EAST RUTHERFORD – The New York Jets have a problem.
Many of them.
Almost all of them, really.
But, even for an 0-7 team, one has seemed to be far more glaring than the others in yet another abysmal start to a season at MetLife Stadium.
Gang Green is without a capable quarterback, it would seem, with the two-year, $40-million contract that Justin Fields signed this offseason to join his third team in five seasons already feeling like a complete and utter disaster.
In Sunday’s 13-6 loss to the Carolina Panthers, that seemed to come to a head, when first-year head coach Aaron Glenn made the decision to pull the 26-year-old one-time 11th overall pick in the Draft after an abysmal first half showing in which he completed just six of his 12 passes for 46 yards, running for another 22 on the ground.
“I understand the nature of the quarterback change,” Glenn told reporters after the game before they could even ask about it. “We needed a spark at that time. I felt it was the right time to do it. Obviously, it’s a tough situation for both of those guys, but it was my call. It was my call and I thought it was the right time to do it. When it goes to next week, I’m not ready to sit here and say what’s going to happen next week with our quarterback, but I’ll say this, that’s something that I have to look at.”
For many, the answer seemed to be going to Tyrod Taylor, the team’s 36-year-old journeyman backup who has played for seven different teams over a 15-year pro-career, but made just 16 starts since 2017.
It wasn’t. Taylor did spark the offense to an extent — at least comparatively speaking to what Fields was able to muster — but threw two critical interceptions, both to Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn, that squashed any attempts for a late comeback.
“I thought we did move the ball fairly well,” Glenn said when asked about Taylor’s play. “Obviously, not enough to give ourselves a chance to win. Those guys made two great plays on interceptions. I guess the tough thing about that is you’d rather have where either we catch it, it’s a (pass interference), or it’s incomplete. That has to be the mindset of us on offense to where we’re not giving up interceptions, but they happen. Got to give those guys credit, they made some plays. But we have to be able to pull out these low-scoring games.”
As Glenn mentioned, just who will get the start next week on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals remains to be seen, as does whether undrafted rookie free agent third-string quarterback Brady Cook may work his way into the picture at some point.
While performance from both Fields and Taylor may be an issue, however, professionalism is not.
Both veterans said all the right things to a large gathering of reporters in front of a backdrop placed towards the back of the team’s expansive home locker room.
“(Glenn) just said he was going to throw Tyrod in there for a drive, and I can’t blame him,” Fields said of being replaced for a possession after an injury in the second quarter, only to return and finish out the half.
“We only scored three points in the first half. It is what it is and that’s life.”
Taylor was, as you may imagine, asked if he expects to start next Sunday.
“As a competitor, you always want to start, but that’s not my decision, and nor will I feel any way emotionally about whatever coach chooses to decide,” he said. “I’ll be ready for the opportunity, but I’m also here to support Justin (Fields) as well, too. I got a lot of respect for him and every guy in this locker room, so I’m here to do what I need to do when my number is called.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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