An interesting, and perhaps revealing, comment by Jets coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday led to an apparent effort to clean up any potential mess on Wednesday.
Via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, it began on Tuesday night. Appearing with Michael Kay on ESPN New York, Saleh was asked why Zach Wilson is starting on Sunday in Las Vegas, and not Trevor Siemian.
“Fair question,” Saleh said. “I don’t know. I’m going to plead the Fifth.”
While pleading the Fifth has become a thing lately in certain Manhattan locales, that protection doesn’t usually apply to football coaches. And it created the impression that someone above Saleh might be preventing him from making a change.
Is there some sort of a schism?
“No, we’re on the same page with that,” Saleh told reporters on Wednesday, per Cimini. “So any conspiracy theory that might be out there, we’re on the same page.”
A sense of inconsistency on Wilson isn’t new. Last year, after a disastrous Thursday night performance by Wilson against the Jaguars on a Thursday night, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported that the Jets were done with Wilson, and that he would not be back in 2023. Something obviously happened after that, making the team decide to keep him around.
The broader question continues to be why didn’t the Jets do something to upgrade the position after Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon? Look at what the Vikings did, only two days after Kirk Cousins suffered the same injury. In comes Josh Dobbs, and five days later he authored one of the most thrilling wins of the season.
The problem for the Jets was, and still is, Rodgers’s persistent hints that he’ll be back this year. The Jets needed to leave the light on for Rodgers, by not (for example) trading for Cousins and then setting up a very awkward moment when Rodgers is ready to return, if Cousins had been playing well.
The reality for the Jets and Rodgers is that, by the time Rodgers is back, the light on the season could be out. The next three games are critical. Lose to the Raiders, Bills, and Dolphins, and it’s likely over for the Jets in 2023, at 4-7.
Regardless, Wilson isn’t getting it done. In fairness to him, it’s hard to imagine anyone getting it done behind the Jets’ offensive line. Through it all, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett (who flamed out in Denver last season and who had a boost in Green Bay through the presence of offensive-minded head coach Matt LaFleur) has been largely uncriticized.
If, as Saleh said Tuesday, the issues on offense spread beyond Wilson, at some point they land in the lap of Hackett, the man who was hand-picked to work with Rodgers — and who might not get a chance to do that until 2024.
Regardless, the offense currently isn’t working. The only question is whether the defense can do enough to make up for the failings of the other side of the ball.
