Geno Smith or Michael Vick at quarterback is the biggest question right now for the New York Jets. The Jets have a 1-7 record only beating the 0-7 Oakland Raiders in the first game of the season. This Sunday saw the Jets bench Geno Smith after having thrown 3 interceptions in the first quarter. On the 3rd interception return Geno Smith dove trying to make a tackle and appeared to injure his right shoulder.
Geno Smith
Geno Smith was taken for X rays Sunday after the Bills game, but no word on the results of the X ray at this time. To add insult to injury Geno Smith compiled the dreaded 0.0 passer rating Sunday. Geno Smith completed more passes to the Bills than his own players, finishing 2-for-8 for five yards. Geno Smith became the first quarterback to finish with two or fewer completions and three or more interceptions since Rex Grossman of the Chicago Bears did so in 2006.
Geno Smith has really struggled his first two seasons in the NFL completing only 56% of his passes, while throwing 31 interceptions to only 19 touchdowns, a horrid touchdown to interception ratio. Geno Smith put up eye popping stats while at West Virginia, completing 72% of his passes as a senior, while throwing 42 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. That is why Geno Smith's bad play this season is so head scratching.
Geno Smith's offensive line has not done a very good job of protecting him as they have allowed 22 sacks, which ranks them as 6th worst in the NFL. The Jets do have one of the best running offenses in the NFL and they probably should lean on that more and throw the ball less. So far this season the Jets have passed the ball 289 times and only ran the ball 236 times. The Jets are actually averaging more yards per carry than the Dallas Cowboys, the NFL's leading rushing offense, but have run the ball way less.
Running the ball more would also help their offensive line in pass protection. They could run more play action passes to where their offensive linemen don't actually have to pass set, they can actually fire out and hit their guy rather than catch him which is way easier for an offensive lineman to do. Now, with Percy Harvin's speed they can catch teams trying to crowd the line of scrimmage and hit Harvin over the top for some long touchdown catches.
Michael Vick
So as I am writing this article I get a text that Rex Ryan has decided to start Michael Vick. Vick has a career completion percentage of 56% which shows that he is not very accurate. He has also thrown way too many interceptions over his career with the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and now with the Jets. He has thrown 128 touchdowns and 86 interceptions. You like for your quarterback to have a 2:1 TD:Interception ratio. Vick is nowhere near that.
The Answer
The New York Jets have the 2nd best rushing offense in the NFL. The Jets passing offense is dead last in the NFL. So, why in the world are the Jets throwing the ball more than they are running the ball. Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg must start running the ball more and running play action passes off their stout run game and get Geno Smith out of the shotgun. Running back Chris Ivory has prototype size and speed and is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.
I would also change the way I play the wide receivers. Eric Decker would stay as the #1 receiver and I would move either Greg Salas and Chris Owusu to the #2 wide receiver spot. Both Salas and Owusu have prototype size and speed and they would make bigger targets for Geno Smith to throw to.
Then I would move Percy Harvin and Jeremy Kerley to the slot and try to use their small size and quickness in the slot. You could match them up versus 3rd cornerbacks, safeties, or linebackers that can't match up with them.
The Jets also have the 6th ranked total defense. They need to lean on their running game and defense and less on their passing game. Geno Smith is still young and they need to do a better job of helping him.