There is only so long that one can ignore their eyes
The National Football League can be divided into two categories: teams that have their franchise quarterback and teams that are searching for one.
To be consigned to the latter is often the depths of NFL purgatory; the endless cycle of draft QB, sit him or start him, hope he’s the answer, give it a few years, replace him with a bridge quarterback, then rinse and repeat.
This cycle has several variations, including “draft a guy, have him get off to a hot start and think he’s the answer, then have it all come crashing down” (Eagles), “trade for a so-called star quarterback and have him implode” (Broncos), “get stuck in the cells of somewhere-above-mediocrity” (Vikings), and others.
Unfortunately, the New York Jets have been stuck in this cycle for over half a century, with few pockets of stability. Richard Todd, Ken O’Brien, and Chad Pennington have had more-than-short tenures as the Jets’ so-called “franchise” quarterback, but none was ever good enough to have staying power as anything more than steady. Vinny Testaverde had a too-brief period of career resurgence before blowing out his knee.
Then there are the draft picks. Oh, the draft picks! Following Joe Namath, the Jets have drafted every manner of quarterback imaginable. Todd is best remembered for his three-pick debacle in the Mud Bowl. O’Brien, whose career was not bad, will forever be remembered for who he was not: Dan Marino, the guy the Jets could have gotten. Browning Nagle came and went. Pennington could have been something more if not for persistent injuries, but he’s probably been the best of the bunch.
In this millennium, besides Pennington, the Jets have drafted three other quarterbacks in the first round and another three in the second. Mark Sanchez was the headliner, preceded by Kellen Clemens and followed a few years later by Geno Smith, then Christian Hackenberg (who really doesn’t deserve a mention), and then Sam Darnold.
The star of the show, though, was supposed to be Zach Wilson. He was going to be the savior.
Never have the Jets had a quarterback with the raw physical traits that Wilson has. His arm had scouts salivating; his ability to flick his wrist and toss the ball 50 yards in the air from any arm angle was tantalizing, reminding teams of Patrick Mahomes.
Then Wilson actually saw the field. In 2021, the Jets’ signal-caller endured one of the worst rookie seasons by a quarterback in NFL history. Give him time, said the supporters. He has no team around him. He looked better towards the end of the season when he didn’t turn the ball over.
2022 became the Year of the Zach. The most crucial question for this season was whether Zach Wilson could be the Jets’ franchise quarterback. How to answer that question? Not by seeing Wilson ascend to stardom in Year 2, although that would have been wonderful. No, all we needed to see from him was competent quarterback play. Play like Jimmy Garoppolo with the occasional splash play thrown in. Keep it safe, take the plays that are there, don’t put the ball in harm’s way, and run the offense.
It’s safe to say now that the question has been answered. At some point, when a person must twist themselves into a pretzel and do mental gyrations just to find the slimmest ray of optimism, they need to step back into their intellectually honest side and remove the wishful fan or ardent supporter rose-colored glasses.
Zach Wilson is not the answer for the New York Jets at quarterback.
He is certainly not the answer for 2023, when the Jets should have a roster otherwise ready to compete for a championship with the return of their young stars and likely the augmentation of some other pieces.
He may not even be the answer for 2022. It may have reached that point.
True, the Jets do not have any other quarterback who truly deserves to see snaps. To turn the offense over to Mike White would essentially be an admission of defeat. To return to Joe Flacco would be laughing in the face of most Jets fans and analysts from the first three weeks of the season. To go to Chris Streveler would be fun, but it’s not something the Jets will ever realistically do.
However, we saw far more than just a quarterback who struggled against the Patriots: we saw a quarterback who completely lost the backing of his teammates.
Zach Wilson stood at the podium and was asked point-blank if he feels that he let his defense down. Ordinarily, after such a poor offensive performance behind a sterling defense showing, various offensive players will take the initiative in blaming themselves for the failures. Just two weeks ago, Josh Allen used an expletive to refer to the way he played against the Jets and said that it’s difficult to win when your quarterback plays like that.
I’ve covered #NFL QBs for more than 35 years and listened to them take blame for things that WEREN’T their fault to protect teammates. @7BOOMERESIASON was a master at that, always protecting his guys #Jets #accountability #ZachWilson
— NYPost_Cannizzaro (@MarkCannizzaro) November 21, 2022
Here, Wilson did not offer it up, but the question was dropped in his lap. There was only one correct answer: “Yes.” The defense played their heart and soul off against New England, missed tackles notwithstanding. They did not allow the Patriots to get into the end zone, and the defensive line ate the Patriots’ lunch.
Instead, Zach quickly responded, “No.”
.@Connor_J_Hughes: "Do you feel like you let the defense down at all?"
