Jul 27, 2013; Cortland, NY, USA; New York Jets quarterbacks Geno Smith (7) and Mark Sanchez (6) look on following training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
It should come as no surprise that Josh Freeman will get the starting nod Thursday when the Buccaneers take the field for the first preseason game. Backup Mike Glennon will then come in and get a lot more playing time than Freeman. That’s the way preseason works when you have a clear starter and a clear backup.
But the Buccaneers’ Week 1 opponent’s situation is drastically different. Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith will likely battle for the spot over the next month until Rex Ryan decides who he’s going to ride into the first game.
But with a preseason game coming up, Rex had to make up his mind a little.
Rex at news conf: Mark Sanchez will start @ DET on Friday in preseason opener. Geno Smith will follow. Rex isn't sure of the playtime split.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) August 6, 2013
I don’t normally advise Buccaneers fans to follow the opening week opponent’s preseason schedule, but in this case, it might be worth your while.
I’m going to guess Smith and Sanchez basically split time equally early on and Greg McElroy and Matt Simms will get a majority of the snaps in the second half. But the fact is, the Bucs game against the Jets in four weeks will be a completely different bird depending on the starting QB.
As a Buccaneers fan, we want the Jets to take a long as possible to make a decision. Normally the opposite would be the case, because we would want the defense to have a better idea of what their up against. But in this case, the longer it takes, the less the Jets offense will have a clue what their identity will become.
The Jets offense is likely to be bad. And the longer they wait on the quarterback, the more clueless they’ll likely be on September 8th. And whether it’s Sanchez or Geno, the goal for the Buccaneer defense will still be the same, make the QB beat us. Let the secondary go to work against the Jets cut-rate receivers and focus most of the attention on stopping the run game.
The fact is, no matter who starts for the Jets, the Buccaneers should be able to win this game, and hopefully easily. But every day for the Jets that ticks off the calendar without a QB, the more in sync our guys our getting, while the their’s are not.