Jets like what they see in Bryce Petty

Many a season has come and gone since the Jets could hang their hat on a franchise quarterback, so if ever any man takes the snaps under center and looks halfway decent, half the Tri-State area is convulsed into an irrational bout of pleased hysteria.

The other half quietly mumbles, "Here we go again."

It was Bryce Petty who stood in relief of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who stood in relief of Geno Smith when the Jets played their way into a 30-22 victory over the Falcons on Friday night. Petty went 12-for-19 for 168 yards and a touchdown. No turnovers, either.

It was a world of improvement from his first showing, where he looked every bit the rookie.

"I think last week I had no idea what to expect as far as the game goes, as far as myself personally and emotionally, how it would roll and so I felt like coming into this week I would have a better understanding of how things went down and how things worked," Petty said. 

The second time around is much easier, he found.

"I felt a lot more comfortable out there," the rookie from Baylor said. "There was definitely progress as far as where I was last week to this week so that's good."

Petty said the work that remains for him to learn are the intangibles that allow a quarterback to make the leap from Potentially Good to just Good. And that takes work.

"I can't get complacent, I can't get happy about this. I have to get back in there in the film room and go to work," he said. 'I still have to get better at decision making. I think especially situationally in the red zone I have to throw catchable balls that ony our guys can catch and allow us to score points and not put ourselves in jeopardy down there. We're learning."

The Jets are pleased with what Petty has done overall, but not enough to ink him in as Fitzpatrick's backup for the regular season. They signed Matt Flynn to serve that role for the time being, nudging Petty to the third slot. The more the merrier under center, though, for a franchise that could use some options.