Jets gotta go back to Zach Wilson after their latest loss
Zach Wilson of the Jets looks on against the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Enough already!
We have had our fill of Mike White and Josh Johnson and Joe Flacco and whatever other quarterback the Jets decide to subject us to.
And while they’re at it, they can keep the rest of the crew in their quarterback quiver, from Joe Namath to every Browning, Boomer, Bubby, Brooks or Brett along the way.
After two wins in 10 games and a numbing sense of purposelessness in watching this team, there is only one person any Jets fan wants to see under center in the final seven weeks.
That would be No. 2 in your programs and No. 1 in your hopes and dreams, one Zachary Kapono Wilson.
As long as young Wilson is able to walk under his own power and take nourishment without assistance, he must start against the Texans in Houston next weekend and every week thereafter.
This season has not been a complete waste of time, not with the development of some promising young talent.
That includes running back Michael Carter and receiver Elijah Moore, both of whom again looked good in Sunday’s 24-17 loss to the similarly awful Dolphins at MetLife Stadium.
But now all that really matters is getting the second overall pick in the 2021 draft back on the field and headed in some sort of positive direction before the clock runs out on the season in Buffalo on Jan. 9.
None of the above is to blame coach Robert Saleh for keeping Wilson on ice since he sprained his right posterior cruciate ligament against the Patriots on Oct. 24.
If you’re hurt, you’re hurt. Understood. But now that it appears he is close to a return to health and to the field, there can be no hesitation — and no temptation to remove him again if he is healthy.
The previously lowly Texans were regarded as a logical return opponent for Wilson, but on Sunday they somehow upset the Titans, 22-13, so maybe they will not be an easy mark after all.
No matter. If Wilson plays and the Texans win, 52-0, feed him to the Eagles on Dec. 5 anyway, and so on.
Asked on Sunday about Wilson’s progress, Saleh said, "For sure, obviously he worked out pretty good again this morning, and we’ll feel him out over the next two days to see where he’s at, mentally and physically."
Mentally, there is no excuse for him not being ready after waiting and watching for a month. Physically, well, that is up to Wilson and his doctors. But tie goes to dressing him.
Saleh said Flacco did what was expected of him against the Dolphins, which essentially was to function as a professional quarterback
who knows what he is doing.
Turns out he does. He was 24-for-39 for 291 yards, two touchdowns and one fumble on a play that was not his fault and that he deserves credit simply for surviving.
But Flacco knows his days as the starter are numbered, with that number perhaps being three — until Wednesday.
The good news is that Flacco, 36, a former Super Bowl champion, has embraced the role of mentor in addition to that of seat-warmer for Wilson.
Flacco said he has not gotten to see much of Wilson physically since joining the Jets last month but already can tell "the ball jumps off his hand."
Flacco smiled, or so it seemed from behind his mask, when discussing how often Wilson chats him up about the game. He said the rookie "is super-interested in it and is going to work hard and is working hard."
Flacco added: "It’s all good. It’s a lot of fun to see somebody who’s just coming into the league, and being able to talk to him is a lot of fun."
The old pro conceded he does not have all the answers and that his style differs from Wilson’s. "But it’s been cool to be around that [quarterback] group,’’ he said. "We all love this game. You can tell that he loves it."
Even in defeat, White, Johnson and Flacco got to show some of what they can do. Good for them!
But here’s hoping we never see any of them on the field again before this Jets season mercifully ends.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