Zach Wilson: "No." pic.twitter.com/tiJiTSrFPE
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) November 20, 2022
Instead of referring to his own responsibility, he used collective terms in referring to the offensive futility. This may have been a concerted 180-degree turn from the angry, edgy Wilson who faced the media after his three-interception debacle in the first New England defeat, but it was certainly still a defiant Zach.
Second-and-9 from the NE 24. Check out Denzel Mims (11) at the bottom of the screen — wide open on the post, raising his arm. Zach Wilson doesn’t see him and scrambles for 6. @NextGenStats #Jets pic.twitter.com/Rjqa3N7DFQ
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) November 21, 2022
However, the only way a player can make a poor performance worse is to refuse to take accountability. It has been reported that many in the Jets’ locker room were unhappy with Wilson’s response, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.
Hearing this morning there’s a lot of raw feelings among #Jets defensive players. Clearly, Zach Wilson’s post-game accountability (or lack thereof) didn’t sit well.
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) November 21, 2022
Garrett Wilson did his best to indicate that his frustration was self-directed, but if you read between the lines, it’s clear that he knows what’s going on. He reacted angrily to a pass that did not go his way when he was open on a slant. Other Jets’ pass-catchers were more subtle, such as Elijah Moore and Tyler Conklin when Wilson missed them wide open on several throws. (Denzel Mims also made an angry gesture, but we’ll ignore that one because Mims has no business blaming someone else for making mistakes.)
Josh Allen after the loss to the Jets.. “ I put that on me. I let the team down… as a QB you can’t play like shit”
Zach Wilson after the loss to the Patriots.. do you feel like you held back the Defense… “No”
— J. Gray (@JGrayJets) November 20, 2022
John Franklin-Myers and Sauce Gardner liked the above tweet referring to Josh Allen’s accountability in comparison to Wilson’s deflection of responsibility. Justin Hardee blamed himself as the special teams captain. Other players tried to cover the tracks and talk about their own roles in the defeat— exactly what the QB was unwilling to do.
"Sources inside the Jets’ losing locker room told SNY that Zach Wilson was walking around after the game “like he isn’t the problem.”
It rubbed more than a few the wrong way, frustrating several others." (via @Connor_J_Hughes) https://t.co/mhgvtofG6g pic.twitter.com/NOuRLxll42
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) November 21, 2022
But it was telling that when asked if the quarterback held back the offense against the Patriots, Robert Saleh responded, “I don’t know.” That’s the closest Saleh has ever come to blaming Wilson. Before this, when Zach has struggled this season, Saleh went out of his way to defend his QB, calling him a “young pup” and saying that they have to put him in better situations to succeed. He did still say that in his postgame press conference, but the tone was different.
Although Saleh claims that a quarterback change is the farthest thing from his mind, it darn well should not be. It’s hard to imagine that Bill Belichick would have left Mac Jones in the game in a similar situation.
Speaking of Mac Jones, this game is even harder to stomach when comparing Wilson’s performance with the Patriots QB’s. Jones had been struggling mightily this season, but he played a strong game overall, while Wilson blamed the wind for his futility.
So Mac Jones’s noodle arm was able to throw for 9.1 yards per attempt (often aided by YAC and poor tackling by the Jets, but nevertheless), while Zach Wilson’s cannon managed 3.5 YPA and two yards of total offense in the second half?
“I think you have to take into account it's windy as hell out there too, guys,” Zach Wilson said after the #Jets loss.
Noodle-armed Mac Jones, with far less talent around him, completed 23 of 27 passes (85.2 percent) for 246 yards in the same conditions.
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) November 21, 2022
Something does not add up here, and it’s easy to see what it is.
Wow. 9 completions the entire game and 10 punts. You have let Defense down. https://t.co/lYLXjk7pL6
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) November 20, 2022
If you want to make excuses for Wilson, you sure can in this game, just like in every other. Rarely is one player or individual solely responsible for the outcome of a game.
However, there is no game in Wilson’s career that sits more firmly on his shoulders than this one, and that includes his previous three-interception showing and the four-pick output last season.
Mike LaFleur’s play-calling was disastrous in this game… but that had largely to do with the fact that he could not trust his quarterback to throw the ball one yard down the field. Watch the broadcast views—forget about the All-22 film—and you can see how many wide-open receivers Wilson missed once more.
Watch this reel of Wilson’s plays in the game.
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) November 21, 2022
You can blame LaFleur all you want, but ultimately, if Wilson made the easy throws, the Jets would have won this game handily.
