Aaron Rodgers to Garrett Wilson heats up Jets offense
Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson makes a catch during a joint practice with the Giants on Wednesday in Florham Park, N.J. Credit: Corey Sipkin
The Jets’ joint practice with the Giants came with a symphony of noises. Young fans called out players’ first names as the yells blended with rap music in the background.
But a different tune was sung once Garrett Wilson caught a 55-yard touchdown from Aaron Rodgers. Fans roared, Wilson yelled back after tossing the ball in celebration and his Jets teammates ran wildly downfield, including Rodgers who leaped against offensive lineman Morgan Moses.
“He’s one of those people that you just give him time, he’s going to do it,” offensive lineman Tyron Smith said of Wilson.
Wilson’s catch came on a deep ball after blowing by Giants cornerback Nick McCloud down the left side of the field. He almost snagged a second touchdown from Rodgers but Wilson slid out of bounds after making the catch.
Both plays highlighted a strong day for the Jets offense. Rodgers’ final throw was a 2-yard touchdown pass to Allen Lazard to cap a two-minute drill where Rodgers went 5-for-6.
Rodgers threw three touchdowns, including a 9-yard pass to running back Breece Hall. But it was mostly the receivers leading the way.
Much to coach Robert Saleh’s delight, there were no fights between the crosstown rivals. The only hint of tension was defensive back Sauce Gardner waving goodbye to the Giants after practice ended.
Gardner admitted afterward that was more playful than antagonistic. Instead of fueling flames, Gardner chose to praise Wilson and the offense.
“I go against him all the time so I know and feel a little bit watching the other color jersey on the other side,” cornerback Sauce Gardner said. “You’re like, OK, Garrett getting the ball. He’s probably about to do this.
“I’m just seeing the way that they operated that two-minute [drill]. It looked crazy. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. They probably going to have the big heads walking in the facility tomorrow. But man, it was crazy.”
Given how much the Jets missed Rodgers last season after his Achilles injury, every practice is about making up for lost time and building chemistry. Perhaps it’s why Rodgers said Tuesday he appreciated how much harder practice is this year.
The first team, he added, is getting about “300 more reps” than at this point last year. Coach Robert Saleh added Wednesday that playing his starters more in practice is about adding confidence and being better prepared for the season.
“We're not trying to revisit the Junction Boys,” Saleh said, referring to Bear Bryant’s brutal 10-day, 1954 summer camp while coaching at Texas A&M. “But at the same time, [there is] this country club style that's kind of taking on all of sport, not just football, but all of sport. There's a fine line, they've got to be ready to play football.”
So is Saleh anti-load management? Yes and no. He noticed how NBA teams tried to manage players’ minutes yet come playoff time, injuries still happen.
But he’s also not about to run his players into the ground either. Rodgers, for example, has yet to play in the preseason. Saleh said he knows who’ll play in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Giants but he didn’t say because he didn’t tell the team yet.
Wednesday’s joint practice was as close to preseason action that most of the starters get. That’s fine for Saleh as he saw the value in both practice and preseason games keeping his guys sharp.
"Our guys are out there getting tackled all the time. It's been very, very physical,” Saleh said. “So it's just trying to understand and make sense of what's important for this team and what's important for preparing for Week One.”
It worked for the offense with Wilson and Rodgers looking sharp. For one series, Gardner appreciated being a fan instead of having to stifle them.
“Garrett, he’s a top five receiver in the league,” Gardner said. “Just being able to go against him each day, it just makes me better.”
Notes & quotes: Rookie offensive lineman Olu Fashanu was held out of practice with a strained elbow although Saleh said it was nothing to be concerned about. Cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers was back at practice after missing Tuesday to a personal matter.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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