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Todd Bowles was asked . . .
a bunch of questions about Bryce Petty today and I want to address some of the answers.
Bowles was first asked, “How much will McCown’s presence help Petty?
Bowles: It can help him see the game, but he has to play on Sunday, and he’s going to be out there by himself. So he’ll be fine.
This answer had some mixed messages.
Let’s start from the back and move forward.
Bowles said “he’ll be fine.”
Bowles taking a page from Dr. Norman Vincent-Peale – “The Power of Positive Thinking.”
None of us know if he’ll be fine. That is a total gray area. Last Sunday, he didn’t look fine playing in the third and fourth quarters.
We will see if he does better with a weak of practicing as the starter. He must be more accurate than last week.
“He has to play to play on Sunday,” is exactly right. So often these young quarterbacks look a lot better in practice during the week than in the game. In practice, nobody can touch the quarterback. Games are far from that, as Josh McCown and Carson Wentz saw first-hand last Sunday. One game is touch football, and the other is one of the most violent on the planet. It’s a lot different throwing in games than practice. So Bowles is exactly right, “he has to play on Sunday.”
As for McCown’s presence helping him “see the game.” Perhaps, to a degree. When the Jets’ defense is on the field, McCown can talk to him and review the blue tablet. But so often, when you talk to young quarterbacks about reads, when they go back on the field, and the real bullets are flying, there mind starts racing and the info goes by the wayside.
So McCown can’t help him “see the game” while Petty is in the game. He can help him a little going over things, but since he can be his eyes and mind when he’s actually on the field, the impact of these skull sessions in minimal.
Second question – How is Petty a different player than he was last year?
“Obviously, anytime you’re in a system longer and you get to watch for a while during the season, you get to learn a little more, but you still have to go out and prove it on Sunday,” Bowles said. “Mentally, he’s a lot different, but you still have to go out and play on Sunday.”
That is right. He has to “proof it on Sunday.” He can be on top of things mentally, but then it can become a blur with disguised defenses and defenders trying to take your head off.
As for being in the “system longer,” I think it was pretty bad for Petty and Josh McCown to have to learn another new offense this year. So I don’t know if they are in as good a place mentally as if the Jets had kept Chan Gailey’s system.
I’m not saying Gailey’s system was the greatest. I’m just talking about constantly throwing new playbooks at young players.
Guys in places like Green Bay, New England and Pittsburgh have been in same system forever. That helps quarterbacks a great deal.
December 13, 2017
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