Relationships matter in the NFL, just as they do in the corporate world. Arguably the most important relationship on the field is between the starting quarterback and the play-caller.
No team is hoping that relationship prospers this week more than the New York Jets. After benching starting quarterback Zach Wilson during last week’s 32-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Jets have turned their quarterback eyes to Tim Boyle in hopes he can help snap their three-game losing streak.
His personal relationship with offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is also expected to help.
“Coach Hackett’s awesome,” Boyle explained. “I was with him for two years in Green Bay. Just the conversations we were always able to have with each other. Super up front, super transparent, and yeah, that definitely helps our vision moving forward of the game. I’m excited to have him in my helmet on gameday.”
Hackett and Boyle’s relationship goes far beyond the confines of when the two were in Green Bay together for the first two years of the quarterback’s career. When Boyle was deciding on colleges to choose from as a high school athlete from Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut, Hackett was a coach at Syracuse University and tried to recruit the young signal caller.
Boyle ended up choosing his hometown Huskies instead, but his relationship with Hackett didn’t end there. The Connecticut and Eastern Kentucky quarterback signed with Green Bay as an undrafted free agent in 2019 – behind Aaron Rodgers on the depth chart and coached by his current offensive coordinator.
From his college days, and early NFL career, the growth Boyle has shown is enough for Hackett and the rest of the Jets staff to trust him to lead the team to a win on Friday against the rival Dolphins.
“I think his confidence has definitely grown,” Hackett explained. “Just being so comfortable in the system and understanding it. When we came together to build this thing for Aaron (Rodgers) from the jump, Tim was a good conduit for everybody. So, I think for him to have this now for a third year, you’re always looking for any quarterback to have experience long-term in one system, because everything is more fluid.”
It’s Boyle’s skill set that offers a unique and potentially more helpful experience for a Jets offense that has struggled mightily under the Wilson-Hackett duo through 10 games. New York’s offense is dead last in several offensive categories and is, at this moment, the worst third-down offense in NFL history.
While much of Gang Green’s struggles offensively certainly weren’t at the fault of the quarterback (injuries to the OL, ineffectiveness at WR), Wilson didn’t do enough to warrant the starting quarterback job as the losses began to pile up. His unstructured style of play also didn’t exactly mesh well with the precision and timing-based offense of the West Coast system.
That’s where Boyle’s skillset could help the organization.
“It’s the command of the offense,” Hackett said. “Understanding the different checks, why a play is good, why a play is bad, where your number one is, why you’re going to it when you’re going to it, and that makes you make quick decisions. I think one thing that Tim does very well is get the ball out of his hand. So, if you can do that, whether it’s incomplete, a throw-away, that’s always a good thing.”
The Jets need answers on offense. The loss of Aaron Rodgers in Week 1 changed the entire way the offense was expected to run – leaving Hackett and passing game coordinator Todd Downing looking for different ways to solve their inefficiencies.
Changes have been made over the last few weeks both in roster construction and just the manner plays are called into the quarterback as well. Last week in Buffalo, both Hackett and Downing were seen calling plays from the booth instead of the sideline as it had been all season.
To a person like Hackett and head coach Robert Saleh, any changes need to be made to not only save the 2023 season but solve their offensive issues.
“Trying to do anything we can to get a little spark,” Hackett stated. “Do whatever we can as coaches. We’re always trying to think of something different… Anything at all that we can do, we want to control what we can, and that was one step that we wanted to take.”
A quarterback change is next on the docket on the list of things the Jets are doing to try and solve their ineptitudes. Boyle’s relationship with Hackett should certainly help with the communication and execution of most of what the Jets want to do.
Will that turn into wins? Only time will tell. Scoring more than 14 points – something they haven’t been able to do in a month – is definitely the first goal though.
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