Reality Hits White
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario
What do Milli Vanilli (Girl You Know it’s True), A-Ha (Take on Me), Soft Cell (Tainted Love), The Knack (My Sharona), Wild Cherry (Play That Funky Music) and the New York Jets quarterback Mike White Have in common? They are all One Hit Wonders! White was the talk of the NFL when he stunned the Cincinatti Bengals in his first NFL start in the 34-31 comeback win filling in for injured rookie quarterback Zack Wilson. White finished the game throwing for 405 yards, completing 37 passes and three touchdowns. Only Cam Newton threw for 400 yards in his first NFL start. White’s jersey was placed in the NFL Hall of Fame. The notoriety did not last long in his next start against the Indianapolis Colts the following week as he injured his right forearm in the first quarter and did not return in the 45-30 loss. First year head coach Robert Saleh could have started Wilson when they hosted the Buffalo Bills last Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium but elected not to. It would not have mattered. The Bills were coming off an embarrassing loss to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars in a game where they only scored 6 points. The Jets were the perfect elixir for Buffalo and quarterback Josh Allen to get there team back on track. Saleh was hired because of his reputation as a defensive guru. That reputation has been severely questioned as the Jets got trounced 45-17. Over the last 4 games, Gang Green has given up 175 points. OUCH!
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
The game could be summed up in the first half for New York as they punted 3 times and saw White throw the first of his four interceptions. Buffalo took a quick 10-0 lead after an Allen (21-26, 366 yards, 2 td’s, 1 int) 15-yard touchdown pass to running back Matt Breida and a Tyler Bass 29-yard field goal. The Jets would close the gap (10-3) after a Matt Ammendola 48-yard field goal and watched the Bills extend the lead to 17-3 right before halftime. This time, wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8 catches, 162 yards, 1 td) gets the pass from Allen for the 12-yard reception. Looking to put more points on the board, New York commits the second of 5 turnovers. Driving down the field, White connects with wide receiver Corey Davis who then fumbles the ball after getting hit by safety Micah Hyde who has the presence of mind to recover the fumble. Said Saleh of the play, “when you’re playing a team of Buffalo’s caliber, and you have the self-inflicted wounds we had, you’re gonna give up points. It’s frustrating.”
The second half saw the Bills score 5 touchdowns as White threw 4 straight interceptions blowing leading to the blowout. Said White (24-44, 251 yards, 4 int’s) of his performance, “they’re a really good defense. They had a lot of pre and post snap rotation and gave us a lot of different looks. We didn’t execute at the end of the day. That’s gonna happen. You gotta be able to adjust to those things. This is the NFL. Guys are good and you gotta be able to make adjustments.”
White now knows what the NFL really stands for: “Not For Long”. Saleh now has to decide who will be under center when they host division rival Miami Dolphins. “He’s (White) still dealing with stuff,” began Saleh. “He’s getting better every day. We’ll see where he’s at from the injury standpoint before we make any decisions.”
The New York Jets made a major off season move trading their “future franchise” quarterback Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for “now franchise” Zach Wilson. At this point, the results have been the same. Injuries derailed Darnold’s years with the team. Unless the offense can protect Wilson, he is heading in the same direction.
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