Getty New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson laying on the ground after getting sacked in an NFL game.
We have reached the best time of the year.
Every NFL team is undefeated and hope is in the air that this could be our year for whatever team you root for. Well, at least that is supposed to be the emotion heading into Week 1.
That wasn’t exactly the vibe after a national analyst decided to rip apart the New York Jets heading into 2022.
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Yikes…
A variety of NFL reporters and analysts with their power combined did not summon Captain Planet but instead contributed to a massive prediction column for ESPN.
In this article, every reporter or analyst that contributed was asked to take the over or under win total for every NFL team.
For the Jets, their Vegas win total was set at 5.5 and ESPN’s Anita Marks gave an emphatic response to the question:
“The Jets could potentially have 13 starters who are either rookies or second-year players. Wilson starts the season with a knee injury, and the team begins its schedule with four straight games against AFC North opponents. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jets begin the season 0-9.”
That is an eerily similar take that we saw from former first-round quarterback Brady Quinn who said earlier this offseason, “there is a realistic scenario that they start 1-8 maybe 0-9.”
Former #NFL QB Brady Quinn (@Brady_Quinn) is not a fan of the #Jets this year, ‘their season is going to be over before the bye’ + ‘there is a realistic scenario that they start 1-8 maybe 0-9’ + ‘I’m not a believer in Zach Wilson’ 😳: 🎥 @CBSSportsHQ #TakeFlight
A lot of people overreacted to the Jets’ schedule when it first came out in May for its perceived level of difficulty.
However according to the analytics, the green and white actually have a middle-of-the-pack strength of schedule that sits at No. 17 in the NFL.
Those numbers are based on the 2021 regular season win-loss totals of the opponents the Jets are set to play in 2022. Now you may raise an eyebrow at that, but it reiterates the point, who the heck knows?
Teams are going to be better than we think they’re and other teams will flop and be much worse.
Interesting Debate
Marks got a lot of heat thrown at her for this viral take and she took it a step further on social media.
The ESPN analyst tweeted out that if veteran Joe Flacco were to start the first month of the season she would be willing to amend that record, “possibly 2-2.”
I spoke with Kevin Oestreicher who covers the Baltimore Ravens for a living and he admitted during our interview that he would rather see Zach Wilson in Week 1 versus Flacco.
The basis of his argument was the Ravens’ success against young quarterbacks historically. Wilson may have made a jump in his development, but in the first half of last season, he had an affinity for throwing interceptions.
You can listen to that full preview of the Jets-Ravens game via my YouTube channel by clicking the link here.
Wilson is inarguably more talented and has a much higher ceiling than Flacco does. As we saw in the preseason finale and during Jets-Giants joint practice, the 37-year-old isn’t immune to having bad throws or making poor decisions.
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