this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2023
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What makes this situation frustrating is that the Jets knew what Wilson was after watching him for two years as a starter. It stands to reason that if Rodgers were lost at any point — and certainly that had to at least be entertained as a scenario given his age — there should have been a question asked in connection with it. And that question is this: If Rodgers is lost for extended time, why is there confidence that Wilson’s performance will be any different than it was in his first two seasons?

There’s a backdrop of knowledge for that question. When the Wilson plan went wrong for the Jets, the internal assessment of the failure after the 2022 season landed on one central point of regret: If the franchise could do it all over again, Wilson would have redshirted his rookie season. When the powerbrokers inside the organization looked back on what went wrong, it was the assumption that Wilson was ready to commandeer the team as a rookie, even when the surrounding depth chart had lingering issues.

He wasn’t ready. What they didn’t expect was the consequences of that reality. Not only wasn’t he ready in 2021, it would linger into a disastrous 2022 and get worse to the point of a near mutiny in the locker room. The response to that was to admit the mistake and make a move for Rodgers. But that move ended up carrying the fatal flaw that we are seeing now.

After depending on Wilson to be something that he wasn’t for the first two years of his career, the Jets rolled the dice a second time, leaving him in place as a backup. And the results are suggesting a fundamental truth. Not only did Wilson need a redshirt year in 2021, he needed another one in 2023 to begin reconstructing him from the ground up. It’s a stark and expensive reality, but the Jets would have been in much better shape if they had started the season with another dependable backup for Rodgers. And with that decision, Wilson should have been put at the third spot on the depth chart with the expressed goal of allowing him to learn from Rodgers without exposing the team to the risk that Wilson wouldn’t be ready when called upon.

Of course, most NFL architects would tell you that such a scenario is absurd. You can’t take a quarterback with Wilson’s salary and slide him all the way down to the third spot on the depth chart so that he can take a sabbatical from pressure. Either he’s capable of being a backup who can help rather than hurt, or he’s no longer an asset to the roster. The San Francisco 49ers came to that conclusion when they dropped Trey Lance to the No. 3 spot on their depth chart and then subsequently traded him to the Dallas Cowboys. It was a hard mistake to admit, but it also put the front office and coaching staff into the position of staring at their backup spot and thinking the player there, Sam Darnold, can at least give them a fighting chance to survive in case of an injury.

They could have gone with Lance as backup and made their own twice-baked mistake. But they knew that the risk he represented as a backup was too great, and declined. Everyone in that organization has moved on and is sleeping just fine.

The Jets went the other way. And they’re reaping what they sowed. The only questions now are how much longer they’re willing to stand in the path of this relentless imperfection at quarterback, and whether it’s already too late for everyone to get up from the collision.

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[–] georgecostanza37@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

This is confusing. I’m a Pats fan. When Brady got hurt in 08 it was pretty well known the pats weren’t going to be that great, but they finished 11-5 and missed the playoffs. That was a success. The jets bet the farm on Rodgers and brought in a bunch of guys he liked. How did they make the same decision twice? Do I love how miserable the Jets are with Wilson? Yes. He’s the backup QB though.

[–] SaltyBabySeal@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I get that everyone hates us but from the 49ers perspective this is why it made sense to get rid of Trey Lance. Once you know someone isn't it, there's no point committing to that mistake.

Saleh should have benched Wilson. Their GM should have traded for Dobbs. It's an organizational failure and it's pretty criminal to lose a whole year with THAT roster. The Jets have a really, really good team. Wasting a year of that is bad. That team could be crushing the division and competing for the 1 seed with even a decent passer.

[–] infoslob@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

That team could be crushing the division and competing for the 1 seed with even a decent passer.

Not really. People don't want to face this fact: The OL sucks and Aaron Rodgers would have to have been physically the QB he was at 30 or younger to make something of this team. Zach was useless, but also routinely running for his life.

[–] Jkru3@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

If only we had a Brock Purdy standing by to be QB long term

[–] hotdogflavoredblunt@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I feel like this is based on an unfair premise. It asks why they assumed he would be any better in year three but like, doesn’t literally everyone get better with experience? Especially around year three? Also considering he would be under Aaron’s mentorship I think it’s reasonable to expect him to be better than he was the last two years.

[–] IslandChillin@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think Zack Wilson gets one more shot as a back up before he heads to Canada or the XFL

[–] Max-Powah@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Or "step mom is stuck in the dryer" vids

[–] Colonel_Kipplar@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

It's pretty bad when a team thinks there's even a sliver of a chance Tim Boyle can be better than you, but then again, it's pretty bad that Tim Boyle gets so many chances in the first place.

