Jets Q&A: Why didn't Robert Saleh use all of his timeouts?
Jets head coach Robert Saleh reacts after a Zach Wilson incompletion during the second half againist the Lions at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Lee S. Weissman
Why didn’t Robert Saleh use all of his timeouts on the final drive?
He still had three left on the last series and used only two of them. Greg Zuerlein missed a potential tying 58-yard field goal as time expired.
Saleh could have burned one after Zach Wilson completed a 10-yard pass to Garrett Wilson at the Jets’ 48 with just under a minute remaining. The Jets scrambled after that.
“I can probably look back at it and say we could’ve used one, for sure,” Saleh said. “But at the same time, when you have three timeouts, time is not an issue whether you use one there or not. But yeah, I could always, in hindsight for me, call a timeout to settle the guys down.”
Zach Wilson threw incomplete on first down. He was sacked on second down for an 8-yard loss and Saleh used his first timeout. Wilson threw incomplete on third down.
On fourth-and-18 with 14 seconds left, Wilson rolled right to avoid the rush and flung it toward the middle of the field. Elijah Moore caught it, tried to get out of bounds and was tackled after a 20-yard gain. Saleh called his second timeout to set up the field-goal try.
“I’m sure we’re going to watch the film tomorrow and be like, ‘Wow, we could have handled it better,’ ” Garrett Wilson said.
He wanted to call timeout after his catch and said he thought he could call it on the field.
“I don’t know how that works,” he said. “I come from playing basketball and you can call a timeout. I just thought I was calling it. I’m new to this.
“It’s all good. We live and we learn. Even though that had some bad consequences with it, you’ve got to learn from it.”
Who will be the Jets’ starting quarterback Thursday against Jacksonville?
It probably will be Wilson unless Mike White is unexpectedly cleared. He will undergo scans of his fractured ribs on Monday.
“I have no medical details,” Saleh said. “I have nothing to give you.”
Saleh wouldn’t say White will start if he’s healthy.
“I don’t know if I’m prepared to answer that question right now,” he said.
Will Quinnen Williams be able to play Thursday?
The Jets definitely missed their most dominant defensive player in Williams, who didn’t play because of a calf injury. Saleh said “he’s got a chance” to play Thursday but Williams still has “a couple of hurdles he’s got to clear.”
How did C.J. Uzomah feel about catching his first two touchdown passes as a Jet?
He wished it would have happened in a win.
“I’m just being honest,” Uzomah said. “It doesn’t matter because we lost. All that two touchdowns kind of get zapped from you just because we lost and the way that we lost kind of sucks.”
Who were the honorary captains for the Jets?
The Jets honored Dennis Byrd and had six members of the late defensive end’s family out on the field for the coin toss as honorary captains, including Byrd’s widow, Angela, and three of his four children. It was a little more than 30 years ago (Nov. 29, 1992) when Byrd suffered a broken neck and was temporarily paralyzed after a collision with a Jets teammate in a game against Kansas City.
Byrd died in a vehicular accident in 2016 at the age of 50.
With Bob Glauber and Brian Heyman
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
