And now for something different... Zach appreciation thread...

Discussion in 'New York Jets' started by burf, Oct 2, 2023.

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  1. NCJetsfan

    NCJetsfan Well-Known Member

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    Not allowing Zach on the field would have been a huge mistake. We certainly weren't going to get any better results from Boyle or Simien.

    Turnovers aren't just dumb luck. They are a result of pressure on the QB or smart play by the D punching the ball out. It's also a product of the scheme of the D flowing to the ball or being in the right position on the field. It's actually been a combination of bad luck and bad hands or not paying attention that we haven't had many TOs in previous years. I've seen and heard a number of people in the media talk about how unusual it was that the Jets have not had many TOs the last several years. They've created a number of fumbles or they happened, and Jets players were around the ball but never able to dive on the ball first. Similarly, they have had opportunites for interceptions, but have either dropped the ball or chosen just to bat the ball away rather than try to catch it.

    I think we'd all feel better if the Jets margin of victory started increasing and the offense scored more points.
     
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  2. Jets69

    Jets69 Well-Known Member

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    Again that's what is needed for Zach to win games, as long as the defense is creating 4 to 5 turnovers a game, that's 12 to 15 points our offense (Greg Z) can score.
     
  3. Jets69

    Jets69 Well-Known Member

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    Well, Cleveland proved today, Even with a Zach Wilson like QB, a offense can score almost 40 points
     
  4. ColoradoContrails

    ColoradoContrails Well-Known Member

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    Amen.
     
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  5. GasedAndConfused

    GasedAndConfused Well-Known Member

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  6. BroadwayAaron

    BroadwayAaron Well-Known Member

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    I think I saw one of these that included numbers back to 2020... and Zach was dead last. So I'd say middle of the pack is quite the improvement.
     
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  7. HomeoftheJets

    HomeoftheJets Well-Known Member

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    In this stat, "miss" means you threw the ball at the open receiver and missed him. Zach's problem is he doesn't even see the receiver is open, so he doesn't throw it.
     
  8. Jets79

    Jets79 Well-Known Member

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    Yup…this is yet another example of having to dig deep into some specific criteria stat to show a story. Not that it’s not good news…it is. But this is just a cherry picked stat used to support a point of view.

    Is it good that Zach isn’t the worst at missing open guys? Of COURSE it is.

    Does this stat mean Zach is a good QB? No, of course not.

    He leaves so much on the field in that he isn’t throwing to open guys…that doesn’t affect this stat at all, but it sure affects how the team moves the ball and scores points.

    So this is what I mean…sure I like this, and he’s improved from his first two years where he missed probably half of all those layups…so yay! Good news, and guess what, it’s reflecting in his overall completion rate…which for the year is still in the bottom third of the league by the way, but at least I think it’s just over 60% now, so much better than it’s been.

    But this is why I just say…watch the games and then look at the key stats that have been used to assess QB play…so for me, that’s completion rate, yards per attempt, yards per game, TDs-Int, etc. Those will tell you the story. Sure if you want to dig deeper into it, stuff like this is good to see. But it just smacks of cherry picking a stat to support a point of view while ignoring the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

    Now again, he HAS played better the last couple games…not great by any means, but better than he’s been. So that’s good progress.

    I hope it continues, but until he starts scoring more points and being more consistent in sustaining drives, he will remain in the bottom of the pack.
     
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  9. GasedAndConfused

    GasedAndConfused Well-Known Member

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    wouldn't surprise me with all the easy passes he dirted the last couple years.
    every QB has that problem sometimes. and while zach has missed open targets, he isn't the only one. it's a matter of what rate is he missing them and how does it compare to other Qbs. you all take 1 play and use it to trash him while every QB makes mistakes.
    you really need to watch more games and look at other QBs. IDK where this expectation comes form that no QB in the NFL makes mistakes other then zach
     
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  10. BrowningNagle

    BrowningNagle Well-Known Member

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    spiking the football over some stat nobody has ever heard of ...

    its not like he's in 1st place anyway in that weird stat lol!

    Lets all throw a party, we found something where Zach Wilson isn't ranked dead last
     
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  11. ColoradoContrails

    ColoradoContrails Well-Known Member

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    Yep - not that I watch a lot of other games - but I happen to watch some of the Saints-Jax game and saw how bad Carr looked. I mean as bad as 1st or 2nd year Zach bad. And yet, so many here wanted him, even over Rodgers. And here's the thing: he's a vet QB, who has had success, but this year in a new environment with new coaches and teammates he's struggling. Makes sense, doesn't it? Only if your name isn't Zach Wilson.
     
  12. Acad23

    Acad23 Well-Known Member

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    Strange stats and weird lists aside... the simple fact is that Zach is better at many of the things he was getting
    ragged on for.

    Now we need the important stats to improve... 1st downs and points.
     
  13. GasedAndConfused

    GasedAndConfused Well-Known Member

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    yup and he's been captain check down too. he has legit WRs in thomas and olave. and even raheem is a decent WR3. but kamara has 39 targets in 4 games (almost 10 per game avg) which is insane for a RB who splits time. Plus his number is lowered by the 34-0 whooping they gave to the pats where he only had 3. he had 14, 14, and 8 in the other 3 games (12 per game avg)

    I watched herber sailing balls over WRs heads 4-5 times a game that would be huge plays. I watched hurts throw it right to Dbs and LBers on a regular basis. I watched burrow suck balls for 4 weeks in a row. Daniel jones has been awful with 2 TDs on the year, and holding onto the ball and being indecisive causing a ton of sacks. and all those QBs are making 40+ mil and are established and outside of jones are all considered elite QBs. yet fans here get pissed if zach misses 1 throw
     
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  14. Jets79

    Jets79 Well-Known Member

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    I actually watch a lot of games each week as I have Sunday Ticket and go through a bunch of them, so I don’t appreciate being talked down to or condescended to. That aside, I agree there is a lot of bad QB play, and we’ve seen plenty of QBs look a lot like Zach. No one, certainly not me, has ever said that no other QB makes mistakes other than Zach, so no idea where that comment comes from.

