Is it possible that the player fixed his issues this fast? Clearly the decision-makers feel he has.
The Jets made Zach Wilson the #2 QB ahead of Joe Flacco and Chris Streveler.
This is three weeks after hitting the reset button with Wilson to fix his throwing mechanics, including his proclivity to throw off his back foot.
So clearly the improvement over the last three weeks in practice has been significant.
“Zach’s been doing a great job,” said Jets coach Robert Saleh on Wednesday. “He’s been deliberate in his approach over the last three weeks. He’s been holding himself accountable in regards to how he wants to attack practice, how he’s been performing in practice, going against our defense, which I think is a pretty good defense to go against.”
It should be pointed out that while it’s a “pretty good defense,” you can’t touch quarterbacks in practice, that is why they wear red jerseys, so the experience is way different for quarterbacks than what they encounter on game day.
Saleh was asked how much Wilson has been able to improve his footwork in the last three weeks.
“Yeah, give him a lot of credit, (Rob) Calabrese, and everybody just working relentlessly just to get back to standing in the pocket, delivering a football, getting our feet underneath us in the direction we want to throw, and getting our eyes to the target – he’s been good,” Saleh said.
So you have to give Wilson and the coaches credit. To be able to tweak what the QB was struggling with, enough, in three weeks, to put himself in a position to be the #2 this week, should be considered an accomplishment. It’s usually hard to reverse QB mechanical issues that fast because they are often entrenched in muscle memory, which can take a minute to reverse.
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