For the first time since 1998, I see a team that will give us hope of being in the super bowl conversation (starting in 2 years) for a long time. Observations from watching in person and then reviewing the film. The first TD, on the run, to Davis is a completion no Jet QB from the past 30 years gets off or makes (besides Favre) Neither is the second (maybe Vinny makes that out route. Maybe). Pennington was smart enough to not try it. Sanchez throws a bullet into the dirt. Darnold makes the wrong read. Fitzpatrick throws it behind Davis and is likely picked. Esiason throws a pick 6 floater. Geno takes a sack. However, his most impressive pass of the day was an incompletion. Under pressure, he put the ball 57 yards in the air, right into Elijah Moore's bread basket. It hit the 8 on Moore's jersey. 57 yards in the air downfield. AYFKM. One question had to be answered yesterday. "How will he respond when a real NFL defense hits him in the mouth?" He got an A+ on that test. I screamed like we won a playoff game on the 4th down completion to Berrios. Why? It's other QBs that do that to us. Not us doing that to other teams. It's repeatable. Everything was in the flow. We will see plenty more of this. He had taken a monster hit from a monster DT on the previous play. He stepped into this throw with no fear. And then he throws the TD 2 plays later, after taking another sack. This kid is resilient. And I didn't stop screaming with delight until I got to my car. We finally have a f*cking QB. If you heard a lunatic screaming J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS with his 2 kids on Stonewall St after the game, that was me. Why? Because Zach proved to me that he's the type of QB that can win a game and make the big play, when the offense breaks down around him. That moment wasn't anything to him. Yesterday was the greatest loss I've ever seen. He played without Crowder and Cole. And kind of played without Mims. All while Elijah Moore was acting like a rookie getting his first taste of the NFL. Offensive Line disaster. Leaving that there. The game plan was to establish the run. He didn't get a running game or protection. He still balled out. The team has responded positively to him. Corey Davis took the onus to call out the OL, ensuring Zach didn't have to. Mosely, the most respected Jet in the league, gave him a pretty damn strong vote of confidence. They voted Zach the team captain (which one could wrongly compare to Rex handing Sanchez the captaincy on a silver platter … which people are saying is because it was part of the tatoo deal) On the sideline, he's studying and chatting it up. I don't recall that from the past few young QBs. This kid is adaptable. He has humility. He's hungry. He will learn. He will play behind an OL that has gelled and can block for the run. Pre-game, a bunch of Jets went to the end zone to pray. Zach went to throw the football and chat with his coaches. He's focused. He's just like Chad Pennington. Except with an arm and legs. All that said, I'd prefer he sit the Patriot game. The Emperor knows that the force is strong in this young jedi and will send plenty of ghosts to destroy him before he rises up and becomes more powerful than anyone can possibly imagine. Yes, it's game 1. But I've seen enough. I was extremely critical of trading Darnold. I wanted to see them surround Darnold and give him a chance. I saw what that looked like yesterday (Panthers should have blown us out). There's no comparison between Darnold and Wilson. Wilson is head and shoulders above. Rest of the body is better, too. Concerns Will the OL get him killed in the next few weeks? Will Lafleur be adaptable enough, make the right playc alls, and get the run game going. Mims must be out there. If Mims doesn't fit Lafleur's system, then perhaps Lafleur needs to adapt the f*cking system. Lafleur's job is to coordinate the offense. The running game disaster is on him. He'd better fix that this week. Lafleur comes from a tree of play callers that fold. Just look at his brother's shit calls last year. Especially at the worst times. It's a marathon. We're in this for the next 10 years. A lot can happen and time kills all deals. The football gods. I've cheered for this team since 1990. I ain't stupid. Dear Football Gods, We respect you, understand you, and appreciate you. Please recognize Saleh and Zach's respect for the game, and allow good things to not be taken away from us. We're not asking for favors, just no more intervention. Thank you. Rant over. Thanks for allowing me to get this off my chest and get back to life.
Now all Zach has to do is survive long enough to make your post come true... Not gonna be easy with this OL and playcalling.
He showed a lot of toughness and ability to bounce back. But, he can only do so much if the OL doesn't get its act together.
This team is being built and designed similar to the 2017 San Francisco 49ers so I think it is important to remind ourselves how they started. The 2017 49ers got blown out by Carolina in game 1 and were held to 217 yards of total offense. They started the season 0-9. It takes awhile to learn the Shanahan system and the blocking system. It will take us time as well. Hopefully, they can minimize the beating Zach takes. But, we might not see positive progress until the end of this year.
