Christian Hackenberg vs Boston College 2014 (Film Breakdown) Must Watch

JETSfaninNE · May 19, 2016

This was Hacks Sophomore year and 1st year in Franklins system. You will notice that he has his right foot back the entire game and again some of his throws are low and missing the point. But overall this is one of Hacks best performances and even though BC isn't some amazing team, they have had some players that Hacks played against drafted over the last 2 years. Especially the FS in this game.

I'm taking this from reddit, user nannigarcire who has been doing these amazing film breakdowns since last season. Link here to the reddit post

vs Boston College 2014

1st 14:24: shotgun, I still hate these drop backs, but at least Hack is starting off with some of good Hack and not bad Hack. pre-snap is an easy read as the bottom CB is way off his man so Hack takes the slant. There’s nothing else to think about, but hack also places this ball in a comfortable spot at the receivers stomach so he can take the hit and still keep it in.

1st 13:53: shotgun, easy clear defined read here. Pre-snap showing a zone, which i don’t think really affects the process of this play, Hack’s dropping reading the ILB to the left side and seeing how he responds to his two responsibilities, he bites on the slant so Hack throws to the RB.

1st 12:54, playaction, like how he really quickly turns and throws but obviously no ones going to like the placement of this throw

1st 12:39: These types of placements have not been uncommon for hack’s freshman or sophomore year. It’s a natural inaccuracy that’s a part of his game that seems to be more prevalent on routes going into the middle of the field instead of away from it.

1st 11:50: that’s more of the Hack i like. Shotgun, Some kind of cover-3 look on the pre-snap, as Hack’s getting ready to snap entire front 7 comes rushing at him and Hack’s still keeping very calm. He’s reading the middle where the safety has completely vacated to go to the left side; just at that moment Hack takes his final step in his drop back and makes a very soft comfortable step up in the pocket to avoid the pressure and also maximize the amount of space he’s taking up. He goes to the opposite side of the field of the safety, has a 1v1 on a deep ball and although it looks a little under thrown its placed very very well. Back shoulder of the WR, impossible for the DB to play this.

1st 9:37: another Hack play i like. Shotgun playaction, Right as the snap comes up the ILB is setting to blitz, Hack takes an angled drop back away from all the riggamarole from the left side, also widening the throwing lane he has to the outside receiver (although not as important on this play) and throws a pretty good ball all the way from the left hash to the right sideline while being well aware that he’s about to take a hit from a LB. Very nice imo.

1st 8:28: i’m loving this game so far. Shotgun, another blitz from BC. They’re showing a cover-1 man on the pre-snap (corner aligned heads up on WRs and one safety high if you don’t know) so Hack has to find an open man on this play. He reads the right side where the edge rusher is coming from,i’m assuming it’s cause if the edge comes his plan is to throw right at the TE because he’s willing to bet that the TE will beat the ILB. You can see him step back and pat the ball like he’s about to throw, but he doesn’t- now i don’t know why he doesn’t, but i think it’s cause he sees the ref throw the flag. At that point, he goes deep and what i like most about this is that that right edge rusher gets free and is coming down on him, and Hacks’ release is quick enough to complete his full throwing motion and still throw this ball far enough to either be the WRs or nobodies.

1st 8:22: i’m having a hard time finding plays that aren’t impressive from Hack here. I mean, c’mon.

1st 8:14: welp

1st 5:41: The first progression read we see from Hackenberg in the Franklin offense. Took four and a half quarters to find. I think the pre-snap here is some kind of cover-3 with a high safety out of the frame. Hack’s in shotgun, empty backfield, he starts at the left side. I think Hack sticks with the first read a bit too long here because he should be coming off it once he notices the ILB is heading that way, but he’s quick to come off his second read and see his third. I hate the way he goes through his reads on this play. It looks very awkward and uncomfortable with the sudden turns, and has a real “did i leave the stove on?” type of feeling to it. Almost like he was tunnel-visioned to his first read and was abruptly snapped out of it.

1st 5:35: an aggressive QB like Hack shouldn’t be given these types of easy deep decisions. pre-snap shows a cover-1 man with the safety shaded way too far to the left side. The other safety is way too close to the LOS to do anything about the vertical at the bottom. Hack knows where he’s throwing from the start, and it’s a good throw.

1st 3:21: don’t know how realistic it would’ve been for Hack to get this ball off before that player got to him.

1st 1:31: i’m about 90% this is entirely by design just cause no other player seems to even be trying on their route but at least hack throws it away instead of just trying to force it in there

1st :08: another big blitz that Hack is beating, play design is helping a lot though on this one by giving him a very clean read

2nd 10:28: hack throws this ball before the WR even enters his break

2nd 6:22: shotgun playaction, defense showing cover-3 on the pre-snap but it looks like they change to a cover-0 or cover-1 man. Either the safety completely messes up by being taken in on the playaction or that’s by design IDK. But it doesn’t matter, Hack recognizes it and goes for the post in the middle of the field now that it’s been vacated. Hack steps up comfortably in the pocket after his drop back, keeping his base under him, short steps that can still be cleaned up to have less of a hop effect to them. Ball is sub-optimal but who cares, this is totally catchable and it’s thrown under the pressure of him about to take an obvious hit from the safety. If this was thrown like this without any pressure, sure you can start to criticize it but he put a catchable ball while about to take a hit. Can’t see the problem.

2nd 6:15: looks like hack freezes while he’s looking at the TE’s route to me, should’ve moved onto the RB and thrown it before the defender got to him.

2nd 1:48: like i said before, Hack’s accuracy issues seem to appear most often when he has to throw to a player heading into the middle

3rd 6:25: as you can see again here, this WR is forced to lay out for an 8 yard pass.

3rd 5:44: shotgun, kind of an in between look of man on the left and cover-3 on the right, so the post-snap will be the truth here, and it’s man. With the DB so far off the man, the decision to throw the comeback is the right place to go and he’s also throwing a well timed ball to him. Accuracy returns as soon as he attacks the outside.

3rd 4:57: what?

3rd 4:52: Jets love running play action comebacks and Hack is consistently high quality on them

3rd 4:21: NO, this is actually not a bad throw. Hack has to make sure he gets the ball over that rusher which means this is really the only way to get the ball to that player in the flat. This is not one of his bad throws.

3rd 1:39: this on other hand

3rd 1:30: I think this is a very good throw. If Hack throws this over the WR in stride, that safeties coming in to get this ball. He’s going to touch it or affect the catch. Instead that back shoulder throw allows the WR to play this ball only having to beat the CB for position and the safety has no chance of playing this. I’m in on this. I also like that once he knew he was making this decision he began moving to the left of the pocket to get a better angle for the throw and that he was able to hit this throw completely off balance.

3rd 0:01: route going inside, Hack throws it behind the WR. Lucky bounce.

4th 6:48: Hack is a good QB prospect. I don’t know what i can see i the remaining 4 games i plan to watch that can change that.

OT 1st and 15: wow now that’s an awful under throw

Summary: I didn’t look at the score of this game until i saw it said “OT” and was wondering, how the **** is that possible? Hack was in complete control of this game, this is Hacks’ best performance so far for me. Hack is a good QB prospect who’s still showing the same issues in 2014 that he had in 2013, his accuracy disappears when he heads over the middle, his progression reading looks uncomfortable, but his deep ball accuracy seems to have improved as has his pocket presence. Yeah, his pocket presence looks better to me in the two 2014 games than it did in the 2013 games. He’s more comfortable in the way he moves around, he doesn’t make the same exaggerated moves anymore, and he even uses the space he has effectively to open lanes for himself and minimize the distance between him and the LOS when he can. I really don’t know how to dislike Hack as a prospect. The issues are still obvious enough and large enough that assuming he’ll be the franchise savior is ridiculous but there’s nothing i’m seeing in 2013/2014 that says this player doesn’t have a decent chance of being that savior as long as people recognize that Hack is going to be the kind of player to have terrible interceptions and games in-between great ones while he develops. AKA Geno Smith but he looks different so maybe you ridiculous people will actually have patience with this one.

Additional Insight from the Original Poster:

He has a huge touch issue, but i do think you can work with him where he is. He can't throw in the short/intermediate middle very effectively (at least not so far in his tape that i've seen) but if you can create a scheme that works around his ability to throw on the run and throw to the outside and his impeccable timing, the arm power that lets him hit sideline throws easily, you can definitely get a good player out of him; however they'd be very obviously tied to their scheme.

It looks more like in 2014 that he tried to work on his touch, because it was way worse in 2013, but it still isn't at the level you want and he shows a major issue in his ability to process the movement of players as they cross the middle which consistently leads to him either overthrowing them or throwing out of their range.

I wish i had a better frame of reference to put around Hackenberg but since this is only my third year watching prospects, i can't make the same Nagle comparison or even a real career comp. The best i've got that fits my frame is Cutler.

My Own Personal Opinion: The Hackening is coming sooner then most believe. I think despite some accuracy issues that can be cleaned up but he will never be a precision passer but he doesn't have to be for success on this team. We have huge targets with good to great hands that can help compensate for a less accurate passer. If Fitz isn't back or even if he is and he plays terribly or gets injured, I feel completely comfortable letting this kid win out this year and take the #2 spot and then eventually start the rest of the season.

If people would like to see more of these I can cross post them from reddit as the original poster has done about 4 other ones from his freshman year in BOB's system as well. This one I think is important because it was his 2nd year, 1st year in Franklins crappy system and his foot mechanics changed but you can see the talent level on some of these throws and how well his arm can compensate for the bad mechanics. If these mechanics are fixed up by preseason I can't see Hackenberg not being the best QB on the team this year.

Joe Jets fan · May 19, 2016

Someone should post Geno's pinstripe bowl as a comparison.

JETSfaninNE · May 19, 2016

44 minutes ago, Joe Jets fan said:

Someone should post Geno's pinstripe bowl as a comparison.

Don't have his pinstripe bowl but if you are curious here is the original posters NFL Breakdown of Geno Smith vs Raiders last year

http://nflbreakdowns.com/geno-smith-vs-oak-week-8-265-yards-2-td-1-int/

I will have to note though that the original poster is an avid geno supporter and you may not agree with all his opinions in regards to Geno (especially if you are a Geno hater like myself) but his breakdowns do fill me with confidence that Geno can be a servicable QB for us this year if he has to take the field in Gailey's system.

Geno Smith Enters the Game

Geno Smith enters the game on the Jets first drive, immediately after Ryan Fitzpatrick becomes injured. With only time spent playing with the scout team, the QB shows some obvious signs of lacking chemistry and timing as he works on getting into rhythm.

3rd and 6 at NYJ 47 (9:31 – 1st) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to J.Kerley to OAK 30 for 23 yards (C.Woodson)

Geno Smith’s first pass of the game comes two plays after entering the game. Facing a 5 man rush with a cover-1 man look on 3rd down, Geno drops back looking to his right immediately. Generally, he should keep his eyes downfield while dropping back but with both inside linebackers no longer in the middle of the field- the need to hold your gaze downfield isn’t as important when you’re not planning to go deep.

Geno is reading the three receivers who are running (from left to right) a corner route, dig route, and another dig route. With the blitz coming the shorter routes become the focus of this play. Kenbrell Thompkins at the outside spot is the safer throw of the two, but Geno chooses to go inside on Kerley where he has an opening as well.

The throw is slightly late but is thrown to the exact spot it has to be- high and away from the corner, giving him no play on the ball despite having a decent amount of coverage on Kerley. The in-stride throw allows Kerley to continue upfield.

