The Jets didn’t do their sophomore quarterback any favors when they signed Michael Vick. Vick, while not a world beater by any stretch of the imagination, is a solid NFL quarterback just over one year removed from his best season in Philadelphia. Vick is a veteran starter who could give the Jets the stability they need to make it back into the playoffs after a three year draught, for now. Starting Michael Vick this season for a short-sighted gain would have long term negative impacts on the Jets franchise that the team simply cannot afford.
Geno Smith may not have looked like an NFL-level quarterback last season, but he is the Jets future whether they like it or not. Starting Michael Vick, an injury prone 34-year-old, would do nothing to move the Jets franchise forward into a solid playoff team. At this stage of his career Michael Vick is a band aid starter. He is at risk for injury and will most likely stay productive for only one or two more years. After Vick starts to decline because of age or health, Geno Smith’s chance to grow into a starting role will have passed and the Jets would be forced to look at their quarterback role the same way they did when they realized Mark Sanchez was not the answer. Starting Michael Vick this season would set the Jets franchise back by at least one year and send the message that their drafting of Geno Smith was a mistake that needed fixing and that Vick was the solution to the Geno problem. The message the Jets franchise needs to send to its fans, and to its young quarterback, is that they drafted a talented quarterback out of West Virginia and they plan to stand behind their growing quarterback.
Smith’s numbers during the second half of the season last year were actually respectable, and if Geno can build on that foundation he could be a solid starter this season. Geno Smith will not play like a young Tom Brady, he’s just not that talented, but he could play like a young Donovan McNabb. Last year Geno looked like a rookie quarterback while throwing only twelve touchdowns and a staggering 21 interceptions, but he improved greatly during the last four games of the season. During his last four games Geno threw five touchdowns compared to only two interceptions. He looked less like a lost rookie and more like a journeyman NFL quarterback.
This offseason the Jets have not officially named a starter, but the players in Jets camp seem to know who their starter should be. In every press conference this offseason Michael Vick has named Geno the number one quarterback and has publicly stated that it would be the worst thing for Geno’s career to be benched in his second season. Geno has been getting the majority of the reps with the starting team, and the Jets players recognize this. They know who should be their starter on day one, and now it is up to the Jets organization to stand behind their young quarterback and name him their official starter.
Thank you for reading. Ron Leyba is the lead editor of Fantasy Football Overdose, and a LastWordOnSports Analyst. For more of his NFL articles, follow his updates at NFL Fantasy Football Rankings Facebook or follow him on twitter @ronniedare. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
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