Content available exclusively for subscribers
Florham Park – What I’m about to say is somewhat radical, but it’s how feel. Obviously it’s beyond awful for anybody to suffer a broken jaw . . .
In a way, this whole incident will help Geno.
Before you think I’m nuts, hear me out.
Obviously it’s awful to break your jaw. It’s got to be a nightmare eating, talking, sleeping and so forth.
So I’m not minimizing the pain Geno is in.
But I think things could have been ugly for him this summer and early in the season.
Heck, the guy was already booed at an open practice after a couple of bad plays. It was ridiculous. There are fans and reporters that refuse to give this guy any margin of error right now after his rough first two seasons.
But quarterbacks need a margin of error. It’s a very tough position. There are going to be bad plays. Even for the best of them.
We saw a really bad practice on Monday, where he threw two pick sixes.
The bottom line is that Ryan Fitzpatrick is better equipped to be the starting quarterback for the New York Jets right now, and at the start of the season.
He’s had better camp than Smith, which is understandable. He has a PHD in Chan Gailey’s system after spending three years with him Buffalo. “Fitz” also is clearly much higher on the NFL quarterback growth curve than Smith, who is still a developing quarterback.
One thing I’ve noticed over and over in camp is that Fitzpatrick is really good on hot reads against the blitz. Really good. And that is huge in a league with so many attacking defenses. This is an area Geno struggles right now.
So my point is, this “timeout” for Geno, even though it’s under unfortunate circumstances, is actually going to help him.
Honestly, I think he would have been run out of town early in the season if he was the starter. The karma is bad right now.
Now, he can sit back for a couple of months, learn the system better, watch Fitzpatrick operate it, and if they need a replacement mid-season, due to injury, or bad play, he will be much better equipped to do the job. He would get cheered upon his return, coming back from getting sucker punched by a teammate. Fans would have a soft spot in their hearts for him.
He’d return in a much better place from a PR standpoint.
Right now, I think he’s in a no-win situation.
Every practice mistake is seemingly a big deal with some fans and reporters.
And honestly, I don’t think some of his teammate are thrilled that he was anointed the starter, once again, entering camp.
I think they are a little tired of that.
Most of them having to earn their starting jobs. So should he.
This isn’t his fault that the new regime continued this anointing thing, but it wasn’t good for him with teammates, fans or reporters.
Now Fitzpatrick can take over, do his thing, we will all see how that goes, and if Geno is needed, he could re-emerges in a much healthier way, with the vitriol having subsided significantly.
August 11, 2015
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Wednesday from Detroit.