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Geno Smith is everything Peyton Manning is not. The New York Jets embattled quarterback spent this week answering questions about whether he could tell time, if he liked movies more than game film, and if he expected home fans to turn on him after a expletive-filled exchange with a paying customer.

Smith is the Jets’ problem. He is also an NFL problem, the latest in a long list of highly drafted quarterbacks who deployed air bags a few intersections into their careers.

In an age of sport-specific training and youth specialization, it remains startling that the NFL can’t produce 20 good quarterbacks. The annual rate of failure reaffirms that is the league’s toughest position, if not the hardest in sports.

For every conversation about Manning, Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers, there’s a Dead Sea Scrolls list of failed high-round prospects.

“If it was that easy, there would be a lot more guys we would be talking about,” Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase said. “Instead of the top five, you’d say here’s the top 15. You don’t even say that. There are three to four guys that people talk about and every week go, ‘This is going to be a tough matchup.’ Then past that I’m sure there are a lot of defenses that just say we’re better than what the quarterback is going to bring.”

The Jets host the Broncos on Sunday, reeling from poor play from Smith. He is tied for the league lead in interceptions (six) and turnovers (eight).

Jets coach Rex Ryan supports Smith, if for no other reason than Michael Vick played similarly awful in the second half last week.

“I hope that he’s out there every snap and doing well,” Ryan said. “I don’t think in negative terms.”

Smith, 23, apologized to teammates for missing a meeting before the 31-0 loss to the San Diego Chargers, saying the time change created confusion. He flashes athleticism worthy of his second-round status but makes maddening mistakes.

It’s easy to forget he’s played in only 21 games. Patience is a dirty word in today’s NFL, a leading factor in the early mortality rate of quarterback careers. Owners want winners. When they allocate a huge chunk of the salary cap to a quarterback, they don’t want him to redshirt.

Good enough to draft high, good enough to play early. It sounds great to the fan base, but rarely ends well. Two quarterbacks drafted in the first round over the past 10 years — Rodgers and Joe Flacco — have won a Super Bowl. Six are out of the league, including Tim Tebow, JaMarcus Russell, Matt Leinart and Vince Young.

Twenty years ago, quarterbacks were viewed as developmental projects. Time is no longer their friend, the stories of Rodgers and Steve McNair learning as backups as common as cassette tapes.

A high-round pick must gain traction early, and usually with a bad team. The Colts’ Luck has pulled it off. Russell Wilson, a third-round pick, won a job as a rookie and a championship last season, but joined a contending team.

Smith’s play provides a juxtaposition. His numbers have been deplorable by any statistical measure. He doesn’t possess many weapons — receiver Eric Decker is expected to return from injury Sunday — leaving Ryan to blurt after last week’s loss in San Diego, “We could’ve had Joe Namath, and it wouldn’t have mattered.”

The challenge for quarterbacks is real. Thumb through the bios, and the issues aren’t physical. Quarterbacks run 6-foot-3 to 6-5, and weigh approximately 230 pounds. The software is more important than the hardware.

The ability to process information quickly is the great separator. Manning can sit in the shotgun, run the play clock down to six seconds and make an adjustment. For young quarterbacks, everything happens fast.

“The defenses make it hard. We can give them so many disguises, and unless you have been in the league for as long as Peyton, it’s difficult to break that down, especially a guy like Geno,” Broncos cornerback Chris Harris said.

There’s no iPhone app for audibles, no Siri to provide answers for a zone coverage blitz.

Manning threw a rookie-record 28 interceptions — in 576 attempts — before beginning his Hall of Fame pursuit in his sophomore season. He cautions that playing quarterback is a marathon, not a sprint. Too many never make it out of the starting blocks.

“I didn’t play particularly well in a number of games, and I’m not sure we were just loaded with talent. I don’t want to offend anybody on that 3-13 team, but looking back I can remember just realizing how hard it was to win,” Manning said, before adding, “I think it depends on the situation and kind of how the games are going, but I think it just shows how hard it is.”

Troy E. Renck: trenck@denverpost.com or

QB or not QB, that is the question

Playing quarterback remains one of the toughest jobs in sports. Finding the right one is an inexact science. NFL reporter Troy E. Renck looks at the first-round quarterbacks drafted over the past five years and how they’ve fared:

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