After speaking about the quarterback situation earlier in the day, the New York Jets head coach had a different tune on “The Michael Kay Show”
Robert Saleh seems to be in between a rock and a hard place.
Appearing on “The Michael Kay Show,” the New York Jets head coach could not find a solid answer after Kay asked him why they weren’t trying Siemian as the signal caller.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh freezes badly when Michael Kay asks, “You have Trevor Siemian in your building, why not give him a try?”
Wow.
(🎥 @BoyGreen25) pic.twitter.com/gdqVv7etK8
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) November 7, 2023
“I don’t know. You got me; I’m going to plead the fifth on all this one… They’re valid questions. I know that passionate fans all have the same questions. I respect it greatly, but I’ve gotta look at it from a global standpoint, just see where we are, look at the All-22 the best I can, and make the decision as best as possible.”
Yet, the Jets’ head coach had a different tone earlier in the day.
During his media availability on Tuesday, the New York Jets head coach said that the team is sticking with Zach Wilson as their starting quarterback and is not considering calling up Trevor Siemian from the practice squad.
Saleh said, “It’s lazy” to put all of the blame on Wilson and discussed where the blame falls on the offense.
“It’s easy to blame the people who are most visible to the camera, but it’s important to keep the main thing the main thing: watch the tape. Look at the breakdowns, whether it was on the offensive line from an execution standpoint or play call standpoint. There’s a bunch of different reasons, and obviously, they also get paid,” said Saleh.
“So, they did a lot of really good things, too, but if it were just him, it would be something that would be worth discussing. This is a collective issue that we all need to get on the same page with. Whether it’s dropped balls, players being where they’re supposed to be, executing the way we need to execute, calling plays that need to be called, putting players in the positions they need to be put into, that’s all of us, and yes, he has a lot of things that he needs to improve on. I know he understands that, but at the same time, this is collective.”
The inconsistent tone from Saleh shows that the quarterback situation is not as clear-cut as some may believe. While the head coach does have a role in the offensive struggles, his tone and comments hint towards someone who is operating with a hand tied behind his back.
Whether it is general manager Joe Douglas, owner Woody Johnson, or a combination of both, there seems to be a concerted effort to keep Zach Wilson unchallenged at quarterback.
The Jets have continuously passed on upgrading over Wilson as their backup, even with the severe lack of success he showed in the first two years of his career. They passed on players like Joshua Dobbs and Jacoby Brissett in free agency and the trade deadline, feeling content with Wilson for some strange reason.
With their offense on pace to be one of the worst in the NFL’s recent history and in danger of derailing another season, Saleh will be directly in the line of fire. But considering his comments today, other parties in the Jets’ organization are just as culpable in the offensive failures as the head coach of the team.
I guess it gets tough to spew the same nonsense that violates everything you know to be true. The rest of the team deserves to have their efforts met with legitimate efforts by management to win.
The efforts at QB have been as good or better than the efforts on the O line, the WRs, the TEs, and the play-calling.
As good as Saleh is keeping the team together they will eventually revolt if he stays with Zach and they throw away the season because the offense can’t score. I agree it’s not all Zach but he is the main ingredient that has had multiple players and coaches involved with the same result. I often think the KC game was an albatross because it gave false hope on Zach. Bottom line is Zach is not a viable NFL QB. His flaws have been repeated so many times and it’s hard to believe JD and Saleh don’t see what the rest of the universe sees. You can’t tell me our record would not be better with Brissett or a like QB. SOJ.
You can’t tell men our record would not be better with an O line of Brown/LT/Tipp/AVT/Becton. With that O line we’d be 6-2 with Zach right now. Maybe 7-1.