Here’s some advice for the Jets as it pertains to Eugene Cyril “Geno” Smith III:
Be done with him.
I hate doing this. I hate opining on a situation and recommending that someone lose their job, so believe me when I tell you this isn’t a common position for me unless I think someone is really, really, really bad at that job.
Enter Geno.
Upon hearing the news that the New York Jets would be without their “franchise” quarterback for 6-10 weeks because he was sucker-punched by a teammate my first and only reaction to the news was annoyance. We can speculate why the since released “fringe” linebacker did it. We can point out the history of the sucker-puncher from Louisiana-Monroe and pin that as a reason. My annoyance? How does a “franchise” quarterback get in this situation in the first place?
The New York Jets are a good, not great, football team. From what I gather, most of what hinders their fortunes revolves around the quarterback position. It was encouraging to hear Chan Gailey, no less than an hour before this happened, praise Smith’s performance to this point in training camp. It had to be encouraging to fans and whoever was responsible for littering ESPN with those fancy commercials peddling Jets tickets and the team as “Stronger, Faster, and Greener.”
Smith isn’t a franchise quarterback, and the infuriating part is it isn’t for lack of talent. It’s as if every time he takes a step forward he decides that’s just a little too far for him. Why else would he put this team, with real divisional and playoff aspirations, in a position not to have him for two or three months? I do believe Fitzpatrick is the better option for the team, but this should put the Jets in instant “develop Bryce Petty” mode.
So, despite Instagram posts to the contrary, the Jets should consider this the nudge they needed to finally start positioning themselves for a better future at quarterback.
