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It was foolish narrative
and it added pressure to Zach Wilson upon his return from missing a month with a knee injury.
There was a narrative being pushed all over the place about extra pressure on Wilson to keep the Jets’ hot offense rolling.
The premise being that they were playing very well on offense during his absence, and he needed to make sure it didn’t dip up upon his return.
There were two issues with this narrative. First of all, it was very insulting Wilson, basically implying that the offense sucked when he was in there and was much better with Mike White, Josh Johnson and Joe Flacco.
The second issue with this narrative, and it kind of connects to the first issue with it, is the narrative blew out of proportion the performance of the Jets’ offense during Wilson’s absence.
Yes, White’s performance in a win over Cincinnati was superb, completing 37 passes for 405 yards and 3 TDs. His 37 completions are the most by a QB in their 1st start. Also became the 2nd QB since 1950 to throw for 400+ yards in debut.
But aside from that, Johnson put up some numbers in garbage time in a blowout against the Colts, and Flacco was pedestrian in a loss to Miami, with one big highlight play, a 62-yard TD pass to Elijah Moore.
So all we are really talking about was White’s historic performance against Cincinnati, which clearly didn’t mean that much to the decision-makers, who benched him for Flacco a couple of weeks later, after a bad game against the NFL’s #1 defense.
Okay, so spare me with this nonsense about Wilson needing to keep the high standards the offense set when he was away. It was one game, from a guy who has since been benched.
None only was this narrative unfair to Wilson, but a tad obnoxious. It was pushed all over the place in this copycat world.
And probably messed with Wilson’s head, like he needed more things to ruminate about.
Look, it’s not the media’s job to worry about Wilson’s head. I get that. They don’t work for the Jets. But to act like the Jets were an offensive juggernaut when he was out, is a little ridiculous. Like I said, there was one really good game.
Wilson’s big problem right now is he’s clearly not comfortable in the pocket. He too often wants to get out of there and play street-yard ball, and point to people on where to go, and it’s not because his offensive line is struggling. It’s not. They are actually playing very well. He’s just not trusting his eyes right now reading defenses, and also has too many QB coaches/consultants whispering in his ear . . .
The trade for guard Larry Durvernay-Tardif is looking like a good one. He played very well against Houston, and has upgraded the size at right guard for the Jets. Greg Van Roten is a good player, but can have issues at times due to his size. It’s not his fault. It is what is it. But “LDT” at 6-5, 321 has been a nice addition. You might wonder why I called him “Larry” when his name is Laurent. “Larry” is what everyone calls him . . .
John Franklin-Myers, who dominated Houston Texans right tackle Charlie Heck, will now face perhaps the best right tackle in football in Lane Johnson. Much more of a challenge this week for JFM . . .
No excuse for the inconsistency of kicker Matt Ammedola, but the revolving door at holder hasn’t helped from Braden Mann to Thomas Morstead back to Mann.
And you wonder if Mann was rushed back a little too soon. Jay Feely, a former NFL kicker, who did the Jets-Houston game for CBS, says Mann hasn’t punted very well since coming back from a knee injury in Week 10. He’s wearing a knee brace on his injured knee and maybe it’s impacting his punting . . .
November 29, 2021
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