This was back in January, before Michael Vick was a Jet, before seven turnovers in four games from Geno Smith and a few weeks after the 2013 Jets’ season ended with optimism.
I asked a senior Jets official about what the team would do at quarterback.
“We have no choice,” he said. “We have to ride this thing out with Geno.”
The point then was the Jets felt they had to figure out who Geno Smith is — another failure in the Jets’ four-decade quest to replace Joe Namath or the guy who could lead this team for the next 10 years. The Jets felt the results from 2013 were inconclusive and they needed to see more.
They went into the 2014 offseason committed to Smith, even as they signed Vick. The Jets informed Vick up front he was not going to compete for the starting job, despite general manager John Idzik’s public “competition” propaganda. This was always going to be Smith’s team.
The Jets can’t abandon that now.
The calls for Vick from fans and talk-show hosts are understandable, but misguided. Vick is not going to cure this football team’s problems. Is he worth one more victory? Probably. More than that? Doubtful.
People have this image of Vick from 10 years ago. He’s not that quarterback anymore. Vick showed very little in this offseason and preseason. Everyone is acting as if the Jets have Peyton Manning on the bench and inserting him into the game will solve the turnover issue.
You might forget that Vick has his own turnover issues — 52 career fumbles and 85 career interceptions. He has a career completion percentage of 56.2.
The Jets need to stay the course and stick with Smith. He may not be the long-term answer, but there is a better chance he is than the 34-year-old Vick will be.
Everyone seems to feel Rex Ryan is going to lose his job by sticking with Smith. You know how he can save it? Get his defense to help the quarterback out. Ryan loves to talk about his defense. It’s time that unit raises its game and carries this team while Smith figures things out.
When you take a step back and actually look at how the Jets played, it’s not as bad as it feels. They have lost these three games by seven, eight and seven points. They have been in every game.
The defense has given up a momentum-crushing drive in each game in the three-game losing streak. The Packers went 97 yards for a touchdown just before halftime to cut the Jets’ lead to five. The Bears marched 80 yards for a touchdown on their first second-half drive to turn a 17-13 game into 24-13. Then, this week the Lions went 90 yards in the second half to make it a two-touchdown game again.
And how about an interception, defense? The Jets and Rob Ryan’s Saints are the only defenses in the NFL without one.
The Jets know the formula with a young quarterback as well as anyone. They lived it a short time ago with Mark Sanchez. When the Jets were at their best with Sanchez, they played top-notch defense and had an effective running game. Ryan must convince Marty Mornhinweg to stick with the run. Smith has thrown more than 30 passes in each of the three losses. The Jets are 3-7 in Smith’s career when he has thrown 30 or more passes. The Jets can say they were losing and forced to pass, but none of this year’s games has been a desperate, out-of-reach situation in which they had to abandon the run.
As bad as the season feels right now after three losses and staring at Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, the Jets are only one game out in the dismal AFC East. The Patriots are a mess right now. The Bills are starting Kyle Orton at quarterback. The Dolphins look like their usual mediocre selves.
The Jets have the 11th-ranked offense in the NFL right now and the third-ranked defense. They should be better than 1-3. You don’t have to be Bill Walsh to figure out why they’re not. The minus-six turnover differential is tied for the worst in the league and the Jets are 30th both in red-zone offense and red-zone defense.
Clean those areas up, and the Jets will be OK. But panicking before the calendar even hits October is never the answer in the NFL.
The Jets decided to “ride this thing out with Geno” in January. They need to keep riding now.