Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
When the Chicago Bears cleaned out the front office and coaching staff, wide receiver Brandon Marshall saw the writing on the wall. He knew he would not be a member of the Bears for long, which is why he decided to call quarterbacks around the league to see if he could have a lasting relationship with any of them. The one young signal caller in particular that left a mark on Marshall was none other than Geno Smith of the New York Jets.
“I was really shocked at the intelligence, how smart he was,” Marshall said, according to CBS Sports. “I had known him as a player from afar. I didn’t know his football IQ was so high. He had crazy passion. When I talked to him, I fell in love with the conversation. I said this is a real opportunity; we have a great defense, great pieces on offense. If we can come together and gel, we may not be the best in Year 1, but if we can be effective and not turn over the ball, we can be in every game.”
From anyone who saw Smith play in his first two seasons, it is hard to buy into Marshall’s prediction of the Jets being able to contend each game with the 24-year-old under center. However, Marshall clearly saw something in Smith in their initial conversation, something that is continuing to be built in a positive direction.
“We’re growing every single day,” Marshall said. “I look at it like a little brother. Rooming with him has really speeded up that process. We look at each other a different way. It just makes you want to fight that much harder. We have our ups and downs as far as trying to learn the offense — he wants me to look for a back-shoulder and I’m running down the field — but I’ve got to say, in the last two weeks, we’ve made a pretty significant jump. We’re starting to see the game the same way. It comes from hours and hours of communication, or walking through it at the house.”
Smith can have the highest football IQ in the league and be very passionate about the game, but that means nothing if he is unable to find consistency at the quarterback position. There have been times in which Smith makes a great throw and it appears he has what it takes to be a top-notch signal caller. Then, there is the majority of the time in which he has the look of a player who has no business being a starting quarterback.
Year 3 will be important for Smith to show that he has learned from his mistakes and can make significant progress. The hope is the addition of a veteran presence in Marshall will help with that progress. Of course, it all boils down to what Smith can accomplish on game day. If he is unable to keep the Jets in games and lead them to victory, his football IQ and passion becomes irrelevant.
Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
