F
flgreen
Guest
[ESPN]14146871[/ESPN]
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Only three months ago, the New York Jets were planning to go into the season with Geno Smith as their starting quarterback. One punch changed everything, and now the separation between him and Ryan Fitzpatrick is so great that the Jets are prepared to start Fitzpatrick and his surgically repaired left thumb over a healthy Smith in Sunday's gotta-have-it game against the Houston Texans.
On Monday, Todd Bowles said he hasn't made a final decision, but he indicated Fitzpatrick will start as long as he shows he can handle the post-op pain, meaning he shows up for Wednesday's practice and demonstrates the ability to take snaps and execute handoffs with his left hand. You get the feeling that they'd sooner use Fitzpatrick in shotgun on every play before entrusting Smith with the game and, possibly, their season.
The notion of giving Fitzpatrick a week off entered the coach's mind, but it didn't get very far.
"It was a thought, but it wasn't a serious thought," Bowles said. "Everything that was conveyed to us is that he'd probably be able to play if everything went well [in surgery] -- and everything went well. But you have to wait until Wednesday to see what his pain tolerance is."
Translation: It would have taken an amputation for Bowles to make a quarterback change this early in the week.
Two thumbs are better than one, but Bowles evidently doesn't believe Smith's eight other fingers (plus his right arm and head) can get the job done. No doubt, Fitzpatrick is the better man for the job, but there's always some gray area when the starter is less than 100 percent. At what point does Smith become the better option?
Bowles can't afford to make the wrong decision. Maybe, if they were 6-3, he'd be more inclined to give Fitzpatrick a little extra time to heal. That luxury doesn't exist. Mired in a 1-3 slump, the Jets (5-4) are losing their margin for error. They can't give away a game against the very beatable Houston Texans (3-5), who face the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.
As expected, Fitzpatrick -- three days removed from surgery -- didn't practice Monday. In fact, he remained at home, recuperating. Smart move. Bowles said he's "hopeful" that Fitzpatrick will practice on Wednesday and "hopeful" he will play on Sunday in Houston, but he wouldn't say it's etched in stone.
"I'm not sure," Bowles said. "I have to see how he looks and how he takes snaps. It would be unfair for me to say he's going to be fine. I'm not a doctor."
Bowles said it's conceivable that Fitzpatrick could practice only once (Friday) and get the start, depending on how he looks. If he doesn't practice at all, he's not playing, according to the coach.
Fitzpatrick is coming off his worst game -- two interceptions in Rex Bowl I -- but he's still ranked seventh in the league in Total QBR (70.1). Smith made his season debut two weeks ago, replacing the injured Fitzpatrick, and it was a typical Geno performance -- a few nice throws, but a couple of moments that left people shaking their heads.
"I'm fine with him starting," said Bowles, responding to a hypothetical question. "He's made great progress. He's learned a lot under Ryan. He threw the ball well in Oakland for the most part, so if he has to play, we'll keep moving."
Clearly, Bowles would rather not see it come to that.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Only three months ago, the New York Jets were planning to go into the season with Geno Smith as their starting quarterback. One punch changed everything, and now the separation between him and Ryan Fitzpatrick is so great that the Jets are prepared to start Fitzpatrick and his surgically repaired left thumb over a healthy Smith in Sunday's gotta-have-it game against the Houston Texans.
On Monday, Todd Bowles said he hasn't made a final decision, but he indicated Fitzpatrick will start as long as he shows he can handle the post-op pain, meaning he shows up for Wednesday's practice and demonstrates the ability to take snaps and execute handoffs with his left hand. You get the feeling that they'd sooner use Fitzpatrick in shotgun on every play before entrusting Smith with the game and, possibly, their season.
The notion of giving Fitzpatrick a week off entered the coach's mind, but it didn't get very far.
Translation: It would have taken an amputation for Bowles to make a quarterback change this early in the week.
Two thumbs are better than one, but Bowles evidently doesn't believe Smith's eight other fingers (plus his right arm and head) can get the job done. No doubt, Fitzpatrick is the better man for the job, but there's always some gray area when the starter is less than 100 percent. At what point does Smith become the better option?
Bowles can't afford to make the wrong decision. Maybe, if they were 6-3, he'd be more inclined to give Fitzpatrick a little extra time to heal. That luxury doesn't exist. Mired in a 1-3 slump, the Jets (5-4) are losing their margin for error. They can't give away a game against the very beatable Houston Texans (3-5), who face the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.
As expected, Fitzpatrick -- three days removed from surgery -- didn't practice Monday. In fact, he remained at home, recuperating. Smart move. Bowles said he's "hopeful" that Fitzpatrick will practice on Wednesday and "hopeful" he will play on Sunday in Houston, but he wouldn't say it's etched in stone.
"I'm not sure," Bowles said. "I have to see how he looks and how he takes snaps. It would be unfair for me to say he's going to be fine. I'm not a doctor."
Bowles said it's conceivable that Fitzpatrick could practice only once (Friday) and get the start, depending on how he looks. If he doesn't practice at all, he's not playing, according to the coach.
Fitzpatrick is coming off his worst game -- two interceptions in Rex Bowl I -- but he's still ranked seventh in the league in Total QBR (70.1). Smith made his season debut two weeks ago, replacing the injured Fitzpatrick, and it was a typical Geno performance -- a few nice throws, but a couple of moments that left people shaking their heads.
"I'm fine with him starting," said Bowles, responding to a hypothetical question. "He's made great progress. He's learned a lot under Ryan. He threw the ball well in Oakland for the most part, so if he has to play, we'll keep moving."
Clearly, Bowles would rather not see it come to that.
