And what of the Jets' big picture at quarterback? After all, Matt Simms, despite his prolific day, does not figure to be the starter against Tampa Bay on Sept. 8.
Head coach Rex Ryan had many plates on pool cues at that position for Thursday's 27-20 triumph over the Eagles. He explained how this game impacted each of his QBs at his postgame news conference.
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Geno Smith, DNP, Coach's Decision — **"There are several factors that go into things," Ryan said about not playing Smith, the healthiest of the three signalcallers ahead of Simms on the depth chart before this game. "With us, there's competition at the third quarterback spot, and we wanted to get Matt a lot of work. He was impressive."
Smith spoke with reporters after the game and said he understood "exactly what's going on here" and said he'll prepare in the coming week-plus to be the starter against the Bucs.
"Obviously you've got to prepare for the regular season, and in our current situation with Mark being down, you just can't take any risks," Smith said. "I'm going to continue to study hard. I've already watched a ton of film on the Buccaneers. So I'm going to prepare my mind and body for this upcoming game."
Mark Sanchez, DNP, right shoulder — Sanchez declined to talk after the game, saying he would next speak with reporters on Monday. Ryan said there's "no update yet" on his shoulder, injured vs. the Giants. "We'll let you know on Wednesday his status, if it changes at all. He's day-to-day and we'll see."
Greg McElroy, DNP, left knee — "It's unfortunate that Greg has really been battling a knee since the Detroit game, and he tweaked it again during practice," Ryan said. "We thought it was the right decision not to dress him."
Ryan also had Graham Harrell, signed due to the various contingencies above. But Simms was told he would be going the whole game, barring injury, and he got every one of the Jets' 85 snaps in the game except the last one, which Harrell took for a kneeldown.
It seems unlikely Harrell will be able to stick around, but might the Jets keep four QBs on the 53-man roster?
"I certainly understand where you're coming from because you have four good quarterbacks," Ryan said. "That's something that will definitely be considered."
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Ringing the Bell**
Kahlil Bell said he knows of LaMont Jordan, not a stretch since Jordan was the last Jet to score four preseason rushing TDs, in 2002, before Bell did it with two more scores vs. the Eagles.
He also seemed to remember the name Bob Gresham from somewhere in his football formative years, since Gresham was the last Jet to score twice in at least two different preseason games before Bell did — Gresham did it three times, in fact, for the '75 team.
All of that is prelude to Bell's view on his current situation, since it involves him in his second stint with the team and possibly adding his name to Jordan and Gresham and other Jets backs for their regular-season exploits.
"This is just a blessing. Four weeks ago, I didn't even have a team to play on," Kahlil said. "I wasn't really sure the Jets would call me back. They made a lot of moves in the offseason. I didn't even know if I was going to get a call, but I knew once I got an opportunity, I had to hit the ground running. It's worked out so far. I'm happy to be here and I want to be a Jet."
He'll find out more about his job future when the final cuts are announced today or Saturday.
Rex Cetera
Our gamenight captains for the Eagles were Simms, Isaiah Trufant, Jaiquawn Jarrett and Konrad Reuland. ... Their Will Not Play list was 11 players long heading into tonight's game. Besides the QBs — Geno Smith was not listed but Mark Sanchez and Greg McElroy were — the list also included CBs Antonio Cromartie and Dee Milliner, LBs Quinton Coples and Josh Mauga, DT Kenrick Ellis, WR Santonio Holmes, TE Kellen Winslow, C Nick Mangold and RB Mike Goodson (NFI)