2nd and 9 at NYJ 36 (1:13 – 1st) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short left to B.Marshall

Geno’s third throw of the game shows the lack of familiarity with his offenses timing. Facing a delayed 5 man rush against another cover-1 man look, Geno drops back and takes a peek at the left side of his line, checking the blitz. With Cumberland not winning his route on the left side, Marshall becomes the target but Geno isn’t aware of where he’ll be breaking and throws the ball into an uncatchable area for him.

3rd and 9 at NYJ 36 (1:01 – 1st) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to K.Thompkins to NYJ 40 for 4 yards (C.Woodson)

Facing third down, the Raiders play a cover-3 against the Jets four WR set. Geno will end up throwing this behind Thompkins, a decision that looks correct but let’s examine everything leading to this throw.

As Geno drops back, he checks the left side and looks back to the right immediately. This look to the right results in Brandon Marshall being open on his out route that he shouldn’t be open on at all- if Geno’s eyes stay downfield the ILB dropping near Marshall’s zone would have stayed on him. This is important because if that were to happen, Thompkins would have had a better chance of taking this catch upfield (if the ball was thrown in stride). What’s also important is that Geno is settling for an underneath throw to a player who has nearly no chance of getting this first down (even if you can argue that he’s purposely throwing behind him to lead him to the open space), despite having a clean enough pocket to potentially go through his reads to see Marshall.

3rd and 3 at NYJ 27 (8:03 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep right to E.Decker

3rd and 3, Jets have 4 WRs out. The Raiders are playing either a cover-2 man or cover-1 with #42 Larry Asante double teaming Marshall.

The Jets have a pre-snap motion built into the play with Jeremy Kerley coming down from his outside spot. Geno looks over to that side just before the snap (you can see this a lot better in the EZ view), so he doesn’t see the adjustment of the bottom CB backing away from Thompkins on his short dig route.

At the snap, Geno checks the left side for a blitz (the Raiders blitz the nickel a few times this game) and comes back to the right side. Kerley falls down on his route, so the decision is made at that point to throw at Decker.

The throw is misplaced too far to the outside and Decker’s unable to get it as a result. If Geno had thrown this further down the field, this ball might actually be completed given Decker’s leverage on both DBs.

1st and 10 at NYJ 20 (5:02 – 2nd) G.Smith pass deep left intended for B.Marshall INTERCEPTED by C.Woodson at OAK 35. C.Woodson ran ob at OAK 35 for no gain.

1st down, Jets show a run look against what’s looking like cover-3. Both Jets outside receivers are going deep with the only other option on this play being a delayed vertical route from tight end Jeff Cumberland.

Geno will look to his right while dropping back, where Decker has absolutely no leverage on his man. With both routes heading deep, it’s likely intentional that he’s doing this in an attempt to get FS Charles Woodson to move to that side. Woodson however, doesn’t fall for it at all and stays in the middle. When Geno hits his backstep, he turns to Marshall and lets the ball go with just one gather step. It’s underthrown and Woodson’s able to grab it. For some reason, announcer Rich Gannon called this a stare-down during the live broadcast.

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm

Following the interception, Geno Smith begins playing on point. Although the timing doesn’t ever get resolved in this game, his accuracy and decision making does as he begins to get into the groove of playing. Geno even has a stretch of 8 straight completions, which ends on a tough throw and drop.

1st and 15 at NYJ 37 (2:03 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to B.Marshall to 50 for 13 yards (M.Edwards)

The Jets send out Chris Ivory to the slot, a regular part of the offense but the Raiders respond by keeping a LB on him instead of moving everyone down one man. The pre-snap favors looking at Marshall’s side with the slant, given that his man is about 8 yards deep against him, which is just about the depth of his break.

When Geno takes the snap against this cover-1 man look, he again checks the corner blitz to the left side before returning to the right. Geno’s timing on this play is off as his footwork doesn’t sync up at all with the break of Brandon Marshall’s slant but he still manages to fit this through a tight window behind a linebacker.

2nd and 5 at OAK 39 (1:30 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to E.Decker to OAK 25 for 14 yards (M.Smith)

Another cover-1 man, the Raiders bring 5 rushers up to the line, but will replace the ILB (who will drop to cover Decker) for the nickel CB at the bottom. The pre-snap has one player stand out, Decker is uncovered in the slot receiver spot closest to the line of scrimmage on the right side.

When Geno takes the snap, he checks for the corner blitz (as he has been) and it finally comes. Rather than take the hot read of Marshall, Geno’s composed enough to take advantage of Decker’s favorable situation where a dropping linebacker is in coverage and get the ball out quickly to him. The throw is slightly low but still in stride.

3rd and 5 at OAK 20 (0:44 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep middle to B.Marshall (T.Carrie).

Facing 3rd and 5 at the Raiders red zone, the Raiders are showing cover-2 man at the pre-snap that doesn’t favor any particular player. However, after the snap, Charles Woodson (the left safety) will come down into robber coverage turning this into cover-1 man.

When Geno drops back, he can see that the coverage has changed and Woodson has vacated his deep spot, placing a wide open area to throw to behind him because the other safety is heavily favoring the opposite side. Geno throws the ball right on time allowing Marshall to get past Woodson and Carrie (the corner covering him) but has the ball a bit too far to the outside, allowing Carrie a chance to make a play on the ball. The ball is still well thrown, but sub-optimal since a throw further inside gives Marshall the ability to catch this without any competition.

There’s also going to be Jeremy Kerley coming wide open in the middle of the field on this play but- being familar with the Jets offense- that is definitely Kerley improvising upon seeing the open space. If Woodson hadn’t vacated the deep spot, the ball may have reached Kerley.

1st and 10 at NYJ 34 (10:28 – 3rd) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith scrambles right end to NYJ 39 for 5 yards (M.Edwards)

Raiders bring 6 potential blitzers up to the line of scrimmage and show a pre-snap that looks like anything between cover-1 man or cover-3, or cover-4. The pre-snap favors Marshall’s out route at the top and Thompkins checkdown dig route at the bottom of the screen.

At the snap, Geno looks at his left first, allowing him to take in the blitz as well as see the coverage on Marshall, who’s had one of the potential rushers drop into his area on what could’ve been an easy out. Smith turns back to the right side to check on Kerley’s dig and immediately finds Khalil Mack about to enter the pocket. He then turns his shoulder momentarily with the intention to throw towards Thompkins but doesn’t have the time to actually make the throw. He steps up and evades the rushers, scrambling for 5 yards.

2nd and 7 at 50 (8:37 – 3rd) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass deep right to B.Marshall pushed ob at OAK 22 for 28 yards (D.Amerson).

Raiders rush only four and show cover-2 man on the pre-snap. The pre-snap favors Thompkins at the top of the screen on his quick snag route, but the post-snap shows another good opportunity to go deep for Marshall as the Raiders switch to cover-1 man with Woodson again dropping into the middle of the field.

Geno takes the snap and recognizes the rotating safeties, he’s quick to drop, set, and throw in order to hit Marshall right on the sideline, placing the ball nearly perfectly on him. This ball might’ve been able to be kept in bounds if thrown a little further inside for Marshall to run for YAC but his route is heading towards the sideline the entire time. This throw is in no way bad, but improvement is still possible.

1st and 10 at OAK 22 (8:18 – 3rd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to E.Decker to OAK 13 for 9 yards (D.Amerson)

Raiders bring 4 rushers and sit in cover-1 man. The pre-snap favors looking at Kerley’s slot out route at the top of the screen where the CB is playing very far off and Decker’s slant at the bottom where the DB is shading outside.

Noting the position of the ILB to the right and the positioning of the rest of the defense, it becomes safe to assume that he’s manned up against Chris Ivory in the backfield. When he leaves the space he’s in, he opens up a throwing lane to throw to Decker that Geno takes and places perfectly for the stuation- far enough ahead of the CB trailing him but also behind just enough to keep the ball from the ILB as well as protect him from a potential hit from the linebacker, if he wasn’t choosing to try and cut the throwing lane.

However, this throw has to be made that way because Geno’s timing is still off within this offense, leading to him being slower on his dropbacks than the routes. He’s still able to make up for that with his accuracy and placement though.

1st and 10 at NYJ 35 (4:42 – 3rd) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep middle to J.Kerley

Raiders rush four but give the impression of a five man rush. The pre-snap shows a cover-2 man weighted towards to the left side. The right side of the field is favored on the pre-snap.

At the snap, Woodson remains in the middle of the field and neither safety is respecting Kerley’s vertical up the seam. As a result, Kerley has an open lane to throw into. Geno looks down the field momentarily as he drops and sees the coverage, and opts to take advantage of an open deep man. He throws a nearly perfect pass ahead and high of Kerley, completely out of the CB D.J. Hayden’s reach but forcing Kerley to attempt an athletic grab on it.

Continue to the next page to see more of Geno Smith’s game against the Raiders.

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm (Continued)

2nd and 10 at NYJ 35 (4:36 – 3rd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short right to K.Thompkins to NYJ 44 for 9 yards (D.Amerson)

Another four man rush with the Raiders heavily favoring the left side of the field, this time the Raiders are running cover-3. At the snap, Geno drops back and begins reading the right side of the field. Smith is too quick to turn here and needs to keep his eyes downfield- although it does not affect the play here.

When Khalil Mack does his spin move on RT Breno Giacomini, Geno assumes he’s about to enter the backfield and doesn’t expect Giacomini to actually be throwing him down (realistically, I don’t think there’s many that would expect that either) and leaves the pocket. On the endzone view, you can see what Geno saw and why he leaves it as Mack’s shoulders begin to line up with the path to Geno before the RT knocks him down.

When Geno rolls out, he throws for Thompkins on the right side who’s adjusted his route (some kind of stop-go-stop) to get near the sideline. He throws this ball way too far inside and almost gives DB David Amerson, who’s behind him, a chance on intercepting this ball.

3rd and 1 at NYJ 44 (4:04 – 3rd) (Shotgun) G.Smith sacked at NYJ 41 for -3 yards (D.Autry)

Facing 3rd and 1, the raiders rush four (with one player bailing his rush to hit Zac Stacy out of the backfield) with cover-1 man coverage. With a potential blitz look before the snap and only 1 yard to go, Geno is going to look at Zac Stacy on his flat route first, even though Jeremy Kerley has a favorable position from his man on his route.

With only one yard needed, Geno looks immediately to Zac Stacy after the snap but Stacy is completely covered by two players, one being the DE who bumps him on his route and the other a LB. As he turns back in the other direction, somehow Denico Autry has beaten both James Carpenter and backup center Wesley Johnson to get into the backfield. Geno steps up in the pocket and stops when he recognizes the DT in front of him is actually playing contain and not pass rushing. He sets up to try and throw to Decker, but Decker is covered. Geno brings the ball down and takes the sack.

1st and 10 at NYJ 29 (12:35 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to J.Kerley to NYJ 38 for 9 yards (L.Asante)

The Raiders are rushing four with a cover-2 man look that starts morphing into cover 3 after the snap.. With Decker in motion, the Raiders defense makes some adjustments but still leave Decker uncovered.

With the pre-snap favoring Decker’s direction, Geno looks there after glancing towards the left side. As he finishes his dropback, the LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson is beginning to be pushed into the backfield and Geno opts to leave the pocket rather than hope he can re-gain control of his man. Decker’s route becomes covered as Jeremy Kerley’s man backs up to take him- leaving Kerley wide open, with Geno throwing him an easy ball.

