David Lee Unimpressed by His Quarterbacks

Quarterbacks coach David Lee said yesterday that Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez are not where they need to be via Conor Orr.

"They’ve done it together, they haven’t made it easy," Lee, the Jets’ new quarterbacks coach, said yesterday. "... I don’t know why they’re both doing it at the same time. Maybe it’s a reflection on me. Maybe I’m screwing it up somehow, but they won’t separate right now."

On Sanchez:

"Fifty-two turnovers in two years is not conducive to winning in our league."

On Smith:

"His system at West Virginia, there’s no similarities there whatsoever," Lee said. "Unlike Russell Wilson, who was in the West Coast system for three years at N.C. State under Dana Bible ... Geno hasn’t had that luxury. It’s been a brand-new world ever day, just struggling with the basic things."

Lee went on to talk about how he believes Smith can catch up and how Sanchez has won in the league so it was not a total bash-fest.

None of this is a total surprise. Sanchez is Sanchez. I think most Jets fans have lost hope in him. Geno is a rookie. As Lee said, his college offense was a lot more simplistic than the one the Jets run. He's also facing bigger, stronger, faster players than he has before and more complex defenses. At the very start, it was bound to be a struggle. This is why there is minicamp, training camp, and the preseason. He has time to learn. It is unlikely Geno will have everything mastered, but that isn't unusual. The question is whether he will have enough mastered by to lead a functional offense by the time the season rolls along. If you are looking for some hope, Nick Foles ran a similar offense to Geno in college, and put up a solid rookie year after Marty Mornhinweg coached him up.