The New York Jets lost to the New York Giants in their Friday night preseason game, but they used the post-game press conference to make a little lemonade. Granted, Geno Smith named Jets starting QB for Week 1 wasn’t exactly unexpected, but it was still a confirmation that will give Jets fans some comfort as they go into their preseason finale next week.
Smith last season completed 247 of 443 passes last season for 3,046 yards and 12 touchdowns. Unfortunately the then-rookie QB also had 21 interceptions.
This season, with Mark Sanchez officially out of the picture, the Jets signed Michael Vick as a backup QB. Last season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Vick went 77-141 passes for 1,215 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions before going down with an injury and losing his starting job to Nick Foles.
Vick joining the Jets was initially seen as an attempt to light a fire under Smith’s ongoing improvement as an NFL quarterback. Turns out it was more to act as an insurance policy.
Geno Smith named the Jets starting QB for the regular season was all but assured. So far in training camp he’s taken the lion’s share of the first-team snaps. He’s also shown considerable improvement in his decision making, having gone completed 70% of his passes for 268 yards, one TD and one interception so far in the Jets’ preseason.
No, those aren’t jaw-dropping numbers, but they’re indicative of his off-season work and, perhaps, that Vick’s presence has pushed the second-year quarterback.
The Jets officially announced Smith as their starting QB following their 35-24 preseason loss Friday night to the New York Giants. Both Smith and Vick took reps in the game with the Jets’ offensive starters, and both threw one touchdown.
Smith went 9-14 for 137 yards in the Jets’ loss, while Vick replaced Smith in the second half and finished 4-5 for 34 yards in two series.
