Call me crazy, but I kind of like Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick. I expect one of them could be a top-15 level quarterback for a good chunk of the season. Chan Gailey (the new offensive coordinator with the Jets) has a really good track record with quarterbacks, and New York has a nice pair of wide receivers – Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker.
Toss in the young guys, Devin Smith and Jace Amaro, and that’s an intriguing receiving corps.
Gailey was saying something the other day about Smith definitely being their starter. I think the preference is to see if they can get him going, with him being a young guy they selected in the second round.
If and when he fails, then they plug in Fitzpatrick, and I’m sure he can do it. He’s been a surprisingly successful quarterback in the past and has the benefit of having started 89 games. Plus he played three years under Gailey in Buffalo.
Anyway, when you look at Gailey’s body of work as an offensive coordinator and head coach, I see mostly success. Kordell Stewart, Jay Fiedler and Tyler Thigpen all put up top-10 passing numbers under Gailey.
If you were to select Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick with the last two picks of your draft, I would think you could count on your backup quarterback position being handled.
| CHAN GAILEY’S LAST NINE QUARTERBACKS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | St | Pass | TD-Int | Run | TDR |
| 1997 | Kordell Stewart, Pitt. | 16 | 189 | 21-17 | 30 | 11 |
| 1998 | Troy Aikman, Dall. | 11 | 269 | 12-5 | 6 | 2 |
| 1999 | Troy Aikman, Dall. | 14 | 212 | 17-12 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 | Jay Fiedler, Mia. | 15 | 160 | 14-14 | 18 | 1 |
| 2001 | Jay Fiedler, Mia. | 16 | 206 | 20-19 | 20 | 4 |
| 2008 | Tyler Thigpen, K.C. | 11 | 213 | 17-11 | 31 | 2 |
| 2010 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buff. | 13 | 231 | 23-15 | 21 | 0 |
| 2011 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buff. | 16 | 240 | 24-23 | 13 | 0 |
| 2012 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buff. | 16 | 213 | 24-16 | 12 | 1 |
—Ian Allan