Typically, I'm not a fan of anything on Bleacher Report - but I thought this article was worth sharing Jets Quarterback Geno Smith's Progress Has Impressed Coaches and Analysts Before Steve Young was an ESPN analyst, before he was a Hall of Famer and before he was a Super Bowl MVP, he was a very gifted player who wasn't quite sure how to funnel all of his gifts into touchdowns and victories. It took trial and error, hard coaching and about four NFL years for Young to figure it out. So when Young looked at Jets rookie Geno Smith and saw a player who reminded him of himself way back when, he gave him a call. The two had a phone conversation about a month ago, and Young, at the request of Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, tried to impart some wisdom. "I encouraged him to do the hard work, take the right path," Young said. "A lot of times, they don't want to take that journey. But Geno is laser-focused on doing the most difficult things for a quarterback. He knows it doesn't take weeks or months, but years. He has to treat it like med school, or a graduate degree. He knows it is a long haul, and he is willing to pay the price." Smith says he sees himself as a pocket passer who does not give in to the temptation of running too easily. But he is tied for eighth most runs in the NFL by a quarterback, while ranking 18th in pass attempts. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he believes from studying Smith for their meeting this week that only seven of his 28 runs were designed runs. The rest were improvisational. Smith has the ability to make plays with his feet. And young quarterbacks with that ability often are over-reliant on it. "I love the way he attacked the line last week," Young said of Smith's six runs against the Patriots. "But the goal is not to end up with the ball in your hands. I think he understands that … he is doing things now that he can't do forever. But some of those things, you can build on what you do forever." Morninwheg—who also has helped bring out the best in Young, Brett Favre, Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick—has walked a fine line between developing Smith and trying to win games. And he's walked it pretty well. Smith has led four game-winning fourth-quarter or overtime drives in the first seven games of the season. No other quarterback since 1970 has turned that trick. "He has great poise, certainly for his experience and age," Mornhinweg said. "There is rarely a day that goes by I'm not impressed with the young man both on and off the field." What is especially impressive is Smith had a significant transition coming out of West Virginia, where he lined up almost exclusively in shotgun and directed a simple offense. There were whispers about his work ethic and football character, and Smith fell to the second round of the draft. With the Jets, he apparently has been a model quarterback, even asking receivers to meet with him a few times each week with no coaches present. "Geno has the mentality and work ethic to get better every day," Mornhinweg said. "He's extremely diligent in his preparation, so some great things have happened. There also have been some backfires. He tends to learn from mistakes and move on pretty quickly. He's very mature that way. He's rarely made the same mistake twice." About those backfires... In one game, there were three interceptions in the fourth quarter. In another, there were two interceptions and two fumbles. Not coincidentally, the Jets lost both of those games. That might lead some to conclude this team can go only as far as the rookie can take them. Mornhinweg, however, is trying to make it so Smith does not feel that burden. In the Jets' 30-27 overtime upset of the Patriots last week, 12 of the 13 Jets' offensive plays in overtime were runs. "I'm trying not to put too much on him," Mornhinweg said. "However, he's so skilled that we want to utilize his strengths. And part of his strength is his ability to drive the ball down the field." Young said that he sees Mornhinweg asking more of Smith each week, and that he sees a greater level of trust developing between coach and QB. Given the Jets are a surprise contender (they face another stern challenge Sunday in Cincinnati), they really have no choice but to let the rookie fly. "He's progressing at a pretty high rate, and he has kind of been forced to do that," Mornhinweg said. "His challenge now is to put those games at a high level back to back to back, consistently." If Smith can keep flying, the Jets could be the NFL's biggest surprise.
Nice read. Good that they're having HOF'ers in Geno's ear too. This kid could be the next big thing in a few years as long as they nurture him and keep the negative influences away. That's easier said than done in the TriState area with so many distractions (ask JR Smith). His maturity will be sorely tested with the inevitable successes Geno will experience. The Media will attempt to gas him up with praise with every win. All Geno needs to do is keep his head on straight and his feet planted firmly on the ground. All the Jets have to do is keep him focused and keep away all the negative influences. Particularly negative players w/baggage. We need high character players, not characters.
Not sure, I do know that a lot of Eagles fans were saying how MM would call plays that left you scratching your head, and many on websites were giving us a sarcastic "good luck" with MM. I kind of think this is a ...you don't know what you have until its gone. And Philly fans have never experienced a Schottenheimer or Sparano as an OC. I've been very impressed with MM's play calls. I'd say there have been only 5-7 this year that I didn't like.
^Or every OC gets blamed for an offense struggling. Can u name one OC whos play calling doesnt get questioned when things arent going well? MM was criticized after the NE and PIT losses.
MM might be in his true element with a very young team and an even younger QB who's soaking everything up like a sponge. MM's experience and wisdom are truly appreciated by his pupils which in turn could be a motivating factor for MM. With a veteran team and a veteran QB like dog-killer Vick the teacher-student paradigm goes out the window and it just becomes an exercise in re-shuffling plays according to who the next opponent is. But for now, we get to watch MM teach and guide a young team that continues to grow and get better each week.
You know the Dexys Midnight Runners have a song called Geno, or Oh Geno! The Jets publicity department might want to look it up and use it at games to get the crowd going. But that would actually make sense so I doubt it,
Good point, I don't want to make comparisons but Tom Brady / Aaron Rodgers before they were drafted, during the draft process - how they were judged? It wasn't positive I'll tell you that. It really kept them focused and motivated to become better and eventually elite. They wanted to prove everyone wrong. Hopefully Geno ALWAYS remembers the pain of being counted out by every NFL team in the first round and the way he was judged during the draft to fuel his motivation.
Can't you just see it. West Ham has Forever Blowing Bubbles and we have Geno! Next the Specials at Metlife and people skanking all over the place. Alright! Maybe I have been listening too to much Madness.
It's important to distinguish "getting the ball downfield" and "driving the ball downfield." Clearly, Geno does the latter, as MM stated.
Bu bu but, some random anonymous sources said he was a lazy diva with an attitude problem! LOL! I love how Geno has stepped up and shut all of the talkers up. Way to go, bud!
Smith has led four game-winning fourth-quarter or overtime drives in the first seven games of the season. No other quarterback since 1970 has turned that trick. I didn't realize that. Sanchez would have had six!!!:metal:
