I actually think Zach would like to take NE game back - with the same exact game plan. The reason is that he didn't learn from his previous mistakes before is because they were not costly. He was running away from the pocket too soon against Denver, but really didn't pay the price, and they won. He had a lazy throwaway at Pitts, but Minka caught it out of bounds, no pick, and they won. He was hesitant to take yards with his feet in GB when he could get first down, but that also didn't come back to bite him and they won. He missed a relatively easy throw high back pedaling under pressure to Uzomah before, but that was just incomplete and they won. Against NE, he made all these same mistakes again, but they proved to be very costly that time around. It appears that forced him to actually pay careful attention and it looks like he actually learned from the mistakes this time. I think he is capable of moving to his second read, staying or moving up in the pocket and dissect NE for a huge passing outing, but without the multiple picks. I have a feeling he might need to do this. Bill will stick to what worked last time, until Zach can prove otherwise. If he does, I just think with the similar plan as last time, Zach carves them up this time around. There will be some differences of course, but largely I believe he will stack up the box, try to pressure and take away the first read. But this time if the plan is to throw more, Zach will make them pay.
That helmet to helmet hit was basically the ball game. I think we could have taken a knee 3 times and kicked easy FG at that point. Or at worst score a TD and made them go full length with few seconds left. Instead they only needed to get a 3 with more time. And the ref was standing right there looking at the play. I just don't get it. They are trying to protect QBs and Tua just got concussed, they took 10 points from us for way less, and here it is right in front of you head shot and they don't call it. Probably because it means the game will be over if they do. That's a disgrace.
I said yesterday and I still s feel the same way, those refs called a pretty damn good game yesterday. They kept the flags in their pockets for the most part, so I'm not beating them up for that non-call, and wouldn't if the Jets had lost. The week before, not so much.
Yeah this is what I said after the NE game. That it was a lesson that he needed to learn the hard way, and the game against Buffalo would show whether he learned it. I think the jury is in on that. That said, Zach is going to have to do what he did yesterday, but also be prepared to run more upfield and use that other dimension of his game because BB will quickly adapt and shut down the quick passing attack. I think we'll see a much more run-heavy offense using the RBs, as well as receivers, and also Zach's legs.
I don't think so. It sure looks like when we are getting hit, refs are keeping flags in the pocket. I bet if we hit Josh Allen helmet to helmet or late after throw, flags would have been thrown. Heck, they didn't keep it in the pocket for us even in this game. Was Hardees takedown when he was on the bottom and pulled the guy onto himself worse than these two plays? Than helmet to helmet?
The thing is, if refs called the penalties on Zach, he would be even more encouraged to do this, but he absorbed some big hits without any calls. On the first non call, he actually hit his ankle. And second one was head to head, not sure if he wants to take too many of these. It seems like they changed the rules now to the point where we call JFM stupid for barely touching Mac Jones. But Zach does not get the same protection for a lot worse. Probably if they call the first one, second doesn't happen. Hopefully that won't discourage Zach.
I'm a Wilson fan but you need to explain this to me. His completion percentage is near the bottom of the league. How is that not inaccurate?
I think he's going to have to stack more games like Buffalo to shed the "inaccurate passer" moniker. Even with the Buffalo game included, he's got a career completion % of 56.2 (57.5% this season). We can't sit here and say a 56-57% passer is an accurate one. Zach played great yesterday and was a major contributor to us beating the Bills but we're gonna have to wait to consider him an accurate QB until he can stay above 60% consistently. The good thing is, it looks like MLF and Zach have the blueprint on how to do that so I'm optimistic he'll get there soon. Other than that, I agree with everything you've said here.
His comp % over his last 5 games is 59.5% (78/131). So sure, if you want to round up, it's 60%. EDIT: However, your point is a valid one. He's been more accurate this year than last year which is a good thing for him and his development.
I always round up i cheated and copied from here https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4361259/zach-wilson
I'm honestly surprised ESPN does their stats that way as it's incredibly misleading. They clearly just added the individual game %'s and divided those by 5 (gives you 60.92%) instead of adding all the completions and attempts together and then dividing them (78/131=59.54%). But like I said, your main point is a valid one. Zach's played better this year than he did last year which demonstrates growth and is a positive sign for his development. I stand by my original point though. I can't label him an accurate passer until he gets that % above 60 and it stays there.
