Rex says QB competition is still on, but Vick still denies it's 'open'

The quarterback competition in Florham Park is alive and well, according to Rex Ryan. 

A week after Michael Vick conceded in front of the cameras that the starting job belonged to Geno Smith, Ryan denied the QB battle is already over.

“I think there is competition, there’s no doubt,” the Jets coach said Wednesday following Day 2 of voluntary OTAs. “And, as a coach, you love it. …When you have competition in your own room, that’s what brings out the best in everybody. And it’s an ideal situation for a coach to have that kind of competition.

“You try to get it at every position. It’s probably unrealistic to think you can have it at every position. Certainly we have competition. And competition sometimes has to be, maybe, manufactured. You look at our defensive line – there’s great competition. But it might not be for who’s pushing this guy, but they push each other. They’re all young, they came in together and they push each other. So I think that’s a good thing.”

Vick, however, sees things a little differently.

Asked point-blank Wednesday about the Jets’ QB situation, Vick replied: “Nah, it’s not an open competition.”

Last week, the veteran QB gave an honest of assessment of his chances of starting – and Vick made it seem as if it would take something extraordinary for him to get the nod over Smith. But by Wednesday, it seemed someone had given Vick talking points.

When asked about the Jets’ QB situation, the former Eagle repeated a variation of the same line for the cameras. “I’m just competing every day,” Vick said. “I can’t tell you what the situation is. But I’m competing every day to be the best that I can be. That’s all I can tell you. The most important thing is to help this football team get better and win football games.”

When he repeated the line – almost verbatim – a reporter asked Vick if someone from the organization had spoken to him about his recent comments.

His response? “I’m here to compete every day and help this football team win games,” he said.

The 33-year-old QB seemed to grow more frustrated with the questions about an “open” competition. “I don’t know how else to answer this question,” he said. “This is the third time around. I’m just trying to be the best I can be each and every day and perform as well as I can.”

And while his comments Wednesday sounded somewhat rehearsed, Vick insisted that he speaks from the heart. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever I say is what I feel,” he said.

“Like I say, when I step out there, the only thing to do is try to get better as far as what I know…and how I can grow. So that’s what’s most important. I’m just trying to stick to that game plan and that’s all I can do right now.”

So what happens if Vick does outplay Smith in training camp? Well, let’s just say the Jets haven’t thought that far ahead.

“Again, I think we’ll let it play out a little bit,” Ryan said with a laugh. “It’s the second day of OTAs. It’s not closed competition. Open competition… but it’s competition. And I don’t mean to make light of it, but in a way I think I should. It’s the second day of OTAs and here we have these questions. But again, let’s let it play out.

“One thing we know for certain…rest assured, the guy that we think will give us the best opportunity to win will be the guy.”