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How is the re-boot going? . . .
Talking about Zach Wilson.
This was an important off-season for the QB, to get fixed mentally and physically, after a rough first two years in the league.
“It’s about him and him getting his mind right, and getting his mental and physical parts right and I think he’ll do that,” Robert Saleh said on January 9. “He’s a good kid, works hard, he understands what the main thing is, and he’s young, he’s only 23 years old, he’s trying to figure all of this out just like I am, but right now it’s about him and him only, and then whatever happens from there, we’ll go from there.”
When Wilson was pulled from the lineup in late November, Saleh said, “There’s an accuracy issue. He’s overthrowing wide-open guys. It’s not about decision-making and ability. He’s making the right reads. It’s more about fundamentals and footwork.”
So how did the first part of the re-boot, the off-season program, for Wilson?
QB coach Rob Calabrese said: “Maybe he’s playing a little more freely. That is what we want from him, playing more freely within the system. Through 10 OTA practices, we think he has shown that and that is growth.”
It’s an interesting quote, and I will tell you why.
He could have played more freely in the OTAs and that would be a positive development, since he was too rigid and concerned with making mistakes last year, and it cramped his style.
However, as we all know, the QB wears a red jersey in the spring. You can’t touch them. And obviously, there is no tackling. It’s flag football.
Saleh was asked about how tight end Jeremy Ruckert looked in OTAs, and said, “You know, I never want to put too much stock in OTAs because I’ve found a bunch of bobbleheads running around with helmets on, no pads.”
It should be pointed out that he went on to say some nice things about Ruckert, but the quote above points out the need to grade on a curve in the spring.
The problem with evaluating quarterbacks in the spring is you can’t touch them, so they really don’t have to deal with what football people call, “dirty pockets.”
In other words, with opposing defenders trying to pressure them and hit them, and often even when the quarterback is still able to get the pass off, with opponents swarming around them, it can really mess up their mechanics.
And when that happens, while they worked really hard in the off-season or non-contact practices on fixing footwork and mechanics, in a “dirty pocket,’ with the chaos around them. In “dirty pockets,” their muscle memory can revert back to old bad habits.
I don’t mean to be politically incorrect, but I’m using this old saying just to make the point. What will Wilson do, “When the real bullets are flying.”
Young quarterbacks often work very hard in the team’s off-season program, and with private QB tutors when away from the team in the off-season. And that is great, but it’s not with defenders trying to take their heads off.
So the true test of Wilson’s progress will be in preseason games. Yes, it’s often against vanilla defenses and loaded with backups, but it’s real football.
Let’s see how he does at that point to get a better feel for how his re-boot is going.
June 16, 2023
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