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Sticking With Geno Smith Over Michael Vick the Correct Decision For New York Jets

By Joe Pietaro

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The situations seem parallel in many ways. Both Geno Smith with the New York Jets and E.J. Manuel with the Buffalo Bills are second-year quarterbacks who have started for their respective teams as rookies and in Year Two. Both have had their ups and downs playing on non-playoff teams and struggled so far in 2014.

The one main difference? Manuel was benched in favor of Kyle Orton in Week 5 and Smith is still the number one signal caller for the 1-4 Jets, regardless of his recent issues cursing at fans and missing a team meeting because he was at the movies.

Following a brutal 31-0 loss at San Diego in which Smith was pulled at halftime, Rex Ryan immediately put to rest any talk about a quarterback controversy involving back-up Michael Vick, who fared no better versus the Chargers.

“It wasn’t on [Smith],” the Jets head coach said. “He wasn’t the guy out there blocking or blowing assignments. Geno will be our quarterback next week and that’s just the way it is.”

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    • The defending AFC champion Denver Broncos (3-1) and Peyton Manning will be coming in to Met Life Stadium on Sunday and will certainly not make things easy on Smith, who will need to improve on his 4-for-12 for 27 yards with one interception (7.6 QB rating) performance last Sunday if the Jets are to have any chance of pulling off the upset.

    “It’s gonna (sic) take a lot of effort and it’s gonna (sic) take a lot more than what we’ve been doing,” said Smith, 23. “We haven’t done enough. We’re definitely not where we should be right now. And I take that on my own shoulders. When it comes down to this offense, I’m responsible for it. And I’ve got to make sure that we’re going and we’re not.”

    Because the organization has invested a second round draft pick, all 16 games in 2013 and five so far this season, it behooves them to see what Smith has and make a full assessment of his performance in the offseason.

    Going to the bullpen this early like Bills head coach Doug Marrone did may give his team two more wins, but are they a playoff team with Orton? Probably not and he is not the long-term answer.

    For the Jets to bring Vick in at any time this season will stunt any growth by Smith. There is still the lingering question if that in itself makes the Jets good enough to qualify for the postseason and then even if it does, where does that leave Smith for 2015?

    When you give a rookie quarterback the starting job, giving him the hook now takes a lot of that strategy away.

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