Jets stand behind Geno Smith as starter despite him missing meeting

As we wrote Sunday night, New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith was benched at halftime after a putrid effort early against the San Diego Chargers, as the team turned the game over to Michael Vick.

But we have a little of the back story now of why Smith might have struggled in the game. According to the New York Daily News, Smith missed a team meeting leading up to the game, even if a team spokesman called it “an honest mistake” and that Smith arrived “5 to 10 minutes” after the meeting and was caught up on what he missed by the coaches.

Would Smith making the meeting have meant a markedly better performance than Smith’s 4-for-12 passes for 27 yards and an interception? Impossible to say, but expecting much more would have been a little unrealistic.

Still, Smith — who cursed at a fan after the Week 4 loss and bristled during a few media sessions during what has been the roughest patch of his career — was candid in his assessment of his play Sunday.

“It was definitely a pathetic showing on my part,” Smith said. “I didn’t help out at any point of the game … So what I’m going to do is look myself in the mirror.”

That would apply, we’d think, to his attention to detail, honest mistake or not.

The Jets face the Denver Broncos in Week 6, continuing the meat of their schedule. If the season ended today (yeah, yeah), the Jets would own one of the top five picks in the draft.

Vick also struggled in relief, and Rex Ryan said after the game — he really has no choice — that he’ll go back to Smith against the Broncos. But right now, there are few good solutions for the Jets, Smith and a slumping offense.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm