Tag: Willie Colon

Robert Saleh dismisses ex-Jets calling Zach Wilson ‘selfish’

Jets head coach Robert Saleh doesn’t agree that Zach Wilson’s botched QB sneak was a selfish play by Wilson.

Robert Saleh took the blame for the Jets’ costly quarterback sneak attempt on 4th-and-2 against the Buccaneers, chalking the play up to miscommunication between the coaching staff and Zach Wilson.

Three former Jets players didn’t buy Saleh’s explanation, though. Rather, they believe Wilson “calling his own number” is what really happened, and that doing so displayed a flaw in his character.

Willie Colon, Leger Douzable and Bart Scott all took issue with Wilson keeping the ball instead of handing it off to Braxton Berrios for a reverse — which was New York’s intention — on SNY’s postgame show, deeming the play a selfish one.

“This is not about looks. This is about saying to myself, ‘It’s my time to be the guy, I’m going to win the game and everybody’s going to love me,'” Colon said. “This was about ego. This was about selfishness. This was about not understanding that at this point in the game, it’s not about quarterback Zach Wilson. This is about the New York Jets.”

Colon, Douzable and Scott were faced with instant backlash after their comments made the rounds. Saleh stood up for his rookie quarterback on Monday, challenging the notion that Wilson is anything close to a selfish player.

“I don’t know about that one,” Saleh said. “He’s a rookie, his head’s barely above water with regards to the scheme, he’s still in a pleasing motive of his career, in terms of just doing things the way it’s drawn up. If you’re talking Year 3, Year 4 and he does something like that, then I guess you can start, maybe.”

Colon doubled down on his, Douzable and Scott’s comments during an appearance on WFAN, but refuted that it was a personal attack on Wilson.

“First of all, we were calling his ability not to hand off the ball to Braxton Berrios when we felt like he knew he should’ve handed the ball off,” Colon said, per NJ.com. “And we felt like that was a selfish act, so we are calling that act, that play in that moment, selfish. That is what we are calling selfish.

“So, one, there is no agenda. There is no agenda, right? And as I started this interview, I have nothing personal towards Zach Wilson or his situation at all. I think once again, you are talking to guys that are frustrated, passionate, and trying to talk about ball on different levels. On top of that, I have heard things and I know things, but that is not for me to say.”

It remains to be seen how long this discourse will carry on with the Jets preparing to wrap up their season against the Bills on Sunday. Saleh is in full support of Wilson, though, and hasn’t seen anything out of him that would indicate New York needs to be mindful of his attitude or any selfishness moving forward.

“I think he executed the playbook exactly the way it was designed to,” Saleh said. “In future years, he’s just going to look to the sideline and just flip the bird to Mike [LaFleur] and say like, ‘Hey, we’re doing this buddy,’ and he’s going to make it work because he’s going to know. I don’t think he’s anywhere near close to being able to even make a decision from a selfish standpoint because his neck’s barely over water with regards to schemes.”

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Willie Colon: Jets need to put Zach Wilson in a ‘car that can drive’

Former Jets offensive lineman Willie Colon emphasized how important it is to protect Zach Wilson if New York drafts him second overall.

Former Jets offensive lineman Willie Colon is not a fan of taking a quarterback high in the draft. But since the Jets appear to be heading in that direction with BYU’s Zach Wilson, Colon thinks they have to do everything they can to surround him with talent.

Colon was on SportsMapRadio’s “The Jake Asman Show” on Wednesday and said the Jets need to put Wilson in a “car that can drive” if they plan to draft him second overall. He added that the great teams are the ones that build from “within,” and that’s what Colon thinks the Jets need to do in regard to their offensive line.

“You got Becton on the left, having a quality right tackle really caps that line,” Colon said. “You can build, you can dig in and get some guards, get some scrappy yards because you need protection.”

Colon, who played for the Jets from 2013-2015, saw how much having no protection hurt Sam Darnold. Darnold was sacked 98 times in his three seasons with the Jets from 2018-2020. Not only did that lack of protection impact his performance, but it also led to injuries. Darnold missed three games as a rookie because of a foot strain and another three last year because of a shoulder injury.

The Jets can’t let that happen again if they draft another quarterback, whether it’s Wilson or someone else. Becton, Connor McGovern and George Fant are seemingly the only locks on the offensive line to return in 2021. Both Alex Lewis and Greg Van Roten could still be released if the Jets decide to go in that direction. Those five players didn’t prove much last season, though, giving up 43 sacks, which was ninth-most in the league.

Fortunately for the Jets, they have the draft capital to build the offensive line. They have another first-round pick at No. 23 overall, one second-round pick and two third-round picks. Joe Douglas is also an advocator of the offensive line and proved that by taking two linemen in the 2020 NFL draft.

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Former Steeler James Harrison insinuates HC Mike Tomlin gave him money for illegal hit

On a Barstool Sports podcast former Steelers linebacker, James Harrison, tells a story behind an illegal hit on Cleveland Browns receiver.

During the days of James Harrison, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, and Martavis Bryant, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the most fined team in the NFL. And Harrison was, at one time, the NFL’s most fined player. He probably had a special chair at commissioner Roger Goodell’s office. It felt like every week he was being slapped with a fine for something or other — usually involving violent hits.

Harrison insinuated on the Barstool Sports podcast “Going Deep,” co-hosted by former Steelers guard Willie Colon, that head coach Mike Tomlin gave Harrison money for an illegal hit on Cleveland Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi in 2010.

“Dude, I’m telling you, 75? And I ain’t gonna lie to you when that happened, right? The G-est thing Mike Tomlin ever did, he handed me an envelope after that,” Harrison continued. “I ain’t gonna say what, but he handed me an envelope after that.”

Something tells me it wasn’t a thank-you card in that envelope.

Steelers president Art Rooney II had this to say about the controversy.

Harrison also admitted that if he would’ve known the severity of the fine before he hit Massaquoi, he would’ve given it his all.

“Listen, on everything I love, on my daddy’s grave, I hit that man with about 50 percent of what I had, and I just hit him because I wanted him to let loose of the ball,” Harrison told Colon. “If I had knew they was gonna fine me $75,000, I would have tried to kill him.”

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE

Harrison was abruptly released by the Steelers in 2017. Reports soon came out that Harrison made it impossible for the team to keep him due to his obnoxious behavior.

There was bad blood after his release, and three years later, it sounds like Harrison still has an ax to grind.

Goodell has a lot on his plate right now, but I’m sure an investigation is in Tomlin’s future.

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