There have been plenty of moments this summer when Geno Smith looked shaky.
Where questions about whether this unlikely second chance and improbable comeback story in Florham Park would actually work out seemed warranted. Where enough concerns materialized and then proceeded to stack against one preseason drive — a 7-for-7 performance with a touchdown pass Friday night — filled with promise.
But in the eyes of offensive coordinator Frank Reich, Smith is “dialed in” as Gang Green training camp reached its final session Tuesday. He was “on point” in that Pittsburgh cameo.
The Jets accomplished their mission in the second preseason game — getting Smith comfortable in the pocket, getting him hit, spreading the ball around — and left Reich content with the direction of the offense, dishing out the latest praise for Smith following his seven-throw preseason masterpiece heading into the final exhibition Friday against the Giants.
“I don’t want to overstate it,” Reich said of Smith. “I’ve already said it a lot. Everything I said is even more true than I thought it was.”
Reich’s answer occurred when he fielded a question about whether Smith’s mastery of the offense has allowed him to dive deeper into the playbook at this stage of the preseason, which also led Reich — who will call plays upstairs for the first time in his career — to rave about Smith’s focus and desire to improve in practice that can fuel teammates, too. The Jets have plenty of leaders, Reich said, but “he’s certainly setting the tone.”
That sentiment has followed Smith throughout the summer. Leadership has been the buzzword of camp with the 35-year-old, who the Jets acquired from the Raiders to bring Smith back to the spot where his career started from 2013 to 2016 — and then ultimately fizzled out before he revived it with the Seahawks.
Smith struggled through various practices this summer, but the juncture when everything changed for Smith occurred Friday — when he made his preseason debut with a perfect passing night. He completed passes to Garrett Wilson, Adonai Mitchell, Braelon Allen, Mason Taylor and Jelani Woods. Smith is “extremely comfortable” with the offense, he said, and that continues to grow.
“Again, repetition, I’ll keep preaching that, it’s all about repetition,” Smith said. “And the more reps we get together, the more we’ll understand each other. I think it’ll just continue to get better as it goes. But we’re putting the work in. We have the right guys.”
Smith claimed he hasn’t started focusing on the Titans yet and won’t until head coach Aaron Glenn tells him to. But what unfolds in the opener, on that stage in Tennessee 10 seasons after he last officially threw a pass for the Jets, will serve as the ultimate litmus test for the latest dose of preseason hype from Reich.
“I would say,” Mitchell said of Smith, “he’s as advertised.”
