The inevitable has finally been announced, and it was the correct decision. New York Jets head coach has named Geno Smith the starting quarterback.
"He'll be our starter," Ryan said. "He's done everything that we've asked him. This is no slight to Mike Vick because, believe me, I wanted to come out of this with two really good quarterbacks that we think we can win games with, and in my heart, I feel that we have two that we can win with. I'm really happy with the way Mike played as well, but we're going to go with Geno. I feel very comfortable with that,” according to CBSSports.com.
The decision came off the heels of an impressive performance Friday night against the New York Giants in a 35-24 loss. Smith commanded the offense and looked like a seasoned veteran all night. He finished with 137 yards on nine of 14 passing including a one-yard TD to rookie TE Jace Amaro.
Despite many struggles in his rookie campaign, Smith finished 2013 strong in his final four games. He started using those legs of his and incorporated his running abilities which proved to be a dual-threat option defenses were not expecting.
The man who will now officially back up Smith is veteran Michael Vick. Not only is Vick okay with the decision, but everything about the man right now screams for a “perfect situation.”
Not only has Vick been humble, gracious and the perfect veteran figure for Smith to lean on, but he is still a very dangerous “bullpen arm” to have for a few games during the season should Smith struggle. What makes Vick special is that explosiveness he still possesses. In 2014, when defenses are game planning for Smith all week, they will not be prepared for what comes off the bench in Vick.
There was a story recently that apparently had Jets coaches upset that Vick was accepting his fate as the backup, but Vick spoke about that in a matter of fact way.
"That is not true. That is not true at all. Me and my coaches have great conversations. We have open dialogue and that was far from the case. So whoever wrote that story, it was on the side of being very fictitious and you have to come up with better stories than that," Vick said, according to NFL.com.
As the team heads into the 2014 season, it is now up to Smith to lead an offense that can keep up with a defense led by stars like Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson. If newly acquired RB Chris Johnson and WR Eric Decker come through, along with the progression of Smith, then the offense does look to be miles ahead of the 2013 version.