Second Thoughts

NBC analyst has no faith in Jets' Smith

New England Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones, right, tackles New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New England Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones, right, tackles New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Rodney Harrison isn't impressed by the New York Jets' offseason moves.

The former New England Patriots safety and current NBC football analyst told ESPN.com the Jets still need a quarterback.

While the Jets have added Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromarte and Brandon Marshall, their success in 2015 will ultimately come down to the quarterback position, which is led by Geno Smith. Smith started 14 games last season for the Jets, passing for 2,525 yards with 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

"You can say whatever you want about Darrelle Revis -- and I do believe he's the best cornerback in the league -- but Darrelle Revis has not thrown a touchdown pass," Harrison said. "He's not your quarterback. Yes, he can shut down a No. 1 receiver, but they need a quarterback.

"The Jets are, all of a sudden, on a high, thinking they're going to win a championship. You're not going to win a championship -- you're not even going to make the playoffs -- because you don't have a quarterback."

Harrison knows a thing or two about having a quarterback. His signal-caller in New England was none other than Tom Brady.

"If you go into the season and you're expecting Geno Smith to improve, it's not going to happen," Harrison said. "He might get a little better, but when times get tough, when adversity hits, guess what he's going to do? He's going to fold just like the last couple years."

"I don't believe in Geno Smith. I think this is a huge mistake. Hopefully in this draft, they try to address this quarterback situation, because if they go into the season with Geno Smith, they might win five or six games."

New York finished 4-12 last season with Smith and Michael Vick at quarterback. The Jets signed free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick, but with the sixth pick in this year's draft, they could be in a position to draft Oregon's Marcus Mariota, should he fall out of the top five.

He's popular

Jim Harbaugh has enough going on at the University of Michigan, serving as the school's football coach.

Some Michigan students want him to do more, though.

Harbaugh finished fourth in the vote for the school's new student government president, according to the Michigan Daily, the school's student newspaper.

The former 49ers coach received 115 total write-in votes for president, equaling 1.26 percent of the total vote. Of the 115 votes, 82 of the votes were for "Jim Harbaugh", 18 were for "Harbaugh" and four were for "Jim Harbaugh and Diag Squirrel." (The Diag is an open space in the middle of Michigan's campus in Ann Arbor.)

Also, the tickets of "Jim Harbaugh and Jabrill Peppers", "Jim Harbaugh and His Khakis" and "Jim Harbaugh and Jesus Shuttlesworth" received one vote each.

Harbaugh signed a seven-year contract with Michigan, so he'll have at least six more years to become the school's student government president.

They said it

• From Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times: "Given the Seahawks' Super Bowl finish, what's the last thing QB Russell Wilson wanted to hear when he worked out with the Texas Rangers on Saturday? 'Hit the cutoff man!' "

• From Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press, on why actress/Kentucky fan Ashley Judd kissed Dick Vitale: "It was the only way she could get him to shut up."

• From the satirical news website TheOnion.com: "Kentucky cancels practice for NBA Draft suit-fitting."

SPORTS QUIZ

What school did Geno Smith play college football at?

ANSWER

West Virginia

Sports on 03/31/2015

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