It seems as if everyone’s talking about New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, his awful performance against the New England Patriots on Sunday, and his refusal to take any sort of responsibility for his part in the loss.
When Wilson was asked whether he let the Jets’ defense down by completing nine of 22 passes for 77 yards, no touchdowns, and two dropped interceptions (yes, it could have been even worse), and he simply said, “No,” that was the End of All Things in Jetsland. As a quarterback, you can get away with being obnoxious if you’re great. And you can get away with being terrible if you’re s standup guy — there are scads of examples of both. But if you can’t hit water falling out of a boat, AND you’re ducking accountability like it’s an overload blitz? Your tenure in the NFL will be very short, indeed.
Zach Wilson said he didn’t let the Jets’ defense down. Here’s why he’s wrong.
The Patriots defense, which has tortured Wilson this season in two Jets losses, didn’t seem to care about his performance at the podium, or any other behavioral aberrations. In New England’s 10-3 win, they were more grateful that Wilson did what he’s done all season — go into full head-explode mode when a defense shows him a different coverage look than he expects.
“We definitely know those pre-snap disguises are huge,” safety Kyle Dugger said. “We know that he’s going to take what he sees and have an idea what he’s going to do already in his head. So, we definitely made sure that we were disguising heavy so that post-snap, he would have to think a little more, take a little longer and our D-line can do what they do. So, definitely pre-snap disguise was big for us.”
It was in this game, and it has been all season, Per Pro Football Focus’ tracking, Wilson has seen some sort of safety disguise on 151 of his dropbacks this season. And under those circumstances, he’s completed 21 of 35 passes for 200 yards, one completion of 20 or more air yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. He’s run 11 times, which is when he’s most confused by coverage switches, and he’s just trying to get through the play. He’s also taken six sacks, which tells you the same thing in a different way, and confirms Dugger’s scouting report.
Here’s the thing — when a divisional opponent you face at least two times a season, and might face again in the postseason, comes right out and says how they can make you vulnerable — and then they go right ahead and do it — that is an embarrassment for you as a player. Or, at least, it should be an embarrassment.
And in an NFL where quarterbacks are seeing more disguised coverages than ever before, Wilson’s issues with them this far into his career serve as yet another red flag. Not exactly optimal, but nothing about the Jets’ quarterback situation is these days.