Porter: Mariota, The Final Puzzle Piece
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The Super Bowl is like a fence.
It's a black fence---tall, irregular, and treacherous. Everyone is attempting the arduous goal of surmounting it.
There are a multitude of ways to show off your creativity in breaking through the fence (climbing, squeezing, cutting, etc.), but it has been proven the simplest way is to acquire all the necessary puzzle pieces which give you access to the key. Once you have access to the key, your probability for surpassing this monstrous fence, increases tremendously.
When I see Marcus Mariota, I don't see a 6'4" quarterback. I don't see a well-spoken, intelligent 21-year-old kid from Hawaii. I don't see a high-school track and field star who runs a 4.5 40-yard dash. And I don't even see a Heisman Trophy winner.
When I look at Mariota, I see a puzzle piece. More specifically, the final and most important puzzle piece for Chip Kelly, the Eagles, and the city of Philadelphia.
Mariota is the key to get through the fence.
Listen: Porter talks Mariota (around 31:00 mark) on the Pulse Of Philly podcast
Bill Belichick in New England and Pete Carroll in Seattle are the only other NFL head coaches who have complete personnel control, like Kelly in Philly.
Belichick went 5-11 in his first season with the New England Patriots. Then, he found Tom Brady. The Patriots went on to win four Super Bowls (and counting) under the aforementioned coach-quarterback tandem.
Carroll, after back-to-back losing seasons to start his tenure with the Seahawks, found Russell Wilson. Carroll and Wilson came within three feet of repeating as Super Bowl champs a few months ago, losing to---guess who---Brady, Belichick, and the Pats.
In 2012, Mariota and Kelly were together at Oregon. Mariota, a redshirt freshman then, threw for 2,677 yards, 32 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He ran for another 752 yards and five more scores. The Ducks went on to beat No. 5 Kansas in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl 35-17, finishing the season as the No. 2 ranked team. Mariota, the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, was named Fiesta Bowl MVP.
That was Mariota's worst collegiate season.
The critics will tell you his accuracy is inadequate, especially down the field, and he's played in a system that allowed him to make the easiest of throws. They'll say his stats are elevated and his ceiling as a passer is limited.
Newsflash: The Eagles, under Kelly, run that same exact quarterback-friendly system (see: Foles, Nick; Sanchez, Mark) as Oregon did.
"A lot of teams I've talked to has said, the stuff that I did at Oregon will help me in my transition," Mariota explained on WFAN in New York, last week. "I think a lot of the concepts, a lot of the stuff that we did as a offense was similar to some of the concepts that pro teams run."
There are countless trade rumors, reports, and speculation on how Kelly will acquire Mariota. Now, with the NFL's relatively new collective bargaining agreement which promotes favorable four-year rookie contracts, trades are becoming more common and speculation is endless. The draft-value chart is no longer relevant.
Something like this, my personal favorite, is suddenly plausible:
Browns (owns picks No. 12, 19): Acquire Sam Bradford and a 2016 first-round pick (from Philadelphia)
Titans (owns pick No. 2): Acquire picks No. 12, 19, and 20, and Mychal Kendricks
Eagles (owns pick No. 20): Acquire pick No. 2 (for Mariota) and Johnny Manziel
Ultimately, the Eagles would give up their 2015 and 2016 first-round picks, Bradford, and Kendricks for Mariota and Manziel.
How does Mariota-Sanchez-Manziel-Tebow sound?
With the NFL Draft just about 82 hours away, everyone has their own theory, some more ridiculous than others, on how Mariota will become an Eagle. No one really knows exactly how it will happen, but if it does, Philadelphia will go bananas.
The sports fans of the Delaware Valley need something to celebrate, and Mariota---the final puzzle piece for a Super Bowl(s)---is certainly reason for celebration.