New York Jets: Quarterback battle the ultimate photo finish

The New York Jets finally have a quarterback battle worthy of excitement, as three excellent players compete to be the team’s starter. Despite the obvious longterm winner of the job, New York’s victor for week one is a photo finish.

One of the more intriguing position battles of this preseason is taking place in New York. There is a three-man race for the job of starting quarterback of the New York Jets between Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold. Each has a case to be made for grabbing the job, and no one has done so thus far.

Everyone knows who will ultimately get the job this season, but week one against Detroit is still up in the air. Three viable candidates and only one starter. Who will the Jets pick? Its a photo finish!

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the New York Jets in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

McCown is the incumbent, the veteran. He may give the team the best chance to win right away with his steadiness and experience within the system. He was downright solid in 2017, putting up either his best or second-best season ever.

Bridgewater is the injury returnee who was building a career for himself before going down. He possesses the best balance of youth and experience of the three players and, perhaps, the highest ceiling right now. According to Pro Football Reference approximate value, Bridgewater’s two healthy seasons in the league (which were also his first two seasons in the league) were both as good as the best season McCown has ever had.

And then there’s Darnold, the third overall pick in this year’s draft. It made sense for him to sit and learn this season, but with the fast trajectory of rookie quarterbacks these days, that may never have been sensible. The voice of New York himself, Mike Francesa, recently tweeted two things within hours of each other. (Kudos to Deadspin for catching these.) On Aug. 11, the first said:

"“When you see or hear a declaration made about a coach, quarterback or team after one preseason game played at half-speed with no sophistication and limited personnel, laugh at it. Or better yet, ignore it.”"

Three hours later, Mike then said:

"“The debate should be a short one: Sam Darnold should be the starting QB right now. Jets found their guy.”"

I suppose this is an endorsement of Darnold. Or maybe it was intentional from Francesa, who is new to the Twitter game and wanted to dip his toe into trolling. Either way, Darnold is obviously the future starter at the position. It’s just a matter of when he will be ready.

The battle remains cloudy through the latter third of August. Each player is garnering first-team reps in practice and playing in the preseason. Each has had ups and downs. Bridgewater probably looks the best, which logically makes sense. If he’s healthy, his experience gives him the leg up on the rookie, and his talent is superior to that of McCown. But would the Jets actually want to start him as he straddles the comfortability of McCown with the future of Darnold? I’d guess not.

I think this becomes a two-man race, with the job Darnold’s to lose. If he looks capable of not embarrassing himself Week 1, he gets the job. If he just doesn’t show enough competence quite yet, it goes to McCown in nothing more than a holding pattern.

Dan Salem:

This scenario could not be any better for the New York Jets and their fans. I have been a fan of this team all my life, experiencing numerous “quarterback battles” in August. Some have lasted far into the season. The quotation marks are being used to emphasize the ridiculous nature of a perpetual battle for this position on the Jets. Up until this season, there was rarely one good candidate, let alone three!

I wrote extensively on BuzzChomp about the three realistic scenarios that face New York, regarding this decision. The bottom line is that Darnold will be the New York Jets’ starting quarterback sometime in September. His play throughout the preseason has been mistake-free and consistent, but there is literally no rush. My instincts tell me he takes over in Week 2, for their first home game. Regardless, the job is his no matter how great Bridgewater and McCown are playing.

Momentum swung strongly towards Darnold starting Week 1 after the Jets played the Giants, but I’m not fully buying it. Bridgewater likely plays the majority of the final preseason game, giving needy teams an even better look at what he can offer. More importantly, playing him protects the two quarterbacks that New York plans to utilize this season.

I don’t buy Darnold Week 1 because it still feels rushed, no matter how well he has played in August. On the road in Detroit against a less familiar opponent, on Monday Night Football no less. That is a “feast or famine” situation which can easily be avoided by naming McCown the starter for game No. 1.

The headlines will be full of Darnold no matter when he gets his first start, so give it to him in the comfort of home against a division opponent that the Jets know well. He’s proven himself ready to be the starter, because there’s little else a rookie can do before the games start counting. But risk versus reward is a coach’s job, and Todd Bowles must name Darnold the starter with care.

The bigger question is who will trade for Bridgewater, and what will they give up to get him. I’m looking at Buffalo and Philadelphia because of quarterback injury. Can they get a second round pick for him? Here’s hoping.