What Does Michael Vick’s Signing Mean for Geno Smith?
By Dan Lagnado
By now you all probably have heard Mark Sanchez is out and Michael Vick is in for the New York Jets. Vick signed a one year $5 million deal Friday. This offseason Vick made it very clear that he wants to be a starting quarterback. This creates a bit of a situation in Jets camp. The coaches have consistently expressed confidence in Geno Smith going forward and everyone expects him to make improvements following his roller coaster rookie season. Do not expect another quarterback by committee, as was the case when Tim Tebow joined the team. There will likely be one starter and one backup, barring injury to either competitor.
Michael Vick will go head to head with Geno Smith for the starting QB job. (Via Getty Images)
So what is likely to be the outcome? This was not the same as the Jets signing a veteran to mentor Smith. This is pure quarterback competition.
This preseason, just as last season, will be very interesting to see who performs the best and who wins the starting job. For right now I have to think Vick has the advantage. He’s a veteran and a proven playmaker with all of camp to get familiar with his teammates. Additionally Vick will be reunited with former offensive coordinator Marty Morninhweg who had success with Vick in Philly a few years ago. There are also rumors floating around that the Jets have been in discussions with the Eagles about Desean Jackson, who would provide familiarity for Vick and a speedy deep threat that the Jets have been sorely lacking.
However, this could also be good for Smith. It’s not exactly a vote of confidence but it should serve as motivation as well as a learning experience. He knows he needs to play better and that he’s not just going to be handed the job at the beginning of the year. Vick, at this stage in his career, is a similar quarterback as Geno Smith: able to use his feet but not as dynamic as Colin Kaepernick or RGIII but still able to be a pocket passer as well.
Look for Vick to end up starting the 2014 season before passing the torch onto a much wiser and confident Smith for 2015 unless the team decides that Smith cannot handle the competition and therefore is not the franchise quarterback he was expected to be. Geno is tougher than that, in my opinion, and I think he will use this situation to his advantage.
Now if they could only sign a cornerback…
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Dan Lagnado is studying communications, law economics and government at American University. He’s a fan of both the Mets and Jets and has been writing about sports for four years. You can follow him on twitter at @dlag1995
What’s Next for the New York Jets: Looking Ahead to 2014
By: Dan Lagnado
It pains me to say it as much as it pains you to read it but it’s probably about time to wave the playoffs goodbye for this season. The Jets have now lost three in a row and four of their last five games, and now sit at 5-7 on the season. “But wait”, those few remaining loyalists will say, “there’s still a chance to go 8-8 or even 9-7.” Mathematically that is correct, but is it realistic?
In this writer’s (and fan’s) opinion, no. I haven’t seen anything to make me believe that this team can beat even the lowliest teams in the NFL. The chunk of schedule after the bye was not considered to be the hardest of this season, yet the Bills, Ravens, and Dolphins have given the Jets fits. The same team that beat the Patriots and the Saints in three weeks now have lost to three straight teams who had come in to the game with losing records and lost embarrassingly. Geno Smith’s offense scored only three points against the Ravens, and the only points scored against Miami came on a drive led by Matt Simms. That offensive production is not going to get anyone into the postseason. I don’t think that the problem is only Geno Smith, as many people claim that it is, however it is true that the rookie’s performance has not been up-to-par of late. I believe that part of the issue lies in the wide receivers.
Geno Smith has not played like the first round pick he was projected to be (Via USA Today)
To begin the season, the Jets had Santonio Holmes, Stephen Hill and Jeremy Kerley penciled in as starters and Kellen Winslow as the starting tight end with Jeff Cumberland as support. However, it’s never that easy. Holmes has been plagued by foot and hamstring injuries that have caused him to miss five games and rendered him ineffective in a few games as well. Hill has played quite the disappearing act. Despite being active in every game this season, Hill has been held without a catch four different times, most notably in three consecutive games against New Orleans, Buffalo and Baltimore. Since his 108-yard performance against Buffalo in week three, his stats have dropped drastically as he managed the same yardage in nine games combined. Jeremy Kerley is the Jets’ leading receiver this season, but he has missed time as well of late because of the injury he suffered against the Saints. Winslow missed games for both injuries and a suspension and even Cumberland was held out of a game due to a concussion. As a result the Jets have had to rotate other players in to fill the empty spots. And so for this season we have seen the likes of Clyde Gates, Greg Salas, Josh Cribbs, Zach Sudfeld, Konrad Reuland and David Nelson. Though David Nelson did provide a bit of a spark in a few games, this rotation of receivers could be reason for lack of chemistry between Geno and the wide receivers.
