Aaron Glenn’s latest defense of Justin Fields included a reference to the NFL’s last two MVPs, a thought that Fields gets the ball out faster than them and a through line of how quick time-to-throw numbers don’t always translate to positive results.
“You look at Lamar [Jackson], I think Lamar, his numbers getting the ball out is higher than Justin’s,” Glenn said. “I think Josh Allen’s numbers are higher than Justin’s, but I think everybody tends to see who those guys are and understand that. And for some reason, they don’t understand Justin.”
Except Glenn’s comparison wasn’t accurate.
Among quarterbacks who’ve taken at least 20 percent of their team’s dropbacks this season, Fields has the highest time-to-throw mark in the league at 3.22, according to Pro Football Focus. Jackson’s has the third-highest at 3.15. And Allen sits lower on the list at 3.05.
So Glenn’s answer turned into another podium mishap as pressure mounts following the Jets’ 0-6 start entering Sunday’s game against the Panthers at MetLife Stadium.
In the aftermath of their loss in London Sunday, when asked if Fields would remain his starter, Glenn responded with, “Come on, man, what kind of question is that?”
Then, three days later, when asked if Fields needs to take more chances, Glenn acknowledged that’s the case but added, “If something bad happens, you guys are gonna be bitching about that.”
Earlier this week, Fields didn’t hide his desire to become more aggressive after he was sacked nine times and finished with minus-10 net passing yards during the Jets’ loss to the Broncos in London.
Fields still hasn’t thrown an interception this season — and doesn’t want to jeopardize Jets possessions with turnovers, but admitted Wednesday there’s a “healthy balance between trying to maybe fit it in smaller windows and just letting it rip.”
“I’m not sitting here saying that there aren’t some times when he needs to get the ball out,” Glenn said Friday of Fields. “He knows that, he articulated that to you guys. We’re going to continue to work on that as much as we can.”
