Nathaniel Hackett continues to be the New York Jets’ biggest question mark
Another Nathaniel Hackett press conference, another baffling Nathaniel Hackett quote.
The New York Jets’ heavily scrutinized offensive coordinator continues to foster skepticism in his ability to lead a championship-caliber offense. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Hackett unleashed a puzzling quote about center Joe Tippmann.
When asked about Tippmann’s struggles with snap accuracy throughout training camp, Hackett answered, “You know, that’s something that has happened. He’s working through it. He snapped all last year and never had an issue.”
Nathaniel Hackett is not concerned with Joe Tippmann's snaps pic.twitter.com/6gDvDVThtY
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) July 30, 2024
Never had an issue?
Quotes like this make you wonder if Hackett is aware that Jets games are broadcast on television. He gives off the impression that he believes he can sneak the Jets’ problems underneath the noses of fans and media.
While Tippmann had a highly promising rookie season and is poised to be a cornerstone of the Jets offensive line, he did struggle with snap accuracy. It was clearly one of the main things that he needed to work on going into his second season. Tippmann launched some errant snaps throughout camp and the preseason, and the issue lingered deep into his rookie year, most notably when he caused a turnover with a high snap in Week 16. It’s all there on film.
https://t.co/luG5Z9AKfm pic.twitter.com/vwlIPByiyH
— Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) July 30, 2024
Here is a minute’s worth of errant snaps from Tippmann in the regular season (thanks to Jet X’s Rivka Boord for digging up these clips).
It is perfectly acceptable for Hackett to express confidence that Tippmann will get this issue sorted out. I, too, believe Tippmann will fix his snapping woes. It’s great that this issue has risen to the forefront in July so he can focus on it throughout the next month-plus prior to the season opener.
However, it’s faulty of Hackett to claim that Tippmann “never had an issue” with snapping in 2023 when the evidence is clearly there on film. This is nothing new. In an article published last August, I wrote about Tippmann’s snap accuracy being an issue in his first two preseason outings:
“My primary concern with Tippmann is his snap accuracy. He had some shaky deliveries in Canton and followed it up with a few more in Charlotte. High snaps are too common. This is something he should prioritize working on.”
That issue came to a head in the regular season when he directly caused a turnover against Washington. Why does Hackett think he can trick us into believing this was never a problem until now?
Tippmann did have an issue with snap accuracy in his rookie year, and it’s okay to admit that. It would not be hard for Hackett to say something along the lines of, “It’s something he’s had some trouble with, but he’s working extremely hard to get it fixed and we have complete faith that he will get it right going forward.” Just like Javon Kinlaw did on Monday, it’s productive and healthy to confront weaknesses instead of pretending they don’t exist.
Instead, by giving the answer that he did, Hackett stirs up skepticism among outside observers. His claim that Tippmann “never had an issue” with snapping makes it seem like he’s unaware of what’s going on with his own team. I’m sure that’s not the case, but that is the impression he gives off by stating something that is factually incorrect.
My guess is that Hackett was attempting to squash the drama by portraying that he’s unbothered by the issue, but he executed it poorly. Instead, he’s left us wondering whether he knows about his starting center’s strengths and weaknesses.
This is especially problematic because it is not the first time Hackett displayed an apparent lack of understanding of his own player’s skill set.
In January, Hackett said this regarding Breece Hall’s receiving production in 2023: “I don’t think I was ready for him to be as productive as he was in the pass game.”
As a reminder, here are some of Hall’s receiving stats from his 2022 rookie season, the year prior to Hackett’s arrival:
- 31.1 receiving yards per game (6th among RB)
- 2.00 yards per route run (2nd among RB, min. 30 targets)
- 0.421 missed tackles forced per reception (2nd among RB, min. 30 targets)
Most people who watched Hall in 2022 believed he had high-level potential as a receiver. There was no reason Hackett should have been surprised by Hall’s abilities in that phase.
I don’t want to accuse Hackett of not watching the tape of his own players. I’m sure he does. But with quotes like the ones he gave about Tippmann and Hall, it’s hard not to at least wonder whether he truly understands his players. And when there are already enough questions surrounding Hackett, he does not need to be adding more fuel to the fire.
Hackett must be more careful at the podium going forward. Well, either that, or these quotes are simply him expressing his true beliefs, therefore making fans’ skepticism completely warranted.
