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"We are the Fury"
By Cian Fahey, Featured Columnist Sep 15, 2014
Geno Smith and the New York Jets lost to the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 of the NFL season.
After taking a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter, the Packers relied on Aaron Rodgers to drag them back to a 31-24 victory. Smith and the offense failed to move the ball effectively or put points on the board after their initial surge.
In spite of the result in the game and how that result came about, Smith impressed individually.
His numbers weren't impressive, 16-of-32 for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but raw numbers rarely reflect the true performance of a quarterback. In this instance they were particularly bad at showing off Smith's effectiveness for a couple of reasons.
The first is the offensive line. The Jets struggled to establish the run outside of plays when Geno was heavily involved, and the interior of their line was regularly overwhelmed by the Packers defensive line. Smith is used to throwing under pressure after playing behind essentially the same offensive line last year.
His ability to throw the ball while under pressure was highlighted more on his touchdown pass than any other play.
Credit: NFL.com
On 3rd-and-3 at the Packers' 29-yard line, the Jets spread the field with three receivers and a tight end. Smith is in the shotgun with a running back alongside him, but the read-option is unlikely from this alignment because the tight end and running back are to the same side of the field, the tight side of the field.
The Packers are daring the Jets to run the ball with only one down lineman between the offensive tackles.
Credit: NFL.com
At the snap, the Packers send seven players after the quarterback. The Jets have seven blockers available, so Smith understands he should have a moment to hold the ball and let his receivers get down the field. As soon as he gets the ball, he is reading the deep safety to the top of the screen.
That safety is motioning across the field because the safety who initially lined up deep with him has dropped into the slot to cover a receiver in man coverage.
By understanding the movement of the deep safety and the alignment of the cornerback to the top of the screen at the snap, Smith understood that he could take a shot down the left sideline if he managed the safety with his eyes.
Credit: NFL.com
With the brief moment his seven blockers gave him, Smith threw a very quick pump fake to Eric Decker. Decker is the receiver to the top of the screen who initially takes a hard step infield to sell the slant route against Sam Shields.
Shields is notoriously bad against double-moves, and he fell for this one badly. He was able to recover to a degree, but the pass from Smith was perfect to give Decker the touchdown.
Smith made that throw with two free defenders closing on him. Despite the pass rush, he was able to very quickly break down the defense with his intelligence and awareness, throw a quick pump fake to help sell the route, hold the coverage and drop a perfect pass over Shields' outstretched arm.
If Smith reaches his potential and becomes a long-term, high-quality starter for the Jets, his intelligence from the pocket and ability to make these kinds of plays will become staples of his game.
Even though the Jets ask him to run the ball a lot, Smith isn't really a dual-threat quarterback. He's a pocket passer with the ability to run in favorable situations. Part of the reason for this is that he's much more agile than he is fast.
Smith's quick feet allow him to bounce around in the pocket and move quickly away from pressure.
Credit: NFL.com
On another 3rd-and-3 play, this time in the second quarter, Smith doesn't have an open receiver to throw the ball to at the top of his drop. Meanwhile, right guard Willie Colon has already been beaten to his spot by the defensive linemen running past his outside shoulder.
Instead of sitting at the top of his drop, Smith is forced to step up in the pocket.
Credit: NFL.com
When Smith steps forward, his receivers down the field are covered, and the pressure from the other side of the field is closing in on him. Smith drops his eyes and turns to the sideline where he has a wide-open running back behind the line of scrimmage.
Credit: NFL.com
Smith inevitably locates his open running back and flips the ball to him as he is being hit by the free defender. Bilal Powell is that running back. He is in a vast amount of space and is able to run down the sideline for an easy first down.
Playing behind an underwhelming offensive line is one thing, but doing so without spectacular receiving options is another altogether.
The addition of Decker is huge for the Jets. It upgrades their wide receiver group by giving them a legitimate starter at one space. However, Decker isn't a top-tier starter, and he won't consistently dominate the defensive backs he faces. He also doesn't address the team's depth issues.
Against the Packers, the Jets' top three receivers were Decker, running back Bilal Powell and fullback Tommy Bohanon. Jeremy Kerley was somewhat effective in a limited capacity, while tight ends Jace Amaro and Jeff Cumberland were limited to one reception apiece.
Smith doesn't have receivers who can consistently get open or dominate at the catch point.
