A former New York Jets quarterback says West Virginia standout Geno Smith must prepare himself for the intense scrutiny of playing in the Big Apple.
“New York is about the extremes. It’s about the highs and the lows because everything in the middle doesn’t sell, so you have to understand that as a professional athlete,” Chad Pennington said on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
“You have to understand they’re going to be very high on you when you’re playing well. They’re going to be very low on you when you’re losing and not playing well.”
Pennington, who led Marshall University to the Mid-American Conference Championship in 1999, knows the New York media well. He spent eight seasons as the quarterback for the Jets after being selected 18th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft.
He went on to play with the Miami Dolphins from 2008-2010 and remains the NFL’s all-time leader with a 66-percent career completion percentage when it comes to quarterbacks with at least 1,500 pass attempts.
“It was a fun time for me. I really enjoyed it. I wouldn’t take back the experience for anything,” said Pennington, who is now an NFL analyst for Fox.
Geno Smith is just starting his NFL experience. The Jets made him the 39th overall selection in the 2013 NFL draft last weekend. Since tumbling into the second round, Smith has fired his agents and the Jets have released Tim Tebow.
Pennington advised Smith and the Jets to take it slow.
“Everyone is going to want to rush him to the field. It is a big-time process for a quarterback to get to where he needs to be to be successful in this league. Even if he is successful in the first year, ask Cam Newton about his second year. It wasn’t as smooth,” Pennington said.
“There is no pressure on Geno Smith. Go in there and work to get better and make Geno Smith better, and everything else will take care of itself.”