"Let's start out 2-1 with grind'em out wins and I think we're gonna be okay."

With today (September 7) marking the first Sunday of regular season NFL football, Joell Ortiz recently spoke with HipHopDX about the prospects for his hometown New York Jets. Reacting to head coach Rex Ryan’s late-August announcement that quarterback Geno Smith will start over Michael Vick, Ortiz offered that the second-year player should have several games to prove himself.

“It’s Geno Smith’s to win or lose,” Ortiz said. “That’s the statement the Jets made and Rex Ryan made when they announced that he’ll be starting. Because he’s starting doesn’t mean that he’s the quarterback, if that makes sense. It’s just, ‘Let’s see what’s up. I’m not gonna not let you start. You’re the quarterback—you were the quarterback.’ I feel like he has six weeks. If he’s 2-4 in six weeks, out comes Vick. If he’s 3-3, he plays on.”

Speaking about the team more generally, Joell added that a strong performance from former Titans running back Chris Johnson should relieve pressure from the quarterback position.

“I’m very happy that they’re not doing, ‘Sometimes Vick comes in and sometimes Geno,’” he said. “I didn’t want that. I didn’t want Wildcat: ‘On 3rd and 4 we’ll make it a dynamic offense by bringing in Vick.’ Nah, I’m glad that we have a quarterback. I wanna get back to pound it up the middle Jets football with great defense. I’m really more so watching Chris Johnson. If he can get us three or four yards on first down, we’re gonna be good. We’re gonna be really good. It’s gonna open it up for Eric Decker who I heard is a leader in the lockerroom. I always thought he was just this quiet kid but I’m hearing he’s yelling at people, and we need that on offense. The Jets will always have defense. Rex Ryan is defensive-minded. So, let’s get three to four yards from Chris Johnson. Geno Smith, let’s get him some wins that are solely based on a hundred-and-ten yard rushing games, and let’s not put the load on his arm and his accuracy and things like that. Let’s start out 2-1 with grind’em out wins and I think we’re gonna be okay.”

The Jets will host the Oakland Raiders today at 1:00 PM EST at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. After today, the Jets face a string of well-regarded opponents early in the season, travelling to Green Bay, San Diego, and New England as well as hosting the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears within the season’s first seven weeks.

Joell Ortiz is scheduled to release his third album House Slippers on September 16 via the relaunched Penalty Entertainment label. Last week, the rapper released his Slaughterhouse-featuring single "Brothers Keeper."

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