Guys open on obvious passing downs and guys open on neutral or obvious running downs are not the same thing. For the first time this season last night, Hackett showed an ability to call plays the defense wasn't expecting. Passing on first down, passing on 3rd and short, etc. It made a world of a difference.
I know Denver’s defense has been horrible all year but I wouldn’t really pencil that in as a win. That’s a tough road trip at elevation with a crowd that is usually very loud and on top of the benches.
I never got the relentless shitting on Zach... but it felt like last night was his last opportunity to show something. And he did show enough to be the starting QB... at least for one more week.
Indeed the question is more about Hackett than it is Zach. I've said all along that Zach was being hamstrung by first MLF and then Hackett not adapting the offense to Zach. Zach had his problems and didn't play well, but I will always believe that a lot of his struggles were because of the foolishness of Saleh to pick the WCO for a rookie QB rather than picking an offensive scheme that was similar to what he ran in college and one which focused on what he did/does well. Zach's ability has never been in doubt in my mind. It's always been about the poor coaching, decisions, and position that he was put into by our CS and GM. I also think it's about the D. They have to learn how to tackle to wrap up ball carriers. I'm so tired of seeing them going in for the big hit and seeing the ball carrier bounce off and continue down the field to get a 1st down or a chunk more yardage. Saleh and Ulbrich need to get in the faces of every single defensive player and tell them that they are going to be fined heavily for missed tackles (if the CBA will allow it, which it probably won't) or benched. They need to get off the field on 3rd down and quit allowing opposing teams to just march down the field in the 1st Qtr. That's inexcusable.
I would say it a little bit differently. To me, it’s not Zach’s physical ability that’s in doubt…at least to me, it sure looks like he’s got NFL level arm talent…kid can make throws and he’s athletic enough to extend plays. That’s not really been his problem. To me, his problem is really the intangibles…he doesn’t have a great feel for the pass rush (think Marino here…that dude couldn’t move to save his life, but man, how many times did he take one slide step sideways or forward and escape a sack), he doesn’t see the field at all and therefore misses open guys and leaves way too many yards and first downs on the field. And on top of that, he’s been very inaccurate his first couple years, though it feels like we’re seeing less of that this year so far. So sure, much of that is coaching, but a QB needs to have command and see the field and throw guys open, which he hardly ever does. So far, it’s been very little anticipation…like his play style is that he needs to SEE the open guy, and then he rifles it in there with a strong arm. That worked at BYU against third tier competition. That won’t work in the NFL. In hindsight, he sure looks like a guy who would have benefitted from being treated like AR was and like Jordan Love was…get drafted, sit for a couple years, and then by the time you play you’ve kind of had some time to learn the NFL speed. Unfortunately we didn’t have a Favre or Rodgers on our team, so he had to play, and he was so clearly now in hindsight not ready at all. Regardless…water under the bridge now. He’s here and he’s got to start. So I was encouraged yesterday…you know, its maybe a low bar but we’re so used to utter crap from him that a 250 yard game is a godsend, but yesterday felt like to me we actually had a QB playing. Sure, he had the damn fumble at the worst possible time. And that tarnishes his game a bit, but he owned it, and he played well outside of that…his completion rate was great, 250 yards is not what I’d call GREAT territory, but it’s acceptable, and 2 TDs to no Picks is great…so if he can keep that up then we have some hope.
This is 1 game he played well out of 27 relax gotta play like this more often before you say he can consistently do this, remember it’s still Zach wilson the guy who’s confidence goes to shreds at any moment and he starts throwing balls in the dirt or to the other team. 1 good game Out of 27 is small sample size. We are already in the hole 1-3 we need Aaron rodgers type stats to get into the playoffs now, we have a tough division. Justin fields had a good game(better game than Zach) yesterday too and he is a pile of shit who can’t read nfl defenses. Remember this is the Zach Wilson who has shown us small glimpses of hopes only to shatter our dreams he needs to show way more than one good game to or two good games to show he is a capable qb. He is playing the worst defense in the league next year if he finally figured it out he should light them up
Good post except, saying that "he doesn't see the field at all" is a gross overstatement and totally inaccurate. Yes, he has struggled with that, but I think a lot of that has been due to the fact that he's been struggling with the offense he has been asked to run. You and many others obviously don't understand how complex the WCO is. I've seen/heard where a number of former NFL QBs who are very good, if not great, said that the WCO takes at least 3 years to learn. Add in the fact that NFL Ds are much more complex that collegiate Ds, Zach's regression and his losing confidence, and his play hasn't been a total surprise. I've said it before and I'll say it again, most Jets' fans expectations are simply not realistic. I get that we're all tired of losing and have little patience, but people need to comprehend how difficult an offense the WCO is to run and play well in. IMO it was a horrible choice by Saleh and JD.
if zach can play like he did last night we can make the playoffs. outside of the eagles, fins twice, and bills we have an easy schedule the rest of the way. most people expected 2-4 after the 1st 6 games even with rodgers. we are 1-3 and a win in denver this week and a loss against philly week 6 puts us at 2-4
hacketts is a lot easier then MLFs though also look at CJ stroud who already looks like a stud and so does richardson. as rookies.
