The NY Jets have a quarterback dilemma of sorts, as Geno Smith will start Week 5 over Michael Vick for head coach Rex Ryan, but he struggles and the team loses against the San Diego Chargers this weekend, there is a chance that the team could make a change and start Vick in Week 6 if they lose their fourth straight game.
According to ESPN.com, Rex Ryan and owner Woody Johnson have put out the support for Smith and that he will remain the starter. The Jets are now 1-3 on the season and some have called for Michael Vick to come in for Smith while he is struggling, as he has more interceptions than touchdowns and has looked overmatched at times while playing under center. Smith has made some bad decisions and has missed open receivers in the red zone over the past three weeks and the media has been hounding him as well.
Johnson said that he thinks Smith is a franchise quarterback and while the Jets often tell themselves things they hope to be true, Smith has shown some flashes over the past two seasons, but not enough. Smith has not been consistent this season and while the AFC East is still up for grabs, another loss to another conference opponent could be tough for the Jets to pull out from. The Jets have also been criticized for not putting enough around Smith after they had a ton of cap space to spend.
The same arguments were made about Sanchez and the talent around him, so obviously the Jets aren't learning and while Eric Decker was a big signing in the offseason, he has been injured and inconsistent. Ryan comes into the season after getting an extension and many think that GM John Idzik will look to bring in his own guy soon if Ryan doesn't improve. Vick is a veteran and while he may not be all that much better than Smith, right now the fans and the media are asking questions about the QB situation.
Smith has the most turnovers since last season with 32 and that leads the NFL even over Eli Manning, who had 27 interceptions last season. Smith is just 23 years old and needs time to grow, but Ryan is on the hot seat and the Jets need to win games. The team completely screwed up the development of Mark Sanchez and now they are trying to avoid those same mistakes. The team is trying to avoid those mistakes, but in turn, may be making those same mistakes with Smith.
Smith appears to be getting a bit frustrated with the constant questions about Vick and after boiling over this weekend and cursing out a fan, he also got a bit heated with a reporter when he asked questions about bringing Vick in for a "spark". All young quarterbacks struggle and this is no different, but the Jets, as usual, brought in a backup that will command attention and headline and they continue to act as if there's nothing to see here. The same thing happened with Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow and now it's playing out again (albeit on a lesser scale) with Smith and Vick.
