Week 4 is in the books and it was another up and down roller coaster ride for these two rookie QBs. Both of them put their teams in really bad situations and it was not the type of game either wishes to repeat. Now onto the analysis.
Geno Smith
Geno Smith had a horrible game but first we must speak of the positives. On the bright side, he didn’t buttfumble like a Sanchez and he also did not have a 5 pick game like the elite Joe Flacco. Also he seemed to make a few good throws and really seems to have a nice connection with Stephen Hill and that will help bail him out when he is not on his game.
However those are where the positives end because Geno really had a game he would rather forget. While the stats may say he had a decent game, he had a 68% completion percentage and threw for 289 yards, but most of those came in garbage time when the game was already done. His first throw of the game was an interception and it really did not get better from there. The turnover bug continues for Smith and it makes many people wonder if Mark Sanchez is still starting at quarterback. The offense could not get anything moving for the most part and Smith was trying to do too much. Geno looks to be improving as a passer but there are still those interceptions that keep on piling up and he has thrown 8 so far this year to only 4 TDs. Maybe that is just who he is, and maybe all one could hope for is the TDs go way up.
Now it would not be right for me to not talk about his worst decision of the game. It was 1st and 10 on his own 16, he drops back for a pass and the pressure comes. So instead of taking the sack or throw it away, he did his own variant of the buttfumble and stuck the ball on his own butt which then fumbled and led to a TD. Now that play made no sense and maybe he was overthinking but that is probably worse than Sanchez’s version, at least Sanchez ran into his own guy by accident, Smith did his on purpose. Maybe that is the Jets way of playing the QB position.
EJ Manuel
EJ also did not have a good game but he got the W thanks to stellar defense. He had a rough game, only completing 10-22 for 167 yards but the offense seemed to be about pounding the rock and not really putting too much on EJ. The offense was very conservative and they ran it almost three times as much as they threw it. The focus on the running game made the offense very predictable and put EJ in obvious passing downs. However it did benefit EJ which on a play-action threw a beauty deep to Robert Woods for a TD. This was very good since with Stevie not being able to be Stevie, having a connection with Woods gives EJ another weapon.
That was the only real bright spot for EJ. He threw two picks and had a fumble and a near fumble when he bobbled the ball. It seems for EJ there is a strong correlation between 
turnovers and wins. Whenever he turns it over he wins the game. However correlation does not prove causation so the turnovers need to be held to a minimum if he wants to be a long-time NFL QB. This game really was a kind a of a meh game as the gameplan did not allow him to make any plays with his feet. It was a conservative play calling and as the season progresses the play-calling should be better. But so far he looks to have the IT factor coaches want in a QB and he doesn’t make the same mistake twice which is good. The future looks bright for him.
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