Geno Smith

[McGruff]

Playing with our 3rd and 4th string too.

That always gets left out of the equation.

 

[Hawknballs]

Geno doesn't look like he's having any fun. Lynch does.

Neither of them impressed me on any throws but I'll take the guy who seems to be all in on his opportunity than the guy on his next stop on the way out of the league.

 

[DomeHawk]

Smith adopted the mentality "play not to lose," Lynch played to win. I'll take the latter any day.

 

[olyfan63]

As mentioned above, waiting to see if Lynch can keep his focus and energy when not playing the Donkeys.
Is he now more interested in working on his QB craft than in playing video games?

 

[Seafan]

Is Smith better than TJax? I don't know.

 

[chris98251]

Is Smith better than TJax? I don't know.

This can't be judged till he does a coin flip.

 

[Cyrus12]

Playing with our 3rd and 4th string too.

That always gets left out of the equation.

Against their 3rd and 4th string as well.

 

[Sonichellboy]

Playing with our 3rd and 4th string too.

That always gets left out of the equation.

Against their 3rd and 4th string as well.

That's what he was replying to, I believe.

 

[RiverDog]

It doesn't make a huge difference in the first preseason game which half you play, you're still going up against an opponent that doesn't have much continuity with their lineup and virtually no game plan to work with. As was noted in several comments, Lynch looked a lot more comfortable out there in the offense than Smith did.


Due to his injury/procedure, Geno is going to lose a valuable opportunity to redeem himself by missing Game 2 of the preseason. He might not get a lot of quality snaps in Game 3 as Russell will likely play in the first half and he'll have to split the rest of the snaps with Lynch and perhaps Barrett. If Lynch plays well next week, he'll all but sew up the spot. At this point, the backup job is Lynch's to lose.

 

[tom95]

Geno did not a pass my eye test. He just did not look good. I do believe that Lynch has more upside.
I just want the best backup we can have. Go Hawks!

 

[nrayorr]

I did like the way Lynch played, but I would like to see him with the 1's against the 1's to see how he handles that. If he performs well under those conditions he should be our back-up. Geno held on to the ball too long and was indecisive and didn't seem to know what a checkdown was IMHO.

 

[RiverDog]

I did like the way Lynch played, but I would like to see him with the 1's against the 1's to see how he handles that. If he performs well under those conditions he should be our back-up. Geno held on to the ball too long and was indecisive and didn't seem to know what a checkdown was IMHO.

You're not going to get very many "1's vs. 1's" matchups for a backup QB in the preseason. Russell's going to be starting the first couple of series next week and will get 5 or 6 series Game 3, one or two in Game 4. Defenses will be playing a mix and match hodgepodge of combinations. There's not a lot of continuity on either side of the ball in preseason.

But I agree with you (and just about everyone else) in your appraisal of Geno.

 

[Sarlacc83]

I've been watching the game with 'clear' eyes, and I don't think Geno is nearly as bad as advertised. In the 2nd quarter, all of his completions pretty much get called back due to penalties. Overall, OL play isn't great for him, and while he wasn't the second-coming, he's also fighting for a backup spot. You're going to see some flaws.

(The throw to DK should have been a completion for a TD, and that wasn't just Geno overthrowing it.)

I think that Pete will value Geno's practicing over his gameplay due to the importance to our defense. Obviously Lynch could easily make it a closer competition if he keeps performing in game, but I'm still kind of expecting Geno to be the one in the 53. Especially when it's clear that Kasen Williams still got the axe after performing so preseason games don't strike me as the end all be all.

 

[IndyHawk]

Lynch is 6:7 with wheels and can see over the line..
If his head is right he wins the job..

 

[seabowl]

Lynch is 6:7 with wheels and can see over the line..
If his head is right he wins the job..

The 6.7 argument goes directly against what we say about height for QB'S when we talk about Russ. You don't necessarily see over OL but rather through lanes.

 

[nrayorr]

I did like the way Lynch played, but I would like to see him with the 1's against the 1's to see how he handles that. If he performs well under those conditions he should be our back-up. Geno held on to the ball too long and was indecisive and didn't seem to know what a checkdown was IMHO.

You're not going to get very many "1's vs. 1's" matchups for a backup QB in the preseason. Russell's going to be starting the first couple of series next week and will get 5 or 6 series Game 3, one or two in Game 4. Defenses will be playing a mix and match hodgepodge of combinations. There's not a lot of continuity on either side of the ball in preseason.

But I agree with you (and just about everyone else) in your appraisal of Geno.

Yeah, I know it's a shot in the dark with having Lynch play some 1's, but I would still love to see it. The preseason pretty much goes the same practically every year so I'm not gonna hold my breath to see it.

 

[RiverDog]

I've been watching the game with 'clear' eyes, and I don't think Geno is nearly as bad as advertised. In the 2nd quarter, all of his completions pretty much get called back due to penalties. Overall, OL play isn't great for him, and while he wasn't the second-coming, he's also fighting for a backup spot. You're going to see some flaws.

(The throw to DK should have been a completion for a TD, and that wasn't just Geno overthrowing it.)

