Robert Saleh sticks by Zach Wilson, Nathaniel Hackett with Jets looking at changes
Everyone clamoring for major lineup changes to the Jets’ offense will have to wait, but coach Robert Saleh hinted some minor changes may be coming this week.
A day after losing 16-12 to the Raiders in Las Vegas and failing to score a touchdown for the second straight game, Saleh said he is not going to bench Zach Wilson or strip play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
He did say the team is considering making other changes to try to fix the anemic offense.
“We’re talking, nothing with the quarterback, nothing with the play-caller,” Saleh said Monday afternoon. “We’re just looking at things with regards to schematically, the things that we can do differently, trying to continue to find ways to feature more of the things that our guys are comfortable with, obviously game plan permitted.
“As far as meetings go, meeting structure, practice habits, practice plans, and all that. We’re looking at everything, guys. As far as personnel changes, we’re looking at some things, some different personnel changes, which I’m going to keep here with me, but we’re looking across the board to see if we can find a way to generate some offense.”
The Jets committed seven penalties on offense on Sunday, which wiped out several big plays and took a touchdown off the board.
When Saleh talks about making personnel changes, some of those flagged on Sunday could see their playing time cut.
Tight end C.J. Uzomah had two holding penalties, including one that took a Breece Hall touchdown off the board.
Running back Michael Carter was called for a chop block in the third quarter and did not play the rest of the game.
Reducing Uzomah’s snaps could clear the way for Jeremy Ruckert to play more.
Rookie running back Israel Abanikanda has been inactive all year but it might be time for him to take the reps that Carter has been getting.
Abanikanda can provide a speed element for the offense.
As for Wilson, he played decently against the Raiders until an interception with less than two minutes left all but ended a chance at a comeback.
Wilson completed 23 of 39 passes for 263 yards.
He also led the team with 54 rushing yards.
The problem for Wilson is he did not lead the Jets to the end zone … again.
The team has now gone 11 quarters without a touchdown, which is a negative reflection upon the quarterback.
Wilson appeared to have a rushing touchdown in the second quarter, but it was ruled he stepped out of bounds at the 3-yard line.
Saleh does not agree with the idea of making a quarterback change to “spark” the team.
“Well, when the reasoning is just to give a spark, I don’t adhere to that,” Saleh said. “You’re making a change just to make a change to see if it sparks something like, I mean, this isn’t, I don’t know. I’ve never felt like making one guy the fall guy is going to make everyone around the better. Now if there was something that was going to make things better, yeah, you always look at that, but Zach is actually playing pretty good. He’s much better than he was a year ago.”
The problem for the Jets right now is Wilson is their backup quarterback, who is only playing because of the injury to Aaron Rodgers, but for Jets fans they see the quarterback the team drafted No. 2 overall.
As long as Wilson is a Jet, he will always be seen through the lens of a high draft pick.
“When speaking about Zach, I get it,” Saleh said. “There is a yearning for more or whatever it is, but I feel like he played a good game [Sunday]. Obviously, he’ll admit that he would want that interception back, but it is hard to make changes just to make changes, just to pacify something. Especially when someone’s not deserving.”
