ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — As much as the game pits two AFC East teams each searching for its first division win, when the Jets play the Bills Sunday at MetLife Stadium it will represent an early referendum on the respective directions of the two franchises based on the rookie quarterbacks leading them.
The Jets with the ninth and 13th picks in the first round of April’s NFL Draft, twice passed on EJ Manuel. The Bills, passing on Geno Smith despite having worked him out, picked Manuel with the 16th overall pick. That left Smith hanging until the second round, where the Jets picked him.
The fact the Jets did not pounce on Smith with one of their first-round picks is a clear indication they were not 100 percent sure of him as their future quarterback The Bills, however, never wavered on Manuel, whom they targeted all along.
The early results, just two games into the season and their respective careers, indicate Manuel might be the better, more polished, more NFL-ready quarterback, which also would indicate the direction the Bills are headed is better than that of the Jets.
Manuel’s numbers are better than Smith’s, with his 95.9 rating, 68.2 completion percentage and only one interception. Smith’s rating is a weak 55.2. thanks to four interceptions and a 53.4 completion percentage.
The Jets, who publicly have not committed to Smith as the man for the rest of the season, seem to be hoping he works out well for them. This, of course, comes after the Mark Sanchez outperformed him in preseason only to lose out on the job when he suffered that shoulder injury against the Giants.
Conversely, the Bills, who are all in with their commitment to Manuel being the guy, sound as if they know they have something special.
If it indeed turns out Manuel is superior to Smith, beginning with Sunday’s first head-to-head showdown, it will be an indictment on Jets new general manager John Idzik, who already has a spotty record bringing in veteran personnel with his embarrassing offseason gaffes of quarterback David Garrard (who never made it through minicamp before retiring) and running back Mike Goodson (who never made it to training camp because of legal troubles).
The Jets enter Sunday’s game hoping Smith can cut down on the three picks he threw in last week’s 13-10 loss to the Patriots. The Bills enter the game still high from the game-winning comeback drive Manuel engineered to beat the Panthers in the final seconds last Sunday.
“I’m very impressed, but you could see it was evident from him when he first walked in here,’’ Bills veteran running back Fred Jackson said Thursday. “You saw a guy that was poised, getting everybody in the right position, knowing where everybody was supposed to be. It was like he was a veteran out there, like he had been there, seen what he was supposed to see. He made the throws that were given to him and didn’t try to force anything. That’s all we can ask of him.’’
All the Jets are asking of Smith is not to throw the game away the way he did in New England and the way Sanchez has done too many times to count in the last two seasons. Smith looked lost too often against the Patriots, a contrast to the cool Manuel exuded when the pressure peaked last Sunday.
“EJ just always seems to be in control, always seems to understand what the defense is trying to do to him and he never really gets flustered,’’ Bills — and former Jets — safety Jim Leonhard said Thursday. “It’s what you like to see out of your quarterback and you don’t always get that out of a lot of young guys.’’
Leonhard, who played for coach Rex Ryan in Baltimore and the Jets, knows the complexities of Ryan’s defense as well as anyone and he, too, knows how much Ryan loves to feast on rookie quarterbacks. Based on what he has seen from Manuel, Leonhard said he believes Manuel will hold up to the Ryan defensive pressure.
“The Jets are going to create problems; they do it for everybody,’’ Leonhard said. “Especially with young quarterbacks, they like to bring heat. They know there are going to be things they can do to [Manuel] during the game that he’s never seen. EJ understands that and he’s done a great job of preparing this week and it’ll carry to the game.’’