QB Expectations

[CWood21]

Last year, Ryan Fitzpatrick was unable to secure a long term deal and instead played on a 1 year, $12M deal.  Fortunately for the Jets, their unwillingness to commit to a long-term deal ended up being the right decision as Fitz struggled badly.  This offseason, the Jets signed veteran Josh McCown to a 1 year, $6M deal to help fix the hole at least temporarily.  There was talks about them drafting a QB with the 6th overall pick but opted against it and drafted Jamal Adams who some viewed as the best prospect not named Myles Garrett.  Instead, that left a QB situation after McCown that includes former 2nd round pick, Christian Hackenberg, and Bryce Petty, a 4th round pick in 2015.  None of those QBs particularly should give Jets fans confidence.

Does this lack of investment mean the Jets are for sure in on a QB next year, or is there still hope that Christian Hackenberg can overcome his issues and be a potential starting QB for the Jets?  What are your expectations for McCown this year?

Any thoughts @Jetsfandan423, @NewAge,?

[NewAge]

There's always hope that Hackenberg (or Petty) can take the positions and there's no guarantees in this or any industry, but do I personally believe that will happen? No, I do not. 

I think it is likely that the Jets will be looking for their franchise QB in next year's draft and will pull the trigger if the value lines up and/or they feel it is the right time. There is always the chance that they follow the Browns' recent blueprint and try to build the rest of the team before grabbing the franchise QB.

[NJerseypaint]

It no question the Jets want Hack to be their guy, but he has to make some huge improvements to stop them from picking up another QB next year in FA or the draft.

I expect McCown to get us a top pick and nothing else. All I'm watching for this year is to see if any of young guys have stud potential. After all the dust clears, who will be the cornerstone of our team? That's all I'm looking for this season.

[CWood21]

12 hours ago, NJerseypaint said:

It no question the Jets want Hack to be their guy, but he has to make some huge improvements to stop them from picking up another QB next year in FA or the draft.

I expect McCown to get us a top pick and nothing else. All I'm watching for this year is to see if any of young guys have stud potential. After all the dust clears, who will be the cornerstone of our team? That's all I'm looking for this season.

Has Hackenberg done anything to even give Jets' fans hope that he can be a starting QB?  I mean, the media blew the whole inaccuracy throws out of proportion a few weeks ago.  The WR made literally no effort to even get his hands up to make a very reasonable catch.  I'm not anticipating the Jets to be anything more than 5 or 6 wins tops, but I don't think expecting them to be competitive to be unreasonable.

[Sapo28]

19 hours ago, CWood21 said:

Has Hackenberg done anything to even give Jets' fans hope that he can be a starting QB?  I mean, the media blew the whole inaccuracy throws out of proportion a few weeks ago.  The WR made literally no effort to even get his hands up to make a very reasonable catch.  I'm not anticipating the Jets to be anything more than 5 or 6 wins tops, but I don't think expecting them to be competitive to be unreasonable.

Given the QB crop coming out next year Hack is going to have to look pretty spectacular to not draft one in the first. I have hope for him but NY media is brutal and lacks the same patients. We are expected to be picking top-3 in next years draft and if Hack can play us out of that position it may save his job as the Jets QB. 

[CWood21]

14 hours ago, Sapo28 said:

Given the QB crop coming out next year Hack is going to have to look pretty spectacular to not draft one in the first. I have hope for him but NY media is brutal and lacks the same patients. We are expected to be picking top-3 in next years draft and if Hack can play us out of that position it may save his job as the Jets QB. 

And I guess that's where my feelings regarding Hackenberg are.  I was never a fan of Hack, I think I gave him a 5th round grade and that was largely based on his play as a freshman.  I cited his lack of accuracy and questionable decision making as reasons why he would struggle to succeed in the NFL, and I was a bit surprised that a team was willing to invest a 2nd round pick into a QB with as many significant flaws as Hack had.

