Geno Smith's Saga with Rex Ryan Stalled His NFL Career
After posting one of the best careers as a West Virginia quarterback, Geno Smith never got a fair shake in the NFL. Every young quarterback has leaps and bounds that they have to hurdle and in Smith's case, ones that were almost insurmountable.
He was drafted in the 2nd round by the New York Jets and the moment he was selected, I knew it was the wrong place for him. Get smothered by the New York media, expectations would be extremely high in a big market like that, he would be forced to start early in his career, and to top it all off, his head coach didn't even want him there.
Rex Ryan was the coach of the Jets at the time and had publicly stated the he was not a fan of the selection when they drafted Smith, but it didn't just stop there. Early in his career, Smith got into an altercation with teammate IK Enemkpali that resulted in Smith getting a broken jaw. Enemkpali would be released from the team and Smith would stay aboard.
This is where Ryan really started to show his true feelings on Smith. After being fired from the New York Jets, he was hired by the Buffalo Bills and on a Thursday night game vs the Jets, Ryan made IK Enemkpali the Bills team co-captain for that night. A true classless move by Ryan that showed nothing but disrespect to the former Mountaineer.
Fast forward to just a few weeks ago, Ryan was caught on camera once again bashing Geno and throwing him under the bus.
In the discussion on ESPN's First Take, Ryan was asked if the Patriots' success stemmed more from Tom Brady or Bill Belichick and he responded, "Give [Belichick] Geno Smtih... and let's see how many Super Bowls he would have won."
All of this talk from Rex Ryan would make you think he's a Tyler Thigpen or Nathan Peterman. In fact, during his first full season as an NFL starter, Smith led the Jets to an 8-8 record. Yes, he had his interception problems - 21 of them, but what rookie doesn't? Heck, Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions as a rookie. He was never trusted by Ryan and it destroyed his confidence. All of the drama that Ryan created was not beneficial for either party. But it was more harmful to Smith's career.
Following Geno's time with the Jets, teams couldn't put their trust in him and they didn't want to take a chance on him. He missed out on his development as an NFL quarterback. Ryan could care less if he was on the roster or not. It destroyed his development and ultimately cost him a chance at starting in the NFL for another organization.
So, here is the question that everyone is wondering: Does Geno Smith still have a chance to start in the NFL?
Surprisingly, yes.
Despite the majority of teams being stocked at quarterback, there are still a few teams that have question marks surrounding the position.
What may benefit Geno the most is going to a team that drafted a rookie quarterback in this year's draft and help groom along the young signal caller. He needs a franchise that will put a load of confidence back into him and give him a chance to be the guy until the younger quarterback that said team invested their future in is ready to takeover the job.
Which teams could be a good fit? Check it out here.
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