Figured this would be a good spot to put this... So I'm driving into work today and Bill Polian was on SiriusXM NFL channel. He was chatting with Solomon Wilcots and they got onto the topic of Justin Fields, Mac Jones and Zach Wilson. Bill was basically breaking down what he thought were the "short comings" of the current crop of young QB's that could end up as trade bait and/or out right released. Essentially, what he thought was the "hole in each of their game" that would be the one thing that any new GM would need to take into account before bringing them in on a backup QB deal. Holy Cow!!! Usually, these folks get on these shows and they are VERY P.C. when they talk about players and coaches, especially active folks. Bill is usually very magnanimous and complimentary, even when there needn't be any positive comments. However, not today! Today, Bill was very succinct! He stated that, if he were still a GM, he "might" bring a guy like Fields in or Mac Jones but he EVISCERATED Zach Wilson! He was talking about Fields and him not being able to read defenses very well. Utilizing his physical abilities to overcome this deficiency. How Mac Jones was drafted "into the wrong offense for his tool set," not having the greatest of arm strength and he needs to be in more of a West Coast offense. However, when it came to Zach Wilson, there were no nuggets of positivity, nothing. Which was a shock to me because he almost always has something positive to say about almost everyone, but not with Wilson. He said Wilson was essentially "not an NFL caliber QB" right now and he wouldn't take a flyer on a kid like that. He continued on a minute or two musing about how he wasn't sure if the kid didn't receive the right NFL coaching or if he even had the skillset necessary to compete. It blew me away. I know we talk about it on the boards here and folks have different takes but it's a whole different animal listening to a HOF GM add his $.02 to the topic and, literally, having the same opinion as so many on the good ole' Gang Green. Of course, I'm driving and thinking to myself, "How in the HELL could our front office have whiffed so poorly?" Yeah, I remember, the consensus is Wilson was at the top of the boards for a lot of NFL teams and a whole lot of teams could have "whiffed" on this kid. However, how do we KNOW that? That could have been all smoke screens. All I know is THIS team, our team, drafted this waste of space. Could Wilson have been so thoroughly destroyed by our coaching staff that he actually regressed to the point that a positive dude, like Polian, wouldn't even hazard a league minimum to have him on the practice squad? I mean, Polian went as far as to say that if a team had NO QB...None, zero, zip, nada he would take a chance on Field or Jones but not Wilson. He said that straight up. So, I read that as Polian's team would start a WR at QB vs. bringing in a dude like Wilson. It was eye opening...er...ear opening to actually hear an NFL person, a very well respected NFL person, say what all of us, or at the very least, MOST of us are thinking.
Wow yeah that is interesting…I listen to NFL radio when I can, and I really love Bill Polian because he’s been a successful GM who has built franchises…he did with Buffalo, Carolina, and Indy…I agree with you he won’t typically bad mouth people…he’ll try and find the positive or say nothing much, but I would love to know what his actual comments were…do you remember any specifics?
I didn’t want to quote him because it was a couple hours before I could post. I’ll replay the show and see if I can get the right phrases.
Polian WAS great. His last couple of years in Indy were awful. He lost it. Based on what I've read and heard, he's somewhat senile. I wouldn't put a lot of stock in what he says any more. Zach definitely has his flaws and holes, but there's no denying his arm talent. If Polian can't see that, then he's totally senile.
Really? Still defending the guy? What a surprise! You say Polian WAS great - too bad Wilson never was. His arm might have talent but it's really a shame that the talented arm has never made an attachment to a brain, a set of eyes and a lower body that enables it to utilize that "talent" in playing NFL football when there is an opponent on the field. It might as well be laying in the parking lot, all by itself.
