Many analysts and NFL aficionados believe Mark Sanchez will be the starting quarterback for the New York Jets when the regular season begins. Wide receiver Braylon Edwards said beating rookie QB Geno Smith won’t be that easy, according to ESPNNewYork.com.
"It's going to be a battle," said Edwards "Mark can't make mistakes like he has in the past. Things have to be legit with Mark for him to be the starter because he has a legit guy knocking at the back door."
Edwards compared Smith to former teammate and rookie Russell Wilson. In his rookie season Wilson took the Seattle Seahawks to the NFC Championship game where they lost to quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers.
"Russell was a maniac when it came to studying film, breaking down film and asking questions," the wide receiver said. "Russell was a beast at that. That's what I see potentially in Geno, how he comes in the huddle, how he asks questions in meetings. He's right there with Mark."
In their first day of training camp in Cortland, NY both quarterbacks did relatively well. However, Smith will need to adjust to the West Coast offense run by coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. When he was at West Virginia, Smith ran most of the offense in the shotgun. So far, he has made a few mistakes.
"He didn't have the greatest practice -- don't get me wrong -- but you can tell with his attitude he's not just happy to be in the NFL. He's not happy to be backing up Mark Sanchez," Edwards said. "He's here to start. You can tell with his leadership."
Head coach Red Ryan was also glad to see his young quarterback had a “really live arm.”
"He can throw it with anybody -- maybe not anybody," Ryan complimented. "I don't know if he can throw it with [Jay] Cutler or if he can throw it with the kid in Detroit [Matthew Stafford] but I know one thing: He can throw it. He's got a really live arm. There's no doubt.
Neither Smith nor Sanchez committed any turnovers on the first day of camp.
"It felt pretty good. Things went smoothly," the rookie QB said of his first day performance.
Sanchez was also pleased with how he performed. He has previously said he expects to be the starting quarterback Week 1.
"I thought I did well," he said. "I felt sharp, I felt accurate, and I felt good with my checks."
When asked about the idea of falling to second on the depth chart he said, “I don't even think like that."
"I don't think about not winning the job. That's just the way I am. I'm pretty optimistic"
