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Joe Namath says NY Jets wasted a draft pick on quarterback Geno Smith

To Namath, the Jets already had a quality quarterback in embattled starter Mark Sanchez and would've been better off filling other positions.
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By Ebenezer Samuel  / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 8:43 PM.
 

Jets' Sanchez brings a little Namath back to NY.
Myers: Namath's talk right on the Mark.

Namath: Mark it down!.

Quarterback competition between Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith could be over before training camp: Marty Mornhinweg .
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Joe Namath calls Gang Green’s prized rookie QB Geno Smith a “sensational athlete” with “good size.” And Namath also thinks drafting Smith was unnecessary. “No, I don’t think they needed a quarterback,” Namath said at the United Way’s 20th annual Gridiron Gala at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel on Tuesday. “They needed the other positions filled. Possibly offensive line. They got some defensive line. The safeties are still questionable. The outside linebackers are still questionable.”

To Namath, the Jets already had a quality quarterback in embattled starter Mark Sanchez. Sanchez has struggled in the last two seasons. But Namath attributed that to “distractions.”

“I am pulling for him,” Namath said of Sanchez. “I know that he can do better than he’s done. And we saw him lead a team to two AFC championship games, right? I also know what it’s like not to necessarily have the weapons you’d like to have, not to necessarily have the time you’d like to accomplish.”

Mark Sanchez (r.) has a major ally in Joe Namath.

Al Pereira/Getty Images

Mark Sanchez (r.) has a major ally in Joe Namath.

Namath said just a handful of Jets got a “passing grade” last season, naming linemen D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold and safeties Yeremiah Bell and LaRon Landry as players who did play up to expectations. The others, he seemed to say, didn’t help Sanchez last year. But Namath expects Sanchez to help himself, whether he does so as a Jet, or in another NFL uniform.

“I know it’s a team game and I know Sanchez is going to play better,” Namath added. “I promise you you’ll see a different guy (this year). I believe you’ll see a different guy.

“Mark’s not a puppy anymore,” he added. “He’s gone through some things, growing process. As far as Sanchez goes, even if he’s not with the Jets, he’s going to play as long as he wants to. He’s that good. As long as he wants to, he’s going to be in the NFL.”

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Quarterback competition between Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith could be over before training camp: Marty Mornhinweg

The new offensive coordinator would like to have a starter selected sooner rather than later to maximize the quarterback's reps with the first-team offense, be it Sanchez or rookie QB Smith.
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By Manish Mehta  / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 12:13 PM.
 

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The Jets' ballyhooed quarterback competition may be over before Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith even make it to Cortland, N.Y., for the start of training camp in late July.

While the prevailing thought is that the incumbent and the rookie will square off in a summer-long battle to determine the starter, the Jets braintrust isn't averse to declaring a winner in the coming weeks.

"We don't care what the prevailing thought is," new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg told the Daily News about the perception that the quarterback battle will certainly be alive at the start of training camp. "We only care about our competition here."

Mornhinweg is looking for one of his signal callers to separate himself from the pack. "Common sense tells you that you hope it's quick, but this is going to be a full blown competition. Period."

Although there are four quarterbacks on the roster (Sanchez, Smith, Greg McElroy and Matt Simms), Sanchez or Smith will almost certainly win the job.

Mornhinweg wants one of the quarterbacks to distance himself during a critical, but often overlooked stretch of the offseason program that began on Monday. But could someone actually separate himself that much for the Jets brass to declare a winner by mid-June based on 10 OTA practices and three minicamp practices?

"Oh, absolutely," Mornhinweg said. "Sure. Absolutely. That's all part of the process. Absolutely. Everything we do is important. Our meetings are important… the way we go about our meetings, the way we go about our preparation right now with a new system. These are very important things. Every pass we throw out there in OTAs and these practices are important."

Mark Sanchez, following a dreadful fourth season, enters the offeseason fighting for his job as Gang Green’s starting quarterback.

