If you hope and believe Geno Smith is, indeed, the Jets franchise quarterback of the present and future, you should be encouraged by these words that came from him on Monday:
“I have to work. Nothing I did this year is going to help me in terms of next year. It’s all going to come down to the work I put in this offseason and how much I can get better from this season to the next. I’m not looking at it as what I did this year going into next year. I have to put the work in the offseason. I have to prove myself every single day in practice in order to be the starter.’’
Good answer.
It came in response to a question about whether his ascending (the current buzz word for the Jets) performance in the late season “validated’’ him as the franchise’s starting quarterback going forward.
The core point to Smith’s answer was that he plans to take nothing for granted and won’t flinch regardless of what other quarterbacks the Jets bring in to compete with him in Cortland next summer.
Smith did not have the kind of season that should afford him carte blanche as the anointed No. 1 next season. But he should be the Jets starting quarterback going forward, because he showed enough this season to prove he is worth the patience the Jets afforded him despite some very rocky moments.
In training camp, when it was apparent his skill set was far greater than Mark Sanchez, his predecessor, there were high hopes. Then came the rash of turnovers that led to losses. These repeated gaffes left plenty of reason to worry, particularly when Smith was benched in a blowout home loss to the Dolphins on Dec. 1.
Since that low point a month ago, though, Smith helped the Jets go 3-1 in their last four games, completing 68-of-116 passes (58.7 percent) for 790 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 83.6.
“I think he showed that he is ready to be the starting quarterback for this franchise moving forward,’’ receiver David Nelson said. “I think he took a huge step in the right direction and he made a strong case for the rest of his career. This team believes in Geno and I think the way he’s played the last four weeks speaks for itself.’’
This is not to say Smith is going to become as good or better than these other players, but Peyton Manning was 3-13 in his rookie year, Eli Manning was 1-6, Drew Brees was 8-8 his first year and 1-6 his second, Aaron Rodgers was 6-10, and Cam Newton was 6-10 and 7-9 before leading the Panthers to a 12-4 record and a division title this season.
Smith was 8-8 with below-average skill-position talent and he stayed healthy enough to start all 16 games. That’s good enough for him to be the Jets starter in 2014, but it does not mean the job should not come without competition.
The first thing the Jets must do is build around Smith by signing and/or drafting dynamic play-making skill position players.
They should have a veteran to challenge Smith for the job, because there needs to be a safety net in case Smith goes backward in 2014.
The funny thing about that veteran to compete with Smith is this: The perfect man for the job is Sanchez, based on the fact that he’s won in the NFL (for road playoff victories and two AFC Championship games) and he already knows offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg’s system, having studied it all year.
The problem with Sanchez is his negative perception among the many Jets fans who are fed up with him. The Jets, surely fearing that Sanchez’s presence might be a detriment and distraction the way Tim Tebow was in 2012, likely will just release him and move on to someone else.
But they are not likely to find a veteran starting-caliber quarterback to push Smith for the job better than Sanchez. Proven NFL starters who will be available such as Jay Cutler and Matt Schaub will be signing with teams who will hand them starting jobs, not places where they have to compete for the job.
And, given the needs the Jets have, drafting a quarterback in the first round would be a waste of the last year with Smith and an admission they wasted that second-round pick on him last April.
“As long as I’m in this league I expect to be competing and I’m always going to compete,’’ Smith said. “I’ve got plenty of room to improve. I’m going to use this offseason to be extremely critical of myself and find every single way to get better. I have a bright future here.’’
Good answer.