1st and 10 at NYJ 43 (11:16 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass short right to B.Marshall to OAK 48 for 9 yards (D.Amerson)

Raiders show cover-1 on the pre-snap that is turning into a cover-3. The corners positioning favors any of the short routes on the field, and Geno opts to take the right side.

Geno first looks at Chris Ivory on his dig route which draws the attention of one of the Raiders players in the area, opening up space to throw to Brandon Marshall. Geno’s able to manipulate the defender into moving off of Marshall through a small “gather step” where it looks like he’s about to enter his throwing motion, but hesitates.

The Pressure Gets Into Geno Smith

Eventually, the line begins to completely deteriorate. Despite missing Pro-Bowl center Nick Mangold, it’s actually starting LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson and starting RT Breno Giacomini that keep losing on the edge against rising star Khalil Mack and other assorted Raiders rushers. Geno is still able to keep making plays- but issues begin to arise as the game reaches its final moments.

1st and 10 at OAK 44 (10:14 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to B.Marshall (D.Amerson)

The Raiders show a similar pre-snap coverage as the previous play but actually man up this time while rushing five again. The pre-snap heavily favors Brandon Marshall running a dig against a corner that is 8 yards deep and Geno sees it. He rushes because of the pressure to make his throw and throws it too far ahead as a result.

2nd and 10 at OAK 44 (10:03 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith scrambles right end to OAK 15 for 29 yards (D.Amerson)

At this point, the Jets offensive line is giving up pressure regularly. With the Raiders only rushing four and playing cover-3, the only routes that have any pre-snap favoritism become irrelevant as Geno is forced to leave the pocket once he hits the end of his dropback.

Bailing out to the left, Smith takes a moment to pump fake in Marshalls direction as he considers throwing to him on his cross but makes the right decision to bring the ball back down. He’s able to beat the safety Larry Asante to the edge and begins running up the field where unnecessarily takes a big hit from David Amerson.

1st and 10 at OAK 15 (9:28 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short middle to K.Thompkins. PENALTY on OAK-N.Thorpe, Defensive Pass Interference, 14 yards, enforced at OAK 15 – No Play

Raiders play cover-1 man with 5 rushers, where one rusher will bail to cover Ivory as he gets out of the backfield. The Jets have a pick play running in the middle of the field as Eric Deckers dig route from the right outside and Brandon Marshalls corner route from the innermost slot position on the left cross each other.

That pick play is where Geno is initially reading, as he sets ready to throw to Decker the moment his corner backs off. However, #57 Ray-Ray Armstrong is able to beat LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson with a spin move, forcing Geno to side step him if he wants to take a throw or risk getting hit. He sidesteps, and while continuing to look down the field, recognizes that both safeties have left their coverage as Kenbrell Thompkins calls for the pass (you can see him wave his hands up in the air).

Geno sets again and throws purposely behind Thompkins, who’s otherwise perfectly covered by CB Nieko Thorpe. The back shoulder throw not only takes Thorpe out of the equation, putting the ball into a situation where only Thompkins can make a play on it- but also draws defensive pass interference as Thorpe never gets his head around.

3rd and Goal at OAK 1 (8:37 – 4th) Kellen Davis Pass From Geno Smith for 1 Yard N.Folk extra point is GOOD

The second of Geno’s touchdowns on the day- this one shows a lot more about the creativity and skill Geno can display when needed to. As we saw in a previous long gain from Geno, he was able to hold multiple players by using his eyes and arm to pump towards a receiver before taking off. Here, he’ll use his legs to draw in a defensive lineman so that he can buy time to make this pass.

The Jets run a play-action bootleg where Geno rolls out with only one target, backup TE Kellen Davis running an out route along the back end of the endzone. With a defensive lineman keeping him in contain, Geno buys some time by changing up his pacing and doing some shoulder fakes. As the lineman steps up, expecting these moves which to result in a rushing attempt, Geno throws right over him- landing the ball high and ahead of Kellen Davis, nearly perfectly placed. A throw slightly further ahead would be even better, but this is nitpicking at that point.

4th and 3 at OAK 38 (5:33 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to K.Thompkins. Penalty on NYJ-W.Colon, Offensive Holding, declined

One of two Jets fourth down attempts, the entire Jets OL allows two rushers into the backfield immediately as Geno looks towards the right side where most of his routes are. None of the players are open, and the result is an incompletion as Geno is forced to throw while backing up from rushers.

3rd and 2 at NYJ 26 (4:04 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith sacked ob at NYJ 21 for -5 yards (D.Hayden)

Here’s where Geno will make his worst mental mistake of the day, a senseless sack on another play where Mack is able to scare Geno out of the pocket.

Down 20 to 34 with only 4 minutes remaining, the Raiders begin to play more conservative cover-3 coverage over their cover-1 man. Dropping back and looking to his left, Geno doesn’t see the coverage open up there the way he wants it to (presumably expecting Ivory to have more space to make the catch than he does) and looks over to the right. Upon looking, Mack gets directly behind him and is about set to attack when Geno bails the pocket. Geno might have the time and space to remain in here but given the consistent pressure from some of the previous plays, Geno’s losing trust in his tackles ability to re-gain control.

More importantly however, none of the routes are actually open- which is what likely leads to Geno leaving in order to extend the play. However, no Jets receiver follows Geno as he escapes the pocket and he is now looking downfield at nothing but Raiders. It’s at this point that you see him turn back to the opposite side of the field, looking for a player before realizing he doesn’t have the time or space to make the throw. At this moment, he should be throwing it away as the Jets are in fourth down territory. But he doesn’t, and takes a completely unnecessary sack.

1st and 10 at NYJ 22 (2:48 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to B.Marshall

Playing cover-3 again, the Raiders stunt both sets of defenders and Geno has his LG and RT fall into his lap. Geno drops back looking for Marshall on his seam route and throws a ball way too high for him on what looks like his own fault, as he has the time and space to go through his motion comfortably.

2nd and 10 at NYJ 22 (2:39 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith sacked at NYJ 11 for -11 yards (K.Mack)

Similar to the last sack, this time Geno has just stopped trusting his offensive line and rolls out of a clean pocket against only three rushers. With only two and a half minutes remaining in the game, the Raiders play two deep safeties and man up all the receivers, taking a completely conservative approach while nursing a 14 point lead.

Geno rolls out of a clean pocket, causing him to miss out on an open Kerley in the middle of the field on a slant route- something which the pre-snap positioning gave a lot of hints towards being open (Marshall’s route has a pick on Kerley’s defender, while the CB is also playing 5 yards deep of him).

While rolling out, Geno becomes focussed on Marshall, presumably because he assumes Marshall will turn upfield giving him a target to throw to- he zones out staring at him and doesn’t realize Mack creeping up into his area. A second sack taken needlessly.

4th and 19 at NYJ 13 (1:26 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass deep middle to E.Decker to NYJ 34 for 21 yards (L.Asante)

Finally, the last play worth looking at- a 4th and 19 conversion following the worthless sack taken. As it becomes custom, a Raiders rusher has no issue finding his way into the backfield and even gets an arm on Geno as he comes around the edge. Meanwhile, the Raiders coverage becomes pure deep prevent. Again, Geno rolls out- but this time he has an actual target down the field following him, as Decker is just the right distance to convert this first down. Smith throws him an easy ball and converts what ultimately becomes a meaningless fourth down.

I’ll keep my own opinion reserved for the most part but Geno Smith showed some accuracy and difficult decision making he’s never shown before as a passer- as well as a stretch of consistency from the pocket that didn’t exist before in his game. Whether that’s because of the better players around him or just a better scheme for him, I’m sure the Jets are hoping that some of what they saw here is more than just a flash.

sourceworx · May 19, 2016

Some people have way too much free time on their hands.

SayNoToDMC · May 19, 2016

44 minutes ago, Joe Jets fan said:

Someone should post Geno's pinstripe bowl as a comparison.

It was cold and I got drunk

JETSfaninNE · May 19, 2016

3 minutes ago, sourceworx said:

Some people have way too much free time on their hands.

I don't get negative posts like this. If you don't find value in it then move on. I really appreciate the efforts the nflbreakdowns team do with these analysis as it helps me better understand the game and the reading of defenses. If that's not your thing, that's cool but no need to demean other peoples efforts.

Colgateman · May 19, 2016

Wasn't this also posted on reddit? I think I read it a few days ago.

dbatesman · May 19, 2016

Once Hack moves that left foot back again, it's lit

New York Mick · May 19, 2016

Those posts are so long Kelly would be proud

JETSfaninNE · May 19, 2016

35 minutes ago, Colgateman said:

Wasn't this also posted on reddit? I think I read it a few days ago.

Yes, I sourced it from reddit.

Ken Schroy · May 19, 2016

Well the Hackenberg video is extensive and kudos to the breakdown.

My takeaway on Hack is the following:

Pros Cons

Big strong kid Real accuracy issues
Great arm Decision making
Quick release
Can scramble
Decent pocket awareness

Bottom line for me is, the kid has a lot of potential. BTW the PSU receivers suck.

roscoeword · May 19, 2016

no. 4 says he can scramble. So he's not a Kenny O'Brien statue? That would be encouraging. I think a good qb today has to be able to get yards with this feet.

JETSfaninNE · May 19, 2016

1 minute ago, Ken Shroy said:

Well the Hackenberg video is extensive and kudos to the breakdown.

My takeaway on Hack is the following:

Pros                                                                                                              Cons

Big strong kid                                                                                  Real accuracy issues

Great arm                                                                                        Decision making

Quick release

Can scramble

Decent pocket awareness

Bottom line for me is, the kid has a lot of potential. BTW the PSU receivers suck.

I thought the same thing. Between terrible route running, not even giving effort on some plays and then just plain dropping passes that should be caught, Hack has the highest potential I've seen from any Jets QB taken in a long ass time. Yes he threw some terrible balls in this game too but I still think some of that is foot/mechanic driven, especially the quick short throws out to the flat where the ball is ending up at the receivers feet, if he cleans that up and learns to put more touch on those short throws, he has the makeup to be lethal.

Plus I love his deep ball and its pretty damn accurate.

JETSfaninNE · May 19, 2016

1 minute ago, roscoeword said:

no. 4 says he can scramble. So he's not a Kenny O'Brien statue? That would be encouraging. I think a good qb today has to be able to get yards with this feet.

Fast forward to the 4th quarter. He puts the team on his back and starts to scramble more to keep moving the chains not trusting his receivers or the receiver were just bad and not getting open but he took risks to push forward in the big moments when it was needed most. He definitely can move, he isn't Mariota but he can pick up first downs when needed.

Villain The Foe · May 19, 2016

35 minutes ago, JETSfaninNE said:

Don't have his pinstripe bowl but if you are curious here is the original posters NFL Breakdown of Geno Smith vs Raiders last year

http://nflbreakdowns.com/geno-smith-vs-oak-week-8-265-yards-2-td-1-int/

I will have to note though that the original poster is an avid geno supporter and you may not agree with all his opinions in regards to Geno (especially if you are a Geno hater like myself) but his breakdowns do fill me with confidence that Geno can be a servicable QB for us this year if he has to take the field in Gailey's system.

Geno Smith Enters the Game

Geno Smith enters the game on the Jets first drive, immediately after Ryan Fitzpatrick becomes injured. With only time spent playing with the scout team, the QB shows some obvious signs of lacking chemistry and timing as he works on getting into rhythm.

