Jets training camp begins July 23, with players reporting to Cortland, N.Y. At that point, we will start to get a clearer idea about what the Jets might look like in 2014, as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time in four years.
Until camp starts, players are relaxing, recuperating, and maintaining their bodies in preparation for the season.
In the meantime, as we do our own training camp prep here on our humble website, we are analyzing each of the Jets’ positions—stars, lower-profile guys, strengths, weaknesses, stats, and everything in between.
We're starting our series—one position a day, every weekday until we're done—with the quarterbacks. We've since done running backs, tight ends, wide receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers, safeties, and cornerbacks.
Geno Smith
Michael Vick, Matt Simms, Tajh Boyd
6.9 — Geno Smith's yards per attempt last season,
than what Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, Andy Dalton, Peyton Manning, Nick Foles, Sam Bradford, Matt Stafford, and Eli Manning did as rookies.
When the Jets added Vick in free agency back in March, most pundits assumed he would beat out Smith to be the starter. This analysis was based on both quarterbacks' respective track records. But Smith's lack of a track record beyond the 16 games he labored through as a rookie is the reason he has the advantage heading into training camp: Smith will be 24 in October, and no one yet knows for sure whether he can be a franchise quarterback. The Jets seem to have brought in Vick, who turned 34 on Thursday, to hedge their bets in case he can't.
Vick is here on a one-year deal. And while it's prudent to have two starting-caliber QBs in today's injury-prone NFL, if Smith were to falter, Vick would be a stopgap unless he somehow were to take over and guide the Jets deep into the playoffs. And then it might be back to the drawing board for the Jets.
Farther down the depth chart, Simms and Boyd will duke it out for the third-string spot. The Jets are unlikely to keep both (even by stashing one on the practice squad), but if Boyd were to win that battle, might he have a chance to become the starter sometime in the future?
Something else to keep in mind whenever anyone points to Smith's 12 touchdown/21 interception ratio from last year: He had little in the way of help. The Jets did all they could to make up for that by adding Eric Decker in free agency, by drafting tight end Jace Amaro and three other receivers, and by picking up Chris Johnson, a pass-catching speedster of a running back. The onus for this offense is now squarely on Smith.
Everyone at Jets HQ has talked up Smith's improvement this offseason. But exactly how much upside does he have from year one to year two? We'll begin to find out in three weeks.