Palladino: Jets' Geno Needs To Work On Mind, Not Mechanics
By Ernie Palladino
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The problem with Geno Smith the last two years has involved his head more than his arm.
So Smith revealing Monday that he spent some of his offseason working with tutor Tom House had a rather contradictory ring to it.
On the one hand, it is certainly a good thing that Smith sought some sort of outside help. House, the Atlanta Braves reliever who in 1974 caught Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th homer in the bullpen -- on the fly, by the way -- coaches pitchers and quarterbacks like Drew Brees and Tom Brady.
Judging by their humble success, the man obviously knows his beans when it comes to expediting balls from Point A to Point B. And it's always a positive when a quarterback learning a new offensive system gets any kind of outside expert advice. So give the Jets' incumbent a check mark.
On the other hand, one wonders if it was the right kind of help. Not to pile criticism on the beleaguered Smith as he prepares for a draft that could bring future competition in Oregon's Marcus Mariota and a training camp battle pitting him against experienced Ryan Fitzpatrick, but hooking up with a strategist rather than a mechanic might have served Smith better.
A few intense hours in a film room articulating how he might have handled the passing options against various defenses to a wise teacher, within the framework of offensive coordinator Chan Gailey's system might have advanced him a bit further.
He'll need every bit of help. As the Jets convened Monday for their offseason program, Smith remains the incumbent starter. But Fitzpatrick played in Gailey's system during the offensive coordinator's head coaching tenure in Buffalo and has a definite edge.
Smith also made time in California to work with young receivers Shaq Evans and Quincy Enunwa. Fine. Another bit of extra effort which works in his favor. Whether throwing to bodies who will sit behind Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and Jeremy Kerley will prove sufficient to drive him past Fitzpatrick in the summer is questionable, however.
Better he should have embarked on a ritual similar to the one Eli and Peyton Manning participate in every spring. Those two are at Duke University right now, studying at the hand of their mentor, Blue Devils head coach David Cutcliffe.
Among Peyton's Broncos entourage were tight end Owen Daniels and key wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
Eli brought along a few young no-names -- Odell Beckham, Jr., Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle.
When they're not watching Beckham throwing down windmill dunks at Cameron Indoor Arena, the crazy home of the newly-crowned NCAA champs, they are outside running routes. When the Manning's aren't hitting receivers, they are in the film room together with their respective, former offensive coordinator (Peyton's Tennessee) and head coach (Eli's Ole Miss).
Cutcliffe takes his two favorite students through every bit of the nuances of defense, the better to quicken their thought process. Peyton and Eli compete with Cutcliffe. And they compete with themselves. Hard.
They have been making the same pilgrimage for years. This is Cutcliffe's eighth year at Duke. But wherever Cutcliffe is coaching, that's where you'll find the Manning brothers just before the offseason program starts.
Smith needs someone like that, a steadying rock who can prepare his mind as well as his arm.
His work on mechanics won't hurt him, though he said he really didn't change anything during his sessions with House.
But unless he somehow hooked up with a strategist like Cutcliffe, he might at summer's end find himself asking whether he really did enough in the offseason.
Smith's problems have never really been about what hangs off his right shoulder, but what sits between his ears.