    That being said, the same stats that are equally applied to ALL the QBs in the league like QB rating, completion rate, yards per game, TD-Int ratio, etc. all point to Zach being one of the worst QBs in the league. I don’t have to go looking for cherry picked stats to back that up. I can just go to NFL.com and go to the stats page and sort the QB page by whatever metric I want, and Zach is near the bottom in most of them. It’s just what it is.

    Where I think we DO agree though, is that he looks to be improving, and more specifically in these last 3 games. He looks like a decent backup QB. He does not yet look like a QB who can carry the team for a while, but he DOES look like a QB who won’t lose you the game by throwing a lot of picks and making other boneheaded errors. So sure, I’m happy to see it. He’s still a bottom 10 QB in the league though he hopefully starts improving across the board. If he can learn to see the field better and go through progressions faster and not miss open guys, and then by doing all of that while still limiting the picks and other mistakes, that should lead to putting more points on the board. 4 TD passes in 6 games is nowhere near “good” QB play. He needs to do better.

    If he can do that, I think we’ll be in most games and have a shot at the playoffs.

    We’ll see
     
  15. cval

    cval Well-Known Member

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    What does a backup QB look like, it has to be the dumbest comment have ever heard. You are either playing well or playing poorly. I have never seen a QB stat that says these are good stats for a backup.

    The last three games he is pretty much smack dab in the middle statistically so your premise does not make much sense. How many Qbs do you think get to their third read on any given play, very few you are just spewing talking head points. To get to your third (Non-check down) read you better have good protection. If you watched Hard Knocks then you heard Rodgers say if your second read is not open you better start moving.

    No 4 TD passes is not good but getting into the red zone 9 times in three games is very good.
     
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  16. SOJAZ

    SOJAZ Well-Known Member

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    Sigh, 51 pages of this ...man talk about a lighting rod. Have to agree about the stats posted above and as Jets79 says, his performance while better is still pretty bad. Lets hope that he contiues to improve...
     
  17. Jets79

    Jets79 Well-Known Member

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    So a backup QB looks like a QB who is not really good enough to be considered a quality starting option…that is, he may be good enough to go to for a few games but is not the guy you want long term to get you into the playoffs and win some playoff games. No there is no hard and fast rule set on that but it’s one of those things you kind of know when you see it, right? For example, did anyone think we were going to the playoffs when we ran out Josh McCown as our starter a few years ago? No. He actually played ok that year, but going into the year we knew we had no shot to really accomplish anything. Why? Many reasons not just the QB, but for sure we knew that Josh McCown would not be a quality starting QB who would make us a serious playoff team. Just an example.

    So no, I don’t think it’s the dumbest comment.

    I don’t care if Zach gets to his third read or fourth read or whatever, but I DO care that he sees the field and finds open guys and scores TDs. There have been too many receivers open that he just doesn’t see.

    So again, I would say I agree with the commentary that he’s doing better recently, but let’s not act like he’s a very good QB yet…he’s hopefully on his way.
     
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  18. cval

    cval Well-Known Member

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    That is not an example, it is your subjective opinion. We did not have a shot at anything because McCown was the QB. We had much bigger problems.


    You do not know what the coaches are telling him. Yes, he has missed some throws but the red zone woes go way beyond just Zach.

    No, he has become an average statistical QB in the last three games, based on your criteria, and he is 2-1 in those games and should have been 3-0.
     
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  19. ColoradoContrails

    ColoradoContrails Well-Known Member

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    "...who is not really good enough yet". Too many of the comments knocking Zach are based upon a presumption that he's never going to be good enough to be anything but a backup at best. But consider: many - most - of these same posters said he would never be even a backup.

    The fact is that he's a work in progress and we don't know how much more he can improve. I do agree that until he puts a few 300+ yard, multiple TD games on his resume, the idea that he can carry a team when necessary is unproven, and in my book, that's one of the criteria for being a starting QB.

    Of course a QB doesn't just get to decide that's what he's going to do - he has to work within the parameters his coaches dictate in large part, and Saleh/Hackett have been conservative with what they've allowed him to do. Not that it isn't warranted...up to a point. But if you watch the most recent Play Like A Jet video you can see that Hackett's conservative/predictable play calling in the RZ is a big reason they've struggled. Yes, Zach has missed some open targets, but when we say "open" what that means is that if he could've held onto the ball a few ticks longer he would've seen a wide open receiver in the EZ. And looking at the film it looks like he could wait those few ticks, but the reality is we're not the ones in the pocket as it's collapsing, and having been sacked and harried so many times, so how do you know if this is one of those times, or one of the rare times when the pockets hold for those few ticks? And when you factor in that Zach has obviously been drilled to not hold onto the ball and to get rid of it, especially when he sees an open receiver in the EZ, it's entirely reasonable for him to NOT wait. People beating him for that are just wrong.

    All that said, he does have to find a way to make plays. They're there. He needs to figure out either how to process more quickly, and/or how to buy himself more time to make a play without being dumb about it like running all over the place only to take a 15 or 20 yard loss. If he's more "Capt. Checkdown" than we'd like right now, I think that's preferable to what he used to do, and it's resulted in a decided improvement.

    But he hasn't reached his ceiling...yet.
     
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  20. BrowningNagle

    BrowningNagle Well-Known Member

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    He might be good in 20 years...
     
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