The Beginning of the End: What Geno Smith Means
Apr 26, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Geno Smith (West Virginia) is introduced as the number thirty-ninth overall pick to the New York Jets during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
On the second day of the 2013 NFL Draft, the New York Jets selected QB Geno Smith with their second round pick. Geno Smith was considered by many to be the best quarterback in this year’s draft class, and the Jets could not pass up on the opportunity to draft Geno when he fell to them in the second round. But what does this mean for the Jets’ future? Is Mark Sanchez’s reign of starting quarterback over? Could this be the great turning point for the Jets that fans have been waiting for all this time, the end of Sanchez?
Geno Smith was a phenomenal quarterback in college, posting fantastic numbers of 4,205 yards, 42 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. And although he wants to make sure he is primarily a pocket passer, he does have the ability to scramble out and run when there is no one open. He ran for over 150 yards last year and put up two touchdowns on the ground. Also, his decision-making and accuracy may already be at an NFL level, as he posted a 71.2 completion percentage last year at West Virginia.
However, if you look further into Geno’s stats, you find some startling discoveries. In the games that Smith lost last year, he averaged just 261 yards a game compared to his season average of 323 yards per game. Also, in the games he lost his touchdown to interception ratio was just 13-5. Another disturbing trait from Geno Smith is his inability to perform in big games. For example, against Kansas State, he had just 143 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 picks. Also, in WVU’s Bowl Game against Syracuse, Geno had just 201 yards with two touchdowns in a blowout loss. Despite all the negatives about Geno Smith, his intangibles are still incredible and he should turn out to be a decent product in the NFL, granted he can survive the rampage of the New York media.
The drafting of Geno Smith points ahead to a change in things to come for the Jets. For example, does this mean the end of the Mark Sanchez saga? Not if you ask Rex Ryan, who was very defiant in making sure Mark Sanchez is the known starter for the upcoming season. But perhaps John Idzik has a different plan in mind. After restructuring D’Brickishaw Ferguson’s contract, the Jets opened up a lot of cap room, which may be because they are planning on releasing Mark Sanchez. This would be quite a turn of events for the Jets, who once believed Sanchez would be the quarterback to finally bring the Lombardi Trophy back to the green side of East Rutherford. But it appears that Sanchez’s career will amount to nothing more than disappointment, and it is time for the Jets to move on. The only thing standing in the way of moving on is Rex Ryan, who still has not given up on Mark Sanchez. If they both fail to succeed this year, not only may we see Sanchez be cut, but we may also see the firing of Rex Ryan.
Geno Smith indicates the beginning of the end for the Jets, and most fans couldn’t be happier. The Jets have already given up on Shonn Greene by replacing him with Chris Ivory and Mike Goodson, and they may have replaced Mark Sanchez with Geno Smith.
Hopefully Geno Smith won’t become the second Tim Tebow.