This was evident throughout the Packers game, as he was routinely trying to find receivers in tight windows, most notably on a couple of crossing routes in the second half. Toward the end of the game, when the Packers desperately needed a play, Smith was forced to turn to Kerley as his go-to receiver.
Kerley did make one impressive reception in the end zone that was ruled out, but we'll get to that in a moment.
Credit: NFL.com
On 3rd-and-8, Smith's pass to Kerley was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Julius Peppers. That set up a 4th-and-8 where the Packers would rush six players after the quarterback, and the Jets would initially keep seven players in to block.
This sets up a situation down the field where the Packers have five defenders in coverage against three receivers.
Credit: NFL.com
Smith's pass blocking doesn't hold up at all. He is forced to make a quick decision while moving backward before throwing the ball down the field. He had a tight end free in the flat to his left, but there is a defender off-screen who is running toward him, so it's very unlikely he would have come close to a first down.
Smith's other tight end is covered to the top of the screen in the other flat. His receiver who initially lined up to the left of the formation is still well-covered at this stage of the play.
Credit: NFL.com
As a result of all this, Smith is left with just one option, a heave to his smallest receiving option. His smallest receiving option in double coverage.
Often we are too harsh in our judgments of offensive coordinators because we judge their decisions with hindsight they aren't afforded. However, on this play, the play call was poor regardless of the result of the play.
Kerley's strength is his lateral agility, but he wasn't sent on a quick route underneath or over the middle where he could use that. The two receiving options running into the flat were never going to be of value in this situation unless the defense blew an assignment.
So on this play alone, Smith was not only throwing to covered receivers behind an overwhelmed offensive line, but also executing a poor choice of play.
Smith's coaching staff is the final piece that was working against him in this game. There were times when the staff was too conservative while playing with the big lead, and not enough use was made of option plays. Option plays have seriously hurt Dom Capers' defense in Green Bay in recent times.
The Seattle Seahawks highlighted how little discipline the Packers have in Week 1, yet the Jets didn't keep using these kinds of plays after they worked with Smith early in the game.
When Michael Vick came in for his only snap of the game, he didn't run the option. Instead he ran a play-action bootleg before being sacked. Vick's greatest strength is his rushing ability, and his presence would have terrified the defense in a read-option situation.
Even without Vick on the field, Smith played very well running the ball, so there was no real need to alter the game plan. In spite of his limited athleticism, Smith was making very good decisions outside of the pocket and past the line of scrimmage.
Nothing the Jets coaching staff did will stand out more than that infamous timeout call.
Before throwing the pass to Kerley in double coverage that essentially ended the game, Smith threw another pass to him in the end zone on the other side of the field. A pass Kerley caught over a defender.
Credit: NFL.com
On this occasion, the Packers feigned a blitz by pressing the line of scrimmage at the snap. Instead of sending extra players after the quarterback, they only rushed four with the edge pressure coming from Smith's left side.
In response to that pressure, Smith slid to his right and re-established his feet on the right hashmark. He surveyed the field for a moment before throwing the ball down the left seam.
Credit: NFL.com
His pass was perfectly timed to find Kerley in behind the secondary. Kerley rose above the backpedaling defender for what should have been a very impressive touchdown play. Instead, the Jets' sideline called a timeout as Sheldon Richardson reacted to the demonstrations of his offensive coordinator.
Even though the whistle had blown and the play didn't count, the Packers defenders involved in the play didn't appear to react to that and neither did Smith.
Just because the play itself didn't count, it shouldn't still be used to evaluate Smith. He didn't appear to gain any unfair advantage from the mix-up on the sideline and still executed excellent pocket presence, awareness, accuracy and arm strength.
This wasn't a perfect display from Smith, but it was another encouraging display to tack onto his impressive games to close out his rookie season, his good preseason play and a decent performance in Week 1 of this year's regular season.
Comfort is vitally important for pocket passers, and Smith is still finding his.
It will be very difficult for perception of his ability to change quickly after his rookie season, but a player struggling during his rookie season doesn't necessarily indicate that he will be a poor starter for the rest of his career.
Peyton Manning famously threw a lot of interceptions during his rookie season. Smith is a far cry from Manning, but he was put in a similar situation last year. Surpassing Manning, Matthew Stafford (20),Andrew Luck (18), Carson Palmer (18) and Cam Newton (17) are all recent examples of long-term starters who threw more than 15 interceptions as rookies.
Smith is taking steps toward becoming a high-quality starter for the long term. So long as he continues to do that, the Jets' future outlook should be bright.
