Jets' Petty: My Abilities On Madden Football Show I'm Improving
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- If it's in the game ...
With the Jets' quarterback situation in flux due to the continued contract impasse with Ryan Fitzpatrick, it stands to reason that someone other than the grizzled veteran could be the starting quarterback come the regular season opener against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 11.
Bryce Petty, the second-year signal-caller out of Baylor, seems to think he has improved enough to be the man. He told NJ Advance Media on Monday that his abilities on EA Sports' popular Madden video game are proof.
"For me, where I was when they drafted me last year to where I am now, it's night-and-day difference," Petty said of his development. "For me, it's a process. Just watching film, I'm seeing things.
"I played Madden the other day, and it's not just picking run plays anymore. It's like, 'Oh, they've got an under front (on defense).' You start picking up things differently. That's exciting for me," he added.
Petty was taken in the fourth round of the 2015 draft and the consensus has always been that it would take him some time to get down the nuances of a pro-style offense, considering he played in a spread offense in college. While his arm strength is very good, reading defenses at the next level is no easy task.
Just ask former second-round pick Geno Smith, who made a combined 30 appearances for the Jets in 2013 and 2014 but was a turnover machine. Smith played in just one game last season after losing his job to Fitzpatrick late in the preseason due to having his jaw broken in a locker room fight with a teammate.
Yet because of the ongoing issues with Fitzpatrick, the player the Jets really want as their starting quarterback, Petty, Smith or Christian Hackenberg, the team's second-round pick in this year's draft, could be the starter Week 1.
"For me, I've got to go out and prove that they made the right choice the year before," Petty said.
To his credit, Petty has gained the attention of Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.
"He made big strides in one year," Gailey said Monday at a charity golf outing hosted by the Jets' David Harris.
