I agree, contingent upon whether the CS is learning their lessons, & will put Zach (& the O) in positions to succeed. They did kinda revert after the game was tied, which scares me going forward. This is a huge game for Zach, but in some sense it's bigger for this CS, specifically Hackett & Dowling. If they revert, & just ask Zach to not make mistakes, that playoff run, & their jobs may not be long-term. .
Or he may not be the lowest rated QB this year. There's a pretty good chance of that, especially with the way some other QBs are playing. Yes, he's had some unforced errors, some balls in the dirt, sometimes trouble reading defenses, sometimes playing hero ball, sometimes running 20 yards backward, but those are not the majority of the things he's done. You fail to note the times he's thrown dimes that few QBs can, and the lousy OL play in front of him up until this last game, and the lack of consistent quality weapons. That's all in addition to the ultra conservative playcalling that goes against what he's best at - and before you dismiss this as inconsequential just look at the last game and even the Dallas and Bills game when he did well: they opened things up and became less conservative and predictable. Yes, the fumble was a critical mistake, but it didn't cost them the game. How about the INT that Mosley dropped? Or the lousy tackling by the defense that allowed the Chiefs to move at will in the first quarter when they put up the majority of their points? And the dropped TD pass that you say was a bad pass but the receiver had two hands on it, thrown in a spot where only he could get it. He's struggled for sure, but if it isn't clear to you that much of that was due to scheme and personnel IDK what else to say. Go back and rewatch Sunday's game. With decent - not really special, but better than it has been - OL play, and mixing up the plays and moving him out of the pocket he was great. When the OL broke down, and when they went back to having him stay in the pocket things went south. Those things are directly controlled by coaching and personnel choices, not Wilson. If they would stick with employing what works best with Zach's skillset, you'll see much better QB play.
Zach hasn't cost this team anything. He has done the best he could under the circumstances. He wasn't ready to start and run the WCO his rookie season. He never should have been playing the last two years. That's TOTALLY on JD and Saleh. Playing him rather than letting him sit, learn the scheme, and work on his footwork, and changing his approach to playing QB was stupid, and normally, a fireable offense. He's the most talented QB the Jets have had since Namath, and JD and Saleh have done their best to ruin him. All the ire that's been directed at Zach should have been directed at JD and Saleh (and MLF). Yes, Zach has made mistakes, and done and said some dumb things, but that's largely due to youth/immaturity, and being in over his head. Do you think he enjoyed playing knowing that he wasn't ready and as a result was going to most likely play poorly? Do you think players play well when they're told to play cautiously and in a way so as not to make mistakes? Do you think QBs play well when they're playing and trying to learn a very complex offensive scheme at the same time? By the poor throw to the end zone, do you mean the play where he was being chased by a defender, was running hard to his right, and threw back across his body to the left and the ball hit Conklin in the hands? If so, your expectations are unrealistic. Most QBs in the NFL couldn't have made that throw at all, and the point could easily be made that Conklin should have caught the ball, so it wasn't that poor a throw, and may not have been a poor throw at all. He may have thrown the ball where the defender couldn't make a play on it and only Conklin had a chance.
Erase the past? Are you serious? Who gives two shits about the past. It’s about here and now. He was thrusted into this shit show not ready and he is improving leaps and bounds under adverse circumstances. He did everything possible to win this last game. Yeh he wasn’t perfect. No one is perfect. Look around the league. It’s about here and the now. The past is completely worthless at this point. So stop using that as your rational. Has zero value.
Let's see Zach string some good games together before proclaiming him the next big thing. As much as I'd love it, it's too convenient. Before Patriots game, many analysts were saying he did take some big steps forward. It would be pretty nice timing for him to finally put it all together. The Jets can and should pass often against Denver. They are vulnerable. Zach could have a career game or he can lay an egg and we're back to square one.
The thing I'm most impressed with is that the little, simple, small things are like clockwork now. EVERY screen or short pass used to be an adventure. Too high? In the dirt? Behind? I mean EVERY screen and pass under 3 yards. I can 't remember the last time I worried about these passes. I mean... EVERY QB needs to make those passes, but he hadn't. And now he has, and he is making progress in other areas. A ways to go but... I'd rather be celebrating a great stat game than shitty game #23.
I have to say this one more time... everything Zach does in any game, is contingent upon what plays/options/player sets/formations/motion, etc the CS gives him. There is no Zach in a vacuum... it's on the CS to give him (the O) the opportunity/tools to succeed. If they call plays, etc with preventing mistakes in-mind, expect an egg. If they give him ammunition to make plays, then it's on Zach to perform, & we can all judge his play fairly... egg, mediocre, solid, or career game. I was called insane & crazy last week, because I suggested they let Zach be Zach for once, against the Chiefs... as I have for years. Praise the lord... we saw 2+ quarters. Ideal first drive for Jets... no huddle, fast pace, with Breece, GW, Ruckert, & Gipson/Mecole on the field... & motion. Some rollout, play-action, a Jet sweep, etc... in short a dynamic offense, which takes advantage of the talent, speed, & upside of the players... as opposed to the usual slow, safe, mistake-averse scoreless opening quarters. That's how they can score... & that's how we can fairly judge if Zach has what it takes, to be a consistent NFL-caliber QB. There's no reason to wait. And honestly, I'd love to see a competition next TC, between a 40-ish AR, & a confident Zach, with some success under his belt, & all the drama behind him. Back to reality, first things first... obliterate the Broncs, & 2023. .
