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While they still have a lot of work to do . . .
what the Jets just pulled off was awfully impressive.
To acquire a QB the magnitude of Aaron Rodgers; that kind of stuff doesn’t happen very often in the NFL.
And to do it, and still have picks in the first and second rounds this year, makes it even more impressive.
You could say – “Well Rodgers is 39, so what the big deal getting a QB that old?”
Because he can still play.
You saw that at the end of last season.
The Packers were having a rough season last year for a number of reasons, but he led them to four wins in their last five games to end the season.
Is he the same player he was in his prime, probably not, but to use a bad cliche, “90 percent of Aaron Rodgers is better than most quarterbacks.”
I’m over the opinion, and I’ve written this before, that Rodgers was victimized, for years, by bad decision-making by the Packers brass.
There was a great line by the former Miami Dolphins owner, the late Joe Robbie, who said n the middle of Dan Marino’s career – “We are in danger of wasting the Dan Marino years.”
And they did. He never went back to the Super Bowl after his rookie year.
Why?
Terrible decisions around him.
People wonder why the Packers have won just one Super Bowl with Rodgers.
Probably the same reason.
The GM before Brian Gutekunst wasn’t a big believer in free agency, and there were times perhaps they should have added more pieces around Rodgers, but mainly focused on the draft.
And then with Gutekunst, there have been some dubious decisions that didn’t exactly take advantage of a talent like Rodgers, like this past season, trading Davante Adams, and going with two raw rookie receivers, from Non-Power Five Conferences, Christian Watson (North Dakota State) and Romeo Dubbs (Nevada-Reno).
Moving on from Adams, and then replacing him with two receivers that weren’t instant coffee, contributed to the rough first half of the season for the Packers, as those receivers figured things out. Bad plan when you have a 39-year-old QB.
Two years ago, the Packers went 13-3, and Rodgers won MVP, but the special teams were an utter disaster. Some of it was personnel related, some was having a coordinator over his head that Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur should never have given the job to, and who they should have replaced during the season. It was that bad. They ended up losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs due to the special team blunders.
Then you have the selection of QB Jordan Love in 2020 draft in the first round when they had other needs, like a receiver and on defense. Not only did the pick piss off Rodgers, but it was also unnecessary. You don’t need to train the heir apparent for 2-3 years. Rodgers clearly was still at the top of his game. It was a frivolous move.
But the Jets can thank the frivolous move for contributing to the Rodgers trade. Because now the Gutekunst (and Mark Murphy) are saying they need to see what Love can do entering his fourth season.
So now the Jets can see what Rodgers will be able to do for them.
And barring injury, he should be able to do a hell of a lot.
Because even if a QB has lost a little bit physically, in their late 30’s, they are at the top of the mental growth curve at the most challenging position in pro sports.
There isn’t anything Rodgers hasn’t seen.
And he’s reunited with Nathaniel Hackett, who he worked with in Green Bay from 2019-21, in a system he loves.
April 24, 2023
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