[NJerseypaint]

1 hour ago, CWood21 said:

And I guess that's where my feelings regarding Hackenberg are.  I was never a fan of Hack, I think I gave him a 5th round grade and that was largely based on his play as a freshman.  I cited his lack of accuracy and questionable decision making as reasons why he would struggle to succeed in the NFL, and I was a bit surprised that a team was willing to invest a 2nd round pick into a QB with as many significant flaws as Hack had.

QBs will always be over-drafted, so I'm cool with the Hack pick. I don't have anything invested in the guy though. I'm hoping to see more of our defense after last years total collapse and maybe some star potential in one of our WRs. The reality is we are going to be baaaaad and even being considered decent next season will be something to celebrate.

[Rich51]

On 7/24/2017 at 9:47 PM, CWood21 said:

And I guess that's where my feelings regarding Hackenberg are.  I was never a fan of Hack, I think I gave him a 5th round grade and that was largely based on his play as a freshman.  I cited his lack of accuracy and questionable decision making as reasons why he would struggle to succeed in the NFL, and I was a bit surprised that a team was willing to invest a 2nd round pick into a QB with as many significant flaws as Hack had.

I agree with your assessment but at this point he's our best hope. Starting McCown does nothing for this team. We need to see if Hackenberg has any chance to be a viable QB. Going into preseason games I would have Hack playing with the ones. If he shows anything  (unless Petty has a mind blowing preseason), he should be the day one starter.  In order to avoid drafting a first round QB (I really want Connor Williams or whoever the best LT turns out to be) I would expect to see him get better as the season goes on. He has the physical attributes to succeed but as you said his accuracy and decision making have to improve. 

More than likely he won't start until mid season and we'll not get to see much improvement in that shorter window. We'll end up drafting a CB or DL in the first and take another QB project like Luke Falk in the 2nd. ?

[Bobby816]

I honestly think we mess up the qb situation this year. I think Hack plays well enough to win the starting job, butbwe don't start him. We start McCown for 4-6 games atleast (which is a waste of time for a rebuilding team). Then I actually think we give Petty a chance to start for 4-6 games after McCown. I think Hack does get to start at the end of the season, but the sample size will be so small that we still have no clue what our qb situation is. I also don't think we are as bad as some think and I don't think we will be drafting in the top 3. Meaning we'd have to trade up for a qb possibly, even though Hack could be the guy. We were just too dumb to play him long enough to see.

[rickyt31]

I think their plan was Hack or die for the draft. McCown is the biggest sign of that. Macc would have signed a better QB to challenge Hack if that wasn't the case. McCown has zero career accomplishments at age 38. We took him out for steak and he probably won't last for 2 seasons. 

 

What I wish for is Hack proves to be a Franchise QB and we get in position to draft a franchise LT in the next draft. I don't know what to expect from Hack. It's going to take time for him to get comfortable with this new system and starting players. I think the players around him are good enough to work with. I'm scared to get my hopes up. 

[Bobby816]

1 hour ago, rickyt31 said:

I think their plan was Hack or die for the draft. McCown is the biggest sign of that. Macc would have signed a better QB to challenge Hack if that wasn't the case. McCown has zero career accomplishments at age 38. We took him out for steak and he probably won't last for 2 seasons. 

 

What I wish for is Hack proves to be a Franchise QB and we get in position to draft a franchise LT in the next draft. I don't know what to expect from Hack. It's going to take time for him to get comfortable with this new system and starting players. I think the players around him are good enough to work with. I'm scared to get my hopes up. 

I agree. That's ideal for me as well. I'd also like for us to get a star RB as well. I really think we missed on not drafting Cook at 39 this last draft. But hopefully there will be someone like that this next draft that falls in Round 2. I think if Hack gets a legitimate 8 weeks to play, I think he will do better than some will think. I think what some need to take into consideration is what's around him. And that's nothing. So he shouldn't be completely judged, much like Carr early in his career.

