The bye week question: How do the New York Jets and Zach Wilson right the ship?
Well, it’s back to the drawing board.
Just one week after shocking the Tennessee Titans, 27-24 in overtime, the New York Jets are using the bye week to figure out what went wrong overseas.
New York’s disappointing 27-20 loss to the then-1-win Atlanta Falcons wasn’t that much of a contest—despite the one-possession final score. Yet again, Zach Wilson and the offense started slowly, while Robert Saleh’s defense came up small in big spots—specifically the Falcons’ fourth-quarter touchdown drive that stretched the lead to 10 points.
Click the play button on the YouTube video above to catch the Blewett's Blitz live stream over on YouTube, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, at 6 p.m. ET.
The big questions in Jets land this week are as follows:
- Exactly how on-point is LaFleur, as he navigates his rookie offensive coordinator season?
- What in the world is going on with the Jets’ new face of the franchise?
In terms of pass protection, LaFleur’s offense performed more than fine in London. Rookie Alijah Vera-Tucker is starting to put it all together, while the rest of the line did its job when asked to stand up.
On the ground, while rookie Michael Carter continues to gain steam, the offensive line still has work to do. Can LaFleur put together a game that features an impressive rushing output?
In any event, the Falcons game made one thing extremely evident: Zach Wilson is currently in his own head.
Wilson’s uneven day showcases inaccuracies that do not reflect his actual skill set. Instead, it’s as if he’s allowed his mind to alter the way he functions on the field while things are live.
Wilson’s mind is moving at 200 miles per hour in an already extraordinarily fast environment. Consequently, his mechanics have progressed in a negative fashion that’s causing him to flat-out fail when the simplest of tasks are required of him (see the missed play-action bubble screen to Jamison Crowder that could have gone for six points).
How the Jets rectify things is what matters this week, and Blewett’s Blitz Live is back to sort through the current mess. The multi-hour YouTube live stream gets going at 6 p.m. ET (available at the top of this article by clicking on the play button).
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Thought Joe nailed the real problem with Wilson, the footwork. But as always the conversation moves to sharing the blame. Thats a dead end. Bad fundamentals and mechanics are the cancer. Accuracy, timing, overthinking, bad decisions, etc. are the symptoms. Its not more complected than that and its all fixable or maybe its not. Depends on the player. Heres my question. How was he the #2 pick? Hes a project.