having the 'yips' to this degree and for as prolonged a period as he's had it is a very poor prognostic sign for him here. who knows what he can do with his nfl career but i don't see a way he can meaningfully turn this around and become something with the jets, especially if white continues to show he is at the very least serviceable or we sign a solid vet like jimmy G to hold the fort.
this goes without saying but in order to make it at the top level in professional sports you not only need the physical traits to make the cut, but the mental intelligence and fortitude to do so as well. it's why a guy like denzel mims, for as gifted as he is physically, hasn't made it here yet. i love bringing up michael beasley as an example to my friends, as he is a guy that players like lebron and KD describe as a 'walking bucket', but never made it because he never had what it takes mentally.
zach by all accounts seems like an intelligent kid and works very hard, but if he can't complete a checkdown due to a 'mental block', he's finished. a lot of us here asked what the 'yips' reference even meant as it's something we don't see or hear of often at this level; it's not something we see happen to actual top QBs at all. it's happened to zach.
factoring in his thin skin to criticism and the likelihood that he was operating in this position with some level of entitlement and immaturity, i think saleh is being very kind to him in saying he will go back in when he's ready. he's keeping the media hounds off of him. the only way there's a chance zach goes back in at this point is if mike white gets hurt, and if he does i can see us giving flacco a long look before we decide to throw zach back into the fire.
no matter how you cut it it's not good
