New York Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg doesn't want you to put all the blame for the team's offensive struggles on Geno Smith.
He wants the fans and media to know that he's also at fault for Smith's struggles and recent rash of turnovers.
But, it's not his play calling or offensive design that's the issue - it's his choice to trust that his inexperienced quarterback could get the job done in the first place.
"I'm just simply putting too much on the young quarterback that's developing, putting just a little bit too much on his plate there," Mornhinweg said. "I'm talking specifically in the red zone. I just relied a little too much on him."
The Jets were a paltry 1-for-6 in the red zone in a loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Smith threw two bad interceptions in the game.
"This is an issue now. There's no question about that. Good quarterbacks take care of the ball," Mornhinweg said. "He simply has been too loose there."
Too loose indeed: Smith has thrown 4 interceptions against only 3 touchdowns so far this season. Coming out of a spread, Air Raid offense in college, there were questions about Smith's ability to ingest and lead an NFL offense.
Those questions seem to linger, even for the quarterback's offensive coordinator.
"To be great in many cases you've got to go through some failures," Mornhinweg said, "and sometimes it's on Monday night."
So, Mornhinweg blames himself for trusting his quarterback - a backhanded way of avoiding fault by indirectly placing blame on Smith - and then does his best to act like he's protecting him; an undeniably odd choice by Marty, but at least somewhat understandable given the tenuous nature of NFL coaching positions.
"When you go through a little dip you've got to motor through it now," Mornhinweg said, doing his best to sound a hopeful note. "Listen, Geno's going to be just fine."
No matter how you slice it though, it's probably a bad sign for the Jets that Mornhinweg is essentially saying the second year quarterback out of West Virginia is unable to handle the offensive concepts he's attempting to employ.
The red zone failures and turnovers, should they continue, will sink the Jets season.
Asked if there was any thought of turning to backup Mike Vick, Mornhinweg offered an emphatic "no".
"Oh no. Look, we're right in the middle of developing a young quarterback now."
