Can you have a quarterback competition if both of the quarterbacks involved don’t think it’s a competition?
Thanks to the Jets, we may get an answer to that question this year. Coach Rex Ryan said Wednesday there was “no doubt” that Geno Smith and Michael Vick are competing for the starting job and both men took reps with the first-team offense during practice, which stood in contrast to Vick’s comments that it wasn’t an open competition and that Smith is the team’s starter.
Vick wasn’t shaken by Ryan’s comments Wednesday. Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Vick mostly stuck to variations of “I’m here to compete to help the team win” but repeated his previous statement about the nature of the competition in response to repeated questions about the topic.
“Nah, it’s not an open competition,” Vick said.
Whether it is an open competition, a limited competition or a totally closed matter, it is also May and there’s not much point in the Jets naming a starting quarterback at this point. There’s also not much point in Vick doing anything but playing the role asked of him and letting things fall where they may with Smith.
For all the semantic disconnect, there’s been no sign of unhappiness from Vick about the situation. He said Wednesday he knew the situation when he signed with the Jets and that it has been everything he’s expected, which suggests that the disagreement over the nature of the competition is a minor one in the general scheme of things.