Predraft video breakdown of Geno's pocket presence

interesting - i dont think pocket presence has been one of his early attributes. maybe at the college level but not up here. IMO he has underestimated linemen speed at this level and is not using his legs enough.

but he will make a throw under duress so we deal with it for now.

 

I have been impressed with a few things Geno can do (arm strength, speed, composure)
but his footwork and pocket presence hasn't been one of them. That's something I believe he needs to work on.
It can be due to a few different factors but I think he will correct it and show the pocket presence he had in this video when he was in college.

 

Geno's pocket presence has been mostly good throughout the season. The problem plays have generally been the times he has panicked. He did this a few times against the Bucs running backwards against an interior rush. He did this against the Tennessee when they blew up the two screens and he trying to kill the ball but did want to risk the safety.

But when he has been rushed he has not taken many sacks because of lack of presence. Generally only in times where he has panicked and run sort of blindly.

In terms of footwork. I guess it depends on what type of footwork your talking about. One area his footwork has been excellent is stepping into throws. Absent the end of the Pitt game he has done an excellent job of stepping into throws. The end of the Pitt game you could see his accuracy waiver where he got some happy feet from all the hits and he was not stepping into all his throws. But besides the end of the Pittsburgh game his footwork when throwing the ball is outstanding. He is not afraid to step into his throws. His footwork while throwing the ball is what has made him so special this year and why his accuracy has been so amazing.

One area his footwork still seems to be very bad is dropping back in the pocket. He still does not look comfortable taking snaps form center. Although they are giving him more snaps from center of late than the shotgun snaps he has been mostly taking.

The third area of footwork is moving in the pocket under a rush. This is an area that takes a long time for any QB to improve upon. The subtle slide in the pocket a few feet while maintaining focus down field takes years to develop. Guys like Manning and Brady are not the most mobile but they can extend plays with this slide.

This is an area he has improved. Early on especially on a few occasions under mainly interior rush he has panicked and just run blindly. What we have not seen much of him doing is stepping up in the pocket to avoid rushers until last week. Against the Pats Ferguson was getting beat on the edge all day and Geno did a very nice job of sliding 1-2 steps up to avoid the rush. The best of example of this was the Kerley TD. Watch the replay of that slide in the pocket. It was really good and it was a play he made a number of times against a strong outside rush all day long. It is a play he would not have had the comfort level to make early in the year. He showed some real awareness against the NE edge rushers while maintaining focus down the field. He suffered a couple of times when NE had an interior rush and there was nowhere to go. But overall the NE game movement in the pocket was very promising.

The kid is normally pretty calm in the pocket and poised willing to wait until the last second to get rid of the ball. I really do like that he does not give up on plays and hangs in the pocket as long as he can. If he can survive all the hits he is taking he should be able to develop the pocket awareness and subtle moves that extend plays. I just would not expect it to happen overnight. The game looks like it is slowing down for him. Every game he seems a bit more comfortable.

I don't think pocket presence will be Geno's Problem despite what Cimini said in his daily "I hate Geno" column. The problem for him will be the mental game. Learning to make better pre-snap reads, faster in game decisions and getting rid of the ball faster will mean not needing to throw to have to throw the ball away 8+ times a game. Being more decisive will slow down the rush, result is a lot less QB hits and make him a much better QB. That is the area he needs to improve upon. It will be interesting to see if he makes any big jumps over the bye week.

 

He needs an off-season to work on things such as this. It's good he's getting the reps now and as long as he stays healthy (meaning no operation in the off-season), Geno will have a large notebook of things to improve in the off-season.

Also, it helps that in his 2nd season the game will slow down for him to make decisions such as stepping up in the pocket and footwork

 

"I’m not as high on Smith as others, but I do believe he has the basic skills to develop into a successful starter and pocket presence tops the list."

Show me a draft pundit or analyst who didn't drop Geno down the toilet before the draft. This is the first time I've heard anybody say ANYTHING positive about his footwork. Much less anything else.

Every day I read something else that makes me hope Geno proves them wrong.

 

Geno Smith had Geno Smith ranked as the top QB in the nation and the #1 overall draft pick. Kid has moxie!