There is a specific someone who admittedly doesn't watch the games yet is convinced the problem here is LaFleur and not Zach. Everyone agreeing with that line of thinking should ask themselves how it could possibly make sense to agree with an opinion developed while not watching the games.
Yes, of course he was always going to have to make some adjustments in his game, but a good CS would figure out how to do that and incorporate his strengths into their scheme, adjusting their scheme as needed. Reid did this with Mahomes, the Packers did it with Favre, the Bills did it with Allen. One aspect of Zach's BYU game was his running and ability to create, but this has been drastically cut back on, which is a mistake IMO. Even on Sunday, the first play of the game saw Zach rolling out and using his legs, and there were a couple of other plays like that early on, but then nothing. I don't think it was Zach's choice to drastically reduce his running, but maybe I'm wrong, I'm not in the room or the huddle. Anyway, right now Zach has to rebuild his mechanics, and it's good that they made him inactive so he can focus on that.
The more I think about this, the more interesting it is. Obviously Zach hasn't played well and deserves to be benched, and him potentially being a bust is a mark against Douglas' drafting acumen. But the fascinating thing to me is that one of the most important pieces of this QB situation right now is this team suddenly being WAY ahead of schedule, largely due to...Douglas' drafting acumen. Douglas absolutely nailing some important draft picks has put this team in a category of legitimately competitive teams, and the first and second year guys showing out and leading the team at times makes Zach's deficiencies significantly more apparent and detrimental than they would be if the team was their 1-9 or 2-10 type selves of recent years. If this team was garbage we'd probably be having a discussion like we did with Gase and Darnold, but with AVT, Breece, Garrett Wilson, Michael Carter, Sauce, Jermaine, Max Mitchell, and even Moore putting putting together tape that has the team above .500 on Thanksgiving, there's a lot less wiggle room and/or tolerance for Zach lagging behind. The majority of the young guys performing somewhere between "this kid's been pretty good" and "holy sh*t, this guy is out-f*cking-standing" has put an especially bright spotlight on the QB's performance.
I will cheer for whoever gets us the victory. If my grandmother quarterback And we lost I would boo her. We are in the business to play the best players on any given Sunday. Zach doesn't do that
As has been pointed out by @stinkyB ... this ain't college football. Zach is not playing competently at any level. His mechanics and footwork are all fucked up... his passes are off target... laughably so. He's not using the pocket to his advantage and hesitating on throws. His decision making and field vision are sub-par. All of that has to be correct in any pro style offensive system. I'm all for a vertical style attack... I love that shit... but Zach has got to get the basics right before that's an option. They are not holding Zach back... Zach is holding Zach back.
I've been super critical of Saleh, but I've got to give him credit on this one ... When Sanchez was a rookie, as we approached the playoffs, I was screaming for Rex to bench him and give Mark Brunell a chance because I was worried it might cost us a Super Bowl. Rex stuck with Sanchez (and then insisted on giving him a salary increase and long contract that basically killed any chance the team had of remaining a contender). I didn't think Brunell was good (at that point in his career), just that he was likely to be better than Sanchez ... and Sanchez simply wasn't good enough. Well, Saleh is in a very similar situation. Is the team (as a whole) as good as the 2010 team? No, the offensive lines are polar opposites. And is White a former Pro Bowler (like Brunell)? Again, no. But at least Saleh isn't letting a single player tank a season because he's afraid of the whole thing falling apart. That's something Rex let happen multiple times (and I love Rex).
gotta disagree with you. In 20 starts ZW has the same statistics as Jamarcus Russell. The Jets can make the playoffs with a decent QB. Fuck ZWs feelings. Have ZW grow a pair a balls and grow up. This aint Utah. If ZW never plays again, means he was a bust and move on. The Jets have 52 other players on the team that are ready to win now. So lets go with Mike
@jcass10, @IIMeanDeanII, @ouchy I saw your responses and thank you for them, but could not respond because @Cman65 locked the Zach Wilson thread. I was just pointing out to @ColoradoContrails that now was not the time to debate about Zach to people who have been anti-Zach for awhile. I just tried to word it in a funny way since I personally am a Zach fan. He was benched today, so it is hard to defend him to people who have wanted him benched for awhile. I hope no one actually wanted to see him fail. I trust Saleh too that he will be given another chance soon as starting QB for the Jets. I don't see anything wrong with fans who were concerned about Zach either. All we want is the Jets to succeed. We are here to discuss our thoughts and opinions on the team and it's players.
I think it is partially both their faults. Zach has played poorly; that's his fault. But LaFleur knows the offensive line sucks yet he insists on running slow developing plays in the backfield that exacerbate the offensive line issue. Reverses, counters, draws, screen passes ... all that stuff does not work when your offensive line is one of the worst in the league. That's on LaFleur. If he had adjusted to the offensive line injuries, Zach would not be in constant situations where he has to convert third and long. It's both their faults.
Yeah its all Mlf fault, so how did Joe Flacco, Josh Johnson, Mike White all look competent in his offense and not Zack Wilson? MLF is the one missing wide open 2 yard passes right and not seeing wide open receivers right? Flacco sucks and should retire but his 3 games this year he got more touchdowns than all of zack Wilsons total on the year under lafleur and threw for over 300 yards twice and 285 one. If the playcalling was so bad how did Josh Johnson who stinks, White who is a career backup and Flacco who should retire all look like good qbs while Zack stinks the bed?
Specifically I'd place quarterback coach Rob Calabrese under scrutiny. Nearly two years in and Zach can't complete simple, short passes that are required by the offensive system we operate. And that's just the obvious problem... if that hasn't been addressed... imagine what else isn't being coached properly. It's all there in plain sight...
