Talk » indicating some issues there -- though if

Welcome to the first installment of what will be a weekly look into the inner workings of QBR, shining a closer spotlight on a quarterback performance that might seem a little on the high or low side of our rankings. For our first foray, lets look at Tennessee Titans quarterback?Marcus Mariotas 3.6 QBR against the Oakland Raiders.At first glance it doesnt look like an epically bad game -- Mariota was 17-of-33 passing for 214 yards with two interceptions -- so why is Mariotas QBR lower than?Ryan Fitzpatricks six-interception game against the Chiefs, which produced a 5.0?First, the most important thing to remember is that QBR is a rate stat, not a counting stat. This means that Mariota was less efficient than Fitzpatrick in Week 3, not necessarily that he cost his team more points with his play. In fact, if we look at our Points Added metric, Fitzpatrick was worse. Points Added estimates the number of points a QB adds (or, in this case, subtracts), versus what an average QB would do, given the same amount of action. In this respect. He cost the Jets an estimated 10.4 points; Mariota only cost the Titans 9.3.Part of what created Mariotas poor QBR is that he struggled mightily on third downs against the Raiders, converting first downs on only two of his 12 plays (he also was flagged for a false start on a third-and-9 in the red zone, which impacted his rating). Looking only at his third-down play, Mariotas QBR was only a 1.3.Mariota had a damaging fumble while attempting to scramble for a conversion on a third-and-13 attempt in the second quarter, setting the Raiders up in?Sebastian Janikowskis field goal range. He also had an interception on a third-and-2 at the end of the first half, but the impact of that play is muted by the fact there wasnt enough time left for the Raiders to run a play or kick a field goal. But make no mistake, it was not a good play.Outside of his third-down issues, Mariota threw an interception that gave the Raiders the ball near midfield and fumbled early in the game. Even though his teammate recovered, since Mariota didnt recover it himself, his QBR is charged the same amount as if Oakland had recovered, and in proportion to where the Raiders would have gotten the ball on the turnover. In this case, Mariotas fumble occurred at his own 30-yard-line, which again would have set up the Raiders in Janikowskis range.Yes, Mariota nearly led a game-tying touchdown drive at the end of the game, but by that point he had already dug a hole so deep that even if he had capped the drive with a TD, hed still be in a similar range to Fitzpatrick. As it was, he was able to bring his QBR up from a 1.7 at the start of the final drive to the 3.6 where it ended.While Fitzpatrick did throw six INTs, they were not as damaging to his QBR because he still managed to drive the Jets into advantageous positions before turning it over. The net effect of his interceptions are still negative and drag his QBR down, but he had built up some positive credit along the way before giving it back with the picks, whereas Mariota simply couldnt move the ball effectively and managed to turn it over in threatening locations, a double-whammy.It is never good to throw an interception, but interceptions deep in opposition territory (which leads to a long field for the opposing offense) are better than giving the ball away near your own end zone, where the opponent is more likely to score. 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He got tapped into the Iron Arrow Honor Society, the highest accolade one can receive from the school.Finally, there was something for the Hurricanes to celebrate.Iron Arrow looks for individuals with five qualities -- a love of Miami, character, leadership, scholarship and humility. It didnt take long for first-year coach Mark Richt to see that Kaaya had all that, and their understanding of one another has been one of the few bright spots in this topsy-turvy Hurricanes season.I truly believe he cares about winning, he cares about his teammates, he cares about trying to do his part to help the team win, Richt said. I think thats his focus. I dont know what he thinks about in his off moments and things of that nature. but right now, he shows up every day and hes businesslike.Its not as easy as it sounds, especially now.October was one to forget for Kaaya and the Hurricanes, who have lost four straight games to freefall from being as high as No. 10 in the AP Top 25 to unranked and out of contention in the Atlantic Coast Conferences Coastal Division race. Still needing two wins in the final four ACC games just to become bowl-eligible, Miami (4-4, 1-3) will host Pittsburgh (5-3, 2-2) on Saturday.Miami hasnt lost five straight in the same season since 1977.Its been a series of unfortunate events the last couple years, Kaaya said. One turn of events leads to another, and it always seems like its around October-time. I dont know if thats a cursed month for us. Im not really into good luck or bad luck, but its been a tough couple Octobers for us. We just cant dwell on that, honestly.He and Richt share a philosophy there, and really, that might be one of the reasons why theres still some hope in the Miami locker room.Theyve been together for 11 months now, and its evident during games that Richt and Kaaya interact like no other coach-player combination on the team. After each series, whether its a three-and-out or a score or anything in betweeen, Kaaya immediately heads to the sideline, connects with Jon Richt -- Mark Richts son and Miamis quarterbacks coach -- via headset to talk about every play.ddddddddddddHe then does a similar rundown with the head coach.Both have been wildly celebrated at Miami, Kaaya for his climb up the schools record books in every passing category, Richt for being the alum who came home to fix things. Of late, though, theyve both faced plenty of scrutiny, especially in the social-media world, which is understandable given that Miami is on a four-game skid.Richt said he started telling Kaaya right away that the attention -- good and bad -- would be part of the job.Its usually head coach, quarterback. Those two positions get the most attention, the most feedback, good or bad, said Richt, who played quarterback at Miami from 1978-82. Theyre positions of leadership and the quarterback position is the one that most fans understand what his job is, at least a little bit. Theres anonymity in other positions. For that one, theres just not.Kaaya has played through some issues this season, and a lot of hits of late especially. He got a molar busted in the Florida State game; thats since been bonded. He keeps flexing his shoulder during games as well, indicating some issues there -- though if its really hurting, hes not saying.No matter the system, his numbers have stayed remarkably consistent. His completion percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating are virtually identical to what he posted a year ago in a system that was less technical than what Richt is using.While hes being consistent; Miamis offense, not so much. And if the Hurricanes are going to salvage this season, Kaaya knows that must change.Theres times where we look great, times where we look the exact opposite, Kaaya said. So just getting consistency in this offense, its something that needs to be done.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '