FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Quarterback Marcus Mariota is still new to the Falcons organization, working through his first training camp in Atlanta. Even though he’s familiar with Arthur Smith and his scheme from their days together in Tennessee, chemistry has to be built with his lineman and receivers.
That takes time. And reps. And learning from mistakes.
Mariota is one who doesn’t want to wait before fixing them, digging into the issues right away so they don’t grow into larger concerns.
“You have to be able to go up there and communicate and talk through certain situations and talk through the scenario, what happened, talk through what you saw, what we can get better at,” Mariota said. “I really believe in constant communication and, at the same time, I think it’s just a little bit of encouragement.
“Sometimes guys get a little down if they’re not getting the ball, I think they understand that it is a competition but if you put out great routes and you practice hard, that’s all that we’re asking from you.”
That provides a small window into Mariota’s leadership style, which contains constructive criticism sprinkled with a dash of encouragement. Or maybe a little more than that.
Mariota isn’t Matt Ryan and doesn’t need to be. Even if you don’t hear about Mariota fired up commanding teammates or quizzing them during down time, that doesn’t mean he’s not impactful getting the team focused on improving as a unit and growing together.
Arthur Smith prizes authentic leadership as much as anything. Mariota is being himself, putting his unique stamp on the Falcons in his own way.
“Offensively, he runs everything. He’s in charge of everything,” tight end Kyle Pitts said. “So, if he sees us slacking a little bit, he’s going to pick us back up. He wants consistency and improvement on a daily basis.
“He’s a mixture of being vocal and leading by example. He sets the tone and everybody picks up on that.”
Mariota has set a proper tone in this Falcons training camp, which has led to…
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