Geno Smith outplaying Mark Sanchez

[Hammock Parties]

Suck it, haters. Suck the choco-penii of destiny, feel it's power. It could have been ours.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/stor...-training-camp

CORTLAND, N.Y. -- Rookie Geno Smith has outplayed Mark Sanchez through the first week of training camp, pulling even or perhaps ahead in the New York Jets' quarterback competition.

"He can do more" than Sanchez, one veteran said Wednesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

It was Sanchez's turn to lead the starting unit and he struggled, throwing an interception for the second straight practice. Smith has yet to throw an interception in team drills over the first five practices.

It's premature to anoint a starter -- after all, they haven't begun live tackling -- but the early development is noteworthy because people close to the team expected Sanchez, based on his experience, to look sharper than Smith at the outset. That hasn't been the case.

"Everybody gets enamored with the guy who throws a 96 mph fastball," coach Rex Ryan said of Smith. To be politically correct, Ryan quickly added, "But Mark certainly has a good enough arm to play in this league."

It didn't sound like a ringing endorsement. Sanchez declined to say whether he believes he's leading the competition.

"I don't know, ask the coaches," he said. "I feel good, though. I feel confident. I feel like I'm playing really well."

Smith has sparkled with his accuracy, but he tends to hold the ball too long when facing pressure, according to Ryan. That, he said, "concerns me a little bit." The organization knows what it has in Sanchez, who was benched late last season.

Privately, the hope is that Smith can master the offense and seize the starting job. Even if he doesn't win it, Smith will be involved in the offense. Even though Tim Tebow is gone, Ryan said he remains committed to running the ball from the quarterback position.

He's intrigued by Smith's running ability, which would give the Jets a run-pass option at the quarterback position. Ryan acknowledged the plan, admitting last year's strategy under former coordinator Tony Sparano was ill-conceived. They never trusted Tebow to throw the ball. Whenever they used him, it usually was a read-option running play between the tackles.

"I think if that's the only thing you do with that position, why don't you just leave a running back in, a guy that's trained to do it?" Ryan said, second-guessing last season's approach. "If you're going to have a quarterback do it, like a (Colin) Kaepernick or somebody like that, it becomes more of a weapon because you know it's not just Tebow coming and he's going to run the ball. That's kind of where we were last year."

Ryan laughed when asked if he plans to use the Wildcat (or read-option) more than last year. Tebow finished with 32 rushes, averaging only 3.2 yards per carry.

"We probably will because, you guys say it, we never used it," he said. "So I would say, yeah, I think that will be part of what we do."

In the Wildcat, the ball is snapped to a nonquarterback. In those situations, the Jets can utilize wide receiver Jeremy Kerley or a running back, probably Bilal Powell. When Smith is on the field, either as the starter or a change-of-pace quarterback, they can employ the read-option.

The presence of new quarterbacks coach David Lee, one of the Wildcat innovators, is another reason the team is planning to use it. Sanchez said he could run the read-option, but there's little chance of that happening. His running ability will forever be linked to the "Butt Fumble," when he ran into a lineman's rear end last season.

Smith's athleticism could be a factor in the quarterback decision. Sanchez acknowledged that Smith is "very talented when it comes to that stuff. But I can't worry about it." Sanchez joked about the quarterback competition, mentioning that he sees more front-office types on the field for practice, scribbling notes during routine drills.

He said it reminds him of his rookie year in 2009, when he won the job against Kellen Clemens.

"For you (reporters), it's your job, but it's funny to see everybody else charting stuff," he said. "Everything is under scrutiny. There's a ton of pressure. That's the way you like it; that's the way you play this position."

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

I'd like to see the coaching staff take Dexter off the return duties. I remember when they tried Dante Hall in both roles and the physical constraints of running back kicks took a toll on him in the offensive game and vice versa.

If he's being listed as the third or fourth wideout option, I'd much rather that they just give the return duties to Wylie instead, who's not listed on any of the receiver depth charts that I've seen.

