Honestly, that seems like something that would really resonate with Zach. Throw Cougar in front of both of those words and I think you might be on to something.
BB use to make Brady practice the same play for hours until he got it right. Saleh should make Wilson practice the 5-yard slant over and over for hours until he gets it right.
I respect Quincy's opinion but this top part is something that I'm tired of hearing. It's even something that I parroted last season so it's somewhat ironic that I've come full circle on it in less than a year. Last year it was losing Becton for the year or having Elijah and Corey missing a handful of games throughout the season or missing Fant down the stretch etc. etc. etc. The fact of the matter is, this is the NFL, injuries are going to happen. It's an unfortunate, yet predictable, circumstance to a very violent game that these young men play. How did Burrow do with a terrible line last year? How about Herbert when Keenan Allen goes on IR for the 1000th time? Davis Mills threw for 2600+ yards with a 16/10 TD/INT ratio on a 66.8% comp. % in 13 games last season with his only good skill position player being Brandin Cooks. There are always going to be "excuses" or reasons that Zach can't or shouldn't be a top 5-10 QB. But that's not what we're even asking for at this point. I just want league average QB play right now. Top 15-20ish QB play with this roster gets us into the playoffs this year with ease. It doesn't bother me that Zach isn't a top 10 NFL QB right now. I'm fine with it taking him a little time to put everything together to reach that mountaintop but him being statistically the worst through 18 games? That certainly bothers me and is a big reason my stance on Zach has shifted somewhat throughout this season. EDIT: After I posted I realized that it's hard to see the full tweet in question so I'm going to post it below:
He hit them in Pitt and Miami. I haven't seen many open receivers in GB. GW was blanketed by Alexander, and there wasn't much open at all. In Denver there were open receivers, but after careful watching the film most of the time pressure got there before they were open. This is not to say this was a good game, but it wasn't like everyone was wide open and Zach just didn't see them. They were open sparingly and there was constant collapse of Oline to expect him to always look in the right place while running for his life.
This is unfortunately the absolute worst year for this to happen. The Jets are holding the second longest playoff drought in all of sports and the entire league is facing the same scenario - there’s 3-4 elite teams, a couple of really bad teams and everyone else is living in the middle with their own playoff destiny in their hands.
Well Burrow was def more of a polished QB being that he basically ran a pro system at LSU…his transition was quicker and being 23-24 IIRC when he came out. Def more weapons over there but even this year they’ve been struggling and Burrow hasn’t been good. Hmmm Herbert literally has no weapons, he’s been struggling too this season to do much. Davis Mills has been meh too, but I don’t think the Texans had a ton of confidence he’d be something special but he still has time. Let’s give Zach more then 18 games . He’s basically on the start of year 2 now.
In a weird way though, I think what you're saying just reinforces the stance that they have to know what they have in Zach by the end of this year. I'm assuming at least 3 of the 4 teams you're taking about are the Bills, Chiefs, & Eagles. There's a reason these 3 are seen as the clear favorites to win it all. Making the playoffs is great, and trust me I want to snap this streak as bad as anyone, but I also don't want it to just be a flash in the pan, one and done type deal. Easiest way to ensure that outcome doesn't happen is to get A GUY at QB.
I would assume most players understand that young, high draft QB’s are ultimately given the time to play and develop, and aren’t simply abandoned when they struggle just because the team around them is doing well.
And again, that's why I haven't expected top 5-10 QB play from him. My point was, even when those guys have obstacles or excuses, they aren't bottom of the league bad. You say Burrow and Herbert have struggled this season. Burrow's currently got 2329 yards, a 17/6 TD/INT ratio, on a 69% comp. %, and a 101.9 passer rating. Herbert's currently got 2009 yards, a 12/4 TD/INT ratio, on a 66% comp. %, and a 91.8 passer rating. Even Davis Mills has 1502 yards, a 8/6 TD/INT ratio, on 63 % comp. %, and a 81.9 passer rating. I wish Zach could "struggle" as much as Burrow and Herbert have this year. That would be great. For reference, Zach's stats are 1048 yards, a 3/5 TD/INT ratio, on 55% comp. %, and a 71.0 passer rating. (Full disclosure, Zach has 5 games under his belt, Burrow has 8, Herbert 7, and Mills has 7).
Saleh can say what he wants,if Zach continues to be so bad he costs us games, he will get benched . zach needs to find someone to work with in the off-season. Otherwise he risks wasting the talents he does have, and can cost him his nfl career
It's undeniable that Zach is probably the worst starting QB in the league right now (if not, he's in the bottom few). He's not met expectations thus far. More was expected of him 18 games in. But I see the ability. I really do. Even with some of the disaster throws he had Sunday, I also saw many really impressive ones. I see the mobility, arm strength, quick release and ability to make big plays. To my eye, I believe he's better at not locking onto receivers this year, which is huge. He's leaving the pocket early and panicking when pressured. I believe he's dead last as a passer when pressured. He's been actually decent with a clean pocket. I think he needs to focus on stepping up more often rather than these crazy out-of-the-pocket loops and then either eat it or throw it away if it's not there. He was doing well at not making mistakes in his first four games, but he started pressing and playing just stupid in the 2nd half this week. And he needs to trust his eyes more. I believe he's missing open receivers from indecision or second-guessing. He's late on throws. I actually don't think it's receivers getting open as much as it's Zach not pulling the trigger quicker. I was calling for Mike White Sunday by the 4th quarter, but with rewatching some tape and reading a bit more, I really don't think Zach can never be a good NFL QB. I believe he can. Unfortunately, his process is slower than we hoped and he's holding back this team. Even mediocre QB play and this is easily a playoff team (which is just amazing how far ahead of schedule they are IMO and speaks to some nice work by JD and the CS). I just hope Zach can make these changes in his game and do so before it's too late for him here. So somehow, I feel a little better about him than expected right now... If he did nothing else but not heave up those absolutely inexcusable INTs in the 2nd half, they might win that game. Still would like to watch some more clips, but that's where I am right now.
