Three reasons Geno Smith will not start this season
By Pat Losee
Geno Smith has his supporters far and wide, and it is certainly understandable. He has shown an ability to be elusive in the pocket, make plays with his legs and has an absolute rocket of an arm. With Ryan Fitzpatrick playing so poorly against the Philadelphia Eagles, many of Geno’s supporters called for Fitzpatrick to be benched.
After one poor half of football, that is the definition of an overreaction. Fitzpatrick, as confirmed by New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles, is staying put. This should surprise no one. This is Bowles' first year with the team, and perhaps Geno getting hurt was the best thing for him because if Geno played poorly out of the gate he would have been put in a compromising position.
Barring an injury or a string of dismal performances, here are three reasons Fitzpatrick will not be benched:
Experience
Ryan Fitzpatrick has started 92 games since entering the league in 2005, and while his record is subpar, experience alone will give him a long rope before being pulled from his starting role. This is without question the most talent he has been surrounded by in the NFL, and minus the first half of the Eagles game, he has been spectacular. He has been tasked with being the game manager, and throwing the ball 58 times against the Eagles was obviously not his call. Why Chan Gailey put him in that situation is odd, and there is no way the Jets would have let Geno throw that many times either. He is a seasoned veteran and has done enough up to this point to stay the starter.
The Locker Room
Many Jets players opened up during the preseason on their trust and relationship with Fitzpatrick. He won over Brandon Marshall immediately, and several other players followed suit. Geno is expected to be the leader of the team, but being so young, that is a tough thing to do. The veteran players on a team look to other veterans for guidance and a sense of confidence. Through two professional seasons, can you really expect that out of Geno? While you would not call Fitzpatrick’s career a success, it has been an admirable one and not any worse than either of Geno’s two seasons. With the veterans the Jets have on their roster, do not expect them to turn on Fitzpatrick any time soon, or at all for that matter.
Geno’s Career
After going 8-8 in his first season in the NFL, 2014 was supposed to be a breakout year for Geno, but it was the exact opposite. He started 13 games and was benched more than once by Rex Ryan. In his 13 starts, he went 3-10, and while his interception total dropped from 21 to 13, he only threw 13 touchdown passes. While he is much more mobile than Fitzpatrick, Fitzpatrick is the pocket-passing game manager that Bowles and Gailey want running this offense. Geno looked like the answer at quarterback for Gang Green, but if Fitzpatrick has continued success, Smith's time in New York may be over.
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