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New Jersey – Late last week Geno Smith was thrown off a plane in Los Angeles. Rough week for the Jets. Let’s take a closer look at the Smith imbroglio . . .
Geno Smith didn’t handle this well.
There is no way around it.
I’ve been on hundreds of flights, as have many of you.
It’s pretty cut-and-dried how the process works.
They close the plane door, and shortly thereafter, the flight attendants ask everyone to shut down all electronic devices, including cell phones. In fact, cell phones might be the most important item to shut down because the signals can interfere with the pilot’s communications.
So it’s ridiculous for Smith to act like he wasn’t aware that he had to shut down his phone. It was far from his first flight. He knows the drill.
Let me tell you one observation I’ve had about Smith this year.
Like a lot of people from his generation, including some relatives of mine, I believe he’s addicted to his IPhone, Smartphone or whatever cell phone device he’s using.
The second he finishes with the media on Wednesday, his head is generally buried in that phone.
The other days when he can’t talk to him during the media locker room sessions, on Thursday and Friday, we see him at his locker, and once again, his head is buried in that phone.
Remember, there were reports that Smith turned off some teams during the pre-draft process because he was on his cell phone texting and looking at Twitter during visits.
“All these other players who were in there were talking to the coaches, trying to get to know people and he was over there by himself,” an NFL team source told reporter Jason Cole, then of Yahoo. “That’s not what you want out of your quarterback.”
So when I heard he had a dispute on a plane about shutting down his cell phone, it came as no surprise.
Smith was escorted from the plane after the captain said he didn’t want him on the flight due to the dispute over his phone.
Then, according to published reports, Smith got into an argument over his re-booking. This dispute got so heated, the LAX Police had to escort him out of the terminal.
This whole mess made me think back to Nolan Nawrocki’s scouting report on Smith that he took so much heat for.
Nawrocki said one thing that might have been prescient based on what happened late last week.
“Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law,’ wrote Nawrocki.
Maybe Nawrocki doesn’t wear a tin-foil hat after all.
Smith’s behavior was wrong, and he needs to use his as a teachable moment.
First off, cut back on the darn cell phone use.
Think about it.
If he’s obsessed with this cell phone (which like I said, is a common problem these days – he’s not alone), is he spending as much time as he needs to preparing during the season or off-season?
One Jets player said off-the-record during the season that Smith works hard, but needs to work a lot harder.
And I’m sure he’s diligent in meetings with Marty Mornhinweg and David Lee, but when he goes home, and takes some film with him, how much time is he spending on it, and how often is that time interrupted by his beloved cell phone?
Smith was wrong for the incident at LAX.
As far as I’m concerned, the spin doctors on this one, can talk to the hand.
January 20, 2014
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