Geno Smith flames out, Mark Sanchez is hurt, and the Jets beat the Giants in overtime, 24-21 John Munson/The Star-Ledger By Darryl Slater/The Star-Ledger The sign above the door glowed red: X-RAY IN USE. In the underbelly of MetLife Stadium last night, Mark Sanchez was behind the solid metal door, hidden from sight. The state of the Jets’ quarterback situation seemed just as unclear. Sanchez’s pads were off. He had left the sideline moments earlier and walked down a tunnel with a bag of ice wrapped tightly to his right shoulder. He barely played enough to break a sweat. But his brief appearance in the fourth quarter of a preseason game whose final score was meaningless still managed to provide yet another twist to his competition with rookie Geno Smith to become the Jets’ starting quarterback. On Sanchez’s second possession, Giants defensive tackle Marvin Austin plowed into Sanchez’s right (throwing) shoulder after Sanchez tossed a pass. Sanchez fell down. He got up and walked off the field. Austin said later he didn’t know he hurt Sanchez. Yet Austin vividly remembered much about a play that casts even more uncertainty on Sanchez vs. Smith, particularly because Smith threw three interceptions last night. “When I saw him, (expletive), I just hit him,” Austin told reporters. “And I hit him hard, because I felt it.” What exactly Sanchez felt is unknown. He walked out of the X-ray room without the wrap on his shoulder, and then left the stadium without speaking to reporters. He is expected to have an MRI on his shoulder today, but until then, the extent of the injury remains unclear, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The Jets won the game 24-21 in overtime, with Bill Cundiff hitting the winning field goal. Smith played three and a half quarters before coach Rex Ryan curiously turned to Sanchez, putting him in the game behind backup linemen. Ryan said he was unaware of the injury’s severity. He contentiously defended his decision to play Sanchez, as he stood next to a trophy with Snoopy on top of it – the award, as it were, given annually to the winner of Jets-Giants. “It was my decision all the way,” he said. “We’re trying to compete. Injuries are part of the game. You can get hurt in practice. I would not have put Mark in if it wasn’t important. After the injury, you always have reservations. But we’re competing.” It originally appeared as though fourth-stringer Matt Simms would replace Smith in the fourth quarter. Simms threw warm-up passes. Then Sanchez came off the sideline. On his first drive, he fumbled away an accurate shotgun snap. Even at that point, it appeared Sanchez had boosted, through no great feats of his own, his chances of starting two weeks from today against Tampa Bay, in the season opener. Smith might very well start for the Jets this season. Most observers would be surprised if he didn’t. Yet after his three-pick night, it was difficult to imagine him starting in Week 1 – until, that is, Austin hit Sanchez. It was not an altogether dreadful night for Smith. On his second possession, he led the Jets on an 86-yard touchdown drive. On his 10th, the Jets’ opening drive of the second half, he led a 57-yard touchdown drive. Smith completed seven of eight passes for 91 yards on those two possessions, including a 22-yard touchdown pass. The rest of his evening was mostly a wreck. In the first half, outside of the touchdown drive, he threw 20 passes. He completed seven to his teammates and almost half that many, three, to the Giants. Three other times, the Jets’ drives went three plays and out, partly because Smith’s receivers dropped three of his passes. Smith finished 16 of 30 for 199 yards, the touchdown and three picks. Asked to grade his performance, Smith said, “I don’t do grades. I thought it was another learning experience for me. I don’t think one game, one practice, one day will tell you the type of quarterback I am.” He had an interception of almost every stripe. His first was behind Ryan Spadola, and Prince Amukamara wrestled it away. His second, intended for Kellen Winslow, sailed long and into Stevie Brown’s mitts. His third, thrown in haste under pressure from a blitz, was corralled by Justin Tuck, who Smith probably didn’t even see just beyond the line. Smith showed glimpses of his prodigious talent. On the play before Tuck’s pick, Smith arched a 32-yard pass to Stephen Hill, showing nice touch. This is what the Jets hoped to see last night, when Smith got his first extended game action as a professional. He played just 14 snaps in the first preseason game, at Detroit, where he sprained his right ankle. The injury sidelined him for the second game, against Jacksonville. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg didn’t have a chance to properly evaluate Smith off the Detroit game. He and quarterbacks coach David Lee both looked forward to watching Smith against the Giants, in a pivotal game for the quarterback competition. It seems unlikely, but Lee said he could see the competition stretching into Thursday night’s game against Philadelphia. Starters don’t usually play in the final preseason game. Above all else, Mornhinweg and Lee just wanted more clarity about the Sanchez-Smith situation. They wanted to see one player elevate himself, as Mornhinweg put it. But these first three preseason games primarily served to elevate concerns about just how the Jets’ offense will be able to function with a turnover-prone quarterback, whoever he is. The Jets’ brass surely understood that they entered this preseason with two flawed quarterback candidates. Smith is a rookie learning the West Coast offense for the first time. And Sanchez committed 26 turnovers in each of the past two seasons. In the first two preseason games, he threw an interception – one returned for a touchdown, one into the end zone. But the winner of this seemingly interminable competition would have to do one thing above all else – limit turnovers. Smith trafficked in them last night, throwing three interceptions in the span of 16 plays, during his fourth, fifth and seventh possessions. Hiccups are to be expected for a rookie quarterback playing in a new offense, so Smith’s shortcomings last night should come as no surprise. Sanchez, if healthy, seems the better of two imperfect options for Week 1, but even if the Jets start him against Tampa Bay, they could replace him with Smith at any point, presuming Smith continues to develop. Mornhinweg considered the possibility last week that neither Sanchez nor Smith would elevate himself about the other, which is pretty much what has happened. In this case, Mornhinweg said, a gut feeling would play a part in picking the starter. Last night probably only made the Jets sick to their stomach. Staff writer Michael J. Fensom contributed to this story.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Aug 2013 05:30:35 +0000
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