Positional Storylines: QB
As Training Camp Commences, the Starting Job is Geno Smith's to Lose
"You're not going to win this game just managing football games. The quarterback is going to have to make some throws," said head coach Todd Bowles. "That's part of the requirement of being the quarterback, but you have to be smart. They have to understand when to throw it away, when to take a sack, when to throw it out of the end zone, and when to take a chance. That comes with experience."
"You can't turn it over, you can't take the sacks. ... I hate to start with a negative, but to be successful you can't do those first two things," said offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.
"In our room, it's great right now," says QB coach Kevin Patullo. "Between (Geno), and Fitz, and Bryce and Jake and myself, we're all very talkative. We talk things through, we all ask questions."
"I view it as open competition. With Smith being the starter, it's his to lose," said head coach Todd Bowles.
"As the quarterback, my game has got to be on point every single week," said Geno Smith. "I have to be on top of my game mentally and physically, so it's something that we all know. Having a good quarterback obviously has a direct correlation to winning in this league and that's something that I work extremely hard to get myself in position to go out there and be on top of my game every single week."
"A lot of my career has been not necessarily being the guy right away and having to step in and not having there be any sort of drop off, whether it's for injury or whatever," said Ryan Fitzpatrick. "That's something that I pride myself on - whether I'm the day-one starter or a third-string guy. When I go in there, I'm going to be ready."
"I was really impressed with, again, his work ethic, his approach, his personality, definitely from a leadership standpoint was a positive down there," said GM Mike Maccagnan of Fitzpatrick. "I thought he played well for us prior to getting injured. He does have history with Chan (Gailey), so that was definitely a positive in terms of Chan knowing the player."
"It's a mountain that I'm ready to climb and that I'm excited to climb," said rookie Bryce Petty, a fourth-round pick out of Baylor. "Being in a spread offense where things might have been a little bit more simplistic in college and then coming here, being able to play quarterback a little bit - not that we didn't in Baylor - you just get more on your plate here, which is what I love."
"The transition will be learning a new scheme. The guy is smart, he has a very strong arm and he threw a bunch of touchdown passes," said head coach Todd Bowles of Bryce Petty. "It's not like he's coming from soccer, trying to play football. He's played football. We're not treating him like he's some kind of new kid coming in off the block. We're going to help him his maturation process, seeing how fast he can grasp the system."
"At the end of the day, I think what's helped me have success up to this point is putting on the blinders in terms of what's going on around me, just focusing on what I can do and how can I improve each and every day," said QB Jake Heaps.
