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There are a lot reasons.
It’s not one thing. It’s a lot of things. Here are a few.
Perhaps the rookie QB wasn’t instant coffee, and should have sat for a while and learned. Same can be said of Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.
Some rookie quarterbacks are ready to start as rookies. They our outliers. Most aren’t. Hardest position in all of sports.
Tweeted this yesterday, and you’ve heard me say it before – “Said it before, and will say it again – going from playing Texas State, Western Kentucky and North Alabama one year, to the NFL the next, is a quantum leap, and very difficult.”
I took Texas-San Antonio out of this rant because they are are 4-0 this year, but the Roadrunners were also on the schedule for Zach Wilson last year.
Perhaps you sit him for a while behind Mike White, who looked really good for the second summer in a row. This guy is very underrated. Don’t listen to the elitists who are too cool to admit the guy is pretty good. He outplayed Sam Darnold in camp in 2020, and then Wilson this summer.
Or at the very least, if you don’t start White to begin the season until Wilson is ready, why can’t you pull Wilson after throwing four picks in a little over two quarters against New England, let White finish the game? Because when you leave in a rookie QB who threw four picks in a winnable game, what message are you sending to the rest the players about accountability?
So one problem is starting Wilson to quickly.
Another problem is having a rookie offensive coordinator with a rookie QB.
And people can blame the Jets’ offensive line all they want, but the QB needs to get rid of the ball quicker. Don’t ask me, ask Greg Van Roten, who said that after the game, in a very diplomatic fashion, not coming across as he was criticizing the rookie, but making his point.
The great quarterbacks are dropping back, and in like three seconds, boom, the ball is out. Wilson is holding the ball too long. Why? Because the windows to throw into against New England and Denver are much smaller than Texas State, North Alabama and Western Kentucky.
I watched the Boca Raton Bowl last college season where BYU beat UCF, and could not believe how consistently wide open the Cougar wide receivers and tight ends were against the Golden Knights. It was a like a 7-on-7 practice drills.
Defensively, a big problem is pretty simple – their defensive line is very good, but in back of them, there are a lot of issues, a lot of inexperience, and a lot of mistakes being made.
Another issue is the linebackers are too small and they are getting steamrolled too often in the running game. And guess who is coming to town this week – the Titans and 247-pound running back Derrick Henry. Good luck with that. Saw Henry run over a really good linebacker, the Colts Darius Leonard, on a play in the Titans win over the Colts yesterday. Leonard is 230. Jets have some linebackers smaller than that.
Saw a Jets linebacker on a Denver run for nine-yards yesterday, turn his back on the blocker, and get taken out of the play. Fundamental error. You don’t turn your back when taking on blockers.
September 26, 2021
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