Whether It's Geno Smith or Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jets Need Competent QB Play to Win

If Geno Smith is ever going to become a bona fide NFL quarterback, this is his best opportunity to make it happen since entering the league in 2013.

The New York Jets' former second-round pick has never had the supporting cast that he has in 2015, when the Jets have gone to great lengths to surround their starting quarterback with as much talent as possible. 

For the first seven weeks of the season, that starting quarterback was Ryan Fitzpatrick. After tearing a ligament in his left (non-throwing) thumb against the Oakland Raiders, there was some doubt cast over Fitzpatrick's availability this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars and going forward in the 2015 season.

Head coach Todd Bowles didn't need to see more than a couple of practices before discerning that Fitzpatrick would be the starter, although he added that Fitzpatrick's injury will need to be monitored this week.

"Yes, there's a concern," Bowles said. "As long as he keeps moving forward, making progress, he'll be the starter."

Thus far, Fitzpatrick has been a steady hand for the Jets—which is more than Smith could ever say. Fitzpatrick has protected the football relatively well—also more than the turnover-machine Smith could say. Overall, Fitzpatrick has managed the offense well enough to warrant continued faith as the quarterback. 

Maybe that's why ESPN's Rich Cimini felt "a palpable sense of relief in the locker room" after Bowles announced that Fitzpatrick would be the starter and why Cimini felt it was "apparent from listening to players that Fitzpatrick has won their trust and they believe he gives them the best chance of winning."

Ryan Fitzpatrick	2015	NFL Rank
Cmp	133	23
Att	215	22
Cmp%	61.9	24
Yds	1,518	26
YPA	7.1	22
TD	11	T-14 (4)
INT	7	T-34 (4)
Rate	86.5	20

Maybe Smith could prove capable of the same level of performance if given the chance. After all, aspiring to play at a level similar to Fitzpatrick seems very reasonable and attainable by NFL standards.

Smith entered the NFL joining a Jets team that featured Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes as its top two wide receivers. That he now steps into the driver's seat of an offense where he has Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker at his disposal means this offense is like driving a Ferrari compared to the Geo Metro he drove in 2013.

That being said, this might be the most rugged Ferrari ever, as it can easily transform into a smashmouth offense with the flick of a wrist and a handoff to running back Chris Ivory.

No Jets offense in recent memory has as much skill-position talent as this one, and Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey liked what he saw from Smith in limited-action running this offense.

At the same time, it might be a relatively damning indictment of Smith that the Jets coaches would rather start a quarterback that Bowles admits will need hand surgery than a relatively healthy Smith. That is, if it wasn't enough of an indictment that they were inquiring about available quarterbacks during the game, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. 

Of course, there's a scenario in which the Jets could be forced to put Smith into action. Say, for example, Fitzpatrick can't handle the snap from under center. The Jets could game plan a bit to have Fitzpatrick line up from the shotgun on most of his snaps, which he's already doing 55 percent of the time, according to Cimini. He'll also need to use the left hand when handing off the ball for runs to the right. 

If Fitzpatrick is unable to perform either or both of those tasks, he might have to hand the keys to Smith.

Regardless of whether that happens, the Jets don't need their quarterback to do more than Fitzpatrick has done in the first seven games of the season. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.