Story by Manish Mehta...who apparently has been kidnapped and replaced for his last two articles. .. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Geno Smith the film buff good sign for NY Jets Smith took some advice from friend and mentor John Thornton, who played 10 years in the NFL: Study the people who are studying you. NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thursday, August 14, 2014, 10:35 PM CORTLAND — Geno Smith’s next-level education began a few weeks after the Jets’ celebratory locker-room scene in Miami last December. He finished a maddeningly inconsistent rookie season, decompressed for a while, surveyed coaching changes around the league and went back to work with an approach that would make football geeks such as Peyton Manning proud. When the NFL coaching carousel stopped spinning, Smith took some advice from friend and mentor John Thornton, who played 10 years in the NFL: Study the people who are studying you. Smith was already a film junkie, but Thornton suggested a way to stay a step ahead and maximize his preparation. “You got to study those guys who are coming up with plans all offseason to attack you,” Thornton told Smith. “Don’t just watch the film of yourself. Watch the guys who are planning on attacking you.” Smith knew that the Jets would be facing four defensive coordinators with new teams: Jim Schwartz (Bills), Ray Horton (Titans), Mike Zimmer (Vikings) and Teryl Austin (Lions). So, Smith pulled tapes from their previous teams and began a one-man offseason analysis without offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, quarterbacks coach David Lee or Rex Ryan’s help or knowledge. “That’s smart as hell though,” Ryan told the Daily News in the run-up to the Jets’ preseason game against the Bengals on Saturday. “I never even knew about it.” Smith remains a curiosity to most of the league after an erratic rookie season, but his physical gifts coupled with a year-round desire to fully understand the position have given the Jets hope that he can be the franchise quarterback it has desperately wanted for too long. “He wants to be great,” Ryan said. “He just doesn’t want to be a guy that gets through. God touched the kid. He’s got so much ability. He can throw, he can run, he can do all that. But it’s that work ethic. As a quarterback, you almost have to be a gym rat. And he’s done it.” Smith’s offseason research project is the type of advanced thinking that makes you believe that he has a chance to help the Jets return to the playoffs sooner rather than later. He started off his pro-active study by examining tendencies of the AFC East’s defensive play callers with special attention on Schwartz. “I like watching film anyway,” Smith told The News. “It was one of those things where I didn’t have anything to do anyway, so I just wanted to kind of get ahead of stuff.” So, he watched film of the 2013 Lions, Schwartz’s team for the previous five years, to analyze play-calling preferences in various situations. With each team Smith studied, he began by watching cut-ups isolating third downs, blitz packages and red-zone plays. Then, he went through entire games “to get a feel of what they like to call in clutch situations.” “On third-and-long, early in the game, does he like to blitz?” Smith explained. “Does he like to lay off it? How does he do two-minute situations? So, I kind of got a feel for the game.” Smith spent about three hours on each team, but realizes that Schwartz will tailor his play-calling in Buffalo to the talent on his roster. So will Horton, who spent last season in Cleveland, and Zimmer, who had a formidable defense in Cincinnati for years. There will be changes from what he’s seen on film to this point. “I know the coordinator is going to have a different mind-set based on the new players that he has,” Smith said. “But the philosophy is the same. You can see, ‘Is he an aggressive D-coordinator like Rex? In crucial situations, is he going to blitz?’ Things like that are what I try to look for.” Smith’s offseason exercise laid a foundation that he’ll reference during his week of preparation in the regular-season run-up against a particular team. This research is preliminary — but essential — in his mind. “I haven’t completely finished the study,” Smith said. “I got to watch a lot of film based on what they do this year. Yeah, I got those notes, but they’re useless at this point. But once you get a chance to play those teams in the regular season, I can go back to it and look at some of those tendencies I had written down.” The Jets hope that the quarterback who won three of the Jets’ final four games in 2013 with seven total touchdowns, only two interceptions and no fumbles will be the player we’ll see in 2014. Smith trained at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., this offseason, adding strength and lowering his body fat. He even texted Ryan a few pics of him flexing and showing off the gains he’s made in the weight room. But he didn’t mention the film work on opposing play callers. “This blows me away,” Ryan said. “That’s awesome.” Smith’s offseason project is another sign that the Jets might have found the right man for the job." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Full Story here: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...ff-good-sign-jets-article-1.1904375?cid=bitly Wow...that downright excited me.
That's what I've been saying all offseason. Geno's reputation at WVU was that he was a major film rat and one of the hardest workers on the team. Nothing in that article surprised me.
Definitely something to be hopeful for. I just wish it hadn't seen the light of day. I wish I had never heard about it, because you know opposing coaches have now realized his study habits.
Meh...coordinators will still believe that Geno will keep turning the ball over until he stops doing it
Yea i get that. I think that when these coaches are in the middle of a game, under pressure, and worrying about a billion other things...they'll forget all that. There's also still about a month in between this article and the season. I wish he didn't reveal it, but I don't think it would have been big enough to change the outcomes of their record.
I hope this helps Geno in his defensive recognition stuff. He seemed to struggle a bit last season. On a side not, I always loved Sanchez but I always got the feeling he'd rather 'make' a 3 hour video than watch one.
Maybe so, but it's impressive how he worked so hard in itself. Very few QBs seem to take the same approach as Geno did during the offseason. That's just over the top. You can tell Geno wants it and is willing to work hard for it...as far as that goes for a QB...Geno has what it takes. Playing is another question, but we know he has one part down.
Watching film is one thing. Understanding it is another. And how the fuck did Rex not know what his starting QB is doing?
Holy shit. Manish actually posted a positive article? Hang on a sec, lemme pinch myself. Still here. Who the fuck cares? What? Should Rex be living with Geno in his house and have video surveillance to learn everything he ever does? How dare Rex not know what Geno's doing every waking moment during the off season. Geno took the initiative. It's a good thing. LMAO at throwing negative spin on Rex as a result.
If he plays a poor season, Smith certainly can't be faulted for not trying and nobody could says its because eh has a poor work ethic. Its true that just looking at film and tendencies can only take him so far, defenses and their coordinators are smart enough to mix things up so that studious players on the O don't take advantage. But the effort is there, and his drive is obvious, this has more intangible upside than on field upside. In other words he's got the character and attitude needed for the job but I wonder how much watching last years footage will help come game day. Can't hurt, I guess.
The CBA, that's how. Coaches and players are not allowed to have football related conversations in the off-season. Just a few months ago there was a big stink when Peyton and his OC met with Nick Saban.
Nice article. It's not actually a surprise, he has always been a film junkie and gym rat, even back at WVU. That's why I was encouraged that we were able to take him. Hopefully something clicks for him this year and his work can translate to the field.
He doesn't need to out-think Zimmer, but if he recognizes a set that Zimmer puts on the field, he might be able to out-think Zimmer's defensive players.
Did I read a comparison to Peyton Manning film studies? If that's true we could have something special. Love hearing this - hopefully it plays out on the field.
I love hearing stuff like this. It shows that he has a commitment to this team that is beyond the average player. I also think it was phenomenal advice to follow. I agree with the rest of you, lets hope it plays out on the field. I think after Saturday night we will definitely have a better idea of if it will or not.
