Right I know the game wasnt "out of reach" but aside from the overly bi-polar and chicken littles (not saying this is you at all) even before the 4th quarter drive, was the game ever really in doubt? The offense wasnt tearing it up, but even when struggling I never had that worried feeling that Fresno St was gonna be able to get it to within a score. I'm sure against an opponent with more horses and depth the playbook would have been opened more. I've been casually rewatching the 2nd half this morning and I'm seeing a heavy dose of zone read, zone read, dink and dunk screens.
There probably are more plays Chip could have gone to, but I, for one, was honestly worried Mariota was going to float a ball out there to get intercepted and run back for a touchdown . . . and that could have totally changed the momentum. I think it was smart for Chip to stick to the run as much as he did. Maybe it works two ways in other teams don't see as many plays and Chip playing conservative kept the game out of reach . . .can't beleive those announcers didn't know what Chip was doing with the slow play at the end of the game. That slow play pretty much sealed the deal even if Oregon didn't get a touchdownh out of it. Anyways, watch the second half and then I'm intersted in your opinion if you think the conservative play calling was to win the game or to not show the entire hand yet.
On a side note.... I've read some posts where people have questioned Mariota.... That said I hope everyone watch the last 3 minutes of the second quarter where Marcus took the Ducks 94+ yards down the field for a TD after almost having his head torn off play two of that drive and kept the poise to find a reciever in that same play and turn that drive into a thing of beauty! The one thing I know about this kid is he will work his ass off this week to correct his mistakes and he'll be even better next weekend; that said for a second start against a pretty good defense, he's way ahead of where I thought he'd be thus far and I have super high expectations for him!
I don't think people are "questioning Mariota". I think some of us have noticed some issues with his throwing that we think could lead to some problems against better defenses. With that said, I love the kid and I think he's going to be great. He has all the tools you want in a QB. He can run, he can throw, and he's smart. Triple threat yo!
I agree that I've seen some balls thrown that look like they don't have a ton of zip on them at the same time I've seen him throw some unbelievable strikes with zip and precission.... So I'm wondering if Marcus isn't shaping his shots as needed for the play he's in.... We will see in two weeks against AZ.....
