By Geno Smith's own admission, "There are plenty of things I could've done better" in his return this season to the Jets, who first drafted him in 2013.
Yet Smith, after Wednesday's practice, didn't wish to entertain the argument that there are plenty of things he has done well this season, to the point where he is on track to challenge the achievements of some of the icon QBs in franchise history.
"I just want to win the game, and as of right now, my focus is on the Chiefs, and what we can do to go out there and give ourselves to win the game in a tough environment on the road," Smith said in response to questions about his threatening to rewrite a lot of the Jets' single-season quarterback record book. "Anything else is outside of the realm of what I'm thinking about."
Such single-mindedness is one of several things that HC Aaron Glenn appreciates about the juice that Geno has brought to the Jets.
"He's really commanding that offense the way you want a quarterback to do," Glenn said. "The dropback game, he's doing a hell of a job, the play-action game, he's doing a hell of a job. He's getting the ball down the field ─ I know there was talk of him stretching the defense, and that's something he's done well in his career. I think he's really taken off when it comes to that."
See photos of the Jets on the practice field ahead of their Week 9 matchup with the Chiefs.
The statistics bear mentioning again. Smith has completed 9 passes of 40-plus yards, more than any Jets QB since Joe Namath in 1972 have done over the first 8 games of a season. The offense engineered by Smith has averaged 7.16 total yards per offensive play in the last two games, at home against the Dolphins and Raiders, a total that is the third-best in back-to-back games in the Jets' last half-century of games.
As for those single-season marks, here is a summary of the paces he is on through eight games to catch some of those best seasons by QBs wearing the green and white:
| Statistic | Smith Through 8 Gms | 17-Game Pace | Jets Record Holder | Year / Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pass Attempts | 239 | 507.9 | Vinny Testaverde | 2000 / 590 |
| Completions | 165 | 350.6 | Aaron Rodgers | 2024 / 368 |
| Accuracy | 69.0 | 69.0 | Chad Pennington | 2002 / 68,9 |
| Yards | 1,913 | 4,065.1 | Joe Namath | 1967 / 4,007 |
| Passer Rating | 104.5 | 104.5 | Chad Pennington | 2002 / 104.2 |
There's a different name and decade for almost every category. But Smith prefers to focus not what's behind jim but what's ahead, and the names of some former Jets players ─ Glenn, the former Pro Bowl cornerback, and OC Frank Reich, a quarterback on the 1996 team ─ who are helping him and the team prepare for a stern challenge in Arrowhead Stadium's sea of red.
"I think it starts with Coach," Smith said of the man also known as AG. "I think his message has always been to get better every single week and every single day, and we follow his lead. And he's got the right demeanor and the right mindset.: From there, Coach Reich, the belief that he has. I mean, he's a quarterback himself.
"With having those type of coaches and the mindset that they instill in us, it just trickled down to the leaders and then to the entire locker room. And we've got a lot of great players in this locker room, we've got a lot of guys that we believe in wholeheartedly. So we've just got to keep getting better until we get the job done here."
As all the Jets acknowledge, the challenge is daunting in tackling the Chiefs, ho figure to be ornery at home after starting the season 5-0, then hitting a two-game skid with road losses to the Seahawks and Broncos. But more than the number, as Smith said, he has belief in his team and his team has belief in him.
"I think he would tell you he still has room to improve, and that's what practice is for, to be able to do that," Glenn said, adding his admiration of what Smith has brought to the Jets: "I'm proud of where he's at."
