Jets' Rex Ryan on Geno Smith: 'I don't care what people say'
Despite making several costly mistakes in Monday's 27-19 loss to the Chicago Bears, New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith hasn't lost the support of head coach Rex Ryan.
Smith showed improvement in the first two weeks of the season, but looked a lot like his up-and-down rookie self against the Bears. He finished 26-of-43 for 316 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions Monday, including a pick-6 on the Jets' second play of the game.
Ryan isn't worried, though.
"Guys, this ain't the same quarterback as he was at the beginning of last year, I don't care what people say," Ryan said, via NFL.com. "Did he make a mistake? Absolutely. Their quarterback made a mistake but the difference was, they caught the ball and we didn't.
"I feel good about this football team and I feel good about Geno Smith."
Smith accepted full responsibility for the Jets' red-zone struggles, but doesn't believe he has regressed.
"As far as a step back, there's no step back in any direction," Smith said. "We're moving forward, we're going to learn from that and get better."
The Jets will need to get better this week as they host the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions.