Aaron Rodgers could be Jets defense's biggest asset
New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) during warm up before NFL preseason football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in East Rutherford, N.J., Saturday, August 19, 2022 Credit: Noah K. Murray
The Jets kicked off the Aaron Rodgers’ era Monday night with playoff expectations and Super Bowl dreams.
The four-time MVP has been a prolific passer throughout his career and will make the Jets overwhelmingly better on offense. The team also believes they will be better on defense, too, thanks to Rodgers.
The defense, which was a top-4 unit last year, was sharpened by playing against Rodgers during training camp. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said because of Rodgers’ ability to “find every one of our holes” his group “tightened our windows, tightened our coverage.”
Rodgers could also now impact the defense in games that count, since the Jets should be able to play with some leads this season. Defensive players like the sound of that.
The Jets’ sack numbers and takeaways could go up if teams are playing from behind and passing more.
“We know that the offense is going to be scoring points,” cornerback D.J. Reed said. “Guys in the secondary and the d-line are really happy because we know that there are going to be more opportunities, more drop-back passes, more opportunities to get our hands on the ball to get interceptions.
"Last year, teams were getting a lead and just running a four-minute offense. Just running the ball a lot, and just wasting clock.”
The Jets were sure to be tested on both sides of the ball Monday night at MetLife Stadium against the three-time reigning AFC East champion Bills. Buffalo has been a top five offense the past three seasons and a top six defense in the last two.
Rodgers cautioned that it takes a “a few weeks” to figure out your identity and said that the Jets would be “a work-in-progress” early.
That may be true on offense, where there are so many new faces. The Jets have already established an identity on defense that they expect to build upon because of familiarity in the system and the Rodgers’ effect.
The Jets have built one of the NFL’s best defensive lines. All-Pro tackle Quinnen Williams leads the deep group that Robert Saleh and Ulbrich want causing havoc up front and making it difficult for an opposing quarterback.
They also have one of the best secondaries in football, with cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and Reed and nickelback Michael Carter II ranking among the best at their position by Pro Football Focus.
The Jets finished seventh last season with 45 sacks. Williams had 12. They gave up the fewest touchdown passes (15), but were in the bottom third in interceptions (12).
It was all a byproduct of opponents throwing less because they usually were playing with leads.
Gardner, who had two interceptions as a rookie, said getting more interceptions is a primary goal of his.
The Jets never led in five of their last eight games. In their final six — all losses — the Jets were ahead for less than eight minutes combined.
“We’re never going into a game saying, ‘We’re going to get up,’ and have this exotic plan for when we get the leads, but we’re definitely ready for it,” Ulbrich said. “You play a different style of defense.
"When you don’t have to defend the run and you can just jump out your shoes and attack, it opens up what you can do schematically. It opens up your approach of the defensive linemen when you don’t have to think about the run."
Rodgers, historically, has helped his own defense and applied less pressure on them than most quarterbacks. He owns the lowest-interception rate in NFL history (1.4) and has 475 touchdowns to 105 picks.
“It’ll be exciting for our defensive line to get some of those opportunities," Ulbrich said, "and for the back end, because I really believe those are the times where the turnovers really start to ramp up, when you can really start to affect a quarterback with different coverages that aren’t necessarily built to be run sound, stuff that can be a little bit more exotic.”
Rodgers also has been very good when playing with a top-10 defense. He won his last two MVPs with Green Bay when the Packers had a top-10 defense in 2020 and 2021. Rodgers threw 85 touchdown passes and nine interceptions those two seasons. The Packers last had a top-5 defense in 2010, the year Rodgers won his only Super Bowl.
Saleh said you don’t game plan for leads but it will give the defensive line more opportunities to rush the passer.
“We feel like that’s what they are built for first,” Saleh said, before adding the defense’s ultimate goal is “to get the ball back for the offense as many times as possible, however possible.”
Giving the ball back to Rodgers seems like a good plan.
Lawson inactive
Starting edge rusher Carl Lawson was a surprise name on the Jets' inactive list. Lawson missed about three weeks of training camp with a back injury, but he didn’t appear on the injury report for this game.
The Jets' other inactives were offensive tackle Max Mitchell, receivers Irvin Charles and Jason Brownlee, running back Izzy Abanikanda and linebacker Zaire Barnes.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
