Manning-o-Meter measures the prowess of every first- and second-year quarterback on a weekly basis. It is, by nature, a subjective excercise. I will pepper in as many objective observations as I can along the way, but you will probably be mad with my conclusions at some point. DYAR and DVOA are Football Outsiders' defense-adjusted metrics,explained here. The goal is get a better indicator of how these guys are playing and where their teams may hold them back by play-calling and offensive personnel.
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The quarterbacks on the Manning-o-Meter are, from left-to-right: Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jon Kitna, Andy Dalton, Jake Plummer, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers, and Peyton Manning. The scale is not measuring these quarterbacks against those players as rookies, but rather against a "vintage" performance by those players.Derek CarrTraditional Stats: 20-32, 314 yards, two touchdownsAdvanced Stats: 67.6% DVOA, 141 DYARGIF of consequence:
Thing that held him back: Again, this was a pretty ideal game for Carr. Very little poor play from the rest of his teammates.Analysis: Carr is basically running a college offense at this point. They'll do some play-action out of base sets, but 80 percent of Carr's throws are quick shotgun reads. To offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave's credit, this has worked out pretty well so far. The Raiders were also able to run the ball on Cleveland, which helped facilitate things.Here's the problem: 314 passing yards and almost none of them came from Carr's arm. His three highest-yardage plays were underneath throws that resulted in a bevy of missed tackles. I picked the best Carr throw I could find, and I wouldn't wager that makes his highlight reel at the end of the year.When Carr throws with arc, it's often not an NFL-caliber throw. That's something to be concerned about long-term.If I had to rank the Oakland offensive trio after three games, I'd say that Amari Cooper and Latavius Murray are miles ahead of Carr. That's not to say Carr hasn't shown me more than he did last season; he has, at times. He's especially gotten better at moving on from his first read. But he hasn't demonstrated the traits I'd want to see from a true franchise quarterback.
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Marcus MariotaTraditional Stats: 27-44, 367 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, three sacksAdvanced Stats: -1.9% DVOA, 27 DYARGIF of consequence:
Thing you can blame for a poor performance: Poor offensive line play, early drops by receiversAnalysis: This game was actually startlingly similar to Carr's, just with less help from teammates. Mariota also had one good stick throw for a big gain, and otherwise focused on feasting underneath.Unlike Carr, Mariota did this under more adverse conditions. His offensive line was in shambles most of the game, and tackle Taylor Lewan missed a few plays with a shoulder injury. His first interception was dropped by Delanie Walker and fumbled into a Colts defender's hands. The second happened when a safety read his post read the whole way and jumped the route.I'd leave this game encouraged about Mariota's future, but he failed on a few throws that could have changed the game. The two-minute drill that would have tied the game had Tennessee converted a two-pointer was pretty exceptional.Overall, I believe Mariota played a little better than Carr, mostly because I think Mariota went deeper into his progressions and handled the pressure well. Carr didn't have to do either of those things. I also didn't want to ding Carr for not having a chance to do them, so I came to a similar conclusion.
Jameis WinstonTraditional Stats: 17-36, 261 yards, one touchdown, one interception,
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Advanced Stats: 0.0% DVOA, 25 DYARGIF of consequence:
Thing you can blame for a poor performance: Oh man, everything. This was a hard game to watch.Analysis: Jameis Winston is being asked to do more than any quarterback on this list. He plays under center more often. His throws are tougher. And, in this game, his teammates were trying to push him down as quickly as they could.The Bucs had no running offense at all in this game. Mike Evans was the target on 20 different balls and caught just seven of them. (In Evans' defense, he may not be fully healthy. He didn't seem to have the same sort of "my ball" mentality he had in his rookie season.) Winston's offensive line continues to allow pressure practically every other down. His kicker left 10 points on the board.And what we got, for most of this game, was Winston throwing lasers. He faded a bit in the second half. His interception came on a disguised blitz by Quintin Demps, who dropped into coverage on a post route they'd been running over and over again.Other than that and a few sailed corner routes, Winston was dealing all game. It was oddly impressive how the Bucs still managed to keep that game from turning into a win.
Blake BortlesTraditional Stats: 17-33, 242 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, two sacks, one fumbleAdvanced Stats: -10% DVOA, 3 DYARGIF of consequence:
Thing you can blame for a poor performance: This was pretty much all on Bortles.
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Analysis: It's not often I find myself trusting a picture instead of words, but I'll bite. Tell us, Marcedes Lewis, how you feel about Blake Bortles' accuracy?
This has sadly become classic Bortles. His interception was not even close to the target, and he could have been picked three or four other times. At this point, pretty much all of his production is his receivers making him look good. Allen Robinson winning 50-50 balls, and Allen Hurns breaking a tackle to get into the end zone on a seam route.The thing that kills you with Blake Bortles is that he's clearly got enough talent to do this. His last drive actually had a few good throws. But by the time it happened, the Jaguars were trailing by an entire scoreline.That last drive was enough to keep me away from Gabbert, but this was as brutal a quarterbacked game you'll see in the NFL this year.
Teddy BridgewaterTraditional Stats: 13-24, 121 yards, one interceptionAdvanced Stats: -17.9% DVOA, -11 DYARGIF of consequence:
Thing you can blame for a poor performance: Mainly offensive line, but Bridgewater also just didn't play well.Analysis: Box score watching told me that Bridgewater wasn't utilized much in this game. Watching the game itself was fairly disappointing.NFL coaches and scouts always complain about the quarterback prospects that come out of the draft. They say things like "this guy doesn't run a pro-style offense!" or "he doesn't know how to read coverages!" But NFL coaches give us game plans like this, when a team with four fairly competent receivers barely throws.For his part, Bridgewater's ball was fluttering Sunday. The deep balls were a step late, and Chargers defenders were in his face fairly often. But the design of this offense baffles me. Bridgewater throws short of the sticks way too often. There's way too many horizontal passing plays for an offense that doesn't have many game-changers in the short game.This reminds me a lot of Russell Wilson and Darrell Bevell in Seattle. Is this offense intentionally conservative because they don't trust Bridgewater? Or is the offensive line just so bad at this point that it's dictating the way they play? Either way, it's a tough watch right now.
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Thing that held him back: Again, this was a pretty ideal game for Carr. Very little poor play from the rest of his teammates.Analysis: Carr is basically running a college offense at this point. They'll do some play-action out of base sets, but 80 percent of Carr's throws are quick shotgun reads. To offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave's credit, this has worked out pretty well so far. The Raiders were also able to run the ball on Cleveland, which helped facilitate things.Here's the problem: 314 passing yards and almost none of them came from Carr's arm. His three highest-yardage plays were underneath throws that resulted in a bevy of missed tackles. I picked the best Carr throw I could find, and I wouldn't wager that makes his highlight reel at the end of the year.When Carr throws with arc, it's often not an NFL-caliber throw. That's something to be concerned about long-term.If I had to rank the Oakland offensive trio after three games, I'd say that Amari Cooper and Latavius Murray are miles ahead of Carr. That's not to say Carr hasn't shown me more than he did last season; he has, at times. He's especially gotten better at moving on from his first read. But he hasn't demonstrated the traits I'd want to see from a true franchise quarterback.
Thing you can blame for a poor performance: Poor offensive line play, early drops by receiversAnalysis: This game was actually startlingly similar to Carr's, just with less help from teammates. Mariota also had one good stick throw for a big gain, and otherwise focused on feasting underneath.Unlike Carr, Mariota did this under more adverse conditions. His offensive line was in shambles most of the game, and tackle Taylor Lewan missed a few plays with a shoulder injury. His first interception was dropped by Delanie Walker and fumbled into a Colts defender's hands. The second happened when a safety read his post read the whole way and jumped the route.I'd leave this game encouraged about Mariota's future, but he failed on a few throws that could have changed the game. The two-minute drill that would have tied the game had Tennessee converted a two-pointer was pretty exceptional.Overall, I believe Mariota played a little better than Carr, mostly because I think Mariota went deeper into his progressions and handled the pressure well. Carr didn't have to do either of those things. I also didn't want to ding Carr for not having a chance to do them, so I came to a similar conclusion.
Thing you can blame for a poor performance: Oh man, everything. This was a hard game to watch.Analysis: Jameis Winston is being asked to do more than any quarterback on this list. He plays under center more often. His throws are tougher. And, in this game, his teammates were trying to push him down as quickly as they could.The Bucs had no running offense at all in this game. Mike Evans was the target on 20 different balls and caught just seven of them. (In Evans' defense, he may not be fully healthy. He didn't seem to have the same sort of "my ball" mentality he had in his rookie season.) Winston's offensive line continues to allow pressure practically every other down. His kicker left 10 points on the board.And what we got, for most of this game, was Winston throwing lasers. He faded a bit in the second half. His interception came on a disguised blitz by Quintin Demps, who dropped into coverage on a post route they'd been running over and over again.Other than that and a few sailed corner routes, Winston was dealing all game. It was oddly impressive how the Bucs still managed to keep that game from turning into a win.
Thing you can blame for a poor performance: This was pretty much all on Bortles.Analysis: It's not often I find myself trusting a picture instead of words, but I'll bite. Tell us, Marcedes Lewis, how you feel about Blake Bortles' accuracy?
This has sadly become classic Bortles. His interception was not even close to the target, and he could have been picked three or four other times. At this point, pretty much all of his production is his receivers making him look good. Allen Robinson winning 50-50 balls, and Allen Hurns breaking a tackle to get into the end zone on a seam route.The thing that kills you with Blake Bortles is that he's clearly got enough talent to do this. His last drive actually had a few good throws. But by the time it happened, the Jaguars were trailing by an entire scoreline.That last drive was enough to keep me away from Gabbert, but this was as brutal a quarterbacked game you'll see in the NFL this year.
Thing you can blame for a poor performance: Mainly offensive line, but Bridgewater also just didn't play well.Analysis: Box score watching told me that Bridgewater wasn't utilized much in this game. Watching the game itself was fairly disappointing.NFL coaches and scouts always complain about the quarterback prospects that come out of the draft. They say things like "this guy doesn't run a pro-style offense!" or "he doesn't know how to read coverages!" But NFL coaches give us game plans like this, when a team with four fairly competent receivers barely throws.For his part, Bridgewater's ball was fluttering Sunday. The deep balls were a step late, and Chargers defenders were in his face fairly often. But the design of this offense baffles me. Bridgewater throws short of the sticks way too often. There's way too many horizontal passing plays for an offense that doesn't have many game-changers in the short game.This reminds me a lot of Russell Wilson and Darrell Bevell in Seattle. Is this offense intentionally conservative because they don't trust Bridgewater? Or is the offensive line just so bad at this point that it's dictating the way they play? Either way, it's a tough watch right now.
