A HACK'MOVE BY BOWLES
Refusal to put backup QA in game an inexcusable dereliction of new duties
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — In his first game since being empowered by that curious ownership vote of confidence in the form of a two-year contract extension Friday, Todd Bowles did not have a good day Sunday.
Forget the result — Patriots 26, Jets 6 at Gillette Stadium — because that’s what Jets ownership has been doing all season: Ignoring the results.
Pay attention, instead, to what the Jets coach didn’t do en route to this second consecutive 5-11 finish under his watch. He allowed a second consecutive lost season to pass without playing Christian Hackenberg for a single down.
With Sunday’s game already out of hand by halftime (21-3) and the Jets offense operating as if its players were running in waist-deep water, Bowles stubbornly and inexplicably refused to play Hackenberg.
So now the second-year second-round draft pick has gone his first two NFL seasons without playing a single down. This is as insulting to Hackenberg as it is to Jets fans.
Fact: The guy has practiced every day for two years without once squawking publicly about lack of playing time. Bowles and the coaching staff owed it to Hackenberg to get him in the game — even if they’re convinced he’ll never be good enough to play for them in a game of any importance.
If Hackenberg — who was the first Jets player on the frigid field to warm up long before Sunday’s game — had a bad attitude or didn’t practice hard it would be understandable for Bowles to ignore him.
But when, in his two years of being asked by reporters about his lack of playing opportunities, have you heard Hackenberg complain once? Never. Because he hasn’t. It was classless for Bowles, himself a former NFL player, to not give Hackenberg a mere series or two.
It, too, was irresponsible on his part as a head coach with the security of that two-year extension he was granted Friday not to find out whatever he could about Hackenberg by playing him at least a little bit.
The most damning words from Bowles after the game came when he was asked whether he thinks Hackenberg can play in the NFL.
“We don’t know if he can or can’t,’’ Bowles said.
Then why the hell didn’t he put him in the damn game, make valuable use some of the garbage time at the end of this season to find out?
It’s not as if the Jets needed to see more of Bryce Petty at quarterback as they evaluate their murky future at quarterback, because let’s be perfectly honest: Petty, who’s 0-3 as a starter this year and 1-6 in his career, is not a part of the Jets’ future quarterback plans.
Bowles, when asked about playing Hackenberg, again clung to the fact Petty won the No. 2 job over Hackenberg and he felt it was only fair to Petty to give him these three starts after Josh McCown was lost for the season with a broken hand.
What about being fair to Hackenberg?
Bowles showing respect to Petty by not giving him a quick hook (or a hook of any kind) at the same time showed zero respect to Hackenberg by not rewarding him at all with some playing time and valuable experience.
“They just told me to be ready,’’ Hackenberg said of his communication with Bowles and the coaches. “So that’s what I did. I was ready and prepared and it didn’t happen.’’
When the Jets got the ball back with 6:42 remaining in the game, they were trailing 24-6 and were 0-for-10 on third-down conversions. And yet they trotted Petty back onto the field. Ridiculous.
That series ended with Petty being sacked in the end zone for a safety, leaving them 0-for-11 on third down (they would finish
0-for-12) and trailing 26-6.
“He works hard every day,’’ Bowles said of Hackenberg. “He’ll come back next year, he’ll work hard in the spring and we’ll look at it then.’’
The fact Bowles and his offensive coaching staff will “look at it then’’ with as little knowledge then as they had this season is irresponsible, because on a coaching level it was a complete shirking of his responsibility.
“It wasn’t his time yet,’’ Bowles said. “He has to wait his time.’’
The message Bowles has sent is that it’s never going to be Hackenberg’s time. Shame on him for allowing that to happen.
“I’ve tried to help Christian out every way I can,’’ Petty told The Post. “I say, ‘Dude, look at yourself on tape. You can make the throws. You’ve got it.’ He’s a great kid with a good head on his shoulders. His time is coming. No doubt about it.’’
Unfortunately for Hackenberg, Petty is wrong. There’s nothing but doubt about it.