Once Again, a Comment Leads to a Negative New York Jets’ Story

Jan 4, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback

(7) looks on as quarterback

(9) warms up before the 2013 NFC wild card playoff football game against the New Orleans Saints at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

When there are no real stories to talk about involving the New York Jets, what does the mainstream media do? What they always do to perpetuate the “circus” theme that isn’t even there anymore.

What do they do, friends? That’s right, they make it up.

Well, in this case, they didn’t make it up. They took an off-handed comment made by a former teammate of Michael Vick’s and turned it into a story, making it sound like there could be a problem in NY.

Bart Hubbach, football reporter for the New York Post, and great follow on Twitter had a conversation with Eagles’ running back LeSean McCoy. One of the topics of conversation with McCoy, obviously, was the Vick vs. Geno Smith QB competition. LeSean gave his honest opinion to Bart, as expected, McCoy being a guy that has played with Vick extensively. Here is what he had to say:

LeSean McCoy to me on Mike Vick: “He’s going to be the Jets’ starting QB. He’s way better than Geno Smith. Way better. That’s no contest.”

— Bart Hubbuch (@HubbuchNYP) April 28, 2014

Instead of taking this for what it is, nothing, it earns a headline on NFL.com. I am not sure why? One, McCoy’s opinion has very little to do with what goes on, or will go on, in the Jets’ locker room. It’s McCoy’s opinion, period. He and Vick are likely friends, and he was choosing his friend to win the competition.

Even if they weren’t friends, what does anyone expect McCoy to say? That Vick stinks? Of course not. But this doesn’t make it a story worth headlines on the league website. Unless, of course, you are looking to cause trouble. If THAT’S the case, you well on what a running back from another team thinks about the quarterback competition in New York. After all, it’s a circus there isn’t it?

I, for one, find the other story that came out yesterday regarding Michael Vick much more interesting. It turns out that Vick is willing to give up his number 7, and let Geno Smith continue to wear it. That may seem small, but I found myself really impressed by the gesture of Michael Vick.

His willingness to drop the number seven after all of these years of wearing it, shows to me that being here is important to him. It’s a small step to show everyone that he is not interested in “making waves”. A lot of players are egotistical about their number, Vick understands it’s only a number.

But a story like that goes against the “Jets are a circus” mission plan. So we won’t hear about that kind of thing very often.

Oh, well, at least we know the truth.