Geno Smith needs to limit his mistakes if he is going to be a franchise quarterback.
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His quarterback may be under fire, but Jets owner Woody Johnson is still throwing his support behind starter Geno Smith. Not only that, Johnson said he thinks Smith still can become a “franchise quarterback.”
It has been a rough sophomore year for Smith, the Jets’ work-in-progress quarterback, who is full of potential but has lacked results this year.
At 1-3, the Jets have been in every game — as Johnson noted in his remarks to the media on Wednesday — but the offense has stalled and Smith continues to struggle with turnovers. Without those turnovers, the Jets very well could be above .500.
“Everybody always doubts,” Johnson said. “If you look at at what we’re doing, we haven’t won as many games as we want. I have a lot of confidence in Geno. I think Geno can be a franchise quarterback, I really do. I see traits in him — and we all see traits in him — that are extremely positive. [There is] room for a lot of optimism.”
Smith was taken in the second round last year with the hopes he’d become the franchise quarterback, something this team has lacked since Chad Pennington’s last season in 2007.
Smith has five interceptions and two fumbles lost through four games. But he has shown significant gains in completion percentage and is on pace to eclipse last year’s touchdown total.
Follow Jets beat writer Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.
