Team news: Seattle Seahawks | Page 36

Through four days, neither Jet quarterback, Geno Smith nor Ryan Fitzpatrick, has turned the ball over, but head coach Todd Bowles also said neither quarterback has seen much from the defense.

Smith is showing some pocket presence by being able to step up in the pocket while keeping his eyes focused downfield, and he's not forcing anything.

Fitzpatrick, working exclusively with the second team, has similarly not forced too much and taken what he's been given by the defense. His accuracy Sunday wasn't quite as good as Smith's.

The writer said the advantage is still Smith, and it hasn't been that close. The story added that Bowles said the defense has only installed about 35 to 40 percent of its playbook, a consequence of Sunday only being the second practice in pads.

Perhaps the least-deserved vote of confidence this offseason came when Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said it wasn’t really a competition, and the starting quarterback job was Geno Smith’s to lose.

New head coach Todd Bowles moved quickly to cut that talk off in May, and on the eve of his first training camp, made it clear he wouldn’t hesitate to pull Smith if he doesn’t perform.

“If you feel that his position or any other position is hurting the team, as a head coach, it’s up to you to do something about it,” Bowles said, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “It’s not a year-long thing for anybody. You earn your keep by the week. You earn your keep by the day. . . .

“If somebody is not doing their job, it’s up to me to rectify the situation.”

The story goes on to say the Jets have veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in reserve, and his experience with Gailey gives the Jets a baseline expectation for what their offense could be. Smith has the physical potential to offer somewhat more, which is why he’s going to have to be a disaster in training camp or the preseason to not have the job in the regular season. But Bowles insisted it wasn’t a season-long appointment.

When the new-look Jets report to Florham Park for training camp on Wednesday, with their first practice on Thursday, they'll do it with Geno Smith again penciled in as their No. 1 quarterback.

In his first two seasons, Smith did little to inspire confidence in his long-term ability; a poll of experts recently questioned by ESPN rated him as the worst starter in the NFL. The weeks ahead offer a chance for Smith to convince the new regime—which didn't draft him, and has little invested in him—he has what it takes.

Smith is the Jets' fulcrum, and he could still teeter either way with his performance—while taking the team's fortunes with him. Heading into camp, it's difficult to gauge exactly where Smith is right now. "Up and down" was how Bowles summed up Smith's showing during the offseason program.

"It's got to be more consistency for the quarterbacks overall," Bowles added.

The good news is Smith had been digesting coordinator Chan Gailey's new offense, a spread-like system similar to what Smith had used in college. With veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick waiting in the wings, Smith is by no means a lock to keep his job. The addition of Gailey and WR Brandon Marshall removed two of the biggest obstacles hindering Smith, other than Smith's own limitations. That's because Gailey has made his bones by squeezing as much talent as possible out of marginal quarterbacks, and Marshall is arguably the biggest, best receiving target the Jets have had since Keyshawn Johnson, the story went on to say. Smith is buried down our list of QBs at 29th and isn't getting drafted in typical 12-team leagues.

Jets QB Geno Smith doesn’t feel the need to wait until September to talk about how much it means for him to play with WR Brandon Marshall.

“He’s a quarterback’s best friend … For one, he’s a veteran guy,” Smith said, via the team’s website. “He understands the game on and off the field. He’s a beast of a player. You can’t say enough good things about him.”

The arrivals of Marshall, Stevan Ridley and Devin Smith give the Jets the deepest cast of characters at skill positions they’ve had since taking Geno Smith in the second round of the 2013 draft.

That’s part of the reason why Ron Jaworski and others think the needle is pointing up for Smith heading into the 2015 season, although that optimism is tempered by those who think the problems of his first two seasons have had more to do with Smith than with the players next to him on offense, the story went on to say. Smith ranks just 29th on our QB list.

When the offseason program ended Thursday, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll pointed to two players who stood out to him through the rookie camp and organized team activities (OTAs).

The first one is rookie wide receiver Tyler Lockett, the team’s third-round draft choice.

“It’s been really fun to learn about Tyler," Carroll said. “He’s got a lot of responsibilities. He’s going after this return job, he’s inside playing in the slot in the receiver position, and he’s been outside.

“We’ve just thrown everything at him because he seems to be able to handle it. He studies really hard. You don’t really know until you get these guys how dedicated they will be, but he’s been an exciting addition to the team.”

The other standout for Carroll is tight end Jimmy Graham, the Pro-Bowl player who should make a big impact on the offense this season.

“Jimmy coming in with the big history and all the accomplishments that he had, he could have been all kinds of things,” Carroll said. “He’s a great kid. He’s as hard a worker as we could hope to get. He loves the game. He loves the challenge and he loves coming to a new setting and having to prove himself. He’s feeding off that.”

Lockett is listed fourth our Seattle WR depth chart and isn't expected to be a typical fantasy league option - at least to start the season. Graham, on the other hand, is second among our TEs heading into fantasy drafts and projects as a third round pick. We think his value takes a little hit in a Seahawk, run-oriented offense, but given there isn't really a standout among the WRs, Graham should still get his targets.

ESPN Jets beat writer Rich Cimini answer a question about rookie Bryce Petty beating out Geno Smith for the starting QB job.

Cimini: I'll tell you what I've seen from Bryce Petty: arm talent. His arm is good enough to make all the throws. But, as you know from watching Geno Smith, it takes more than a good arm to be an effective quarterback. We won't know about Petty's intangibles until we see him in game conditions, facing a live pass rush. Some fans might be hoping he pulls a Russell Wilson, a middle-round pick who blows away everyone from day one. The Jets would love to see that happen, but Wilson's advantage was that he already was well-versed in the Seattle Seahawks' offense, having played in a West Coast system in college. That's not the case with Petty, who played in an up-tempo spread at Baylor. There will be a steep learning curve.

Cimini went on to add the Jets coaches like Petty's moxie and believe he has that "it" factor. But there's a long way to go before the season. Ryan Fitzpatrick could also be a factor in the Jets QB job.