Does that mean we can expect a Super Bowl in year 3? One where we don't blow a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter....
I don't think a lot of QBs, even vets, would have been able to recover from that as well Zach did. It was a avalanche on most pass plays in the first half. For a first start the rook did pretty good. My concern is too many starts like this can ruin a young QB. The Carr/Rosen system of QB development isn't what were looking for. We need to become more solid up front and fast. Also, I heard a rumor we are a run first offense. That's not what we saw. Maybe because we don't have the players to run an outside zone running scheme. IMO we need to pivot away from that soon. Or start Ty Johnson because his vision is the best and he seems to get around the edge faster then the others.
I disagree that we don't have the players to run an outside zone scheme. We may not be perfect in that regard, but we have more than enough that we should be able to make it work, or adapt the system to the talent we have on hand. Adapting to the talent on hand is what LaFleur claimed he was going to do, which is what makes it all the more puzzling that Mims isn't seeing the field more. The only positions where they players we have don't fit it are the TE and FB positions. Our OL supposedly does, with the possible exceptions of Becton and Moses. Our RBs do with the possible exception of Perine. Our WRs do with the possible exception of Mims. The thing is, I could be mistaken, but think it's a difficult scheme and will take a year or two to master. I agree that Johnson should be starting at RB in terms of speed, but he forgot to take the field on STs yesterday, so he may not be that solid mentally or may not know the system that well. Also, I only saw a few outside zone run attempts yesterday. Most of the runs were inside Zone runs right up the gut. In terms of the FB position, I wonder if they might seek to get Perine to add a few pounds and move him to FB.
I see your point about how the outside zone requires a lot of practice but I don't agree we are built for it. Especially at RB where you need a nimble track star. The scheme isn't a good enough scheme to require a year or two to master. IMO that is wasted time. Were only going with it so we can save money at RB in the future. I do like the idea of trying Perine at FB. Maybe repurposing him is a good move?
Yesterday, we were a run first offense. We ran first, second, and third. We just couldn't run successfully. And then, we passed first. And Zach flourished. Let's hope we can figure out how to run. Elway and Marino never won without a running game.
Marino had a thousand-yard rusher in his backfield once in his entire career. He most certainly did win without a running game.
I don't think Brady's had a 1000 yard rusher in a while--it is just not necessary for one guy to gain 1000 yard rushing to win a SB--don't think Chiefs had one either 2 years ago.
Having an O-Line with Richmond Webb, Keith Simms, Dwight Stephenson along with WR's Mark Duper and Mark Clayton certainly went a long way to help him...
Excellent observations! My only concern right now is the OL - and well the running game which is tied to that. Given that this part of the offense just wasn't working yesterday, it's really amazing that Zach did what he did. And yes, that drop by Moore was a game changer IMO. Moore has to hang onto that, plain and simple. I agree I'd prefer they sit Zach against the Pats, but I don't think they will, but they had better protect him a hell of lot better than they did yesterday! I'll just say here now, this is what I envisioned when I saw Zach play last year and watching his previous years of tape. I almost didn't dare to say it out loud, but I saw the potential best QB since Namath for this team. I just hope he stays healthy.
Sorry but very very tired of waiting...and LOSING . Basically ruining every Fall weekend Can anyone tell me the last game the Jets actually won? ( I know I was hoping Gase would lose so we could fire him ahaha) My expectation is through smoke and mirrors the CS outcouches at least one opponent To me that would be tremendous progress that notwithstanding our weaknesses at personnel Saleh and LaFleur prove they are worth the Hire...actually the second half VS Carolina needs to be carried over versus Pats
This is definitely true, the kid is resilient. But this will not last if the hits continue. It's like a fighter in the first round. You take the hits, you even smile sometimes. but the time 3d, 4th round rolls, unless you stop taking these shots consistently, you will be going out. You will not be stepping with no fear after enough of these. I am really worried about the Jets ruining Zach if he keeps getting hit like this. Something has to happen. If this continues JD has to make a trade or something. Zach is the best thing the Jets have going for them, and we may finally have a QB who can deliver the SB on the roster, but I am scared that he will get destroyed a la David Carr or worse.
I liked what I saw from Zach Wilson but this thread is hyping him way too much, first game of his career, there are a lot of developments that still need to happen that will determine just how good (or bad) he will be. It was solid outing overall, but I'm not crowning him the best QB the Jets have had in 30 years, and definitely not shouting that we have a QB yet!