3rd and 6 at NYJ 47 (9:31 – 1st) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to J.Kerley to OAK 30 for 23 yards (C.Woodson)

Geno Smith’s first pass of the game comes two plays after entering the game. Facing a 5 man rush with a cover-1 man look on 3rd down, Geno drops back looking to his right immediately. Generally, he should keep his eyes downfield while dropping back but with both inside linebackers no longer in the middle of the field- the need to hold your gaze downfield isn’t as important when you’re not planning to go deep.

Geno is reading the three receivers who are running (from left to right) a corner route, dig route, and another dig route. With the blitz coming the shorter routes become the focus of this play. Kenbrell Thompkins at the outside spot is the safer throw of the two, but Geno chooses to go inside on Kerley where he has an opening as well.

The throw is slightly late but is thrown to the exact spot it has to be- high and away from the corner, giving him no play on the ball despite having a decent amount of coverage on Kerley. The in-stride throw allows Kerley to continue upfield.

2nd and 9 at NYJ 36 (1:13 – 1st) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short left to B.Marshall

Geno’s third throw of the game shows the lack of familiarity with his offenses timing. Facing a delayed 5 man rush against another cover-1 man look, Geno drops back and takes a peek at the left side of his line, checking the blitz. With Cumberland not winning his route on the left side, Marshall becomes the target but Geno isn’t aware of where he’ll be breaking and throws the ball into an uncatchable area for him.

3rd and 9 at NYJ 36 (1:01 – 1st) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to K.Thompkins to NYJ 40 for 4 yards (C.Woodson)

Facing third down, the Raiders play a cover-3 against the Jets four WR set. Geno will end up throwing this behind Thompkins, a decision that looks correct but let’s examine everything leading to this throw.

As Geno drops back, he checks the left side and looks back to the right immediately. This look to the right results in Brandon Marshall being open on his out route that he shouldn’t be open on at all- if Geno’s eyes stay downfield the ILB dropping near Marshall’s zone would have stayed on him. This is important because if that were to happen, Thompkins would have had a better chance of taking this catch upfield (if the ball was thrown in stride). What’s also important is that Geno is settling for an underneath throw to a player who has nearly no chance of getting this first down (even if you can argue that he’s purposely throwing behind him to lead him to the open space), despite having a clean enough pocket to potentially go through his reads to see Marshall.

3rd and 3 at NYJ 27 (8:03 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep right to E.Decker

3rd and 3, Jets have 4 WRs out. The Raiders are playing either a cover-2 man or cover-1 with #42 Larry Asante double teaming Marshall.

The Jets have a pre-snap motion built into the play with Jeremy Kerley coming down from his outside spot. Geno looks over to that side just before the snap (you can see this a lot better in the EZ view), so he doesn’t see the adjustment of the bottom CB backing away from Thompkins on his short dig route.

At the snap, Geno checks the left side for a blitz (the Raiders blitz the nickel a few times this game) and comes back to the right side. Kerley falls down on his route, so the decision is made at that point to throw at Decker.

The throw is misplaced too far to the outside and Decker’s unable to get it as a result. If Geno had thrown this further down the field, this ball might actually be completed given Decker’s leverage on both DBs.

1st and 10 at NYJ 20 (5:02 – 2nd) G.Smith pass deep left intended for B.Marshall INTERCEPTED by C.Woodson at OAK 35. C.Woodson ran ob at OAK 35 for no gain.

1st down, Jets show a run look against what’s looking like cover-3. Both Jets outside receivers are going deep with the only other option on this play being a delayed vertical route from tight end Jeff Cumberland.

Geno will look to his right while dropping back, where Decker has absolutely no leverage on his man. With both routes heading deep, it’s likely intentional that he’s doing this in an attempt to get FS Charles Woodson to move to that side. Woodson however, doesn’t fall for it at all and stays in the middle. When Geno hits his backstep, he turns to Marshall and lets the ball go with just one gather step. It’s underthrown and Woodson’s able to grab it. For some reason, announcer Rich Gannon called this a stare-down during the live broadcast.

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm

Following the interception, Geno Smith begins playing on point. Although the timing doesn’t ever get resolved in this game, his accuracy and decision making does as he begins to get into the groove of playing. Geno even has a stretch of 8 straight completions, which ends on a tough throw and drop.

1st and 15 at NYJ 37 (2:03 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to B.Marshall to 50 for 13 yards (M.Edwards)

The Jets send out Chris Ivory to the slot, a regular part of the offense but the Raiders respond by keeping a LB on him instead of moving everyone down one man. The pre-snap favors looking at Marshall’s side with the slant, given that his man is about 8 yards deep against him, which is just about the depth of his break.

When Geno takes the snap against this cover-1 man look, he again checks the corner blitz to the left side before returning to the right. Geno’s timing on this play is off as his footwork doesn’t sync up at all with the break of Brandon Marshall’s slant but he still manages to fit this through a tight window behind a linebacker.

2nd and 5 at OAK 39 (1:30 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to E.Decker to OAK 25 for 14 yards (M.Smith)

Another cover-1 man, the Raiders bring 5 rushers up to the line, but will replace the ILB (who will drop to cover Decker) for the nickel CB at the bottom. The pre-snap has one player stand out, Decker is uncovered in the slot receiver spot closest to the line of scrimmage on the right side.

When Geno takes the snap, he checks for the corner blitz (as he has been) and it finally comes. Rather than take the hot read of Marshall, Geno’s composed enough to take advantage of Decker’s favorable situation where a dropping linebacker is in coverage and get the ball out quickly to him. The throw is slightly low but still in stride.

3rd and 5 at OAK 20 (0:44 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep middle to B.Marshall (T.Carrie).

Facing 3rd and 5 at the Raiders red zone, the Raiders are showing cover-2 man at the pre-snap that doesn’t favor any particular player. However, after the snap, Charles Woodson (the left safety) will come down into robber coverage turning this into cover-1 man.

When Geno drops back, he can see that the coverage has changed and Woodson has vacated his deep spot, placing a wide open area to throw to behind him because the other safety is heavily favoring the opposite side. Geno throws the ball right on time allowing Marshall to get past Woodson and Carrie (the corner covering him) but has the ball a bit too far to the outside, allowing Carrie a chance to make a play on the ball. The ball is still well thrown, but sub-optimal since a throw further inside gives Marshall the ability to catch this without any competition.

There’s also going to be Jeremy Kerley coming wide open in the middle of the field on this play but- being familar with the Jets offense- that is definitely Kerley improvising upon seeing the open space. If Woodson hadn’t vacated the deep spot, the ball may have reached Kerley.

1st and 10 at NYJ 34 (10:28 – 3rd) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith scrambles right end to NYJ 39 for 5 yards (M.Edwards)

Raiders bring 6 potential blitzers up to the line of scrimmage and show a pre-snap that looks like anything between cover-1 man or cover-3, or cover-4. The pre-snap favors Marshall’s out route at the top and Thompkins checkdown dig route at the bottom of the screen.

At the snap, Geno looks at his left first, allowing him to take in the blitz as well as see the coverage on Marshall, who’s had one of the potential rushers drop into his area on what could’ve been an easy out. Smith turns back to the right side to check on Kerley’s dig and immediately finds Khalil Mack about to enter the pocket. He then turns his shoulder momentarily with the intention to throw towards Thompkins but doesn’t have the time to actually make the throw. He steps up and evades the rushers, scrambling for 5 yards.

2nd and 7 at 50 (8:37 – 3rd) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass deep right to B.Marshall pushed ob at OAK 22 for 28 yards (D.Amerson).

Raiders rush only four and show cover-2 man on the pre-snap. The pre-snap favors Thompkins at the top of the screen on his quick snag route, but the post-snap shows another good opportunity to go deep for Marshall as the Raiders switch to cover-1 man with Woodson again dropping into the middle of the field.

Geno takes the snap and recognizes the rotating safeties, he’s quick to drop, set, and throw in order to hit Marshall right on the sideline, placing the ball nearly perfectly on him. This ball might’ve been able to be kept in bounds if thrown a little further inside for Marshall to run for YAC but his route is heading towards the sideline the entire time. This throw is in no way bad, but improvement is still possible.

1st and 10 at OAK 22 (8:18 – 3rd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to E.Decker to OAK 13 for 9 yards (D.Amerson)

Raiders bring 4 rushers and sit in cover-1 man. The pre-snap favors looking at Kerley’s slot out route at the top of the screen where the CB is playing very far off and Decker’s slant at the bottom where the DB is shading outside.

Noting the position of the ILB to the right and the positioning of the rest of the defense, it becomes safe to assume that he’s manned up against Chris Ivory in the backfield. When he leaves the space he’s in, he opens up a throwing lane to throw to Decker that Geno takes and places perfectly for the stuation- far enough ahead of the CB trailing him but also behind just enough to keep the ball from the ILB as well as protect him from a potential hit from the linebacker, if he wasn’t choosing to try and cut the throwing lane.

However, this throw has to be made that way because Geno’s timing is still off within this offense, leading to him being slower on his dropbacks than the routes. He’s still able to make up for that with his accuracy and placement though.

1st and 10 at NYJ 35 (4:42 – 3rd) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep middle to J.Kerley

Raiders rush four but give the impression of a five man rush. The pre-snap shows a cover-2 man weighted towards to the left side. The right side of the field is favored on the pre-snap.

At the snap, Woodson remains in the middle of the field and neither safety is respecting Kerley’s vertical up the seam. As a result, Kerley has an open lane to throw into. Geno looks down the field momentarily as he drops and sees the coverage, and opts to take advantage of an open deep man. He throws a nearly perfect pass ahead and high of Kerley, completely out of the CB D.J. Hayden’s reach but forcing Kerley to attempt an athletic grab on it.

Continue to the next page to see more of Geno Smith’s game against the Raiders.

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm (Continued)

2nd and 10 at NYJ 35 (4:36 – 3rd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short right to K.Thompkins to NYJ 44 for 9 yards (D.Amerson)

Another four man rush with the Raiders heavily favoring the left side of the field, this time the Raiders are running cover-3. At the snap, Geno drops back and begins reading the right side of the field. Smith is too quick to turn here and needs to keep his eyes downfield- although it does not affect the play here.

When Khalil Mack does his spin move on RT Breno Giacomini, Geno assumes he’s about to enter the backfield and doesn’t expect Giacomini to actually be throwing him down (realistically, I don’t think there’s many that would expect that either) and leaves the pocket. On the endzone view, you can see what Geno saw and why he leaves it as Mack’s shoulders begin to line up with the path to Geno before the RT knocks him down.

When Geno rolls out, he throws for Thompkins on the right side who’s adjusted his route (some kind of stop-go-stop) to get near the sideline. He throws this ball way too far inside and almost gives DB David Amerson, who’s behind him, a chance on intercepting this ball.

3rd and 1 at NYJ 44 (4:04 – 3rd) (Shotgun) G.Smith sacked at NYJ 41 for -3 yards (D.Autry)

Facing 3rd and 1, the raiders rush four (with one player bailing his rush to hit Zac Stacy out of the backfield) with cover-1 man coverage. With a potential blitz look before the snap and only 1 yard to go, Geno is going to look at Zac Stacy on his flat route first, even though Jeremy Kerley has a favorable position from his man on his route.