If Zach plays like he did last night we might win 5 or 6 games. And that's assuming everyone stays healthy.
I thought that was (somewhat obviously I guess) Wilson's finest game as a pro and it came at about the last possible moment. If I were in charge he wouldn't have gotten that last chance. He and the entire Jets world needed that like a drowning man needs a life preserver. I also have to say that whatever happens from here I am impressed and give him a lot of credit for somehow loosening up enough to play well enough to almost win a tough game on the national stage after so much failure and what must have been intense pressure all week. He even had Joe Namath openly turn on him (and rightly so...he's been dreadful) and somehow managed to do what I thought was impossible and turn in a respectable, confident performance. He's been so consistently bad for so long my hope is a bit tempered still. And I have always rejected the idea that Lafluer and now Hackett are the ones to blame for his poor performance. I've watched too many open guys dancing across the field in front of him. Zach's struggles have been mostly Zach related. I will say however that as bad as it ever got you did always kind of feel with this guy that there was enough raw talent there that at any given point a switch might get flipped and all of a sudden the results could get a lot better really fast. Who the hell knows... maybe something will actually go right for the Jets here for once and the switch got flipped last night. Not going to deny I'm hoping.
I really wish you could understand the effect that poor coaching has on a player. Specifically, trying to make Zach something he's not, a cautious, make on mistakes type player, undermined his confidence and caused him to second guess himself. Giving him game plans that essentially said" We don't trust you so we're going to limit what you can do" sends a clear signal to hi, so is it really surprising that he would doubt himself? And you can see this effect in almost every game with a few exceptions up until last night. It was certainly no coincidence that opening the game by calling 3 straight passing plays - for probably the first time in his pro career - led to him playing with much more visible confidence and quick decision making. What last night should have shown was that his struggles were not mostly Zach related. That's not to say he had no part in them, but the role his coaches had/have - including Saleh who has shown no confidence in him either - is much larger than most people want to admit. But yes, it was one game. He has to go out and repeat that type of play consistently going forward. To do that he needs Hackett to also continue to design game plans suited to Zach's strengths. If they do that, I think we'll see that kind of consistency finally.
I disagree regarding Namath. Namath should keep his mouth shut. He's not helping anything by going public and trashing Zach, Hackett, Saleh and JD. If he's unhappy, he should go directly to Woody Johnson. IMO he made himself look bad, especially after Zach played so well last night. I also disagree regarding Zach and the OCs role in his play. Not every QB can play in every scheme. QBs have strengths and weaknesses and some schemes fit their abilities better than others. OCs can adapt schemes to what fits a QB's strengths and hides his weaknesses, and they can make or break a QB with that and with their play calling. The WCO is the most complex offense in football. It's diametrically opposed to the offense that Zach played in at BYU. Steve Young said that it takes at least 3 years to learn the offense and how it is supposed to work and feel comfortable in the scheme. I think you're a good guy, but totally misguided and unrealistic in putting all the blame on Zach.
Your right that the ideal scenario would have been Namath just didn't say anything. But things were getting so bad I don't fault him one bit for speaking out. We really were at a crossroads there where something had to give pretty much immediately. And Zach suddenly discovering himself and playing great would be a magnificent solution to that problem. Like... unbelievably magnificent. And I'm sorry to both you guys but literally nothing you can type will convince me that Zach's struggles have been predominantly the result of poor coaching. Maybe your even right... but I don't think that has been the problem. I've noticed even in these game threads when the Jets are doing poorly the OC is an absolute slack jawed idiot. And then when the Jets score the OC "finally called some decent plays" Hackett was an idiot weeks 1-3 and suddenly came to Jesus last night? I don't think so. Too many other QBs have worked with too many other coordinators over the last 3 years in the NFL and literally all of them have done better than Zach Wilson, and most of them have done orders of magnitude better. This its all (mostly) Lafluer's fault argument, while understandable, just doesn't seem to hold up to logic. I watched plenty of good looking plays the last few years where Zach just flat blew it.
They’re running the same systems LaFleur runs in San Francisco, Miami, Houston, Green Bay and Los Angeles. All of those quarterbacks have much different skill sets from each other and the offenses are all pretty good in comparison to what we saw the past two years. Blaming LaFleur is silly. Maybe it wasn’t a great system fit or malleable but that doesn’t just explain everything away.
