ESPN's Sport Science takes a look at Winston and Mariota. For any person not introduced to Sport Science, it is a segment that looks at athletes in a "scientific" way that will fascinate you rather than bore you - like my charts, ahem. What I like about this Sport Science segment is that Sport Science actually did a segment on accuracy for Winston as a 17 year old! I was not aware of that. Years later, Sport Science can compare 17 year old Winston to today's Winston.
Although the segment is under three minutes, they pack a lot of information and concepts. They go from accuracy to mechanics to resetting footwork. Near the end of the episode they make their comparisons. And those who like historical context will want to know what Sport Science has to say about that as well, which deals with Heisman Trophy Winners and the NFL. Winston is compared to Ben Roethlisberger while Mariota...gets Johnny Manziel.
In the video segment, Sport Science touches upon Mariota's accuracy. Sport Science is not alone in this assessment. Here is scouting review from Joe Bussell that supports what Sport Science has revealed. There is a lot more to read in that article for both quarterbacks, which was written before the Rose Bowl.
One of the most disappointing aspects of Mariota's game on film was his mediocre accuracy. He is fairly erratic with both his overall accuracy and his ball placement. At times he'll hit a receiver directly in stride but too often he will throw it in front or behind a crossing receiver or will miss a spot altogether. Sometimes he'll miss high because he doesn't fully step into his throw. This is a slight concern because he does it too often without pressure, which means he's anticipating pressure before it actually manifests. Mariota's pocket tolerance improved vastly from 2012 to 2014 so it's easy to think that this is something that he'll continue to get more comfortable with and can be eliminated from his play with the right coaching.
And here is Bussell's take on Winston's mechanics, which also supports Sport Science:
Winston’s throwing mechanics are sloppy. And that’s putting it nicely. His feet are sloppy which causes his entire lower body to be sloppy and also his entire upper body. He gets away with this because he has such a strong arm and is still consistently accurate. With some discipline in his mechanics, Winston could become an even better thrower and more consistently accurate with the football. When Winston misses he misses high, especially to his right. He has a tendency to drop his throwing elbow when throwing to his right and causes a lot of his balls to sail because his hand dips below the football at the release instead of staying "on top" of it. This happens less when he throws to the left because the motion of throwing to the left naturally slots his elbow in the right position and he’s less likely to let it sail.
Do you agree with the Sport Science quarterback comparisons of Mariota and Winston?