Where was the blocking on this emphatic sack of Jets quarterback Christian Hackenberg?
More reliable than the Jets’ offensive line on this play were the Wikipedia trolls, who changed Hackenberg’s Wikipedia page to reflect his apparent execution at the hands of the “lowly Detroit Lions.” (Hackenberg, luckily, appeared to be fine after the brutal hit.)
The Jets lost the preseason game in Detroit, 16-6, and there was no silver lining for New York. The Jets starting quarterback spot looks like it belongs to Josh McCown, though the position is still up for grabs.
Hackenberg completed 2 of 4 passes for only 14 yards. Former Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty was under center for most of the game, and completed 15 of 24 for 160 yards.
“It’s a lot more than just he’s not on the team because he doesn’t want to stand for the national anthem,” McCoy said Thursday (via ESPN). “That may have something to do with it, but I think also it has a lot to do with his play. I’m sure a lot of teams wouldn’t want him as their starting quarterback. That chaos that comes along with it, it’s a lot.”
While Kaepernick did throw 16 touchdowns to just four interceptions in 2016, his team went 1-10 with him as the starter and he completed 59.2 percent of his passes, which was better than only Carolina’s Cam Newton (52.9 percent) and Chicago’s Jay Cutler (59.1) in the entire NFC.
With Kaepernick going unsigned to an NFL team this offseason, whether as a starter or a backup, many have assumed the former 49ers QB is getting blackballed by NFL owners, but McCoy said more than once it could be more about the distraction that comes with him.
When it comes to distraction, two quarterbacks in recent memory can really be compared to Kaepernick and his situation: Michael Vick and Tim Tebow. Not because of anything either of them did, but simply the media coverage that came with them.