I think that Pete will value Geno's practicing over his gameplay due to the importance to our defense. Obviously Lynch could easily make it a closer competition if he keeps performing in game, but I'm still kind of expecting Geno to be the one in the 53. Especially when it's clear that Kasen Williams still got the axe after performing so preseason games don't strike me as the end all be all.

All of what you said is true, but there was just something intangible about how Geno played vs. how Lynch played. Lynch was much more decisive and looked more comfortable in that offense. Even if you throw away all the stats, the eye test favors Lynch and I can't help but think that the coaches are seeing the same things that many of us in here are.

I heard Pete say that Geno might be ready to play in Game 2, but it might not be in Geno's best interest to play if he's at all hindered. If he aggravates the surgical site, it's game over for him.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I've been watching the game with 'clear' eyes, and I don't think Geno is nearly as bad as advertised. In the 2nd quarter, all of his completions pretty much get called back due to penalties. Overall, OL play isn't great for him, and while he wasn't the second-coming, he's also fighting for a backup spot. You're going to see some flaws.

(The throw to DK should have been a completion for a TD, and that wasn't just Geno overthrowing it.)

I think that Pete will value Geno's practicing over his gameplay due to the importance to our defense. Obviously Lynch could easily make it a closer competition if he keeps performing in game, but I'm still kind of expecting Geno to be the one in the 53. Especially when it's clear that Kasen Williams still got the axe after performing so preseason games don't strike me as the end all be all.

All of what you said is true, but there was just something intangible about how Geno played vs. how Lynch played. Lynch was much more decisive and looked more comfortable in that offense. Even if you throw away all the stats, the eye test favors Lynch and I can't help but think that the coaches are seeing the same things that many of us in here are.

I heard Pete say that Geno might be ready to play in Game 2, but it might not be in Geno's best interest to play if he's at all hindered. If he aggravates the surgical site, it's game over for him.

The tangible difference was Geno was going against Denver's #1's and #2's, and Lynch was going against Denver's #3's and # dudes who are going to be selling cars in a month.

So we'll see how well Lynch does when he gets the first snaps after Russell's first series or two against a deep Vikings defense..........as I assume Pete's going to swap Geno and Paxton this week so he can also see the difference.

Lynch looked great, but pre-season can be very deceiving sometimes. So I'm going to reserve my judgement on both until I see them all four games.

 

[RiverDog]

The tangible difference was Geno was going against Denver's #1's and #2's, and Lynch was going against Denver's #3's and # dudes who are going to be selling cars in a month.

It's not the same #1's and #2's that you would see if it were a regular season game. Denver holds out starters just like we did with Bobby, KJ, Ziggy et al. They mix and match at a lot of positions, don't game plan, etc. Plus the opposite was true on the offensive side of the ball. Geno was playing behind our #1 offense while Lynch had the car salesmen in his huddle, so it's kind of a wash. The competition aspect, at least as it concerns QB's, is relative.

Do you remember the Flynn/Russell preseason competition when Flynn was getting the starts and realize that many folks were making the same argument to qualify Russell's performance that you're using to qualify Lynch's?

So we'll see how well Lynch does when he gets the first snaps after Russell's first series or two against a deep Vikings defense..........as I assume Pete's going to swap Geno and Paxton this week so he can also see the difference.

Lynch looked great, but pre-season can be very deceiving sometimes. So I'm going to reserve my judgement on both until I see them all four games.

Agreed. I'm not saying that Lynch is the better option, just that he looked a lot better than Geno in PS Game 1 and has to be considered the front runner at this point in time, especially given that Geno has a little bit of an injury setback.

And BTW, Geno underwent minor surgery to remove a cyst from his knee and may not play vs. the Vikings.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The tangible difference was Geno was going against Denver's #1's and #2's, and Lynch was going against Denver's #3's and # dudes who are going to be selling cars in a month.

It's not the same #1's and #2's that you would see if it were a regular season game. Denver holds out starters just like we did with Bobby, KJ, Ziggy et al. They mix and match at a lot of positions, don't game plan, etc. Plus the opposite was true on the offensive side of the ball. Geno was playing behind our #1 offense while Lynch had the car salesmen in his huddle, so it's kind of a wash. The competition aspect, at least as it concerns QB's, is relative.

Do you remember the Flynn/Russell preseason competition when Flynn was getting the starts and realize that many folks were making the same argument to qualify Russell's performance that you're using to qualify Lynch's?

So we'll see how well Lynch does when he gets the first snaps after Russell's first series or two against a deep Vikings defense..........as I assume Pete's going to swap Geno and Paxton this week so he can also see the difference.

Lynch looked great, but pre-season can be very deceiving sometimes. So I'm going to reserve my judgement on both until I see them all four games.

Agreed. I'm not saying that Lynch is the better option, just that he looked a lot better than Geno in PS Game 1 and has to be considered the front runner at this point in time, especially given that Geno has a little bit of an injury setback.

And BTW, Geno underwent minor surgery to remove a cyst from his knee and may not play vs. the Vikings.

I agree, although I do put some merit in our line and WR depth being far deeper and better than Denver's #3's and 4's that Lynch went up against......and Pocic and company couldn't block anybody for the majority of Geno's snaps. He had a LOT of scrambles, throw aways and 2nd and 3rd and longs due to holding penalties on our starting line in this game.

So we'll see. If we're keeping score, advantage Lynch for sure going into game #2.