if you look at last years stats... as bad as Zach was... Flacco and White were only a C.H. better... https://www.espn.com/nfl/stats/player/_/table/passing/sort/QBRating/dir/asc
Agree, but also think he's improved in both those areas you mention. But he has to speed up the timeline - he's not a rookie anymore.
I think he'll get there much more quickly than Geno, but you're right, it may be on another team. I hope not.
it is about moving the chains man. I dont want to be happy with mistake free football against backups when you arent moving the chains. Boyle moved the chains last night, lets give credit
And where I'm at with Zach... To me, logically, I can only view Zach as a green rookie... I don't care what's happened before. Zach gets enough of a pass from me, that gets him to rookie status... because Jets management & the HC did everything to place him in a no-win situation, with no QB development experience among his "mentors," & less football wisdom. So, now, when I've watched him in pre-season, I've focused on where he is, as an understudy rookie. To me, the hardest part for Zach is now beginning. Up til now, he's been on the field, getting ready to start pre-season games. Now, he's on his own, to watch, absorb, & make himself an NFL QB... with a little help from his friends. I saw a calmer, more serious Zach this pre-season. Why anyone would hold Zach to some bizarre standard, as to what progress looks like, is beyond me...I'll leave that to all the great talent evaluators on tGG? What Zach has lacked as far as being an NFL QB, to me, is between his ears. The actual play on-field will happen, if he gets his brain-matter sorted into their proper "folders." He's a good athlete, now, can he learn how to be an NFL QB? So far, he seems to have matured, & come out of football hell in one piece. That, in itself, has earned me some serious respect for the kid. And he's flipped me from a day-one Zach critic, to where I am, as a Jets fan really pulling for him. We'll see... .
I don't think it will take that long. I think he's smarter than Geno, is more talented, and with getting the benefit of working with Rodgers for a year or two, I think he will be ready to start and play at a high level by 2025, if not 2024.
That's where we disagree, as I mentioned in my previous post, he is in-essence a rookie... after the incompetent environment that surrounded him for two seasons. He's gotten my respect, and my open-mind... now it's on him to become a sponge & absorb all the good QB nourishment he's lucked into. Hopefully, he's famished... .
Great post!. The only thing I can think of with which I disagree is that Zach will totally be on his own now. I think Rodgers is still going to help him, as will Hackett and Downing. Zach won't get many snaps in practice, but I'd be shocked if one of those three aren't still working with Zach after practice or before practice, and Rodgers will be available to answer questions during games and during the week. I also might disagree that he didn't take it seriously enough the last two years. At BYU he always took learning and development seriously, and was asking questions that were beyond where he was at the moment, and sometimes his OC and HC couldn't answer the questions. So I would find it incredibly difficult to believer that once he was in the NFL playing in a very complex offense and trying to be a team's savior that he just decided to coast and not take it seriously. I think he did party too much with teammates his rookie season, but I'm pretty confident that he still put his time in watching film and working to improve. I will forever think that the biggest problem was MLF's incompetence, Calabrese's in experience, and Saleh not having a clue how to work with a QB. They didn't know how to teach, what to teach him, and their expectations were unrealistic.
I agree. I think the point that ColoradoContrails was trying to make, however, was that the team and most certainly the media and fanbase aren't looking at him as a rookie. I think they should be, since Saleh and JD are the ones responsible for putting him into the no-win situation to begin with due to the hiring of Calabrese and MLF, and not having a quality veteran starter that Zach could sit and learn behind.