Here it is MLF. Here's your blueprint on how to utilize Zach to the max right now. Like Nania says, "Quick game Zach is the best Zach".
Some excerpts from an X factor Nania article looking at what Zach did differently against the Bills: https://jetsxfactor.com/2022/11/07/ny-jets-zach-wilson-simple-change/ 1.Over his first two games of the 2022 season, Wilson was playing like a perfectly average starting quarterback, which would represent an excellent leap from his rookie year. Wilson averaged 0.00 EPA (Expected Points Added) per dropback from Weeks 4-5, which ranked 14th out of 32 qualified quarterbacks over that span. 2. But from Weeks 6-8, Wilson stooped to -0.25 EPA per dropback, ranking 29th out of 32 qualifiers. That’s hardly different from his rookie-year average of -0.27, which was the worst mark out of 33 qualifiers in the 2021 season 3. The majority of Wilson’s pass attempts against the Bills occurred within the scenario where he produces his best numbers. Wilson threw 16 of his 25 pass attempts from inside of the pocket in under 2.5 seconds after the snap. That makes up 64% of his pass attempts, a new season-high (by a longshot) and a massive increase over the 37% rate Wilson accrued over his first five games. Wilson enjoyed immense success on these throws. He completed 14 of 16 passes for 116 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. His 117.7 passer rating in these situations ranked second-best among all quarterbacks in Week 9 (pre-MNF) while his 0.51 EPA per dropback ranked fourth-best. 4.After this standout performance, Wilson now ranks as a truly elite quick-game pocket passer in 2022. Here are his season-long numbers and rankings on passes thrown from inside of the pocket in under 2.5 seconds: Ranks among 34 qualified quarterbacks 54/68 for 481 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT 6th in yards per attempt (7.1) 4th in completion percentage (79.4) 8th in EPA per play (0.27) 4th in success rate (57.4%)*- a successful play is considered any play that yields a positive EPA; i.e. a play that keeps the offense “on-schedule” 5. When Wilson swiftly gets rid of the ball with rhythm and confidence, he is a stud. That’s the type of quarterback he is at the moment. The flashy stuff can become a larger part of his game once he is further along in his development.
Yeah, the less he runs around like a chicken with the head cut off, the better he plays. No surprise there.
3 really underrated smart plays yesterday by Zach: 1. Quickly lining up and running a play before the Bills could challenge the CJ Uzmoah possible INT. Just a really smart play. 2. 2nd and goal on the last drive. Zach ran but made sure he stayed in bounds getting tackled at the 2. A lot of players would have kept running and gone out of bounds. 3. 3rd and goal on the last drive. Seeing nothing there he took the sack forcing Buffalo to use their last TO. Another really smart play.
Agreed, completion % is nothing to write home about, and it needs to go up. I think the lessons he learned from the Pats game and applied against the Bills should help though. He had a lot of plays where he bailed early and was throwing the ball away earlier this year. This reduced the completion % with numerous throws which had 0% completion chance. If he cleans these up, other than that he showed to be pretty accurate, so the overall numbers will go up also.
Its time to put to bed the he is or isn't our FQB. Right now he is and probably will be for the foreseale future so lets - looking past some of is warts/short commings - support him and the team ( not saying any of us posters aren't just time to push for the PO). Right now, we have a winning formula in the NFL. Frankly, I want to win more then having a QB throwing 300+ yards, 60+% completion rating... I want to win and if that means that ZW/ or whomever has to be a game manager then I am perfectly fine with that... no hero ball, play in the pocket and get rid of the ball and we can and will get to the PO and maybe just maybe, w/o getting ahead of myself, iwin the Div. Wouldn't that be something...
I agree that Zach will have to show improved accuracy over a number of games to prove that he is accurate. My point was that even "great" QBs have shitty days. And again, comparing Zach's Comp % to Josh's in Year 2 they're pretty close. Given how we've seen Zach progress and learn from his mistakes, I have little doubt he'll raise his stats considerably over time.