Hall of Fame former Jets running back Curtis Martin is not a betting man. But if he were …
“If I was a betting man, I would bet on [Michael] Vick,” Martin said Monday at the Big Daddy Celebrity Golf Classic at Oheka Castle in Huntington, L.I. “But I would actually want Geno [Smith] to eventually win out because I think Geno has a longer career ahead of him.”
Martin doesn’t think Smith’s growth would be stunted were Vick to win the Jets quarterback job.
“If he’s the leader that he needs to be for the Jets, it’ll make him work harder,” Martin said. “It’s kind of the same dynamic, me and Lamont Jordan. He was a guy who was much more talented than I was, but it just made me work so much harder. Even though Vick has produced and had some good years, I don’t think he’s had a year like that year he had in Atlanta since. But I think that that dynamic with someone right on your heels, a younger guy upstaging you, I just think that that has the ability to push you to another level. And hopefully that’ll happen with Vick, because it’ll be good for the Jets.”
Martin does think the competition will benefit the team.
“Knowing Rex and knowing the organization, the best man’s going to play, which I think is very fair,” said Martin, who became father to his second daughter four months ago. “What I think is good about that dynamic is that you have a younger guy who wants to upstage an older guy, and you have an older guy who doesn’t want to be upstaged by the younger guy. I think that creates such a great competitive environment, especially for them being the leaders of the organization, I think that it’s great. Because I think Vick can win the job, but I know Geno has enough talent to keep the job.
“It’s just about, I don’t know, if Geno will mature a whole lot this year. I hope he does because I think he has a tremendous amount of talent. I think what he did as a rookie was pretty good. … There are those who have done better, but I think that he has a good foundation to build upon.”
So, of course, does Vick.
“In the right environment, I think Vick is still a good quarterback,” Martin said, “and I think his leadership is something that is important.”
Vick’s dogfighting past will be met again with protests.
“He’s dealt with it before,” Martin said, “and I think he’s dealt with it under worse conditions. So I think he should be equipped to deal with it if he has to go through it this time. I think it shouldn’t be as much of a distraction as it probably was previously. And at the end of the day, how many years ago did that happen? I think he has to move beyond it, and hopefully people can move beyond it. I just hope that it’s not a distraction.”
Still, Vick knows some fans will not come around.
“Some people never will,” Martin said, “and that’s just life, and everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I don’t fault them. … At the end of the day, the buck stops with him. He’s the one who did it, so he has to be responsible and this is just what he has to go through. This is just the consequence of what happened.”
What happens if Vick wins the job?
“Jet fans want to win at the end of the day,” Martin said. “If Vick is getting the job done, I believe they’ll support him.”
Martin, asked about Chris Johnson, mentioned Jim Brown, Barry Sanders and Adrian Peterson as running backs who could compare with his natural ability.
“I think they’re in a class of their own,” Martin said. “The person who’s next in line, and who I think if they were healthy and consistent, is Chris Johnson. I think he has that type of talent. He’s one of those guys who, in the blink of an eye, he can be in the end zone. I like the fact that he brings that element that any given play, he can score.”
Playbookgate?
“If it’s true, which it may not be true, it definitely gives a team an advantage,” Martin said, “regardless of if it’s not the game week plan or whatever. If you have the playbook, the game plan comes out of that playbook in some form or fashion. … And I think [Bill] Belichick is such a mastermind, I don’t think he needs it, to be honest with you.”
But it could help him, you think?
“It could help anyone,” Martin said.