just finished watching the game now…just a plain watching not a breakdown My feel on Zach… Hard to watch…every first down is a struggle…just reminds me of watching all those games over the past 5-10 years where it’s just a painful struggle to move the ball and sustain drives….when you see a great QB play, like a Brady or a Manning or a Mahomes…it’s just shit, man, there is ALWAYS a guy open and getting the ball…like it’s effortless. For us it’s been the opposite…no one ever open, every first down is a struggle, just a painful watch. All that being said, I think Zach is making baby steps progress, and I can kind of get behind the “look its like he’s a rookie” idea noted above…they are breaking him down and starting from scratch…mostly easy layup throws within 5 yards…and at least the difference last night vs. the last two years is that hey at least he’s making those throws now and taking the easy stuff. Last year he was missing half of them. So that’s step one. Step two is to cut out the stupid picks, and he’s kind of done that too…so all that is positive. And then of course he did have two nice 3rd (was one a 4th) down throws that hit the receivers hands and they would have extended drives, so that’s good I guess. I still don’t have much confidence in him becoming our next starting QB after AR, as it just still feels like he doesn’t have a good feel for the game, and yeah that’s subjective, but it shows in the continued inability to put drives together. So sure, I’m glad his completion rate is much much better than it’s been (and I’ve banged on him hard on that), so that’s a positive. But so far, it feels very much like ok but you need to move the chains and put up TDs to be good…and he’s not been able to do that against second and third stringers, so that’s worrisome. But I’ll take baby steps when I can get them…it’s been better than the 53% with multiple picks play that we saw last year, so maybe this coaching staff is really doing it different, giving him quick easy reads and worry about expanding his game later. If so, then great.
The jets are trying to salvage an investment, period. Progress...baby steps, really... is that what all of you are hanging your hat on? I mean the 3rd string Giants QB played better and was more cognizant of what the D was doing then he was. What I saw last evening was ZW being ZW... inconsistent and the O =in most instances - stagnant. That is what we have seen for two years and that is what we have seen this PS. Irrespective of how I feel about him - I just do not believe he is good enough to be the #2 now maybe someday but not now. It is what it is and we all better hope that AR stays healthy....
I understand where you're coming from, but still, he's been in the NFL for two seasons and three T.C.s so I can't call him a rookie. But he's not far from it. His situation is very rare - almost unheard of really - where a team: F.O. & C.S. accepted much of the blame for his struggles, as they rightly should have, but where teams rarely do. Even the 49'ers who just "admitted" they didn't do right by Trey Lance still shipped him off. And it wouldn't shock me if the Jets shipped Zach off if they got a decent offer (IDK what that would be but more than what the Zach Haters would accept). So that's why I say that Zach has to show more than any ordinary rookie at this point if he wants to avoid that fate. Suppressing his natural "gunslinger" mentality really set him back.
I can't really argue with your assessment, but I will say that there's a difference in how an athlete will perform based on if he has nothing to lose (DeVito) and possibly his career (Wilson). Call it an excuse, but it's reality. Zach has obviously been given a developmental plan and told to stick to it because they're trying to rebuild him almost from scratch. DeVito was showcasing his ability not only for the Giants but for another team. Frankly, I won't be surprised if they cut Taylor and keep DeVito - the kid has NFL talent for sure.
Now you finally talking sense. Jets didn’t do right by Darnold either and he was still shipped off. Zach wilson should have been moved this offseason. The entire notion he’s a succession plan is laughable. Rodgers plays for atleast 3 years at this point. There’s no way Zach gets a 2nd contract from Jets due to that.
Zach wasn't going to be moved (and likely won't be unless he really shits the bed which so far he hasn't). I agree they screwed Darnold up too, but Zach had/has more talent than Sam (as evidenced by Douglas and Saleh admitting they screwed him up and then going out to get Hackett and Rogers). As to a second contract, that's yet to be decided. If he continues to grow into something beyond a game manager, into someone who can carry a team (for stretches now; for a season in a year or two), then he'll get that 2nd one. If not, then he'll probably be sent away. I think the Jets will know after this season what the answer is.
You won’t see that potential growth until next preseason. 49ers / Lynch smart move. They literally signed the QB we traded to draft Zach #2, as the replacement for Trey Lance #3. can’t make this up.
As long as Wilson is our #1 WR, Rodgers going to be playing for us. He’s going to pad his career stats crazy with him - he has to believe. This is a blessing for him to pair with such a young talented receiver this late in his career. He’ll try to convince Davante Adams to come too by next year. Let’s close this Zach thread.
