Why oh why is Amari not the front runner for the Heisman?

bamanut_aj

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This may be the largest margin for a Heisman winner this year. Mariota may get 100% of 1st place votes (not really 100%, but he'll run away with this)


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tidefanbeezer

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Re: Why oh why is Amarinot the front runner for the Heisman?

Only thing I can think of is because he is a receiver and doesn't return kicks and punts. Other than that, not sure?
This is a big piece of it. It's been 23 years since a WR won and even then Desmond Howard returned kicks as well. It's largely become a QB and RB award (though usually a QB).

Add to that the fact that Mariotta, regardless of his conference, has played lights out this year and had more hype for the award entering the season than Amari.
 

CrimsonChuck

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This may be the largest margin for a Heisman winner this year. Mariota may get 100% of 1st place votes (not really 100%, but he'll run away with this)


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I don't think that's the case. I thin Amari is going to win the most of the first place votes from southern journalists at least.

I do think that Mariotta is a system QB. But they have given it to system QBs before. See Charlie Ward.
 

bamanut_aj

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I don't think that's the case. I thin Amari is going to win the most of the first place votes from southern journalists at least.

I do think that Mariotta is a system QB. But they have given it to system QBs before. See Charlie Ward.
I think Coop beats Gordon for 2nd, but I will be shocked if the 1st place vote close.


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RedStar

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Every game I've watched this year...

Announcer: "Cooper is the best player in the country!"
Announcer: "Mariota will win the Heisman!"

This was decided long ago. Mariota was a front runner when the season started, Cooper wasn't. Mariota has done nothing to make voters take his name off their ballots. He'll win and for good reason. He's had an outstanding year. He lived up to the preseason pressure cooker. Few do that.

Thankfully this is a good group of guys and I could find myself pulling for all of them on the next level. There are no Manziel's or Winston's to be seen.
 

AlexanderFan

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How can you say he earned it while playing in a conference that puts their fourth best athlete at their first corner position? There's a reason why when Stanford is on their game they dominate that league. Their defense gets almost equal talent compared to their offense. Mariotta throws to wide open receivers on a field where the best defensive player might be third string in the SEC. There's nothing impressive about what he's done because it's like a high school team throwing against a pop Warner team. Blake Sims, who many consider an inferior talent to MM, would put up similar numbers in that conference.


· I was a huge Blake Sims doubter at the first of the year. His play has proven me wrong.

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RedStar

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How can you say he earned it while playing in a conference that puts their fourth best athlete at their first corner position? There's a reason why when Stanford is on their game they dominate that league. Their defense gets almost equal talent compared to their offense. Mariotta throws to wide open receivers on a field where the best defensive player might be third string in the SEC. There's nothing impressive about what he's done because it's like a high school team throwing against a pop Warner team. Blake Sims, who many consider an inferior talent to MM, would put up similar numbers in that conference.


· I was a huge Blake Sims doubter at the first of the year. His play has proven me wrong.

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Because no other P12 QB has ever done what Mariota just did. So yeah, even if the P12 doesn't have the defenses other leagues might have, Mariota still beat some of those other outrageous records P12 QB's have set in the past.
 

B1GTide

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I get the love for Blake, but those suggesting that Mariota had anything less than an amazing season are being willfully ignorant.
 

BamaHoosier

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Re: Why oh why is Amarinot the front runner for the Heisman?

Mariota has had a solid career overall. He has put up eye popping numbers, and he's done it without the benefit of playing in most 4th quarters. It was Mariota's to lose going into the season, and he has done everything he needed to do to maintain his status as the front runner. I have no issues at all with Mariota being the winner. He's a great quarterback, and he has won a lot of games. Not only that, he's an all around good guy. There is no doubt in my mind that all 3 candidates are very worthy of the award, but Mariota will be the hands down winner.


The true testament to how hard it is for a receiver to win the Heisman is that only 2 receivers have won the award in its history. It's not just this year that a great player is getting snubbed, it's every year.
 

RedStar

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How many fourth quarters has Amari played in this year?

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Probably the same as Mariota?

Mariota has only thrown 4 total passes combined in the 4th quarter of the last 3 games.

Amari is my favorite player in the country, and one of my favorites to ever wear Crimson. But please don't act like this is highway robbery when Mariota walks up and accepts the trophy.
 

GreatDanish

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Mariota is very deserving. Cooper is deserving too, but they only give one award. I have zero problem with Mariota getting it.

