With Zach Wilson banished to the bench for the remainder of this season barring injury to Mike White, Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur was asked on Thursday what’s next for Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick within the 2021 draft.
“Keep working,’’ LaFleur said. “He’s a Recent York Jet and that’s not changing, that’s the way in which my mindset is, [quarterbacks coach] Rob Calabrese, anyone else related to it. He involves work, and he’s got to be prepared to not only recover, but prepared to play.
“What the previous few years has taught us … is you mostly higher be ready. The league is next-man-up. I don’t think all of us thought that [fourth-string QB Chris] Streveler was going to be in there last Thursday if you happen to had asked a few month ago. But we had to arrange Streveler for that moment and on a brief week, with principally no reps he went in there and did about nearly as good of a job as you can ask a person to do.
“So, nothing changes with Zach by way of the preparation that we’re going to place in for him, and the work that we’re going to put in for him. He’s a talented football player. He’s a talented thrower.’’
LaFleur, asked if his brother Matt, the top coach of the Packers, has ever given him a Christmas present higher than defeating the Dolphins on Sunday, responded: “I don’t know if he’s ever given me a Christmas present.’’
“That was gift for all of us,’’ LaFleur said. “So, I’m not going to say it’s only for me, it was for all of us. It was cool. Obviously, we were off because we played on Thursday and simply to find a way to sit down back and watch that with my wife and be pretty stoic throughout, but after they got the W, it was probably the primary smile I had all weekend.’’
The Jets have a likelihood to return the favor Sunday, since the Packers and Seahawks are battling for the ultimate playoff berth within the NFC.
The Jets have struggled to create turnovers on defense for spells this season. They entered last week’s Jacksonville game having didn’t force one within the previous three games. On the Jaguars’ first offensive series, Quinnen Williams had a sack and compelled fumble, however the Jets managed only a field goal out of it.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich on Thursday said the Jets have to not only create more turnovers, but rating on them.
“We absolutely expect to attain,’’ he said. “We expect to get the ball. It’s the rationale we emphasize it a lot in meetings, in practice, in walk-throughs, and drill work.Each time we touch the ball on the market on the practice field, we rating, it’s just a part of our standard and we’ve got to make that come more to life within the games, we’ve got to.’’
Ulbrich, asked about Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III, said: “You don’t need to race this guy, because he’s going to outrun you. He’s got tremendous speed when he gets on the sting, when he does his jump cut and gets on the perimeter, it’s an issue, so he’s a man we got to bottle up.’’
Ulbrich raved about how Jets rookie corner Sauce Gardner has played through his “rookie moments’’ this season.
“He’s had the moments of ‘ah-ha’ where he’s getting it a little bit bit and also you see him reacting and anticipating and there’s also the rookie moments where he gets caught on stuff, which is totally the norm for all rookies,’’ Ulbrich said. “Overall though, just the extent wherein he played, and the consistency that he’s played with as a rookie has been, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it before and to think that he hasn’t even scratched the surface of where he can go is basically cool for his future.’’