The green gang that shows up for the start of a new season and the start of a new era, for however long it may last, will hope and pray for a lucky 7. A rookie quarterback who doesn’t have to be RG3 or Russell Wilson today , and may never be tomorrow. Only someone who can preside unflinchingly over the rebuilding of their demolished Jets, and grow into the franchise quarterback many of these disillusioned fans thought Mark Sanchez would be, and help lift them up from a Buttfumbled recent past.
On the day that Darrelle Revis returns to MetLife Stadium in a Buccaneers uniform, wealthier and healthier than he has been, Geno Smith tries to land his Jets on 7th Heaven, high over Revis Island and so far away, on a 100-yard paradise he can one day remember fondly as Geno Island.
“At the end of the day,” Bronx-born Willie Colon said, “he gives it all he has, he plays his tail off, and he shows this city that he’s about New York, that he’s for the Jets. … Any fan who’s cheering for anybody, if you see a guy who’s out there battling his tail off, competing and fighting and not complaining and not crying, ‘Woe is me,’ how can you not like a guy like that? And I think Geno’s like that.”
Of course, there also exists the clear and present danger that Geno Island will be all too readily identified by the green gang as a man stranded on a forbidding place where there is no rescue.
His head will be swimming. His heart will be racing. It’s only a day he’s dreamed of all his life. It’s a day rookie GM John Idzik has dreamed of since April, when he drafted Smith in the second round.
Smith gets a honeymoon period that Sanchez, in the midst of shouldering an inevitable divorce, had long ago surrendered. He is the groom who must be groomed carefully and cautiously by offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, because around these parts, unrequited quarterback love rarely makes it to ’Til Death Do We Part.
Smith also represents Rex Ryan’s last chance to save his lame duck neck. Since the 2010 AFC Championship game, Ryan has fired two offensive coordinators. One defensive coordinator (Mike Pettine) left for Buffalo. One GM (Mike Tannenbaum) was fired. One quarterback, his quarterback for the past four years, has been replaced. That’s a lot of scapegoats. Welcome to Ryan Island.
Wilson, asked Thursday what advice he would have for Smith starting his first game as a rookie, said, “I think for all rookies who start, I think the biggest thing is you’ve been there before. Football is football. The game moves a little bit faster, the guys are a lot better, the defensive coordinators are a lot smarter. But at the same time, at the end of the day, you are prepared if you do all the right things and take all the right steps to make sure that you are ready. I think that once you look at it, snap count is going to be on one, the guy is going to run the same depth on a 12-yard hook, the guy is going to run a go route. Whatever it is, football is football, like I said. You just have to make the plays when they are there. I think the biggest thing is just being relaxed, being calm, being poised, especially when the situation doesn’t look too good.”
Robert Griffin III’s advice for Smith: “You guys are asking me questions like I’m a 5-year, 7-year vet. For the rookies, you know, I talked to the guys on our team like Chris Thompson playing running back, you are here for a reason and you’ve got to believe it. Your coaches believe in you. That’s why they drafted you. That’s why you made the team. So if you step on that field and don’t feel like you don’t belong, then it will come out and you’ll play like you don’t belong. But if you go out on that field and play like you belong and trust in yourself and trust your preparation, then you have nothing to worry about. That’s what we did, and you’ve got to lean on your coaches, you’ve got to lean on your teammates to help you get to where you want to be. You can’t do it all yourself, but that’s a long way of saying ‘just believe.’ If you don’t believe, nobody will.”
Geno Smith believes. But they all believe until the live bullets start flying. Then some of them eventually stop believing. Smith will be bringing a water pistol to a football gunfight. He better be mentally and emotionally tough.
Revis, even off that ACL, knows all the tricks. Smith doesn’t know the tricks. Mornhinweg will have to be the angel on his throwing shoulder.
“He’a a guru at what he does,” Colon said. “He studied under Bill Walsh, he’s been in the top 10 in offense for a long time, so his credentials speak for itself. And he’s one of those guys who’s not afraid to go at you no matter who you are, he’ll still call you out and pull your coattails. I think he’s what we need.”
Mornhinweg is what Sanchez needed last year to save his butt, for sure. Sanchez is inactive Sunday, sheltered from the boobirds, which is no solace to him at all. Matt Simms is the backup.
“How do you identify a playmaker?” Colon asked. “Is it a guy that catches 10 balls? I don’t know if we have that guy, but I know we have guys that can catch balls, get vertical, get yardage. We have an offensive line that is experienced and is battle-tested. I think we have three running backs that are more than ready to go and that are physical backs. … And I think right now, the only question mark is Geno. As Geno comes along, gets the reps he needs, he’ll fall right along with the mix.
“I know he’s gonna be fine. I have a lot of confidence in him.”
Ready or not, here he comes. Here comes Geno Smith.