When the New York Jets signed quarterback Tim Tebow back in 2012, the team's intentions were for him to be a sort of change-in-pace player for the team. With his running abilities, the Jets were hoping Tebow could offer a new dynamic to the traditional offense run by Mark Sanchez. That experiment blew up in their faces. Now after drafting Geno Smith earlier this offseaon, the Jets are hoping he can become the quarterback Tebow never was.
ESPN's Rich Cimini reports that Jets' coaches are hoping to replace Tebow with Smith. "The coaches are toying with the idea of turning Smith into what Tebow was supposed to be last season-a change of pace quarterback (assuming he doesn't win the starting job)," Cimini wrote in a report on the team. "Smith would have a package of plays, mainly read-option runs that could exploit his speed."
This is the exact type of package the Jets had planned for Tebow that failed so miserably and led to the quarterback's release. The issue with attempting to make Smith into this type of player is that the quarterback is not known for his running abilities. Smith as speed, but West Virginia did not run the read-option offense. Smith acquired just 342 rushing yards his entire college career. In comparison, a read-option quarterback like Johnny Manziel recorded 229 rushing yards in one game alone last season.
Smith is not a gimmick type of quarterback. He has little experience running any sort of Wildcat play. He is a passing quarterback and intended on staying that way. At the end of July, Smith and Sanchez will enter into a highly publicized quarterback competition that will likely play itself out through much of training camp. Head coach Rex Ryan said the team is nowhere near naming a starter. Ryan is confident Smith can be a read-option type quarterback in no time.
"I know what everyone is thinking. If we did that, it would be like, 'Oh, didn't we try that last year?' But certainly, that's a possibility. I think he's got the athleticism to do that. They didn't run a whole lot of zone reads at West Virginia, but he has the skill set to where there's no reason he shouldn't be able to do that," head coach Rex Ryan said.
Smith was touted as the No. 1 overall quarterback due to his passing abilities. If Jets' fans want to see that potential play out, they better hope the rookie wins the starting job over Sanchez.
