EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Zach Wilson’s first chance to show Jets fans why they should believe they’ve finally found the right franchise quarterback did not exactly go as he planned.
In fact, the rookie quarterback said, his performance in the Jets’ Green & White scrimmage was “Not great.”
Even that might be a bit of an understatement about what was a very shaky night for the rookie quarterback in his first action at the Meadowlands. Running the first-team offense against the Jets’ first team defense, Wilson completed just 11-of-24 passes for 112 yards. He threw two interceptions, and was lucky it wasn’t three. And in seven drives the offense under his direction produced only three points.
It was Jet-like – and not at all in a good way.
But at least everyone involved seemed to have the proper perspective. As much as Wilson wanted to do better, it’s still very early in his process. It wasn’t even a preseason game – more like a limited game simulation. It basically would’ve been just another practice if it weren’t for the 10,000 people or so in the crowd.
“Of course I’m going to be frustrated with myself,” Wilson said. “But I’m going to go back and find out what I can learn from it. You can’t get down on yourself. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in myself. It’s just understanding that it takes time. And I’ll do everything I can to get there.”
The “there” he’s heading towards is Opening Day, which is still more than a month away. And as Jets coach Robert Saleh pointed out, this was Wilson’s first NFL experience with his offensive coordinator up in the booth and coaches on the sidelines, rather than standing right behind him giving him directions on the field.
Moments like that, Saleh said, are “priceless” and part of the learning process. And to be fair to Wilson, it wasn’t all bad.
“He had some good moments,” Saleh said. “He had some rookie moments.”
The rookie moments came first. He actually didn’t get off to a terrible start, going 2-for-3 on his first drive. But he was way off on two passes to receiver Corey Davis on his second drive, before being victimized by two drops from his tight ends – Travon Wesco and Tyler Kroft – on his third.
All in all, in the first five drives he picked up just one first down and threw a terrible interception to cornerback Javelin Guidry. He was 4 of his first 11 for 33 yards, and actually heard some sarcastic cheers from Jets fans on the next drive when he finally pushed the offense across midfield.
He did heat up a little towards the end, even getting the Jets’ offense moving during the two-minute drive. But his night ended when he tried to hit Jamison Crowder over the middle, but had his pass broken up by Lamarcus Joyner, who tipped it to linebacker C.J. Mosley for the interception.
Saleh, not surprisingly, gave credit to his first-team defense, which was outstanding and kept Wilson on the move.
“I think the defense came out playing very very fast, especially up front,” Saleh said. “Everything starts up front.”
And that’s great, but everyone knows the focus will be on Wilson, the franchise quarterback the Jets so desperately need to be ready by opening day. A poor practice like this is far from unusual, especially since training camp isn’t even two weeks old yet. But the real key for Wilson will be what he does next.
“It’s just part of the process,” Wilson said. “We’re all learning. I’ve got to make some better decisions, but I’m learning from all those.”