E-Boland & Gang Green

By Tom Rock

Sorry about no post after Sunday night’s practice, but I had a few other things to catch up on and figured Sunday night was as good a time as any to play from blog hookie.

Yes, it’s true that the Jets are considering Brad Smith for their quarterback hierarchy. He’s listed as a QB on the roster, has his own red jersey that he slips on and off during practices, and attends meetings with the QBs (along with other positions). It brings up a few interesting scenarios that deserve exploring.

First of all, Smith cannot be designated as the team’s third quarterback because that would preclude him from playing until the fourth quarter. The rules on the third-quarterback situation are murky and mysterious, but basically if he was designated the third quarterback – essentially the 46th man of the 45-man active roster for a game – and he stepped onto the field, neither the first nor second string QBs would be allowed to return. So, how will the Jets handle the situation? They’ll likely want to use Smith as a regular part of their gameplan, both at WR, on special teams, and at QB for a surprise series here and there.

Well, the Jets can keep three QBs among the 45 and not designate anyone as the third quarterback. That would allow Smith to play his role, and, in a case where Pennington had to leave the game early, replace him with a more polished backup (though neither Clemens nor Tuiasosopo have looked very polished this training camp, they are certainly ahead of Smith right now, whose success will be much more connected to an element of surprise and his athleticism). But that takes up a roster spot. And it also means the Jets would likely dump either Tui or Kellen. Likely Tui, in whom they have less invested.

They could have Smith as their backup and have either Tui or Clemens designated as the third QB. That makes the most sense from a roster economics point of view. If Chad goes down, Smith would have to carry on until the fourth quarter when the third QB becomes available.

Or the Jets could have Clemens on the active 45 as the backup, Tui as the third QB (or vice versa), and still have Smith among the 45. That doesn’t jive with Mangini’s philosophy of getting the most out of the 45 allowable people, but it could work.

Having Smith as the QB but also playing other positions also presents a helmet issue. Only the QB is allowed to have a radio receiver in his helmet which allows him to listen to the plays being called in. So, according to equipment manager Gus Granneman (who was asked through the media relations staff), Smith will likely have two helmets at his disposal during the games. One will be a standard-issue helmet for use when he is on the field for special teams, as a wideout, etc., but also for when he sneaks onto the field and lines up under center with Pennington lined up as a receiver as was done several times last season. In that case, Pennington would have the radio and likely be calling the play in the huddle.

Then, when Smith entered the game as a true QB – Mangini said he envisions using Smith for sneak-attack series that will catch defenses off guard – he would have a radio-embedded helmet to change into.

That’s a lot to think about just to get one player onto the field. But with what Smith will bring to the Jets from a number of positions, it might be worth it.

If anyone has any other ideas on how to utilize Smith, feel free to post them. I'm interested in hearing them, and I'm sure the Jets are open to some suggestions as well.