Michael Vick a QB at heart but doesn't mind limited role

At his core, Michael Vick is a quarterback. No matter how many trick plays he's used in, no matter how many times he's inserted as a slot receiver, he's a signal-caller through and through.

The Vick Experiment has produced little in the way of results for the Jets, but they're optimistic that production from their backup is on the horizon.

"At the end of the day, I'm a full-time quarterback. I do that because it's football and I love to play the game and I like having success,'' Vick said Thursday, referring to his roles in gadget plays designed by coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.

"So hopefully, one of these days, one of those plays will work.''

So far, they haven't. Vick has attempted only one pass (an incompletion to Eric Decker in Week 1) and was sacked Sunday in Green Bay.

But believe it or not, he said he isn't looking for a bigger role at quarterback.

Asked if he would prefer to have a series all to himself, Vick didn't hesitate in saying no.

"Nah, we're not going to get into that. I wouldn't want to do that,'' he said. "That disrupts timing. It disrupts the flow of the game, the flow of the quarterback.''

Vick did say quarterbacking a series of plays would help his timing "because you would get into a flow. But this isn't college. You don't rotate quarterbacks in and out. You don't substitute one guy for another for one series. That's kind of petty. You want your quarterback to stay in a consistent flow and you don't want to interrupt anything.''

Told that "once upon a time" the Jets rotated quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow, Vick smiled and said: "That was once upon a time. Not in today's time.''

Last week, Mornhinweg acknowledged rhythm issues for the offense could arise when Vick is inserted. But he stressed that Vick's skill set is an asset he can't ignore.

"There are some great positives of utilizing a man like Mike Vick because he's so skilled,'' Mornhinweg said. "Why wouldn't you want to use a capable player that you have available? That's just me and the way we operate.''

Vick was in for one play on the Jets' final drive in Green Bay -- at quarterback. With Geno Smith lined up at wide receiver, Vick scrambled to his left but quickly was sacked by linebacker Clay Matthews.

"I know we haven't had a whole lot of success with him, per se," Rex Ryan said. "I think it does keep a defense off balance a little bit, and hopefully we'll get this thing rolling a little bit.''

Vick said his one or two plays a game aren't disrupting Smith now.

"It's a play to come in and be effective, try to help the team get a couple yards,'' Vick said. "We're not always trying to go for the home run. Just trying to help keep the chains moving and that's pretty much it.''

But while Vick remains a quarterback at heart, there's still a part of him that's dying to make a Brandon Marshall-type catch this season.

"One day I'll catch a pass. One day I'll catch a pass. Hopefully,'' he said, flashing another smile.

"That's a quarterback's dream: to be on the edge, one-on-one, with a defensive back who really can't cover.''