Time to see what kid QB can do when heat is on
CHRISTIAN Hackenberg may or may not play in Friday night’s Jets preseason game against the Redskins in Maryland.
Je t s coach Todd Bowles, who seems as enthusiastic about revealing his preseason quarterback rotation as he is about giving out his ATM pin number, will not say for sure.
After Wednesday’s practice, when he was asked if he “hopes’’ to play Hackenberg against Washington, Bowles said, “That’s the plan.’’
That, too, was said to be the plan for last Thursday’s preseason opener against the Jaguars, and the Jets second-round draft pick did not play.
This is in no way to suggest Hack- enberg should be groomed right now to take over for starter Ryan Fitzpatrick. Nor is it a suggestion he should be rushed into anything he’s not ready for. But playing a series or two late in preseason games can be a valuable learning experience for him because it will give him at least a little bit of a sense for the speed of the pro game. It, too, can be a valuable teachi ng and eval uati on tool for offensive coordinator Chan Gailey and his offensive staff to measure where Hackenberg is in his development. One player who strongly believes Hackenberg would benef it greatly from playing Friday is Fitzpatrick, the man whose job the Jets hope he’ll take, possibly as soon as next year.
“It’s always valuable for all quarterbacks to get out there in game situations,’’ Fitzpatrick said. “You can only learn so much in the classroom. He’ll learn a lot more getting out there on the field and getting some reps.’’
Hackenberg, who’s quietly dying inside to play, is remaining patient, trusting his coaches with their plan for his development.
“Yeah, you’re going to be jacked up, but I think I’m more excited to see how, once I settle in, everything goes and try to be the most prepared I can for that moment,’’ Hackenberg told The Post.
“No matter how much he feels comfortable in the classroom and in practice, it’ll still be crazy for him out there,’’ Fitzpatrick said.
Right now, Hackenberg is merely a concept to anxious Jets fans, a label on the outside of an unopened package.
“Franchise Quarterback.’’ Or “Quarterback of the Future .’’ Pick your label.
No one — not Hackenberg, not Bowles, not general manager Mike Maccagnan (who placed his rep- utation as a terrific talent evaluator on the line with his commitment to the draft pick), not a single Jets’ fan — knows whether the product will live up to that label. “I just try to tune [the expectations] out, stay within the building, stay with what the coaches expect of me,’’ he said. “I know what I can do, what I expect of myself and teammates expect of me.’’ Part of that process is soaking in everything he can from Fitzpatrick, benefit from the 12 years Fitzpatrick has in the NFL and hi s wil l i ngness to impart his wisdom on his rookie understudy.
“Fitz is an awesome resource to have,’’ Hackenberg sai d. “He’s a guy who’s had a lot of success and a lot of failures, he’s had this upand-down career and he’s got a lot of perspective. He’s been awesome. He played for Bill [O’Brien, the former Penn State and current Texans coach], too, so we have that connection. We can talk a little bit of the same language; we’re kind of wired the same way.’’
They may be wired the same way, but Hackenberg was physically built much differently than his mentor.
“If you’re creating a quarterback on ‘Madden,’ with the height and the size and the arm strength,’’ it’s a description of the 6-foot-4, 228-pound Hackenberg, Fitzpatrick said.
“He is a little more advanced mentally than most quarterbacks coming in,’’ Fitzpatrick said. “It’s tough for him right now. He’s always been the top dog everywhere he’s been. So this is a new role for him, to be here and put in a situation where he’s not getting many reps.
“He’s got a step back and learn. He’s got to swallow his pride and work his tail off, focus on becoming a better Christian Hackenberg every single day, whether in the classroom or pre-practice or during practice.’’
Or in games. Beginning Friday night against the Redskins. Play the kid, Todd.