Prior to the Jets' second minicamp workout, QB coach Kevin Patullo discussed his three young signal callers with the media. Without Ryan Fitzpatrick this spring, the Jets have gone full speed ahead with Geno Smith leading the first-team offense.
"It's just a matter of being comfortable now since it is year two in the system. He's playing faster, he's thinking faster," Patullo said of Smith. "It's going smoother for him, so that's been the big difference I think and that's where people are seeing the difference in him."
Smith, who again looked sharp in red zone work today with a pair of touchdowns to Brandon Marshall, is not the only quarterback in Patullo's room with experience in Chan Gailey's system. Bryce Petty, a second-year passer out of Baylor, has found more comfort inside the classroom with the veteran entering his fourth NFL season.
"They're both able to talk now more on a level because they have a better foundations whereas last year they were trying to learn and learn and learn," Patullo said. "And now they feel like okay now I understand what's going on, so now I can interject more and talk things through and there definitely is some of that. They know more now, so they're a lot better in the classroom."
Christian Hackenberg, who was taken in the second round with the 51st overall selection, will finish up his first NFL offseason Thursday.
"He's a typical rookie, he's growing as far as his knowledge," Patullo said of Penn State's all-time leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns. "He grasps the offense pretty well, he has a good base, a good foundation. So that's been a positive and he's really good in the classroom with accepting things we say, Geno says to him, Bryce, and all the communication, so that's the biggest key. He's really receptive to knowledge and learning."
