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Why is he being held to such a ridiculous standard?
All week leading up to the Jets game at Buffalo, and before this week as well, there have been reporters obsessed with Mike White struggling against the Bills last year.
White, making this third career NFL start, after starting games against Cincinnati and Indianapolis, threw four picks in a Jets loss to Buffalo.
Was it a good game for White? Obviously not, but it was just his third start in the NFL, and it was against the NFL’s #1 defense at the time.
He was benched after that game, and the Jets went back to Zach Wilson.
Not only was it unfair to bench him after a bad game against the NFL’s #1 defense in just his third star, but it’s equally unfair to keep asking him about that game over and over again.
I know it’s an easy narrative, and that’s what a lot of people are looking for, for easy narratives, writing about Odell Beckham might sign ad nauseum, but’s a patently unfair narrative.
Is White not a allowed to have one bad game? How many did Zach Wilson have before he was benched this year, and that might have been related to his post-game quote as much as his play?
Was Wilson benched after he threw three picks against New England in a 22-17 loss, where two of the field goals led to six points, in a game the Jets lost by five points?
No.
This White Buffalo stuff is absolute nonsense, but he’s got to stand there at his press conference and answer one question after another about this tripe.
Not only was it just his third start he didn’t even play two complete games coming into this contest. Remember, in the Jets’ loss to the Colts on Thursday Night Football, he suffered a nerve injury in his throwing arm and had to come out of the game late in the first quarter.
So it was even two complete games leading into his third career NFL start.
But White knows how to handle the media, so he’s not going to snap at anybody over the stupidity of this overplayed angle.
He just calmly takes the unfair questions, stay calm, and says things like, “It’s important to live in the moment.”
Even if you don’t like a question, you can’t snap at the answer – Zach Wilson learned that lesson the hard way with his infamous “no, no” response to whether he led down the defense in the loss at New England.
He let his disdain for the reporter who asked the question, impact how he answered the question because the soundbite is being reporters by numerous TV cameras, and writer’s digital tape machines for quotes, and you always need to be cognizant of that. And the angry answer to a question doesn’t just go the reporter asking it.
So White did a good job dealing with the overemphasis on a rough performance against the NFL’s #1 in this third start.
He stayed really cool.
But the narrrative is really dumb. Look, of course you bring up what happened in that game, but to act like this is a significant black mark on the QB’s record, is a reach.
Whatever happened to content?
How many rough games did Mark Sanchez, Sam Darnold and Wilson have as young quarterbacks, and there wasn’t even a consideration to benching them after most of these bad starts?
But this guy got benched after his third start, against a really good defense, and now you have to hammer with questions about it a year later?
Give me a break.
It’s pretty apparent the Jets have something here with White. He’s calm in the pocket, and does a nice job going throw his progression scans, throwing with anticipation when guys come out of their breaks.
That 31-yard completion, on fourth and 10, late in teh JEts loss to Minnesota, was not only the best throw of the Jets’ season but the entire NFL season.
People are still buzzing about that throw to Corey Davis.
So the bigger question to me, is not about whether White can bounce back from a rough start against the NFL’s #1 defense last year, but will the Jets be able to keep him after the season.
A lot of teams need quarterbacks, so if you don’t think a few GMS will make a beeline for this guy after the season, your kidding yourself.
And those GMs aren’t going to let the Buffalo game from last year impact their decision-making.
December 9, 2022
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