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On Super Bowl Sunday, Fox’s Jay Glazer announced that the Jets are moving on from legendary QB Aaron Rodgers.
But as I mentioned in a recent post, we should have seen this coming for weeks before that, based on what former Jets WR Keyshawn Johnson was saying on FSI.
From essentially the time Aaron Glenn took over the team, Johnson, a former teammate of Glenn, was saying Rodgers was a goner.
“He will not start off his career — now I said this first, nobody else is saying this — he will not start off his career with Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback in September,” Johnson said on January 24. “If he does, then I’m walking from Calabasas at 4 a.m. in the morning, to the studio, with nothing on but boxers. So I’m saying this with a lot of confidence. … I’m just letting you know, he ain’t going to start his career with that mess. It’s not going to happen. He’s not going to allow somebody to tell him what he’s doing as a coach.”
Man, I should have listened. I actually thought they were pondering. Clearly they weren’t.
Keyshawn said, “He ain’t going to start with his career with that mess?”
That mess was an answer at QB. You have no shot in the league without one. None.
Keyshawn seemed to argue he wasn’t an answer.
“They won 5 games with him and 7 games without him,” Johnson told ESPN. “What is it that he brings to the table at 42 years old with an Achilles and a new coach and a new environment and a new culture?
I respect Keyshawn, but I’ve never been on board with this argument that it’s not a big deal moving on because they only won five games with him last year.
To me, that is a bogus argument.
They lost seven one-score games by an average of 3.6 points.
While Rodgers wasn’t perfect, to act like he was the reason for the 5-12 record, I’m not buying that.
He was surrounded by a lot of problems, like a bad defense (though some in the media will tell you otherwise), especially an embarrassing run defense. And there was a lot of bad coaching.
There are so many examples of defensive and coaching issues. Example: In the Jets inexcusable loss to a rebuilding Patriots team in Foxboro – both of these issues were on full display.
The Jets had to call three timeouts in the first quarter on offense because they had issues getting the play in and/or lining up.
“This team is in disarray. 1:37 left in the first quarter and you are out of timeouts,” said Pats radio analyst Scott Zolak after the third timeout was called in the first quarter.
Never saw three timeouts in the first quarter because of operational issues. You could argue that should be the team’s most efficient quarter on offense due to the scripting of early plays in practice during the week.
Rodgers gave the Jets a 22-17 lead with about three minutes left, but with a backup QB and a patchwork offensive line, New England embarked on a 12-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in the game-winning TD. The Jets’ defense was horrific on that Pats’ drive.
Bad coaching, bad defense – it was a problem all year.
So this argument that it’s not a big deal that the Jets moved on from Rodgers because he only won five games is a little disingenuous.
He was solid, but was surrounded by so much dysfunction, that there was only so much he could do to overcome it.
He threw 28 touchdowns, the same as league MVP Josh Allen, and more than Patrick Mahomes.
Look, this could turn out just fine for the Jets. Let’s see what their plan is post-Rodgers. None of us are Nostradamus.
But spare me with this argument that they would win five games with him or without him.
If you make the claim, you just weren’t watching the Jets games from the 2024-25 season very closely.
February 17, 2025
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