Wayne Chrebet loves Robert Saleh’s passion, Zach Wilson’s progress

Wayne Chrebet likes the direction the New York Jets offense is trending

When it comes to unexpected offensive surprises and the New York Jets, Wayne Chrebet knows a thing or two because he’s been a thing or two.

Chrebet joined Jets X-Factor co-founder/editor Robby Sabo for the latest edition of The Underdog Jets Podcast to discuss the aftermath of Gang Green’s 33-18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Despite the relatively one-sided nature of the loss, namely a second half that saw the Jets shut out on the scoreboard, Chrebet was inspired by the way the offense played, particularly during an opening half that saw the Jets score touchdown on each of their first three offensive possessions.

He was particularly impressed by Zach Wilson‘s first score of the affair, a three-yard aerial tally earned via a play-action toss to Elijah Moore. It put the Jets up 6-0 after a missed extra point.

“They came out firing and it was a great play action to Elijah for the touchdown,” Chrebet said of Wilson’s first touchdown pass in over two calendar months.

“He was leading them down the field and they’re putting touchdowns on the board and not field goals. But… it’s tough when you both score three touchdowns and you’re still down two points because you’re missing extra points. It’s a little tough to be in that situation and be down a score. But I like how Zach played.”

Underdog Jets Podcast, Episode 14 on YouTube

It’s been generally agreed upon that Sunday was Wilson’s best outing as a Jet to date, as he was responsible for all three New York scores. Alas, even those tallies couldn’t give the Jets a lead, as, to Chrebet’s point, they were besieged by missed extra points from the leg of since-departed kicker Alex Kessman.

Chrebet feels that Wilson, who missed three games due to a sprained PCL sustained in the Oct. 24 game in New England, is taking advantage of the continued maturation of Moore, who has emerged as one of the league’s top rookie receivers despite the constant turnover at quarterback.

“He’s a great route runner. He’s got great speed … he’s playing with confidence right now, you know what I mean?” Chrebet said of the rookie Moore. “When you’re playing with confidence, things happen. When you give your quarterback that confidence in them, that’s a big thing.”

Chrebet continued, “You can see, early in the year, Zach was kind of forcing it to Corey Davis a lot and Elijah wasn’t really a part of it. But, I think ever since Mike White came in there, he kind of got a little more involved, and I think Zach, being on the sideline, kind of saw that and saw how useful that Elijah could be in that system. You get two rookies that are pretty good combinations. So hopefully, we can watch that for a long time to come.”

Underdog Jets Podcast, Episode 14 on Megaphone (click logos below for iTunes, Spotify or Google)

Chrebet was also impressed by the emergence of Braxton Berrios, an acquisition via New England’s cut list that has emerged as a threat on both special teams.

Berrios currently leads the NFL with an average kick return of 28.9 yards. Though he has yet to reach the end zone via kickoff, Berrios’ 79-yard runback of the opening kickoff set the Jets up at the cusp of the Philadelphia red zone, allowing Wilson to find Moore for the opening tally.

“I think he’s doing a great job. He’s so valuable that he could play multiple positions and special teams and returning,” Chrebet said.

“That’s what you want, to get the crowd into it and set up the first score, and he’s done well filling in as a receiver. The biggest thing about him is he’s durable. These guys have been in and out a game, a month, whatever it may be, and he’s always there to fill in and show he could play receiver in this league as well as be a returner. So he’s definitely valuable to the team.”

On a slightly more macabre note, Chrebet and Sabo also discussed the plethora of costly penalties the Jets incurred on Sunday. While they totaled only six, four defensive infractions led to Philadelphia first downs. Several of the calls (and lack of a flag on other occasions) drew an animated response from head coach Robert Saleh.

Despite the calls failing to lean the Jets’ way, Chrebet was pleased with the way Saleh went into a verbal war for his players.

“He had every right to do that, you know, he’s fighting for his team. He’s fighting for his players,” the receiver said. “Sometimes it works … you got to give it a shot. You got to show if you’re not pleased with something, and you think they did it wrong. They got it wrong, you got to let them know about it.”

Episodes of the Underdog Jets podcast are available to stream on its new platform on Megaphone.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags