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Premium – In the latest installment of “NTM,” we look at a number of of angles, including items on players like Geno, Quinton and DeMario . . .
Geno Smith continues to have major issues on cornerback blitzes.
He doesn’t have a good feel for them – a sixth sense.
Teams are sending them every week. Until he proves he can deal with them, they are going to keep coming.
The Jets’ first possession of the game ended with a sack by cornerback Captain Munnerlyn on a blitz.
On the Jets’ first offensive play of the third quarter, Munnerlyn had another blitz sack.
This is a huge problem.
So often this isn’t the line’s fault. When a defense send one too many rushers for the blockers to handle, that extra guy is on the quarterback.
He has to sense it, and throw to a hot read.
Geno is consistently unaware of this extra guy, and it’s hurting the Jets’ offense.
If he doesn’t improve in this area, he can’t be considered a long-term answer at quarterback for the Jets.
Pocket presence is so important for NFL quarterbacks, and Geno needs a lot of work in this area.
Perhaps an entire off-season of work with the coaches (whoever they might) can help him improve in this area.
But some will argue pocket presence can only be taught to a certain degree, and much of it is an innate skill.
We will see.
But Rex and Marty can’t just spin it and blame the blockers, because a lot of these corner blitz issues are on the quarterback.
As Dan Dierdorf said after Munnerlyn’s sack to end the Jets’ first series, “That is Geno’s hot read and he wasn’t able to deal with it.”
He better learn, or his shelf life as an NFL starter isn’t going to last long . . .
When a player is playing at home, it generally adds a little pep to their step, and certainly was the case for Kinston, North Carolina’s Quinton Coples.
He also went to UNC.
Coples played with his hair on fire, and had one of his best games as a Jet.
Late in the first half, Coples beat a very good left tackle, Jordan Gross, for a sack of Cam Newton.
In the third quarter, Coples blew by guard Nate Chandler and stopped tailback Mike Tolbert for a loss of one.
Also in the third quarter, on fourth-and-two, Coples beat guard Travelle Wharton and hit Newton’s arm as he threw and the ball fell incomplete ending this series.
I saw somebody wrote that the Jets made a mistake picking Coples instead of Chandler Jones (New England).
I disagree.
Coples is a big-time talent.
Is there room for improvement? No doubt. He needs to be more consistent.
But it’s hard to argue with them picking him at 16 last year.
That constituted a great value.
And that showed in Carolina . . .
Speaking of last year’s Jets draft, third round pick DeMario Davis has a lot of work to do this off-season.
One thing he needs to do better is shed blocks – get more violent with his hands to get linemen off of him.
In the middle of the second quarter, the Panthers threw a screen to DeAngelo Williams, and the key block on the play in the left flat was Wharton locking on Davis, and the linebacker couldn’t get off the block, and the back ran by him. The play gained 12 yards.
He also needs to improve his open field tackling.
He missed a tackle on Williams on a run off right tackle in the third quarter.
He also needs to improve his coverage of tight ends.
Early in the second quarter, Greg Olson got behind Davis on a gain of 27. Davis took a misstep forward, and Olson ran in back of him.
This is a big off-season for Davis.
December 17, 2013
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