With only one yard needed, Geno looks immediately to Zac Stacy after the snap but Stacy is completely covered by two players, one being the DE who bumps him on his route and the other a LB. As he turns back in the other direction, somehow Denico Autry has beaten both James Carpenter and backup center Wesley Johnson to get into the backfield. Geno steps up in the pocket and stops when he recognizes the DT in front of him is actually playing contain and not pass rushing. He sets up to try and throw to Decker, but Decker is covered. Geno brings the ball down and takes the sack.

1st and 10 at NYJ 29 (12:35 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to J.Kerley to NYJ 38 for 9 yards (L.Asante)

The Raiders are rushing four with a cover-2 man look that starts morphing into cover 3 after the snap.. With Decker in motion, the Raiders defense makes some adjustments but still leave Decker uncovered.

With the pre-snap favoring Decker’s direction, Geno looks there after glancing towards the left side. As he finishes his dropback, the LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson is beginning to be pushed into the backfield and Geno opts to leave the pocket rather than hope he can re-gain control of his man. Decker’s route becomes covered as Jeremy Kerley’s man backs up to take him- leaving Kerley wide open, with Geno throwing him an easy ball.

1st and 10 at NYJ 43 (11:16 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass short right to B.Marshall to OAK 48 for 9 yards (D.Amerson)

Raiders show cover-1 on the pre-snap that is turning into a cover-3. The corners positioning favors any of the short routes on the field, and Geno opts to take the right side.

Geno first looks at Chris Ivory on his dig route which draws the attention of one of the Raiders players in the area, opening up space to throw to Brandon Marshall. Geno’s able to manipulate the defender into moving off of Marshall through a small “gather step” where it looks like he’s about to enter his throwing motion, but hesitates.

The Pressure Gets Into Geno Smith

Eventually, the line begins to completely deteriorate. Despite missing Pro-Bowl center Nick Mangold, it’s actually starting LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson and starting RT Breno Giacomini that keep losing on the edge against rising star Khalil Mack and other assorted Raiders rushers. Geno is still able to keep making plays- but issues begin to arise as the game reaches its final moments.

1st and 10 at OAK 44 (10:14 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to B.Marshall (D.Amerson)

The Raiders show a similar pre-snap coverage as the previous play but actually man up this time while rushing five again. The pre-snap heavily favors Brandon Marshall running a dig against a corner that is 8 yards deep and Geno sees it. He rushes because of the pressure to make his throw and throws it too far ahead as a result.

2nd and 10 at OAK 44 (10:03 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith scrambles right end to OAK 15 for 29 yards (D.Amerson)

At this point, the Jets offensive line is giving up pressure regularly. With the Raiders only rushing four and playing cover-3, the only routes that have any pre-snap favoritism become irrelevant as Geno is forced to leave the pocket once he hits the end of his dropback.

Bailing out to the left, Smith takes a moment to pump fake in Marshalls direction as he considers throwing to him on his cross but makes the right decision to bring the ball back down. He’s able to beat the safety Larry Asante to the edge and begins running up the field where unnecessarily takes a big hit from David Amerson.

1st and 10 at OAK 15 (9:28 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short middle to K.Thompkins. PENALTY on OAK-N.Thorpe, Defensive Pass Interference, 14 yards, enforced at OAK 15 – No Play

Raiders play cover-1 man with 5 rushers, where one rusher will bail to cover Ivory as he gets out of the backfield. The Jets have a pick play running in the middle of the field as Eric Deckers dig route from the right outside and Brandon Marshalls corner route from the innermost slot position on the left cross each other.

That pick play is where Geno is initially reading, as he sets ready to throw to Decker the moment his corner backs off. However, #57 Ray-Ray Armstrong is able to beat LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson with a spin move, forcing Geno to side step him if he wants to take a throw or risk getting hit. He sidesteps, and while continuing to look down the field, recognizes that both safeties have left their coverage as Kenbrell Thompkins calls for the pass (you can see him wave his hands up in the air).

Geno sets again and throws purposely behind Thompkins, who’s otherwise perfectly covered by CB Nieko Thorpe. The back shoulder throw not only takes Thorpe out of the equation, putting the ball into a situation where only Thompkins can make a play on it- but also draws defensive pass interference as Thorpe never gets his head around.

3rd and Goal at OAK 1 (8:37 – 4th) Kellen Davis Pass From Geno Smith for 1 Yard N.Folk extra point is GOOD

The second of Geno’s touchdowns on the day- this one shows a lot more about the creativity and skill Geno can display when needed to. As we saw in a previous long gain from Geno, he was able to hold multiple players by using his eyes and arm to pump towards a receiver before taking off. Here, he’ll use his legs to draw in a defensive lineman so that he can buy time to make this pass.

The Jets run a play-action bootleg where Geno rolls out with only one target, backup TE Kellen Davis running an out route along the back end of the endzone. With a defensive lineman keeping him in contain, Geno buys some time by changing up his pacing and doing some shoulder fakes. As the lineman steps up, expecting these moves which to result in a rushing attempt, Geno throws right over him- landing the ball high and ahead of Kellen Davis, nearly perfectly placed. A throw slightly further ahead would be even better, but this is nitpicking at that point.

4th and 3 at OAK 38 (5:33 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to K.Thompkins. Penalty on NYJ-W.Colon, Offensive Holding, declined

One of two Jets fourth down attempts, the entire Jets OL allows two rushers into the backfield immediately as Geno looks towards the right side where most of his routes are. None of the players are open, and the result is an incompletion as Geno is forced to throw while backing up from rushers.

3rd and 2 at NYJ 26 (4:04 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith sacked ob at NYJ 21 for -5 yards (D.Hayden)

Here’s where Geno will make his worst mental mistake of the day, a senseless sack on another play where Mack is able to scare Geno out of the pocket.

Down 20 to 34 with only 4 minutes remaining, the Raiders begin to play more conservative cover-3 coverage over their cover-1 man. Dropping back and looking to his left, Geno doesn’t see the coverage open up there the way he wants it to (presumably expecting Ivory to have more space to make the catch than he does) and looks over to the right. Upon looking, Mack gets directly behind him and is about set to attack when Geno bails the pocket. Geno might have the time and space to remain in here but given the consistent pressure from some of the previous plays, Geno’s losing trust in his tackles ability to re-gain control.

More importantly however, none of the routes are actually open- which is what likely leads to Geno leaving in order to extend the play. However, no Jets receiver follows Geno as he escapes the pocket and he is now looking downfield at nothing but Raiders. It’s at this point that you see him turn back to the opposite side of the field, looking for a player before realizing he doesn’t have the time or space to make the throw. At this moment, he should be throwing it away as the Jets are in fourth down territory. But he doesn’t, and takes a completely unnecessary sack.

1st and 10 at NYJ 22 (2:48 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to B.Marshall

Playing cover-3 again, the Raiders stunt both sets of defenders and Geno has his LG and RT fall into his lap. Geno drops back looking for Marshall on his seam route and throws a ball way too high for him on what looks like his own fault, as he has the time and space to go through his motion comfortably.

2nd and 10 at NYJ 22 (2:39 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith sacked at NYJ 11 for -11 yards (K.Mack)

Similar to the last sack, this time Geno has just stopped trusting his offensive line and rolls out of a clean pocket against only three rushers. With only two and a half minutes remaining in the game, the Raiders play two deep safeties and man up all the receivers, taking a completely conservative approach while nursing a 14 point lead.

Geno rolls out of a clean pocket, causing him to miss out on an open Kerley in the middle of the field on a slant route- something which the pre-snap positioning gave a lot of hints towards being open (Marshall’s route has a pick on Kerley’s defender, while the CB is also playing 5 yards deep of him).

While rolling out, Geno becomes focussed on Marshall, presumably because he assumes Marshall will turn upfield giving him a target to throw to- he zones out staring at him and doesn’t realize Mack creeping up into his area. A second sack taken needlessly.

4th and 19 at NYJ 13 (1:26 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass deep middle to E.Decker to NYJ 34 for 21 yards (L.Asante)

Finally, the last play worth looking at- a 4th and 19 conversion following the worthless sack taken. As it becomes custom, a Raiders rusher has no issue finding his way into the backfield and even gets an arm on Geno as he comes around the edge. Meanwhile, the Raiders coverage becomes pure deep prevent. Again, Geno rolls out- but this time he has an actual target down the field following him, as Decker is just the right distance to convert this first down. Smith throws him an easy ball and converts what ultimately becomes a meaningless fourth down.

I’ll keep my own opinion reserved for the most part but Geno Smith showed some accuracy and difficult decision making he’s never shown before as a passer- as well as a stretch of consistency from the pocket that didn’t exist before in his game. Whether that’s because of the better players around him or just a better scheme for him, I’m sure the Jets are hoping that some of what they saw here is more than just a flash.

The way Jets fans talk you would have sworn that Geno played a horrible game against the Raiders. This is an absolute superb breakdown.

JETSfaninNE · May 19, 2016

Just now, Villain The Foe said:

The way Jets fans talk you would have sworn that Geno played a horrible game against the Raiders. This is an absolute superb breakdown.

I was one of the biggest naysayers of Geno Smith. I may still not like him as a person but as I've said, if he is the starting QB of the Jets I'm not seeing a big loss of production from Fitz to him, if anything his deep ball might actually make up for some of his "mental missteps".

Larz · May 19, 2016

1 hour ago, JETSfaninNE said:

Don't have his pinstripe bowl but if you are curious here is the original posters NFL Breakdown of Geno Smith vs Raiders last year

http://nflbreakdowns.com/geno-smith-vs-oak-week-8-265-yards-2-td-1-int/

I will have to note though that the original poster is an avid geno supporter and you may not agree with all his opinions in regards to Geno (especially if you are a Geno hater like myself) but his breakdowns do fill me with confidence that Geno can be a servicable QB for us this year if he has to take the field in Gailey's system.

Geno Smith Enters the Game

Geno Smith enters the game on the Jets first drive, immediately after Ryan Fitzpatrick becomes injured. With only time spent playing with the scout team, the QB shows some obvious signs of lacking chemistry and timing as he works on getting into rhythm.

3rd and 6 at NYJ 47 (9:31 – 1st) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to J.Kerley to OAK 30 for 23 yards (C.Woodson)

Geno Smith’s first pass of the game comes two plays after entering the game. Facing a 5 man rush with a cover-1 man look on 3rd down, Geno drops back looking to his right immediately. Generally, he should keep his eyes downfield while dropping back but with both inside linebackers no longer in the middle of the field- the need to hold your gaze downfield isn’t as important when you’re not planning to go deep.

Geno is reading the three receivers who are running (from left to right) a corner route, dig route, and another dig route. With the blitz coming the shorter routes become the focus of this play. Kenbrell Thompkins at the outside spot is the safer throw of the two, but Geno chooses to go inside on Kerley where he has an opening as well.

The throw is slightly late but is thrown to the exact spot it has to be- high and away from the corner, giving him no play on the ball despite having a decent amount of coverage on Kerley. The in-stride throw allows Kerley to continue upfield.

2nd and 9 at NYJ 36 (1:13 – 1st) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short left to B.Marshall

Geno’s third throw of the game shows the lack of familiarity with his offenses timing. Facing a delayed 5 man rush against another cover-1 man look, Geno drops back and takes a peek at the left side of his line, checking the blitz. With Cumberland not winning his route on the left side, Marshall becomes the target but Geno isn’t aware of where he’ll be breaking and throws the ball into an uncatchable area for him.

