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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Teammates say leading the team has become second nature for the Jets’ Geno Smith.
CORTLAND, N.Y. » Geno Smith is a changed quarterback.
Puzzled pauses in the New York Jets’ huddle have been replaced by commanding playcalls. He’s also barking out audibles at the line of scrimmage and reading defenses unlike he did at any point during his rookie season.
For a first training camp practice, Smith certainly performed Thursday like a guy intent on retaining his starting job.
"I think Geno looked better than I’ve ever seen him," wide receiver David Nelson raved.
With Michael Vick also in camp to push Smith and provide a veteran backup, Smith took the expected 75 percent of the snaps with the first-team offense, and was sharp while completing seven of 10 passes in 11-on-11 team drills.
"The game is slowing down a ton," Smith said.
Sure, it’s only one training camp practice, and Smith started quickly last summer, too. But if there really is a competition at quarterback this year, Vick has quite a bit of catching up to do.
"Coming into this year, I’m a lot more confident in my reads and my footwork, and delivering the ball a lot stronger and a lot more accurate," Smith said. "All good signs of progress, but we’ve got a long way to go — I’ve got a long way to go."
Smith is coming off an up-and-down rookie season in which he threw 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, but finished with a solid four-game stretch in which the Jets won three times to finish 8-8.
Smith has the confidence of his teammates — and that goes a long way in establishing yourself as a leader and building an offense in the NFL.
"Just knowing it’s his team and knowing that he has what it takes and the confidence," Nelson said. "Last year, he didn’t really have a chance to worry about himself because he had a lot of different pieces coming in every week."
