New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith admitted before Monday night’s game that he is anxiously waiting for a shot given how poorly Ryan Fitzpatrick has played, and head coach Todd Bowles was not pleased about it.
While Smith didn’t come out and say he believes he should get a chance to start over Fitzpatrick, he did tell ESPN’s Lisa Salters that he is “getting antsy.” Bowles was asked on Tuesday about that remark.
“I don’t have any thoughts on backup players saying anything,” he said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “They’re backups for a reason. If they get a chance to play, they’d better prove themselves to be worthy of playing regardless of who they are.”
Fitzpatrick was benched in the fourth quarter of New York’s blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals, but Smith didn’t exactly seize the moment. He threw an interception of his own and also fumbled. Before the game, Smith was critical of his team’s offensive performance through the first five weeks.
“We’re 1-and-whatever,” he said. “We have to pull ourselves out of the hole, no matter who it is, no matter how we spark this thing. We’ve got to figure out a way to get some wins and really get our offense going and get into position to feel good about ourselves. Right now, we don’t.”
Smith was also seen throwing his hat in disgust at one point during Monday’s loss.
Geno Smith says he threw his cap and tossed ice on the sideline due to his overall frustration with the team's struggles
— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) October 18, 2016
Everyone can see that Fitzpatrick, who has thrown an NFL-worst 11 interceptions, is playing horribly. But even if he had 30 picks, it’s not a good look for the second-string quarterback to be dropping hints. Perhaps that is one of the main reasons Bowles is leaning toward sticking with Fitzpatrick in Week 7.
Some say the embarrassing locker room incident that took place before last season is a reflection of Smith’s poor leadership skills. Openly complaining about not getting a chance to start will do nothing to quiet those skeptics.
