Jets training camp has been hard so far, and Aaron Rodgers thinks that's great

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.--The belief from the most irreplaceable Jet is that the work-intensive training camp designed by Robert Saleh and his coaching staff has been a net positive.

Because it has been hard.

“It’s been good for us,” Aaron Rodgers said following practice at Atlantic Health Training Center Tuesday. “I think some of the older guys enjoy, to steal a coaching word, the callous part of training camp, where you’re kind of grinding.”

By his admission, this has been a different training camp experience than the one Rodgers had last summer, and his previous ones in Green Bay. Because in what is viewed as a make-or-break season for Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas from observers, the starters are getting the majority of the reps in practice.

Saleh would not delve into the mechanics of how the workload has been allocated, other than to say that Rodgers and C.J. Mosley were given “vet days” Tuesday. However, according to Rodgers, the coach let him know in the offseason to expect the first unit to be on the practice field a fair amount of the time.

And just how many reps have the starters received?

“He told me the other day we were somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 more reps at this point in camp than last year and it feels like it,” Rodgers said. “But it’s good. I think it’s going to allow us to maybe be a little more ready . . . I like it. It’s been great. You talk to the older guys, not a lot of complaints from any of those guys [and] young guys don’t know any better, so it’s been good.”

Whether the laborious camp will help end the Jets’ 13-year playoff drought will be determined over the course of 17 games. But should the Jets find themselves among the NFL’s 14 teams in the playoffs this January, much of what took place during camp will have factored in.

“The biggest focal point like I’ve said before [is] that you’re going out, you’re executing your basic fundamentals,” Saleh said. “You’re competing. You just want to make sure we’re representing a style of play. Competing and leaning against different bodies and being able to coach off it, to learn whether you won or lost.

“Obviously, we always want to win [in] everything that we do but that’s not important right now. What’s important right now is learning, growing, and preparing ourselves for [the season].”

Essentially, the Jets’ coach was saying he values process more than the results at this point of the season.

Which prompted a question: How does Saleh feel about his team’s process heretofore?

“I feel like it’s been great,” Saleh said. “Process will always be precedent. Obviously everybody wants a result. Everyone does. The result is a product of the process. And so I think the way we’ve been able to approach this entire training camp, it’s been great. I think our guys have been on it. They’ve been working their tails off, straining. Taking the change in stride, the changes that we’ve made in stride and I feel like they’ve been capitalizing on every opportunity that they’ve been given.

“So like I said, I’m really excited about where we’re at. Still got a couple weeks to finish off before we start full prep but where we are [I am] very confident.”

Saleh eager to see Nabers against Jets secondary

The Jets will get their first up close-and-personal look at wide receiver Malik Nabers and what Saleh called a “much improved” Giants receiving corps during Wednesday’s joint practice.

And the coach is curious to see how his secondary reacts to Nabers and vice versa.

“I know Nabors just from studying him in the draft. He’s a dynamic, dynamic football player,” Saleh said. “It’ll be fun. We feel like we’ve got a pretty good one here too with Garrett [Wilson]. We get to see him every day. But to play a different player, for Sauce [Gardner] to get a chance, same with D.J. Reed and some of our other corners.”

Rodgers: No preference on playing in preseason finale

The Jets will conclude the preseason portion of the schedule Saturday night at MetLife Stadium against the Giants. And Rodgers has not yet taken a snap in game action since tearing his Achilles on the Jets’ fourth play from scrimmage last season.

So, then, does the future Hall-of-Famer want to play in the exhibition finale?

“I don’t really have a preference,” Rodgers said. “I feel good about where I’m at with my body and what I’ve kind of put together."