Joe Douglas is slowly but surely developing a reputation as a savvy young GM. In the past couple days, my Jets have bolstered their offensive line with Guard Laken Tomlinson, dramatically improved their secondary with Safety Jordan Whitehead and finally acquired a legitimate Tight End in C.J. Uzomah, formerly of the Conference champion Bengals.
WR Braxton Berrios and S Lamarcus Joyner are back, too. Cornerback D.J. Reed should help a ton opposite Bryce Hall, as well.
So… Jets fans should be psyched, right? I’m in a Jets fan chat, and I’d say they are pretty damn pumped right now.
And I absolutely agree that the Jets have already significantly improved their talent pool. I also agree that last year’s 4 win total will be surpassed, probably by at least 2-3 victories. So I should be pumped too then, right?
Nah.
Jets have been losin’ all my life. We all know this is a quarterback-driven league. The best we’ve had to offer in my 35 years are Vinny Testaverde, Chad Pennington and Mark Sanchez. Needless to say, we haven’t won any Super Bowls. We haven’t even won a conference title!
So why should I be pumped about this offseason when we have Zach Wilson under center? To me, the rest is just smoke and mirrors.
The facts on Wilson: He was DEAD LAST in QB rating out of 30 qualifiers (69.7 rating). Justin Fields was sacked 9 times in a game and looked completely lost most of the time, yet he managed a measly 73.2 rating. Big Ben appeared to be playing with a broken arm and he mustered 86.8. Daniel Jones is terrible and he managed 84.8. Baker Mayfield was horrific and he put up 83.1. Sam Darnold was lost in space as per usual… yet even he beat Wilson at 71.9.
And how about “Total QBR,” which may actually be a better indicator of quality of play? Well, Wilson finished 30th out of 31 qualifiers, with a sickening 28.2 rating. Completion percentage? Dead last at 55.6. Yards per game? Second to last. Blah blah blah, he was basically the worst player in football.
And those are just the stats.
In The Eye Test, he only looked the part to me during the preseason playing against second-stringers. Sort of like an ode to his collegiate competition, yeah? Once the real players took the field, Wilson was completely overmatched from day 1.
Optimistic fans are hinging on the fact that Wilson avoided turnovers down the stretch, when the Jets were a joke and completely out of the race. I refuse to buy into Fool’s Gold.
I could go on for days, but there is really no point. If the Jets traded for Deshaun Watson, the rest of this offseason would put me over the top with optimism. But in the meantime, all of these moves barely move the needle for me. THEY – the new acquisitions - will help the Jets improve their win total, but Wilson will keep them from being a serious contender until a better quarterback comes around someday.
Based on my history with the team, that day may never come.
Follow John on Twitter - @LegendSports7
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