He's certainly athletic enough to have success... problem is he can't read the field and he panics in the pocket. Personally I think the Jets did Zach a disservice by throwing him out there as a rookie... with a rookie HC and a rookie OC. The defense sucked as well. That was just dumb at every level... but oh so Jets. We had the chance to ruin Trevor Lawrence and fucked that up...
The bolded is too general, and not true all of the time. There are times when he struggles reading the field, but at other times he doesn't. He makes good, quick decisions. Watch any of the videos that have dissected Zach's play in the NFL and they point out when he makes good, quick reads. Yes, he has panicked in the pocket, but that doesn't mean he can't get over that. After all, he had great protection at BYU, and his rookie season he had an awful OL and little talent around him to help him. He had a clueless OC who didn't tailor the scheme to Zach's being a rookie or to what Zach did well. As you said, they did him a disservice by throwing him to the wolves as a rookie with a rookie HC and rookie OC and a lousy defense. After they drafted him, they said he wouldn't have to carry the team, but then that's basically what they expected him to do. They set him up to fail, to have a ton of pressure on him. We all saw Lawrence struggle and look bad his rookie season. The Jags made changes before his 2nd season and he looked a lot better. Meanwhile, the Jets upgraded the talent around Wilson, but trotted out the same CS, and due to injuries, the OL wound up being pretty bad yet again. How was he supposed to succeed?
When White or Flacco were behind center, they weren't sacked as much as Wilson. Yeah, the OL was bad but Wilson made it look even worse by holding the ball forever and running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
White and Flacco were vets with years of experience learning to read NFL defenses. Of course a QB still learning to read NFL defenses is going to make it worse by indecision, and that becomes even worse when that QB has lost confidence in himself and/or the scheme (and OC).
We all interpret the world in different ways. There's no wrong answer. Look within for truth, and not through a window covered with a thin layer of saliva. Trainwreck OG ftw.
He's athletic enough to have success if he could do the normal things that other starting QBs do like throw receivers open. But at BYU he didn't do that; he took advantage of the fact that he was more athletic than his competition and bought himself time for his receivers to get open before he threw it. Unless you're as athletic as Mahomes or Allen, that won't work in the NFL.
If you gaze into the glory hole, the glory hole gazes into you. Amen. I keep thinking your avatar is the Philly Green Man.
Him looking competent, even if it's against back-ups, would be a good first step for him in this next chapter IMO. Not only could it mean he feels more comfortable in the new offense but it could help him immensely from a mental standpoint, which I feel like has been his biggest hurdle as a pro so far. I'm not gonna hop on here and start a "DO WE START ZACH OVER RODGERS?!?!?!?!" thread if he lights it up against Cleveland but it would definitely give me some hope about his future.
I see a lot of downside, and not too much upside for Zach in the preseason. Bad performances are always going to outweigh good ones. If he looks good, it'll be chalked up to vanilla defenses and zero stakes. If he plays bad, he's going to get destroyed by the media and fans. He's build up almost no good will among fans. Despite what the team has been saying, I don't think they're planning on Zach having any legitimate future here. I would be fairly surprised if he is the backup QB going into week 1.
I hear all the official talk from the team about how they support and believe in him, but honestly it’s going to be a rough road for him to have a real future here unless AR gets hurt and he’s forced to play a lot and actually plays well. But outside of that, we’ve got AR here for this year, and likely next year. By that time, Zach’s contract will force a decision from the team…exercise the fifth year option or not, and it’s hard to see JD do that based on his actual production or lack thereof. Potential is nice, but hard to imagine we sign up for the guaranteed fifth year option without seeing serious improvement in real playing time. Timing just doesn’t really work for Zach…and despite the words of support, actions speak louder than words…and JD’s actions were to bring in a real QB
I think it's going to be difficult for him to convince the Jets that he is the long-term answer. He didn't show much of anything in his first 2 years. Last year it seemed like he lost the locker room after that putrid performance at NE where he didn't take responsibility for the loss. That pissed off his teammates. Remember them wearing Mike White shirts. With Rodgers here for 2 years all he is going to do is hold a clipboard and watch from the sideline. He will only play if Rodgers gets hurt or its garbage time where the outcome of the game is already decided.
I don’t think Wilson wants it. it is cool, he can have an impact in other areas of life. If football isn't his number 1 thing then he's not gonna make it and its not his fault for the Jets missing that about him
I don't disagree with this at all. Which is why it's important for him to put his best foot forward when/if he does get an opportunity, even if that's in preseason action. Even at that, best case scenario for him in the post-Rodgers era, he's competing for the starting job with another QB (if he's even still around).
I was so pissed off by last years team's performance I sold my season tickets. Zach contributed to my decision and angst. OK, so Rogers is our QB now, but we need a competent back up QB. This is America friends...2nd chances is what this country is about. Hope that Zach eats humble pie in full view of us all, gets up off the mat and starts throwing punches. Zach needs all the support we fans and the team can give him.
He's very good at looking awkward around people of color. There has got to be a use for that skill. Woody probably has a whole room full of guys like that.
The team wearing Mike White shirts was a colossal failure on the part of the coaching staff. I don’t care how big a pile of dogshit the guys been, you can’t let that happen in the locker room
Well said. And this is on Saleh 100%... Once you let inmates run the asylum you are toast. My only fear about this season is rah rah guy Saleh.
