I was watching Zach's presser before (I'll post link below), and I had a glimpse of the future. Obviously, Zach's been a disappointment. But today I saw a way forward with him... if he has "the Guy" inside him. We see Mike White playing much better than Zach, so bring on the competition. Hey, I never wanted to draft Zach, & he's never won me over, but now, for the first time in his life, he's in a competition. He's gotta win the Starter badge. We wanted to know if Zach had the right stuff, & over the next year we're gonna find out. If he's the Guy, he's gonna have to outperform White. I have to say, the way Saleh has handled this has been perfect. And while I think the CS has failed, until this point, in developing Zach, this situation itself may be exactly what Zach needed to take the leap, if he has it in him. We'll see... (For those that haven't seen Zach's presser today... here ya go... )
I just posted this in the Zach thread too! Great media session today from him. He said all the right things. Now I want to see if he can do it on the field too. Easier said than done for sure. I am still on the fence if this was the right decision by Saleh, but if he returns and plays better, then it definitely was.
Good thread and good point. All is not lost with Zach imo. I still have hope. Let's hope this experience plus the offseason helps him see what he did wrong and work on those. A Zach with zero mental errors and accurate short throws is all we need for next year. Go Zach, I am rooting for you boy.
Good to see him not turning his back to spin away from these questions. But seriously, great interview. Very composed, and especially important to hear him talk about his love for the game. This is the first time he increased his value in a little minute.
First, it's not the first time he's had to fight for his job. When he went to BYU he got hurt and when he came back struggled a bit and they coach said he was going to win the job back, which he did. And for all the crucifying he was subjected to for that one bad presser, he's stood up and answered everyone's questions, like he did here, so maybe that one presser was an outlier due to his own recognition that he was playing badly. But I'm a little confused...when they asked him who he leaned on for support through this difficult period he mentioned "the guys in the locker room". How could that be since he's lost the locker room, and they all hate him? The good news is that he said he loves the game and "I would play it for free", so if they have to sign another QB that would free up a bunch of money to do that. In all seriousness it looks like he's got a good attitude and is ready to step up if called upon.
He said in order - his family, he reached out to other qb’s in the league and then the guys in the locker room reaching out to me. Hardly a ringing endorsement of brotherhood and notice he did not mention any names. The only time I’ve heard players react and say something nice about Zach was when he apologized after the Pats game comments… saying it was the first time they ever saw him being genuine. With that, he handled himself fine, but got some PR help. The real Zach is unknown. This means nothing to me. Sam Darnold said all the right things and made you feel like things were starting to click and it never did.
I think it is a little far fetched to think that Zach Wilson is universally disliked in the locker room. I'm sure he had friends on the team talking to him. The guy had an Insta Bromance with Berrios all summer ffs. As far as players being universally liked as a leader, I guarantee there are guys in that Green Bay locker room that think Aaron Rodgers is an arrogant slit, but all he has to do is start winning 4th quarter comebacks again and nobody gives a shit. I never gave a fuck about the first presser but I did give a fuck about that putrid second half he gave us against the Pats, and hopefully that is what's being fixed and not his PR habits.
Something had to be done, & obviously MLF & his High School QB star coach (Calabrese) weren't getting it done (that an inexperienced Calabrese is responsible for developing a hopeful franchise QB, is troubling). As for him saying the right things, I wish his media coaches would teach him to drop the "yeah," before every answer. Makes him sound robotic.
I very much doubt that Mike White plays either. I really hope that he does play, as I view him being under center as the only way we have a chance at making this season a success and making a run for a playoff spot, but I very much anticipate that we'll see Wilson under center come Sunday.
Great presser. Zach is a good kid, and a very talented one at that. I don't get the hate for him by the Jets fans. It's true, he he hasn't developed as quickly as some of us have thought and hoped, and hasn't had a good year, but he is 23 and still has a chance to be really good. QBs develop at different rate. Zach has played for a non Power 5 school, and doesn't have the same experience against great competition as Lawrence, Jones, or Fields, who played for big time schools. It might take some time for him to realize his potential. He may never do it, but crazier things have happened. Heck, Mike White stunk when he was older than Zach is now, getting cut after terrible preseason by Cowboys, and look at the improvements he has made. It may not be this year, and I am rooting for Mike White to play great and take us deep into the play-offs and then we resign him. But you saw what happened when Flacco entered for Mike - he arguably was a major reason why we lost the game. Missed an open guy to get into at least FG range, and fumbled to give the Bills 3 points. That's a 6 point swing right there. And we lost by 8. This sequence doesn't happen, we may go for it on 4th and 1 at the end and win the game. We should all root for Zach, because in case something happens to White, it will be him who will need to lead this team. And I am pretty sure at some point next year he will have to play as I doubt Mike lasts 17 games. If he realizes his potential then, we might have a real QB controversy, and that will be a good thing for the Jets with a lot of capital coming back to the Jets for one of them.
I definitely think that is a possibility. Especially with the way Robert Saleh has worded some answers this week. I also think it is possible Mike White gives it a go too. We will see.
Zach with zero mental errors and accurate short throws sounds a lot like Mike White to me. So that says either White is our franchise guy or we will need a level above that from Zach if he is to get his job back and realize his potential.
