"I’ve already gotten in trouble for saying some things about playoffs and things, which I don’t regret," Smith said Sunday on Sirius XM Radio. "I don’t think I’ll go as far as being as bold as Joe was."
Could Rex Ryan have gotten to his new quarterback and explained how those blustery pre-season predictions can come back to kick you in the rear-end?
Smith is learning the hard way how different the New York media is from the small town press of West Virginia. He fired his agents after being passed up in the first-round of the NFL draft and was criticized for being aloof and more focused on his texting than meeting executives from NFL teams inside Radio City Music Hall. Smith called the scrutiny here “eye opening” and that the press created a “diva” perception of him to generate headlines.
"I don’t think I’m a bad guy," he said. "I don't think I'm some of the things they try to make me out to be. It's a part of the media. The one thing that I understand is you can't take it personally. Those guys have jobs and the key to their jobs is to sell papers and to keep the fans looking. So they're going to spin things and try to make an interesting story out of something that may not be so interesting."
Smith will compete for the starting quarterback job with incumbent Mark Sanchez, Greg McElroy and Matt Simms. This week, David Garrard, another quarterback, retired before ever taking a snap with the Jets due to a bad knee.
The 22-year-old indicated he's close to hiring a new agent. He reportedly met with Jay-Z of Roc Nation, which presumably would handle his marketing.
"I did some interviews with some really good candidates," he said. "I kind of started making that decision in my head. [I] obviously had camp, so I didn't really worry about it. I have plenty of time, don't really need to rush it. I've kind of been talking things over with my family and advisers and coming down to a decision pretty close here."
You know that sound the airplanes always make in the movie while their crashing. That's what I hear every time I hear Geno "First Rounder" Smith talk. Jets better put on your seat belts, this is going to be one bumpy ride.
ReplyDelete