NFL: Should Tom Brady, Geno Smith and other QB’s be benched?
By Eric Saar
Some NFL quarterbacks have a short leash as it were. Sometimes that’s because the coach has just as short of one. It’s all a chain of events. In anticipation of the owner/general manager getting impatient (or because they insert themselves and micromanage) the coach feels their job is on the line and must do something to save their job. The first thing they think of is a change at quarterback.
Sometimes the QB isn’t even playing that badly, but it’s a high-profile position and demonstrates you are trying to shake things up.
We’ll take a look at some NFL quarterbacks and determine if they should be benched immediately. We will use the Total Quarterback Rating metric as a tool to evaluate a quarterback’s overall performance. The average is 50 on a scale of 1-100 and only calculates 33 QB’s right now based on if they are on pace for 250 action plays (so no Carson Palmer right now).
Geno Smith
Smith has the third-worst QB rating of 27.6. The two QBs below him are Chad Henne and E.J. Manuel. They’ve both already been benched — and Geno is next.
Smith has had his only good wide receiver (Eric Decker) banged up so far this season. The running game with Chris Johnson and Chris Ivory hasn’t produced how they’ve wanted. But there are no excuses for Smith’s play. He has thrown only four touchdowns to his five interceptions. That’s unacceptable.
Smith can be benched as they have Michael Vick behind him. Vick is an accomplished quarterback and will probably play better than Smith, until Geno learns to not throw as many interceptions.
Prediction: Benched
Tom Brady
Brady’s QB rating is 27th so far at 46.5. But he’s the “Golden Boy”, “Tommy Terrific”. How is that even possible?
One of his tight ends is in jail (Aaron Hernandez) and the other one is coming back from a slew of injuries and isn’t quite right (Rob Gronkowski). His best wideout is Julian Edelman — who is fine — but nowhere near an elite wide receiver in the league. Gone are the days when Brady could throw to Randy Moss down the field.
Despite Brady not having great weapons, he hasn’t been that sharp. There were some throws against Kansas City that were just terrible. Bad timing, throwing into coverage, jumpy in the pocket. He certainly isn’t on the top of his game.
Belichick won’t bench him though. The two of them are the QB-coach tandem that holds the record for most wins together and they rely on each other. If the Patriots starting quarterback is Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots aren’t making the playoffs.
Prediction: Not benched
Jake Locker
Locker has been banged up but also has no excuses for his 29th ranked QB rating of 39.7. Their running back platoon hasn’t been getting it done and their wide receivers have not been producing big numbers. It’s always hard to figure out cause and effect, but there definitely is a problem somewhere, probably multiple problems, and Locker is one right now.
Locker has thrown only three touchdowns to his four interceptions. That will do one thing for you. Get you benched.
Prediction: Benched
Ryan Tannehill
Tannehill is 28th in Total QBR with his at 42.3. He does have six touchdowns to only four interceptions, but the game is more than those two categories. The Dolphins run game is producing, so Tannehill’s presence hasn’t been as glaring as they’ve won a couple games. At least wideout Mike Wallace us having a decent year thus far.
Tannehill will only get benched if the Dolphins go more than a few games below .500.
Prediction: Not Benched
Alex Smith
Smith has a total QBR of 49.0. That is basically the definition of average and a “game manager”. But the numbers speak for themselves. He has a seven to three touchdown to interception ratio, better than a lot of QBs in the league.
All that coach Reid wants him to do (or needs him to do) is get the ball in space to Jamaal Charles. He also needs to make the occasional throw to a wide receiver or tight end to throw off the defense and have the ability to throw it deep down the field if there is a seriously blown coverage.
Smith does what he needs to do, even when the numbers don’t necessarily back him up. He’s fine.
Prediction: Not Benched
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