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Now that we are in peak offseason, I thought it would be a fun idea to take a look at each of Marcus Mariota’s deep ball attempts in the 2018 season. As we get into a crucial season for Marcus, this will help fans get a full picture at his ability to throw the deep ball and not just the highlights.
To be specific, I will consider any pass that travels 20+ yards past the line of scrimmage as a deep ball attempt. For this exercise, I have excluded attempts that are miscommunications with the receiver, throwaways, and pass interference calls that are accepted by the offense.
For each attempt, I wanted to breakdown what happened in the play, the results of the play, and to determine if the attempt was accurate. I will make my judgements on accuracy by whether I think the receiver could have caught the ball. Therefore, “accurate” passes may include incompletions due to drops. I’ll try to keep the analysis to a minimum so that you guys can also make your own assessments on Mariota’s deep ball ability.
This will be a two part series with part two posting tomorrow morning at 9 AM.
Now, let’s dive deep into it.
Attempt #1
What happened: Marcus starts us off with a beautiful throw to Taywan Taylor. He places the ball perfectly into the hands of Taywan in the endzone, but Taywan is unable to hold on to this one as he hits the ground.
Result: Incompletion dropped by Taywan Taylor.
Accuracy: Accurate
Attempt #2
What happened: On this play, Marcus fakes the run, rolls to the right, and resets his base to throw the pass. Luke Stocker acts like he is run blocking and then slips out down the field to get wide open. Great play call and design. Mariota slightly underthrows the ball, as Stocker has to slow down for it. If Marcus places the ball better, this may have resulted in a touchdown, but still Mariota is accurate enough for the long gain.
Result: 31 yard completion to Luke Stocker.
Accuracy: Accurate
Attempt #3
What happened: This attempt came right after Marcus first injured his throwing arm this season. You can tell that the injury significantly affected his ability to throw the ball down the field, as he completely overthrows Tajae Sharpe. This would be Mariota’s first and last interception on deep ball attempts.
Result: 26 yard Interception by Reshad Jones.
Accuracy: Inaccurate
Attempt #4
What happened: On this attempt, Mariota throws this pass 31 yards down the field, while rolling to his left. He barely misses Corey Davis on this crossing route. The pass is fairly accurate, considering the level of difficulty of this throw.
Result: Incompletion
Accuracy: Inaccurate
Attempt #5
What happened: Marcus comes right back to redeem himself on the very next play. I loved the play call here. Corey Davis runs the out and up route, knowing that they can catch Jalen Mills jumping on the out route to prevent the 1st down. Great timing throw by Mariota to get the ball out as soon as Davis makes his second break to go up field.
Result: 28 yard completion to Corey Davis.
Accuracy: Accurate
Attempt #6
What happened: Another drop by Taywan. Marcus shows off his incredible deep ball accuracy as he places this ball perfectly 46 yards down the field. Although this play should have been called for a pass interference and face mask, Taylor still needs to make this catch.
Result: Incompletion dropped by Taywan Taylor.
Accuracy: Accurate
Attempt #7
What happened: Marcus makes this throw perfectly in stride to Corey Davis on this deep post route. All Corey has to do is let the ball come right into his hands.
Result: 51 yard completion to Corey Davis.
Accuracy: Accurate
Attempt #8
What happened: Another drop in a crucial point of the game. This time by Darius Jennings. Mariota places it perfectly above the safety and away from Jalen Mills. Marcus would go on to lead the Titans to an OT victory, despite this drop.
Result: Incompletion dropped by Darius Jennings.
Accuracy: Accurate
Attempt #9
What happened: Mariota throws this ball in the face of pressure 32 yards down the field into the endzone. I thought Marcus placed it in a good spot where only Taywan could get it. Unfortunately, Taylor is unable to track this ball over his right shoulder and ends up running too far to the left. If Taywan had just stayed on the path he was running, the ball would have landed right into his hands.
Result: Incompletion
Accuracy: Accurate
Attempt #10
What happened: Initially, it looks like Marcus is going to be sacked by Jerry Hughes (#55), but Hughes lets up on the tackle allowing Marcus to scramble away. Marcus then heaves one up to Tajae Sharpe, who is well covered on the play. The ball is underthrown to Sharpe and batted away by the defender.
Result: Incompletion
Accuracy: Inaccurate
Attempt #11
What happened: Mariota has Taywan Taylor wide open for what should be an easy touchdown on this crossing route down the field. Taylor is able to create a ton of separation. However, you have to wonder if the referee may have impeded Taywan’s path to the ball and caused him to slow down. It is hard to tell with certainty if that is the case.
Result: Incompletion
Accuracy: Inaccurate
Attempt #12
What happened: On this attempt, look at Mariota’s ability to make full field reads and his quick processing. He first scans the right side of the field before working his way back to the left to find Davis. However, he is unable to place the ball on target.
Result: Incompletion
Accuracy: Inaccurate
Attempt #13
What happened: Marcus does a great job of moving up in the pocket to avoid the pass rush coming from the edge. He places the ball right over the linebacker and square on to Taywan’s chest. However, the ball bounces right off of Taywan.
Result: Incompletion dropped by Taywan Taylor.
Accuracy: Accurate
Attempt #14
What happened: This might be one of his best throws and definitely his best deep ball throw this season. I love his willingness to attack and challenge the defense here. Look at how he fits the ball into a tight window of triple coverage. He places the ball perfectly over Sean Lee and between the two safeties. Impressive throw.
Result: 36 yard completion to Darius Jennings.
Accuracy: Accurate