Elias;320[B said:
]I think this is the right move[/B]. I was okay with going with Vick also but only earlier in the season where we had a chance to salvage it. At this point, it's about developing and seeing what we have although we probably have nothing.
On a similar topic, Michael Kay asked Rex on his show if he would consider starting Simms. Rex said "No". So stubborn.
Jets players surprised the team benched quarterback Michael Vick for Geno Smith
John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on November 26, 2014 at 1:34 PM, updated November 26, 2014 at 2:15 PM
FLORHAM PARK -- The news Wednesday that the Jets were switching back to second-year quarterback Geno Smith, after starting veteran Michael Vick in his place for the past three games, was met with surprise by some players.
"I just didn't see us flip-flopping," right guard Willie Colon said. "I just figured Vick was going to kind of ride us out. It just is what it is."
Colon said he was "just thrown off-guard" when he learned in Wednesday morning's team meeting that Smith would start next Monday night against Miami.
"Yeah, it was a surprise," said running back Chris Johnson, who added that he did not find out Smith was the starter until he saw him getting first-team snaps at Wednesday's practice. "I've just never really seen it go like that, but things change. I've never really seen it go like: starter getting benched, then the backup coming in, and then a couple games, then the original starter comes back. I've just never seen it like that."
That's the Jets' 2014 season for you -- one big mess of things most people have never seen before.
This was clearly a forward-looking move, as the Jets try to determine if Smith has a future with them. Monday night's game will be the 25th start of Smith's career. He committed 37 turnovers in his first 24 starts.
Can Colon at least appreciate that the organization needs to take the future into consideration, during these final five games for the 2-9 Jets?
"I don't know," Colon said. "That's all out of my sphere of thinking right now."
Vick struggled Monday night in Detroit against the Bills, and was benched in the third quarter in favor of Smith. But all things considered, in Vick's two-plus games as the Jets' starting quarterback, his teammates thought he played well.
"He definitely commanded the huddle," Colon said. "He gave us a spark we needed at times."
Had Vick played well enough to continue starting?
"I thought so," said right tackle Breno Giacomini. "I thought he did a good job. But I don't make those decisions. I don't know who made the call. It doesn't really matter to me. I can't control that."
Regarding the Jets needing to consider the future and assess Smith's role in it, Giacomini said, "That's probably what came in to influence on the decision."
As Smith prepares to return to the starting lineup, does this locker room still believe in him? The last time he started, in the Oct. 26 home loss to the Bills, he threw three first-quarter interceptions and was benched in favor of Vick.
"I still believe in him," Colon said. "He's our quarterback, and we've got to ride with him. That's the bottom line."
Darryl Slater may be reached at
dslater@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.
