New York Jets: Christian Hackenberg proving a bust even in the AAF

Former New York Jets second round pick Christian Hackenberg has joined the new football league, the AAF. Unfortunately for him, he is the same player.

Look who is back in the news, New York Jets fans. I bet you thought we would never hear from this guy again, didn’t you? Well, he’s back in the new league anyway.

Our old friend Christian Hackenberg is in the AAF as the starting quarterback for the Memphis Express. After all of the failures in the NFL, the AAF felt he deserved another chance. Why? Most of us that have seen him play have been wondering about that.

But, Mike Singletary and the Memphis Express decided to give Hackenberg another chance. Maybe this would finally be the time that Hackenberg gets it all together. After all, he said that he worked out his mechanical problems.

More from Empire Writes Back

So how has it worked out so far? Very bad. At least for the Memphis Express it has been.

In two games, he has gone 24-48 for 189 yards and one interception. He hasn’t thrown a touchdown as of yet, though he has made plays with his feet.

This past Saturday against the Arizona Hotshots he was just awful. To be fair, he did run it seven times for 39 yards.

That was the highlight of his day.

On his first play from scrimmage, he never felt the rush from his blind side and the result was a sack fumble.

Luckily for Hackenberg, the ball rolled out of bounds but the day under center didn’t improve much.

On the evening, he went 14-25 for 102 yards, no interceptions and no touchdowns. That wasn’t even the worst of it.

From approximately the second drive on, the Express figured out the problem. They didn’t even have Hackenberg throw a pass that traveled ten yards in the air. Some of that was due to the defense but some of it looked like his first read.

That means the call was for him to throw short. Meaning that the coaching staff didn’t trust him.

Next. Too early Jets mock draft. dark

Hackenberg was also seen visibly frustrated during the game. At one point it was with players not being in the right spot, other times it was with the speed of the play call.

Those are important, but equally important is to be accountable for your own poor play. He didn’t lay badly because of slow play calls, he played badly because he isn’t any good.

Watching Christian Hackenberg struggle in a new league really reminds us the big question. What the heck did Mike Maccagnan see in this guy? Did he think that HE was the quarterback whisperer?

It’s odd, because the same guy that drafted Hackenberg also drafted Sam Darnold. Was the general manager briefly possessed by demons? That pick got him laughed at.

He can’t even play in the second chance league. Whatever made anyone think he could play in the NFL?

The world will never know.

Home/New York Jets