Geno Smith

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NFL 2014: Our Five Best Bets for Week #13

Posted by fantasyfurnace on November 26, 2014
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

We’re down to the last five weeks of the regular season and by now all those in Fantasy Leagues as well as NFL teams, are busy jockeying for a place in the playoffs. Enjoy the 3-game schedule on Thanksgiving Day (none of which are in our selections below) We wish a warm and happy Thanksgiving to all our readers and followers and their families!

*Home team in CAPS

Giants -2 1/2 over the JAGUARS- Can’t remember the last time the Giants made one of our picks but we had no choice this week as they go up against a team that’s , yep, actually is worse than them! If Eli, with new OC Ben McAdoo, can just call plays for budding superstar rookie Odell Beckham Jr. and RB Rashad Jennings all afternoon, it should be a long day for the struggling Jags. Giants by 17.

"The Catch", by Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. last week could possibly be one of the top ten best of all time writes The Furnace. Photo: NJ.com

“The Catch”, by Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. last week vs Dallas, could arguably be one of the top ten best of all time writes The Furnace. Photo: NJ.com

COLTS -9 1/2 over the Redskins- Could be much of the same story for the ‘Skins as they are playing a road back-to-back and just received the news that Robert Griffin III has been benched in favor of Colt McCoy (according to ESPN). The move had to be made as the Redskins receivers have completely lost their faith in RGIII. For those who think that the 9 1/2 points are too much to give, the Colts have won five of their seven wins by double-digits.

RAVENS – 5 1/2 over the Chargers- A few weeks back the Bolts got crushed by the Dolphins in Miami 37-0. If they think it will get any easier vs the Ravens this weekend they are in for a surprise. The Ravens are winners of their last four in Baltimore by 20, 28, 22, and 14.

Raiders +7 over the RAMS- Oakland seems to be the underdog every week, and at times double-digit ‘dogs. And rightly so for MOST 1-10 teams, but not these Raiders. On the road they have gone 4-1 against the spread against such teams as the Patriots, Seahawks and Chargers. Their defense has been respectable and they are now featuring a bonafide running back in Latavius Murray (concussion) who is improving and could be cleared to play in time for this game.

Dolphins -5 1/2 over the JETS- The Jets, unless you have been living on Mars for the past several weeks, are in a freefall with no safety net in sight. They have become the Bad News Bears of the NFL with sloppy play, silly penalties, and devoid of a quarterback who can stay upright. Michael Vick had a passer rating of 27.5 when he was removed in favor of Geno Smith on MFF vs the Bills.. The Fish on the other hand have six wins by 13, 24, 13, 14, 37, and 13. This game could be over by halftime.

The Furnace thinks that the Jets will sleep with the Fishes in Week 13. Photo: Paramount Pictures

The Furnace thinks that the Jets will “Sleep with the Fishes” in Week 13 vs the Dolphins. Photo: Paramount Pictures

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The Jets should be “flying high” this season!!

Posted by fantasyfurnace on April 18, 2014
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 8 Comments

Give the Jets’ General Manager John Idzik Jr. his props. He has had a fairly productive off-season thus far with many key acquisitions already in tow that promise to take the beleagured team out of their mediocrity…finally!

With a trio of new players already added to the team and the draft yet to come, it appears the Jets are ready, at long last, to fly high into the 2014/2015 season.

With a trio of new players already added to the team and the draft yet to come, it appears as though the Jets are flying high into the 2014-2015 season.

  Given the free agents available to the Jets management this offseason, the moves that were made might not have been the greatest of all time but they were the smartest ones possible. Was there really a much better wide receiver available out there besides Eric Decker? What that pickup does is afford Geno Smith, assuming that he will be the starting QB, another passing option with a seasoned veteran (Decker was a third round pick of the Denver Broncos in the 2010 draft).

If you’re thinking that the only reason Decker caught 24 touchdown passes over the past two seasons was because he had Peyton Manning as the QB then you are partially correct. Decker is also a talented receiver.  Geno Smith, on the other hand, is no Peyton Manning, but remember that Decker did catch 8 TD passes in 2011 and they were all from Tim Tebow!

And speaking of a seasoned veteran, could the Jets have picked up anyone better at running back than ex-Titan Chris Johnson? Two years-$8 million and they lost no one! Six years of 1,000 rushing yards or more and a back who can catch a pass out of the backfield. He had four passing touchdowns as recent as last season to go along with six of the rushing kind. Has C.J. lost a step? Yep! Absolutely! But a Chris Johnson at 75% is better than any other RB that was out there at 100%.

#28 Ex-Titan RB Chris Johnson who can bust one for major yardage at any time, will bring his talents to the N.Y. Jets this season. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

#28 Ex-Titans RB Chris Johnson,who can bust one for major yardage at any time, will bring his talents to the N.Y. Jets this season. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Johnson, (AKA) CJ2K, will compliment a backfield that includes Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell. The group will help Geno Smith because, as we have seen, he tends to panic when all of his options have disappeared. However now he now has a back who can run a 4.24 and catch a screen or handle a dump off when called upon. If the Jets don’t overwork him, CJ will pay dividends as he will be out to prove all the doubting Thomases out there that he still can bring it.