Consider this tweet by ESPN’s Rich Cimini:
Wilson went 4-of-9 to targets with 3+ yards of separation, per @NextGenStats. Trey Lance in a rainy Week 1 game is the only other starter to complete under 50% of those attempts in a game. #Jets
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) November 21, 2022
Three yards of separation is wide open in any league. If you can’t hit your receiver when he’s three yards open, you’re not an NFL QB. The only other QB below 50% on such throws in a single game this season? Trey Lance in the mud and sludge against the Bears.
Not only did Wilson throw an easy INT here but Conklin was WIDE open. This has to be at least 5 yards of separation. And Wilson airmails the hell out of it.
Wasted opportunity + gift-wrapped turnover all in one
Guys were open in this game. A lot. pic.twitter.com/cHUwkPbVaN
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) November 21, 2022
Here is the list of the bottom-of-the-league quarterbacks on throws with 3+ yards of separation this season:
30. Baker Mayfield (77.8%)
31. Carson Wentz (77.6%)
32. Cooper Rush (75.0%)
33. Joe Flacco (75.0%)
34. Zach Wilson (73.9%)
The league average is 83%. That’s all you need to know right there, but here’s another stat for you.
Zach Wilson's 1st 20 career starts are a little too close to JaMarcus Russell's for comfort
1st 20 Starts
Russell Wilson
Yds/att 6.2 6.3
TD-Int 15-13 13-16
Passer rtg 70.6 70.7— Doug Clawson (@doug_clawson) November 21, 2022
Furthermore, supporters of Wilson have pointed to his non-pressure numbers as a reason for optimism. In this game, that totally evaporated. In addition to the four sacks Wilson took, several of which occurred only after he held the ball for over 3 seconds, here were his stats when he was not under pressure:
Zach Wilson Completions Pct
NFL Rank This Season
Open Target 44% 2nd worst
No Pressure 31% Worst
1st/2nd Down 31% Worst#Jets— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) November 21, 2022
The Jets’ offensive line put forth a miserable performance in the run game, but they once again held up decently in pass protection, sacks notwithstanding. Wilson had both the time and the open receivers. He just missed them. The lack of picks is a hollow victory when two were right in the defensive backs’ hands and were dropped.
Joe Douglas has done a good job as Jets’ general manager, but his most important pick appears to be a swing-and-a-miss. At this point, there’s not much he can do about it. But Jets fans had better hope that he can make as ruthless decisions about his own draft picks as he did about Mike Maccagnan’s.
Can he admit defeat and move on after this season, or at least bring in someone who can legitimately win the starting job from Wilson? If not, despite all the good work he has done, Douglas’s seat will be hot pretty soon.
Meanwhile, Saleh has a decision to make. Does he continue to play Wilson and risk further alienating his players? His defense is livid that their efforts are so thoroughly wasted game in and game out. His receivers are going out of their minds. His running backs can’t find an ounce of space because defenses are not afraid that they’ll be made to pay for playing so close to the line. His offensive linemen are sick of being charged with sacks when they blocked perfectly fine.
Saleh has done a great job turning the culture around in East Rutherford. The Jets have been a fun team to root for this season—until now. It looked like they were going to be the destination to hit this offseason, and they still could be… if they find a competent answer at quarterback.
After all, who would want to join a team that’s hamstrung by its QB, no matter how talented the supporting cast?
This is a team that Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady would be thrilled to join, chock full of talent at all levels (not that the Jets would want either guy right now). Geno Smith could thrive in this offense. Derek Carr could bounce back. Heck, even Teddy Bridgewater could probably fill in capably.
Jimmy G (8 games): 11 TD/4 INT, 100 QB Rating, 8.1 Y/A, 1931 YDS, 67% CMP
Derek Carr (10 games): 15 TD/5 INT, 91.6 QB Rating, 6 8 Y/A, 2435 YDS, 62.4% CMP
Zach Wilson (7 games): 4 TD/5 INT, 72.6 QB Rating, 1279 YDS, 7.2 Y/A, 57.5% CMP
QB Competence vs QB Incompetence #Jets
— Play Like A Jet (@Playlikeajet1) November 21, 2022
Saleh does not want to have a team of malcontents and drive free agents away. People like playing for him because he’s a players’ coach. Now, he has a decision to make: one player or all the rest?
It’s highly unlikely that Saleh makes a move this week, as he already said as much. But if Wilson doesn’t bounce back in a big way against the poor Bears’ defense, that could change in a hurry.
One way or another, the Jets are stuck with a terrible quarterback situation once more. If they do not want to waste the most exciting young core in the NFL, they need to take a look in the mirror and make some tough decisions.
Though the team still has a chance to make the playoffs, even a playoff victory or two would represent a hollow victory in the big picture.
Instead of talking playoffs, it’s back to the drawing board for the Green and White.
