With Bryce Petty on IR it would be extremely shocking if the New York Jets went to Christian Hackenberg at quarterback.
The New York Jets QB situation has been a complete disaster this year. From the Ryan Fitzpatrick contract dispute, all the way to it’s most current form with Bryce Petty injured and Fitzpatrick seemingly back at the helm.
Although this might be the first thing the Jets have gotten right. There is no way Christian Hackenberg is ready to play.
It’s impossible to foresee injury, and that’s why gang green is stuck in this odd position. When carrying four QB’s, they thought they’d have more than enough depth with Fitz, Geno Smith and Petty with Hackenberg the project.
With Petty and Smith out, the question of whether or not Hack should get a chance has been circulating. It’d be unfair to Hackenberg to throw him into the fire as he would be set up for a complete disaster.
First thing, he hasn’t taken second team reps let alone first team reps. he was fourth on the depth chart for the entire preseason and through the first half of this year. There’s no way you can expect Hackenberg to come in and run an NFL offense.
This is the same guy who went 11 for 31 with 54 yards passing in a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. 11 for 31!
The cons far outweigh the pros on this one.
If he does play, and plays poorly he would be wrongfully blamed for the performance when in reality it would be his coaches who set him up for failure by playing him.
You can debate that Mike Maccagnan took him too high, which is most likely true. But, you can’t argue that Hackenberg like Petty is a developmental project. Hack needs to work on a ton of mechanics to further his development which has to be done in the offseason. Not in a week, before playing a starting NFL defense.
Even if the stars align and Hackenberg plays a decent game or puts up anything resembling numbers then the fans will wrongfully think he’s the starting QB for 2017.
I’m not saying that he can’t be the Jets QB down the line but a bigger sample size is needed before making that decision for a Week 17 game against a team that just fired their head coach.
The moral of the story is that Hackenberg needs time. Although I understand the frustration of seeing Ryan Fitzpatrick start when he’s not the future, there’s just no way you can throw Hack into the deep end like that.
The best bet is to play Fitzpatrick, let him walk after the season and pick up a veteran. Maybe Tyrod Taylor could be an option for the Jets in 2017. Mike Glennon‘s name is also being thrown around as well.
That way you have a veteran, with potential upside, to at the very least compete with the two young QB’s.
