Geno Smith was everything the New York Jets hoped he would be in the opening day game against the Tennessee Titans.
Smith was in control and didn’t have a turnover in the Jets’ dominating 23-10 victory. Although largely conservative, he did have one 40-yard pass to Adonai Mitchell, and No. 1 wideout Garrett Wilson had 79 yards on six catches, including a 31-yard reception. The short passing game favored by new offensive coordinator Frank Reich was humming, and with the offensive line having a huge game – Smith was only touched once and suffered no sacks – the Jets were in control throughout.
Overall, Smith was 19-for-24 for 215 yards, and three of the misses happened when receivers dropped the ball or couldn’t control it while hitting the ground.
Not bad for his first Jets start in ten years.
“I thought he did an outstanding job,” Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said Monday during his news briefing. “Listen, there’s some things obviously that we’ve got to clean up and get better at. But man, I think he was dang-near 80 percent throwing the ball. He put the ball where he needed to.”
Of course, Smith had strong protection from his offensive line, giving him time to throw. But he still had to deliver, and he was generally on-target.
“Some of those anticipated throws that he made, I mean the one to [Mitchell], the deep corner route, the ball was out of his hand, AD was still actually running his route, and that comes down to trust. That’s all that is, is trust,” Glenn said. “That’s been a work in progress from OTAs to training camp, still going into the season, and you’re starting to see that actually show up quite a bit. And not just with AD, but with Garrett too, and with all the skill players. That’s been a lot of work that’s been put in. From the offseason, those guys in Miami getting that type of work in, so I thought he did a great job.”
The Jets had 367 total yards and controlled the ball for more than 38 minutes, including a 19-play drive that wore down the Tennessee Titans defense on a super-hot day in Nashville. That time of possession edge will likely be the Jets’ hoped-for formula going forward.
