Jets quarterback Geno Smith remains tough to figure out through all the ups and downs of his first nine games, but his position coach likes what he sees.
“I’ve had long enough to feel good about him and his future here with us,” quarterbacks coach David Lee said Monday.
Lee met with the media for the first, and only, time this regular season and gave a candid assessment of what he has seen from the rookie. Lee said he believes Smith has improved weekly and was impressed with Smith’s decision-making Sunday against the Saints.
Lee said Smith’s 13 interceptions are a mix of poor throws and bad reads along with failing when trying to lead a comeback and doing too much.
“At the end of the game when we’re behind, there’s times when he’ll leave the game plan and try to do too much, do things on his own,” Lee said. “We’ve had hard talks about that. He’s said, ‘Coach, I did the same thing in college. When I feel desperate, when I feel pressure, that’s when I do worse.’ ”
Still, Smith has helped the Jets go 5-4 and put them in position to make a playoff run as they enter their bye week.
There has been speculation the Jets would have to decide whether Smith is their long-term quarterback immediately after this season, but general manager John Idzik said there is no “definitive time line” for making that call.
Lee said the Jets are striving for consistency with Smith.
“He’s been hot and cold,” Lee said. “He’s been really hot and brought us back to win three or four games there in the fourth quarter and then he’s been cold and he’s hurt us — Tennessee game, Pittsburgh game. He’s been inconsistent, but he’s getting better in a whole lot of areas at the same time. I’m pleased with his progress. We’d just love to see more consistency.”
Smith said he’ll spend some time this week trying to get away from football, but he’ll also begin preparing for the Bills game on Nov. 17.
“Every single area, every single thing needs to improve,” Smith said. “That’s never going to stop. I’m always going to try to find ways to get better, even if it’s one small thing, even if it’s something that may be something that’s not that effective in the game, something need to improve on. Every single part of my game needs to improve.”
Lee, in his first year with the Jets, said he has been impressed with Smith’s work ethic and his ability to correct mistakes.
“Right now he’s improving weekly and he improves on things that he screws up, which is encouraging to me,” Lee said. “Geno’s smart and he prepares. He’s in this building at 6 a.m. every day. It’s not a mistake when he knows what he’s doing the ball comes out fast because he’s prepared and he knows where to go. It’s a credit to him because he has worked. He has worked hard.”
Smith and Lee spend a lot of time together trying to figure out how Smith can improve and what needs to be done. Lee said they get along now, but had some rough patches after the Jets drafted Smith in the second round of April’s NFL Draft.
“We butted heads early just like any guy coming in,” Lee said. “He was late for a meeting and I went nuts on him. He had to learn. You’re not late, ever, for anything. I’m just dead honest with him and pour out my heart and want him to be the same with me. I think that’s why we’ve got a great relationship today because we’re both really honest with each other.”
Surprisingly for a rookie, Smith has shown very little emotion either way after wins or losses. He has remained even keeled through this up-and-down season.
“He is the calmest guy,” Lee said. “He goes out in pregame warm-ups and he’s calm. We go out and beat New England and he’s calm as could be. I wanted to slap him and say, ‘Hey, we won.’ He’s really calm. That’s a great trait to have as a quarterback with the pressure that’s on all these games.”