As I usually do, when a big story breaks, I take to Twitter. But after Tuesday’s news of Geno Smith having a broken jaw, I had no words.
Geno Smith has a broken jaw resulting from a locker room fight with IK Enemkpali. The injury will keep him out 6-10 weeks, which is absolutely killer to the Jets, who planned on being at least a little bit better this season.
If I had a hot take for this, it’d be: “This is so, so Jets.”
And it is. It truly is. The Jets are known for things not going their way, and being terrible, and anything that’s not good. This is just another one of those crazy situations with this team. It never ends.
It probably could have been avoided. First of all, the fight, which resulted in Geno Smith being punched (not sucker punched; that was the original report; it has changed), was sparked after a $600 plane ticket IK Enemkpali bought for Geno to attend his football camp wasn’t fulfilled. Geno never made it to the camp, due to a family issue. IK thought he deserved a refund from Geno. But really? Sure, $600 is a lot of money, but you’re an NFL player. You make millions. I’m pretty sure you’re okay.
What’s even stranger is the fact that IK Enemkpali even has a football camp. This is a name I hadn’t heard of since Tuesday morning. I had no clue who he was. How in the world does he have a football camp? Good football players should have football camps. Players that kids have heard the name of (like Rod Woodson! I attended his football camp in 5th grade).
Ryan Clark came out and said that IK has always been uptight about money, and that this wasn’t the first time IK and Geno had spat over money, which adds a some more fuel to the fire. However, the fact that Geno was even invited to the football camp is strange, as these guys had a friendship before Tuesday’s fight.
This whole thing is so screwed up. I couldn’t say that enough when talking to other people about it. I’ve never seen or covered anything like it. It’s just strange, but then again, it is so, so Jets.
As for the football side of this, I mean, if the AFC East wasn’t confusing enough this year. The Patriots could be without Tom Brady for the first four games. The Bills have no actual quarterback, which immediately takes them out of contention. The Jets are now down their starter, which actually might be a good thing, depending on how you feel about Geno Smith. Then there’s the Dolphins, who honestly look like the division favorites.
It’s a mess, which isn’t anything new in the AFC. The Jets have two other quarterbacks on the roster: Ryan Fitzpatrick and rookie Bryce Petty.
Fitzpatrick has been named the starter by Todd Bowles, which is too bad (more on that later). In 12 games started last year for Houston, he threw for 2,483 yards, 17 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. The Texans were 6-6 in those games. So, the Fitzmagic didn’t really pay off, because those stats were a lot better than I remember. New York has a lot of talent. They have some offensive weapons, and a killer defense. Still, this is not a 10 win team, even if the Fitzmagic is present. Ryan Fitzpatrick has never been a viable starter. He’s always been exactly what the Jets are using him for: A fill-in.
The most interesting thing Todd Bowles said was that, once Geno is healthy, that the job may not be his. That’s basically saying that, if Fitzmagic is present, then the job is still Ryan’s. Which is fair, and fine.
For Jets fans, this could two ways:
- “We’re so, so cursed.”
- “Yay, no more Geno!”
This isn’t great for Geno at all. This was his make or break season, and now he’s gonna be out close to half of it. It doesn’t seem like the Jets are sorry for Geno. Todd Bowles was pretty pissed Tuesday. I don’t blame him. The Jets didn’t think they’d win 10 games with Geno, but probably thought they’d be much better, thanks in large part to the possible Tom Brady suspension. Now, eight games or less seems likely.
Unless…….
You guys know. I’ve been on the Bryce Petty bandwagon for awhile, ever since his first years at Baylor. I thought it was the perfect pick for the Jets in 4th round. Petty has a insanely strong arm, and great pocket presence. His only question: Can his game translate? Baylor’s offense was high powered, fast, and different from anything else. The biggest question was if Petty could go from that to a more NFL styled offense. It was a chemistry thing.
I think the Jets are making a mistake not giving Petty a chance. Reports are that he’s had a rough first Training Camp, but again, he’s a rookie. A rookie that went in the 4th round, not 1st overall.
If the Fitzmagic doesn’t exist this season, then the Jets should consider Petty to start. I mean, why not? It’s already a lost season!
We do this every year with the Jets. Not bad, but not great. They’re just kinda there, like a certain 14 MLB teams right now. And they’re gonna be just kinda there all season. But they will make headlines. No one will doubt that.
On Aldon Smith’s release….
Sucks to be you, 49ers fans! I taunted a couple 49ers friends after the release, just because this was supposed to be the year they became the first team to host the Super Bowl in their home stadium. Trust me, two years ago, that was the hope, and the belief.
And look at where we are now with this team. Everyone is gone. You wanna run through them? Yeah, that sounds fun!
- Chris Borland
- Mike Iupati
- Frank Gore
- Michael Crabtree
- Jim Harbaugh
- Anthony Davis
- Andy Lee
- Justin Smith
- OC (Greg Roman)
- DC (Vic Fangio)
- Patrick Willis
- Aldon Smith
Good lord! This team was in the Super Bowl three years ago! And now they’ll be lucky to win seven games!
The Aldon Smith release really didn’t surprise me. He’s had trouble in the past, and obviously hasn’t gotten help. This has been going on since he was drafted, and cutting him was the right decision by the 49ers. Smith’s celling was so high, not to say that’s it’s not anymore, but Smith can’t worry about football now. He has to take the next year (which is probably how long he’ll be suspended) to get help, then worry about football again.
On yesterday’s court meeting between Tom Brady and the NFL….
The biggest thing that came out of yesterday’s court meeting was this sketch, which is so, so bad.
Talk about deflating. His face looks deflated.
Anyways, the judge ripped into both sides yesterday. I mean, neither side had great answers for the questions asked. This judge doesn’t want to make a ruling on this. He wants the two sides to figure it out in settlement talks, which would diminish Brady’s suspension.
Whether Brady did anything or not, the NFL continues to look worse and worse in this case. Dragging this out to August is one thing, but the people and evidence that has came out against the NFL has been insane lately. Some people are tossing grenades, some are making simple, damaging statements.
The most disturbing thing about DeflateGate is the league’s opposition to getting it over with. Roger Goodell’s whole job is to help prevent scandals like this. All he’s done during his tenure is make them worse.
On the NFL to Los Angeles, which is gaining much steam…
The NFL has made it clear. They want two teams in Los Angeles, but only one stadium. That proposal seems like a done deal, with the Raiders and Chargers combining on plans to build a stadium to share. Neither the Raiders or Chargers are getting new leases done, and have no plans for building new stadiums in their respective cities, yet.
The Rams have also been subject to move to Los Angeles, but out of the three teams talking about relocation, the Rams are the only one with a proposed stadium in their current city. However, owner Stan Kroenke has purchased land in the LA area (in Inglewood), the former spot of the Hollywood Racetrack. Kroenke’s proposal is huge, and looks pricier than the stadium in Carson.
It’s a matter of leases and new stadiums, but if I had money on it, I’d bet the Raiders and Chargers fulfill the Carson Stadium plan. It makes sense, and is a better site than the one in Inglewood (in my opinion… I’ve unintentionally been by the Carson spot).
In terms of timing, I would be surprised if a team is playing in LA by next season. No stadium would be ready by then. What makes most sense is to keep whatever two teams are moving in their cities till a stadium is ready. Moving a team now would put them in a temporary spot, like the LA Memorial Coliseum or the Rose Bowl.
I’d expect an official announcement soon as to what’s happening, but for now, San Diego and Oakland fans better enjoy their team now.
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