[/QUOTE] This is the first "concrete" report - and I use that term loosely because I don't know anything about this guy - that I've read that went beyond rumor and innuendo. If true, then yes, that's a damning indictment, and I would be happy if they got rid of him or relegated him to 3rd string or the practice squad. What I was "adamant" about is that the Jets apparently still believe he can be their guy regardless of what anyone else thinks, and I was pushing back on the unsupported assertions that Zach was a bust based on a few stats and blanket statements like: "He can't throw a 5 yard pass" "He can't hit a short crossing pattern" "He can't play in the pocket" "He can't read defenses". Yes there is some truth to these statements but it's also true that he's shown he can do all of those things and has won games for them. Furthermore, if I had known before the draft that he suffered from ADD/ADHD I never would've wanted the Jets to draft him because I know the Jets have always struggled in developing young QBs who don't have learning disabilities. That said, on the right team, with the right coaching I do still believe Zach could succeed, but of course that's also dependent on him putting in the work to do so, and if this report is true, maybe he's never going to succeed in the NFL.
And all this late-to-meetings, work ethic crap, was refuted immediately, even by Pat McAfee, who deleted Schultz' interview on YT. Why people pay attention to the crap people spew out there, is beyond me. Two tweets, & one article... https://jetsxfactor.com/2023/01/20/ny-jets-zach-wilson-late-meetings-untrue/ .
So when you sift thru all the press BS it was about performance on the field and accountability. The rest about not practicing hard and being late to meetings blah blah was pure shit. No new news except the ADD condition. Players, especially WR were unhappy because of QB performance pure and simple. I think that was well known and cause his benching. What it doesn’t mention is that the same WR corps was pissed purple about the game plan and play calling by MLF on top of it. It was dreadful. Defenses knew the play before our offense did.. We were on a no win situation and no way to develop a rookie filled offense. Will see what this year brings with a new OC and a new QB at the helm.
This is not gonna entice any quality OC candidate to sign here. Who in their right mind would willingly walk into the Big Tent and play assistant ringmaster for a year at most? This is truly the beginning of the end of the Saleh Era. '23 will be his personal Little Big Horn.
The other obvious thing is that ZW wasn't good in practices. That's not saying he didn't try hard but when you miss receivers in practice it is going to jaundice their view towards your capabilities because they're not even going up against live competition and you're screwing up.
So now having read reports from more reliable sources contradicting this report, I feel more confident in my previous posts touting Zach's work ethic. In any case, the only people who really know the true story are Saleh, Douglas, and those who have worked directly with Zach, be they players or coaches.
It’s a bs unsubstantiated report. Zach is a hard worker. I just don’t believe he has the mental part of the game…yet. and It’s such an unknown how long it will take him to get it
That's the thing, do you really know the "obvious thing" about practices? I've heard from numerous sources that players on both sides of the ball, were unhappy after his "no, no" comments. I've heard of trade requests. I've heard players question the playcalling, & its predictability. I've seen tantrums on the field, which my initial read was about MLF. I've heard complaints about something in practices... It's not obvious to me that Zack wasn't good in practices. And, let's say he wasn't good in practice, then who's that on? If you've ever been involved in team sports, you know what practices are like. You know what coaches are like... they're drill sergeants. I have no idea what went on in practice, but something was going on, other than Zach missing passes. And we saw the result, whoever was QB, in games. Penalties, lack of communication, pass routes being quit-on by receivers, tantrums, etc... not only with Zach. As an outsider, it just seems that the CS gave players assignments, & the players tried to execute those assignments... and then... there wasn't much coaching to help the players execute. This is not a well-coached team, & Zach's play was a symptom, as were all the penalties, mental-mistakes, & all the player discord, whether with other players, or coaches. Why so many people want a repeat next season, baffles me? But, it looks like we'll have to again, except hopefully, they'll choose the OC wisely, & the players will fall in-line behind the new coordinators & coaches. .
Zach's problem isn't his character, it's that he's not a starting-caliber quarterback. He found himself in a set of circumstances in his last year in college that let him play at a very high level, but those circumstances will never happen in the NFL, and a result, he's not cut out to be an NFL starter. It's really that simple.
