FOR THE LOVE OF SPOTTED COW AND ALL THOSE DELICIOUS FROZEN PORK CUTLETS AT KWIK TRIP! Let me tell you a story about the one and only Geno Smith, that infamous quarterback who’s now back with his old buddy Zach Wilson on the Jets. You know how they say “you can’t go home again,” well, this guy did!
I was in high school when I first started working as an umpire for youth football leagues around Mukwonago, WI. These kids were a handful; running all over each other and pummeling each other into the turf like it was their business to do so. One of these young studs had the exact same name – Geno Smith! What are the chances? I swear, every third kid in that league had an NFL hopeful’s name on him.
Anyway, this little Geno must’ve been all right because he ended up getting drafted by those New York Jets back in 2013. Boy, did they think big with that one! For some reason – and honestly can’t recall why; maybe the beer I was drinking at Culver’s afterwards made my memory fuzzy – Smith didn’t exactly set the league on fire during his first stint as a Jet. They say he threw more interceptions than touchdown passes in those two years, but what do we really know?
Now it’s 2015 and things are looking bright for Geno! The Jets were getting ready to kick off their season with him under center when something weird happened – some dude on the team punched him in a locker room dispute over $600. I mean who does that? Sounds like someone from my old youth league days trying out his new “dodge ball” skills. Smith ended up missing several weeks of action, and just then another Ryan Fitzpatrick came along to show Geno what he was doing wrong – throwing touchdown after touchdown! That 2015 season the Jets went on a tear with Fitzy under center; 10-6 record and all those touchdowns galore.
Now I’m getting nostalgic for my high school days umpiring. Maybe one of these kids would end up in the pros? Fast forward to today, we’ve got Geno back where he started – New York City! And let me tell you what led him there…
They were willing to pay him a whopping $19.5 million bucks after that trade with Vegas; I guess they really wanted their old buddy back. Could’ve signed for the veteran minimum had they waited another day, but who would’ve wanted Geno then? The Minnesota Vikings, perhaps?
Seems like things went downhill from there – 27th in Total QBR last season and a league-leading 32 interceptions over his past two seasons aren’t exactly what you want when looking at your starting quarterback. Oh well; sometimes we all need to go home again!
And hey, I just thought of something else that reminds me of those youth leagues… It’s like the time Blake came up with this crazy idea about putting ketchup on a Polish sausage instead of mustard! What was it they say? “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” and all that jazz. Guess you could say Geno Smith is one heck of a case in point.
But hey, here’s to hoping he gets his mojo back – I’m gonna have another ketchup-and-mustard debate with Blake after this!
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I used to umpire at youth football games where there were some real wild kids running around. This young kid had the same name as Geno Smith who just got traded by Jets! What are the chances?
Anyway, that little Geno must’ve been all right because he went on to be drafted in 2013. But I’m fuzzy on why they thought big with him – maybe it was too many Culver’s Butterburgers.
You know what happened next? He started getting hurt and throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes! Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Fast forward to when things got weird: some guy punched Geno in the locker room over $600. I mean who does that?! It sounds like a bad case of dodgeball gone wrong!
Geno ended up missing weeks because he had his jaw broken by this puncher and then another Ryan Fitzpatrick came along to steal the show with all those touchdowns! They even set some sort of record in doing so.
I was thinking back about my old youth league days when I used to umpire. Maybe one day that young Geno would end up like him? Fast forward to today, we’ve got Geno Smith traded back by Vegas – a whopping $19 million contract no less! They could’ve signed him for peanuts but they wanted their buddy.
Now it’s hard not to think about how far he’s fallen. 27th in QBR last season and that interception record ain’t exactly the kind of stats you want from your starter!
It all comes full circle – Geno Smith back where he started, with a big contract no less! Guess some dogs can be taught new tricks after all.
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Wait a minute… I just remembered something else about those youth leagues. You know how sometimes kids come up to their parents and say “Hey dad why do you always put mustard on my Polish sausage?” Well that’s what happened to me one time when Blake came over – the very same guy who was in a dispute with me once at Kwik Trip over where we were getting our ketchup.
It turned out he had this crazy idea of putting ketchup on his polish sausage instead! You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, they say… And it seems like Geno Smith is just as bad off today as ever!
But hey here’s to hoping for a comeback – maybe after I’ve finished my Culver’s cheese curds and Kwik Trip trip.
One-Ry Out.