The Flacc Attack is back, and the Jets have no one to blame but themselves.
With Zach Wilson diagnosed with a sprained PCL and out for two to four weeks, the Jets were staring down a month of starting Mike White, who had never thrown an NFL pass before being ritually sacrificed to the Patriots in Sunday’s 54-13 shellacking. That would not do at all. So Monday evening, the team agreed to trade a conditional sixth-round pick to bring Joe Flacco back to town and solve a problem it never should have had.
The Jets should have added a veteran quarterback during the offseason, after they had decided not to bring back Flacco. That’s not just a cast of perfect hindsight. It was obvious in May.
This falls solely on GM Joe Douglas. The play when Wilson got hurt was indicative of two mistakes Douglas made during the offseason that have now blown up in his face: not adding a veteran QB and failing to properly address the tight end position.
A seasoned backup quarterback is important for any number of reasons, but high on the list is how he can assist a rookie’s development on and off the field, helping teaching the No. 2 pick how to read defenses and how to handle the position like a pro. Alternatively, in the event of an injury, a viable backup would give the Jets a chance to compete in games.
Obviously, going into the season with White in the role provided neither.
It’s unclear if crawling back to the backup the team dumped last summer will be much better. Flacco has been hot-and-cold on the idea of serving as a mentor across the years, bucking against the idea in Baltimore, giving it at least some lip service with the Jets, and saying earlier this spring that mentorship with Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia would be hands off and mostly come through competition. And Flacco was 0-4 as a starter last year, completing a career-low 55.2% of his passes.
It’s not like Wilson was an iron man at BYU, either. He dealt with a shoulder injury in his freshman and sophomore year. But the Jets rolled the dice on the rookie. It was a mistake then, and it looks even worse now. Mike White logged his first NFL action against the Patriots and will get his first start against the Bengals, who just crushed the Ravens, 41-17.
When the Chargers drafted Justin Herbert, they had Tyrod Taylor. When the Dolphins drafted Tua Tagovailoa, they had Ryan Fitzpatrick. When the Patriots drafted Mac Jones, they had Brian Hoyer and Cam Newton.
The list goes on and on. Hell, when the Jets drafted Sam Darnold, they at least had Teddy Brigdewater and Josh McCown.
But as obvious as the need at backup QB was during the offseason, it’s hard to say it led directly to the situation in which the Jets now find themselves. The same is not the case at tight end.
When Wilson ran a play action fake and rolled left before throwing a deep pass to Keelan Cole, tight end Ryan Griffin was blocking Patriots outside linebacker Matthew Judon, 1-on-1. Wilson was able to get the ball off to Cole, who drew a 46-yard defensive pass interference call on the play and got the Jets to the 2-yard line.
But Judon was able to slam Wilson quickly after the ball left his hand because Griffin wasn’t able to hold his block long enough.
It’s twofold: Griffin shouldn’t have been left 1-on-1 with Judon (6.5 sacks) in the first place. That falls on Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur as the tight end spot hasn’t been reliable all season.
“You never want to put your tight ends in situations where they have to block a guy like Judon, it was a run situation, first in 10 off a turbo [hurry up offense] they’re not hard rushers on first and second down on times they even drop,” LaFleur said. “So you kind of play those odds a little bit to try to push the ball down the field a little bit.”
But LaFleur still put Griffin in that situation, so some blame falls on him.
However, Douglas knew entering the season that the Jets offense would rely on the tight end position from a blocking and receiving standpoint. Douglas didn’t add legitimate resources there.
Griffin has not been good as a pass catcher, a run blocker or a pass protector. He has 64 yards on the season.
Was it a questionably late hit? Maybe. But if Griffin blocked better, the conversation on Monday is different. The Jets would be preparing to face the Bengals with Wilson under center and not White.
Douglas added Tyler Kroft from the Bills and signed undrafted free agent Kenny Yeboah out of Ole Miss. That’s it. Kroft has six catches for 46 yards on the year and is hurt. Yeboah hasn’t played much, but there were little expectations for him to.
How could Douglas mismanage that position so poorly when it was expected to be a major aspect of the offense? Why not add any free agents options like Hunter Henry, Gerald Everett, or Dan Arnold?
Those three haven’t been world beaters, but they’re better than what the Jets have.
The Jets still have Daniel Brown and Trevon Wesco, but they’re not difference makers.
The organization traded Chris Herndon to the Vikings for a fourth round pick, who never recaptured the magic from his rookie year in 2018. Herndon has one catch for two yards with a touchdown in Minnesota.
It seems like a win for the Jets on paper, but let’s be real: If Douglas doesn’t hit on the pick, who cares?
That position has given the Jets offense nothing. The lack of a tight end has stunted Wilson’s development. He doesn’t have a safety net over the middle.
It’s not solely Griffin’s fault Wilson got hurt, obviously. But Douglas gave his young QB no help at the position, either as a weapon or a protector.
Add it all up, and the chaos around the Jets began with Douglas’ mismanagement at two key positions. Now the Jets are going to trot out a quarterback they tried to break up with once.
Good luck.
