Zach Wilson was drafted to be the Jets’ franchise quarterback, but in Week 8, it was Mike White – a holdover from the previous coaching staff, and someone who had never taken an NFL snap until last Sunday – who delivered a career performance in the Jets’ win over the Bengals.
“Mike proved himself,” head coach Robert Saleh said after the win, before adding this thought on the optic of the Jets not adding a “legitimate” backup until trading for Joe Flacco after Wilson’s injury: “From the outside looking in, decisions can look crazy, but we get to see these guys operate every day. Mike is poised and showed throughout camp he deserves to be one of our guys.”
According to Saleh, the offense on Sunday was “outstanding,” and White was “poised and took what the defense gave him, but took shots when he had to.”
And, when asked if White might be a long-term fit, Saleh simply reiterated the team will go day by day, but “anything is possible.”
Which explains why, one week after the team looked like a junior varsity outfit in a blowout loss in New England, the Jets came back to defeat one of the AFC’s top teams.
“The best way I can explain it is this: we’ve talked about this team being young, and knew there’d be some days where we looked like Super Bowl contenders and some where we looked like we don’t belong on a field,” Saleh said. “That’s youth, that’s growing, and the guys we have are going to get better every single week. Is it the roller coaster ride we’ve been talking about? Yes, but is this something we can build off of? Of course.”
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The Jets also did a good job in adjusting the game plan, to fit both White’s skills as well as Cincinnati’s defensive tendencies.
“I know a lot of the plays early were underneath, but those were designed shots,” Saleh said. “Mike LaFleur wanted to be aggressive today, but White was really good at taking what the defensive gave them.”
And, they also benefitted by having offensive coordinator LaFleur call the game from the upstairs booth, instead of down on the field.
“Mike White didn’t need a guy talking to him down on the bench, so he felt like it would be a good time to go upstairs and let Mike call it with coach Cav (offensive assistant Matt Cavanaugh) and (quarterbacks coach Rob) Calabrese.”
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Oh, and one other thing, too: instead of deferring, as he has every time this season the Jets have won the toss, Saleh decided to take the ball right away, and it led to a quick 7-0 lead that got Gang Green rolling.
“I was deferring all the way until warmups, but if felt like it would be good to get him the ball early and get the jitterbugs out early,” Saleh said.
The day then ended with Jets fans chanting White’s name – “one thing I’ve learned is Jets fans are very passionate, and when you win, you’re a winner, so they let Mike know he put out an incredible performance,” Saleh said of that, and now, the questions will obviously begin if White will end up Wally Pipp-ing Wilson, or perhaps in football parlance, become the Russell Wilson to Zach Wilson’s Matt Flynn.
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For Saleh, who reiterated anything’s possible, whatever happens, don’t be surprised by White’s surge, or that of anyone else who seemingly “comes out of nowhere.”
“I’ve said it before: the difference between Player A and Player Z is opportunity and reps,” Saleh said. “It shouldn’t be a surprise when people come out of nowhere, because that’s all it takes. Mike has the world in front of him, he just has to take advantage of it.”
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