Joe Benigno of course had a lot to say about Sunday’s Jets loss when he joined Tiki & Tierney for his usual Monday spot, including this nugget about being down on the defense:
“I’m very down on them – they’ve forced one turnover in the last four games, the C.J. Mosley interception against the Bears when the game was over. They ever take the ball away, and we saw this against both Buffalo and Minnesota – yesterday they got themselves back in the game, brilliant drive by Mike White to make it 7-7, and boom, six plays and it’s 14-7. They’re starting to look like Rex Ryan’s defense. This is why they’re good, but nowhere near where they should be.”
The big thing, though, is that even in defeat, Joe was loving Mike White, and thinks it’s time for the Jets to admit what he’s been saying all along: White is the best QB on the roster, and should be the long-term guy.
“He should’ve been the QB all along, and probably the biggest mistake this Joe Douglas/Robert Saleh regime has made is that he was the best quarterback the whole time,” Joe said. “Last year they set him up in the Buffalo game, and at the start of this year, they started Joe Flacco because they knew they’d have to go back to Zach Wilson – and how do you do that if (White is) terrific? If he played against New England, we’d have two more wins and we wouldn’t be freaking out, but they drafted Wilson second overall, and that’s why he gets the chances.”
BT agreed, saying, “if I were the Jets, I’d go to his camp and structure something responsible, maybe get a three-year deal done,” but Tiki had a different take based on the future.
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“What happens if White wins the job out of camp – that puts Zach Wilson is in one of the oddest spots we can think of,” he said.
Maybe, but perhaps the Jets can swing a deal?
“I think White’s the QB, but Zach is still kind of unknown, so maybe you can deal him somewhere that still needs a quarterback, and say he just never really got a shot here?” Joe asked. “I think there would be a team that would take a chance on him.”
Maybe, but that can’t happen until the offseason, and for now, Joe thinks Wilson should be the backup because “Joe Flacco is done” – but the fact that Wilson isn’t even dressing tells Benigno there’s more than meets the eye with this situation.
“Joe Flacco is done, and I don’t ever want to see him ever again in a Jet uniform,” Joe said. “Zach needs to be the backup next week, but I think there’s a lot more going on in that room than we know….so if you don’t want to activate Wilson, let Chris Streveler be the backup. At least he’s alive; Flacco is a statue, and it’s over.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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