First off, congrats on the win. I was at the game, and to be in ny on 9/11 was something special. When they were honoring 9/11 before the game, there were no jets fans or bills fans, just Americans. It was great. I know it’s sucks to lose Rodgers, but I do not believe that all is lost. I think you can win with Zach if they follow a certain formula. First, the defense is going to keep most teams under 20 points, and that’s huge. It means the jets won’t need to score a ton of points every week to win. If the jets run the hell out of Hall and Cook, all they need is Zach to make a throw or two on a given drive to get points. Then all you need is him to do that 2-3 times a game, which is not a lot. I think he can do that, especially now that the pressure is off him. Last year, he was still expected to be the guy, and that brings its own sort of pressure. Now, everyone thinks he’s hot garbage, so there are no more expectations on him and is the perfect timing for him to be the hero. That makes a difference. If he just plays within himself and gets the ball to the playmakers, that’s all they need. No hero ball. He couldn’t do that last year, but he was still expected to be Mahomes then plus the jets roster also wasn’t as good as it is now. You’ll have Breece the whole season, plus Cook. That is a major upgrade from Carter, Knight, and whoever the fuck else was out there last year. The supporting receivers after Wilson are also much better. Run the hell out of the ball and I think the jets are a playoff team. I don’t think any of those free agent scrubs (wentz, Ryan, etc) are any better than him anyway. Don’t give up on the season, I think the jets will make the playoffs if they can make Zach a game manager. Being at the game, and also being high up at the 50 yard line gave me a different perspective than watching the game on tv. The play whitehead made on the third interception was excellent. The first two were all Allen, but that was a great play. I’m not sure the tv watchers could really see how he played that and where he came from. Second, the 4th quarter for Breece Hall was more impressive than the previous 3 where he broke all those runs. It sounds crazy, but those first two long runs were the result of major alignment errors by the bills D. Before the snap on the big one, we all screamed out to the bills D to shift over because the jets were jumbo right and the bills only had 2 guys on that side when the jets had like 5. There’s a photo out there online, when you see it from our vantage point, it looks absurd. They snapped the ball and Breece simply ran through the open space. I was unimpressed with him through most of the game, even though he had the stats, because he was just running through the open holes which anyone else would have done. But, he made his money in the 4th quarter. Sitting where I was sitting, you could see what would and wouldn’t be available to run through both before and after the snap, and on numerous occasions he made something out of nothing there, even though they were not large runs (4-6 yards, etc). Not sure that came across on tv. And, I expect him to only get better as the season goes on and he fully recovers. For those who have followed my posts, you know I’ve never been as high on Carl Lawson as most jet fans. When I found out before the game he was going to be inactive, I was pissed, because I know JJ, Clemons and WM would be in. Sure enough, I thought JJ had a good game. Whenever Lawson is healthy, if the jets are smart, they’ll still play those other guys over him. JJ and WM will be great imo. Wilson catch was unreal. Nothing else to say about that. Some negatives… I think it’s stupid the jets just line up Sauce and Reed on their respective sides and never change. For those who remember, or want to rummage through my predraft posts, I thought Sauce was the best player in that draft and couldn’t figure out why none of the pundits thought the same. He was a man corner who locked down everyone he played, including the big boys. But now, the jets just leave him on a side, instead of matching on the other teams top receiver, and make him play zone every play. I don’t think he’s being used to his potential and even though I love the kid and always have, I can never say that a zone corner who doesn’t shadow top receivers is better than those who do. It’s why I could never say Sherman was in the same category as Revis. I think Sauce can do that, but the jets are underutilizing him imo. I also think smart teams will take advantage of that. Even when the Bills lined up trips left with no receiver on the right, the jets left Sauce on the side with no receiver and instead made linebackers and safeties guard the trips left. Makes no sense to me, and I think eventually teams will take advantage of that. Obviously, the line is terrible, and I’m not sure what they can do in season to fix it. It sounds weird, but in some respects it might be better that Zach is in there instead of Aaron. There were so many times Zach had to use his athleticism and mobility to avoid the rush, and I know for a fact Aaron (at this stage in his career) could not have made those plays. All in all, don’t get too down, I think the jets are still a playoff team if they can do what I stated above. The defense and running game is great, and there are sufficient playmakers on the outside. Zach should be able to manage this thing efficiently instead of being the savior.
It’s funny you mention it may be better that zack is in there. It’s been goi g through my mind for days since the game. I swore I was trying to rationalize (probabaly am). But, let’s just say the line gets no better, and rodgers struggles all season. And it goes opposite of the hype. Maybe he comes back, and behind an improved line , and we get a do over with better results.
I think the line will get better when they bench that sack of shit Brown, move Becton to LT and put anyone you want in at RT. The key is getting Brown out of there. He sucks.
