“I think Zach (Wilson) was anointed a little early after (the Tennessee game), but he has to be a little more selfless in his play. When he does that, he’ll find himself to be a lot better player, but fundamentals have to improve.”
Those are the words of former NFL offensive guru Marc Trestman, speaking about the Jets’ young leader on a recent episode of Zach Brook’s Upon Further Review podcast.
Trestman, who most recently served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Vipers in the XFL’s lone season in 2020, has worked with numerous great quarterbacks; he started his career with Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde as a quarterbacks coach at the University of Miami in the early-1980s, worked with both again in the NFL, and has also mentored names from Steve DeBerg to Steve Young, Rich Gannon (whom he won a Super Bowl with in Oakland) to Joe Flacco.
And, while he noted that Mac Jones looks the best of the first-round crop so far in part because of the talent around him, there’s been a bit of a transformation in offensive strategy around the league that has also helped that narrative – and hurt Wilson’s.
“There has been a transformation that has taken place where coaches have tried to put them in a position to win the game, not a position to not lose the game,” Trestman said, but in the case of Wilson, “that transformation has been to be reckless with the football and try to do too much.”
The Jets’ win over Tennessee was likely Wilson’s best game so far, and Trestman saw some improvement in that game…but also some room for improvement.
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“He threw some great balls, and when he does it right he looks good, but some of them were 50/50 balls,” Trestman said. “His ball carriage has to come up higher to be more accurate, and his dropback fundamentals…when they’re good, they’re really good, but they’re bad too much of the time. Dropback techniques have to be improved; he has been very careless on his drop, out-dropping protections and his offensive line.”
So, what can Wilson do better, especially after another average performance (19-32, 196 yards, 1 INT) in London?
“He has to listen to his coaches more and try not to do it all himself. One of the things a quarterback has to do as a leader is play with humility,” Trestman said. “There’s a time where they have to make a play and use the ‘it factor,’ but he’s trying to do it too quickly. He has to be a little more selfless in his play.”
But, Trestman noted, that may come in time as a young team overall comes together.
“His protection has gotten better over the last few weeks, and he’s been able to make plays in the pocket,” Trestman said. “He has young receivers who don’t always run routes at the right depth, he has a line that’s coming together, and the play calling has gotten better – and Mike LaFleur will do a better job of that as he gets to know his quarterback.”
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