Geno Smith and the New York Jets lost to the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 of the NFL season.
After taking a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter, the Packers relied on Aaron Rodgers to drag them back to a 31-24 victory. Smith and the offense failed to move the ball effectively or put points on the board after their initial surge.
In spite of the result in the game and how that result came about, Smith impressed individually.
His numbers weren't impressive, 16-of-32 for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but raw numbers rarely reflect the true performance of a quarterback. In this instance they were particularly bad at showing off Smith's effectiveness for a couple of reasons.
The first is the offensive line. The Jets struggled to establish the run outside of plays when Geno was heavily involved, and the interior of their line was regularly overwhelmed by the Packers defensive line. Smith is used to throwing under pressure after playing behind essentially the same offensive line last year.
His ability to throw the ball while under pressure was highlighted more on his touchdown pass than any other play.
Credit: NFL.com
On 3rd-and-3 at the Packers' 29-yard line, the Jets spread the field with three receivers and a tight end. Smith is in the shotgun with a running back alongside him, but the read-option is unlikely from this alignment because the tight end and running back are to the same side of the field, the tight side of the field.
The Packers are daring the Jets to run the ball with only one down lineman between the offensive tackles.
Credit: NFL.com
At the snap, the Packers send seven players after the quarterback. The Jets have seven blockers available, so Smith understands he should have a moment to hold the ball and let his receivers get down the field. As soon as he gets the ball, he is reading the deep safety to the top of the screen.
That safety is motioning across the field because the safety who initially lined up deep with him has dropped into the slot to cover a receiver in man coverage.
By understanding the movement of the deep safety and the alignment of the cornerback to the top of the screen at the snap, Smith understood that he could take a shot down the left sideline if he managed the safety with his eyes.
Credit: NFL.com
With the brief moment his seven blockers gave him, Smith threw a very quick pump fake to Eric Decker. Decker is the receiver to the top of the screen who initially takes a hard step infield to sell the slant route against Sam Shields.
Shields is notoriously bad against double-moves, and he fell for this one badly. He was able to recover to a degree, but the pass from Smith was perfect to give Decker the touchdown.
Smith made that throw with two free defenders closing on him. Despite the pass rush, he was able to very quickly break down the defense with his intelligence and awareness, throw a quick pump fake to help sell the route, hold the coverage and drop a perfect pass over Shields' outstretched arm.
If Smith reaches his potential and becomes a long-term, high-quality starter for the Jets, his intelligence from the pocket and ability to make these kinds of plays will become staples of his game.
Even though the Jets ask him to run the ball a lot, Smith isn't really a dual-threat quarterback. He's a pocket passer with the ability to run in favorable situations. Part of the reason for this is that he's much more agile than he is fast.
Smith's quick feet allow him to bounce around in the pocket and move quickly away from pressure.
Credit: NFL.com
On another 3rd-and-3 play, this time in the second quarter, Smith doesn't have an open receiver to throw the ball to at the top of his drop. Meanwhile, right guard Willie Colon has already been beaten to his spot by the defensive linemen running past his outside shoulder.
Instead of sitting at the top of his drop, Smith is forced to step up in the pocket.
Credit: NFL.com
When Smith steps forward, his receivers down the field are covered, and the pressure from the other side of the field is closing in on him. Smith drops his eyes and turns to the sideline where he has a wide-open running back behind the line of scrimmage.
Credit: NFL.com
Smith inevitably locates his open running back and flips the ball to him as he is being hit by the free defender. Bilal Powell is that running back. He is in a vast amount of space and is able to run down the sideline for an easy first down.
Playing behind an underwhelming offensive line is one thing, but doing so without spectacular receiving options is another altogether.
The addition of Decker is huge for the Jets. It upgrades their wide receiver group by giving them a legitimate starter at one space. However, Decker isn't a top-tier starter, and he won't consistently dominate the defensive backs he faces. He also doesn't address the team's depth issues.
Against the Packers, the Jets' top three receivers were Decker, running back Bilal Powell and fullback Tommy Bohanon. Jeremy Kerley was somewhat effective in a limited capacity, while tight ends Jace Amaro and Jeff Cumberland were limited to one reception apiece.
Smith doesn't have receivers who can consistently get open or dominate at the catch point.
This was evident throughout the Packers game, as he was routinely trying to find receivers in tight windows, most notably on a couple of crossing routes in the second half. Toward the end of the game, when the Packers desperately needed a play, Smith was forced to turn to Kerley as his go-to receiver.
