Hey the Patsies had Drew Bledsoe as a starting quarterback and drafted a guy in the sixth round… I forget his name, Tom something or other…
From NFL Rookie Watch: Zach Wilson has reportedly looked like a “different QB” since Aaron Rodgers arrived. Wilson is reportedly playing with a “different confidence” than he’s had in previous seasons. Robert Saleh (Jets HC) has reportedly been “impressed” with Wilson’s improved ability at stepping up in the pocket. Saleh has also been “wowed” with some of Wilson’s red zone throws. It may be a new ERA for the Jets second overall pick
I didn't understand why they were reporting on Wilson, either, but perhaps they're viewing him as a rookie now since Saleh and MLF screwed up his first two seasons. This will be the first season that he's has had real coaching from a veteran OC and QB Coach who know what they're doing.
NFL Rookie Watch is the dumbest account on Twitter this side of DefenseWinsChampionships. Had to block them for flooding my timeline with 8 dollar bluecheck spam. Here are some of their "highlights": Malik Willis reportedly came out of the spring with “glaring improvement” according to Mike Vrabel (Titans HC). Willis has reportedly improved in his “command” of the offense. As well as his “decisiveness” while in the pocket. Willis is reportedly expected to start off taking second team reps once training camp begins. The Titans sophomore QB seems to be headed in the right direction Amon-Ra St. Brown had himself a DAY at Lions training camp today. Brown caught 6 TD’s within 10 red-zone snaps with the first team offense. After practice, Brown went to the jugs machine and dropped his first ball. Brown then proceeded to catch the next 201 balls in a row and did 20 pushups to make up for the drop. And to think there were 16 WR’s taken ahead of him. Maybe the BIGGEST steal of the entire 2021 NFL Draft Kenny Pickett’s arm has reportedly looked “noticeably stronger” than its ever been this off-season. Arm strength was Pickett’s biggest knock by many NFL scouts before last year’s NFL Draft. Charlie Batch (former Steelers QB) reportedly sees “a lot” of similarities between Pickett and Ben Roethlisberger. Kyle Brandt (NFL Network Analyst) said he believes Pickett can “jump” into the Elite QB tier this season. The Steelers sophomore QB has a BIG training camp coming up Drake Maye’s arm is NOT real Some NFL scouts reportedly believe Maye is “comparable” to Trevor Lawrence, as well as Justin Herbert. Some NFL scouts also believe Maye has a “chance” to close the gap between him and Caleb Williams this season. Jordan Reid (NFL Draft analyst) gives Maye a “20%” chance to be taken first overall as of now. The Tarheels QB has MAJOR potential. Justin Fields is reportedly thought to be on the “same track” as Jalen Hurts many NFL scouts believe. TJ Edwards (Bears LB) said he sees “similarities” between Fields and Hurts. Fields said that he “plans” to throw for 4,000 yards this year, which would be a Bears record. Nick Bosa (49ers DE) also said recently that Fields is the “best” running QB ever. The hype is HIGH for the Bears QB going into training camp
so they just hype everyone up knowing some fanboy somewhere will like and/or share it not a bad strategy to be honest
ZW has too much arm talent to write him off. JoeD will string him along (contract wise) while waiting for AR to retire. Then, JoeD will bring in a 'good vet' to compete with ZW for the starting roll, which ZW will win easily. After Z has his first good season (post-AR) JoeD will give Zack a decent contract. If AR plays for 3 seasons, then that 'good vet' to compete with Zack could be Darreck Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo, Baker Mayfield, or even Sam Darnold! Wild...
While I agree with your first two paragraphs, I don't think there's any way that JD would bring Darnold or Mayfield in to compete with anyone for the starting QB job. JD isn't George Steinbrenner and bringing back Billy Martin. In the NFL, once a player leaves a team they almost never go back. Garoppolo may be retired in 3 years and he's had issues staying healthy lately. Carr may still be in NO. I seriously doubt
On a side note, Billy Martin died in a car wreck on my road near my house. Billy and a buddy were driving home from a bar (his buddy was driving) on a country road, truck slid off the road and into a big ditch and hit that slues pipe that goes under a driveway near the road. They almost made it back to Billy's, but Wild Bill went through the windshield.
Does Zach have the mental capability to play QB at the NFL level. He looked like a deer in headlights playing the position. I don't take much from him looking good in TC or preseason. It's the regular season that counts when opposing defenses are coming after him for real. Showing him different looks and disguising coverages. How will he do then. We are going into his 3rd year, and he has shown he doesn't have it at the point. These next 2 years he will just watch Rodgers in games that count. The Jets would be better off to move away from him and look for Rodgers eventual replacement either in the draft or FA when the time comes. IMHO.
I totally understand your perspective. Even I began to question his mental capability to play QB at the NFL level and wonder if he was mentally tough enough. In spite of his awesome arm talent and feel for the game, the truth is, he may not be strong enough mentally to stand in the pocket and take hits. That said, I don't think that's the case. He's tough. I especially remember the game against Coastal Carolina, where he hurdled a player, and took a big hit. I remember when the two Coastal Carolina players who went after him after he had gotten rid of the ball and took him down and the refs did nothing. I think the issue with Zach was that too much was expected of him too soon. Even though the Jets said that he wouldn't have to carry the team or be the savior, they in reality did expect him to carry the team his rookie season when there was no talent around him. Anyone becoming the QB of the Jets would know that they were in the "savior" role and feel that pressure. Coupled with learning a complex offense, having to change his basic fundamentals, change the way he approached QB play , the pressure he felt, and I suspect lack of confidence in MLF and his scheme, all took a toll on Zach's psyche and in turn he pressed, played badly, then started losing confidence in himself and things snowballed. I think the fact that he is back having fun and seems confident, shows that he has the resilience and mental toughness to play in the NFL at a high level. Of course, he has to show it in a real game, not just practice. I understand and agree with that. If given the chance, I believe that he will show not only that he can be a competent, consistent QB in the NFL, but a lot more. I disagree that the Jets would be better off just moving on. Only a few QBs in the NFL have the ability to make some of the throws he makes (and I'm not talking about the one on his Pro Day!), and not many QBs have the creative, playmaking ability that Zach has. Whereas we haven't seen that much from him in the NFL yet, we wouldn't when he's struggling to learn the offense and make the necessary changes. When he's comfortable in the scheme and has his confidence back, we will see that ability. QBs like that don't grow on trees. They're not going to be drafting anywhere near the top of the draft to be able to get another young topnotch QB prospect in the draft. Even competent starting QBs don't become available in FA that often. Like it or not, their best prospect for solid, if not great, QB play after Rodgers retires is Zach. We all better start rooting for him and hoping he makes it.
The one thing though is it's going to be hard for him to develop his QB skills (mental/physical) if he doesn't get to play in the games. That is a problem for Zach and the Jets. You can only get so much from practice. Nothing replaces real game experience and Zach will probably not be playing in any real games these next 2 years. Assuming Rodgers doesn't get hurt the only time Zach will play is garbage time. At that point the outcome has already been decided.
If JoeD and Saleh think Zack is not just a career backup, but the future of the Jets, then they will give him garbage time in real games. Evaluate in real games how much he's learned from AR. And if AR is coaching ZW up, then AR would probably like to see how good his coaching is going too.
AR is 40 years old. Zach will get some playing time in the next two years. Zach will also run the scout team and will be going against a pretty good defense. The coaches will have a good idea of how Zach is developing.
True, but even though they don't count for much, he'll have preseason games to show his improvement and get more game experience. I think he's likely to get the first half of most of the games with Streveler and Boyles finishing up in the 2nd half.
