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So far, they are handling this a lot better than the last time.
Talking about Zach Wilson compared to Sam Darnold.
When Darnold arrived in 2018, the hype was a little out of the control, and old regime contributed to it, on places like social media.
They almost made him into a messianic figure.
Hey, we all know that when you pick a QB high in the first round, there are expectations that the player is going to turn into a franchise QB and help turn the team around. That’s a given.
And you can’t do anything about the hype outside the building, but you can control it inside the building, and not sure there was enough control inside the building with Darnold.
But this time around, with Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh running the football operation, there is an attempt to not allow the internal hype to get out of control regarding Zach Wilson.
Saleh made that clear on Thursday, when he threw some cold water on the Wilson hype, when asked a question about the rookie signal-caller.
“We’re still learning,” Saleh said. “I’d love to give you an answer on that one right now Darryl (Slater) but, there’s going to be so much more to learn, and your best learning comes through adversity and conflict. Obviously OTAs everything has been feel good, everyone’s excited about everything that’s happening around the organization, until we actually hit adversity will we be able to learn more about each other and how we handle things. I’d shortchange you if I was to give you an answer now.”
That answer was the equivalent of Bill Parcells saying about a young player back in the day: “Don’t put him in Canton just yet fellas.”
Hyping young players is bad for their development. Parcells knew it, and clearly Douglas and Saleh know it as well.
They aren’t going to let the Wilson hype train get out of control, like the Darnold train did.
And not only aren’t they letting the in-house hype get out of control, as much as they need to sell tickets, but they are also making it clear to the kid, that you just need to do your job, and not put the entire team on your back.
“(I) don’t feel like I need to be a superhero at all, (but) just work the offense how you’re supposed to: let the playmakers make plays,. Wilson said recently.
If you have noticed Wilson has not been made available that much to the media since the spring practices started – just twice on May 8 and 27.
You know darn well, that reporters would like to talk him every time there is availability, but it hasn’t happened. That is smart.
As philosopher George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.”
They Jets needed to learn from their handling of Darnold early on, and apply what they have learned to the handling of Wilson.
Don’t put the entire weight of the organization on the player right out of the gate, by making him the centerpiece of your marketing machine.
Of course you promote him, but don’t make him into a messiah before he’s proved anything. That is unhealthy for his maturation process.
And Saleh basically telling people to take a chill pill with the hype was a smart move by the coach.
The only real snafu so far was putting him on with a shock job who asked him a foolish personal question.
But other than that, the Jets get high marks for taking a measured approach with the handling of their rookie QB, who has enough on his plate right now learning the offense, without becoming the king of all media.
June 14, 2021
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