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Cook, a great young man who is working his tail off, is a little over his skis right now, and that contributed to some of the eight sacks.
Here is a perfect example:
Late in the third quarter, tight end Jeremy Ruckert was lined up on the left edge. He chipped CB Aliontae Taylor, and then sat down in the short left flat. Ruckert was clearly a hot read that the QB didn’t see. Ruckert is a smart guy. Do you think he chipped Taylor, and then stopped blocking the corner with the intent of allowing him a free shot at the QB?
No, Cook should have turned his lead left and dumped it to Ruckert, who would have probably had a nice chunk run and catch on the left side.
At other times, Cook left his natural pocket, moving around, and offensive linemen don’t have eyes in the back of their heads. They are blocking for a natural pocket.
Look, some sacks were the fault of the offensive linemen. Two examples.
Late in the first half, Joe Tippmann was beaten by DT Brian Bresee, who disrupted the pocket, and Cook stepped up, but was sacked by DE Cam Jordan.
In the fourth quarter, DT Nathan Shepherd beat center Josh Myers for a sack, and the QB fumbled, recovered by the Saints. Late in the game, DE Chase Young beat Olu Fashanu for a sack.
But most of the other sacks have a story that goes beyond simply an offensive lineman getting beat.
So many of Cook’s completions were short passes – easy throws, and this continued for the most part, even when the Jets had a two-score deficit to overcome.
The guy sitting next to me in the press box pointed out that all the throws were sideways and nothing over the middle of the field.
Two of Cook’s longest throws were short passes to Isaiah Davis that the running back took for nice gains.
In the second quarter, Cook threw to Davis on the short right side, who took it for a gain of 25. He took a fake handoff and snuck out there.
Early fourth quarter, Cook had a swing pass left to Davis for a gain of 17.
On the Jets’ first offensive possession of the game, Cook threw a bubble screen to Isaiah Williams on the right side for a 12-yard gain.
So, most of the game it was check-down city.
Jets OC Tanner Engstrand dialed up a lot of bootleg passes to the right side, and they didn’t work because the Saints were expecting that call for a rookie QB, because it cuts the field in half, and makes it easy for QB. It seemed like nobody was open every time this play was dialed up.
Cook at two passes tipped at the line.
He had back-to-back series with a fumble and an interception.
The Jets had two scoring drives, both resulting in field goals. The first came off great field position following a turnover, and the drive was kind of non-descript. After a Jets fumble recovery on the New Orleans 37, the Jets had an 8-play, 26-yard drive resulting in a field goal.
The Jets’ second field goal was set up by two things: that 25-yard catch and run by Davis, and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Taylor. That was basically all that happened on this drive to advance the ball.
Another possession that should have resulted in a field goal in the second quarter was stalled. After a failed fourth-and-one attempt by New Orleans on the Saints’ 45, the Jets had great field position, but the drive went backwards, and they ended up punting.
Cook’s only real pass of any significance to a WR was in the fourth quarter, fourth-and-13, down 22-6, he completed a 26-yard deep out to Adonai Mitchell.
But the Jets’ offense overall in the game, under the guidance of Cook, was inconsistent and unproductive.
Look, I’m not looking to beat up on the kid, but like I have written many times, I’m not grading rookies on a curve.
This is the NFL, not NFL Europe. This is not a developmental league.
Not sure why the Jets looked at him so different than most other team’s scouting departments. Who saw the Cook we watched at Missouri as a player and thought he was a candidate to start NFL games as a rookie, under any circumstances?
Why was the deck stacked against the more experienced Adrian Martinez, the former UFL MVP for what it’s worth, for the #3 QB position, in camp? Perhaps confirmation bias.
I have no issue with Cook being on the practice squad, or in the off-season spring and summer camps as a developmental prospect, but to have him in the #3 hole as a rookie, not sure about that thought process . . .
December 25, 2025
