What Saleh, Hackett, and Wilson Can Learn from Simms and Parcells

“Don’t pay any attention to what they’re saying. Just go out there and play and don’t let that media affect you as far as trying to be a daring quarterback. You just go out there and let it go and I will support you 100% no matter what happens.”

That’s what Bill Parcells told Phil Simms during the 1986 season as Simms was getting booed relentlessly. This was at a time when the Giants had a championship-caliber defense and team, yet the passing game was struggling. Fans and the media shared the same general sentiment that Simms was holding the Giants back.

Sound familiar Jets fans?

What impact did that statement from Parcells have on Simms? In his words, just hearing that from Parcells, “Made me feel better, and that was the end of the tailspin of our passing game.” (If you want to hear Simms and Parcells talk about this themselves, check out the great 1986 America’s Game documentary produced by NFL Films).

Why did this help Simms play better? Because he was being held back by the fear of making a mistake. When his head coach told him to just cut it loose, be a “daring” quarterback, and take some chances, that unlocked him mentally.

The Giants would go on to win the Lombardi Trophy that year, with Simms throwing 8 touchdowns and no interceptions in the playoffs on his way to a Super Bowl MVP.

Admittedly, the situation for Simms in ‘86 was a little bit different than it is for Zach Wilson right now. Simms was in his 8th year in the league, had led the Giants to the playoffs in the previous 2 seasons, and had already won 2 playoff games.

So let’s be realistic here. I don’t think Zach Wilson being mentally unlocked will set the stage for him to lead this team to a Super Bowl. However, letting him cut it loose is the approach that head coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett need to take with him.

Wilson is playing like a quarterback who is afraid of making any mistakes right now. Yet that hasn’t stopped him from making mistakes (3 interceptions vs. the Cowboys). It has prevented him from pulling the trigger on throws to open receivers.

It’s clearly been drummed into Wilson’s head that as long as he doesn’t take chances and turn the ball over, the defense will win the game for the Jets. But that’s led to a stagnant offense and two straight losses.

And here’s the thing. Wilson didn’t turn the ball over against the Patriots and the Jets still lost. So if that approach didn’t work against a team whose offense has started the year as one of the worst in the league, then it ain’t going to work against most other teams. It certainly won’t work against the Chiefs on Sunday night.

Not to mention, isn’t one of the benefits of having a great defense the fact that they can bail the offense out if they do turn the ball over?

Either way, the only shot the Jets have is to cut Zach Wilson loose, because the other way isn’t working. The Jets need to be taking more designed shots downfield. They need to throw on 1st down more often. Wilson should have the directive that if he sees Garret Wilson in 1-on-1 coverage, he should take it and give him a chance to make a play.

This doesn’t mean Wilson should be reckless. It does mean he should take chances.

What do the Jets have to lose? If there isn’t any improvement, they can always move on to Trevor Siemian.

And for Wilson, what does he have to lose? This could be his last chance with the Jets, or with any NFL team for that matter.