The unfortunate thing is that maybe Zach is our best option right now. I'd have a hard time truly believing that because I think White could come in and be competent to below average (which would still be a step up in terms of QB play) but I'm also not in the facility so I truly don't know. Will be interesting to see how this week goes. Should start with Saleh's presser in a few hours.
Maybe to flip things a bit posters can talk about what they see Zach doing well or what he can build on this season. No rookie year or BYU stuff, just what he’s done so far this season. It’s easy to call out the bad stuff but some of you have a deeper knowledge of the game so perhaps you can shed some light here.
Zach isn't even being competitive though, that's the problem. There is a huge difference between being noncompetitive and below average. Zach is the worst QB in the league right now -- the tape shows it + the numbers reflect it. It's finally costing us games and isn't fair to just throw away an entire season b/c this kid sucks.
I think it depends on which Zach shows up down the stretch, if he's even given that opportunity. I'm definitely on the fence as to whether or not he should get that opportunity. While it's not good, Miami/Buffalo Zach is competent enough to get this team into the playoffs. New England/Green Bay/Denver Zach is obviously not even close to good enough. My last straw in terms of hope for Zach is this week is the kick in the pants that he needs to get his sh** together and play competent football down the stretch against a very soft schedule in terms of Pass D's. I'm fully aware this hope is fools gold. As I've said, I don't see Zach's issues correcting themselves over the course of a week or two, IMO it most likely will take an offseason to fully reset his mindset/footwork/etc. but we've seen him flip-flop from decent to bad so many times that it's at least plausible he's able to turn it around enough to give us competent/below average play down the stretch, which is really all this team needs to get into the playoffs.
Chris Simms was defending Zach yesterday and insisting that there was NOT much separation or open receivers. He specifically called out plays highlighted by Rich Cimini and Dan Orlovsky which alleged that there were plenty of space/separation to throw to open receivers but Simms is insisting it wasn't the case. How the hell are us lay people supposed to know what to think if the so-called "experts" are looking at the same play and coming to completely opposite conclusions ?
he's just doubling down on his zw prediction nothing else. between cimini and orlovsky, i will take orlovsky's analysis of wrs being open
Yeah, he lost his place to Baker because of injury, we'll soon see how good he is on Sunday. He certainly wasn't worth the 20m activation for his 5th year and that is why he didn't get it activated.
These so called experts know as much as the average NFL fan, he is backing his horse until it drops down dead, as dead as his reputation, Kellen Mond the 4th best QB in the draft he said, Wilson #1, so right about now asking Nancy Pelosi about future QB's would be as successful.
Zach is the worst QB football in almost every statistical category. Flacco or White can’t possibly be any worse.
Simms isn't totally wrong, the WRs didn't light the world on fire. That said, there were opportunities that Zach missed for being too hesitant. When he did try to let one rip, the kid's technique was on par with a high schooler. Bottom line, there were NFL windows to be had, he just didn't produce. I'd hope Simms would point out his terrible technique, I haven't listened to him. However, just take the overthrow to Berrios as a quick example. The throw is rushed, his body is ALL out of sorts, and the lazy follow through makes me want to smack his helmet with a clipboard! There are other times where his eyes shift to places where there isn't even a route being run (or developed). He's got seconds to throw, he can't be wasting 1 second looking for something that doesn't exist.
tbf he wasn't the consensus #2 pick for a lot of people just on this board, in fact, two posters ultimately left the site over it.
Zach has had the same footwork issues now for 2 seasons and you know the coaches are working with him on this in the off-season. I don’t feel it’s a correctable issue for him and he’ll always be this way. It’s a shame too because you can’t teach his arm talent and his mobility.
I think Saleh is handling this correctly. Put him on notice, give him a chance to keep his job while he knows it's on the line and seemingly the whole league is watching, bench him midgame if he doesn't respond. The problem is... we have no good options. A mistake-free but inaccurate Zach may be the best option unfortunately. And this is where you can fault Douglas. Everyone knows Flacco should have retired years ago and Mike White isn't good. How do you build a defense, build an OL, stockpile young skill position players and not have a viable backup option in case your QB gets hurt or flat out stinks?
Flacco had a 58.7% comp % with a 77.9 passer rating and a 32.5 QBR over 3 games. (To compare: Zach's numbers over 7 games; 55.6%, 72.6, 45.1) I know it looks better because he was averaging 300 yards a game but it's not like Flacco was lighting it up for us. He was also barely getting 300 yards a game while averaging 50 attempts per game. If anyone's getting a shot it should be White IMO.
I honestly don't know if it's fixable or not. I would like to think it is but your point is a valid one. The hope coming into this season is that we wouldn't see the same things we saw last season but that's just not happening.