[rickyt31]

17 minutes ago, Bobby816 said:

I agree. That's ideal for me as well. I'd also like for us to get a star RB as well. I really think we missed on not drafting Cook at 39 this last draft. But hopefully there will be someone like that this next draft that falls in Round 2. I think if Hack gets a legitimate 8 weeks to play, I think he will do better than some will think. I think what some need to take into consideration is what's around him. And that's nothing. So he shouldn't be completely judged, much like Carr early in his career.

I pretty much agree with everything, but I see potential in the surrounding if ASJ, Anderson, and Shell do what I think they can do. That's why I'm 50/50 on the talent on offense. I really want a RB next season. Have Hack pan out, draft McGlinchey, and pick someone like Chubb in the 2nd. During the draft, I wanted Cook & the center from OSU as they started falling. Good news is that all the positions we might need next year has pretty good draft prospects so far.

 

SN: Josh Rosen admitted last season was humbling for him. That's all I wanted to hear from him. Now I just have to see his leadership skills improve.

[Jag68Sid87]

I don't agree with most here that starting McCown is a waste of time. It is not. We are developing a number of players, not just the QB position. We want to fully develop the right side of the O-line. We want to develop two young TE's in Seferian-Jenkins and Leggett. We want to continue to develop the young receiving core in Anderson, Peake, Stewart et al. And we also want to continue to develop the young studs on defense, namely Williams, Lee, Jenkins and the two rookie safeties.

That is best accomplished with a QB who is not a deer-in-the-headlights situation. McCown isn't much, but he has the right attitude (which Fitz did not have), seems to have a positive effect on the younger players and has decent talent (when healthy). He has never been able to stay healthy, so Hackenberg should see the field anyway. I just don't see him as a future starting QB, so for me the waste of time is just as much in the belief that Hackenberg is a franchise QB as it is playing a 38-year-old vet in a rebuilding year. For the QB position, it is less a rebuilding year as it is a place-holding year. There are several QB's better than Hackenberg in next year's draft. 

Also, I honestly don't think we are going to be as bad as people suggest. And we will benefit in the long run from every victory this season, because aside from QB and possibly RB (though McGuire may surprise), we will be winning games with youth virtually everywhere. Our roster will gain invaluable experience this season, and set up a nice scenario next off-season when the focus will be on finding our future QB. Hopefully by then, most positions will be established (save for maybe center and running back). 

So, that is how I see it. I am fully behind starting McCown for as long as he's healthy. Hackenberg can begin his role as an NFL backup QB. There is no shame in that. But that is his potential, IMO.

 

[rdelaney89]

I think Hack has the right pieces to be a franchise QB. I'm not sold on drafting a QB in 2018 just yet, I'm more than willing to but I'm hoping that Hack can seriously grow over the course of the season.

[jetskid007]

9 hours ago, rdelaney89 said:

I think Hack has the right pieces to be a franchise QB. I'm not sold on drafting a QB in 2018 just yet, I'm more than willing to but I'm hoping that Hack can seriously grow over the course of the season.

It's all about getting Hackenberg confident and comfortable. Once that happens, I'm confident he'll develop into a good QB.

Although he did nothing spectacular, there were signs of immense progress from where he was a year ago. The biggest question has been his ability to execute consistently in the short-rhythm passing game (mainly due to his poor mechanics and holding onto the ball), but what I saw yesterday was a sign that he has significantly improved that area of his game. His mechanics looked clean, the ball came out of his hand quickly and cleanly, and he was accurate on all 21 of his attempts within 10 yards (2 were dropped, another was a well defended PD). It appeared that down/distance/situation didn't come into play as much as it normally would because it was all about getting him reps in the WCO. If he can continue to be accurate, maintain rhythm, and make a few big throws a game his confidence will skyrocket which will allow him to start truly realizing his potential. 

I expect the Jets to get him about 100-120 throws this preseason, let him be the backup for a few weeks and take over as starter thereafter. It's the right method. Good first step in an ongoing development.