When Hackenberg was coming out of college, tons of people said that his biggest pitfall as a prospect was how maddeningly inconsistent he was in the short passing game. His footwork and accuracy on passes under 10 yards was atrocious, and it was the main reason for his terrible completion percentage. That's why Saturday's game was so huge to me. It looks like he's completely overhauled his quick passing game. Yes, completing a bunch of short passes in the preseason isn't significant for the majority of NFL quarterbacks, but this is a different case because that was his primary problem to fix. If you go back and watch some of his games from Penn State, but you imagine all of the routine passes he missed are now completions, you're looking at a totally different prospect, one that warrants 1st round consideration. We spent a 2nd round pick on a developmental prospect who had prototypical size, a cannon for an arm and a supposedly high football IQ, who made some unbelievable throws in the 15-20 yard range but was a mess on shorter throws. If he's cleaned himself up on the latter then I'm really optimistic about him.
This is the big point I take away from Saturday. Hackenberg looked strong despite a gameplan that repeatedly targeted his weakest throws (slants, hitches, flat routes). He was terrible on those throws in college and last preseason. If he's fixed those, I find it hard to imagine that he's suddenly forgotten how to throw the seam passes, post routes and deep outs that he was so proficient on at Penn State. Also, ASJ and Leggett should be huge additions on those style of throws, as a side point. Maybe the gameplan was to test Hackenberg in the quick passing game because it's just what he needed to work on? After all, it is the preseason. If that was the plan, then there were very positive results, which could be why Bowles seemed so pleased with the performance despite the lukewarm public reviews. "He did everything that was asked of him" - Bowles.
This is where I am too. We know he has the arm talent, we hear e every day that he makes the best throw of practice. That slant to Harper was a throw not every qb can make. So I am putting what I read about in practice and what I saw in the game and it looks and sounds like the making of a competent qb.
Excellent post! The problem is that some posters can't look at players as individuals. They take the cookie cutter approach because it doesn't require any intelligence, analysis or deep thought. Then it's simple for them. If a player isn't an immediate star, then he's a bust. They just dismiss or ignore it when they're wrong. They live in a delusional world.
Dont want to get too high or too low. I'm not going to go nuts because he made a bunch of super short passes, and I'm not going to condemn him because of the gameplan and how the team handled him this game. Next couple weeks will be extremely telling though.
Outstanding post and very accurate observation. Clearly they have been working with this kid in the critical areas that he must become more proficient at before he can take the field as a starter. He can throw a beautiful frozen rope that many QBs can only dream of, but the short passing particularly outlet passes to the RB slot receiver/TE need finesse and an accurate touch. WCO will depend on it. He clearly has improved leaps and bounds in this area. Once he gets his rhythm and comfort zone, he can open his field of regard by scanning the field quickly, disguising his intentions, freezing the LB/Safety, thus even making it easier for his best throws at the medium range. Bottom line, use pre season to hone your skills in the area of most need, in his case the short passing game and able to read defensive schemes. The fact that they didn't open the envelop for him was well justified. I was looking for progress and see plenty there. Glad to see we have an OC that sees something in this kid and helping him grow.
Brian CostelloVerified account @BrianCoz 4h4 hours ago Jets OC John Morton said he likes how Hackenberg has protected the ball #nyj Connor HughesVerified account @Connor_J_Hughes 3h3 hours ago Morton said he liked how Hackenberg went through his progressions on Saturday. #Jets
It was a dumbed down gameplan in the first preseason game of the season. If he doesn't put up points all preseason then we can spark some concern. This game was a jumping off point for him. Let him get his feet under him, complete some easy throws and build off of it for next game. If we see the same thing next game then we can start to be critical if he's not going to take any steps forward.
Looks like Hack went with his first read about 95% of the time. It was ok because they were pretty much always open.
https://www.ganggreennation.com/201...totals-vs-titans-corey-lemonier-saw-extensive Following is the list of defensive players and how many snaps they got in the first preseason game. Interesting. It could just be the TC reports I've seen, but have hardly seen Lemonier and Paysinger's names mentioned as making plays or getting reps with the first unit, yet they got a bunch of playing time. The names I've seen most often as making big plays in camp and getting extensive looks with the first unit are Frank Beltré, Freddie Bishop, Josh Martin, Dylan Donahue, and Jordan Jenkins. I know that Donahue was slightly injured and didn't play. I would think that he would have gotten a bunch of snaps if he had played. Was Mauldin injured? I don't see his name on the list and don't remember reading that he was injured and wouldn't be playing. Whether they're giving them a real chance to show what they can do and earn a spot on the team, just to clarify the logjam at OLB, or because Donahue and Mauldin didn't play. This should give them a clearer idea of what each brings to the table. I think the team's toughest cuts will be at OLB. It's interesting that Jeremy Faulk, a rookie, got so little playing time. Did he look that bad in his snaps or did he play that well? According to this one would think that he was a starter or part of the first team rotation. Player Position Snaps Percent Middleton SS 43 66% Lemonier DE 41 63% Martin SS 38 58% Martin LB 38 58% Paysinger LB 35 54% Jenkins LB 30 46% Pelon DE 28 43% Roberts CB 27 42% Jones DB 27 42% Miles SS 27 42% Stanford LB 26 40% Williams CB 26 40% Gamble DE 26 40% McDougle CB 25 38% Harris FB 24 37% Carter LB 23 35% Bishop LB 21 32% Burris CB 21 32% Johnson DT 20 31% Thomas DE 19 29% Still DE 13 20% Pennel DT 12 18% Lee LB 11 17% Davis LB 11 17% Skrine CB 11 17% Adams DB 11 17% Maye DB 11 17% Simon NT 11 17% Claiborne CB 11 17% Rivers CB 10 15% Faulk DT 10 15% Williams DE 9 14% Richardson DT 7 11% McLendon NT 6 9% Wilkerson DE 6 9%
