I have seen this story before. Rookie starts the season looks pretty good his first handful of games before hitting a wall in the middle and finishing the year strong. Subsequently we wonder if the “year 2 jump” is coming and when it does not we are questioning why the Jets threw him into the fire so early. If I was Christopher and Woody Johnson I might sit Saleh and Douglas in a room a say “listen I’ve already seen three these guys fall apart over the past decade, we may want to take a different approach”.
My personal opinion is the Jets should have a capable veteran backup, but Chris and Woody Johnson need to stay out of football decisions.
I feel they just believe he is the best way for the Jets to win games. Let him go through the rookie growing pains in his first year so 2022 will be the year we become relevant & push for a playoff spot. Holding him back will be a waist of a year. There's nothing like playing experience to learn the nuances of the QB position.
I think we've spent enough time with Woody and Chris telling football men how to run a football team. If I was Woody and Chris I would have my fucking tongue removed.
Agreed. When the Bills threw Allen out there because Peterman and McCarron sucked he went thru the growing pains his first couple of years. But he figured it out and its obvious Allen has the "it" factor. I think the Jets should do the same with Wilson especially since JD is already building a solid core around him. Let him play and get used to playing QB at the NFL level. He will make mistakes but if he has the "it" factor then it will show just like it did for Allen and the Bills.
Looks at QB's in the squad. Finds the answer the OP seeks. Looks at available QB's in FA. Finds the answer the OP seeks.
IMO if you know your plan is to start your rookie week 1 your best option is to make it clear early. Not only does it allow him to get as prepared as he possibly can by taking all the first team reps, but it also allows him to establish himself in the locker room and have more confidence early. Whether or not it’s smart to start him week 1 is another argument entirely, but it’s obvious that was this regime’s plan since March and given that I like this approach. It’s better than Darnold splitting reps with McCown and Teddy when he was obviously ticketed to start from the jump. Get him ready.
The Jets have actually done a decent job at addressing the deficiencies on the OL and at the skill positions to support Wilson. There's no reason not to start him if they think he is ready.
Why? All gas no brakes that’s why. That means you pick a direction and you go. You trust your ability to pick and coach players and you do not hedge. There’s no better time to do that than when you have your coach,qb, and gm all on the same timeline.
this is the first and only time as a Jets fan that I want the rookie starting. With Sam I was hoping Bridgewater started. I also think a vet who can win games needs to be here, although I don't want him starting week one. It's for health insurance and slump insurance. I still feel as though a Foles deal can happen.
Why would you want snaps taken away from you young QB. The kid studies hard and from all accounts is a quick learner. As long as our O-line performs at a decent level no need not to start him.
As long as Wilson isn’t taking too many shots by defensive linemen where he starts developing bad habits, he should be fine. Sure it’s still debatable whether a rookie QB should sit and learn or start right away, but to me the worst thing you can do is plug a rookie into a terrible offense and expect him to learn from that. I THINK we’re finally decent enough on offense to no longer be a shitshow so Wilson should be able to grow through his own mistakes and not those that his own offense creates for him.
I swear its like 2018 again. Rushing a top 5 QB into starting, thinking we have an established core because we have some new players, hopes for playoffs coming soon. The one caveat I'll admit is we used the most valuable draft pick in our history on Wilson so he should be a starter out of the gate. But I seriously doubt its the best way to go. There are very few QBs that wouldn't benefit from watching the first few games and learning from the sidelines, and having a veteran to learn from in camp - maybe even having to beat that veteran out. Lets look at what the other rookies are facing: Trey Lance has Garappolo to compete against and learn from. Justin Fields has Andy Dalton... Mac Jones has Cam Netwton... So basically we are the only team throwing their QB to the wolves with an unproven offense, no veteran role model, and no competition for the starting job. Even though Fields and Jones have more high level experience then Zack, he'll probably be the only one of the four that starts opening day. Do you really believe we are putting Zack into the best position possible to start his career? You only get one chance to help your QB this way. Suggesting its not necessary, or worse, a bad idea, is SOJ. Not to mention the kid is injury prone and if anything happens to him those "competitive games" everyone is looking forward to seeing might have to wait another year. But at least we'll get another top 10 pick. Maybe it will work out? Occasionally it does. But why would we risk that with our most valuable asset in decades? People saying our QB room is fine the way it is have built Zack up so much in their mind that to them he is already better then Trevor Lawrence, and as durable as Aaron Rodgers. I really hope for eveyones own good that we sign a vet soon, and that Zack has to compete with him. A lack of quality competition was one of Zacks dings during the draft. He needs to feel the fire before the season starts or it could be long adjustment.
Because, he is the best we have, we drafted him because the leadership felt he had what it takes to start sooner than later, and in all likelihood with a limited and conservative game plan a better choice than anyone in free agency. If he is ready to start with a more limited play book then he need to get out there and go thru the same early growing pains than QBs before him that have succeeded have gone thru. Allen, Watson, Jackson and Baker come to mind.
In their first year: Allen backed up Nathan Peterman. Watson backed up Tom Savage Jackson backed up Joe Flacco Baker backed up Tyrod Taylor.
Those were all facade starters anyway. They went with the rookie at the first sign of trouble. There’s no need for us to play that game. If he starts week 1 is irrelevant when we all know he will start at some point. I’m more concern with the lack of depth in the QB room. I’d prefer to have a quality veteran backup in case of injury or just having another person in his ear.
there's no hard and fast rule to any of this. Each rookie QB is different and is in a different situation. IF the coaches feel that the rook can handle himself out on the field mentally (ie-the game isn't going to be "too fast" for him) AND IF they also feel that the OL is stable enough to protect him, then he should start. Those would be the only two requirements I would have for determining whether or not to start a rookie QB in Week 1.