Mark Sanchez, following a dreadful fourth season, enters the offeseason fighting for his job as Gang Green’s starting quarterback.

Sanchez's experience appears to give him an inherent advantage to seize control of the competition early. Smith, who spent much of his college career in shotgun, has spent a fair amount of time thus far sharpening his skills taking the ball under center with quarterbacks coach David Lee.

"David Lee is working overtime on many things," Mornhinweg said. "But certainly his footwork."

Mornhinweg made it clear that he's not overly concerned with timelines created by people outside the organization. He surely wouldn't call off the "full-blown competition" before training camp begins, right?

"I don't know that… " Mornhinweg said. "We'll see. Really. This thing is going to play itself out. It's going to be our competition… I want to give everybody an opportunity to show their skill and ability and their decision-making and their accuracy and their timing within this system."

Mornhinweg is mindful that the longer the competition lasts, the less time the eventual winner will have to work solely with the first-team offense.

"When you do it this way," Mornhinweg said, "you give up some reps individually for the possible starter if you don't select him quite as quickly."

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Buccaneers hatched trade idea for Darrelle Revis soon after injury

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Bucs GM Mark Dominik saw the knee injury as an opportunity to land Darrelle Revis. (USA Today Sports)

Conor Orr/The Star-Ledger By  Conor Orr/The Star-Ledger  
on May 21, 2013 at 9:15 AM, updated May 21, 2013 at 9:35 AM

As with most deals in the NFL, Tampa Bay's interest in Darrelle Revis was hatched long before the papers were signed last month.

In fact, Bucs GM Mark Dominik said that his team began showing interest soon after Revis endured a season-ending ACL against the Dolphins.

“Quite frankly, it started when he blew out his knee,” Dominik said on NFL Network yesterday. “I actually went into our director of player personnel Dennis Hickey’s office and I said, ‘That could be a reason why he could leave the Jets.’ Because I knew what his contract situation was, and so when he hurt his knee, I thought, ‘That’s going to be an out possibility’.”

Reports out of Tampa Bay suggest that Revis will be ready for his Week One return to MetLife Stadium and, about a month after the trade, Dominik still thinks he has the best cornerback in football.

The Jets, meanwhile, await Dee Milliner's return to the field to see if they can develop a suitable replacement.

Hill Making the Effort to Step Up

Posted 11 hours ago

  Eric Allen Sr. Reporter/Director, Internet ProgrammingEmail @eallenjets On the Inside 

As OTAs begin, there is some uncertainty at the wide receiver position for the Jets.  Santonio Holmes continues to work his way back from a Lisfranc injury and many people wonder what the Green & White will get out of Stephen Hill in Year 2.

Hill has all the physical traits you would want in a prototypical NFL wideout.  The 6’4”, 215-pound Hill possesses 4.3 speed and new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is an aggressive play-caller who will dial up plays down the field.

“Me and Marty had a lot of conversations, and he’s definitely looking forward to me stepping up,” Hill said.

Hill made it look easy in his first professional game, becoming the first Jets rookie receiver to record two touchdowns in his NFL Debut and his 89 yards in a trouncing over the Bills also set a rookie record.  But Hill, a raw product who was making a transition from a triple option attack at Georgia Tech, only collected 16 more receptions throughout his rookie season.  Injuries hampered Hill’s 2012 campaign as he appeared in 11 contests and made eight starts.

“After I saw the things I was doing out there on the field, I have a lot to clean up,” he said.  “A whole lot to clean up, so I’m getting better at that.  I’m not going to grade myself now of stepping to the next level, but I’m definitely going to look a lot better — a whole lot better from last year.”

Hill, who stayed in the area this offseason after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage in his right knee, believes there are a lot of areas where he can improve.

“The basics.  Route running — making sure I don’t show my route a certain way because these corners are very smart nowadays,” he said.  “Any little thing, they’ll just pick it up just that fast.  Cro helped me out with that and actually when (Darrelle) Revis was here — they helped me out with that

.  Telling me as the year went on how I needed to clean up certain things, and also Santonio Holmes he does the same thing especially in the meeting room.  What I need to write down, how I need to see certain things and it’s definitely paid off.”

