IT'S A BRAD, BRAD WORLD SMITH DRIVES OPPONENTS CRAZY By MARK CANNIZZARO TRIPLE THREAT: Former college quarterback Brad Smith has been used by the Jets at that position, as a receiver and on special teams. He'll do it again Sunday against the Dolphins.October 13, 2006 -- Sometimes potential can be as intimidating to an opponent as actual proven performance.In the case of Jets rookie Brad Smith, it's the possibilities he possesses every time he steps onto the field that has opposing defenses yelling out things like, "Sixteen is in the game; watch out for something here!"It's an awful lot of fuss over a converted college quarterback who's rushed for 29 yards on five carries and caught three passes for all of 5 yards in the NFL.There is much more to come from Smith, whom the Jets have used as a receiver, as a quarterback and on special teams.That's why you can bet the Dolphins have spent a good amount of film time analyzing ways to make sure Smith doesn't go long on them Sunday at Giants Stadium. Smith certainly has the attention of his teammates. "The boy is a game-breaker," Laveranues Coles said. "He is a game-changer. Every time he steps onto the field, teams have to respect where he's at. He can run, throw, catch; he can do it all. He reminds me of the way they used (Antwaan) Randle El over in Pittsburgh (before Randle El went to Washington via free agency). I never clocked him in the 40, but Brad looks a little bit faster."He's a great athlete. He's a star in the making."Instant energy is what Smith brings to the Jets' offense every time he gets into the game. He's a threat to score every time he touches the ball, evidenced by some eye-opening preseason plays: a long catch-and-run TD he scored in Washington and a broken-play run for the game-winning TD against the Eagles. Preseason is when Jets LB Matt Chatham first truly noticed Smith. "I take it back to that last preseason game," Chatham said. "A lot of the veterans were out of the game and that can be a boring time. But it was entertaining to just sit and watch Brad. All of us were up off the bench and lining the sideline because Brad was so exciting to watch." Safety Kerry Rhodes called Smith "an electric player.""Whenever he steps onto the field he can make something happen," Rhodes said. "It's great our coaching staff is using him the way they are and not holding him back because he's young."There's a reason for that. Smith has been productive virtually every time he's out there."Pretty much every time he's come in he's done something pretty important for us, as far as picking up first downs," TE Chris Baker said. "He has potential to take it all the way as he did in preseason. When he comes into the game it definitely gives the offense a little shot in the arm and at the same time it puts the defense on edge." The Jets will expand Smith's role as the season goes along. All the while, he can be used effectively as a decoy.Eric Mangini said when the Jets drafted Smith out of Missouri with the idea of converting him to receiver, the coach knew he wanted to create some versatility. He probably didn't figure Smith would come along so quickly.The more Smith rotates in as a receiver the less he'll be targeted as a gadget-play guy."He plays enough receiver, true receiver, that when he does do some other things, he doesn't come into the game just for that one purpose," Mangini said. "He's done a nice job carving out a niche in both areas (offense and special teams)." Chad Pennington called Smith "definitely a special athlete." "He is a guy that is very exciting with the ball in his hands," Pennington said. "Anyone who holds 69 conference and NCAA records as a football player in college is a pretty exciting player, and that speaks a lot. We're excited to have him here. He does present different issues for the defense and he gives us different ways to be multiple and to exploit the defense and use him creatively, and he's done a good job so far." Said Chatham: "It's the unknown. He's one of those unknown commodity guys." mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com > http://www.nypost.com/seven/10132006/sports/jets/its_a_brad__brad_world_jets_mark_cannizzaro.htm
If we don't let Smith take a few snaps drop back and throw, he will stop being a threat as a running QB. It's time to let him come in and throw the ball down the field a couple of times. If we do that and he connects on 1 or 2 it will open up some really crazy stuff.
Him and Leon could be very, very special players for us. Hopefully this week we see even more of him.
I also think we should take a look at what Mike Vick and Young are doing with the shotgun option....Smith could run that to a tee.
i agree...i wonder if chad will have any receptions this year...and i agree with the guy above me, brad could definetly run the option out of the shotgun like vick and the falcons, especially since he was running that just last year...also, i feel like brad needs to get more balls thrown his was as a receiver, at least to keep the defense honest
Mangini has stated that he has that opportunity, but it's hard for me to say when I haven't seen him throw a pass yet. I think this is the week though....
Years ago the Fins ran a play against us that had a RB take a pitch on a sweep and then throw back across the field to QB David Woodley. I'd like to see that with Smith but I'd be afraid that Chad would get lit up. TBTF
No, i definitely dont wanna see chad catching a pass. I get nervous every time he goes down in general, so hit getting Jacked up over the middle would be gut wrenching
Brad has been one of the few draft picks the JETS have selected that has been making plays when he's on the field.
i keep hearing about how wonderful brad smith is, what a dangerous weapon he is, etc. yet its week 6 and i've yet to see anything from him at all...
Uhm, I think that's the point of the article. How can a guy who hasn't done anything all season, get so much attention when he does show up on the field. I feel kind of stoopid having to point that out to you. And Chad did make a catch this year, or more like a lateral pass during the indy game.
Kelly reposts this stuff on the "other" Jets board. Plenty of posts ,,, wish I had that much free time.
It'd be nice to have a couple of young guys competing to be the next QB. The Jets have to pick one at some point and just go with him though. The Richard Todd-Matt Robinson era wasn't a particularly good one for us at least partly because the coaches sent so many mixed messages as to who the leader of the team was. In the end neither of those guys was the leader of the team because both of them had pull but not enough to claim it. One of Pennington, Clemens and Smith are going to be the leader of this team in 2007 and on and the other two are going to sit for 3 years. Mangini needs to figure out who the guy is and make sure he's the only one who can claim the mantle coming out of training camp next year. If Chad's the guy then it's going to be really hard for either Clemens or Smith to make an impact with the Jets. Sitting for 2 or 3 years at the start of your career sounds good in practice but 9 out of 10 guys who do that wind up as journeymen QB's down the road.
so your saying a qb to a wr and back to a qb. I"am confused? i hope he scores a td passing the ball against miami.