A player, Zach Wilson to be specific, can only work within the system he's given but as an NFL quarterback that does not relieve him of the responsibility to throw passes to where receivers can catch them, not in front of their feet, behind them or over their heads. Wilson was consistent in two years with failing to perform that task on a consistent basis. Once he can accomplish that it may be time to see if he can perform a function reliably within any system.
There were repeated comments last season from other players, prominently Garrett Wilson, that the offense's performance in games was no surprise given what was happening in practices. The notion that ZW was hitting the same passes he missed in games during practices defies belief. We also kept getting comments from behind the scenes that practice performance "by the offense" was less than ideal. The reality is that whatever dynamics were in play last season the coaches were clearly protecting ZW from the fallout of repeated failures to perfect his craft. It took him finally losing it in a post-game for the coaching staff to acknowledge that there were deep problems that had not been resolved. This is on Saleh who was basically out to lunch on one of the most important relationships he had: which was with the locker room as a whole. The little dribs and drabs from Mims, Moore and finally Wilson just weren't getting through to him with the impact necessary to do his job correctly. That one of his good friends was also at risk apparently did not occur to him even as the end of the season approached. You can't coach with your head in the sand. Having a finger on the locker room's pulse is a key part of the job and you will fail 100% of the time if you cannot do that.
When one hears players say cryptic 'stuff,' one often interprets that stuff based on what they'd like it to mean. So, whatever GW was referring to, is really up to the reader to interpret, since what he was referring to is unclear. Honestly, man, does it really defy belief that a player can do things during practice, that he has trouble doing under game-pressure? That's not saying he didn't suck as bad during practice, just that we don't know. And I try like hell, to try to stick to the known, although it aint easy with all the crap spewed. As for the coaches protecting Zach, more & more I see Zach as a rag-doll, that was being pulled & tugged in every direction. That he mentioned he's trying to find the "fun" again, showed me at the very least, he's looking in the right place. .
I wonder why his teammates have not come out and backed him up? I have found that to be odd ever since his benching. Yesterday all these false reports came out, if I was his teammate, I would tweet on his behalf they were untrue. There is a 53 man roster. Even if half the team did not like him, you would think some players would still have his back. The Jets seem like a supportive team to each other, especially on social media. Rarely involving Zach though. Maybe it means nothing, but maybe it is something.
As Burf said, how do we know what GW meant by his comments? All those who think Zach is a bust seized on that as "proof" - as you have here - that Zach must be at the root of the offense struggling in practice. And certainly, as the QB, he was at the center of it, but did he cause it? Was that was GW meant? Or did he mean that LaFleur's offense wasn't working well for anyone, and others besides Zach were struggling? Given how the offense struggled on game days, even when Zach wasn't the QB doesn't it present the possibility that this latter explanation is closer to the truth? And given what we're now finding out about how MLF didn't like Zach's fit for his offense, and how others also struggled, what was LaFleur doing to try and change his system so that it would work better for the players he actually had, rather than continuing trying to fit square pegs into round holes? The bottom line is none of us know what went on at practice, or in locker room, and so we can't say what the dynamics were. We don't know if "...the coaches were clearly protecting ZW from the fallout of repeated failures to perfect his craft." In fact, it may be that the coaches were continuing to insist that Zach make work what clearly wasn't working and not likely to. IDK if Saleh had "his head in sand" and was unaware of what was going on. I find that hard to believe. I think he knew there were problems but he didn't/doesn't know enough about the offense to put his finger on it and was relying on his close friend LaFleur to take care of things. MLF failed him. That doesn't excuse Saleh in any way, nor does it excuse Douglas either. Because if I were a GM and watched my team unravel like they did, I'd be damn sure be asking questions, including talking to players, and all the coaches to try and figure out what the problem was. The failure to address the problems that went beyond Zach is a failure of the entire organization, and no matter who they get to play QB those problems won't simply vanish.
It's pretty clear from how the team behaved toward Zach throughout the season that they don't like him.
I think it is clear as well, which is truly unfortunate. I remember the locker room reaction for Joe Flacco after the Browns win. I remember the reaction for Mike White after the Bears win. I don't remember much for Zach even though the team won 5 games with him at QB. It is a truly odd situation.