So I went and pulled down the podcast and replayed...here is what Polian specifically said about Wilson around the 1hour 41 minute mark (https://www.siriusxm.com/player/show/entity/356cb4b6-d54e-4c75-8a20-01101ca55bad): Polian starts out saying he has 2 strikes against him - knocking his size he says, "he's not tall enough." Then, he explicitly says, "he doesn't have a clue what he's doing at this stage. The processing is not there, playing QB is not there, whether it's because it's the system or coaching or he simply hasn't been able to assimilate what it takes to play QB in the NFL...it's not there. He needs a LOT of work.
I disagreed somewhat with Polian. I think skill set wise he's NFL caliber but that's kinda rendered irrelevant if he doesn't have it between the ears or in his heart. I don't think Zach Wilson has the brains or desire to play in the NFL. Physically he could
I really don't think it has anything to do with the physical either. Even Polian, all he referenced, physically speaking, was his size. That's irrelevant because there are plenty of shorter QB's. However, as you stated and what Polian was mostly referring to, is this kid simply doesn't have the mental makeup of an NFL QB. I also agree with you concerning the drive. Look, this kid came off like a "know it all" and an arrogant SOB the moment he stepped in front of the podium. It's hard to have the drive or "will to succeed" if you already feel you know it all or have "arrived." Somebody forgot to tell Wilson that getting drafted #2 overall isn't "arrived" but "just beginning." I also understand that Saleh HAS to comment on his QB during press conferences et. al. but to sit there and blow smoke up our asses that, "Zach is doing "it" in practice and what they see at the practice field is so much different than game day." He's, "putting in the time, " yada yada yada. Why lie? You know this kid was laying egg after egg in practice, as it was reported on many times, every year. Why lie? Why say ANYTHING at that point. By making statements like that it only solidifies how inept Saleh is or looks. Do you EVER remember Bill Parcells rolling out at a press conference and bullshitting people about his players. Fuck no he didn't. If you stunk it up he eviscerated his players. Tough love. Now, maybe this day and age's crop of "youngsters" are too "sensitive" to hear the truth? What a mess. To sum it all up, it was just a very eye opening experience listening to Bill essentially lambaste Wilson. Even in the tone of his voice. It was like he was talking about two NFL players in Fields and Jones then it was dead silence, a sigh and he begrudgingly add the comments about Wilson...almost as if he didn't want to say anything at all.
That's a fair assessment of where he is now. IMO it's not a fair assessment of where he was coming out of BYU or of his potential. I think the Jets totally screwed him up.
Now, you might have something with the drive. He has never seemed to have the same work ethic and attitude with the Jets that he did at BYU. I think that has been part of the problem, if not a lot of the problem. He's still young. Hopefully, he will wake up, grow up, and fulfill his talent and potential as long as it isn't for a team I hate like the Cowboys, Dolphins, Patriots, Bills, or Raiders.
We've knocked Zach enough over 3 years. None of this is a surprise, and these articles are only damaging us now. Lets see what interest, if any, he gets on the market.
All I can say is we have been saying Sayonara for a lot of players for a long time, can't wait to get rid of so and so and so and so, blah, blah,blah, only to see how many have actually found success elsewhere. On the opposite side, the reverse for the many that were playing outstanding football elsewhere, paid a fortune for them, only to come and die here. Yet we keep trotting the same incompetent CS and blame the entire problem on JD and ignoring the elephant in the room. Great coaching makes players perform beyond than their levels, shit coaching sucks out the talent and destroys those in need of help. I hold very little hope with this CS especially on Offense.
The problem is that JD hired Saleh, and he allowed Saleh to hire LaFleur and a bunch of young, inexperienced position coaches. That's on JD.
It's certainly true that Zach has to own responsibility for not being better than he was, but most people who have judged him as "not NFL capable" seem to not acknowledge the huge role that coaching and the system played in that. Had Zach gone to KC or Baltimore or SF I believe he would've succeeded - maybe not become great but certainly a solid starter at the minimum. Now, having been screwed around for 3 years he's likely broken - like Sam was before him/ So why do so many Jets fans excuse this decades long failure of developing QBs and instead blame the QBs?