This is not an excuse for the poor play of the offense, nor is it an excuse for the poor decisions and play of the rookie quarterback. It is simply the idea that not all the blame belongs to Geno Smith.
Another issue that is facing the Jets is that of their secondary. The departure of Darrelle Revis certainly has been felt. Antonio Cromartie has been playing hurt most of the season and as a result has not played his best, despite leading the team with three of their six interceptions. Rookie Dee Milliner has now been benched three times and has not quite lived up to the expectations of a top-10 overall pick and there isn’t really anyone else in the secondary able to effectively cover a number two receiver. This has been an Achilles heel all season for what has been a very good defense otherwise and Ed Reed has not been the solution.
And while it is true that the Jets are only 2 games out of the final playoff spot, it is important to note the teams that are ahead or tied with them: Ravens, Dolphins, Chargers, Titans and the Steelers. Four out of those five teams own the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Jets. Basically, the Jets have to be alone in the 6th Wild Card spot to get to the playoffs.
But I will state again, unless something changes drastically with the offense, this team will be lucky to come away with two wins in their last four games.
So what comes next? It’s impossible to determine anything draft-related at this point in time. There are too many variables that would determine draft order or even who will be free agents at the end of the season. But we can consider the areas that most likely will be addressed in the offseason. In my personal opinion, I would expect to see a new coach first and foremost. John Idzik began his rebuilding of this team last season and surprised many by keeping Rex Ryan on as coach. However, Rex may not get a second chance again after this season. Look for Idzik to bring in a new face to lead the team to the future. With a new coach at the helm and a GM looking to be a contender look for the Jets to fill the holes right away this offseason. As for the quarterback situation…your guess is as good as mine.
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Dan Lagnado is studying communications, law economics and government at American University. He’s a fan of both the Mets and Jets and has been writing about sports for four years. You can follow him on twitter at @dlag1995
The Most Confusing, Awful, Good Team in the NFL…The New York Jets
Eric Huberman
Heading into the 2013 regular season, some thought Mark Sanchez might still be the quarterback for the New York Jets. Some thought the Jets might be winless. Some people thought Rex Ryan would be fired by now. Well, none of those things have happened, in fact the Jets are in solid shape to compete for a playoff spot as we enter the second half of the regular season. The Jets have showed signs of being a true contending football team as well as signs of why many picked them to win at most four games this year. They are easily the most confusing team to understand and can’t be relied upon to give you a consistent performance, whether good or bad, week in and week out. Nevertheless, here are the Jets at 5-4 after nine weeks and currently slotted in 6th and final spot in the playoffs. It’s been a wild ride this point, let’s try to make some sense of it…
Week 1:
New York Jets 18 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17
Team Headline: Better to be lucky than not!
Coming into their season opener the Jets were considered to be a laughing stock. Well, in their first game of the season, New York showed how good of a defense they really have. The Jets really didn’t deserve to win this game; in fact they shouldn’t have if not for a stupid unnecessary roughness penalty by a Buccaneer defender which set up Nick Folk for a game winning 48-yard field goal. Geno Smith showed he could lead this time as he initiated a last minute drive to put the Jets in position to win the football game. Granted, they needed a little bit of luck to win the game, but a win is a win.
Week 2: New England Patriots 13 New York Jets 10
Team Headline: Geno Sucks!
Working on a short week, the Jets traveled to Foxboro for Thursday Night Football and played well once again defensively as they limited Tom Brady to only 185 yards through the air. Bilal Powell and Chris Ivory combined to run for 100 yards on the ground and showed what type of game the Jets would need to play in order to win football games this year. Unfortunately, that recipe does not include turning the football over four times, three times from Geno Smith interceptions. Geno lost the Jets this football game, and after looking good the previous week, Jets fans were back on the hater bandwagon in regards to their new quarterback.
Week 3: New York Jets 27 Buffalo Bills 20
Team Headline: Hey! Geno isn’t too bad!
Despite looking so bad the previous week, Geno Smith silenced the critics as he took down a tough divisional opponent on the road. He threw for over 300 yards for the first time in his career and also tossed two touchdowns. The Jets ran the ball effectively for 182 yards, mostly from Bilal Powell who racked up 149 yards on 27 carries. Despite losing the turnover battle again and committing a team record 20 penalties, the Jets got the win and moved to 2-1 on the year.
It’s been quite the roller coaster ride, but Geno Smith has led the Jets to 5-4 (Via AP)
Week 4: Tennessee Titans 38 New York Jets 13
Team Headline: I need a drink!
