Is Michael Vick Ready to be a Mentor To Geno Smith?

Jan 30, 2014; New York, NY USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback

on radio row at the Super Bowl XLVIII media center at the Sheraton Times Square New York. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

John Idzik has had an active off-season. He has a plan and has kept straight on it. Some moves have been notable, some, not so much. But the plan is in place, and John Idzik is executing it the best way he knows how.

Enter Michael Vick. Part of the “plan” was to bring competition in to “push” Geno Smith. Michael Vick is that veteran presence set to push Geno Smith, while Geno Smith does come into camp as the leader out of the gate.

Michael Vick has been a much debated signing for a while now, long before the writing of this post. The debate has been to both ends of the spectrum, some love Michael Vick, some hate him, for football and non-football reasons. Not paying attention to the non-football stuff, we move ahead.

A veteran backup quarterback situation works if the veteran is willing to be a mentor of he doesn’t earn the starting job. So the question is whether or not Michael Vick is ready to be a mentor. I am still not convinced.

Oh, he does throw in a lot of the right things when interviewed, for example, this comment to Kim Jones:

“(Geno) knows I’m going to push him to the limit, and I want him to push me,” Vick said. “There’s going to be times where he’s gonna have to pick me up, where I’m gonna have to pick him up. I’m always gonna be there for him, always gonna help him out, and I think he’s done a great job.”

This shows a guy that is ready to share the load, no? I agree, and if this would be all Vick says, there would be nothing left to say, but then a comment like this comes in:

“It’s hard not to,” Vick told Jones. “I think, at times, it does hurt deep down that I’m not in that group (of the 32 starting QBs in the NFL). Everything happens for a reason, and maybe it’s time for me to just kind of sit back and kind of appreciate what I’m going through now to make me a better quarterback in the future.”

That worries me. Obviously there is no way to know who is right until it plays out, but I have my doubts. Saying that it “hurts”, says to me that Michael Vick is a guy that is going to eventually grow tired of mentoring, and if I am correct, we don’t need that in our locker room.

Could Vick simply be showing his competitive spirit? Sure. It would a thrill to be wrong. Fact is I just don’t know.