I disagree somewhat on letting Zach be Zach. Hackett has to call the game with a degree of 'safety' built in and that safety is asking Zach to either hand the ball of on designed runs or drop 3 steps - First read, Second read, Dump off or throw away. He can't have him run plays that rely on him to read coverage pre-snap, make a true RPO call or scan multiple options. MLF's scheme (which worked with Flacco and White) asked him to do things that were beyond his mental capacity as a Rookie. Whilst it's not ideal that he's still that player in year 3, there's hope that Hackett can make the offense at least watchable this year.
Did somebody sneak in and raise the number of months in a year? Does Wilson still have four years to go on his rookie contract?
Some have been over the top in killing the kid, but this is way over the top in defending him. The 2nd pick in the draft doesn't sit anymore. It just doesn't happen. Coaches and front office staff don't have that kind of time. He's got to either sink or swim and it's on him to either get it done or they try to find someone else who will. So far he has been bad, really bad. Thats not being a hater, thats being objective. Hopefully he can keep playing like he did on Sunday night and build on it and change the narrative. It would make Sundays a lot better for all of us.
Yea, let’s hope he’s not the lowest rated again. Sad that he could see that record though. He’s had more than “some” unforced errors. He’s had plenty of them. Some of the things he’s done have been mind bogglingly stupid. A number of them costs the team games whether some of you want to hand wave it away or not. He’s better known for those terrible plays than the good ones. Those “dimes” have come less often than the head scratchers have. Has he even registered a comeback yet in 26 games? We wouldn’t be having this conversation if he hadn’t just had one of his best games as a pro. I agree (and have agreed) that the scheme has never been a proper fit for him. Never argued that his physical ability was the issue. It’s been execution, decision making, predictability, inability to read the defense, and holding on to the ball too long for the most part. But like his disastrous press conference last season, it was everyone else’s fault. Anyway, you can’t change the past. His track record speaks for itself. He’s improving and I’m thrilled, but he’s got a ways to go before he’s no longer a net loss for the New York Jets.
This guy's football.lnowledge is not very high. A YouTube channel.and an all 22 subscription does not make you am expert..
If you're going to take this approach to drafting and "developing" a young QB, then you damn well better make sure you have a system in place and personnel around it to support him. The Jets did not. That's the issue.
Apparently DeMeco Ryans knows what he's doing. Bobby Slowik spent his last 6 seasons as the SF passing game coordinator so has had his directly tied to the QBs there and is the OC for Houston now.
The point is that the unforced errors are NOT the majority of his plays, they're just the ones that receive the publicity and so remain in people's consciousness. They're not the actual reality. Are they legit mistakes? Sure. Should they be fixed? Absolutely. But among all the mistakes there are also highlights and good plays which people seem to gloss over. And yes, he has engineered a comeback: against Pittsburgh last year in Pittsburgh, and against Cleveland too. There are probably a few more, but I can't recall them offhand. No, he hasn't gotten a reputation as "The Comeback Kid" by any means, but the point is again that he has done some good things that get lost in all the negative noise. Like the revisionist history of his "disastrous press conference", where you continue the meme that he "blamed everyone else". Uh, no he didn't. His "great sin" was that he was asked a "gotcha question" and fumbled it. He was asked: "Do you feel like you let the defense down at all?" He replied, "No". Period. Where in that answer is him "blaming everyone else"? Did he handle it poorly? No question. But he was a 22 year old kid, still adapting to the largest media circus in the world, who was sandbagged by a reporter after a tough loss. And even now, he's still being crucified. SMH. I know that most of what I'm saying here will be dismissed as making excuses for Zach, but I'm not. I'm simply trying to get people to be even handed in their criticism. He's made mistakes, too many, but there are good reasons for that which I and a few others have tried to explain, but it's much easier to just say "Zach sucks. We need a new QB. The Jets need to go to the QB Store and get a new one". Despite all this constant negativity, it's amazing that Zach has kept his mouth shut - he has NOT "blamed everyone else" for his struggles even though there are some legitimate targets for that - and he's continued to work at improving, and it's paying off. Now that the Jets have finally gotten rid of MLF, brought in an OC who's at least better than that, and traded for Rodgers, the OL is finally playing adequately (for one game at least), and the playmakers around him are healthy, we are seeing what he can do. Now it's up to Zach - and Saleh and Hackett - to continue doing it.