Oh boy. After week three, the Jets were feeling great about themselves as they were 2-1 coming off a big road win. The Titans were 2-1 also, but not viewed as a good football team, until week four came around. That’s when the Titans put a beating on the Jets 38-13. Geno was horrendous and threw two more interceptions to put his four-game total at eight! The Jets fell down 10-0 after the first quarter and never had a chance after that. Jake Locker and Ryan Fitzpatrick combined to throw for four touchdowns and zero interceptions as they torched the Jets secondary. This was a huge step backwards for a team that was really showing signs of life.
Week 5: New York Jets 30 Atlanta Falcons 28
Team Headline: What just happened?
So the Jets get embarrassed by the Titans the previous week and in week five they faced the Falcons, bitter off of a home loss to New England, who are usually unbeatable at home. Here is where the un-predictableness of the Jets started to kick in. Somehow the Jets led in the fourth quarter 27-14, but the Falcons stormed back as expected to take a 28-27 lead. Geno got the ball with 1:54 left in the game down two points on the road own his own 20-yard line. From there Smith would engineer a magnificent seven play drive to set up Nick Folk for a 43-yard time-expiring kick to give the Jets the win. In a game where Vegas dubbed the Jets as ten point under-dogs, Gang Green shocked the world. No one saw this coming, especially after week four’s embarrassing loss to Tennessee.
Week 6: Pittsburgh Steelers 19 New York Jets 6
Team Headline: Well, it was a nice season!
After a big road win on Monday Night Football, Geno Smith and the Jets let it be known throughout the league that they are no joke. In week six they returned home to face the Steelers and dropped the ball. Geno played his worst game as a Jet so far as he threw for only 201 yards on 34 attempts and two interceptions. They were shut out in the second half while Pittsburgh put the game away, as they fell to 3-3. It was a classic Jets let down after a huge win the previous week and another step back as the Steelers won their first football of the season.
Week 7: New York Jets 30 New England Patriots 27 OT
Team Headline: Referees 1 Patriots 0
With Rob Gronkowski returning to the field, the Patriots came into week seven feeling pretty good about themselves. They left the field scratching their heads. After getting completely shut down offensively versus the Steelers, Geno Smith played much better this week and led his team to victory in overtime despite throwing a pick six. Tom Brady was held out of the end zone and completed less than half of his passes, while also throwing a pick six. A controversial call in overtime negated a missed field goal by Nick Folk, and set up a much closer kick later in the drive which gave the Jets the victory. Once again, the Jets bounced back from mediocrity the previous week to win in improbable fashion.
Week 8: Cincinnati Bengals 49 New York Jets 9
Team Headline: Is Sanchez healthy? What about Sims?
The Jets just beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, so with the way their season is going it just made sense for them to go out and lose by 40 to the Bengals the following week. When Andy Dalton throws five touchdowns against your defense that usually is an issue. When Geno Smith throws two picks and only 159 yards you probably aren’t going to win football games. The Jets were shelled in every phase of the game and received a decimating blow to their confidence going forward.
Week 9: New York Jets 26 New Orleans Saints 20
Team Headline: We just beat the Saints in a game that wasn’t in Madden?
This one still confuses me. After losing as bad as you can to the Bengals, the Jets came right out of the gate defensively and made Drew Brees feel uncomfortable. Throughout the football game the Saints just felt out of sync, well except for Jimmy Graham because he’s well…not human. Geno Smith didn’t do much to win this football game, but he certainly didn’t lose it for the Jets. For once, the Jets won the turnover battle after getting Drew Brees to throw two uncharacteristic picks. Chris Ivory was a tank as he rushed for 139 yards on only 18 carries and found the end zone. He ran very hard throughout the game and was definitely the x factor. It was a game that was won by the Jets very good defense and their ground and pound offensive attack. Get embarrassed by the Bengals one week, and then beat the Super Bowl contending the Saints the following week. Yeah, I got nothing.
It’s absolutely incredible how on and off the Jets are each and every week. They have alternated wins and losses every single week even though some weeks have looked great and some have looked abysmal. After nine week the Jets head into their bye week in the sixth spot for the playoffs. They will face the Bills in week 11 where, if their prior games this season are indicators, they will probably get the doors blown off themselves and lose by 30 to the Buffalo Bills. The combined record of their remaining opponents is 26-30 so to imagine the Jets winning four to five more games is not so far-fetched. They are a run first team that can sometimes rely on the arm of Geno Smith to make a big play every now and then. The Jets would prefer to not have Geno decide the outcomes of games and instead just manage them while their ground and pound attack moves the offense. Their back bone has become their defense which is top ten in the league. They specialize against stopping the run as they have allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL, 77.9. As bad as the Jets were supposed to be, they have shocked many by winning five games already, including beating the Falcons, Patriots, and Saints. Their losses have been ugly, but they will gladly take a 5-4 record right now although this roller coaster has a long way to go until it has reached its end.
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