It took just one destructive punch to rattle an entire franchise.
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Geno Smith probably didn’t have his red jersey on in the locker room but he, like all NFL starting quarterbacks, remained off limits, and that’s why Ikemefuna Enemkpali is unemployed this morning.
“This wasn’t the first time they had an issue over this same situation and nothing came from it the first time”, Clark said. With Smith out six to ten weeks to fix his jaw, Fitzpatrick is suddenly thrust into a starting role.
Enemkpali, an outside linebacker in his second season, was immediately released by the Jets.
“You can’t tolerate that”, Bowles told reporters.
“If I didn’t want to be here and if I didn’t love this game and have confidence in myself, then I wouldn’t be standing in front of you guys”, he said.
“Doug and myself talked to Terry today, and, you know, Doug’s leaning on me about this”, said Ryan. “He’s a different kind of player than Jerry, but he’ll back up at that position and play special teams; he’ll run down there, he’s an aggressive, physical player, so I think the young man has a chance to develop into a decent football player”. Backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is expected to take over. Gailey is now the offensive coordinator for the Jets, and Thigpen is very familiar with Gailey’s system. From that standpoint, I view Fitzpatrick as a much better option than Smith.
So it was that as Geno Smith struggled, the fans became more and more hostile, led by an even more hostile media that is forever looking to sensationalize the tiniest of situations. “That’s from prior knowledge as well as present day”.
According to ESPN, Smith accepted a $600 plane ticket from Enemkpali (as well as reportedly a limousine) to appear at the reserve linebacker’s football camp in Pflugerville, Texas, on July 11.
That means extra work in particular with receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, who were developing a solid rapport this summer with Smith.
But through it all, the Giants’ veteran defensive end has never experienced something quite like what hit Jets camp on Tuesday. I profoundly lament and apologize for my activities. Because of the accident, Smith was unable to attend.
“If the other guy’s playing well, and the boat’s going right, and there are no waves, and everything’s going, and we’re 4, 5, 6, 7-0?” Reports have insisted Smith was planning to pay Enemkpali back, but up until Tuesday had not done so.
While Enemkpali is clearly the villain in this incident, Bowles was hardly letting Smith, who is supposed to be a team leader, off the hook. “And I’m not trying to say that it wasn’t a mistake”, Ryan said shortly before the Bills opened an evening practice. “We’re dealing with it internally and that’s where we’re at right now”. Let’s also assume his first free-agent contract was for six years – not an outrageous length for an NFL starter – and that he plays the entire thing out.
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Jones said Enemkpali is aware that he might face discipline from the NFL.