Let me add, the fact that QBs always win isn't just some Heisman atrocity. The NFL MVP is the same way. Has a WR ever won the NFL MVP? I can only remember a few non-QBs winning it - Shaun Alexander, Adrian Peterson, LaDanian Tomlinson, and Lawrence Taylor. People (rightfully, IMO) put greater pressure on QBs and in turn give greater reward to QBs because there is so much on their plates on every single play. All MVP awards favor QBs for the same reason MLB MVPs do not favor pitchers.
 

tide96

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Re: Why oh why is Amarinot the front runner for the Heisman?

It's just too bad Mariota chose this year to be a senior. For QB's, the Heisman is often a career achievement award. But I actually think he deserves it.

If the end of the Auburn game had gone another way, AJ would have been very close in the voting to Winston.
 

81usaf92

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4 games cost cooper the heisman and they were ole miss,lsu, wcu, and mizzou, but on the flip side if he had big games in those then Blake sims would've beaten him out for the heisman. I said this after the Florida game when this came up, Blake sims would've won the heisman over cooper had it came down to cooper being a serious possibility of winning. It is a qb and rb award with few exceptions. Cooper was always at a disadvantage, and his only opening was when mariota struggled against Arizona, but that was the same weekend that we lost to ole miss. Had we won that game with coop having a 100 yard game, Blake would be in ny with coop and Blake would probably take more votes than coop votes between them and it would probably be because everyone likes a story like Blake's. Then it comes to comparing Blake and mariotta and Marcus would probably take the award anyway. I don't see anyway how cooper would've won unless he broke every sec single season record as a receiver and had some serious luck. Mariota and coop are the best players in college football but mariotta will win the award, and I have no problem with it. Now if you want to say there is injustice in awards this year then tell me why Blake or coop are not maxwell finalists. That is something to gripe about
 
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GeorgiaTider

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Cooper is the best college WR that I have ever seen play the game - certainly as good as any who have come before him. If he won the award, no one in the country outside of the state of Oregon would be upset. But his not winning has a lot to do with the mindset of the voters. Why do QBs win the NFL MVP award every year? Why do regular position players win the MLB MVP awards every year? Because they have the greatest impact on the games - on every game.

QBs touch the ball on every offensive play. WRs - even ones as good as Cooper - touch the ball on less than 25% of the plays. Yes, Cooper also has influence on the other plays because the defense has to account for him, but that is not typical of even great WRs, so voters don't think of it that way.

So, instead of being upset for Cooper (who is going to be just fine without winning this award) try to be happy for Mariota, who by all accounts is a great person and a welcome change from the recent run of thugs winning the award.
Excellent point to this great discussion. For the first time in a few years we have what seems to be 3 candidates who are great young men. What a breath of fresh air.
 

Alasippi

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All three are great at their position. It's simply a QB's Trophy more times than not.
I'd love to see Amari win it but I have no problem with Mariotta. Great player and total class act.
sip
 

bamaslaw

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Re: Why oh why is Amarinot the front runner for the Heisman?

That's just my point friends, y'all think he would throw those kind of numbers in the SEC? I don't...
If we take ourselves out of the mix (because you can't play yourself), are the other defenses in the SEC really that great? Georgia is not, A&M is not, S. Carolina is not... there's really 2-3 defenses that are REALLY good. It's us, Ole Miss, maybe LSU that I'm feel like I'm really concerned with. The other defenses are fine, but when we talk about SEC defense, I'm not sure every team in the SEC pulls its weight. (Florida gets special defense consideration for having to make up for such an anemic offense)

Stats don't always tell the whole story - if a Pac 12 team scores a TD on a 7 play drive in 2:30 and a SEC team scores a TD on a 7 play drive in 4:45 - is there really any difference? Add up enough of those, and while the defenses are preforming fairly similarly, the SEC team will have much better PPG, YPG, etc. With the way the warp speed offenses are changing the game, I think we need a new metric based on per play or per drive statistics.

I would agree that Mariota would not have the same silly stats in the SEC - but I'm not sure how much of that is due to SEC defenses being that much better than the Pac-12 vs Arkansas (and others) want to hold the ball for 40+ minutes of the game and play like it.
 

RTR91

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Re: Why oh why is Amarinot the front runner for the Heisman?

That's just my point friends, y'all think he would throw those kind of numbers in the SEC? I don't...
Mariota's passing stats:

254-372 3783 yards 38 TDs 2 INTs

Johnny Manziel's 2013 passing stats:

300-429 4114 yards 37 TDs 13 INTs
 

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