Just like all his offensive teammates, Hill is learning a new offensive language.  Mornhinweg called his West Coast terminology “substantial” and has been happy how his players have embraced the challenge.

“You have to know one word and you have to know what everybody’s doing,” Hill said.    “You have to stay in your playbook — you have to read everything that’s in that playbook.  If not, you’re going to be behind.”

While Hill will catch passes from the Jets’ four quarterbacks out here at OTAs, he actually already gained experience with rookie Geno Smith at the Offense-Defense (OD) High School All-American Bowl in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

“It was pretty cool.  We were actually connecting out there,” Hill said.  “He said, ‘It’s pretty crazy that we got on the same NFL team.’   We’re definitely trying to make sure that we get this thing rolling, so we can at least be something in the future.”

Hill, with one pro season under his belt, has been very impressed with Smith’s approach.

“He takes his game seriously,” said the Georgia Tech alum.  “He really does...  He’s being a pro, and I love the way he’s taking it.”

A second-round pick of the Jets in the 2012 draft, Hill just turned 22 in April.  The Jets stuck to their board and did not reach for a receiver in the draft.  They could elect to add a veteran free agent before training camp, but Hill will be counted on to make a big-time impact in Year 2.

“He’s a big part of this offense.  We need him to step up and having him where he is right now is going to speak volumes,” said CB Antonio Cromartie.  “I’m definitely waiting to see how he’s going to be when we go to training camp because he’s coming out to with me to California and we’re going to be working out together.”

“I’m definitely looking forward to showing my skills especially to the coaches and the GM,” added Hill.  “I love the way the GM’s talking.  He really wants competition and that’s what we’re definitely going to bring out there.”

Former rugby player Smith expects to make bigger impact in second year with Jets
By BRIAN COSTELLO
Posted: 3:58 PM, May 20, 2013

A year ago, Hayden Smith barely knew how to buckle his chinstrap. The Jets tight end was playing football for the first time in his life. A year later, Smith believes he’s ready to actually contribute.

“There was a lot thrown on my plate,” Smith, 28, said last week of his rookie year. “I came from a situation where I knew football from an armchair perspective and nothing more than that and to come straight into the NFL there is a lot that gets put on your plate very quickly. It was overwhelming at times. You had to try to break down the most important bits and relate that and become comfortable with that. Most of that really has sunk in now. I’m in a much more comfortable spot.”

Smith, who is from Australia, played rugby in England but had never played football at any level before joining the Jets last year. He saw action in five games in 2012, mostly on special teams, and had one catch.

As he enters his second season, Smith said he is able to focus on the playbook and not figuring out the rules of football.

“It’s not even close,” Smith said. “The main thing is not having to learn about the game of football and actually being able to concentrate on learning the offense. It takes a lot off your plate. It definitely allows things to be a lot slower and come to you a lot quicker.”

The Jets are extremely thin at tight end, creating a chance for Smith. After letting Dustin Keller go to the Dolphins, the Jets have Jeff Cumberland, Konrad Reuland and Smith as the guys with the most experience at the position.

Smith recognizes he has a better chance to play this year, but is not looking at it like that.

“I’ve got to approach it the same way I did last year and that was just to get better every day,” he said. “I need to continue to get better than I am today tomorrow and give myself the best chance really to compete for a position. There’s obviously opportunity there. It’s just a matter of what you do with that opportunity.”

The Jets fired offensive c

oordinator Tony Sparano after the season, replacing him with Marty Mornhinweg, giving Smith his second NFL offense to learn. Mornhinweg’s West Coast system has a big role for tight ends, something that has Smith excited.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” Smith said of learning the new system. “Whether it’s me being more comfortable with football in general or Marty’s offense, I’ve found it a light year’s difference to my experience last year. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I really enjoy the offense itself as do all the guys.”

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