Geno Smith has struggled on the field since the New York Jets named him their starting quarterback last season. In 20 career games, Smith has just 16 touchdown passes and a whopping 26 interceptions. He has also fumbled six times and has a career passer rating of 68.5. Believe it or not, the Jets may be more concerned with Smith’s behavior off the field than they are with his performance on it.
According to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole, questions about Smith’s character arose long before he shouted an F-bomb at a heckling fan on Sunday.
“One of the things that happened during the offseason is Geno Smith got into scuffles at bars,” Cole reported on Tuesday. “I wouldn’t say they were physical altercations, but verbal altercations at minimum. It makes people wonder what kind of patience he has.
“Now with the incident that happened (on Sunday), the Jets are wondering does Geno Smith have the patience, does he have the personality to handle the pressure of playing in New York. This goes beyond playing.”
[WATCH: Geno Smith curses at heckling fan after loss]
Cole also pointed out how Smith left the NFL Draft last year and was initially not planning to come back for the second round after he was crushed that he didn’t get drafted in the first. If he can’t handle the disappointment of slipping down a draft board, is he capable of handling the criticism that goes along with being an NFL quarterback in a major city?
While Rex Ryan has continuously shown support for Smith (like he did with Mark Sanchez), there’s a reason the Jets signed Michael Vick this past offseason. In addition to being a veteran backup, Vick also has starting experience and has won at the NFL level. If Smith continues to struggle on the field and/or makes any other poor decisions off of it, we could see Vick sooner rather than later.