However, as it looks like they are really favoring the tight end position so far, at least in terms of personnel, perhaps the #4 receiver isn't going to be on the field as much as you'd usually expect from a West Coast system. In fact, now that I think about it, the Edwards WC system really ends up featuring the tight ends and fullbacks more than it does going deeper into the receiver depth chart.

If this is the case, I'm thinking that Wylie might be a 53 man roster casualty if they intend to use Dexter as the kick returner as Knile Davis could effectively function in that role in the event of a McCluster injury (though they'd have to be sure of the transformation of Davis' hands on the ball as any type of turnover/fumble in the kicking game has an enormous negative impact).

I'm pretty sure Wyile has been listed as the 3rd string Z.

[King_Chief_Fan]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9528326

Merril Hoge says Geno outplaying Sanchez is faint praise and means nothing

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by King_Chief_Fan

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9528326

Merril Hoge says Geno outplaying Sanchez is faint praise and means nothing

The truth probably falls in the middle of both reports.

Geno is probably slightly outplaying Sanchez but not nearly to the degree to which you'd want to throw him in as your starter.

[Rudy tossed tigger's salad]

Originally Posted by Sorter

The truth probably falls in the middle of both reports.

Geno is probably slightly outplaying Sanchez but not nearly to the degree to which you'd want to throw him in as your starter.

McElroy!

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by Rudy Was Offsides

McElroy!

They showed a clip of him with a 35 yard bomb on NFLN for a TD


It was excellent.

[Sorter]

However, they did not mention Greg by name,

Dicks.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Sorter

The truth probably falls in the middle of both reports.

Geno is probably slightly outplaying Sanchez but not nearly to the degree to which you'd want to throw him in as your starter.

I think Rex is in a tough position. Does he stick with "his" guy of the past four years, who helped him get to two straight AFC Championship games, or does he go with the "unknown" in Geno Smith, who isn't performing noticeably better?

Deion Sanders just said in the NFL Network that the Jets should start Smith, not because he's better, but because he's not Sanchez. He says the players have given up on Sanchez.

OTOH, Deion said Kolb should start in Buffalo because Marrone is "safe" and Kolb is a fine QB, which is more proof as to the complicated and somewhat political decisions these coaches have to make.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I think Rex is in a tough position. Does he stick with "his" guy of the past four years, who helped him get to two straight AFC Championship games, or does he go with the "unknown" in Geno Smith, who isn't performing noticeably better?

Deion Sanders just said in the NFL Network that the Jets should start Smith, not because he's better, but because he's not Sanchez. He says the players have given up on Sanchez.

OTOH, Deion said Kolb should start in Buffalo because Marrone is "safe" and Kolb is a fine QB, which is more proof as to the complicated and somewhat political decisions these coaches have to make.

Rex is in a tough position because Idzik has already come out and said that Rex wouldn't be the guy making the sole decision on who is the Jets starting quarterback.

If that's the case, Rex is most likely looking at his final season as a head coach, which is probably best as he's a better coordinator than head coach.

Jets coach Rex Ryan isn't going to have to pick the team's starting quarterback all by himself, he's going to have some help from first-year general manager John Idzik -- and apparently it's going to be a lot of help, too.

"My role? Well, I have a pretty big role in that," Idzik said when asked about the starting quarterback decision, via the Associated Press.

"When you look at who's going to play, Rex and I are going to talk about that freely," Idzik said. "And I like to believe that that has been the case so far, that if you put in that time and effort, when you make the decision, it's a 'we' decision. It's not one individual. It's not someone drops the gavel and does something counter to what the Jets want to do. We're all pulling the same direction. It won't just be an Idzik and Ryan decision either, Idzik plans on involving almost every offensive mind on the coaching staff."

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

If that's the case, Rex is most likely looking at his final season as a head coach, which is probably best as he's a better coordinator than head coach.

I think that's very debatable