New York Jets Quarterback Geno Smith Media Remarks Off Base

Playing professional sports in a town like New York is a daunting task for even the most experienced folks, let alone a second-year quarterback that had whispers about his maturity and preparation levels coming out of college.

So when New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith already has an avalanche of negativity associated with his on and off the field actions, the last thing that he needs to do is drop hints that it is the Gotham media blowing things out of proportion.

But that is exactly what the West Virginia product did in a conference call with New England Patriots beat writers, the 1-5 Jets next opponent on Thursday night.

"I think, obviously with everything that goes on with the media, a lot of things are, I would say, miscommunicated, and then it just gets misprinted and then misunderstood."

Paltry numbers, a five-game losing streak, being fined $12,000 by the NFL for cursing at a fan and then missing a team meeting because you were at the movies and didn’t take into account the time change on the west coast are all exacts, not speculations that can be misunderstood.

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Smith was already pulled once (at halftime of the Jets’ 31-0 pasting at the hands of the San Diego Chargers in Week 5) for back-up Michael Vick and regardless of the confidence that head coach Rex Ryan publicly instills in his signal caller, the leash must be shorter than it was a few weeks ago.

"Obviously, you can look at Mike (Vick) adding different things but I think Geno is still the best way to go right now. And that’s why I’m comfortable saying he’ll still be our starter."

But it appears that veteran offensive lineman Willie Colon understands what it takes to get out of this hole the Jets have dug themselves in and may have been sending a message to his quarterback and speaking about the feeling in the locker room when he said:

"It’s tough right now. We have to find a way to stop the bleeding; we have to find a way to get back on the right track. A lot of the issues that we’re going through are self-inflicted and we have to find a way."

Self-inficlted, indeed, and much of that is by Smith, who had an up-and-down rookie campaign but did lead the Jets to an 8-8 record. With the offseason additions of Eric Decker, Chris Johnson and Jace Amaro, bigger and better things were expected out of Smith.

With everything that goes on with the media, a lot of things are miscommunicated, and then it just gets misprinted and then misunderstood. -Geno Smith

His 69.7 quarterback rating speaks volumes, as does his 57.1 completion ratio (109 for 191 for 1,139 yards) and seven interceptions (six touchdowns). He has also been sacked 12 times for a loss of 76 total yards and fumbled the ball five times (two lost).

Smith is on track to see his numbers drop from last season and he also was not an off-the-field distraction in 2013 as he has become now. And making remarks trying to push some of the blame off on the media is not the way to get things back on track.

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