The New York Jets shouldn’t feel comfortable with Geno Smith as the starting quarterback heading into the season.
Training camp opens for the New York Jets in less than two weeks and they are still unsure of their quarterback situation. The more time that passes without the re-signing of Ryan Fitzpatrick, the more likely Geno Smith is the starting QB of this team.
The thought of Smith being the starter again should make every Jets fan’s skin crawl, but the opposite seems to be happening. As the drive towards the NFL season has ensued, more and more people have turned on Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick didn’t have a good game in week 17 against the Buffalo Bills, but he wasn’t the sole reason for that loss.
Fans are quick to forget the weeks prior to that, and the fact that Fitzpatrick did set the franchise record for touchdown passes in a season (31).
The same argument that is used for Smith being the starter is used against Fitzpatrick. The argument for Smith is that he never had the quality of receivers that Fitz had last year. While this is true, Fitzpatrick also never had the quality receiving core that he had last year in any of his previous destinations.
Why should the fans believe that Smith is just going to figure it out now that he has talented receivers, while Fitz’s season was just a fluke?
This year’s schedule is not an easy one for the Jets as they have to face a tough NFC West division and face many more formidable opponents in the AFC than they did last year. It is simply naive to say that we can lose with Fitzpatrick and we can lose without him too though.
The Jets haven’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season and that AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh is a long time ago now. Being that they were so close to making the playoffs last year, how do you not try at all?
Smith has shown no signs in the past of being a franchise QB. He didn’t win the job in 2013 because of a poor preseason, but Mark Sanchez got injured and the job was handed to Smith.
In 2014 he struggled again, and lost his job to the washed up Michael Vick. Last season he had the job all but won and then got his jaw broken by an IK Enemkpali punch. In his lone appearance last season, he didn’t look good at all and got himself injured by not running out of bounds when he should have.
It is purely a pet peeve, but Smith always tends to run out of bounds for a loss of yards when no one is open downfield rather than throwing the ball away. It just drives me, and surely plenty of other Gang Green fans, nuts. I can’t go through a 16-game season of that.
Fans would would love for Smith to be successful yet he just hasn’t proven that he can be. Veterans like Brandon Marshall, Nick Mangold and Eric Decker all are big supporters of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Chemistry is something that’s sometimes overlooked.
Fitz displayed good chemistry with his receivers and everything clicked. Why mess with it?
Ideally, Ryan Fitzpatrick is the bridge to a franchise QB, whether it’s Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg or someone else. It is time for both sides to work out an agreement and find some middle ground on a contract.
Fitzpatrick needs the Jets and the Jets need Fitzpatrick.
