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New Jersey – I think we all need to take a step back, and see the forest for the trees on the Jets’ quarterback situation. I was reading a headline today, and it made me realize a reality check was in order.
AP Headline – “Jets will fly as far as Geno Smith takes them this season.”
I’m not going to blame the author of the column for the headline. Writers don’t write headlines, editors do.
But the premise of the headline is misguided for a couple of reasons.
First off, if Smith struggles, and the season looks like it’s slipping away, they aren’t going to write-off 2014 by using it as another developmental year for Smith. They will turn to Mike Vick.
So that right there makes that headline a moot point.
The second reason the headline doesn’t hold water is that even if Smith does a solid job, he’s going to be a game-manager.
He’s going to be a piece of the puzzle. If the Jets win with Smith, it’s going to be with a total team effort featuring a great running game with a lot of screen passes to the backs, especially Chris Johnson. They are also going to need excellent defense and special teams as well. Smith’s role will be to throw safe passes to compliment the effort.
So the concept that the, “Jets will fly as far as Geno Smith takes them this season,” has holes in it.
Also, I think the hype about Smith is a little out of control the last couple of weeks, due to a pretty good effort by the kid against the Giants, and then strong comments about the signal-caller from Marty Mornhinweg, David Lee and Rex Ryan.
As Bill Parcells loves to say (and you all know I love saying it), “Let’s not put the kid in Canton just yet.”
I saw every minute of every practice at SUNY-Cortland. Smith was very up-and-down. He’s still a major work-in-progress. No question he’s improved, but a big part of his success this season will be tied to Marty Morhinweg’s play-calling.
Mornhinweg is very good at his job, and the way he calls a game is so huge for the young quarterback. That play-action pass for the touchdown from Smith to Jace Amaro was a tremendous call.
I want to share with you something that was written in the column that supported the AP headline.
“The Jets went into the offseason determined to give Smith every opportunity to show he deserved to be the starter. They also brought in Michael Vick to push Smith, as well as to mentor him – and to be ready to step in if Smith struggled.
“Well, Smith hasn’t flinched.
“Even with a still-effective Vick eager to show he’s still one of the most dynamic players in the NFL. Smith got nearly 80 percent of the snaps with the first-team offense in training camp and played well enough to not force Ryan and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg to stray from the plan.”
One writer who read this commented, “Why would he flinch when he was never threatened?”
There was no competition, so let’s just move on from the theory that Smith played so well he made the decision easy.
That wasn’t the case.
All the competition talk was window-dressing.
So in closing, the concept that the “Jets will fly as far as Geno Smith takes them this season,” isn’t steeped in reality.
And that is in no way saying he’s going to fail.
But if he does succeed, the Jets have no intention of putting this team on his back.
August 27, 2014
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