AFC East Notes: Vick, Jets, Bills, Patriots

After suffering a 43-23 loss at the hands of the Bills yesterday, the Jets will make a change at quarterback, head coach Rex Ryan announced today (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Michael Vick will take over under center, while second-year signal-caller Geno Smith, who completed two of eight passes with three interceptions before being benched, will ride the pine for the forseeable future. While Ryan said this change wasn’t necessarily permanent for the remainder of the season (Twitter link via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News), it’s easy to see the implications of this move. Ryan needs to win games immediately to have any chance at saving his job, and while Vick, 34 and a free agent after the season, obviously isn’t the long-term solution for New York, Smith hasn’t proven that he should be the starter going forward, either. The transition from Smith to Vick will undoubtedly have implications for the 2015 offseason, as general manager John Idzik & Co. make their decisions on Ryan, Smith, and the rest of the roster. Here’s more from the AFC East.

  • In addition to affirming his support for Ryan as head coach, Idzik took the blame for the Jets‘ 1-7 start during a press conference today. “Ultimately I am responsible for the performance of our team and the product that we put on the field,” Idzik told reporters, including Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. “That lies with me. The buck stops here. My performance, to date, is unsatisfactory.”
  • When asked if he would be involved in trade deadline talks, Bills coach Doug Marrone replied, “I would hope so… but I learned in this league you never know,” according to ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak (on Twitter).
  • There is no still official confirmation of a deal between Alan Branch and the Patriots, tweets Shalise Young of the Boston Globe. Reports of an agreement between the two sides surfaced three days ago, and though Branch has been assigned a number and a locker, New England has yet to announce the transaction.
  • Though the Patriots did make a trade for ex-Titan Akeem Ayers, head coach Bill Belichick explains to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe why such midseason deals are “tricky.”
  • James Walker of ESPN.com examines whether the Dolphins should buy, sell, or stand pat as tomorrow’s trade deadline approaches.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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