Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett praises Tim Boyle's 'unbelievable knowledge' and command of offense

In new starter Tim Boyle, the Jets are putting a veteran who is not known for putting up numbers and has limited in-game NFL experience, but offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett touted the quarterback’s work ethic and familiarity with his offense.

“He has an unbelievable knowledge of the system,” the offensive coordinator said of Boyle on Wednesday. “He has a tenacity when it comes to his preparation. I mean non-stop from everything, from every single drawing to every single thing on the game sheet. He prepares truly like a starter and has since day one.”

Hackett added: “I think his command of the system and understanding is something that we really love.”

Boyle spent the first three years of his NFL career in Green Bay, the last two of which were in Hackett's system as a backup to Aaron Rodgers. After making a pair of one-year stops as a backup in Detroit and Chicago, Boyle joined the other two in New York this offseason

But Friday against Miami will mark just the fourth time Boyle will start in his six-year NFL career, his first since 2021 with the Lions, and his 19th game overall. And before Sunday, he had only attempted four passes in a regular season game with Hackett as his offensive coordinator.

“He’s played in games before so he has experience, which is very good,” Hackett said of Boyle. “He has a very good understanding of the system. And I think that when you’re out there playing the position, it’s the command. It’s the command of the offense. Understanding the different checks. Why a play is good, why a play is bad, where your No. 1 [option] is, why you’re going to it, when you’re going to it and that makes you make quick decisions.

“I think one thing that Tim does very well is that he gets the ball out of his hand. So if you can do that whether it’s an incomplete, a throw-away, that’s always a good thing.”

But in that limited game time, Boyle hasn’t exactly produced much completing 60.8 percent of his 120 attempts for only 607 yards (5.1 yards per attempt) with three touchdowns and nine interceptions and his team is 0-3 in his previous starts. And in the collegiate ranks - three years at UConn and one at Eastern Kentucky – he completed just 55.5 percent of 602 passes for a 5.6 yards per attempt average with 11 touchdowns and 26 interceptions.

A lack of production that Hackett isn’t too worried about.

“I don’t really look back at that,” he said when asked about his stats. “It’s one of those things for us, he’s done everything that we’ve asked. Like I said his preparation is amazing and his understanding is amazing. And now we get a chance to go out there and test it and see how he responds.

"When it comes to stats, there's so many different ways to look at numbers. Good, bad. There are people throughout this league that have been very, very good and one of the best ever. And then, all those same people, are not as good. That fluctuates. There are so many things, that's why this game is so great, so many different things that change that. Personnel. Situations. So many different things."

In the three years since the two worked together with the Packers, Hackett said he has seen Boyle’s “confidence has grown” which he credits to increased comfortability with the system and the terms.

Friday will also mark the second game Hackett calls plays from the booth after he was not on the sideline for the 32-6 defeat in Buffalo. The offensive coordinator said sitting next to passing-game coordinator Todd Downing was part of making a change and trying out different things to generate some more offense.

"Trying to do anything we can to get a little spark, do whatever we can s coaches, we're always trying to think of something different,” he said. “Whether it’s uptempo, whether it’s more plays, whether it’s less plays, whether it’s checking plays, whether it’s going up into the box to see if that can help. Anything at all that we can do we. We want to control what we can, and that was one step that we wanted to take.”

Hackett added that Downing – who was in the booth in the season earlier – gives him “the down and distance and the hashes” and it is “very valuable” to have him next to him during the game.

A change that did not help third-year quarterback Zach Wilson, who was benched in the second half when his struggles continued. But Hackett believes Wilson has “gotten better” as the season went on.

“He’s worked so hard, it’s a brand new system, I think there’s been so much change. I think there’s been a lot of expectations. And for him, he really did do some good things,” the OC said. “I think in the end it’s about opportunity that we’re all facing. It’s opportunity for more change, to see other people to get opportunities and there were some missed opportunities before.

“So I think for us, we’re moving forward and we’re very excited about this next game.”