Just to follow up on this with a quote from Zach after today's practice with the Packers. When he was asked: Jets' Zach Wilson receives some tips from Aaron Rodgers (nypost.com) "...what part of Rodgers’ game would Wilson like to duplicate?" "“That’s tough,” Wilson said. “Obviously, the way he throws the ball is amazing, but I wouldn’t say that’s something you necessarily need to be as successful as he is. I would just say the way he understands the game, kind of what’s going on, the way he’s able to change things, pick things up and still stay calm is pretty impressive.” The bold part is what I think is the most important part of a QB's skill set. That said, you do need the physical tools, without which you're destined to just become a good QB coach, but I think it's that mental aspect that sets the great ones apart. From what I've seen of Zach, I think he possesses this aspect - his unquenchable thirst for understanding the game, his performance, his teammates, and his opponents, all provide the information base he uses to read the game that's unfolding around him, which is what the great ones do.
I try my best to keep evaluations to the tangible items. Outsiders can try as best they can to determine these QBs mental acuity based on watching broadcast games but w/o being in the meeting room, we have no idea how things are being thought. Like I told you before my only question marks about Mahomes, the prospect, was about what was under the hood. We can make assumptions but only the people in the know really know. Anything short of him being a serial killer in his spare time, I thought he would be worth the “risk” (air quotes). I don’t think any one prospect had a monopoly on the “mental” aspects of the game. Darnold was considered to be strong in the “mental” aspects of the game. 3 years later now it’s in question.
Darnold was considered to be strong in the “mental” aspects of the game? By who?... and do they still have a job in the NFL?
Of course, no one - save those who have the chance to interview him, work with him, see him up close - can "know" what his mental make up is, but we can infer from watching him, reading his interviews and interviews with his teammates and coaches, family, friends, something about how he operates. I'm certainly not claiming that I know what his mental abilities are, I'm just taking what I consider to be an informed guess. You're free to dismiss that as bullshit. Maybe we differed on how we came to the same conclusion about Mahomes, but if the primary basis for your belief that he would be great were his measurables - or as you call them tangibles - why did so many others not see him the same way? IOW, was there something in his intangibles that convinced you he would be great that so many others overlooked? I fully acknowledge that trying to pin down something like this is virtually impossible. How do you measure it? In fact, WHAT do you measure? And that presents a huge problem for scouts and talent evaluators. But, I believe that it's this aspect that makes the difference between a great QB and a mediocre or even above average one. I DID see some of this trait in Darnold, and at the time even noted some comparison to Rodgers, Elway, and Favre, but as you noted, without being able to see them "up close and personal" there's no way to really know. One thing that I later came to believe is that Darnold doesn't have that intense drive that those other QBs (and Mahomes and Wilson) have. Plus, he never really improved his physical shortcomings - the arm and foot mechanics - to make up for any other shortcomings. And finally, he got almost no real coaching, certainly from Gase. Maybe in a new setting with good coaching he can turn things around, but I don't think he'll ever be as good as Zach even if he does.
Whoa... stop the clock. Zach has a peppy arm and a good work ethic. That's pretty much all we know at this point... unless you've got some insight we haven't seen yet. If you compare any current starting QB to Darnold... most are gonna come out on top.... 'cause he kinda sucks...
Yeah, as I made sure to say I don't know, just my educated guess based on a lot of years watching which QBs succeed and fail, and everything in between. It's simply conjecture, and probably mixed with a bit of hope, so take it FWIW. As for the "comparison" to Darnold, I was trying to compare their potential, of which Darnold could still possibly achieve some of if he hasn't been ruined. I certainly hope Zach FAR exceeds what Sam has done so far. I guess I'll try to sum it all up this way: assessing a QB can't be done solely on stats and measurements, though that's what people so often rely on. It's really the un-measurables that make the difference, and because you can't measure them it's hard to say for sure who will be good and who won't. That said, paying close attention to stats and measurements can get you pretty close sometimes, but they can also fool you - sort of like the "forest for the trees" syndrome. Anyway, I feel confident that - barring injury 0 Zach will be the best Jets QB since at least Kenny O, and maybe even Namath. If I'm wrong, it won't be the first time.
If Zach Wilson is worse than Darnold, and of course that's still possible, it will be a different kind of worse. Darnold was sucky because he lost focus and frankly didn't care. If Wilson is worse I dont believe it will be because of a lack of desire. ' Even when a guy sucks I respect it more if he's still trying everything to be better
Unless he gets hurt and it affects his ability to play at his best, I would be shocked if Zach is worse than Sam. And I don't think Sam didn't care. On the contrary, I think he cared too much, and was overwhelmed by finding out how unprepared he was for the NFL. And then playing for two CS that didn't know how to help him get prepared. The beating behind that shitty OL was the icing on the cake. I think Wilson is as prepared as any college QB could be because this kid is a football junkie. The fact that he has Aaron Rodgers pulling for him speaks volumes IMO. Zach is taking his lumps right now, but he knows and expects it, and even welcomes it, and that's going to make him better in the long run. In the short run he's going to struggle - I only hope that he doesn't get injured before he reaches his potential.
I agree if Wilson is bad, it won’t be because of lack of desire. However, I disagree that was the issue with Darnold. I will say this though, I think Darnold thought he was going to Cleveland until the day of the draft. I don’t think he ever recovered.
I definitely think it was a desire/focus thing. Darnold had horrible in-game awareness. That can be a stupidity thing or a rookie thing (or both) but he never showed any improvement there, even in year 3. I believe he's a surfer dude just there to have fun with the boys, I dont think he was pissed about getting passed over by Cleveland
After working 20+ years in sports television... I realized that fully half of these so-called "experts" had no idea what they were talking about.
Oh... I thought you were saying I stunted my career by working in sports television. Which I probably did...
