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It was quite a pivot.
It went from a possibility that Zach Wilson could play in Week One against Baltimore, which was brought up on Monday, to Wilson now being out the first three games for sure.
That is quite a swing – maybe available Sunday to being out three weeks.
As we mentioned yesterday, part of this was obviously gamesmanship. Joe Flacco and Wilson have entirely different skill sets to prepare for. Tuesday is the day NFL teams do the heavy lifting on the game plan preparation for Sunday. By making Baltimore think Wilson could start Sunday, it made the Ravens prepare for both Flacco and Wilson.
How much the Ravens truly believed the decision wasn’t made yet, only they could say.
Flacco said following the Jets’ third preseason game, when asked if he expected to start the regular season opener, he said “yes.”
He didn’t hesitate much.
So perhaps this wasn’t the best-kept secret, but teams need to still do their due diligence on both players, because you just never know, who might end up playing, You probably need to do a little work on Mike White, in case there is an injury in the game.
Remember last year after the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Jets 33-18 behind QB Gardner Minshew, and CB Bryce Hall said after the Jets did not prepare for Minshew, only for Jalen Hurts, but the Eagles ended up sitting Hurts due an ankle injury, some thought he might play with.
So you gotta prepare for everything.
You’ve got to challenge your opponents preparation as much as possible, and keep in mind, the Ravens claimed linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips off waivers from the Jets last week. He was with Gang Green last season, and then the entire off-season and summer. He is going to provide a lot of great insight to the Ravens coaches about the Jets schemes, and the three quarterbacks he faced every day in practice.
So you gotta play the gamesmanship game – the Ravens are certainly doing that with Phillips.
So it’s going to be Flacco the first three games, and perhaps past that if the Jets offense is playing well under his guidance.
Flacco threw the ball well in camp, and doesn’t seem to have lost any speed off his fastball.
As for the preseason, his appearance with the Jets starters, against the Giants second-team, didn’t go that great, including throwing a Pick Six to linebacker Austin Calitro, but a couple of things need to be pointed out. First of all, the Jets initial drive was going well, with Flacco leading them down field, and had gone 10 plays, 46 yards, but then RB Michael Carter fumbled and the Giants recovered. Also it was the first game the starting offensive line played together, and not only that, new left tackle Duane Brown had hardly practiced with the Jets before this game action.
So I wouldn’t judge Flacco too much by this game. I think he’s going to be fine. Not elite, but fine. You can still win games with this guy. He’s really calm and cool in the pocket, and goes through is progressions smoothly, and at 6-6, he’s an excellent sightline thrower. That means he can actually see over the line, which most quarterbacks can’t do, and instead have to see things threw gaps on the line to make throws, which can be challenging at times. Flacco, can actually see over the line and make excellent sightline throws.
September 7, 2022
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