How did New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith fare in the preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars? Did he show improvement in the pocket?
The New York Jets opened the preseason against the Jacksonville Jaguars’ razor-sharp passing offense on Thursday.
Jacksonville performed as advertised in glowing media reports. In a combined effort, quarterbacks Blake Bortles and Chad Henne went 14-of-16 for 199 yards without a touchdown. Overall, their passing attack seemed in-sync with a solid running back duo adding an exclamation point on one scoring drive in the first quarter.
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On the other hand, quarterback Geno Smith looked like the guy who missed organized team activities and training camp on Thursday. Ryan Fitzpatrick connected on three of four passes for 72 yards. He hit wideout Quincy Enuwa in stride on consecutive plays.
Smith took the field and started off shaky with poor ball placement. The fans at MetLife Stadium didn’t hesitate to boo the fourth-year quarterback in his first audition:
Not a good start for Geno Smith (1-of-4 passing for eight yards) on his one-year anniversary of getting punched in the face by IK Enemkpali.
— Darryl Slater (@DarrylSlater) August 12, 2016
Geno Smith is getting booed. That was fast.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) August 12, 2016
Geno Smith nearly intercepted… and the boo birds coming raining down again. #Jets
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) August 12, 2016
As the first half progressed, Smith found some momentum. Thanks to Jalin Marshall’s 84-yard kickoff return, the offense started a drive deep in Jaguars’ territory.
On 3rd-and-9, Smith threw a strike to seventh-round pick wideout Charone Peake, which put the Jets ahead for the remainder of the game:
2 feet in! #JAXvsNYJ pic.twitter.com/b8qmcrfZux
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 12, 2016
Ironically, he threw the only touchdown pass in the game. However, his poor start gives credence to the criticism about his erratic inconsistencies under center.
Fitzpatrick essentially picked up where he left off.
Once Smith took the reigns, his 1-for-4 start put the fans on edge. The reaction makes sense considering he took all the practice reps.
Smith said all the right things about putting his locker room incident with IK Enemkpali behind him, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini:
"It seems like an eternity because I’ve buried it behind me and I’ve gotten so much better on the field and off the field from that point. It seems like an eternity. You’re right, it was only a year ago, but that goes to show how much someone can improve and how much you can grow in just a year."
However, his performance on the field still falls behind Fitzpatrick, who signed with the team as a backup last year. Barring injury, Smith isn’t getting his job back. It’s evident why he’ll hold a clipboard for most of the year.
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Nonetheless, the fourth-year signal-caller must start and finish hot during his time on the field to draw interest in the following offseason as an unrestricted free agent.
If you’re solely focusing on the box score, Smith performed well, but the slow start with the smattering of boos dug an early hole.
The clock continues to tick on Smith’s audition time as the Jets travel to Washington next week.