There were a lot of folks geeked when we traded you know who. Lots of banter about how Geno ran things smoother and how much better the team would be.
Drew Lock support? Check!
Retooling…not rebuilding!!
The tone has shifted.
I don’t take much out of preseason and I imagine most of you are the same way. With that said, what’s changed?
If anything, Geno has looked way better than I thought he would. Lock is still getting comfortable in a new system.
I'm still as content as I was when the move happened. I think some here try to make this a win/lose, right/wrong, '(vs)' situation, when it's not.
In terms of the QB position, it's been the opinion of many that we don't NEED the heroic football play from the QB position to be successful. We had that and had obviously reached our ceiling as the last 4 years showed. Kurt Warner said as much when critiquing the failures of our passing attack. You absolutley need sound QB play from the position... good decision making leadership, accuracy and some talent. But we tend to forget that when we won our first superbowl, we did so with a game manager at qb. Albeit with a penchant and talent for the spectacular, but our QB was managed toward success. He absolutely brought an X factor that had to be accounted for, but for the most part, the QB was asked to run the offense. And the defense and running game were the backstop when that offense struggled through the air.
The QB for 2022 will again be asked to just run the offense. And what will be different is that we may see surprising results from the position if we can keep him clean. Geno has shown an ability to make decent reads, he has a good arm, and has shown the ability to make some fairly challenging throws to areas of the field and to routes we haven't had success running before.
That all might go out the window if he gets rattled, loses composure, and begins to slump. That's the thing you could be sure Russ wouldn't do. You might have to work with a reduced playbook, but Russ would somehow find a way to make something happen . The OC didnt even have to send a play in and Russ could probably make some stuff up that would result in a highlight. I don't think Geno has that gene. And if he does, he hasn't shown it yet, but for a quarter of play against the Rams.
But regardless, for this team to get to a point where we can get the benefits of what a QB like Geno can do in terms of pass distribution, making reads and getting the right adjustments set ( all things that are NECESSARY to achieve ultimate success without the benefit of an 'eraser ' D and punishing running game), but with more talent, upside, and a knack for a game changer, we had to move on and position ourselves to get that dude.
The fact that we don't have that guy yet (Lock still needs time and Geno was never expected to be that) is less important than getting on the road to that place. We weren't gonna do that with Russ. We aren't going to do it with Geno. Lock might not mature enough to ever get a shot. But that doesn't mean we can't be competitive..
Every year, there are playoff teams that are captained by non-elite qbs. Whether or not that kind of guy can do more than just get you to the dance is immaterial. Can Geno? Sure. Until he starts playing like 2014 Geno, I'll maintain we can have a solid season. But no one on the forum who was pro Geno or Pro Lock thought we were going to the Superbowl this year. Happy that we made the switch from Russ and confident we don't have to all of a sudden be competing for a TOP 10 draft pick? Sure. Confident that thr offense can run with a manager? Sure. But I don't see anyone drowning in their beer after watching the preseason and thinking that deep playoff run is a pipe dream now.
