The New York Jets have stumbled to an 0-6 start for the first time since 2020, and much of the blame has landed on first-year head coach Aaron Glenn, whose commentary at the podium hasn’t done much to ease the frustration.
During Friday’s press conference, Glenn delivered another sound bite that only intensified the growing unrest among Jets fans, a moment emblematic of why many have already lost patience with their rookie head coach.
Glenn pushed back on criticism of quarterback Justin Fields’ mechanics Friday, arguing that his extended release isn’t as unusual or as problematic as some believe. He pointed to elite dual-threat quarterbacks like Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson as examples, noting that both operate in a similar rhythm.
“People seem to understand how those guys play,” Glenn said, per SNY. “For some reason, they don’t see Justin the same way.”
Did Glenn, indeed, compare his quarterback to a couple of league MVPs?
Technically speaking, it’s easy to claim he didn’t. He simply cited those two players in relation to a particular style of quarterback play. Subjectively speaking, however, going as far as to reference those two names in the same breath as Fields can be defined as a “comparison.”
While Allen and Jackson have earned a combined seven Pro Bowl nods and two MVP awards, Fields is still fighting to solidify his footing, now on his third team in as many seasons.
According to Next Gen Stats, Fields averages 3.01 seconds per throw, second-longest in the NFL behind sophomore Caleb Williams (3.08). Allen and Jackson come in just behind at 2.91 and 2.87 seconds, making Glenn’s statement incorrect that Jackson and Allen have a higher mark than Fields.
Less is more for Glenn’s pressers
The Jets are 0-6, their fan base has sunk to a new level of frustration, and Justin Fields has struggled mightily outside of a lone bright spot in Week 1 against Pittsburgh. The last thing Jets fans want to hear right now is comparisons to Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen.
Glenn argued that Fields’ best moments often arrive when he breaks the pocket, saying the 26-year-old shouldn’t be boxed into the mold of a classic dropback passer.
He also pushed back on talk-show narratives that have picked apart Fields’ throwing motion and processing speed, hinting that much of the outside noise ignores the way the Jets’ offense is structured.
Still, Glenn’s argument fell flat.
Comparing Fields to dual-threat stars like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson doesn’t hold up under the numbers or the eye test. Allen and Jackson buy time to make magic, to stretch plays, attack deep, and punish defenses that lose contain.
Fields, meanwhile, has spent that time running into trouble. In Week 6, he was hurried 17 times and taken down on nine of those snaps, a staggering 53% pressure-to-sack rate. On average, he held the ball nearly four seconds before each takedown.
For quarterbacks like Allen and Jackson, extra time is a weapon. For Fields, it’s a ticking clock that too often ends in disaster.
