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Not saying he’s looking to mislead anyone.
He’s not. He’s just trying to help the media as best he can.
But not doubt, Robert Saleh is always a glass-half-full guy with injuries early in the week.
Will give you an example. Three Jets players got hurt against the Chicago Bears a couple of weeks ago – RB Michael Carter (ankle) safety Ashtyn Davis (hamstring) and right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi (groin).
“They all have a chance to make it [on Sunday], so that part is encouraging,” Saleh said.
None of them played against Minnesota. Carter and Davis were inactive and Ogbuehi was put on injured reserve.
Quinnen Williams left the Jets-Bills game with a calf injury, and never returned,
“What I got right now is day-to-day from the trainers,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “They feel like he’s got a chance to make it this week.”
Look, I have no idea with Williams is going to play this week, but the coach said the same thing about Carter, Davis and Ogbuehi, and one of the dudes actually landed on IR later that week.
Saleh is a very positive man, and that is a good thing in life, but you need to take his early-in-the-week injury reports with a grain of salt, and I’m sure he’d agree with that.
And I’ve covered the NFL a long time, and have covered a lot players who suffered calf injuries, and those can be pesky and linger.
Quinnen is tough and plays hurt all the time. We will see where this goes, but be careful hanging your hat on early week injury information.
That quote from Saleh was from Sunday, today, he said Williams is “50-50” for Sunday . . .
The Jets have no excuse this week. There is no way they should lose to the Detroit Lions. Don’t let the hype about the Lions fool you, they still aren’t great.
Headline – “Despite loss to Lions, Cousins turns in some of his best work this season.”
In a 34-23 to Detroit, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins was 31 of 41 for 425 yards and two touchdowns with his two best offensive linemen inactive – left tackle Christian Darrisaw and center Garrett Bradbury (who was excellent against the Jets).
This Lions’ defense is atrocious. Talent-wise, strategically, they aren’t good. There is no excuse for the Jets’ offense on Sunday – they should have a performance like the Chicago game.
No doubt the Lions are better on the offensive side of the ball, but people are putting Jared Goff in Canton based on a few games, are getting ahead of themselves. Yes they have weapons and a good line, but if you get some hits on Goff, he’s a different guy. His eye level drops. The Jets’ front seven should be able to get some hits on him. There are reasons Sean McVay moved on from him in Los Angeles after giving him a monster deal. Not the toughest QB, and not the best at reading defenses.
No excuse for the Jets to lose this game . . .
Is it possible to fix Zach Wilson’s mechanical issues in just three weeks? To reverse entrenched muscle memory issues that led to bad footwork in the heat of battle, seems like something that would take several months, not three weeks.
But when Robert Saleh was asked about who is going to be the backup this week with major questions about Joe Flacco, who seems to be at the end of the road, Saleh was asked about Wilson’s status:
“Zach’s fine, he’s been working hard for the last couple of weeks, he’s in a great mental head space, so he’s ready for whatever we ask out of him,” Saleh said.
If you are taking a step back with a young QB, who has major mechanical issues, and you want to fix that stuff in the right way, would it be the best move to put him out there, if White can’t go, or White gets hurt in the game?
If you are going to fix this stuff right, fix it right. I can assure you that three weeks isn’t enough time to fix a QB throwing off his back foot, and that wasn’t the only issue he was having before being replaced. Sal Paolantonio from the NFL Matchup Show, broke down a lot of film of the player.
“He was not only throwing off his back foot, he wasn’t following through,” Paolantonio said. “The feet were not guiding the football. His eyes were bad.”
So this is not going to be a quick fix.
“Obviously he’s been improving over the last couple of weeks, too, so Zach’s done his part,” Saleh said.
But the operative words are “last couple of weeks.” This fix is going to take a lot longer than that. Talk to any QB coach or OC on the planet.
December 12, 2022
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