Geno Smith will need to grow some thick skin if he’s going to succeed in New York. He can ask Mark Sanchez about that. I’m guessing by the time Smith’s career as a Jet is complete, the criticism awaiting him will overshadow the critics that have emerged since he became the Jets’ second-round draft pick. Being a black quarterback will only add to the scrutiny.
It’s interesting how the two knocks against Smith from anonymous sources after the draft were he spent too much time texting during team interviews at the NFL Combine and he was a diva while at West Virginia. That’s today’s vernacular for “not focused” and “spoiled.”
It would be nice to say we’re beyond racial stereotyping when it comes to judging quarterbacks in the NFL, but apparently we’re not. What 22-year-old do you know that doesn’t spend most of his time texting or checking his phone, and as for being a diva, is there any bigger diva in the NFL than Tom Brady? Yet those reasons were given as if they were character flaws to explain why Smith wasn’t worthy of being a first-round draft pick.
Being black, being a quarterback and being in New York is going put Smith in the spotlight, which he handled well yesterday after the first practice of the rookie mini-camp at Florham Park.
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Smith insisted he hasn’t paid attention to “all the talk in the media,” saying he has been focusing instead on football and being a good teammate. The criticism “comes with the territory,” he said, adding, “I don’t think anyone who has worked with me or known me in the past have had anything negative to say. From what I’ve seen, my coaches and teammates have all said great things about me.”
Jets coach Rex Ryan said he saw enough yesterday to make him feel good about Smith, who figures to compete with Sanchez, the veteran incumbent, for the starting job this fall.
“I like the way Geno threw the ball. It looked pretty good to me,” Ryan said, adding he liked the quarterback’s command of the huddle and positive body language.
The Jets likely are more concerned about quickening Smith’s exaggerated throwing motion and cutting down on the turnovers he had in college.
Picking up the West Coast offense will take time. But as one of the most scrutinized coaches in the NFL and perhaps its biggest media magnate, Ryan had little reaction to those questioning Smith’s character.
“We just go by what we see,” Ryan said. “For us, we were impressed with Geno. All the other stuff is behind him.”
What impressed me was learning Smith took extra time Thursday night to help his roommate, sixth-round pick Will Campbell, learn the cadence and snap. Campbell, a defensive lineman at Michigan, is trying to make the switch to offensive guard and needed the extra tutoring. Smith had met with several offensive linemen in another room, but realized Campbell hadn’t been part of the initial group.
“He came back and went over everything with me,” Campbell said. “He helped me out a lot.”
Doesn’t sound very diva-like to me.
“I never met him before [Thursday] night,” Campbell added. “Great guy… seems like a leader.”
At the end of practice yesterday, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and quarterbacks coach David Lee took Smith to a different part of the practice field and rehearsed specific sprint-out and footwork drills for the quarterback to work on during mini-camp and before training camp begins this summer. After Mornhinweg left, Lee and Smith talked some more before ending their chat with a high five. They were among the last people off the field.
“This is only step one, day one,” Smith said. “But it was good to get on the practice field.”
Whether Smith is a franchise-caliber quarterback will be determined by his performance on the field. That’s all that really matters.