In announcing Geno Smith as his starting quarterback this week against the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan may have created an exit strategy for his struggling rookie.
Ryan on Monday announced that Smith, who has thrown 10 interceptions since the Jets beat the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, would remain the starter against the Dolphins, despite his 9-for-22 performance for 127 yards and two interceptions in the Jets' 19-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
After the game on Sunday, Ryan refused to name Smith, who has 22 turnovers on the season, the starter for the team's next game. The Jets are 5-6 and fighting for a wild-card berth in the AFC.
A day later, Ryan was only slightly more affirming in support of his quarterback.
"Right now, I would feel that he gives us the best chance to win," Ryan said.
That's likely because right now Smith has taken almost all the snaps in practice with the first-string offense ever since Mark Sanchez suffered his season-ending shoulder injury in the preseason, and current backup Matt Simms just doesn't have enough time in with the first team to warrant a change.
Smith's quarterback ratings of 22.3 against the Ravens and 10.3 against the Buffalo Bills the previous week in a four-turnover performance suggest likely caused Ryan to delay naming Smith the starter for a day.
But another bad performance by Smith would put the Jets on the verge of elimination for a postseason berth and intensify the argument over the need for a change at quarterback.
Ryan is fighting to keep his job this season and seemed to get a reprieve when the Jets started the season 5-4 and overachieved after Smith took over for Sanchez, ending the preseason quarterback controversy.
Ryan added that the Jets' woes the last two weeks extended beyond the quarterback play.
"It doesn't paint the whole picture," Ryan said. "It's certainly not on one guy."
But Ryan also knows that the perception outside the Jets organization is to make Smith the fall guy, and the coach may need to make a change to save his own job.
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