Boss. Did you receive Bills Over Jets message? We need to change his Status from "Well Known Member" to "Jets Over Bills"
Great post. Jets Defense is good but they can't bail out Zach all the time. He really has to show progress. At least 2 successful deep shots is needed from him every game to keep defenses honest. He also has to excel quick short throws. I think his touch on short throws is one of his weaknesses. How much did he overcome that during summer is to be seen. But for me, all is lost. This year was supposed to be Superbowl year with team being this loaded. Now the best result is maybe playoffs. And Zach isn't winning against Bills, Ravens, Bengals or Chiefs on the road. And at this point, for this team, I want Superbowl or at least AFC Championship game. I don't think we are going there with Zach. Hence my word saying all is lost.
You're entitled to feel however you want, but let me ask you: What does it gain to declare the season a loss at this point when there are 16 more games to play? Do you think that predicting the worst case will prevent it from happening? It won't. Hang in there, whatever happens. Who knows? You might be surprised.
CC Winning a Superbowl for every team is a long shot. It is all about having a ticket to the dance. Without Rodgers our chances of having a ticket is done. I will still go to many games this year. Flying to Dallas this Saturday to watch this team against Cowboys. Will fly to Vegas as well. I have tickets for the Patriots and Eagles games as well. So I am not abandoning my team. But I am not dreaming about Superbowl either. And this season I was so fixated on our chance to play in Superbowl, my reaction to losing Rodgers is big. That's where I am.
Great post and assessment BOJ. Since you're obviously aware of the (endless) debate here about Zach Wilson, what was your impression watching him live? Were you able to draw any conclusions? How about in contrast to Allen? And what are your fellow Bills fans saying about all this?
There’s a lot to work with in Wilson. The talent is obviously there, but most guys with that arm talent are either mental midgets, or as dumb as a rock, or both. One thing I could tell right away (I commented on here after his first preseason game in the nfl) that I liked that he came to play on third downs, when the pressure was on. He is not a mental midget like Sam Darnold was (seeing ghosts). Even during the game, there was a play (I think in the 3rd quarter) where on first and second down be dropped back to pass and got crushed right away. He was obviously running for his life most of the night. It was now 3rd and long. He dropped back to pass, and with a guy screaming down the cylinder, stood in there anyway and completed the pass for a first down while getting smoked. I turned to my family and commented what a tough throw that is to make when you’re used to running for your life. I love that about him. He’s not mentally weak. What I don’t know is whether he’s dumb (football wise) or not. He is obviously not at a place where he can competently read defenses and understand where he needs to go and what he needs to do in a split second. With young players it’s hard to tell if it’s because they’re young or because they just don’t have it. With Josh you could see the giant leaps from year to year, so it was obvious he was getting there. I’ve yet to see a major jump in that department from Zach yet, but then again he’s still young. We’ll know for sure by the end of this year. But, if he can just start by being a game manager (like Big Ben and Brady did) then perhaps he can learn as he goes. We’ll see
It's interesting to hear someone from competing team fan base to observe this. It's becoming obvious to me that even if that freak injury didn't occur, Rodgers would anyway get hurt very soon, probably later in the game. The line is just not good at pass pro. What's worse is that Becton who is the best tackle we have, is still an injury risk, and god forbid if that happens, the guys on the bench (Turner and Max) are atrocious. It's probably a matter of time before Zach gets hurt too or like last year starts running for his life at the first opportunity after getting hit too much. And you are right, what can really be done now about this? Maybe replace Laken with Tippman if he continues to be a turnstile. But Tippman didn't really play great at Guard in preseason. Did better at Center, but snapped poorly, which is why CMG is starting. Wes Schweitzer also wasn't that good. Maybe they will be better than Laken though. Becton I think will rebound, he was quite good in preseason, and I hope he does and stays healthy. Brown may also improve as he gets more reps, but he may not. Perhaps we grab Connor Galvin off the Detroit practice squad? The situation is not ideal to be frank. Hope for the best case scenario appears to be the strategy at this point. Which is why I am still befuddled how JD could bring in Aaron and not build a wall around him. Can he even do it next year? He seems competent in building other parts of the roster, but keeps failing again and again and again with Oline. If not, there is not even a point for Rodgers to be back just to get hurt again. I will tell you this much, if the line implodes this year and Zach and whoever else cannot function and we miss play-offs, it may not be JD who will be building that line for Rodgers next year.
I want to believe this but Becton was getting beaten like a drum last preseason. It was embarrassing.
The same thing anyone’s historical performance has to do with them. It’s a record of how they performed. It’s not complicated.
He performed fine in the 2023 preseason as well as his first 2023 regular season game. Wouldn't that hold more weight that how he performed 2 preseasons ago when his knee wasn't properly surgically corrected? The answer is pretty obvious.