The Jets also went out and grabbed themselves a backup or potential starting quarterback; Michael Vick. What we like about this acquisition is that Vick, as most know, is similar in the way he plays to Smith and as such, will be able to better mentor the youngster. The one blaring negative however, is that Geno Smith is prone to turning the ball over and that’s Michael Vick’s biggest liability…

What takes place for Idzik next could be his biggest challenge to date in readying his team for the upcoming season. There are two holes left to fill on the club; the first is at the cornerback position and the second, talented players who can put pressure on the quarterback. Idzik is fortunate in that this could be one of the deepest drafts in recent memory and the Jets will have an added edge with their 12 picks to better themselves- at those two positions in particular.

Disgruntled Jets fans are growing weary with all of the promises made too often that are never kept. Don’t look for headcoach Rex Ryan to predict that the team will win the Super Bowl this year but you better believe that unless the Jets make some noise and get to the post season, Ryan will  spend the 2015-2016 season watching his former team on TV along with the rest of us…

G.M. John Idzik will give Rex Ryan all the tools he needs to be successful this season. If Rex can't get the job done it will be his last. Photo: AP

G.M. John Idzik will give headcoah Rex Ryan all the tools he needs to be successful this season. If Rex can’t get the job done it will be his last. Photo: AP

 

Five reasons why Geno Smith should remain the Jets starting QB

Posted by fantasyfurnace on January 3, 2014
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 15 Comments

Now that the NFL regular season has come to an end, the almost annual debate about who the Jets starting quarterback should be begins anew. However this time around, we think there really isn’t any need for the Jets organization to do anything except to insure that Geno Smith is under center when the 2014-15 season begins.

#7 Geno Smith should be the starting quarterbackPhoto: Charles Wenzelberg

#7 Geno Smith should be the starting quarterback in 2014. Photo: Charles Wenzelberg

1. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. In the most inconsistent of seasons in memory, the Jets, if you will recall, would win a game, lose the next, win a  game, lose, win, lose, and so it went… However there was one positive. It began with Geno Smith’s benching during the blowout to the Miami Dolphins on December 1st.

What followed in the team’s remaining four games, was a transformation of the rookie quarterback. He passed for just under 800 yards, threw 4 touchdowns ( 2 INTs), and posted a respectable 83.6 passer rating while guiding the team to a 3-1 record. A nice way to end a season; an even better way to begin a new one.

2. There are no other quality starting QBs out there. Who could the Jets bring in either to start or compete with Smith for the starting role? The only one available, now that Jay Cutler has been resigned, is Matt Schaub and he will be signed as a starter by another team leaving just Mark Sanchez to provide any pre-season competition for Smith. Frankly, we can’t see the fans clamoring for the return of outcast Mark Sanchez in 2014.

3. The past track record of rookie QBs who are now elite. Just culling through the past performances of some of the best modern day quarterbacks, one can see why it is usually best to give top draft picks some time to iron out the kinks while their professional maturation takes hold.

Some examples include Peyton Manning 3-13 in his rookie season. Aaron Rodgers went 6-10. Eli Manning 1-6. Drew Brees 8-8 in his first season followed by a 1-6 record in year two. And Cam Newton, 12-4 this season, went 6-10 and 7-9 in his first two campaigns with the Panthers. That’s not to say that Geno will turn out to be another Peyton or Drew, but after an 8-8 start, why not wait and see?

4. Durability. After multiple games with countless hurries, hits, and sacks, Geno Smith managed to start every one of the team’s 16 games in his rookie season. Not a feat worthy of a Pro Bowl appearance, but a noteworthy one just the same.

5. Lack of a talented supporting cast. Seriously, are there any wide receivers or tight ends on the Jets that had opposing teams’ cornerbacks shaking in their cleats? Nelson and Kerley didn’t. And, in case you’re wondering, an injury riddled Santonio Holmes finished the season with just 23 catches for 456 yards and only one touchdown.

#10 Santonio Holmes drops a pass vs the Miami Dolphins. He hasn't lived up to all Photo: Charles Wenzelberg hype in N.Y. Photo:

#10 Santonio Holmes drops a pass vs the Miami Dolphins. He hasn’t lived up to all the hype since coming to N.Y. Photo: Charles Wenzelberg

To their advantage,  before next season, the Jets will be $40 million under the salary cap and own around 10 draft picks which should make them more than able to bolster their anemic offense and thus help Geno Smith improve greatly in his sophomore season. Providing him with talent, in addition to having one full season under his belt, there is no reason why Smith should not garner the starting role next year.

“The team believes in Geno and the way he has played over the last four weeks speaks for itself.” -WR David Nelson