By Connor Hughes | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The Jets concluded their third and final media-open OTA this week. How did quarterback Christian Hackenberg look throughout the three weeks of voluntary workouts?
AP Photo
How's Hackenberg looking?
It was just one play, but it provided a glimpse into what Christian Hackenberg can do when he's on.
The Jets' polarizing quarterback lined the offense up five yards from the end zone at Tuesday's organized team activity. He looked down the line to his left, then scanned the field to his right. There wideout Eric Decker waited, cornerback Morris Claiborne inches in front.
Hackenberg took the snap, pivoted, and fired a back-shoulder throw to Decker, who caught the ball and toe-tapped for the score. It was a picture-perfect pass where anything else would have failed.
"I'm confident I can play at this level, and play at a high level," Hackenberg said at his locker later.
A few more throws like that, and he won't be the only one.
The Roller Coaster Hackenberg was on full display in the Jets' three media-open OTAs. While the Decker play was a highlight, there were plenty of lowlights to match.
How'd Hackenberg look overall? Here's the OTA overview.
WHERE DID HE WORK?
It's actually a pretty smart move by coach Todd Bowles. It's something he learned from Cardinals coach Bruce Arians. In OTAs, the Jets use two fields. On one (closest to media), the starters and significant backups work. On the other, rookies, undrafted free agents and roster-bubble players. By doing it this way, the young guys get double and triple the reps they normally would. It helps them get acclimated.
In the three media-open OTAs, Hackenberg worked on the far field once, split time on the far and near field once, and then, because the Jets worked inside due to weather, practiced entirely on the main field.
WHAT HE SAID
The Jets split the quarterbacks up in the three media-open OTAs. Josh McCown spoke first (May 23), then Bryce Petty (May 30), and finally Hackenberg (Tuesday).
Here were some of the highlights of his chat:
On working with Jeremy Bates:
- "Jeremy has been great, and I think ultimately with all of us, he's just been working on consistency and building muscle memory. Like our warm-ups (are) the same every day, and we're doing the same type of movements, but all of it goes back to just consistency with our feet and our base and delivering the football. So for me, and I think for everyone in the room, that's kind of where he harps on."
On his critics believing he can't play
- "That's their opinions. I can't really, like, speak for them, it's whoever it is, but I know what I can do, I know what my coaching staff feels I can do, so, I'm just confident in my abilities. When I get my opportunity to play, I'm going to do that... I'm confident I can play at this level and play at a high level, so I'm going to go, when I get my opportunity, take advantage of that."
On his red-zone touchdown to Decker
- "It was a good look. Deck made a great play, great adjustment, so, That's good to get those types of plays in the spring... [Claiborne] was out there, he was press inside, Deck had a fade, so he kind of held him at the line pretty well and Mo kind of played on top of him, so I just put it on the back shoulder soft so he could make a player, and he did. Great play by Deck."
On his redshirt season
- "I really can't change it. You know what I mean? It was in the past. It is what it is. But I think if you're a negative person, you kind of think about it negatively and you say, 'Dang, I wish I had a chance. I don't want to fill my mind with that type of negativity. I'd rather focus on the positive of it and take what I learned from it and the good from it. And that's how I kind of look at last year, I try and take the positives out of it and go from there."
THE STATS
NJ Advance Media kept a close eye on Hackenberg in the three media-open OTAs. While these statistics aren't official, they provide a glimpse into Hackenberg's play during team drills. Note: the Jets held seven other OTAs closed to the media.
21 of 36 passing (58 percent) | TD | 2 INTs | Fumble | 4 sacks
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
While there weren't any video opportunities at the Jets' OTA Tuesday, there were the first two open practices. Here are some clips of Hackenberg working in individual drills.
THE GOOD
Hackenberg is noticeably improved from his rookie season. His footwork -- which was a point of emphasis in the offseason -- is more consistent, and he's missing less throws than he used to. Hackenberg also doesn't appear afraid of dumping it off anymore.
Last year, he wanted to show off his cannon arm, which caused him to force passes to places they shouldn't be. Now, he's dropping the ball off to the running back much more. That's a positive.
"I think that’s an area where I can improve on and that’s something that I want to focus on," Hackenberg said. "I think it’s not being the gunslinger in terms of, like, I own that. But I want to be able to frame the game and understand, like what I was saying, understand when you can take those risks and when you can’t."
THE BAD
While improved, Hackenberg still doesn't look good. He just looks better than he did as a rookie. He still has very real accuracy issues. An errant pass in individual drills may not seem like a big deal now, but when playing a live defense, it makes all the difference.
There's such a fine line between a good quarterback and a bad one. Hackenberg needs to be more accurate, especially when there's no defense. He misses far too many passes against air. There's no excuse for that. I don't have the exact numbers, but I'd say a safe estimate is he completed just 60-65 percent of his passes in quarterback-receiver drills. That's not good.
THE REALLY BAD
When Hackenberg misses... he really misses. He threw just two interceptions in team drills, but nearly tossed six others. And I'm not talking about a receiver falling down. I'm saying the defender just dropped the ball.
Other times, the wideout/running back/tight end was wide open, and Hackenberg sailed it over his head or bounced it to him. That can't happen. In the three media-open OTAs, Hackenberg hit reporters with passes twice.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It's too early to tell if John Morton's west coast offense is a good fit for Hackenberg, but the immediate return at least warrants more observation. Hackenberg is learning a brand-new offense for the first time. Some of these hiccups and struggles are expected.
The Jets begin minicamp next week. Players then have a month off before training camp starts July 31.
It may be a bit premature to say fans should be optimistic about Hackenberg, but at the minimum, he does look better than he did last year.
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