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What would you do?
It’s so easy to hammer people with questions demanding immediate answers on what the Jets should do when Zach Wilson is healthy?
They want an easy answer to a challenging question.
What would the person asking the question do?
What they should have done was put Wilson on short-term IR. Why they didn’t I’m not sure? Was there a marketing aspect to that decision? He got hurt on October 24 in New England. They had upcoming home games on November 14 against Buffalo and then November 21 vs. Miami. Would putting him on IR have hurt ticket sales with so many fans clamoring to see the kid play? I have no idea, but remember, at the time of the decision, the Jets didn’t know how well Mike White would play.
But is it possible to just take a timeout on the QB controversy and just let Mike White play this Sunday and see what happens? Why is an immediate answer necessary? What would the people asking the questions do if they were in Robert Saleh’s shoes? This isn’t easy. Saleh had a philosophical answer on Monday about the situation after a bunch of questions about when Wilson would play:
“I’ve got a great appreciation for what Mike (White) is going through and I have a lot of respect for his opportunity, and I know you guys have a job to do and with regards to controversies and QB playing, I get it. But it would be really cool if you guys were able to take a moment and just kind of appreciate what Mike’s kind of going through as an individual quarterback and the opportunity that he’s been presented with and the heck of a job he’s done. Now does this mean anything for the future, I don’t know. I just know as it goes from day-to-day and game-to-game, I just think it’s really cool that Mike’s been able to take advantage of this opportunity and let’s just see how he does.”
Very well put. It’s pretty clear the Jets are leaning towards White starting on Sunday. As Saleh said, “see how he does” and then take it from there.
Let Wilson get back to 100 percent with his knee. What is the rush? Sitting and watching for a while could be good for him. Some would argue that perhaps he shouldn’t have started at the beginning of the season after coming out after his junior season, and playing a low level of competition last year.
Wilson has a huge upside, but you have seen the Jets’ offense function on a much higher level with White under center.
And the players have seen it also. You can’t fool the players, The film don’t lie. If you rush Wilson back in there, especially before he’s 100 percent, and he struggles, Saleh could lose some support in the locker room.
Also, if he rushed him back, and he struggles in either of the next two home games, the fans could turn on him and could devastate the kid.
Maybe, aiming for their game at Houston, on the road, if they are going to go back to him, should be the target game.
But if White keeps doing what’s done, there probably shouldn’t be a target game this season for Wilson to return as the starter. They should just keep riding the hot hand.
November 8, 2021
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