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Florham Park – To the credit of the writer, he got what he was looking for – a quote to drive a column, a quote to sell newspapers. It worked out very well for his paper.
But did it work out well for the Jets?
Not so much.
Friday – Headline – New York Daily News – “Michael Vick says he believes he can take NY Jets to Super Bowl.”
And then you had this quote to support the headline for a Gary Myers column.
“I just feel like I can help any football team, any organization, particularly this football team, get to a Super Bowl,” Vick told the Daily News on Thursday.
Here is what happened.
Vick addressed a large group of reporters at his locker on Thursday.
After he was done, Myers hung around, to get a one-on-one.
And he got it. Not only did he get it, but he got the money quote he was looking for.
Perhaps the Jets should have just shut it down; when Vick was done with the group, he was done.
Because by granting this one-on-one, look what happened?
This guy is a tabloid columnist. He’s been doing this a long time. He’s very good at landing quotes to sell papers.
Let’s take step back for second and take a closer look at what Vick said.
He said he can take the Jets to the Super Bowl.
If that is what he thinks, he clearly thinks he should be starting. If a QB is good enough to take a team to the Super Bowl, why on earth would he be on the bench?
And to me, Vick saying this publicly, was his way of upping the pressure on Jets management, to stop the charade of putting him behind a green, young quarterback, still learning, coming off a wildly inconsistent season.
To me, Vick was basically saying – “What are you guys nuts – how on earth could you start this guy in front of me?”
Vick also said in the Myers column – “I think Geno is going to be the starter. I think he is going to start this season off. I think Geno has every opportunity to go out and have success. He is going to get that opportunity.”
So basically, if the kid falls on his face, Vick will take over.
This whole scenario is putting Smith in a near impossible spot.
Year Two can very tough on young quarterbacks. Just ask RG III. Now the league’s defensive coordinators have tons of tape of you to dissect to the nth degree, find your every weakness.
We have all heard the term “sophomore slump,” when it comes to young quarterbacks.
The second year can be really hard. Even if ultimately Smith is the Jets long-term answer at quarterback, this upcoming season could be a roller-coaster ride for him, especially against a much tougher schedule than last year.
He’s going to have his ups and downs.
The problem is, when he has some downs, whether it’s a quarter, or a half, or a game, the vultures are going to be flying around him – reporters, fans, maybe even some teammates, wanting Vick to take over.
He’s going to have very little margin of error, and honestly, that isn’t fair to him.
And having a backup quarterback, who comes out and says he can take the team to the Super Bowl, doesn’t help matters.
May 26, 2014
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