Simms May See Increased First Team Reps

Barring injury, Geno Smith is going to start at QB for the New York Jets this week against the Baltimore Ravens, despite being benched on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.   However, it looks increasingly possible that if Geno continues to struggle, his starting days may be numbered.  As reported by the Daily News, head coach Rex Ryan is now contemplating getting backup QB Matt Simms more first-team reps at practice.

In mopup duty on Sunday against the Bills, against a prevent defense, Simms was able to complete 4 of 6 passes for 60 yards and one touchdown.  That touchdown came against a soft prevent defense in garbage time.  And Simms threw a near certain red zone interception into triple coverage that was dropped by a Bills defender.  Still, in 1 quarter of mopup duty Simms managed to match the number of TDs Smith has thrown in his last 5 games combined.

Simms, a 2012 undrafted free agent with a strong arm, opened some eyes with a stellar preseason, albeit against players who mostly would never see a regular season defensive snap.  In limited action through three preseason games, Simms completed 74.5 percent of his passes for 478 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Simms was a bad college QB.  It's very likely if he's given the chance he will prove to be a bad pro QB.  Very few thought he would ever get that chance.  But it appears increasingly likely that his time just might be approaching.  Ryan is fighting for a playoff berth and for his future, and the first cracks in his patience with Geno's development are beginning to show.  Should Smith put together another terrible performance or two, perhaps there will be a new Simms as the starting QB for a New York football team.  Ready or not, Simms' time may be near.