Jets Coaches Must Teach Wilson That Boring Is Sometimes Better
“It’s ok to play a boring brand of football.”
In one phrase, Jets head coach Robert Saleh summed up all that went wrong with his rookie quarterback Zach Wilson in Sunday’s 25-6 thrashing at the hands of the hated Patriots in Gang Green’s home opener on Sunday.
It also was the difference between the performances of Wilson, the Jets No. 2 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, and his New England counterpart, fellow rookie Mac Jones, who was chosen 13 picks later. Whereas Jones graciously took what the Jets defense gave him, Wilson too often let his ambition get in the way of sound football.
Unlike a certain prior QB who now seems to be flourishing in Carolina (give it time), Wilson wasn’t seeing ghosts in New England’s secondary. No, his four interceptions were all self-inflicted, be it horrific decisions or inaccurate throws into the Patriots’ man/zone combination coverages.
All four picks were on passes that travelled further than 10 yards downfield. While I don’t have the stats from ProFootballFocus.com as of this writing, I can only recall two such attempts from Jones all afternoon—a nicely-done 24-yarder to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers down the left sideline away from the reach of Jets diminutive cornerback Javelin Guidry in the second quarter and a seam pass to wide open tight end Hunter Henry that went for 32 yards late in the third quarter. Jones dinked-and-dunked his way for the rest of his 22-of-30, 186-yard passing day.
On the other hand, there appeared to be several occasions where Wilson chose to push the ball further downfield and got burned when a checkdown was available, seemingly locking in on wide receiver Cory Davis on the first two interceptions (even though the latter one was possibly catchable, it was still a high throw with Elijah Moore open underneath).
The question, then, is how much faith do you have in this Jets coaching staff to get this fixed? While we’ll have to wait a couple of years to get the definitive answer, fans of this franchise can be forgiven if they don’t have much.
Saleh and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur are also NFL rookies at their respective positions, with LaFleur taking on play-calling duties for the first time since he worked at Davidson College, an FCS program, in 2013, according to the New York Post.
Funny, one of my few concerns when the Jets opted to go back to hiring another defensive-oriented head coach in Saleh to replace Adam Gase in January was that any success this season from a previously-deplorable offense would hasten the poaching of his O.C. I’m not all too worried about it now, even if it’s been only two games.
The early returns from LaFleur have not been good. His top priority has to be the development of the organization’s prized asset, yet whether it’s scheming to get receivers open or simply keeping Wilson upright, much is amiss.
Good thing the Jets dressed Jeff Smith and Keelan Cole instead of Denzel Mims on Sunday, huh? Until Smith’s meaningless 35-yard reception with a minute to go, you wouldn’t have known either was active for the game. Moore, who was a tremendous slot receiver at Ole Miss, is being forced into playing on the outside even with Jamison Crowder sidelined with a groin injury. And as for all those snaps where the Jets wasted TWO skill positions on tight ends/fullbacks who aren’t threats in the passing game, I think the play that epitomizes how I view those formations was when tight end Ryan Griffin was called for offensive pass interference…on a route where he was STILL tightly covered.
I also found it hilarious that the media was heaping some praise on the Jets offensive line in the postgame interviews. I guess that any progress from Week 1’s abomination in Carolina should be noted, particularly in the run game (31 carries for 152 yards). However, Sunday’s second-half pass protection was brutal, with guard Greg Van Roten whiffing on a couple of key blocks.
A prescient friend had an interesting take on Wilson’s pro debut, where much had been made of his toughness in the face of intense Carolina pressure. My friend referred me to Peyton Manning, where the Colts supposedly set up his rookie season to minimize the beatings, even if it yielded a heavy turnover load. You can look it up; Indianapolis surrendered an ungodly 62 sacks in 1997 and, after drafting Manning the next offseason but returning four of the five starters on their offensive line, then managed to reduce that number to 22 in 1998.
Manning’s 28 interceptions as a rookie weren’t ideal, but the Colts were more interested in having Manning get used to the speed of the pro game by having him get the ball out of his hands quickly before the rush swarmed in. That way, Manning was able to learn from his mistakes without feeling the aftershocks from weekly pummelings.
The Jets are getting the worst of both worlds. Which would you prefer: Sunday’s first half where Wilson was picked off three times but was kept clean (1 QB hit), or the second half where the Pats sacked him three times among 6 QB hits after the fourth interception early in the third quarter? Before you answer, understand that it’s doubtful that Wilson makes it through a season where he’s absorbing so many blows.
I’m not saying that Wilson has the potential to be the next Manning. He’s a different type of player with a different skillset. The point is that the Jets coaching staff has to help him more than they have. Wilson has mobility and moxie to make plays off schedule, but right now it’s more important that he learns to get balls out rather than expose himself to harm. He isn’t playing BYU’s schedule any more.
Better to be boring than to follow the path out of town paved by Sam Darnold.