Mason says Mariota's success is no passing fancy – The Tennessean
The buzz about Marcus Mariota’s training camp no-interception streak has reached from the Titans’ practice facility to Vanderbilt, where Commodores coach Derek Mason chuckles about a rookie quarterback he knows well.
“Yeah, it’s not often you’re going to get Marcus,” said Mason, who had relative success against Mariota while defensive coordinator at Stanford. “Occasionally, we got him. But it wasn’t often because Marcus doesn’t make many mistakes, and he doesn’t throw many picks.
“I know he hasn’t thrown (an interception) so far, and I really don’t think that will change much (in NFL games).”
So count Mason as a believer that Mariota’s strong training camp will translate to games, beginning with the Titans’ preseason opener at Atlanta Friday night.
Mariota carries a streak of 186 passes without an interception in seven-on-seven and team drills at Titans training camp. It correlates to his performances at Oregon, where he racked up 105 touchdown passes and only 14 interceptions in a 41-game career.
Much of Mason’s reputation was built on his success against Mariota. But he said the rookie’s ball protection doesn’t surprise him, despite Mariota transitioning to the Titans offense and the speed of the NFL game.
“He always had great field awareness, and that translates to any offense,” said Mason, who also coached in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings from 2007-09. “Not only does he have physical gifts, but he has a great intellect, a great football IQ. Some of his best football is above the neck.
“Marcus knows the value of taking care of the football, and he understands what his offense needs.”
Mason’s Stanford squads did a relatively good job of bottling up Mariota. In two meetings (2012-13), his defenses sacked Mariota six times, intercepted him once, forced a fumble and once held the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner to minus-16 yards rushing.
Stanford upset Oregon in back-to-back years to squash the Ducks’ national title hopes. Mason knows firsthand that limiting Mariota has been rare thus far.
“It’s hard to have success against him because Marcus Mariota is an extremely smart player,” Mason said. “It usually came on third down when you’d try to give him different looks, and we forced him to throw the ball downfield.”
Mason said he doesn’t think Mariota will succumb to the pressure of being a rookie NFL starting quarterback. It’s simply not in his nature.
“Marcus is going to be calm and just take what the defense gives him. That’s what he’s always done,” Mason said. “He has never found a reason to press or get outside his comfort zone. Defenses are going to have to make him get outside his comfort zone, because in watching him and even seeing him in some (Titans) highlight clips in what he’s doing in practice, he’s managing the game, even for a young guy.”
Mason said Mariota has always been “smart, athletic and great at taking care of the football,” and he expects that to continue with the Titans.
“Whether you’re talking about spread (offense like at Oregon) or West Coast offense, it’s all based on knowing your progressions and having a talent for getting the ball out of your hands,” Mason said. “He has that. He understands his throwing options and how to have command. He can go from his primary to his secondary (receivers) very quickly, and people are finding out that he has a great arm.”
Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
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