CCORTLAND — The Jets could have a plan for Michael Vick even if he is not the team’s starting quarterback.
Coach Rex Ryan did not dismiss the idea of using Vick as a change-of-pace quarterback with a package of wildcat and zone-read option plays designed for Vick.
That could be risky, though, considering Vick’s injury history. Vick has not played in 16 games since 2006, missing time due to a concussion as well as ribs and hamstring injuries in the last few years.
“I recognize the guy’s got special talent,” Ryan said. “There’s no question about it.”
It felt like 2012 again Saturday with the Jets devoting an entire period of practice to wildcat work. Vick said Thursday he thought coming in as a wildcat quarterback can disrupt the timing of the starter. That was a common criticism of the failed Tim Tebow experiment two years ago.
“There’s times,” Ryan said, “but it’s not the first time it ever happened. I remember pulling off a guy and running direct snaps. I remember Cleveland had [Josh] Cribbs at one time. It’s been done and teams have been successful doing it. You look at Miami with Ronnie Brown. It’s who your personnel is. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be a disruptive thing. It could be something that’s to your advantage.”
Rookie TE Jace Amaro caught two passes in Thursday’s preseason game. Apparently, Ryan wants to see more.
“I thought he could have caught two more,” Ryan said. “He’s got to realize, ‘Hey, you’re a huge man.’ Give him tapes of Mike Ditka or something. This is how we want you to play. Recognize you’re a big guy. You need to be a bully out there. When that ball’s thrown up you need to go catch it. I don’t care where it is. He needs to have that kind of mentality.”
C Nick Mangold missed practice after his wife gave birth to a baby girl. … Ryan decided to play reporter Saturday, taking a seat at his daily press conference and putting a reporter behind the podium. Ryan asked an ESPN reporter questions about his job, flipping the script for a day. … Veteran LB Calvin Pace on training camp life: “It’s uncomfortable, man. I’m 33 years old staying in a dorm room with a roommate.”