Rex Ryan finally decided to bench Geno Smith on Sunday when the New York Jets were trailing the San Diego Chargers 21-0 after the first half. Smith being yanked from the game was apparently an appropriate ending to a forgettable weekend, as he missed a team meeting the day before.
A Jets spokesman confirmed to the NY Daily News on Monday that Smith missed team meetings on Saturday when he arrived 5-10 minutes after they concluded. The spokesman called it an “honest mistake” and said Smith simply “got the times confused,” but the Daily News reports that Jets players were angry with the second-year quarterback.
Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Smith and some other players missed the meeting because they confused by the time difference with the Jets being on the West Coast. Ryan apparently keeps the team on East Coast time for West Coast trips and Smith was thrown off by the time on his cell phone clock.
It was supposedly the first time Smith had missed a meeting, and he was able to go over everything with offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and quarterbacks coach David Lee afterword. Although, you wouldn’t know it. Smith completed 4 of 12 passes for 27 yards and an interception before being replaced by Michael Vick.
Even if missing the meeting was an honest mistake, it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Smith’s brain fart came just days after he swore at a Jets fan and a report surfaced indicating he had problems off the field during the offseason.
For what it’s worth, Vick looked just as lost. He completed 8 of 19 passes for 47 yards and took two sacks. The Jets managed just 151 yards of total offense.
Ryan announced after the game that Smith has not lost his job and will start against the Denver Broncos next week. Given the way the Jets have looked as a whole, it’s not really going to matter who’s under center.
H/T Rotoworld
