This all took place during an altercation in the New York Jets locker room that ended with quarterback Geno Smith suffering a broken jaw began as a dispute over $600, sources told ESPN. It all started, apparently according to ESPN, when Geno accepted a $600 plane ticket from IK Enemkpali to appear at the reserve linebacker's football camp in Pflugerville, Texas, on July 11, according to sources. Problems arose when Smith did not show to the camp, which took place days after someone close to Smith was killed in a motorcycle accident in Miami, sources said. After Smith did not attend, Enemkpali demanded that the Jets quarterback refund him the $600 he allegedly used to purchase the plane ticket. Smith told Enemkpali he would reimburse him the money, but he had not as of Tuesday morning. Enkempali confronted Smith on Tuesday about the money, and the confrontation ended in a punch and a broken jaw. All of this is coming from an ESPN report.
According to the same report, Geno had tried to go up to Enemkpali and tried to pay off the $600 and had planned on attending the event out of goodwill, but clearly something came up. Jets head coach Todd Bowles said in a press conference after the fact, stating "It takes two to tango -- one to throw a punch, but two to tango."
There's a couple of ways to look at this whole messed up situation. First there's IK Enemkpali. This is not Enemkpali's first brush with off-the-field violence. At 19, while at a bar when he was at college at Louisiana Tech, a fight broke out and he punched an off-duty cop who was working security at the bar. On that night, Enemkpali had to be subdued first with pepper spray and then with a stun gun. He was arrested and charged with battery on a police officer and disturbing the peace/drunk, according to court records. The charge was amended to simple battery, and he received a suspended jail sentence and was placed on 13 months' probation. He also was ordered to perform 32 hours of community service and to complete an anger-management course (ESPN).
So, as you can read, Enemkpali has had some anger issues in the past. It may have lead to this and him having a short fuse. It doesn't come as a surprise that he was cut as soon as this happened. Its a good move, a statement move, by the Jets. Its telling the fans that there is no tolerance for this kind of stuff in the locker room or with this team. I fully support Coach Bowles and how he has handled this whole thing. Todd Bowles has had a lot to deal with in his first few weeks at Jets camp and as Jets head coach for that matter. I mean think about it, from what has happened before camp with Sheldon Richardson to now having to deal with this. That's a lot for a first year head coach to take on and he's handled it quite well.
When it comes to Geno and the quarterback position, that's a whole different story in and of itself. First there's Geno. He hasn't had the greatest first two years for an NFL Quarterback. His 41 turnovers, and 34 interceptions, have been well documented. He is 11-18 lifetime as a starter, coming off a 3-10 season last year. Everybody, including myself, had gotten on Geno the last few years for being a weak starting QB. I was willing to give him a little more slack going into this season. Why? Because he now has weapons to work with in the passing game. I was looking forward to see what he could do with better receivers. Now who knows what's going to happen with Geno when he comes back.
With Geno out of action, it sits that Ryan Fitzpatrick is the starting QB with Bryce Petty, a rookie, serving as the backup. Fitzpatrick is a solid quarterback, he doesn't have as strong a throwing arm as Geno does, but he is still a good QB. Fitzpatrick best years as a starter came with back to back 6-10 seasons as the starter for the Buffalo Bills in 2011 and 2012. Sure he has a tendency to turn the ball over, as he did throw 23 interceptions in 2011, he has more experience and is a more well rounded QB than Smith. I would have trusted Fitzpatrick as a starter than Geno. Now this leads me to believe what will happen when Geno gets healthy. The earliest he can come back is Week Three against the Eagles at home, and he can come back no later than Week Seven in New England. Who is going to start when Geno gets back is up to Fitzpatrick. If Fitz is playing well, I wouldn't see going back to Geno. You have to stick with the hot hand at QB. The Jets may also look other places for QB's. Some sources say that the team has looked into Tyler Thigpen and Rex Grossman.
The whole incident was childish on both IK's and Geno's part. It could have easily been taken care of quietly, but it wasn't and it lead to this. Both guys were in the wrong and now both guys are suffering from it.
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