A heaping helping of Jets-Bears Whispers

My concern the other day

about guard Nate Herbig perhaps having an issue playing on his bad shin was unfounded. He played very well today . . .

Chiefs WR Byron Pringle beat Jets CB D.J. Reed for a four-yard TD catch in the second quarter. Reed actually had very good coverage on the play, but QB Trevor Siemian “threw him open” and he made a great catch with the CB in tight coverage.

Ironic twist to this – Pringle and Reed were teammates at Kansas State . . .

One factor that made Bam Knight so successful today, aside from his obvious talent, and rugged style, were his fresh legs against a beat-up Bears defense. Think about it. He hasn’t carried the ball once this season, and Bears defense was in their 12th game.

Really smart decision by Robert Saleh unleashing the Knight in this game. Knight said the Saleh even mentioned the “fresh legs” angle in a team meeting.

Good call by the coach. Knight finished with 14 carries for 69 yards . . .

Big week for Jets rookie defensive end Jermaine Johnson who is from Minnesota. I asked him if he was going to have to buy a lot of tickets for the game, and he said the tickets available are in a really bad section, so a lot of friends and family are going to have a watch party somewhere in town instead . . .

One of the most impressive things about Laken Tomlinsin, aside from being a skilled blocker, is his durability. The dude has missed just one game in his eight year career, in San Francisco, in 2017.

So when he was off the field today on one series, replaced by Dan Feeney, it was surprising. He did come back after two plays on the sideline.

What happened?

His shoe came off . . .

One of the most impressive things about what Mike White and the Jets’ passing offense’s big day today was it was raining the entire game.

So for White to do 22-28 for 315 yards and three touchdowns, with a 149.8 QB rating, in a driving rain, made what they did even more noteworthy.

I know these are pro athletes, and they expected to get the job done no matter what the conditions, but it wasn’t an ideal passing day, and you saw how slick the ball could be when Braden Mann couldn’t hold on to a snap on a field goal attempt that went awry . . .

A couple of days before the game, Robert Saleh talked to the league’s network about the decision to sit Zach Wilson for a while.

“There’s an accuracy issue,” Saleh said. “He’s overthrowing wide open guys. It’s not about decision-making and ability. He’s making the right reads.”

There is no doubt there is an accuracy issue, some related to throwing off his back foot too much. That is well-documented.

And I’m not looking to kick Wilson when he’s down, but you could argue that Wilson did have some issues with decision-making and reads as well.

Like those two picks by safety Devin McCourty, in the first New England game, were bad decisions.

One of the reasons Mike White is the better option for the Jets right now at QB, over Wilson, is his decision-making and how smoothly he goes through his progressions. You saw White’s field vision and solid decision-making on display throughout the Jets’ 31-10 win over the Bears.

So we understand Saleh is trying to be nice, and not pile on Wilson, but the issues he needs to work on go beyond accuracy. Wilson tends to lock on his first read, and White is really good going through his progression . . .

Anybody that didn’t see White consistently look good in practice the last couple of years, just wasn’t paying very close attention or just didn’t want to see it.

I’m not going to name names, but I can’t tell you how many times I would praise him and was gaslit by others in the media.

I’m not putting White in Canton, but the guy has a lot of ability.

I did an interview with NBC Sports Chicago a few days before this game, and said how foolish QB-needy teams were last off-season, not making this guy an offer, and letting him come in and compete for the starting QB job. The Jets put a low tender on White, and not one team took a flyer. Ridiculous. And you wonder why so many teams have bad QB situations. The scouting of his position just isn’t very good . . .

November 27, 2022

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