Is Marcus Mariota the Real Deal?

Marcus Mariota has exploded upon the scene early on in preseason looking like a comfortable passer in the pocket, taking snaps from under center and out of the shotgun. Last night, Mariota played in Nashville for the first time against one of the leagues most talented fronts, the Saint Louis Rams. He didn't bat an eye once.

Already, this early in the game, Mariota has thrown 16 passes and completed 12 of them, a 75% completion rate. Yes, his first pass was a pick six, and he should have had a pick against Saint Louis, but the point is that Mariota finished in Atlanta with 7 other passes that resulted in completions. Dexter McCluster dropped his first TD pass. Mariota is looking like a true student of the game learning quickly.

His footwork is pristine, and helps him move out of trouble. His accuracy is uncanny, making every throw so far. He's calm, composed. His helmet went out for 2 plays last night, to where he couldn't communicate with Ken Whisenhunt for the play. He didn't loose his cool. He jogged to the sideline and took the plays to the huddle. Whisenhunt was more then impressed.

Most of all, Mariota is a leader. He wants his teammates to follow him, and if anyone improves Tennessee's chances in the AFC South his season, its Marcus.

Earlier this season, I told Pete Priscoe that Winston was a bust, but Mariota was the real deal. I believe I just still may be correct on that prediction. We will see how Winston performs tonight. However, Mariota is the real deal. Watch him begin the turnaround in Nashville.

ACL's and other muscle Tears- Why Now?

    This NFL offseason has been full of an unusual amount of injuries to key players on the practice field and in preseason games, and an almost unending stream of torn ACL's are among the configuration. Jordy Nelson, a Packers star WR,  is the latest of key players to go down with a torn ACL.

    ACL tears were rare in the early days of football all the way until about 2010. Why are these injuries picking up now?

    Stretch and hold forms of stretching is bad for the health of an athlete, according to drgangemi.com. Stretching before a game or practice in the way athletes, including NFL players, do is scientifically proven to do more harm then good to a player, and here is why.

    Stretching and holding stretches your muscles out, and stretches them longer then they normally are. This technique makes them weaker, and allows the muscles to tear easier. Malachy McHugh, the director of research at the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma reported to the New York Times that “There is a neuromuscular inhibitory response to static stretching. The straining muscle becomes less responsive and stays weakened for up to 30 minutes after stretching, which is not how an athlete wants to begin a workout.”

        The Department of Kinesiology at the University of Texas did a study on stretching muscles in this way, and found that by stretching your right leg, you not only weakened muscles in your knee and calves that were stretched, but that you could weaken other muscles that weren't stretched.

    So, why do NFL players and pretty much all athletes still stretch in this way? Mostly out of habit. Yes, stretching allows muscles to be loosened, but the idea is to keep the muscle where it is supposed to be. Dynamic stretching habits allow this to happen, and protect the muscles from overstretching.

    Until NFL trainers and coaching staffs recognize this, expect to see a lot more players going down with these injuries, simply because they've opened their muscles to overstretching and they've worn out and torn.