Jets' Aaron Rodgers: 'Humble pie' being served by the pound for underachieving team
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is helped up by running back Breece Hall after taking a sack against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half of an NFL game Sunday in Glendale, Ariz. Credit: AP/Ross D. Franklin
The Jets’ failures to live up to the hype this season have made them the NFL’s most disappointing team and introduced something to their diet.
Humble pie.
“There’s been a lot of pies to be eaten around here this year, flavored humble,” Aaron Rodgers said during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday.
This has been a humbling experience for Rodgers and the Jets.
Rodgers was thought to be the missing piece for a team that had an established top-5 defense. The consensus was the Jets would at least end their 13-year playoff drought and possibly compete for a Super Bowl title. That seems comical now.
The Jets were humiliated on both sides of the football in Sunday’s 25-point loss in Arizona. They’re 3-7 and currently picking eighth in the NFL draft, according to Tankathon.com.
“I think you’ve got to handle it with humility,” Rodgers said.
He added all hope is not lost and, if nothing else, the Jets can play for pride in their final seven games. Good luck telling that to their long-suffering fans who expected far better this season.
“You’ve got to hold onto that beautiful thing in life called hope,” Rodgers said. “There’s a chance. We’re not mathematically eliminated. There’s a lot to play for. At the end of the day, one thing we can play for, whether we’re 10-0 or 3-7, is pride.
“Pride in your performance. Pride in the product you’re putting on the field. Not wanting to let your coach down, your teammates down, the guys in the locker room.”
The Jets haven’t played with much pride and hope is waning quickly.
It’s hard to believe a Rodgers-led offense, loaded with talented skill players, could have as much trouble getting into the end zone as the Jets have. They’ve scored six touchdowns in their last 14 quarters and managed only two field goals against the Cardinals.
Rodgers, who will be 41 next month, is not the same player he was in Green Bay. Age and tearing his Achilles tendon last season have limited his mobility. Rodgers threw 35 times for just 151 yards against Arizona. His 4.3 yards per pass was the second lowest in his career when throwing at least 30 times.
“I often feel like it’s us against us out there,” Rodgers said of the offense. “We’re kind of playing against ourselves. If we don’t screw it up, we can be a dynamic offense. Unfortunately too many times we’ve been the ones screwing it up.”
The Jets’ defense has been as disappointing as the offense.
They allowed touchdowns on four of Arizona’s first five possessions and a field goal on the other, not getting a stop until late in the third quarter. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said there was “an egregious, criminal amount of missed tackles” that hurt the Jets. It’s been an issue all season.
The team underwent a massive shake-up five games ago, but owner Woody Johnson hasn’t gotten the results he expected when he fired Robert Saleh
Johnson said dismissing Saleh would provide a spark. The Jets were 2-3. They’ve gone 1-4 under Ulbrich. The defense has gotten worse and Davante Adams said the Jets lacked energy in two of the four games he's played for them.
The Jets also changed the offensive play-caller from Nathaniel Hackett to Todd Downing. There’s been some improvements, but Adams indicated the Jets weren’t prepared offensively to face some of the looks and coverages Arizona played against them.
Rodgers said the media and fans on social media are too quick to want everyone fired or traded and that the fix has to come from inside the locker room.
“A lot of time when [expletive] not going your way, they want to make it about: it’s the coaches fault or players’ fault or my fault, or Todd’s fault or Saleh’s fault obviously or Hackett’s fault,” Rodgers said. “A lot of times it comes down to doing little things. It’s little things that add up to the big things.”
Rodgers also was talking in general about ownership around the NFL being too quick to make moves based on public outcry. It's fair to wonder if it was directed at Johnson, who certainly has been guilty of that.
“I’d continue to preach patience for players and for coaches,” Rodgers said. “It starts with ownership. Ownership has to come out and make strong statements…This is what we’re doing and I don’t care what the outside opinions are.
“I think there’s, too often, the opinions of whether it’s the social media world or the incredible experts out there talking about football [that] actually impact billion-dollar organizations.”
Jets claim McGovern
The Jets claimed veteran offensive lineman Connor McGovern off waivers from the Saints. McGovern, the former Jets starting center, was on the Jets practice squad earlier this season. The Saints signed him in October and waived him Monday.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
