There have been no shortage of people making the claim that the Jets have the worst quarterbacking situation in the NFL heading into the 2013 season and that may very well be true, but coach Rex Ryan has identified at least one quarterback situation he thinks was worse than the Mark Sanchez/Geno Smith pairing.
It’s the first Jets team he took to camp as a head coach. In 2009, the Jets had a rookie Sanchez and Kellen Clemens competing for a starting job that Sanchez would have had to work hard to lose after the team traded up to take him the first round. Ryan said that he thought this year’s duo was “much better” than what he had on his hands back then.
“Obviously, [Sanchez] has had his ups and downs, but there’s a lot of positive things about what Mark’s accomplished, won four road playoff games,” Ryan said during an appearance on Morning Joe, via Bob Glauber of Newsday. “But this Geno Smith is really a talented young man. The whole team, we’re all about competition and certainly that’s going to be a lot of competition right there.”
It’s an incredibly low bar that Ryan set, which makes clearing it comfortably something less than a crowning achievement. The coach didn’t touch on the rest of the team around the quarterbacks, but it would seem the 2009 squad, which largely won in spite of its quarterback, has a big edge on that front. This Jets team doesn’t look to be capable of pulling off the same trick, which could render the quarterbacking comparisons moot.