Week 2 of the NFL happened and yet again the AFCE was the only division to field rookie QBs. While the excitement may not have been as great as week 1, they both still did some things that may people take up and notice. Here is some analysis for both.
Geno Smith
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[/dropcap]Geno played on Thursday night against the Patriots and was not able to get the win, losing 10-13. However early on he made some plays. He threw some great passes against the Patriots defense and really kept them in the game. He ended up 15/35 for 214 yards and up until the 4th quarter was playing good enough to win. However in the 4th he struggled, throwing 3 interceptions and cost the Jets who were in a position to win that game to the very end.
Some negatives I noticed is the pass rush made him uncomfortable which either led him to take a sack or scramble himself out of the possibility of any play. Decision making was also a big negative I saw and he would end up forcing a ball into a place where it shouldn’t be or end up making a bad throw like the final interception which was the ultimate killer. Overall I would rate his play below average, he made some good but the bad overwhelmed any good. But those are expected of a rookie and hopefully he will grow from this experience and not make the same mistakes.
EJ Manuel
EJ played against the Panthers and ultimately led them to the lead. He finished the game 27/39 for 296 yards and a touchdown but he was very hot and cold in this game. In the [dropcap]
[/dropcap]beginning of the game EJ looked very shaky. He completed his first pass for 34 yards then he started missing his receivers either wide or overthrown. Once the 2nd quarter began he got hot and started hitting his receivers, hitting a nice deep throw to Stevie Johnson for 19 yards that led to a FG. He continued to get hot in the 3rd and put together back to back nice drives[dropcap]…[/dropcap] that led to a FG and a touchdown and put them in the game. What I liked from is unlike the week before EJ threw it deep more and use his arm strength.
Then the cold happened and in his own territory got sacked and fumbled. It was a bad move by EJ and something he needs to work on as he did it numerous times while at FSU. To pile on he threw an interception, starting at his WR the whole time. Those two turnovers should have cost them but the Bills D stepped up and held both to FG.
EJ recovered and down 23-17 with 1:38 to go, he turned into captain clutch. He marched the Bills down the field, hitting pass after pass all the way to Panthers redzone. He did make an interception but that was thankfully overturned by a defensive pass interception penalty. After that he made a great scramble to the Panthers 2 yard line then threw a beauty to Stevie who was wide open which led to the 24-23 win. I liked what I saw from EJ in this game, he showed that he could come back from adversity and make the plays that needed to be made. He isn’t just a game-manager, he is QB who can win games. I would give him an above average grade because he made the plays when they needed to be made.
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