[–] boomosaur@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I don't think it was a mistake to try and give him a few games after rodgers went down... but they had all the opportunities in the world to try and go out and get someone like wentz or trade for dobbs or whatever other option.

At least give your team viable alternative options if you're trying to compete.

[–] mashington14@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

For as much as I absolutely hate Steve Keim, his willingness to dump Josh Rosen and draft Kyler after just one year took some serious balls.

[–] I_Hate_My_Cat_@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I’m honestly shocked they kept him around after the Jaguars game last year. I was 100% convinced he played himself out of the league after that performance.

[–] defiance211@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

And to think. They could’ve had Josh Dobbs for a pack of cigarettes

[–] J_House1999@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I would like to thank the Jets for remaining a clown show, even for just one more year. Makes this season a little more bearable.

[–] TenElevenTimes@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Bears: "2 years lol... hold my Fields"

[–] OBlastSRT4@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I remember after Rodgers went down thinking who’s the backup? I did not think Wilson was still on the team because of the previous year with the whole Mike White thing and the players hating Wilson and wearing Mike White tshirts etc. it’s shocking that a pro football team could make a mistake like this two years in a row. You definitely expected some backup play with your starter being 40 years old with an injury history.

[–] KnotSoSalty@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Jacoby Brissett was a FA. He’s the definition of a competent backup QB.

[–] Traveler_90@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

How long does it take for the jets to know Wilson is not the guy? I haven’t seen a QB so bad for so long that didn’t get benched.

[–] hendrix320@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I don’t understand why they didn’t keep Mike White and cut or trade Wilson. That move never made sense to me.

[–] HereForTheFood4@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Imagine if this org realized this three weeks ago and traded for Dobbs

[–] GiveGregAHaircut@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

there’s literally no semi decent QBs left

[–] QuickRelease10@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

A lot of Jets fans were still high on Wilson, with the idea that he can be groomed to take over once Rodgers retires. It just wasn’t realistic.

[–] lame_user_0824@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I'm envisioning a timeline where he ends up with the Rams next year, Mcvay resurrects his career, and he becomes the successor for Stafford.

Sucks to see cause the kid has a talented arm but clearly lacking something I just don't have enough knowledge about to know what it is.

[–] bigmac9@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

They should have signed Carson Wentz as soon as Rodgers went down to at least be ready when Wilson started blowing.

[–] genesiskiller96@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

So did the Jets organization thought Aaron Rogers would just never get hurt? This is my only explanation of why they didn't get someone dependable as a backup qb and left themselves with with ZW if Aaron went down.

[–] Autocrat777@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

This isn't the Jets first rodeo.

[–] madi0r@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

meanwhile Saints sub had a non troll post suggesting we trade Carr for Wilson...

[–] N620JH@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Where is Mike White these days? Has he played at all this year?

[–] Rustycake@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Zach Wilson is bad

But Hackett had us all believe that Russ was absolute trash

He is lucky he can hide behind Wilson and then again behind Rodgers when he comes back

[–] Supernova_Soldier@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Jets have really made a fucking stinker this time.

You get Aaron and all his buddies from the Packers and that’s good; you’re telling the league “look out; we mean business! We’re going the distance if not to the big dance itself!”

You also have a putrid rotten decay O-Line that wouldn’t stop a balloon filled with helium. Rodgers goes down Week 1 and it’s really bad. Season ender (though that remains to be seen, especially since Rodgers thinks he’s made out of vibranium and was playing injured last season)

You trot out Zach Wilson,who you (once before) benched last season in favor of Mike White (who you let go) even against the wishes of everybody especially your own fans and maybe even team members. Zach does things that would send even the most peaceful of monks into a blind fury that makes Kratos from God of War 3, the Hulk once he came back from Sakaar, and Asura from Asura’s Wrath look like 5 year olds having mild temper tantrums.

Never in that time do you get another QB since Rodgers goes down and you have to rely jocnon Wilson to at least keep those playoff dreams alive in the chance Rodgers somehow (like Palpatine) comes back. Falling to 4-6 and with a rather tough schedule ahead of you, you face an uncertain future, yet again have you benchedA porous O-Line would only put Rodgers in harm and injury again, and seeing how brutal this season’s injuries are, could land you in a worst-case scenario.

Faith-or coercion-is harming the franchise and the draft pick used on Wilson is looking bad

Is this Zach’s end? I do not know…

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