Kerley did make one impressive reception in the end zone that was ruled out, but we'll get to that in a moment.
Credit: NFL.com
On 3rd-and-8, Smith's pass to Kerley was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Julius Peppers. That set up a 4th-and-8 where the Packers would rush six players after the quarterback, and the Jets would initially keep seven players in to block.
This sets up a situation down the field where the Packers have five defenders in coverage against three receivers.
Credit: NFL.com
Smith's pass blocking doesn't hold up at all. He is forced to make a quick decision while moving backward before throwing the ball down the field. He had a tight end free in the flat to his left, but there is a defender off-screen who is running toward him, so it's very unlikely he would have come close to a first down.
Smith's other tight end is covered to the top of the screen in the other flat. His receiver who initially lined up to the left of the formation is still well-covered at this stage of the play.
Credit: NFL.com
As a result of all this, Smith is left with just one option, a heave to his smallest receiving option. His smallest receiving option in double coverage.
Often we are too harsh in our judgments of offensive coordinators because we judge their decisions with hindsight they aren't afforded. However, on this play, the play call was poor regardless of the result of the play.
Kerley's strength is his lateral agility, but he wasn't sent on a quick route underneath or over the middle where he could use that. The two receiving options running into the flat were never going to be of value in this situation unless the defense blew an assignment.
So on this play alone, Smith was not only throwing to covered receivers behind an overwhelmed offensive line, but also executing a poor choice of play.
Smith's coaching staff is the final piece that was working against him in this game. There were times when the staff was too conservative while playing with the big lead, and not enough use was made of option plays. Option plays have seriously hurt Dom Capers' defense in Green Bay in recent times.
The Seattle Seahawks highlighted how little discipline the Packers have in Week 1, yet the Jets didn't keep using these kinds of plays after they worked with Smith early in the game.
When Michael Vick came in for his only snap of the game, he didn't run the option. Instead he ran a play-action bootleg before being sacked. Vick's greatest strength is his rushing ability, and his presence would have terrified the defense in a read-option situation.
Even without Vick on the field, Smith played very well running the ball, so there was no real need to alter the game plan. In spite of his limited athleticism, Smith was making very good decisions outside of the pocket and past the line of scrimmage.
Nothing the Jets coaching staff did will stand out more than that infamous timeout call.
Before throwing the pass to Kerley in double coverage that essentially ended the game, Smith threw another pass to him in the end zone on the other side of the field. A pass Kerley caught over a defender.
Credit: NFL.com
On this occasion, the Packers feigned a blitz by pressing the line of scrimmage at the snap. Instead of sending extra players after the quarterback, they only rushed four with the edge pressure coming from Smith's left side.
In response to that pressure, Smith slid to his right and re-established his feet on the right hashmark. He surveyed the field for a moment before throwing the ball down the left seam.
Credit: NFL.com
His pass was perfectly timed to find Kerley in behind the secondary. Kerley rose above the backpedaling defender for what should have been a very impressive touchdown play. Instead, the Jets' sideline called a timeout as Sheldon Richardson reacted to the demonstrations of his offensive coordinator.
Even though the whistle had blown and the play didn't count, the Packers defenders involved in the play didn't appear to react to that and neither did Smith.
Just because the play itself didn't count, it shouldn't still be used to evaluate Smith. He didn't appear to gain any unfair advantage from the mix-up on the sideline and still executed excellent pocket presence, awareness, accuracy and arm strength.
This wasn't a perfect display from Smith, but it was another encouraging display to tack onto his impressive games to close out his rookie season, his good preseason play and a decent performance in Week 1 of this year's regular season.
Comfort is vitally important for pocket passers, and Smith is still finding his.
It will be very difficult for perception of his ability to change quickly after his rookie season, but a player struggling during his rookie season doesn't necessarily indicate that he will be a poor starter for the rest of his career.
Peyton Manning famously threw a lot of interceptions during his rookie season. Smith is a far cry from Manning, but he was put in a similar situation last year. Surpassing Manning, Matthew Stafford (20),Andrew Luck (18), Carson Palmer (18) and Cam Newton (17) are all recent examples of long-term starters who threw more than 15 interceptions as rookies.
Smith is taking steps toward becoming a high-quality starter for the long term. So long as he continues to do that, the Jets' future outlook should be bright.