https://www.ganggreennation.com/201...ap-totals-vs-titans-craig-watts-leads-the-way Following is the list of Offensive Players and how many snaps each had in Preseason Game 1. OK you OL gurus, who looked better at OG to you, Watts or Dozier? Hopefully all the snaps helped Stewart catch up some. It's disappointing that he didn't do more, but I guess he has missed so much time that the QBs don't have their timing/chemistry with him developed yet. It's interesting that ASJ got so many reps when he has been the star of the offseason. Could that be due to his being suspended the first two games? It's disappointing that Todman got so many more snaps than McGuire. That's a bit curious. According to what I saw an NFL.com and read in the thread, McGuire didn't do much in the game, yet I keep reading how he's impressing coaches in practice. Any thoughts on the WRs? Marquess Wilson is a vet, but I haven't read much good about him in TC and supposedly he's had his share of drops, yet he got more playing time than Anderson, Peake, White, Hansen and Fox. Meanwhile, Jalin Marshall got the 2nd most WR reps. I liked him last year until he started dropping the ball a lot and doing nothing as a returner. Do you guys think he makes the team? Is he getting the reps now due to his 4 game suspension, or are they trying to decide if they want to keep him? He's still dropping the ball a lot. Name Position Snaps Percentage Watts G 56 79% Dozier G 44 62% Hackenberg QB 43 61% Stewart WR 32 45% Todman RB 29 41% Harrison C 29 41% Ijalana T 29 41% Shell T 29 41% Seferian-Jenkins TE 29 41% Marshall WR 28 39% Morris RB 27 38% Qvale T 23 32% Johnson T 23 32% Beachum T 23 32% Hammond WR 22 31% Adams T 19 27% Petty QB 19 27% Braden G 19 27% Gragg TE 18 25% Leggett TE 17 24% McGuire RB 15 21% Tomlinson TE 15 21% Winters G 15 21% Carpenter G 15 21% Wilson WR 15 21% Harper WR 15 21% Anderson WR 14 20% Vander Laan TE 13% White WR 13 18% Peake WR 12 17% Balducci G 12 17% Bordelon T 11 15% Hansen WR 11 15% Leamon T 9 13% Foxx WR 9 13% McCown QB 9 13% Brown FB 8 11% Howsare FB 6 8% Firkser TE 6 8%
Not really. i mean a turnover inside the red zone saves 3 points at minimum. even if it leads to a punt that is still 3 points saved. It's not tooting his horn. its acknowledging that he is young and didn't make mistakes. it's a good sign.
Agree on just about everything you wrote. My fear is that the "newfound enthusiasm" is due to players trying to make the 53 and is not some new team spirit. Hoping it's the latter. Hack looked ok, even with the conservative game plan. I thought I'd see a lot more off target passes considering his reputation. Would have liked to see some longer pass attempts...maybe we'll see some next game. If we can hold teams to 3 points...
Bingo. He also wouldn't be the first quarterback that needed some time to develop before they really put it together. Steve Young comes to mind. He was pretty awful early on for the Buccaneers. Aaron Rodgers is another, as well as Brett Favre. Fabre threw more picks than touchdowns in year three. Rodgers didn't play until year four. Philip Rivers didn't play until year three either. I'm not comparing them to Hack as he hasn't accomplished anything yet. But it's not completely alarming that he's not completely NFL ready yet. The coaching staff and front office knew he needed work. I hope he gets some live game action in the regular season this year though. I want him starting week one but I reckon we won't see him until week seven to eight. However, there's no rush. If we end up with a top pick, we can take a top prospect and push Hackenberg to be the starter next year, while the top pick sits. And in a perfect world we end up with a Philip Rivers/Drew Brees situation.
It' so frustrating that so many people don't understand this!!! QBs are humans and it takes time for them to understand. If you ever trained anyone, you know that it take on average at least 3 times for your trainee to start getting it right. This is for mundane tasks. QB in the NFL is one of the most complex jobs there are. The 200 pages of your playbook + complex defensive schemes + free variables line wrong route by a rookie WR -- all of this add up. Now you take a 23-yo kid and in 3 months with very limited practice you want him to learn all of that? And when he makes inevitable mistake the chorus of longsuffering fans immediately proclaims him a bust and want him out of the team? This is beyond idiotic. You push a potential talent out of the door without putting in time to teach the kid. And then you bitch and moan when this talent is being picked by someone else and turns into a beast that tortures you for the next 10 years.
I guess we can take them with a grain of salt, but according to the Star Ledger practice reports from TC, there seems to be a LOT of team spirit and chemistry, particularly on the D. They have quoted several players who have said that they all like each other. Following last season Forté and some other vets went to Bowles, had several meetings with him, and said that that aspect was killing the team and that they had to work on improving that. There were several meetings or outings that worked to address that very thing. We should see a marked difference in that this year. Hopefully, we will. I think that with everyone picking the Jets to be so awful, it has helped and is producing an "us against the world" kind of mentality.
The only live portion of game I saw other than what's been posted on here was the final 10 or so mins of the game .Lemonier was one of the players on D who stood out.Hes physical at the point of attack,can shed blocks & tackles w good pad level.Additionally he showed some good burst & bend edge rushing.Hes one to keep an eye on &combined w Donahue,Jenkins,Martin & even Lawrence Thomas..could put Mauldin in a really tough spot
