Geno Smith’s Uphill Battle

Corey Mauer

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One in the hand is worth two in the bush. A penny saved is a penny earned. Look before you leap. Wait a half hour after you eat to go swimming. All these are sayings we use to convey truths that can be very helpful to those who choose to heed their advice – especially that last one, trust me.

There is one more saying, that just may have more truth behind it than all of these put together, and that saying comes from the world of football. “If you have two starting quarterbacks, you don’t have one.”

At first glance, the statement seems to be contradicting. How can you go from having two starting signal callers to none without losing a player? Think about it. In a salary capped league such as the NFL, teams can rarely afford to hold on to two starting caliber quarterbacks, so if there is a truly wide open contest for the starting job, it is usually due to the fact that no passer on the roster has displayed the skills necessary to be a successful starter in the NFL.

That being said, if having two starting quarterbacks means you don’t actually have one, what exactly does it mean when a team has five quarterbacks after finishing the draft?

Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, David Garrard, Greg McElroy and Chris Simms—that was the star-studded quarterback cast the Jets were planning on parading into camp on what can be considered (to put it kindly) a rebuilding year for the Green Machine. However, the quarterback contest just got a little less cluttered when Garrard recently announced his retirement from the league on due to a knee injury.

Not to say there isn’t some potential at the position for the Jets; after all, Smith was considered by many to be the top quarterback in this year’s draft and McElroy remains a largely untested commodity. Sanchez is the only one in the hunt left with any substantial experience. Remember, he has taken the Jets to two AFC Championship games. As mentioned earlier, the question is not about potential as the Jets have plenty of that. The real question is if there is actual talent there.

Ironically, the fact there is not a clear-cut starter in Jets camp may be the biggest reason why Smith finds himself in a terrible position as a rookie this season. Smith definitely has talent, but he is not polished enough to step into the league as a starter right now. He is not nearly as developed as an Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco – those quarterbacks were ready to step in and lead their teams from day one. Smith, however, needs some time to learn the NFL game. While learning from behind Sanchez would not quite be like Aaron Rodgers learning behind Brett Favre, it would still give Smith some time to work on his skill set in NFL practices with a coaching staff that can give his game the finishing touches that it needs.

If this was the Jets playoff-contending team from a few seasons ago, Smith would have the luxury of getting to develop his skills as a backup. However, the Jets ship is sinking and sinking fast. Already this off-season, the Jets have cut ties with Shonn Greene, Darrelle Revis, Bart Scott, Dustin Keller, Tim Tebow and Garrard (just to name a few), while they have signed….well, no one who is going to make them all that great. The Jets are going to be a bad team, which means they will be trailing early and often. Unfortunately, the quarterback under center will be facing A LOT of pressure – this is not exactly a recipe for success, especially for a young signal caller. Remember, Sanchez was sacked 34 times last season. Don’t expect that number to decrease for whoever is New York’s primary quarterback in 2013.

Another reason I fear Smith won’t get the time to develop he needs in order to increase his odds of being successful in the NFL is the fact that Rex Ryan is on the hot seat. Unfortunately for today’s coaches, the only thing that matters is what you have done lately. And, lately, the Jets have been underperforming. As mentioned earlier, they will be bad again this year – this surely won’t do anything to take Ryan off that hot seat. In a last ditch effort to save his job, Ryan will likely throw Smith onto the field far too early and hope to catch lightning in a bottle. Smith will certainly love to have the opportunity, but I fear getting out there too early may make him look like more of a Blaine Gabbert than an RG3.

Quarterbacks, much like coaches, have less time to prove themselves now than ever before – this means the long-term effects of a lackluster beginning to his career could be devastating. If Smith doesn’t put up good numbers when Ryan inevitably tries to save his job by thrusting him into the starting role (which is almost assured due to his terrible supporting cast), he could prematurely seal his fate as a backup, or worse yet, a failed NFL quarterback.