Two stories about New Jersey governor Chris Christie in one day? If the shoe fits (or should we say if the incredibly tight white shorts fit), wear it. On Monday morning, Christie discussed the state of the New York Jets while filling in for Boomer Esiason on the “Boomer and Carton Show.” He defended Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez while blasting New York Daily News reporter Manish Mehta.
Sanchez injured his shoulder in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win over the New York Giants. Had Geno Smith not thrown three interceptions prior to that, Ryan probably wouldn’t have put Sanchez in. When Mehta, who is the Jets beat writer for the Daily News, asked if Smith would be the team’s Week 1 starter, Ryan reacted in hilarious fashion (see the video here). Christie hated the question just as much.
“The guy’s a complete idiot,” Christie said. “(He’s) self-consumed, underpaid reporter. The only reason he’s empowered is we’re spending all this time this morning talking about Manish Mehta, who, by the way, I couldn’t pick out of a lineup. No Jets fan really gives a damn about Manish Mehta.
“We shouldn’t be giving this dope the amount of airtime we’ve given him already.”
Christie also defended Sanchez during the segment.
“It seems like the fans have amnesia about this guy,” he said. “Yeah, he was awful last year, but by the way, he had no weapons last year to throw to, he had no receiving core, he had no running game and the offensive line was below average. So what are you looking for from the guy? I think they’ve treated him awfully. It seems like they’re determined … and I think this new general manager (John Idzik) is just determined to play the guy that he drafted (Geno Smith).”
That is certainly true. The Jets wanted nothing more than for Smith to come out and light up the Giants on Saturday after his impressive performance in practice, but he did the opposite. The three interceptions he threw coupled with Sanchez’s shoulder injury have made New York’s quarterback situation more unpredictable than it was three months ago.
Christie recently admitted his favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys, but he is also close friends with Rex. He has every right to disagree with Mehta, but Manish isn’t the only one questioning Ryan’s decisions and criticizing the Jets these days. The only way for the Jets to silence the critics will be to win games. Given their current situation, that will be no easy task.
H/T Bob’s Blitz
