Geno Smith will remain Jets starting quarterback, says Rex Ryan

New York is trying to make the playoffs, but its quarterback is going through some struggles.

by Matt Verderame

Nov 19, 2013, 3:08 PM UTC

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

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Jets vs. Bills 2013, Week 11: Geno Smith benched late as Buffalo blasts New York

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The New York Jets have had a tough time getting consistent quarterback play, leading some to speculate whether head coach Rex Ryan will bench Geno Smith. However, that will not be the case, per Manish Mehta. Instead Ryan said Smith will remain entrenched as the starter for now.

During the team's loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Smith completed 8 of 23 passes for 103 yards and threw three interceptions. He was pulled in favor of backup Matt Simms, who went 4 of 6 for 60 yards and a touchdown in garbage time.

According to ESPN, Smith has registered a 10.6 QBR (quarterback rating) since Week 6 with one touchdown and eight interceptions, the lowest of anybody in that span. While Ryan maintains Smith will keep his job, Gang Green Nation relays a report that the coach will have Simms taking more first-team reps this week in practice.

Simms was a bad college QB. It's very likely if he's given the chance he will prove to be a bad pro QB. Very few thought he would ever get that chance. But it appears increasingly likely that his time just might be approaching. Ryan is fighting for a playoff berth and for his future, and the first cracks in his patience with Geno's development are beginning to show. Should Smith put together another terrible performance or two, perhaps there will be a new Simms as the starting QB for a New York football team. Ready or not, Simms' time may be near.

Smith, a second round pick out of the University of West Virginia this April, won the starting job out of training camp by default, after Mark Sanchez injured his shoulder. He has started all 10 games this season for the Jets and led them to a 5-5 record, good enough to tie with the Miami Dolphins for the final wild card spot in the AFC.

Let's take a look at Smith's performances through the first 10 games of his career:

Opponent	Comp.	Attempts	Yards	TD	INT
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	24	38	256	1	1
at New England Patriots	15	35	214	0	3
Buffalo Bills	16	29	331	2	2
at Tennessee Titans	23	34	289	1	2
at Atlanta Falcons	16	20	199	3	0
Pittsburgh Steelers	19	34	201	0	2
New England Patriots	17	33	233	1	1
at Cincinnati Bengals	20	30	159	0	2
New Orleans Saints	8	19	115	0	0
at Buffalo Bills	8	23	103	0	3

For the season, Smith has a QBR of 25.8 on a scale of 1-100. His rating puts him 34th of 36 quarterbacks in the league, ahead of only Brandon Weeden and Josh Freeman, and right behind Chad Henne.

Still, strictly going by QBR, Smith is an upgrade - sort of - over Mark Sanchez's 2012 performance. Sanchez ranked dead last in the NFL, but came in with the identical QBR of 25.8.

New York travels to take on the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday for a game with major playoff implications. Should Smith struggle, it will be interesting to see if Ryan stays with the rookie or replaces him with Simms.