I'm surprised at the poll results every Jet fan I talked to has no confidence in Geno. That said, continuity is key. Let's see what happens with offensive upgrades
Jets fans are also some of the most negative fans in football and are impatient as fuck. They want immediate results. It was like this with the Sanchez hate and now it's with Geno. He did start out rough and was really raw, but he got it together by the end of the year. Hopefully he starts where he left off. QB prospects are never instant. Lets see what he can do with some targets and a line that can actually protect.
Sanchez got cut a lot of slack his first two years. 2011 was kind of a dividing point in his career and then 2012 was the downward slope. There are only 32 NFL starting QB jobs in the world. Having somebody go 4 years without ever being a top half of the NFL QB is more than enough opportunity given. The only reason that this isn't blindingly clear to people is that the Jets had very solid veteran teams his first two seasons and they covered up a lot of his flaws. When the team went wobbly Sanchez began to show us his true performance level. There was nobody to cover up the issues at that point.
I don't know if he got it together at the end of the year but he did suck less at the end of the year. That seemed to correlate with him running the ball more often.
Here's all you need to know about Geno's coach-ability: in the first 11 games of the season Geno had 9 fumbles and 5 lost. He lost 3 fumbles in the first 4 games of the season. In the last 5 games, no fumbles. If you look at the season as a whole he was much better at protecting the football in the last third than he was in the first third. In the first 4 games he had 8 interceptions and 3 fumbles. In the last 4 he had 2 interceptions and no fumbles. He has a long way to go at this point but he has also come a long way from the rookie who had no ability at all to protect the ball.
While his play toward the end is reason for some cautious hope, I don't take all that much away from it since the teams they faced were, excepting the Panthers, below average performers. I am still amazed at Miami's collapse. They went scoreless against Buffalo the week before, and Tannehill I think is a keeper for them. But what a woeful way to end their season. I loved it, but I digress. The main piont is it remains to be seen just what we saw from Smith ends up being.
Where were the last 4 defenses that Geno faced ranked last year? Oakland #22 with 22 takeaways (#21 overall) Carolina #2 with 30 takeaways (#6 overall) Cleveland #9 with 21 takeaways (#25 overall) Miami # 21 with 24 takeaways (#19 overall) That's a fairly representative sample, maybe slightly towards the downside on defense but not much. 2 giveaways in 4 games against teams that averaged 1.5 a game. That's pretty significant.
Season long team stats don't count for much when you are looking at a late season performance of a team that has given up on the season, which was Cleveland. Also Miami CLEARLY played below their season average in their last two games. Carolina I recall as a game that the Jets lost, and Smith was not a factor. I saw all those games. The opponents except for Carolina did not field even average pass defenses. Really, do you disagree with that assessment? Of course Smith cut down on the turnovers. That was great. But it was also a small sample and like I said against mostly weak defenses. It's just not all that much to bank on going into next season. I acknowledge I am a show me fan when it comes to Jet Qb's, going back to Vinny getting hurt to start the 99 season. Before that, Browning Nagle, Neal O'Donnell, Rick Mirer. After Vinny the false hope of Chadwick got lost on the injury report. Ramsey cut by Joe Gibbs, and the Jets thought he would work? Clemens, Bollinger, were not handled well, but might not have succeeded even if they were. Quincy Carter actually had real talent, but also a bad habit. Fiedler an injury history worse than Chadley. And then the just overwhelming mediocrity that has been Muck. Some here have responded by embracing their inner mediocrity. I am not going to get psyched up by a Jet Qb unless and until he can show he's the real thing. Smith has not yet shown that, as you well know, and may never do so. That about covers it.
Geno improved his turnovers down the stretch no doubt but why is the real issue if he has grown. Seems to me MM implemented to Tebow game plan. Make your first read if it is not there run. Great for the short term not good for the future.
It will say a lot of what the coaching staff thinks of Geno if they bring in Vick. You bring in Vick you are saying Geno is not ready. If Vick is brought in and stays healthy he will start Game 1.
I like the confidence and am proud to see a glass-half-full fan. However, there were many others who posted things very similar to yours years in a row, including myself, saying how they couldn't wait for Sanchez to come back the next season and light it up to prove everyone wrong. I like Geno and am still a believer in him. Can't wait to see what he brings to the table next season along with the rest of the team. Go Jets!
lol I was the nyjunc at my job when it came to Sanchez. Everyone was telling me he sucked while I argued tirelessly that he didn't and bringing up the playoff wins and clutch regular season performances. I just hope Geno takes a significant step up next season.
I think because the other options have too many question marks. Who's the rookie QB, who's the FA QB? Right now, Geno looks the best, but after FA/draft this might change depending on who we pick up. Definitely true it was weak competition, but I guess is a positive is, an average QB should be able to play well against weaker competition. That's a good step, albeit one that Geno struggled with earlier in the year. Maybe the end of the year means nothing, we've seen whole teams in the past end hot and then start next season and look bad. I think another thing is that the Jets fans could finally feel some placed hope about their QB. After 2011 and 2012 we as fans were absolutely shocked. Post 2011 was "he might have been injured, he'll shake it off, that ending was bad but not ALL his fault" etc. After 2012, it was just pure despair. Nothing concrete to point to and say "hey well this we can build off of". Oh yeah , I was fully in the Sanchez camp post 2011. Now, I'm in the indifferent camp on him and riding the Geno train of hope.
I just want a offseason where rex can prep his team without QB controversy ... its really a set back on the low
I don't think QB replacement with Geno is as important as QB development. There are three key factors in his development that I believe can help him and make him more productive. 1. Consistency with the playbook, coaches and teammates. I think we pretty much have that going into next year with Marty & Rex coming back. Also Ivory, Kerley and Nelson should be around for some consistency. 2. Protection from the O-line with a consistent push for a running game and great pass protection. We don't have to ask Geno to win games with slinging it around if we got it going on the ground. Seattle did not have to toss for 400 yards a game as long as they ran and played great defense. Do we address upgrading the line in free agency? Do we address depth early in the draft? 3. Adding some playmakers to the offense that creates separation. Do we address this in free agency or early in the draft? Geno with the WCO does not necessarily need a stud #1. How many rings do Andre Johnson or Calvin John have? We need to give him 3 B+ targets which he does not have right now. I would recommend going after Maclin for a decent deal and addressing TE and WR early in the draft. I am not sure why everyone is so quick to get Geno out of here. He had many turnovers and it will take reps for him to erase those mistakes. Give him some time. I have faith in Idzik with adding talent and depth to this roster.
Hmmmm. I would only be comfortable with the fact that we would have a good QB. We don't have that yet. But the Jets are rebuilding and there is no reason to be comfortable right now. Ask me in a years time.
I totally agree. I'm actually surprised the results of the poll are as good as they are. I think that could be because it's so early, and the results could be radically different following FA and the draft. Still, I agree with you. Short of a miracle of Biblical proportions and Teddy Bridgewater falling to the Jets at #18, I think the Jets need to seriously upgrade the OL in FA and add perhaps another low round OL prospect, and use most of the rest of the picks on offensive playmakers.
