Thanks. I think in Geno's case, he's better off for having played. I think the booing and playing too early probably affected his confidence his first year. But in the long run, I think it helped him to develop thicker skin, to become mentally tougher, and will help him going forward. His confidence appears to be very high now. He seems to have put the past struggles and embarrassment behind him. If so, that's a great sign. It's just like a CB who gets beat deep. He has to have a "short" memory. I'm truly encouraged by what I've seen from Geno so far. We've all know that he had all the physical talent in the world and the tools to succeed. The mental aspects like poise, confidence, football IQ, ability to make the reads, were what was in question. He seems to have turned the corner and be answering those questions. I'm cautiously optimistic, but must admit that it's hard not to get excited based on what we've seen so far this year. I don't know anything about Tennessee's CS other than who is their HC. Mariota seems to be further along than Geno in terms of the mental aspects of the game. It could be that Mariota got better coaching at an early age, the systems were better, or that he had some innate ability to figure out or grasp the mental concepts more quickly than Geno. It will be interesting to see how things go with him, whether he will start immediately (I assume that he will), and if so, if he struggles, and if he does how he deals with that long term. I think he will be fine, if he has talent around him and a good CS. I don't remember if Mariota has been through any real adversity. Even if he hasn't, I think he has the maturity to handle it when it comes along, and it inevitably will. That's why I wanted the Jets to get him so badly.
Hey I didn't like the signing at all, and I think he gets cut after this season anyway because they're not going to continue paying him $8 million a year for subpar play. However, I would hot call him shredded. He's cut, yes, but being cut and being big and strong is two different things. He's lanky, he has very long limbs without much strength behind his punch at the line. Most big time receivers are in the 220+ range. I wouldn't want him trying to be physical with receivers because he doesn't have the low center of gravity or strength to do it.
Just in case what? He develops a high football IQ? I don't care about his physical skills, you have to have them to play in this league. To be a consistent winner you have to be intelligent. Have you been happy with Geno's decision making process his first 2 years? I'll eat crow when he shows development above the neck. _
so the reason that the hasn't thrown an interception.... look the kid has good skills and is very football smart something that Geno has yet to show
So let me get this straight. Geno Smith is a good QB. Antonio Cromartie is a bad CB who will probably be cut after this year. Wow, I guess the land of make believe is a fun place, huh?
Another good write up. Classic wisdom always had the newbie QB sit for 2 yrs. Brady, Rogers come to mind. But over the last 10 years we've seen several QBs come straight in from college, struggle the first 2 years, then start to figure it out and be better for it. Luck, Newton, now Geno, Winston, Mariota. I guess if the GM is willing so sacrifice winning for a year or two and a deal with a fan base that boos it's own QB then it's probably best to get your young gun under center and take his lumps as early as possible. Big Ben is the only QB I can think of that came straight in and did well. Year 3 of the Geno is upon us....fingers crossed.
He hasn't shown anything yet. And honestly, I don't care about these practice stats. Andrew Luck gets picked all the time in practice, so does every other QB. It doesn't mean anything. Picks happen, mistakes happen. That's what practice is there for, you try to force some balls, you take more risks. You don't practice to beat your defense. Of course you want to beat them but that's not the thing you focus on. It's like boxing and sparring. In a fight you try to win, in sparring you practice new things, nobody cares about the outcome. You don't keep track of who lands more punches. What I'm interested to see if Geno makes the right reads, if he goes through his progressions, if he shows pocket awareness, if he can get rid of the ball quick instead of taking sacks. He has shown that so far. Whether he can do that in the regular season on a consistent basis remains to be seen but so far he's done good. Can't ask for much more.
I think GMs should look at each QB and situation differently. Some QBs started for 3-4 years in college at topflight programs, have a ton of experience playing in big games, have all the physical tools, have already demonstrated good decision making and the ability to read Ds, and are topflight prospects or labeled as "can't miss." Unless those teams have awful OLs, or are already a top SB contender (and how often do one of those get to draft a "can't miss" QB prospect?) they should start those QBs from day 1. These types, barring serious injury, can usually endure any hardships or struggles, they will learn and develop and will ultimately succeed most of the time. Other QBs are rawer, played in spread systems, perhaps played at smaller schools, but have talent, and just need some work. IMO those types should NEVER start day one. Those types should be given the opportunity to sit the first year, learn the offense, learn the ropes in the NFL, adjust to the speed of the game in the NFL, learn how to read the more complex NFL Ds, and work on whatever deficiencies they have in their games. Whether they sit for a year, two or three, should depend on where they are in their development pretty much independent of where the team is and what their needs are. QBs are a precious commodity and an investment. There aren't enough of them to go around in the NFL. Too many teams waste their QB prospects by being impatient, mishandling them, and don't give them the situations they need in which to succeed. Even if a team has to go with a poor or mediocre vet for a couple of seasons, that is preferable to throwing the rookie to the wolves and ruining whatever chance of success he had.
Wait excuse me? Luck and Newton struggled? They were above average the minute they set foot on the field. If I misinterpreted this, my fault. Interceptions in TC are overrated, the best QB in the league has a crap-ton of INTs in TC because he's trying to find ways to get the receivers the ball.
I think this is more of history repeating itself - I can't say this is 2011 redux, because we are more talented, younger, and faster. I remember, I had a similar discussion with you in terms of the guard play this coming year. If the guards can play well, we will make it to the playoffs IMO. The fact of the matter is Geno held the ball 2.6 seconds or more on 61.2 percent of his drop-backs, and that is worst in the league. That GIF we saw against the Vikings, that was at least 4 seconds in the pocket. The guards will need to perform better, and in the AFC East where the best pass-rushers are all interior pass-rushers, you have to make sure that line is intact. I think 2011, was brought up by Brad because Wayne Hunter ruined the season [see Denver Broncos game - Von Miller sack]. Sanchez didn't play right the rest of the year. I understand Brad's concerns here.
Concern is one thing. Downright pessimism and lumping this in with past years is another. Are there similarities? Yes. Could everything turn to crap? Yes. But if that happens, there will be enough time then to kvetch about it and lament it.
Your theory makes sense but Geno was a 4-star recruit, started 3 years in college and saw time his freshman year including 2 bowl game starts. I thought he should've sat his first year and teams are too quick to rush quarterbacks into starting roles. I'm not entirely sure where you're going with this. By this theory Geno should be poised to explode this year. You can't even compare the beginning of his career to Luck, Newton, Kaepernick, etc. Because it's by far the worst start to a "promising" quarterbacks career of all of them.
