Geno Smith rightfully impresses during OTAs

As the New York Jets continue their organized team activities, quarterback Geno Smith rightfully impresses many as he prepares to be their next starter.

At this point in time, the New York Jets continue their organized team activities despite the uncertainty on the return of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. As this stalemate continues between both sides, quarterback Geno Smith isn’t letting it get to him and is once again, working hard to prove he can be the answer the Jets need at quarterback heading into the regular season.

Yet again in his young career, Smith is impressing not only his coaches but also his teammates. Many are speaking about how he’s grown as a player, is illustrating much more leadership than in the past in the huddle and is very vocal in first-team drills. His overall grasp on offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s system is also better than last year.

While head coach Todd Bowles likes what he sees, impressing many during OTAs and actually putting it all together come game day are two different situations. In an article written by Rich Cimini of ESPN, here is what Bowles had to say about the player growth of Smith:

“Having learned the system and having a year under his belt, you see more growth that way,” Bowles said. “Obviously, it’s still early in the stages, but right now you see the growth that way, from maturity to commanding the huddle and understanding where to go with the ball quicker.”

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It’s great to see Smith do well in OTAs as he prepares to lead this team in 2016 with a much better supporting cast.

Perhaps last year’s altercation that saw him get a broken jaw at the hands of a teammate over a financial dispute gave him some clarity and even humbled him.

Last year, Smith had the starting job hook, line and sinker but due to that altercation suffered that jaw injury that sidelined him for several weeks into the regular season.

Of course Fitzpatrick seized the opportunity and put up one of the best seasons ever by a quarterback.

The football world will never know if Smith could have done the same or even exceeded what Fitzpatrick did last season. Regardless, as Smith enters the final year of his rookie contract, he has everything to prove and if Fitzpatrick ultimately does not return, will do his very best to silence his critics once and for all.

must read: The tarnished image of Ryan Fitzpatrick

Overall, this is just the start of the hopeful reemergence of Smith to not only prove he can be a quality starting quarterback for the Jets but that he can live up to his potential with better talent around him. Smith has never had the opportunity to play in the regular season with such a stacked offense and stout defense so if everything falls into place for him, he will be in a prime position to finally deliver results.

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