Oregon State Football: Sean Mannion & Cody Vaz Luxury For The Beavers

Describe the strengths and weaknesses of Cody Vaz and Sean Mannion, and what they've both brought to the table this season.

Jon Irwin, Northwest Sports Beat: - Vaz is quicker on his release and decision making. But he has less pocket awareness and can be too decisive (focusing too much on one receiver while others are open). Mannion is much better at making throws under pressure and handling pocket collapses. His field vision's great, but he still makes some far too risky of throws (especially over the middle). Both excel at stretching all sides of the field.

James Crabtree-Hannigan, Building the Dam - In the long run, Mannion's probably the better QB. His good stretches have been better and longer than Vaz's this season. But his bad stretches have been worse, and that's the reason Vaz is the starting QB. Last week's garbage time INT was the first of Vaz's season, no small feat considering he faced teams like BYU and ASU's defenses. Vaz's quicker release was vital against the Sun Devil pass rush, and gives him a large advantage over Mannion in the short-term.

Andy Wooldridge, Building the Dam - Mannion has the big arm, and while Vaz can air it out, he's the better dart thrower. Whether its for a completion or to throw the ball away, in close quarters, Vaz puts the ball where it won't hurt him better than Mannion. And its not all due to his quicker release.

Mannion is more the high reward, high risk type, whereas Vaz is more the "dreaded" good game manager; except he manages to win.