LeBron James made ‘The Decision’ a few years ago. Now it’s time for New York Jets’ HC Todd Bowles to make one of similarly epic proportions.
We don’t know who will be starting at quarterback Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, but we do know when we’ll find out “The Decision.”
Jets coach Todd Bowles said he will make his final quarterback decision next Monday. https://t.co/bcTRNLhIaD
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) August 21, 2017
So many questions to ponder for the Jets this season:
- Who’s going to start at QB?
- Will it even matter?
- How will the ‘tanking’ mantra affect the morale of the team?
First off who’s going to start at QB?
It’s an interesting question that seems easy on the surface. Despite only nine preseason reps, Josh McCown is likely to be the starter Week 1. Is that the right call?
Well, it all depends on which narrative you believe in. That the Jets are trying to win as many games as possible or they’re more focused on progress and development.
I’ve seen McCown’s career and while the last 22 starts (2-20) are atrocious and hard to ignore, he’s a leader. He’s got that “it” factor and the Jets can use guys like that in their locker room.
So I think what’s best for this team is McCown to start Week 1. Preseason Week 2 was Christian Hackenberg time. For some auspicious reason, McCown didn’t play a snap, which was the golden opportunity Hack was looking for.
Instead of seizing the day, he folded like a used lawn chair. The trenches didn’t help matters allowing tons of pressure and sacks left and right. I’m sure in the Snoopy Bowl Saturday night he’ll have another chance, but outside of lighting Big Blue up, I doubt he wrestles the job back.
But don’t fret!
Hackenberg will start at some point for the Jets this season. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Not because I have an unwavering belief in Hackenberg, rather, I have an unwavering belief in analytics.
You know patterns? Trends? History repeats itself kind of thing?
He’s never started a full season in his 14 seasons. While only three times in his career has he started every game that he’s played in, he’s not going to finish this season one way or another.
Whether that be terrible play (2-20) record we mentioned earlier in his last 22 starts or the injury bug which has plagued his career.
Will it even matter?
The outside says the Jets are tanking and are going to be terrible. They said similar things in 2015 and the Jets had a 10-6 season. Obviously, circumstances were different, but the principles are the same.
This team is better than last year.
People don’t agree, but it’s not opinion, it’s a matter of fact. The QB play is hard to be worse than it was last season. The secondary is younger. Doesn’t guarantee that it’ll be better, but I’d prefer young, fast, and inexperienced over old and slow.
‘Tanking’ mantra
For our final point of the evening, let’s discuss the most polarizing topic of the Jets in the 2017 campaign. Tanking.
While fans are making t-shirts forbidding the tanking notion and other fans are embracing it, this is the breath of what I’m talking about: this white noise will surround this entire Jets season for better or for worse.
Will that wear on the players? Can Todd Bowles who dealt with fractured locker room issues last season, be able to manage this situation?
A lot of ifs are involved. I’ve loved Bowles’ demeanor so far through the offseason and camp, for the most part. These players seem a lot hungrier than they were last season. I don’t think it’s going to wear on the players unless the losing gets really bad.
If we get to an eight-game losing streak or something, maybe the players start getting testy. But it’s all on Bowles to keep the pulse of the locker room and use that ‘us against the world’ bulletin board material to inspire this group of Jets.
