After switching quarterbacks in Week 7, Aaron Glenn is mum about who will start for the Jets moving forward.
During his press conference on Wednesday, the Jets coach was asked who his quarterback is, and he declined to answer.
“We’ll have a quarterback on Sunday, I will tell you that,” Glenn said. “I wouldn’t want to give them a competitive advantage when I have that opportunity. But we will have a quarterback.
Whoever starts against the Bengals on Sunday will look to improve a Jets offense that not only has zero wins but also no touchdowns during the past eight quarters. But the conundrum is that Taylor is also dealing with a knee injury and is day-to-day, according to Glenn. Taylor missed the entire preseason after having a minor knee scope in August.
Following an abysmal performance against the Panthers in which he completed 6-of-12 passes for 46 yards, Glenn benched starter Justin Fields for Taylor after halftime, hoping to generate a spark from an offense that’s been struggling this season. But Taylor completed 10-of-22 passes for 126 yards and an interception, and the Jets offense generated just three points.
Following his Week 1 performance against the Steelers, Fields’ play has continued to decline in recent weeks. He has passed for four touchdowns and 845 yards while completing 63.7% of his passes. Fields has registered three touchdowns and 257 yards rushing, averaging 6.1 yards per attempt.
In addition, Fields is 31st in the league in Total QBR (31.8).
During the previous week against the Broncos, Fields’ play was also dreadful. He was sacked nine times and completed 9-of-17 passes for 45 yards in the 13-11 loss to Denver in London. The Jets as a team also finished with -10 net passing yards.
While he has yet to throw an interception, Fields has fumbled three times and has held onto the ball too long inside the pocket. He has also been inaccurate in getting his ball to receivers.
Fields being possibly benched isn’t a huge surprise after Jets owner Woody Johnson’s comments on Tuesday. Although he said the starting quarterback decision was Glenn’s, Johnson did not hold back his feelings about how the Jets offense has performed with Fields under center.
“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he’s got,” Johnson said. “He has the ability, but something is just not jiving.
“But, if you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you’re gonna see similar results across the league. You have to play consistently at that position, and that’s what we’re gonna try to do.”
Glenn was asked about Johnson’s comments and said he has a right to his opinion as Jets owner.
“When you look at that, it is really something that’s been said across the board from everybody, including Justin,” Glenn said. “We have to improve and we understand that. We’ve gone two games without scoring a touchdown and we have to make sure we get better in that aspect.
“So, we’re all on the same page. It might be said differently, it might be said with a different tone, but we’ve all been on the same page when it comes to our running back play, when it comes to our quarterback play, when it comes to our defensive play. Nothing’s different about what we’ve done, we are just saying it in a different tone and in a different way.”
Taylor will start on Sunday against ex-Jet Joe Flacco, who was also his former teammate with the Ravens and a mentor for the first four seasons of his career after being drafted out of Virginia Tech. This will mark the second start of the season for Taylor after he filled in for Fields in Week 3, following a concussion.
In limited action, Taylor has passed for 379 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. The Jets are hoping to play complementary football for the first time this season.
During the early stages of the season, the Jets’ defense’s play was the culprit for many of their losses, but now it has been on their offense. The Jets rank 29th in yards (271.3) and 27th in points per game (18.4).
