Ryan Fitzpatrick is an upgrade over Geno Smith

Just when things appeared to be settling down for Geno Smith, along comes IK Enemkpali, who with a single “sucker punch” — in the words of head coach Todd Bowles — knocked Geno Smith off the field for 6-10 weeks with a broken jaw.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is now the starter, and reunited with former Bills head coach turned Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. What does this mean for the Jets’ outlook this season? Whisper it quietly, but outside a couple of horrendous, benching-worthy outings, Fitzpatrick was surprisingly effective for the Texans in 2014, earning our 15^th-best grade for all quarterbacks. He entered this season with a much better PFF rating than Smith.

Now, Smith may have been ready for a step forward in his third season, but absent that, this change at QB really shouldn’t change the outlook for the team. According to our data, Fitzpatrick is the better QB, and not only did he show he had something left in the tank, but he had a good run with Gailey in Buffalo and will have a top-level target to throw to in Brandon Marshall.

Of course, if Fitzpatrick goes out and struggles, then Smith figures to receive a positive reception whenever he can return to the field.