Michael Vick made his New York Jets debut as a gadget player on Sunday. The results weren't all that memorable.
The veteran quarterback was on the field for three red-zone snaps in a 19-14 win over the Oakland Raiders. He lined up as receiver on two plays, one of which ended with a lost fumble by Geno Smith. On Vick's biggest opportunity, he took a pitch from Chris Johnson, then fired a pass over the head of a wide open Eric Decker in the end zone.
It wasn't a Tim Tebow-level distraction for the Jets, but Vick's package was about equal in terms of its effectiveness.
"It didn't work out the way we had planned," Jets coach Rex Ryan said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "All through practice, we were leading up to this. We thought it would be a pretty good wrinkle against them because they hadn't seen anything that we had done with it, but they did a nice job defending it. Each week is different. Obviously, it didn't work the way we wanted it to."
Smith told reporters he thought the Vick-related plays "were all great play calls" that "give defensive coordinators a little bit extra to look at on film." As for Vick, he seems to be doing as he's told.
"I thought the package was pretty cool," Vick said. "I wish I could have had an impact on the game. Hopefully I did. But I just got to keep working. I play quarterback and I play quarterback full time when it's required."
What a difference one play can make. If Vick is accurate on his throw to Decker, the Jets are lauded for making the most of both QBs. Alas. It will be interesting to see if Vick remains a red-zone fixture or if, like Tebow before him, he's slowly phased out.
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