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According to a published report, the Jets are “smitten” with Geno Smith, and the starting job might be his to lose.
Let’s take a closer look at what might be going on here.
Here is the money paragraph from Brian Costello’s New York Post column that got this ball rolling.
“You can tell from talking to people around the team during this weekend’s rookie mini-camp that many in the organization are smitten with new quarterback Geno Smith,” wrote Costello. “It’s beginning to look more and more like the starting job is his to lose.”
First of all, if they were so “smitten” with him, why didn’t they grab him at 13, instead of waiting until the second round?
In a quarterback-driven league, if you are “smitten” with a quarterback in the draft, you grab him, ASAP.
So is the New York Post on to something?
Well first of all, I respectfully disagree with the premise floated by the New York Post that it’s likely Smith’s job to lose.
I don’t think that is how John Idzik operates. Idzik is seriously into competition. It’s not lip service. He truly believes in it.
So with that being the case, do you really think Idzik is thinking, “This is Geno’s job to lose,” after a two day rookie mini-camp? No way.
Remember, the quarterbacks he’s competing against, with all due respect to Matt Simms, weren’t even on the field for this mini-camp.
And these rookie mini-camps are like the “Keystone Kops,” guys running around not knowing what they heck they are doing. It’s a Vertigo epidemic. Everyone’s heads are spinning. I’m not just saying this about the Jets, it’s the case all around the league.
Also, teams only run a limited number of plays. It’s not the real NFL world.
So where is this “smitten” stuff coming from?
The Post likely derived this from Woody Johnson’s visit to the beat writers during one of the rookie mini-camp practices.
Woody, and Neil Glat, came over to chat with the writers.
During this visit, Woody had some kind things to say about Smith’s performance at practice – raving about one pass in particular and the placement of the ball.
So I think this led some to think – Woody loves this guy, and wants him to start.
This might be a quantum leap.
First of all, Woody isn’t a quarterback expert, he’s a business expert.
He just hired John Idzik to run his football operation. It’s highly unlikely that Woody is going to tell his new GM, and a head coach he respects a great deal, who to start at quarterback.
I just don’t see that happening.
So to me, what you read today in the Post, to me, was gleaned from Woody’s visit with the scribes last weekend.
Hey, I can understand some reporters thinking – “Hey, the owner loves this quarterback, so he’s going to push for him to start.”
After all, he is the boss.
But I also think Woody has bought in to Idzik’s competition mantra, so there is no way anybody in the building is going to anoint Smith at such an early date.
Plus, reading the tea leaves, I do think Woody is going to defer to John, Rex (and Marty) on this one.
So we are getting way ahead ourselves in saying it’s likely Smith’s job to lose.
May 14, 2013
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