Year 1, it's dumb but it's what it is. When you take a guy in the top 3, you pretty much force yourself into playing him right away. Even if he isn't ready and even if there's an entire room of guys being paid to evaluate his every move and tell you he isn't ready, you got the fans all hyped up cause you took a guy in the top 5 and they want to see him right now. And no matter how stupid it is, you give the fans what they want cause they pay the bills.

So he plays year 1 even though he's not ready. But what happened between years 1 and 2? I mean, aren't they supposed to sit him down, identify what needs work, and then go to work in the offseason? There wasn't any growth in Zach from year 1 to year 2. Zach isn't blameless. It's his career. He should be the one leading that offseason show. But the Jets had $30 mil invested in him. Where were they? Did they just send him home and say, "See ya next year?" Zach failed himself, but the Jets also failed to develop their investment.


I think Aaron Rogers did have some effect on Zach. The difference between year 2 and year 3 was stark. The biggest problem in year 3 is he was told, "Whatever you do, don't turn the ball over. The defense is awesome, just let them win the game." So he didn't turn the ball over. He also didn't throw TDs. Hard to have a successful offense when playing that tight with the football. The ironic thing is that's exactly what the Jets (coaches, players, and fans) had told Zach they wanted from him. Just protect the ball and give it to Breeze. That'll be enough for the D to win the games. Only it wasn't, cause the o-line sucked so bad that Breece couldn't do anything. (And that doesn't even include the issues of the worst pass protection in the league mixed with a WR corps that had a bad case of the drops all season)


So Zach still has issues. He still has to correct a few mechanical things, but now he's also got to figure out how to clear his head and allow himself to play the position. He has to find that balance of not being stupid with the ball, and yet letting it fly and trusting his WRs to go get it. Hopefully Payton can help him do that.