3rd and 9 at NYJ 36 (1:01 – 1st) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to K.Thompkins to NYJ 40 for 4 yards (C.Woodson)

Facing third down, the Raiders play a cover-3 against the Jets four WR set. Geno will end up throwing this behind Thompkins, a decision that looks correct but let’s examine everything leading to this throw.

As Geno drops back, he checks the left side and looks back to the right immediately. This look to the right results in Brandon Marshall being open on his out route that he shouldn’t be open on at all- if Geno’s eyes stay downfield the ILB dropping near Marshall’s zone would have stayed on him. This is important because if that were to happen, Thompkins would have had a better chance of taking this catch upfield (if the ball was thrown in stride). What’s also important is that Geno is settling for an underneath throw to a player who has nearly no chance of getting this first down (even if you can argue that he’s purposely throwing behind him to lead him to the open space), despite having a clean enough pocket to potentially go through his reads to see Marshall.

3rd and 3 at NYJ 27 (8:03 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep right to E.Decker

3rd and 3, Jets have 4 WRs out. The Raiders are playing either a cover-2 man or cover-1 with #42 Larry Asante double teaming Marshall.

The Jets have a pre-snap motion built into the play with Jeremy Kerley coming down from his outside spot. Geno looks over to that side just before the snap (you can see this a lot better in the EZ view), so he doesn’t see the adjustment of the bottom CB backing away from Thompkins on his short dig route.

At the snap, Geno checks the left side for a blitz (the Raiders blitz the nickel a few times this game) and comes back to the right side. Kerley falls down on his route, so the decision is made at that point to throw at Decker.

The throw is misplaced too far to the outside and Decker’s unable to get it as a result. If Geno had thrown this further down the field, this ball might actually be completed given Decker’s leverage on both DBs.

1st and 10 at NYJ 20 (5:02 – 2nd) G.Smith pass deep left intended for B.Marshall INTERCEPTED by C.Woodson at OAK 35. C.Woodson ran ob at OAK 35 for no gain.

1st down, Jets show a run look against what’s looking like cover-3. Both Jets outside receivers are going deep with the only other option on this play being a delayed vertical route from tight end Jeff Cumberland.

Geno will look to his right while dropping back, where Decker has absolutely no leverage on his man. With both routes heading deep, it’s likely intentional that he’s doing this in an attempt to get FS Charles Woodson to move to that side. Woodson however, doesn’t fall for it at all and stays in the middle. When Geno hits his backstep, he turns to Marshall and lets the ball go with just one gather step. It’s underthrown and Woodson’s able to grab it. For some reason, announcer Rich Gannon called this a stare-down during the live broadcast.

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm

Following the interception, Geno Smith begins playing on point. Although the timing doesn’t ever get resolved in this game, his accuracy and decision making does as he begins to get into the groove of playing. Geno even has a stretch of 8 straight completions, which ends on a tough throw and drop.

1st and 15 at NYJ 37 (2:03 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to B.Marshall to 50 for 13 yards (M.Edwards)

The Jets send out Chris Ivory to the slot, a regular part of the offense but the Raiders respond by keeping a LB on him instead of moving everyone down one man. The pre-snap favors looking at Marshall’s side with the slant, given that his man is about 8 yards deep against him, which is just about the depth of his break.

When Geno takes the snap against this cover-1 man look, he again checks the corner blitz to the left side before returning to the right. Geno’s timing on this play is off as his footwork doesn’t sync up at all with the break of Brandon Marshall’s slant but he still manages to fit this through a tight window behind a linebacker.

2nd and 5 at OAK 39 (1:30 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to E.Decker to OAK 25 for 14 yards (M.Smith)

Another cover-1 man, the Raiders bring 5 rushers up to the line, but will replace the ILB (who will drop to cover Decker) for the nickel CB at the bottom. The pre-snap has one player stand out, Decker is uncovered in the slot receiver spot closest to the line of scrimmage on the right side.

When Geno takes the snap, he checks for the corner blitz (as he has been) and it finally comes. Rather than take the hot read of Marshall, Geno’s composed enough to take advantage of Decker’s favorable situation where a dropping linebacker is in coverage and get the ball out quickly to him. The throw is slightly low but still in stride.

3rd and 5 at OAK 20 (0:44 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep middle to B.Marshall (T.Carrie).

Facing 3rd and 5 at the Raiders red zone, the Raiders are showing cover-2 man at the pre-snap that doesn’t favor any particular player. However, after the snap, Charles Woodson (the left safety) will come down into robber coverage turning this into cover-1 man.

When Geno drops back, he can see that the coverage has changed and Woodson has vacated his deep spot, placing a wide open area to throw to behind him because the other safety is heavily favoring the opposite side. Geno throws the ball right on time allowing Marshall to get past Woodson and Carrie (the corner covering him) but has the ball a bit too far to the outside, allowing Carrie a chance to make a play on the ball. The ball is still well thrown, but sub-optimal since a throw further inside gives Marshall the ability to catch this without any competition.

There’s also going to be Jeremy Kerley coming wide open in the middle of the field on this play but- being familar with the Jets offense- that is definitely Kerley improvising upon seeing the open space. If Woodson hadn’t vacated the deep spot, the ball may have reached Kerley.

1st and 10 at NYJ 34 (10:28 – 3rd) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith scrambles right end to NYJ 39 for 5 yards (M.Edwards)

Raiders bring 6 potential blitzers up to the line of scrimmage and show a pre-snap that looks like anything between cover-1 man or cover-3, or cover-4. The pre-snap favors Marshall’s out route at the top and Thompkins checkdown dig route at the bottom of the screen.

At the snap, Geno looks at his left first, allowing him to take in the blitz as well as see the coverage on Marshall, who’s had one of the potential rushers drop into his area on what could’ve been an easy out. Smith turns back to the right side to check on Kerley’s dig and immediately finds Khalil Mack about to enter the pocket. He then turns his shoulder momentarily with the intention to throw towards Thompkins but doesn’t have the time to actually make the throw. He steps up and evades the rushers, scrambling for 5 yards.

2nd and 7 at 50 (8:37 – 3rd) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass deep right to B.Marshall pushed ob at OAK 22 for 28 yards (D.Amerson).

Raiders rush only four and show cover-2 man on the pre-snap. The pre-snap favors Thompkins at the top of the screen on his quick snag route, but the post-snap shows another good opportunity to go deep for Marshall as the Raiders switch to cover-1 man with Woodson again dropping into the middle of the field.

Geno takes the snap and recognizes the rotating safeties, he’s quick to drop, set, and throw in order to hit Marshall right on the sideline, placing the ball nearly perfectly on him. This ball might’ve been able to be kept in bounds if thrown a little further inside for Marshall to run for YAC but his route is heading towards the sideline the entire time. This throw is in no way bad, but improvement is still possible.

1st and 10 at OAK 22 (8:18 – 3rd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to E.Decker to OAK 13 for 9 yards (D.Amerson)

Raiders bring 4 rushers and sit in cover-1 man. The pre-snap favors looking at Kerley’s slot out route at the top of the screen where the CB is playing very far off and Decker’s slant at the bottom where the DB is shading outside.

Noting the position of the ILB to the right and the positioning of the rest of the defense, it becomes safe to assume that he’s manned up against Chris Ivory in the backfield. When he leaves the space he’s in, he opens up a throwing lane to throw to Decker that Geno takes and places perfectly for the stuation- far enough ahead of the CB trailing him but also behind just enough to keep the ball from the ILB as well as protect him from a potential hit from the linebacker, if he wasn’t choosing to try and cut the throwing lane.

However, this throw has to be made that way because Geno’s timing is still off within this offense, leading to him being slower on his dropbacks than the routes. He’s still able to make up for that with his accuracy and placement though.

1st and 10 at NYJ 35 (4:42 – 3rd) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep middle to J.Kerley

Raiders rush four but give the impression of a five man rush. The pre-snap shows a cover-2 man weighted towards to the left side. The right side of the field is favored on the pre-snap.

At the snap, Woodson remains in the middle of the field and neither safety is respecting Kerley’s vertical up the seam. As a result, Kerley has an open lane to throw into. Geno looks down the field momentarily as he drops and sees the coverage, and opts to take advantage of an open deep man. He throws a nearly perfect pass ahead and high of Kerley, completely out of the CB D.J. Hayden’s reach but forcing Kerley to attempt an athletic grab on it.

Continue to the next page to see more of Geno Smith’s game against the Raiders.

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm (Continued)

2nd and 10 at NYJ 35 (4:36 – 3rd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short right to K.Thompkins to NYJ 44 for 9 yards (D.Amerson)

Another four man rush with the Raiders heavily favoring the left side of the field, this time the Raiders are running cover-3. At the snap, Geno drops back and begins reading the right side of the field. Smith is too quick to turn here and needs to keep his eyes downfield- although it does not affect the play here.

When Khalil Mack does his spin move on RT Breno Giacomini, Geno assumes he’s about to enter the backfield and doesn’t expect Giacomini to actually be throwing him down (realistically, I don’t think there’s many that would expect that either) and leaves the pocket. On the endzone view, you can see what Geno saw and why he leaves it as Mack’s shoulders begin to line up with the path to Geno before the RT knocks him down.

When Geno rolls out, he throws for Thompkins on the right side who’s adjusted his route (some kind of stop-go-stop) to get near the sideline. He throws this ball way too far inside and almost gives DB David Amerson, who’s behind him, a chance on intercepting this ball.

3rd and 1 at NYJ 44 (4:04 – 3rd) (Shotgun) G.Smith sacked at NYJ 41 for -3 yards (D.Autry)

Facing 3rd and 1, the raiders rush four (with one player bailing his rush to hit Zac Stacy out of the backfield) with cover-1 man coverage. With a potential blitz look before the snap and only 1 yard to go, Geno is going to look at Zac Stacy on his flat route first, even though Jeremy Kerley has a favorable position from his man on his route.

With only one yard needed, Geno looks immediately to Zac Stacy after the snap but Stacy is completely covered by two players, one being the DE who bumps him on his route and the other a LB. As he turns back in the other direction, somehow Denico Autry has beaten both James Carpenter and backup center Wesley Johnson to get into the backfield. Geno steps up in the pocket and stops when he recognizes the DT in front of him is actually playing contain and not pass rushing. He sets up to try and throw to Decker, but Decker is covered. Geno brings the ball down and takes the sack.

1st and 10 at NYJ 29 (12:35 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass short middle to J.Kerley to NYJ 38 for 9 yards (L.Asante)

The Raiders are rushing four with a cover-2 man look that starts morphing into cover 3 after the snap.. With Decker in motion, the Raiders defense makes some adjustments but still leave Decker uncovered.

With the pre-snap favoring Decker’s direction, Geno looks there after glancing towards the left side. As he finishes his dropback, the LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson is beginning to be pushed into the backfield and Geno opts to leave the pocket rather than hope he can re-gain control of his man. Decker’s route becomes covered as Jeremy Kerley’s man backs up to take him- leaving Kerley wide open, with Geno throwing him an easy ball.

1st and 10 at NYJ 43 (11:16 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass short right to B.Marshall to OAK 48 for 9 yards (D.Amerson)

Raiders show cover-1 on the pre-snap that is turning into a cover-3. The corners positioning favors any of the short routes on the field, and Geno opts to take the right side.

