Thankfully for Mark Sanchez, he is not the only New York Jets quarterback struggling in practice. While Geno Smith might have been appearing relatively impressive so far in camp, that all changed after a rough outing on Wednesday. His performance did not exactly leave head coach Rex Ryan too happy.
Ryan told media after the team's practice that Smith had his worst day yet with the team. He opted to describe the rookie's performance as "brutal". Yes, every player has a bad day, but when someone is locked into a dead-even position battle, every practice counts.
After going through most of training camp without creating any turnovers, Smith threw four interceptions on Wednesday which included three in 11-on-11 drills. In Smith's defense, he is playing on an injured ankle that may or may not have been playing a factor in his performance.
The rookie injured his ankle during the preseason home opener. He rolled his ankle while attempting to avoid a collapsing pocket. He limped off the field and did not return. Smith told reporters that if it was a regular-season game, he would have returned to action.
"I don't think he's at 100%. I don't believe he's close to 100% right now, but again, that doesn't mean we have a few more days, that it can't get a lot better," Ryan said. "We've seen these type of injuries get better in a hurry, so we'll see how it goes."
The issue now becomes whether or not Smith will be a part of the next preseason game or not. If he cannot play, Sanchez would likely get the start once again. Ryan continues to stress the competition will play out fairly, but each game Smith misses is another set of reps that Sanchez gets ahead of him. The veteran did not exactly fair well in the preseason debut, throwing an interception on his first series on the field. All of these things will play into who Ryan allows to start each week.
"Obviously, the ankle's part of it, but ... way too many picks and things. Did not look comfortable today," Ryan said. "Obviously he has to come back from it -- he will come back from it. It was a bad day. Everybody, we've seen it, guys have bad days. But this was a really bad day for Geno."
Ryan will look to name a starter by the end of the week before Saturday. With Smith out, Sanchez, Matt Simms and Greg McElroy will get all of the reps on the field.