Among those free-agent quarterbacks who have switched teams this offseason, Geno Smith is moving on from the New York Jets to the New York Giants.
It is clear that he will take a backseat to quarterback Eli Manning who has yet to miss a single game since starting with the Giants in 2005.
This appears to suit Smith perfectly fine and he plans to analyze Manning’s every move to learn from the veteran.
“This is definitely an opportunity for me to learn and to get better,” Smith said via Michael Eisen of the team’s official website. “I want to carry my notepad around and whatever I see Eli doing, whether it’s in the classroom, on the field or off the field, I want to write it down. Because he’s a guy you can model yourself after. If you learn from a guy like that, we can all do a lot better.”
That is great attitude from the embattled fifth-year signal caller. Smith had a rocky four-year journey with the Jets and never evolved into the caliber of quarterback the team had hoped when it selected him in the second round of the 2013 draft.
Hopefully he can learn from Manning who sometimes offers his own mixed bag of results. Although, Manning has at least cut down drastically on his turnovers over the past few seasons while his passing yards and touchdowns have increased. As far as a locker room role model, not many more are better suited to help Smith mature.