Expectations For Zach Wilson

Author: Patrick Sullivan

Editor: Fran Attie

Going into the 2021 NFL Season, the New York Jets are hoping to reinvent themselves as they have been consistently one of the worst teams in the league over the past decade. It’s been a very long ten years since the Jets have made it into the playoffs, which they hope to change as soon as possible. Head Coach Robert Saleh is an energetic and passionate football coach that is planning on changing the Jets’ culture into a winning one and, along with General Manager Joe Douglas, they are seemingly headed in the right direction: bringing in high character football players that love the game. This culture change is crucial to the Jets succeeding in the NFL in the upcoming years; however, the most important piece of this puzzle is rookie Quarterback Zach Wilson.

This past offseason, the Jets opted to draft Zach Wilson from BYU at number 2 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft instead of sticking with their former starting QB Sam Darnold. It’s an understandable move due to Wilson’s tremendous ceiling at QB in the NFL. Wilson has all the talent in the world, but the main concern is if he can translate his talents into the high-speed NFL game (which is the concern for all young QBs).

The expectations for the Jets as a whole are to improve from their dreadful 2-14 season last year. I think it’s fair to expect them to win at least six games, no more than nine, in an honest prediction for this season. Although this is the expectation, that can only happen with good play from Wilson. With his ability to stand in the pocket or roll out and make a play, I expect him to have a great rookie year. Along with this, he has great arm strength, is very accurate, and has mobility to extend a play if need be. However, he will only succeed in this league if this West Coast offensive scheme by Mike Lafleur plays to Wilson’s strengths. If this can happen, I expect him to throw for 3500 passing yards, 27 TDs and 14 INT, which would be a fantastic rookie season.

Overall, as long as Zach Wilson gives the Jets more than average Quarterback play in the 2021 season, it would be a success of a year that he can build upon in the seasons to come.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Youth in the AFC East

Author: Zachary Patlin

Editor: Mark Awadallah

The AFC East quarterbacks are very young and very talented. Atop the division, the expected favorite of the AFC East, are the Buffalo Bills led by QB Josh Allen, coming off his new 6-year, $258 million extension. Josh Allen just a season ago carried the young Buffalo Bills into the postseason for just the third time since 1999. In just 16 games with the Bills in 2020, Allen completed 69.2% of his passes and threw for 37 TDs against just 10 interceptions. His season was nothing short of remarkable and he looks to continue to dominate the AFC East for many years to come.

The newest QB to the division is now Patriots starting QB Mac Jones, 15th overall pick out of Alabama, after Cam Newton was released early Tuesday morning. This move came with a lot of surprise, as Bill Belichick stated that Cam Newton is the starting QB until he is outperformed. He was clearly outperformed in training camp and in the preseason games, making Bill’s decision a lot easier to start the young bull. Jones finished third in 2020 Heisman voting, falling behind just his teammate DeVonta Smith and first overall pick Trevor Lawrence. Jones is scouted as a pocket passer with an extremely accurate arm, although maybe lacking velocity and throw power. Jones will look to take his experience from Nick Sabin and use it in a big way to make a splash in the AFC East.

Entering his second season in the NFL, Tua Tagovailoa will get 100% of the snaps for the Miami Dolphins this year as long as he remains healthy. Last year, after just a few brief plays in a blowout win against the Jets, Tua was named the dolphins starting QB, a team with playoff aspirations backed by a strong defense. Although the season had many ups and downs, including Fitzpatrick playing as the relief QB for a number of games, Tua is looking to grow in this offensive system built solely around him. Tua finished last season with a 64.1% completion percentage, throwing 11 TDs and 5 interceptions. In his time at Alabama, when healthy, Tua was a force that could place the football wherever he wanted to. I expect much of the same command of the football as he continues to master this offense and with Tua in-form the Dolphins can be genuine playoff contenders this season.

Lastly, the number two overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of BYU. The Jets and Joe Douglas fell head over heels in love with Zach Wilson’s tape and persona, prompting them to make a big move. In the offseason, the Jets traded Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for 3 draft picks, including a second rounder. Wilson will be acquainted into a new offense led by Head Coach Robert Saleh and Offensive Coordinator Mike LaFleur, brother of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. Wilson had a very strong preseason for the Jets, showing shades of why he was the number two pick in the draft. If he is put in a position to succeed on offense, unlike Darnold was, Wilson can turn out to be the missing puzzle piece that can finally turn the franchise around. If the same old Jets show up with no pass protection, bad play calling, etc. they will forever wonder what could have been if they kept on to Sam Darnold. Wilson will need to play at a high-level almost immediately to not be overlooked in this very tough division.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Zack Wilson Did Not Disappoint

Author: Zachary Patlin

Editor: Brian Symons

The much-anticipated debut of the number 2 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has finally arrived. On Saturday, August 14, the NY Jets played their first preseason game of 2021 against their crosstown rival NY Giants. This preseason game was also the coaching debut of Robert Saleh as head coach of the Jets, and the Jets’ performance did not disappoint.

After the opening kickoff to the NY Giants, the Jets defense committed a three-and-out, capped off by a sack by OLB Bryce Huff. The giants went on to punt, as Zack Wilson took the field for the first time in competition against another team in his Jets career.

After a long run play by Ty Johnson following Mechi Becton for 11 yards started off the drive, Mike Lafleur called for the first pass play, and it was a designed rollout for Wilson who hit Corey Davis in stride for 9 yards. In his first career pass attempt, the Jets offensive coordinator put Wilson in a position to succeed, as they allowed him to comfortably roll out to his right behind the O-line and make a throw he has made consistently for years at BYU.

The key to Zack Wilson’s rookie season will depend on two major keys: The first being that the offensive line is able to give him time in the pocket to get his reads and make the right decision without being under heavy pressure. The second is having the coaching staff put him in comfortable play calls that put him in a position to succeed, and they did just that in Saturday night’s opener.

After a couple of third down conversions on the opening drive, the Jets moved into field goal range and converted to take a 3-0 lead. Wilson’s first drive went as planned and he made a couple of plays that showed a lot of promise in his young career.

The second, and final drive played by Wilson in this game, began at their own 9 yard-line. Wilson completed 4 passes on this drive and took the ball into enemy territory, including a 16-yard beautiful throw over the middle to newly acquired Keelan Cole. The Jets, however, did not convert on a 4th and 1 inside of Giants territory and turned the ball over on downs. This signified the end to a short but sweet night for Zack Wilson, showing promise for the future.

There were a few key takeaways from Zack Wilson’s performance on Saturday night and for the most part, they were very positive. Zack was able to make throws in the pocket and rolling out to his right, and the protection was strong enough in front of him to not have to improvise during the two drives. Wilson also made a couple of big throws on third down to move the chains and allow the offense to continue to settle in. The second preseason game will be key to see if he learned anything from the first game, and how we will continuously improve and gain the confidence to take on the Panthers and former Jets QB, Sam Darnold, in week one.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE