The Summer of Honesty continues for Michael Vick.
Months ago the veteran quarterback stated publicly he was engaged in a rigged competition against Geno Smith. While the New York Jets brass flatly denied the staring job was Smith's, they went ahead with their lopsided farce.
Though Vick has spoken a lot this offseason, he's never wavered from supporting Smith, while simultaneously letting the world know he is ready if needed. That might seem like doublespeak from Vick, but in reality the veteran is voicing his understanding that patience is thin in the NFL for young quarterbacks who struggle -- especially ones with a coach fighting to keep his job.
"Geno has taken that step in the right direction," Vick told the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta. "I think he's ready to lead this team. But there's been a lot of quarterbacks that started as rookies and started young. There's really no other way but to go out and win. Regardless of the year the player is in, you got to go out and get it done."
"There wasn't patience with me," Vick continued. "There wasn't patience with Brett Favre. I've seen Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco go in there as rookies. Ben Roethlisberger. They had to get it done and they got it done. There's really no patience, just being honest. ... We got to win and we got to win now."
While preseason outings must be taken with a grain of salt, Smith has yet to show anything that would make us believe he has improved massively from a rocky rookie season and can carry a Jets team that could see regression from its defense.
*The "Around The League Podcast" AFC Season Preview is here. You're welcome. *
