As Zach Wilson gets ready for one of the biggest starts of his career on Sunday, Sal wants to see Jets fans give the struggling quarterback the Trea Turner treatment at MetLife Stadium.
So, to open Wednesday’s show, Sal pleased that Jets fans rain loud cheers down on Wilson before and during Sunday’s game against New England to try and rally around the former No. 2 overall pick.
“We all want the same result: him to be great and the Jets to win,” Sal said. “What do you think helps get him there, booing him and being negative going in, or maybe trying to encourage him, give him some extra motivation, and see if he responds in a positive way?
“This is the week that he needs it…we’re talking about their season on the line, his career, Saleh’s career.”
New York sports are littered with hyped players that didn’t pan out, and became hate vessels for the fanbase. Gary Sanchez became a polarizing figure after taking the Bronx by storm in 2016, while established veterans like Randy Johnson were booed mercilessly for not handling the Big Apple. Sal doesn’t want to see that kind of reaction for Wilson on Sunday.
“I just don’t understand the Neanderthal thought, ‘I’m not gonna open my mind to cheer for this guy, he doesn’t deserve it,’” Sal said. “However, if you take a step back and think about it, and see how it played out the way it did in Philadelphia, don’t you want to be a part of that?
“This is a kid who has been through it. He felt the wrath in year one, even when it wasn’t his fault. We are part of the problem. I know he’s deserved the boos, but we are part of the problem getting on him. It makes it worse.”
BT took it a step further, and says the Jets coaching staff should take Sal’s lead and urge the fans on themselves.
“Robert Saleh owes it to Zach Wilson to make amends,” BT said, citing the head coach allowing the locker room to overtly rally around Mike White during Wilson’s struggles last year. “If 80,000 people aren’t going to listen to you or I, they might listen to the head coach. At the podium…why don’t you take on the aggressive mindset that you had all through Hard Knocks, and get your quarterback’s back? Stand up there and say it!”
