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Perhaps it’s not the best approach, or maybe it is . . .
A Zach Wilson quote from Thursday has garnered a lot of attention.
And while I was there when he said it, I’ve read over the transcript several times to see what elicited this response, which has caused quite a stir.
The lightning rod quote from Wilson I’m referring it is – “I still believe that nobody outside of this building knows what they’re talking about.”
Now I’m going to provide you with the question and his full answer:
Tom Rock, Newsday: Zach, you were pretty emotional when you came off the field against them a couple of weeks ago. How do you put those emotions, keep those emotions out of the way this game?
Wilson: Right, I thought they were good emotions. I mean I was frustrated and I still believe nobody outside of this building knows what they’re talking about.
I’m a little confused by how the second sentence in the answer related to the question. Where did that come from? Perhaps it was something he wanted to get off his chest and just decided to drop it in there.
Look, Wilson had a rough game against New England with three picks. That is a fact. If you point out that those picks were a bad thing and hurt the team’s chances of winning, does that put you in the category of somebody that doesn’t “know what they’re talking about?”
Look, everyone has bad games, and this was one for him. Nobody is going to be perfect, but if you point out that he was reckless with the ball in that game, it doesn’t mean you lack football knowledge.
But I can tell you, from a lot of experience, picking a fight with the New York media, sometimes isn’t the best thing to do, because it can turn up the heat, and intensify the spotlight.
Of course he should ignore the outside noise, and focus on what his coaches are telling him. He’s right about that.
However, some might view that quote from the 23-year-old QB as something you might want to stay away from . . .
Jets guard Nate Herbig is old-school. He practiced with a shin injury today that kept him out of practice Wednesday and Thursday. He was clearly hobbling, but he’s one of those guys who will do anything in his power to be out there.
I’m seeing a seachange around the league with injuries. Some players and their agents are keeping guys out longer than in the past.
There is a prominent defensive end and a prominent cornerback who both hurt their ACLs last November, and neither is back yet. That is usually a 6-9 month injury.
There are other head-scratching situations like this around the league.
Perhaps with a lot of players wired differently than in the old days, they, and their agents, are taking a different approach with injuries, and using their leverage to say, “He’s not ready.”
There is really nothing a team can do about that.
Look at Jets linebacker Quincy Williams. The guy came back after three weeks from a severe high ankle sprain. Duane Brown is playing with his left shoulder strapped in. This is football. You better load up on guys like this.
I’ve been covering the NFL for over a quarter century, and what is going on the last couple of years on the injury front is a departure from the past.
I guess everything in the country and world has changed in the last couple of years . . .
It should come as no surprise that Corey Davis isn’t playing this week.
When you cover teams, you often see a pattern with how injured players are handled. Usually with the Jets, when an injured player is on a side field, working with trainers Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, on physical therapy, they rarely play, and that was how Davis was handled this week.
In the case of Herbig, he was on that same field Wednesday and Thursday, but practiced today.
You almost never see a player on the rehab field for all three days of practice who plays on Sunday . . .
The Jets dominated the Patriots’ interior offensive line in the first meeting, and one of the players they got the better of, was undersized backup center James Ferentz, the son of the Iowa coach. Well, this time around, the Patriots have their starting center David Andrews back, which will present more of a challenge for Gang Green, especially with DT Sheldon Rankins out . . .
November 18, 2022
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