P I’m not a Mac Jones guy but did you see him almost outduel Brady? What about when he brought them back from 13 down in the second half against Houston when the entire team laid an egg? His throw against Dallas to keep them alive in the game? Speaking of c’mon man.
I don’t think Zach Wilson coulda went to NE and made the playoffs last season. Their offense was based on an efficient short passing game which is Wilson’s weakness
Again you avoid context. It is easy and lazy to spout the final numbers but when look at the games the drops the line etc Zach played much better. His accuracy is not even a question. He had bad games no doubt but he was not the worst QB and by the end of the season he was the best rookie QB. Kid threw two balls in the dirt and now he can't complete short passes (come on) . I saw Mahomes put the exact same ball in the dirt on not occasions than Zach. If you want to break down the games I will have much more respect than spouting off the irrelevant 55% completion stat without context ,, it is a very lazy argument. He had drops , threw the ball away much more because his receivers and line sucked and yes he made some bad throws Making the correct reads it hardest part for the QB and as he gains experience he will make the reads quicker. Accuracy is about ball placement, the receiver getting open the line holding up and the receiver running the correct route. Case in point the second int in the first Pats game. Line help up,no. At first glance it looks like Zach sailed the ball but in reality, Davis stopped running and he still should have caught the ball. Without context inaccurate throw but in reality on the receiver. Darnold never got better at reading defenses. Zach is already way ahead. Zach has also has some major advantages going into season 2. The biggest he is in the same system with the same coaching staff and his starting receivers returning. Most young QBs that are successful have a crutch (Hopkins, Williams etc) the rookie year is a learning whether you are playing or not and has really very little to do in determining your success especially if you focus on season ending or just stats alone. Like I said it is a lot easier to bash than actually put in the work which brings me back to my point of why? People here comparing Zach and Darnold's rookie year? How about comparing Darnold's fourth year to Zach's rookie year. Guess what Zach is better already.
Wilson shoulda been holding a clipboard in 2021. He was not ready for the NFL and it showed. I dont think the Tennessee game was good for his development. He played out of control and it worked that day, but most days it doesn't as he found out. You can't run backwards and fling desperation passes in the air in the NFL
Maybe he should have been holding a clipboard but the goals of season one were not about winning it was about developing the young players and especially the QB. This offense takes time to learn and usually thrives in year 2. The question is not whether Zach should have been holding a clipboard or not (That is crying over spilled milk) the question is did it help Zach or not? I think it helped him but will we find out in a few months.
Agree that he should have been holding the clipboard to START the 2021 season. Those last few weeks lead me to believe it would be been beneficial. But then again maybe he had to play the wrong way in order to sit back and learn what the right way was. Either way there’s reason for optimism.
How did he play in this game. Jets fans, the guy on the other team is always better. If you can not see the difference in the talent level of Zach and Mac I am not sure what to say. Not to mention the situation they were both put in.
Because several on this forum (Vilma) still think he is a better option than Zach. If Zach sucks in the next two seasons I will hop off the bandwagon just as quickly as I jumped on.
He played better than Wilson as a rookie. That’s indisputable. But you’ve moved the goalposts now in saying that rookie years don’t matter. So I hope you own that moving forward when discussing rookies. He played awful. Do you need me to verify that because you’re unsure?
That's a playoff game Cval. If Wilson EVER gets the Jets to the playoffs we will consider his performance. From now he's 3-10 as a starter
You can do whatever you like. I think he had bad games but I do not think he played awful he played like a rookie learning a new system and speed of the game. He had ups and downs and some extenuating circumstances. No, I do not agree with the blanket statement he played awful. Let's go with your notion that Darnold had a better rookie season (I do not agree but it really does not matter). How did he do in year 4? His rookie season is irrelevant on how good or bad a QB is. Winston, Marriotta, Baker all decent rookie campaigns it does not matter. How you do as a rookie has little to do with your success long term. How did Brady play as a rookie, Rogers, Mahomes? It does not matter. It will not matter for any of the QB's in the 2021 draft class. Year 2 and Year 3 are usually pretty good indicators. Year 2 will show if you have what it takes and year 3 to start hitting stride. This may be just because that is all the chances you get so let me rephrase. If you are not showing signs of being a top QB by year 3 you will more than likely not get another chance. I will say it again how you perform statistically your rookie year does not matter. Yo look for signs, how does he handle pressure and adversity, did he improve over the season, can he make plays , is he grasping the offense.
How about the other Bills game where he threw three passes. Doesn't say confidence does it? Now we are judging on wins and I really can't start this stupid conversation over again but I will leave at this. Do you think Mac would have had more wins if he played for the Jets or the Jets would have made a playoff run? Did you forget the Jets had the worst defense in the league and were devasted by injuries on the o-line receiver and Tight End?
Did you even watch the games? Because if you did, you would've seen a much improved, more confident Wilson after he returned from injury. Was he great? No. Was he what we need him to be? No. But there is no doubt that he showed improvement, and the foundation to build on to get there. And yes, one of the big indicators that he made significant - if hard to measure - progress was he did make the right reads. That said, he needs to make them quicker as Saleh noted in a recent presser, but the first thing is you need to make the correct reads, which is something Darnold still struggled with in Year 3. As for "...his accuracy was so bad on short and medium throws that it didn't really matter", is a gross overstatement. Sure, he had a few "stinkers", and yes, his accuracy does need to improve, but it was far from terrible - most of his passes were catchable but he was let down often by his receivers with drops. This isn't "splitting hairs", this is contesting the constant claim that Wilson sucks. If you can't be objective about evaluating his performance I don't know what to say. If you want to just say "He's bad" without any actual context, well you get to do that here. but it doesn't make it true.
Yeah, Mahomes sucks. I think Douglas ought to call Andy Reid and offer to take him off his hands for one of our 5th rounders. EDIT: To clarify - Cval, your point is spot on: even the great QBs make shitty throws, and it's not like Zach made them all the time, as many here have claimed, going so far as to then conclude "He can't make short throws; He's terrible in the short passing game; etc." And BTW: thanks for digging up all those videos that show just how wrong these Zach haters are.
