Makes perfect sense to let Geno play out his contract and even try to resign him for maybe another season if it's on the cheap because there really isn't any better option at this point and there's still holes to be filled. Saying that, I don't think MM is expecting any kind of Super Bowl push with Geno, but he's servicable at the moment until they can figure out where to go from him.
I would love to see a good prospect sitting and learning behind him for a season or two, but I wonder where that leaves Howell (no idea about his contract right now without looking and make no mistakes about it,,,,,I don't think he's the answer in any form going forward)? Just curious if they just let him walk when his contracts up.
I dont think Mac would look at this season as such a disappointment if he didnt think Geno and the offense were capable of significantly more. I also dont think *significantly better than 10-7 is 11-6 or 12-5. We had 11-6 in our hands with a win against the Giants and instead decided to throw 87% of downs against a defense that wasnt great at stopping the run.
Also, I think the fact that Geno is as good as he has made it easy to discern exactly what was wrong with the offense and why it ultimately failed.
When you have a qb who on 80+ percent of his throws is dead to rights accurate and throws directly to your guys 98.4 percent of the time (on his own), system failures are obvious.
And when you have a qb who throws an accurate ball 80+ percent of the time and only hits the other guys (on his own) 1.6% of the time, you can win a lot of games if everything else is working.
He also had the 2nd most 4th qtr comebacks and tied for 4th in game winning drives. And as Mac said, if they held serve against the Vikings, he would have had another one. And that's to say nothing for the 4th qtr drives that should have been against the Giants and the OT comeback we gave to the Rams.
People seem to lose sight of the fact that Geno dropped back to pass 630 times (3rd most in the league) this year when you take into account his attempts and sacks and did so with an ineffective offensive scheme, ineffective protection and a running game that was kept on the shelf and wasnt scaring anyone.
As analytics based as Mac is, I guarantee you that's how he sees Geno. If he didnt, he wouldnt be so steadfast in his praise for him and quick to talk down the picks.
And i'm sure that yes, they dont see Geno slinging the rock for them 4 years from now. But he and John are also about to go into contract negotiations with Geno, so tipping your hand with statements like ' we want Geno here as long as we can have him' when the goal is to get him for a decent number and on a contract with a near term out given his age, would be idiotic negotiating tactics. Better to leave it at 'Right now'.
In praising Geno as he does, talking down the INTs, firing Grubb, and simultaneously pinning the disappointment of the season on his offense and OC, he has gone about as far as he can in showing support for the QB without handing negotiating leverage to his side.
Its a cat and mouse game, no different than Geno saying the team will be ok whether or not he is here. Neither side can appear too eager.
