1a. Once you become known as the guy who got punched in the face by a co-worker, it’s tough to become known as anything else.* But Geno Smith would more appropriately be known as the guy who never got much of a chance. He quickly devolved from second-round pick to tabloid-back-page fodder with the Jets. Then he was banished to the Giants, which should have been a forgettable year as a backup in an archaic offensive system, but instead underlined his punchline status when he was awarded a start that ended Eli Manning’s consecutive games streak.
Smith did enjoy a quiet season backing up Philip Rivers in front of the 17 raucous Chargers fans at a soccer stadium every other weekend, and then took the cushiest job in sports, backing up Russell Wilson.