New York Jets: How Josh McCown performed like Tom Brady in 2017
New York Jets quarterback Josh McCown, in some ways, performed like Tom Brady in 2017.
The journey of Josh McCown to the New York Jets was an interesting one to say the least. His name came up and we all didn’t want him here. We all didn’t want this guy who bounced from team to team, never being successful. He came and won the starting job, then we all started to like his play. We found him as an efficient quarterback that took care of the football. So much so, that we missed him more than we expected when he fell to his injury.
Now, we are at a point where some of us would be all right with him returning in 2018, though hopefully not as a starter. It’s been a long and winding road.
In thinking about the 2017 season, I spent a lot of time thinking about McCown’s performance, and why we liked it. If you think about it, in some ways, and not always in the stats, McCown performed similarly to Tom Brady.
More from Empire Writes Back
- Caesars New York Promo Code: Win $250 Bonus GUARANTEED on ANY Bet!
- Last Chance Caesars Promo: Claim $1,250 Bonus for ANY MLB Bet!
- Caesars New York Promo Code Gives TWO Chances to Win Betting on Your Yankees!
- PointsBet New York Promo: FIVE $100 Bonus Bets to Back the Yankees or Mets!
- Caesars NY Promo: $1,250 Bonus to Celebrate the Return of Judge!
For one, McCown did have a slightly higher completion percentage, 67.3% for McCown vs. 66.3% for Brady. But that wasn’t the reason on the top of the list. There is a reason that you can’t tell from the stats, at least not from the QB stats.
As Jets fans, what is one thing we hate about Tom Brady? Yes, there are a lot of things we hate. One thing that is easy to hate is how he can take wide receivers nobody has ever heard of and make them into productive players.
Wes Welker and Chris Hogan are just two examples. These are players that were average at best on their original teams, but come to Brady and become major players.
The common thread is the fact that he makes everyone around him better. That’s what a great quarterback does, isn’t it? He brings out the best qualities in the weapons around him and gets them to perform at their very best. This is what Tom Brady does routinely.
Now take a look at the season of Josh McCown. Now, he wasn’t nearly as prolific as Brady, but he did do similar things. He helped Robby Anderson to his best season. He played a big part in Austin Seferian-Jenkins putting up career numbers. It’s not the same body of work as Brady, but he did get two guys to play their very best, one being a no-name and the other on the verge of being a bust.
Josh McCown is no Tom Brady, and nor is he the long-term answer. However, he does exhibit some of the traits necessary to play this game at its most important position.