I was just thinking the same. Of my almost 50 years of watching Jets football this is the lowest point and it's not even close. That's saying something. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I took it as he was essentially referring to a house full of RICH people. Blonde, blue eyed, a set of $30,000 veneers in their head hanging in the pool of their mansion. Here comes a rich kid drafted by a blue collar team like the Jets. At least that's how I understood it.
A lot of these kids going to big time colleges to play quarterback are going to be upper-middle class at minimum. It’s no longer cheap to condition kids to be good QB’s. Not to mention the NFL will now be experiencing a ton of kids coming out of college at all positions that already secured a big bag just for going to school. Quinn Ewers as an example (not knocking him by any means) reportedly got a 7 figure payment to go to Ohio State… a school he never played a down for.
It may be overly simplistic to focus on a prospect's socioeconomic background, but the overall point is legitimate. No matter how much arm talent a kid has and no matter how great an athlete he is, he won't become a FQB unless he's fully committed to football and to developing his potential. I wonder if teams like the Jets are too quick to get bowled over by arm talent and athleticism and pay too little attention to a prospect's character, motivation and drive to be the best.
Agreed. Competitive edge can come from a lot of places, but it should be one of the main factors in scouting, IMO. I don't think Zach is a bad person, but somehow I always got this "just happy to be here" vibe. Never really see much killer instinct.
I read a great story about Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. Remember that there was a sharp debate over which of them was the better prospect. If you were going on sheer physical talent, you might have picked Leaf. In those days, after the draft, the NFL made rookies come to a symposium on adjusting to life in the NFL. At the symposium, Leaf put three chairs together, lay down and took a nap. Manning, on the other hand, sat in the front row, taking notes and asking questions
not all. Michael Penix is a regular middle class dude. His dad is a counselor and his mom works for Lockheed Martin
Let’s not forget Their wealth or upbringing doesn’t matter. The desire to be great transcends status. If wealth determined effort and drive then every NFL player would pretty much quit the moment they got paid. Manifested deep desire is a trait within every human that finds something worth desiring. Tom Brady became extremely wealthy, yet he still went to TB trying to win again. If you really want to create a profile based on desire, find out what a player does when he doesn’t have to practice or study for football. It’s not Zach’s wealth or easy upbringing that makes him a bust. It’s his lack of deep desire to be the best player in the game. That’s not a knock on him, it’s just that being the best is not his true deep desire.
I think it gets exaggerated as if more than a few took the debate seriously other than as a talking point. I firmly believe it was BS from the early days of manufactured ESPN drama, exacerbated by how awful Ryan's career was.
Good riddance. Never wanted him and form the rookie season game in Tampa, I thought he had a shot... worst pick sice Blair Thomas
Just because his parents are well off I don't think matters all that much - I mean no-one was more competitive than Brady and he grew up in a very comfortable middle class environment and never had to struggle for anything. I just feel with ZW that he was over-drafted by the Jets (and lots of so-called experts were wowed by him, some rated him higher than Lawrence, so they weren't alone in thinking he had the tools) - he looked great playing against sub-par competition in college and that was especially the case over COVID when lots of players wouldn't play (the equivalent of NFL players during the strike year). Maybe on the right team, with time and with much better protection he could have developed into a quality starter (I doubt it but its possible) but coming in to the Jets he was doomed from the start. I don't think he is a team cancer, those quotes were taken massively out of context, it just hasn't worked out for him here (and probably won't anywhere else as you can count on one hand the number of highly drafted QBs that flame out only to become great down the line).
wow a reasonable post. he didnt work out. shrug. neither is/id fields or the kid Niners dfrafted... hapopens ALL THE TIME the PRO SCOUTS have a shitty batting average. ACROSS the league.
The Jets did this kid dirty. They did the same to Darnold. No young QB wiuld have done well here. If the Jets did draft Mahimes he would have been a bust. Trevor would have been a bust in NY.
