The Facts: Perhaps Chan Gailey spoke too soon. Or just too honestly. After his OC said Smith was pegged as the starter and there would be no competition for the QB job, HC Todd Bowles said that wasn’t necessarily the case. “Chan’s very matter-of-fact,” Bowles said. “Come camp time, there will be competition at the spot. ... That doesn’t mean it’s going to stay like that.”
Diehards Line:
Bowles explained that Gailey’s reference was largely because Fitzpatrick is coming off a broken leg, and that means that today, there’s not necessarily a competition because there can’t be an even distribution of reps (though Fitzpatrick did some work in OTAs). “You don’t start out having two or three games getting first-team reps,” Bowles said. “I view it as open competition. It’s [Smith’s] to lose.” And as PFT's Darin Gantt noted, "Based on [Smith's] track record, there’s a decent chance he will." Gantt went on to remind readers that Smith has 41 turnovers in two seasons, while Fitzpatrick has the benefit of background with Gailey in Buffalo and a resume of solid if unspectacular play. ... Stay tuned.