Geno first looks at Chris Ivory on his dig route which draws the attention of one of the Raiders players in the area, opening up space to throw to Brandon Marshall. Geno’s able to manipulate the defender into moving off of Marshall through a small “gather step” where it looks like he’s about to enter his throwing motion, but hesitates.

The Pressure Gets Into Geno Smith

Eventually, the line begins to completely deteriorate. Despite missing Pro-Bowl center Nick Mangold, it’s actually starting LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson and starting RT Breno Giacomini that keep losing on the edge against rising star Khalil Mack and other assorted Raiders rushers. Geno is still able to keep making plays- but issues begin to arise as the game reaches its final moments.

1st and 10 at OAK 44 (10:14 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to B.Marshall (D.Amerson)

The Raiders show a similar pre-snap coverage as the previous play but actually man up this time while rushing five again. The pre-snap heavily favors Brandon Marshall running a dig against a corner that is 8 yards deep and Geno sees it. He rushes because of the pressure to make his throw and throws it too far ahead as a result.

2nd and 10 at OAK 44 (10:03 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith scrambles right end to OAK 15 for 29 yards (D.Amerson)

At this point, the Jets offensive line is giving up pressure regularly. With the Raiders only rushing four and playing cover-3, the only routes that have any pre-snap favoritism become irrelevant as Geno is forced to leave the pocket once he hits the end of his dropback.

Bailing out to the left, Smith takes a moment to pump fake in Marshalls direction as he considers throwing to him on his cross but makes the right decision to bring the ball back down. He’s able to beat the safety Larry Asante to the edge and begins running up the field where unnecessarily takes a big hit from David Amerson.

1st and 10 at OAK 15 (9:28 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short middle to K.Thompkins. PENALTY on OAK-N.Thorpe, Defensive Pass Interference, 14 yards, enforced at OAK 15 – No Play

Raiders play cover-1 man with 5 rushers, where one rusher will bail to cover Ivory as he gets out of the backfield. The Jets have a pick play running in the middle of the field as Eric Deckers dig route from the right outside and Brandon Marshalls corner route from the innermost slot position on the left cross each other.

That pick play is where Geno is initially reading, as he sets ready to throw to Decker the moment his corner backs off. However, #57 Ray-Ray Armstrong is able to beat LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson with a spin move, forcing Geno to side step him if he wants to take a throw or risk getting hit. He sidesteps, and while continuing to look down the field, recognizes that both safeties have left their coverage as Kenbrell Thompkins calls for the pass (you can see him wave his hands up in the air).

Geno sets again and throws purposely behind Thompkins, who’s otherwise perfectly covered by CB Nieko Thorpe. The back shoulder throw not only takes Thorpe out of the equation, putting the ball into a situation where only Thompkins can make a play on it- but also draws defensive pass interference as Thorpe never gets his head around.

3rd and Goal at OAK 1 (8:37 – 4th) Kellen Davis Pass From Geno Smith for 1 Yard N.Folk extra point is GOOD

The second of Geno’s touchdowns on the day- this one shows a lot more about the creativity and skill Geno can display when needed to. As we saw in a previous long gain from Geno, he was able to hold multiple players by using his eyes and arm to pump towards a receiver before taking off. Here, he’ll use his legs to draw in a defensive lineman so that he can buy time to make this pass.

The Jets run a play-action bootleg where Geno rolls out with only one target, backup TE Kellen Davis running an out route along the back end of the endzone. With a defensive lineman keeping him in contain, Geno buys some time by changing up his pacing and doing some shoulder fakes. As the lineman steps up, expecting these moves which to result in a rushing attempt, Geno throws right over him- landing the ball high and ahead of Kellen Davis, nearly perfectly placed. A throw slightly further ahead would be even better, but this is nitpicking at that point.

4th and 3 at OAK 38 (5:33 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to K.Thompkins. Penalty on NYJ-W.Colon, Offensive Holding, declined

One of two Jets fourth down attempts, the entire Jets OL allows two rushers into the backfield immediately as Geno looks towards the right side where most of his routes are. None of the players are open, and the result is an incompletion as Geno is forced to throw while backing up from rushers.

3rd and 2 at NYJ 26 (4:04 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith sacked ob at NYJ 21 for -5 yards (D.Hayden)

Here’s where Geno will make his worst mental mistake of the day, a senseless sack on another play where Mack is able to scare Geno out of the pocket.

Down 20 to 34 with only 4 minutes remaining, the Raiders begin to play more conservative cover-3 coverage over their cover-1 man. Dropping back and looking to his left, Geno doesn’t see the coverage open up there the way he wants it to (presumably expecting Ivory to have more space to make the catch than he does) and looks over to the right. Upon looking, Mack gets directly behind him and is about set to attack when Geno bails the pocket. Geno might have the time and space to remain in here but given the consistent pressure from some of the previous plays, Geno’s losing trust in his tackles ability to re-gain control.

More importantly however, none of the routes are actually open- which is what likely leads to Geno leaving in order to extend the play. However, no Jets receiver follows Geno as he escapes the pocket and he is now looking downfield at nothing but Raiders. It’s at this point that you see him turn back to the opposite side of the field, looking for a player before realizing he doesn’t have the time or space to make the throw. At this moment, he should be throwing it away as the Jets are in fourth down territory. But he doesn’t, and takes a completely unnecessary sack.

1st and 10 at NYJ 22 (2:48 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to B.Marshall

Playing cover-3 again, the Raiders stunt both sets of defenders and Geno has his LG and RT fall into his lap. Geno drops back looking for Marshall on his seam route and throws a ball way too high for him on what looks like his own fault, as he has the time and space to go through his motion comfortably.

2nd and 10 at NYJ 22 (2:39 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith sacked at NYJ 11 for -11 yards (K.Mack)

Similar to the last sack, this time Geno has just stopped trusting his offensive line and rolls out of a clean pocket against only three rushers. With only two and a half minutes remaining in the game, the Raiders play two deep safeties and man up all the receivers, taking a completely conservative approach while nursing a 14 point lead.

Geno rolls out of a clean pocket, causing him to miss out on an open Kerley in the middle of the field on a slant route- something which the pre-snap positioning gave a lot of hints towards being open (Marshall’s route has a pick on Kerley’s defender, while the CB is also playing 5 yards deep of him).

While rolling out, Geno becomes focussed on Marshall, presumably because he assumes Marshall will turn upfield giving him a target to throw to- he zones out staring at him and doesn’t realize Mack creeping up into his area. A second sack taken needlessly.

4th and 19 at NYJ 13 (1:26 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith pass deep middle to E.Decker to NYJ 34 for 21 yards (L.Asante)

Finally, the last play worth looking at- a 4th and 19 conversion following the worthless sack taken. As it becomes custom, a Raiders rusher has no issue finding his way into the backfield and even gets an arm on Geno as he comes around the edge. Meanwhile, the Raiders coverage becomes pure deep prevent. Again, Geno rolls out- but this time he has an actual target down the field following him, as Decker is just the right distance to convert this first down. Smith throws him an easy ball and converts what ultimately becomes a meaningless fourth down.

I’ll keep my own opinion reserved for the most part but Geno Smith showed some accuracy and difficult decision making he’s never shown before as a passer- as well as a stretch of consistency from the pocket that didn’t exist before in his game. Whether that’s because of the better players around him or just a better scheme for him, I’m sure the Jets are hoping that some of what they saw here is more than just a flash.

don't you hate it when people quote a huge post just to say.....cool

Villain The Foe · May 19, 2016

15 minutes ago, JETSfaninNE said:

I was one of the biggest naysayers of Geno Smith. I may still not like him as a person but as I've said, if he is the starting QB of the Jets I'm not seeing a big loss of production from Fitz to him, if anything his deep ball might actually make up for some of his "mental missteps".

I think his mental missteps needed to be worked on with competent coaching. For example when I hear how Geno seems to process things late and he doesnt seem to get it because he's stupid. This game showed two things. Taking that retarded sack with 4 mins to go instead of throwing it away along with taking that unnecessary hit by the safety.

However, to see a breakdown that shows how he goes from being rusty to getting into a rhythm to completing 8 passes in a row with the 9th being a dropped pass shows on the football field imo what we heard from training camp. Geno Smith moving the offense. I didnt even know he completed 8 passes in a row.

You know what this actually reminds me of? The Christian Hackenberg breakdown that circulated after we drafted him. Everyone was screaming from the rooftops how terrible Hack is and how Macc made a poor decision drafting this kid and how Macc shouldnt be trusted etc, etc. Then the video breakdown hits. Then you realize all of the things that Hack was doing in a game where when watching live it looks terrible and he was sacked 10 times.

The same thing with this Raiders game. When you have your "I hate Geno" glasses on and you see the crazy hit and the bad sack you forget about EVERYTHING ELSE that occurred....until someone goes and gives you a breakdown on every single play. Thats when you see that once again, its emotions driving peoples opinions on a guy.

I really liked the fact that no only did the guy breakdown where you can see the rust and lack of chemistry, but presented it in a why that shows how important those reps are, such as knowing how a WR runs routes and having that understanding of where that guy will be really without even looking in his direction because the reps are there, the time has been put in.

This breakdown will be overlooked and swept under the carpet. Atleast we should never hear about how awful Geno played in the Raiders game anymore.

Villain The Foe · May 19, 2016

Quote

I’ll keep my own opinion reserved for the most part but Geno Smith showed some accuracy and difficult decision making he’s never shown before as a passer- as well as a stretch of consistency from the pocket that didn’t exist before in his game. Whether that’s because of the better players around him or just a better scheme for him, I’m sure the Jets are hoping that some of what they saw here is more than just a flash.

So, it was concluded that Geno showed aspects of his game that he never showed before as a passer, not just with consistency from the pocket but with difficult decision making.

I would assume that having better players (and coaches) around him most definitely helps. So not only did Geno have better players around him, he seemed to have gotten better as a QB.

I guess going back to what Chan Gailey said this week about Geno Smith taking some "giant steps forward" could indeed be about Geno Smith taking some steps forward and thats all.

Colgateman · May 19, 2016

7 minutes ago, Villain The Foe said:

I think his mental missteps needed to be worked on with competent coaching. For example when I hear how Geno seems to process things late and he doesnt seem to get it because he's stupid. This game showed two things. Taking that retarded sack with 4 mins to go instead of throwing it away along with taking that unnecessary hit by the safety.

However, to see a breakdown that shows how he goes from being rusty to getting into a rhythm to completing 8 passes in a row with the 9th being a dropped pass shows on the football field imo what we heard from training camp. Geno Smith moving the offense. I didnt even know he completed 8 passes in a row.

You know what this actually reminds me of? The Christian Hackenberg breakdown that circulated after we drafted him. Everyone was screaming from the rooftops how terrible Hack is and how Macc made a poor decision drafting this kid and how Macc shouldnt be trusted etc, etc. Then the video breakdown hits. Then you realize all of the things that Hack was doing in a game where when watching live it looks terrible and he was sacked 10 times.

The same thing with this Raiders game. When you have your "I hate Geno" glasses on and you see the crazy hit and the bad sack you forget about EVERYTHING ELSE that occurred....until someone goes and gives you a breakdown on every single play. Thats when you see that once again, its emotions driving peoples opinions on a guy.

I really liked the fact that no only did the guy breakdown where you can see the rust and lack of chemistry, but presented it in a why that shows how important those reps are, such as knowing how a WR runs routes and having that understanding of where that guy will be really without even looking in his direction because the reps are there, the time has been put in.

