Link: https://www.sny.tv/jets/news/jets-stuck-with-two-lame-ducks-at-qb/206956590 Jets stuck with two lame ducks at QB By Ralph Vacchiano 6:42PM EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Just four days ago, Ryan Fitzpatrick was pretty sure he had already thrown his last pass for the Jets. So when he jogged out into the Jets' huddle once again late in the first half on Sunday, he said "We almost all had to laugh at the situation, just the irony of it." It was, as he said, "pretty ironic". But there's nothing funny at all about the Jets' continuing quarterback mess. Every time they make a decision about a quarterback it turns out to be a bad one. And this time, there is no good decision for them to make. Really, it couldn't have happened in a more Jet-like way on Sunday, either, with the deposed Fitzpatrick had to replace his replacement, Geno Smith, when Smith injured his right knee midway through the second quarter of what turned out to be a 24-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Now the Jets might be stuck with a 33-year-old quarterback they didn't want to play anymore. Or maybe even worse, they'll have to make things even messier by benching him again. Remember, as ridiculous as it seems, the Jets (2-5) think this season isn't over. They see three winnable games in front of them and envision being 5-5 heading into their bye. And many of their players won 10 games behind Fitzpatrick last season and they didn't exactly seem thrilled with the quarterback change. At least they understood Fitzpatrick had been awful this season, and that Todd Bowles was left with no other choice. But on Sunday, in relief, Fitzpatrick was 9 of 14 for 120 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Not great, but good enough for a win. And now Bowles may have to tell his veteran players he's sitting Fitzpatrick again? "It's too early to tell right now," Todd Bowles said. "We'll see what the injury status is before I make that determination." Maybe Smith's injury makes the decision easy for Bowles. Smith - who was 4 of 8 for 95 yards, thanks to a short pass that Quincy Enunwa turned into a 69-yard touchdown before he left -- said "I don't think it'll be anything too significant". He added that "Honestly, I was begging to go back out there" and he appeared to be moving OK on the sidelines and again after the game. But he really has no idea and he'll have an MRI on Monday. Then we'll all know if Bowles has any decision to make at all. But here's the bigger problem: None of this actually matters. The Jets are probably going to have to go 8-2 the rest of the way to make the playoffs, and they still have two games left against the Patriots. This season is essentially over. The most important thing they need to do now is figure out who their quarterback is going to be in 2017. It's definitely not going to be Fitzpatrick. The Jets made that clear when they only gave him a one-year contract, which is why it makes no sense to turn back to him if Smith is healthy enough to play. And really, even going to Smith is pointless since his contract is up at the end of the season too and he's almost certainly not the Jets quarterback of the future. Ideally, they'd look at Bryce Petty, but he missed more than a month of practice with a shoulder injury he suffered in the summer, and the Jets feel that he's not quite ready to play. Maybe if Smith's knee is worse than he thinks, Petty can get ready by getting more practice reps as Fitzpatrick's backup over the next few weeks. But it's likely his time as a Jets starter is probably at least a month away. So in the meantime, the Jets are stuck. More proof - and a lesson for Jets GM Mike Maccagnan as he heads into the offseason - that teams that don't have a franchise quarterback are constantly searching for one. And the Jets, as what seems like a decades-long search continues, are left with nothing but drama. A week ago, as Fitzpatrick was continuing to unravel, Smith told ESPN that he was getting "antsy" to play and he was stalking around the sidelines like he was trying to remind his coaches he was there. Then on Sunday, Fitzpatrick declared that "Yeah," he should be the Jets starter the next week in Cleveland, and he basically took management to task for their lack of faith in his ability. Well, sure, that has to be tough. Just like it was tough for the owner, GM and coach to watch Fitzpatrick throw no fourth-quarter touchdowns and 10 fourth-quarter interceptions this season. And that is surely why they decided to give Smith a try. Smith was the old regime's quarterback of the future, but at 26 he was at least worth one last look before the Jets gave up on him completely. Now they may have lost the chance to do that. Or they might feel forced to inexplicably give up that chance. Meanwhile, the only two quarterbacks under contract for next season - Petty and Christian Hackenberg - aren't ready for the Jets to take a real look at yet. It's a quagmire, which is basically what the Jets' quarterback situation has been forever. They have been on a never-ending carousel of mediocre quarterbacks, stop gap solutions, and quarterbacks of the future who just don't quite work out as expected. Now they're stuck in between two who probably don't figure into their future. Bowles may have to make a difficult choice, but in the end it's one that won't really matter. All that matters is doing whatever they can to make sure they have a real quarterback of the future in place for next season, so they're never stuck in a mess like this again.
The solution is pretty simple, do what the Denver Broncos did. Get rid of both of them and start a 2 year QB. The CS has to do their job and coach up Petty, run the ball and run the ball some more.