Some interesting numbers from Nania. These numbers reinforce what I have been saying that he will succeed or fail on in structure plays. The out of structure is just flash and a bonus. He was drafted number 2 not for off-structure plays but for his ability to run a pro-offense at BYU within structure efficiently. The off-structure plays make nice highlights on ESPN but playing within the structure of the offense moves the chains, scores points and makes a good QB. Unfortunately for Zach his off-structure plays are what is killing him. I believe that is for a couple of reasons. One he is running backwards rather than forwards or sideways and almost nothing ever good happens running backwards, he is forcing balls trying to make plays out of frustration off structure, he is been leaving the pocket too early and giving up on plays and last the offensive line situation has not helped him at all with inside pressure and constant breakdowns. I disagree with Nania's conclusion here that it is a dilemma for MLF rather I argue the issue is mainly an internal issue for Zach. Zach needs to calm down, stay in the pocket, stop running backwards and stop forcing plays. When we saw Zach succeed the last 7 games of last year it was not from off-structure plays but from playing efficiently within the structure of the offense and getting the ball out fast. This is where he will live and die. We saw his turnover worthy plays drop from 5 percent the first 5 games to 2.8 the last 7 and now we can see this year that number skyrocket even worse than the first 5 games. One way he could tremendously improve would be scrambling and taking easy yards when there. This became a big part of his game the last 7 games and was a huge part of his game in camp until the injury. Since the injury scrambling for easy yards seems to be something they do not want to do. Make defense pay with his feet and those off structure numbers will look a lot better. Here are Nania's numbers: Ranks among 35 qualified quarterbacks Passes thrown on the run (QB is moving at 8+ MPH): 7/25 for 143 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT. 34th in QB rating (34.3) and 23rd in EPA/play (-0.42) Passes thrown outside while of the tackle box: 6/31 for 140 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT. 34th in QB rating (19.0) and 31st in Expected Points Added per play (-0.85) Passes thrown on designed rollouts: 4/11 for 70 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT. 35th in QB rating (21.0) and 34th in EPA/play (-0.85) Passes thrown while scrambling: 3/24 for 85 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT. 33rd in QB rating (7.1) and 28th in EPA/play (-0.87) Passes thrown more than 2.5 seconds post-snap: 38/90 for 683 yards, 2 TD, 4 INT. 34th in QB rating (54.3) and 31st in EPA/play (-0.34) Here are Wilson’s 2022 numbers on plays where he stayed in the tackle box and got rid of the football in under 2.5 seconds: 40/52 for 365 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT 6th in yards per attempt (7.0) 8th in completion percentage (76.9) 10th in EPA per play (0.20) 13th in success rate (51.9%)*- a successful play is considered any play that yields a positive EPA; i.e. a play that keeps the offense “on-schedule” https://jetsxfactor.com/2022/11/01/ny-jets-mike-lafleur-zach-wilson-dilemma/
How have Burrow and Herbert not been good this year? Burrow is completing 69% of his passes with 17 TDs and 6 INTs and Herbert 66% with 12 TDs and 4 INTs. Our fans will call that bad and then defend the guy completing 55% with 3 TDs and 5 INTs. Make it make sense!
I think this is why the Jets after his injury in his first year, clamped down on him and put the training wheels on. This resulted in lower passing stats, but better success, i.e. wins. They continued with this recipe this year when he returned. And this worked as long as the OL played fairly well. But when the holes in the OL began to reappear and Zach came under increased pressure it started breaking down. After the Denver game I think Zach asked for the handcuffs to be removed so he didn't have to be a sitting duck, and that resulted in what we saw Sunday. I think this was a necessary experience for Zach, and hopefully he learned from it. A case of "Be careful what you wish for" maybe. And that would apply to the people who were complaining that Zach wasn't throwing for 300+ yards. I'll be surprised vs. Buffalo if they don't return to the formula that won them 4 games. Zach needs to continue to learn how to work from an NFL pocket. And if he's going to scramble it needs to be forward or at least laterally. If he can do these things he can become a top 10 QB at least. If by the end of this season he can't they're going to have to consider other options at QB. Even if they keep him they'll probably need to bring someone in who can compete for the starting job.
Some great numbers here but I would nitpick one thing - the OL has not been bad. Zach's average time until pressure arrives is right around league average. He's fleeing pockets that are average pockets by NFL standards.
Agreed. If he is going to dance, go forward and pray for no injuries. All of the nfl Twitter guys say this is entirely on him. Not mlf
Blame MLF for not even attempting to establish a run game because Hall is out? Absolutely! Blame MLF f0r not utilizing all his offensive weapons but instead, calls packages for a select few guys? Yep!! Blame MLF for passing on 2nd and short when he has RB's that can get the yds? You betcha.. I won't go into empty backfields in obvious passing situations setting Zach up to be a clay pigeon. MLF has many sins as a OC for the NYJ's. Lucky for him his big bro is besties with the HC with makes him bulletproof just like Zach.