This breakdown will be overlooked and swept under the carpet. Atleast we should never hear about how awful Geno played in the Raiders game anymore.

You'll still hear it, if this post was presented to the guys on this forum, they'd say "but did he throw 31 Touchdowns?" and run out of any thread they are posting in and go spew crap in another

Bruce Harper · May 19, 2016

BC game: Not always the most accurate on the short stuff but I think I counted at least 7 drops by his receivers.

Villain The Foe · May 19, 2016

14 minutes ago, Colgateman said:

You'll still hear it, if this post was presented to the guys on this forum, they'd say "but did he throw 31 Touchdowns?" and run out of any thread they are posting in and go spew crap in another

Dude, you are not lying. Who am I kidding over here? lmao.

SenorGato · May 19, 2016

It's going to be legitimately hilarious when one of these two schlubs turns into the Jets QB.

RSJ · May 20, 2016

Just like with Hackenberg, the things Geno did wrong are correctable. Geno also never played in an NFL system and had to learn two different systems over his first two seasons. I will be interested to see how he does in OTA's and training camp - but I am willing to bet that with a year on the sidelines he will show vast improvement. Same with Hack. He needs a little time to sit and work on his short game - but man does he ever have a strong arm and quick release. I mean top shelf arm.

maury77 · May 20, 2016

The Hack breakdown showed me more of the same from the other 8-10 games of his that I've watched since he was drafted. I think his decision making is fine, but his mechanics are a mess and I don't see the deep ball accuracy some of you are seeing, I think Hack is pretty poor on deep throws. The arm strength is there, the accuracy isn't.

The Geno breakdown was surprising. He played better against Oakland than I remembered, I think it was the unnecessary sack that he took at the end of the game that clouds my memory. On another note, I think some people are understating how poor our tackle play was last year. Brick and Breno were outright garbage in that Oakland game. I hope that Clady still has it and that we can replace Breno this year.

HessStation · May 20, 2016

17 hours ago, JETSfaninNE said:

This was Hacks Sophomore year and 1st year in Franklins system. You will notice that he has his right foot back the entire game and again some of his throws are low and missing the point. But overall this is one of Hacks best performances and even though BC isn't some amazing team,

BC has had one of the nations top defenses. Don Brown, their DC, just left for Michigan.

ljr · May 20, 2016

16 hours ago, Villain The Foe said:

The way Jets fans talk you would have sworn that Geno played a horrible game against the Raiders. This is an absolute superb breakdown.

It was an excellent breakdown ... No need for you to have copied the whole thing again for us, lol

didnt have time to review it in its entirety however hope Geno's decision making errors (as I've pointed out in other threads) with 6 minutes & with 4 minutes remaining that lost the game for us were noted as well.

JETSfaninNE · May 20, 2016

2 hours ago, HessStation said:

BC has had one of the nations top defenses. Don Brown, their DC, just left for Michigan.

Poor choice of words on my part, I just meant more in regards to players drafted from the school that Hackenberg was playing against. There hasn't been a ton but there definitely were a handful meaning they had a few high talent level players on the team.

JETSfaninNE · May 20, 2016

1 hour ago, ljr said:

It was an excellent breakdown ... No need for you to have copied the whole thing again for us, lol

didnt have time to review it in its entirety however hope Geno's decision making errors (as I've pointed out in other threads) with 6 minutes & with 4 minutes remaining that lost the game for us were noted as well.

Here is slightly shortened version of what I think you are looking for specifically. Yes some of this is Geno's decision making but I think the bolded parts also highlight the other part of the problem with the way the 2nd and 4th quarters closed out. Also something that is totally overlooked when people poop all over Geno about this game is the fact that both Woodson and Mack were balling out all game.

1st and 10 at NYJ 20 (5:02 – 2nd) G.Smith pass deep left intended for B.Marshall INTERCEPTED by C.Woodson at OAK 35. C.Woodson ran ob at OAK 35 for no gain.
1st down, Jets show a run look against what’s looking like cover-3. Both Jets outside receivers are going deep with the only other option on this play being a delayed vertical route from tight end Jeff Cumberland.

Geno will look to his right while dropping back, where Decker has absolutely no leverage on his man. With both routes heading deep, it’s likely intentional that he’s doing this in an attempt to get FS Charles Woodson to move to that side. Woodson however, doesn’t fall for it at all and stays in the middle. When Geno hits his backstep, he turns to Marshall and lets the ball go with just one gather step. It’s underthrown and Woodson’s able to grab it. For some reason, announcer Rich Gannon called this a stare-down during the live broadcast.

3rd and 5 at OAK 20 (0:44 – 2nd) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete deep middle to B.Marshall (T.Carrie).
Facing 3rd and 5 at the Raiders red zone, the Raiders are showing cover-2 man at the pre-snap that doesn’t favor any particular player. However, after the snap, Charles Woodson (the left safety) will come down into robber coverage turning this into cover-1 man.

When Geno drops back, he can see that the coverage has changed and Woodson has vacated his deep spot, placing a wide open area to throw to behind him because the other safety is heavily favoring the opposite side. Geno throws the ball right on time allowing Marshall to get past Woodson and Carrie (the corner covering him) but has the ball a bit too far to the outside, allowing Carrie a chance to make a play on the ball. The ball is still well thrown, but sub-optimal since a throw further inside gives Marshall the ability to catch this without any competition.

There’s also going to be Jeremy Kerley coming wide open in the middle of the field on this play but- being familar with the Jets offense- that is definitely Kerley improvising upon seeing the open space. If Woodson hadn’t vacated the deep spot, the ball may have reached Kerley.

3rd and 2 at NYJ 26 (4:04 – 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) G.Smith sacked ob at NYJ 21 for -5 yards (D.Hayden)
Here’s where Geno will make his worst mental mistake of the day, a senseless sack on another play where Mack is able to scare Geno out of the pocket.

Down 20 to 34 with only 4 minutes remaining, the Raiders begin to play more conservative cover-3 coverage over their cover-1 man. Dropping back and looking to his left, Geno doesn’t see the coverage open up there the way he wants it to (presumably expecting Ivory to have more space to make the catch than he does) and looks over to the right. Upon looking, Mack gets directly behind him and is about set to attack when Geno bails the pocket. Geno might have the time and space to remain in here but given the consistent pressure from some of the previous plays, Geno’s losing trust in his tackles ability to re-gain control.

More importantly however, none of the routes are actually open- which is what likely leads to Geno leaving in order to extend the play. However, no Jets receiver follows Geno as he escapes the pocket and he is now looking downfield at nothing but Raiders. It’s at this point that you see him turn back to the opposite side of the field, looking for a player before realizing he doesn’t have the time or space to make the throw. At this moment, he should be throwing it away as the Jets are in fourth down territory. But he doesn’t, and takes a completely unnecessary sack.

1st and 10 at NYJ 22 (2:48 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith pass incomplete short right to B.Marshall
Playing cover-3 again, the Raiders stunt both sets of defenders and Geno has his LG and RT fall into his lap. Geno drops back looking for Marshall on his seam route and throws a ball way too high for him on what looks like his own fault, as he has the time and space to go through his motion comfortably.

2nd and 10 at NYJ 22 (2:39 – 4th) (Shotgun) G.Smith sacked at NYJ 11 for -11 yards (K.Mack)
Similar to the last sack, this time Geno has just stopped trusting his offensive line and rolls out of a clean pocket against only three rushers. With only two and a half minutes remaining in the game, the Raiders play two deep safeties and man up all the receivers, taking a completely conservative approach while nursing a 14 point lead.

Geno rolls out of a clean pocket, causing him to miss out on an open Kerley in the middle of the field on a slant route- something which the pre-snap positioning gave a lot of hints towards being open (Marshall’s route has a pick on Kerley’s defender, while the CB is also playing 5 yards deep of him).

While rolling out, Geno becomes focused on Marshall, presumably because he assumes Marshall will turn upfield giving him a target to throw to- he zones out staring at him and doesn’t realize Mack creeping up into his area. A second sack taken needlessly.

_______________________

You will notice a constant here, Geno's first game back and he has no trust in his offensive line unfortunately. The mistakes in this game I think would be cleaned up with more reps and chemistry playing with the starters. His first sack is still egregious and should have never happened the clock in his head has to be faster with getting rid of the ball in those situations but at the same time, first game back, trying to prove something and doing too much can also be attributed to him holding the ball too long trying to make something out of nothing. Also this game our defense was terrible, maybe the worst it was all year and so the defense didn't give Geno that comfort zone the entire game and instead they constantly were fighting out of a hole. I honestly can't believe i'm defending Geno here because I absolutely saw this game in different perspective last year. Looking at this breakdown now almost a year removed and there is definitely a lot to like about his on field level of progression.

nyjbuddy · May 20, 2016

Great breakdown. From what I see in the video, Hackenberg is great at throwing vertically either down the field or on comeback routes. Also when getting out of the pocket and becoming more vertically aligned with his receivers. He has a strong arm and can place the ball well on the back shoulder or away from the defenders. He seems to struggle on throws where the player is running across the field where he needs to lead the receiver. Some of them are because he doesn't want to lead his receiver into a defender but some times its just inaccuracy. I guess this is where the criticism of the inaccuracy of short to intermediate throws comes in as most of the underneath routes are slants and horizontal. Penn State also didn't run many deep crossing routes due to the fact that their offensive line wouldn't have been able to hold that long, so we don't get to see this inaccuracy on deeper throws. Hackenberg throws well when dropping back and stepping up in to the pocket, but also has a tendency to drop back and throw while falling backwards. Perhaps this is due to the pass rush/offensive line but he needs do something different as these throws tend to float and will probably get picked off at the next level.

Overall, I think Hackenberg fits into the offense that Gailey WANTS to run. Not the offense they ran last year, but the offense that they want in the future. They drafted Petty and Hackenberg, both QBs that struggle with the intermediate throws but display good arm strength. Very different from Fitzpatrick who is great at the short and intermediate throws but is not known for his arm strength. They drafted Devin Smith and Charone Peake and also brought in wide receivers like Chandler Worthy and Robby Anderson to get more vertical speed. It seems like the making of an NFL-style spread offense.

I could not find the article from last year, but basically it talked about Marshall and Decker playing in the slot with Smith on the outside in 4 wide receiver sets. It talked about the mismatches that it would cause for opposing defenses as the slot corners would be matched up against Marshall and Decker. Last year they needed wide receivers to get vertical and force the safeties to drop into coverage rather than clog up the middle of the field. Devin Smith was suppose to do this as well as have a QB that could get the ball there. Fast forward to this year. If Devin Smith can fulfill this role, as well as perhaps Peake, Worthy or Anderson, defenses would be backing off to respect the deep ball, Marshall and/or Decker operating underneath while Forte coming out of the backfield against a linebacker. Causing mismatches at almost every level and spreading the defense out. Last year the Jets didn't have that deep threat nor did they have a QB that would get it there. They seem to be at least getting players with those attributes on their roster. Perhaps this is also why Geno could also do well in this offense. Also, this could be the reason why Gailey was never a fan of Kerley. Though a good receiver he wouldn't cause size mismatches in the slot and was not a vertical threat.

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Geno Smith Enters the Game

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm (Continued)

The Pressure Gets Into Geno Smith

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Geno Smith Enters the Game

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm (Continued)

The Pressure Gets Into Geno Smith

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Geno Smith Enters the Game

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm

Geno Smith Gets Into Rhythm (Continued)

The Pressure Gets Into Geno Smith

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