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It’s what it’s all about.
Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh seemingly have done a good job of improving the Jets roster this off-season. Douglas obviously has final say, but Saleh has tremendous input, and has a template for what he needs, on offense and defense, that the GM is adhering to. They have been aggressive in free agency and the draft trying to improve the Jets’ roster.
But the two most important move of them all was draft BYU QB Zach Wilson at #2, and trading QB Sam Darnold to Carolina for three draft picks.
Former Jets coach Herman Edwards (2001-2005) was asked on the Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden podcast about Saleh’s chances with the Jets.
“Well I think you guys know this. If you got a quarterback, you got a chance,” said Edwards. “You gotta have a quarterback. I was fortunate. We had Vinny [Testaverde] there my first year and then I had Chad Pennington sitting in the wings.
“It all starts with the quarterback, once you get that piece in place, you can build the rest of the team — because if you get the right one, you got a 10-year run. If you don’t have a quarterback guys, let me tell you something, that field is 150 yards long.”
This league is all about the quarterback. If you have an answer at the position, you have a chance, if you are substandard at that spot, you have virtually no chance, and leads to a lot of people getting fired.
The Jets think they have found their man in Wilson, who last year at BYU completed 73.% of his passes for 3,692 yards, with 33 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He’s got a great arm and is very bright.
And he seems to be good at reading defenses and going through his progressions, two areas the Jets must improve at the position. The days of locking on the first read need to be over.
Last season, Wilson generally went through his progressions quickly, and consistently made smart decisions with the football.
The biggest question about him is about the huge jump in competition. Last year he beat up on the likes of Troy, Western Kentucky, North Alabama and Texas State.
NFL defenses are way tougher than these kind of opponents, and the windows to throw into are much smaller. He was often throwing to wide open receivers.
If any of your saw BYU’s Boca Bowl win over Central Florida, you will know what I’m talking about. BYU targets were consistently wide open in that contest.
“A covered receiver in college is an open receiver in the NFL,” said Jets personnel executive Phil Savage, many years ago, before coming to the Jets.
In other words, you need to “throw guys open” as they say in the football world.
Something that should help Wilson is the innovative, cutting-edge Shanahan rushing offense that Jets OC Mike LaFleur has brought to Florham Park from San Francisco. Believe it our not, despite all the hype about this passing attack, it’s a run-first offense, and the running game sets up the pass. If the Jets can run the ball well, it should create layups in the passing game for Wilson, on bootlegs and play-action.
But the bottom line is, while the Jets seem to have a solid tag-team at GM and head coach, perhaps their best tandem in many years, and they seemed to add some very good talent this off-season, as Edwards said, it’s all about the quarterback.
May 20, 2021
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