Geno Smith on rookie season: I second-guessed myself too much

Geno Smith has always been confident, but he admitted Sunday that his rookie year was anything but easy.

"I found myself second-guessing myself last year for a lot of reasons and it wasn't because I didn't feel as though I could play," he said. "It was a lot of things that happened and I had to fight through a bunch of different things and I had to learn as well."

Despite Smith's erratic play, the Jets finished 8-8. But his teammates are excited about the progress he's made and like his confidence. "He's showing [that he won't be] rattled in pressure situations," Jeremy Kerley said.

Said Calvin Pace: "To me, everything he's done, he looks confident in doing it . . . He has moved the ball and I think that confidence has helped the offense start these games fast and get the ball moving."

And Smith can sense they trust him more now, too.

"You can only inspire the guys and you can only be that leader if you're on top of your game and you know what you're doing," he said. "I appreciate the fact that they've always stuck with me and have always been confident in me because they've seen the way I can bounce back from a tough game."

Vick to start vs. Philly

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Rex Ryan said backup Michael Vick will start against his former team, the Eagles, in Thursday night's preseason finale. "But don't expect him to play long," he said. Following his 18-month prison sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation, Vick signed with Philly in 2009 and spent five seasons there.

Roster at 75

The Jets cut their roster down to 75 players well in advance of Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline by releasing Jacoby Ford, Ras-I Dowling, Michael Campbell, Chad Young, Colin Anderson and Anthony Grady were released. "Jacoby had been given a lot of opportunities [but] there seemed to be some struggles," Ryan said. "We just felt we had better options on this football team."

Saalim Hakim will be the Jets' return man, he said.