From the time he was drafted and marched up on the stage at Radio City Music Hall, Geno Smith vowed to be the answer to the Jets’ quarterback prayers. And now, with that dream fluttering in the air like a wounded duck and in danger of being intercepted, a determined Smith believes he is ready to begin the desperate battle to save himself, and the head coach he wants joined at his hip for as long as Woody Johnson will have them.
I asked Smith: Are you aware there’s a likelihood your play will determine whether Rex comes back next season as the coach?
“You know, I’m not aware of that,” he said. “I love Rex. I would love to play for him for my entire career. He’s one of those coaches that you just get along with right off the bat, and you enjoy playing for. I don’t know everything that goes on, obviously, a lot of things are out of my control.
“But if it comes down to my play, then I gotta start playing better.
“Because I understand that I want to play for this guy for the rest of my career, he’s a great coach, he’s a great teacher, he’s a great mentor, and he’s a guy that I love playing for.”
Smith has got to play better starting today against the Raiders, because if he continues to look like a blind squirrel who can’t find an acorn, then it seems inevitable that general manager John Idzik will be drafting a new franchise quarterback for a new head coach.
Plenty of Jets fans already have given up on Smith, but he hasn’t given up on himself. If ever there is a time for him to show that he is a fighter, it is now, when he is Mike Tyson against Buster Douglas, on the canvas fumbling for his mouthpiece.
“That’s every single day, my everyday walk in life, I’ve been a fighter my whole life,” Smith told The Post. “I’m used to it. I’m used to the ups and downs. I understand that you play this game long enough, you’re gonna hit some of these stretches. Unfortunately for me, it’s in my rookie season where a lot of things are going on and I’ve had a bunch of ups and downs, so it kinda gets miscued a little bit as far as the outside world. But in this building, in this locker room, we understand how it goes. The key thing is that I show my teammates every single day that no matter what, good or bad, I will come in this locker room and give my all.”
Ryan was notorious for coddling Mark Sanchez, through word and deed. He has taken more of a tough-love approach with Smith. Ryan knows the honeymoon is over. He was lucky to be spared the guillotine after 6-10 last season. He will keep a short leash on Smith if need be because so much is at stake for him.
It doesn’t mean he isn’t rooting for Smith, because the rookie quarterback’s development now trumps whether the Jets make the playoffs in what has deteriorated into the rebuilding year everyone expected. Ryan is counting on offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg to help get Smith right before it is too late for all of them.
Smith enjoyed his best practice of the year Wednesday. He gets Jeremy Kerley back Sunday, and Santonio Holmes, barring a setback, as well. Maybe Kellen Winslow will be part of the game plan for a change. Maybe Smith will listen to the voices imploring him to use his legs.
With a road game in Carolina next Sunday, this one has the feel of a must-win for rookie quarterback and coach. The ugly prospect of seven straight losses to close the season — and a 5-11 finish — likely would doom them. To Ryan’s credit, he has kept the defense from sniping at the offense, and he has not lost support in the locker room, for whatever that is worth.
“Every time you turn on the TV, it’s ‘What’s next for Rex?’ type talk,” Willie Colon said. “I think he understands and we understand it’s bigger than him and it’s bigger than us. I personally would like to see him stay, ’cause I think where this team is headed or it can go in the future, is all due to his abilities to try to reach out to guys, get the right guys in the locker room, and his passion for the game is endless. We believe in him. We march to his drum, believe it or not, it may not always look like it by the way we play at times, but that’s on us. We understand that as a team. Rex gives is his best, he gives us his all. I’d personally like to see him stay.”
It wasn’t that long ago when Ryan and Sanchez were joined at the hip. Now it’s Rex and the rook.
“I have no quit in me,” Smith said. “ I can’t quit. I don’t see a way to do it.
“As long as I’m still breathing, I’m gonna keep fighting.”
For his future . And for Ryan’s as well.