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Mehta: Geno, not Mariota, is Jets' better QB option
Manish Mehta
Yesterday, 08:55 PM
INDIANAPOLIS − WARNING: The following column is recommended for mature audiences only. It contains explicit language about a quarterback quandary that is not suitable for children or exasperated grownups. Parental guidance is suggested.
Geno Smith is a better option for the Jets than Oregon star Marcus Mariota.
For all the criticism heaped on Smith the past two seasons, an offensive philosophical shift to a spread system under new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey this season makes him the more sensible choice.
Mariota is the ultimate enigma of a relatively weak 2015 quarterback draft class, the latest signal caller from a college spread system transitioning to the next level. Smith has endured two years of physical and mental growing pains after coming from a spread system where he racked up cartoonish numbers. Gailey’s ability to employ a similar style might give Smith new life after he sank in a complicated West Coast offense.
So, why should the Jets use the coveted sixth pick in the upcoming draft on a spread-system quarterback when they already have one?
New general manager Mike Maccagnan should explore trading the No. 6 pick if Mariota is still on the board − Knock, knock. Who’s there? Chip Kelly, obviously − to upgrade at quarterback and/or accumulate premium future draft picks. Selecting Mariota at No. 6 given the current roster makeup shouldn’t be the priority.
“My goal is to make an impact from Day One,” Mariota said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine, but so many questions linger.
The Heisman Trophy winner admitted that calling plays in a huddle, the most fundamental responsibility of a NFL quarterback, will be different for him. “I haven’t huddled in a while,” Mariota said. “It seems like a little detail, but that is kind of a big thing.”
There are more pivotal issues that can’t be ignored by intrigued teams. Mariota’s transition to playing under center and making anticipatory throws by going through his progressions has tripped up spread quarterbacks in recent years.
The uneven returns from quarterbacks such as Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Smith, who have come from spread college systems, should give teams with conventional pro-style offenses pause for concern.
“I think it’ll be an adjustment that I’ll be able to handle,” Mariota said, but it’s easier said than done.
Although Mariota, who has received pointers recently from Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, maintains that he’s made strides in his offseason work in the run-up to the Combine, Smith will be the first to admit that the conversion takes much more than a few weeks or months.
Like Geno Smith, Marcus Mariota is a spread-system quarterback. For that reason alone, he"s not worth a coveted No. 6 draft pick.
Smith needed most of his rookie year to sharpen footwork on drop-backs from under center. Mariota hasn’t picked the brains of any of the young NFL quarterbacks who made the transition from predominantly playing in the shotgun, but it’s clear that teams that don’t employ significant elements of the spread system will have to be patient with Mariota with no guarantee that he’ll become the star he was at Oregon.
“My motivation isn’t to prove anybody wrong,” Mariota said. “My motivation is to make a dream come true for me.”
There’s a growing sentiment that the Buccaneers will take Florida State’s Jameis Winston with the top pick in the draft on April 30. Although the Titans have a need at quarterback, it would hardly be a surprise if they passed on Mariota at No. 2 to continue to develop second-year signal caller Zach Mettenberger. The Jaguars, Raiders and Washington, the next three teams on the clock, won’t be looking for quarterbacks, leaving Mariota on the board for the Jets.
Mariota’s college production — 105 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions in three seasons as a starter − makes it so tempting to envision what he might become at the next level. He racked up 58 total touchdowns (42 passing, 15 rushing and 1 receiving) with 750 rushing yards this season.
Smith’s college production as a passer was equally impressive in his final two seasons (73 touchdowns and 13 INTs), but the realities of playing in one of the most complicated and verbose pro systems helped turn him into a statistical nightmare with the Jets.
At times, Smith’s play was not suitable for any audience. It was cringe-worthy stuff, but he has confronted the physical and mental hurdles that Mariota has yet to face.
The Jets should try to upgrade at the game’s most important position by any means necessary. Smith might not be the answer, but he makes more sense for the Jets right now than another quarterback from a college spread system.
Manish Mehta
Yesterday, 08:55 PM
INDIANAPOLIS − WARNING: The following column is recommended for mature audiences only. It contains explicit language about a quarterback quandary that is not suitable for children or exasperated grownups. Parental guidance is suggested.
Geno Smith is a better option for the Jets than Oregon star Marcus Mariota.
For all the criticism heaped on Smith the past two seasons, an offensive philosophical shift to a spread system under new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey this season makes him the more sensible choice.
Mariota is the ultimate enigma of a relatively weak 2015 quarterback draft class, the latest signal caller from a college spread system transitioning to the next level. Smith has endured two years of physical and mental growing pains after coming from a spread system where he racked up cartoonish numbers. Gailey’s ability to employ a similar style might give Smith new life after he sank in a complicated West Coast offense.
So, why should the Jets use the coveted sixth pick in the upcoming draft on a spread-system quarterback when they already have one?
New general manager Mike Maccagnan should explore trading the No. 6 pick if Mariota is still on the board − Knock, knock. Who’s there? Chip Kelly, obviously − to upgrade at quarterback and/or accumulate premium future draft picks. Selecting Mariota at No. 6 given the current roster makeup shouldn’t be the priority.
“My goal is to make an impact from Day One,” Mariota said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine, but so many questions linger.
The Heisman Trophy winner admitted that calling plays in a huddle, the most fundamental responsibility of a NFL quarterback, will be different for him. “I haven’t huddled in a while,” Mariota said. “It seems like a little detail, but that is kind of a big thing.”
There are more pivotal issues that can’t be ignored by intrigued teams. Mariota’s transition to playing under center and making anticipatory throws by going through his progressions has tripped up spread quarterbacks in recent years.
The uneven returns from quarterbacks such as Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Smith, who have come from spread college systems, should give teams with conventional pro-style offenses pause for concern.
“I think it’ll be an adjustment that I’ll be able to handle,” Mariota said, but it’s easier said than done.
Although Mariota, who has received pointers recently from Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, maintains that he’s made strides in his offseason work in the run-up to the Combine, Smith will be the first to admit that the conversion takes much more than a few weeks or months.
Like Geno Smith, Marcus Mariota is a spread-system quarterback. For that reason alone, he"s not worth a coveted No. 6 draft pick.
Smith needed most of his rookie year to sharpen footwork on drop-backs from under center. Mariota hasn’t picked the brains of any of the young NFL quarterbacks who made the transition from predominantly playing in the shotgun, but it’s clear that teams that don’t employ significant elements of the spread system will have to be patient with Mariota with no guarantee that he’ll become the star he was at Oregon.
“My motivation isn’t to prove anybody wrong,” Mariota said. “My motivation is to make a dream come true for me.”
There’s a growing sentiment that the Buccaneers will take Florida State’s Jameis Winston with the top pick in the draft on April 30. Although the Titans have a need at quarterback, it would hardly be a surprise if they passed on Mariota at No. 2 to continue to develop second-year signal caller Zach Mettenberger. The Jaguars, Raiders and Washington, the next three teams on the clock, won’t be looking for quarterbacks, leaving Mariota on the board for the Jets.
Mariota’s college production — 105 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions in three seasons as a starter − makes it so tempting to envision what he might become at the next level. He racked up 58 total touchdowns (42 passing, 15 rushing and 1 receiving) with 750 rushing yards this season.
Smith’s college production as a passer was equally impressive in his final two seasons (73 touchdowns and 13 INTs), but the realities of playing in one of the most complicated and verbose pro systems helped turn him into a statistical nightmare with the Jets.
At times, Smith’s play was not suitable for any audience. It was cringe-worthy stuff, but he has confronted the physical and mental hurdles that Mariota has yet to face.
The Jets should try to upgrade at the game’s most important position by any means necessary. Smith might not be the answer, but he makes more sense for the Jets right now than another quarterback from a college spread system.
