Vet QB ready to ʻhelpʼ Gang

R YAN Fitzpatrick went to Harvard. So he can read. He’s well aware of the book on him. He knows exactly what the scouting report from the outside world is on him.

“I’ve read a lot of them — ‘noodlearm’ … ‘can’t throw it past 20 yards’ … ‘can’t throw the deep ball’ … ‘slow’ … ‘too risky,’ ’’ Fitzpatrick said Sunday after his fourth training camp practice as a Jets quarterback at Florham Park.

Fitzpatrick insisted none of these derogatory assessments bother him. That’s what 10 years in the NFL will do for you. It’ll harden you.

The 32yearold Fitzpatrick’s veteran seasoning — the Jets are his fourth team in the last four years — is what prevented him from stressing out during the offseason while he participated in the early part of the team’s supposed quarterback competition with incumbent Geno Smith essentially with one hand tied behind his back.

Fitzpatrick, whom the Jets acquired in a March trade with the Texans, spent much of the offseason recovering and rehabbing his broken left leg that prematurely ended his 2014 season in Houston. That left Smith taking most of the reps in organized team activities and minicamp. And Smith, in training camp, continues to take the firstteam snaps.

Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, in a truthserum moment during the offseason, told reporters, unequivocally, that Smith is the starter. Head coach Todd Bowles, who at that time had not named Smith the starter, followed by conceding the job is Smith’s “to lose.’’

Is Fitzpatrick, a more accomplished quarterback than Smith, getting a fair shake to win the job?

This is a classic case of how high the younger Smith’s ceiling might be with more skillposition weapons around him versus playing it safer with Fitzpatrick, who might be less prone to more mistakes.

The reality is this: Fitzpatrick has virtually no chance of overtaking Smith this summer. Once the games count, though, if Smith reverts to the rampant inconsistency that has left him as Jets’ fans No. 1 scapegoat, a realistic scenario awaits for Fitzpatrick to be given the keys a few weeks into the season.

“The thing we stress every day — what Coach Bowles stresses — is he’s going to put the best guys on the field that will help the team win,’’ Fitzpatrick said.

Neither Fitzpatrick nor Smith would be considered a winning NFL quarterback. Fitzpatrick, in 89 career starts, is 33551. Smith, in 29 starts, is 1118.

Fitzpatrick’s career statistics — outside of his wonloss record as a starter — are fairly representative. He’s completed 60.2 percent of his passes and has thrown 123 touchdown passes to 101 interceptions. Last season in Houston, where Fitzpatrick was 66 before breaking his leg, he had completed 63.1 percent of his passes and thrown 17 touchdowns to just eight interceptions.

Given the fact that quarterback turnovers — particularly interceptions — have been the bane of the Jets’ existence over the last four years and have been as much a reason as any that they have missed the playoffs during that span, you’d think Bowles would be jumping at the prospect of Fitzpatrick starting to reduce the turnovers and complement his defense.

Many Jets fans have seen enough of Smith, who has 34 interceptions and 25 touchdowns in his two seasons. There were fans in the stands at Sunday’s practice who were openly rooting for Smith to “break a leg’’ as he rolled right on one goalline drill.

“I played against ‘Fitz’ — he’s a good veteran quarterback, efficient, knows where to go with the ball, knows how to get the ball out of his hand quick,’’ linebacker Calvin Pace said. “He was always a guy that our defense respected — a prepared and tough guy. I think he’s going to make us better … and help Geno a lot.’’

Fitzpatrick’s edge over Smith comes from his experience with Gailey, who coached him during his most productive seasons in Buffalo (201012) when he threw 71 touchdowns and had 54 interceptions.

“Chan and I work well together,’’ Fitzpatrick said. “Experience is so big as a quarterback.’’

Bowles called Fitzpatrick “up to speed,’’ despite having missed out on some of the physical offseason work.

“He’s had a lot more intel than everyone else has had,’’ Bowles said. “We have confidence in Ryan but everyone’s got to perform once they get onto the field. He’s done it. I know he can do it. He’s played in the league a long time. You don’t last that long not being able to do it. It’s just a matter of him getting out there and doing it.’’