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New York Jets shockingly name Geno Smith as starting quarterback

By Nick Ziegler

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The New York Jets have dropped a bombshell by naming Geno Smith their starting quarterback in 2015.

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Jets’ offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said on Wednesday that Smith will be the starting quarterback. It was expected after trading for Ryan Fitzpatrick that there was going to be a competition in training camp.

“Right now, Geno’s the starter,” Gailey said to Bryan Costello of the New York Post. “That’s the way it sits and that’s the way we expect it to be unless something happens where you get an injury or something like that that you don’t foresee.”

It was a difficult sophomore season for Smith, as he had a 3-10 record as a starter. In 2014, Smith totaled 13 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 2,525 passing yards, and a 59.7 completion percentage.

“We saw a lot of talent on film,” Gailey said to Costello. “We saw a lot of promise on film. We saw a lot of things that made us think he could eventually be a pretty good quarterback. It’s hard to have quarterback competition going into a season. Once we decided he was the guy that we felt like could be the best option at this point for us, that’s the direction we went. I think it’s best if you do it that way.”

“He can throw the ball,” Gailey said to Costello. “He was making good decisions when it was clean reads. That’s what you try to do — you try to make it clean reads for him. We evaluated how he threw the ball, how he handled himself when there was pressure, how he handled himself when things broke down, all those little things like that. He can make every throw in the book, now. He can make them all. You don’t find many that can do that. You try to find a guy that can do that and you give him every opportunity to be successful.”

Gaily seems to like what he sees on film, but last season, Fitzpatrick was much better than Smith. In 2014, Fitzpatrick totaled 17 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 2,483 passing yards, and a 63.1 completion percentage.

With the history of Gailey and Fitzpatrick together with the Buffalo Bills, it is shocking to see Gailey announce this so early.

Dec 28, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) at the line of scrimmage against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The one thing that will be very different in 2015 for Smith, is his weapons. Last season, Smith was given Eric Decker as a big upgrade at the wide receiver position, and this year even more talented was gotten.

In the offseason, the Jets acquired Brandon Marshall from the Chicago Bears, and also drafted Devin Smith from Ohio St. The additions of two more wide receivers to go with Decker will provide Smith with a very talented receiving corps.

The move to name Smith the starting quarterback in 2015 comes as a big surprise to people. In his first two seasons with the Jets, Smith has had some great moments, but he has also had some miserable ones. Gailey and the coaching staff must really like what they see on tape from Smith however, as they have given him all of their confidence.

Next: Who is the best Jets first-round pick of all-time?

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