Aaron Glenn has had to answer his fair share of questions about the quarterback position over his first 10 months as head coach of the New York Jets. Needless to say, he is done with them.
Speaking to reporters
earlier this week, Glenn refused to shed light on who would lead his offense on Thursday night against the New England Patriots.
“Please don’t ask me anything about the quarterbacks,” he said at a press conference on Monday. “You know I’m not going to tell you and I don’t want to waste my time when it comes to that, when it comes to who’s starting.”
Glenn taking this approach to the most important position on his team is nothing new. The last two games — both Jets wins — he also did not tell the media who would start at quarterback between Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor. Fields, who had been the team’s QB1 from back in the offseason, ended up starting both games.
So, why would there be any uncertainty heading into Thursday then? Because despite a solid-looking stat line — 113-of-178 (63.5%), 1,143 yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT — has struggled as the Jets’ quarterback. While he did have some moments, he is one of the lowest-ranked passers in the league in terms of expected points added per play (-0.039; 29th) and is at the center of an offense averaging just 21.7 points per game so far this season (25th).
That being said, the minds games are unlikely to fool anybody as John Butchko of Gang Green Nation pointed out:
[O]ne might assume Glenn will stick with Fields after a win rather than make a quarterback change on a short week. If Fields struggles again, and the Jets lose to New England, we might be in for a week and a half of speculation.
Despite the Jets starting the year 0-7 before back-to-back victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, Fields has started all but one of his team’s games. The only exception was a Week 3 contest in Tampa that he had to sit out after sustaining a concussion.
And even though Fields has failed to reach even 60 passing yards in three out of the Jets’ last four games, the signs point toward him starting on Thursday against the Patriots — mind games or not.
