: Knowledge Sets Mariota Apart From Prior Oregon QBs 2014.10.22 ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit was on ESPN radio 1080AM in Portland (Ore.) on Tuesday, where he talked about how impressed he has been with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Herbstreit was asked what it is that sets Mariota apart from previous Oregon signal-callers. Big-play ability and knowledge of the offense, Herbstreit said. Weve seen quarterbacks play in this offense and dominate college football, but theres just something that feels different with how (Mariota) is in such command. And when you have a quarterback in that system that is equally dangerous running and throwing, it puts the defense (in a tough spot). Herbstreit went on to explain the intricacies of the Ducks offense and why Mariota such a perfect fit. I dont know if fans fully appreciate this -- when you spread your receivers out and youve got a mobile quarterback, youve gotta make a decision as a defensive coordinator, because Marcus will go 80 on you in the blink of an eye. And every defensive coordinator gets that, so they err on the side of, Weve gotta keep one extra guy near the line of scrimmage or in the box to be able to defend against a quarterback run. Well in order to do that, you have to leave your corners on an island, one-on-one against a pretty talented group of receivers. And what Oregons always done is, when you decide to outnumber them in the box, theyre gonna throw the football, get the ball out quick to the receivers to basically force you to get out there with your defensive plans and when you do that, thats when youre seeing Oregons ability to run the ball from the running back spot and then obviously Mariota. So its kind of a chess match between, Are you commit numbers to stop the run game so we can throw it, or are you gonna commit numbers to stop the pass so we can run it? And when you have a quarterback that understands that from a pre-snap standpoint, it makes it very, very difficult to defend Oregons offense, unless theyve got inexperienced offensive linemen and you can win the battle at the line of scrimmage without having to blitz and without having to put numbers in the box. Mariota and the Ducks travel to take on the Cal Bears on Friday at 7 p.m. PT.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 18:30:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015