I agree. You have to do what's in the best interest of the franchise for the long term and see if you have a QB for years to come on this current roster. Even if Petty doesn't have the practice reps, he still needs to be out there and learn on the job. There is no reason at all to not have him getting starting for the rest of this season.
Here's an incredible stat about the Broncos ... they haven't had back to back losing seasons since 1971 and 1972. That's mind boggling. 43 Years. There's not another team in the four major sports that even comes close to that.
Yeah. They are also blessed with excellent ownership. Which we had once when Sonny Werblin was still kicking around. And in true Jets fashion they bought him out. The Bowlen Family are the only people who should feel proud about that statistic. And their fair weather fans are probably still too pissed from getting wrecked by the Seahawks to care....
This is a messed up situation. Problem is they'll likely start Fitz because the playoffs are still technically obtainable. Then he'll probably do what he always does in these situations, play like a hall of famer and light em up. He may even win the next two or three. So all he's doing is showcasing for whoever signs him next. Worst case he leads some incredible rally, and they won't pull him again if he playoffs are within reach. Then don't make the playoffs, know nothing about Petty and you're clueless going into next year.
As soon as Petty is fit to play, he should be tested out. I didn't hate Fitz but his play suggests that he should not line up behind center again if at all possible. Never a Geno fan and I just don't see any point in giving him the reigns again even if he is fit. Pennington sat for all but three seasons, and whilst not a world beater he is probably the best long term (barring injuries) QB we have had since Kenny. Can Petty replicate what happened with Chad? Hopefully.
I thought Petty's shoulder was just bruised with no structural (e.g., rotator cuff) stuff? Would suck if he was broken before he got a shot. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Already lost the tie breaker to the Chiefs, Steelers and Bengals, the season is over we are not winning 11 games.....play the kid!
Based on the fact that Pennington required surgery and Petty did not, this statement is false. Also, Petty has a far stronger arm than Chad.
I know I'm in the minority but I still don't consider Geno a lameduck in the same way as Fitz Geno has actually had a great last 5-6 games if you look at the stats...There's no reason why he can't atleast get a few more games to prove himself one way or the other I'm all for giving Petty a shot later in the season if/when Geno makes it clear he doesn't have a future here, but we're doing ourselves a disservice by not atleast giving him a chance
to be fair we only have 2 options at this point fitz or hack. or Powell i guess since he's our emergency QB lol
Obviously, nobody is terribly happy about having Fitz or Geno starting for us at this point. I, for one, am quite happy to have any dud out there for a little while longer until Petty is back to 100%. After Sanchez and Geno, I can't see any reason to put Petty or Hack on the field until they have every possible variable tilted in their favor. Maybe coming off a win and playing the Browns is as good as it gets for that-- but only if the new QB is 100% healthy and at least thinks they have achieved mastery of the playbook. The last thing we should be supporting is throwing more young QBs to the wolves and setting the franchise back 3-5 years each time they flop.
Good post. I totally agree. As much as I wanted Petty to start against the Browns, if he isn't healthy, or hasn't had enough practice snaps to shake off the rust, then the Jets should wait another week or two. The thing is, as long as he is healthy, I think they need to give him most, if not all, of the snaps in practice with the starters to help get him ready. That's hard to do when you have someone else starting. By no means do I want to throw Petty to the wolves, but by the same token, I don't want them holding onto Fitz as the starter in some hopes that they can salvage the season. As far as I'm concerned, and I think most of us are concerned, the season is over. At this point, we need to be developing the youngsters and see who can help us going forward.
I don't buy this QB "not ready" stuff and never did. You can never know who's ready and and who isn't until they actually get out there and play. Who would have thought Dak Prescott was ready to step in and play like he has? And it wasn't like the Cowboys were a good team when he took over the way the Steelers were when Roethlisberger stepped in. The Geno train has left the station. He is a free agent next year, not likely to be re-signed, so why waste time with him? I don't know much about Petty's injury, but if he's healthy, play him. Otherwise, play Hackenberg and see what he's got. If neither of these guys show us anything positive, then at least the Jets will know what they have to do in the draft or free agency.
I think our franchise has quite a history of throwing QBs out there who weren't ready for the role and suffering for it. When Sanchez first got here, he couldn't make a read to save his life, but he had excellent footwork and above average mechanics. By the time he was cut, his footwork was awful and he lost the ability to hit a receiver above the shoes with a pass. Hell, Geno had tons of physical ability-- if we had given him two years to master the playbook he might have been able do something for us. The problem, in almost all cases, is that coaches and GMs get fired in the time it takes to develop these guys--so even if you do sit them, they'll be in a whole new system by the time they play. I think this is one of the most overlooked aspects of coaching turnover.
