Aaron Rodgers-Joe Tippmann connection helping Jets' smooth start

Aaron Rodgers doesn’t only know how to dissect and carve up defenses. He can fix snapping issues too.

Jets second-year center Joe Tippmann went through a stretch in training camp when his snaps to Rodgers were high. Tippmann said Rodgers sat with him, joked about it and worked with him on trying to solve the problem.

Three games into the season, the center-quarterback exchange has been fine for the Jets.

“I have all the trust in the world with him, especially with him getting me right, getting me on the same page as him,” Tippmann said Monday afternoon. “It’s a great feeling and something we can carry on going forward.”

It wasn’t an easy time for Tippmann, who said he’s “snapped a million balls in my day.” He had to look within, figure out what he was doing wrong and break down what was different.

Tippmann’s offensive line coaches helped him overcome it, too. But it meant a lot to Tippmann that someone he’s watched for years and is a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback would spend that time with him and make recommendations that would help him.

“Somebody who’s as seasoned a veteran as he is to kind of pick apart my game or even take the time, a young player like myself, to kind of make me better, it’s a great feeling,” Tippmann said. “And it gives me a lot of confidence knowing that he wants me to be in that position, he wants me to come out to my full potential. That’s something that he helps me do.”

Rodgers hugged Tippmann before each training camp practice. He also admitted, rather colorfully, that he pushed Tippmann sometimes during his struggles because he saw his potential.

“A guy like Joe Tippmann, he has the ability to play a long time in this league at center, and he's got a chance to be an All-Pro I think,” Rodgers said. “So if he's snapping the ball a little wayward from time to time, he can take it. He can take me jumping his [expletive] a little bit and getting on him. Sometimes you need to do that.”

Everything Rodgers is doing is working.

The Jets (2-1) will go for their third straight win Sunday when they host the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium. The Jets are coming off a 21-point win over the Patriots on Thursday. The defense held New England to just one field goal, but Rodgers and the offense stole the headlines.

Rodgers led three touchdown drives and had a 118.9 passer rating. The Jets didn’t go three-and-out once. The last time that happened was 2008.

The Jets began the week ranked first in third-down conversion percentage (56.7%). They were last after three games last season and finished the year at the very bottom. Tippmann credited the Jets’ third-down success to one thing.

“Aaron Rodgers,” he said, smiling.

“He’s a guy that’s out there communicating, getting us to the right call, right play,” Tippmann continued. “He’s breaking down the defense before they’re even showing what they have. For him to be able to do that and getting us on the same page and he just gets time to work and make something happen. That’s what he’s phenomenal at doing. Credit’s to Aaron Rodgers there.”

Zach Wilson was the Jets’ quarterback after Rodgers got injured in Week 1 last season. He’s not the sole reason the Jets’ offense was unwatchable and ineffective, but he shouldered a lot of the blame.

The Jets traded Wilson to Denver in the spring. He’s the third-string, emergency quarterback for the Broncos, who are starting rookie Bo Nix.

Rodgers has made all the difference. The Jets’ offense has scored three touchdowns in each of their first three games for the first time since 1989. They hadn’t scored at least three offensive touchdowns in three straight games in the three previous seasons that Robert Saleh was coach.

“There’s nothing fluky about the production the offense has had from a scoring standpoint,” Saleh said. “It’s just a matter of being able to do it more consistently, drive in and drive out. I think it’s only going to get better as the year goes on.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.