Getty New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers throwing a pass during a preseason game.
Count Tom Brady among the believers.
The now-retired quarterback was asked about Aaron Rodgers on the New York Jets and making that kind of change that late in his NFL career.
“Well, it’s just, there’s a different energy about it. It’s a newness,” Brady said on the “Let’s Go Podcast” on Monday, September 4 via NFL dot com. “It’s a fresh start to try to take where you’ve been, to bring all the good and then not to bring the tough lessons, you know? Because sometimes the tough lessons always remain unless you work through them, you know? So it’s like you go through a lot of years at one place and there’s a lot of, I would say, mental scar tissue, from losses or relationships or certain experiences. Oh, this guy had said this once, or that teammate, or this coach, or that general manager.”
Brady said all of that changes when you go to a new place.
“So now you can just hopefully bring your best knowing that you probably didn’t do everything right where you were, but you tried your best. And now you get to go to a new place with a different type of emotional energy. And I’m excited for him. He’ll be invigorated. Looks like he’s having a good time up to this year. I know he has been engaged in the offseason, which is always great, and really trying to connect with his teammates. So I’m excited to see what he does. They have a really good team. They have a really good offense. And, you know, Aaron’s been, when he’s got good receivers, man, it’s pretty dangerous. … I think he’s gonna have a great year,” Brady said.
Rodgers Is Bringing the Element of Surprise to the Buffalo Bills Opener
A-Rod is an old face in a new place.
The 39 year old who will turn 40 during the 2023 season spent the first 18 years of his career with the Green Bay Packers.
However, there is limited tape of him working alongside new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett according to Bills head coach Sean McDermott.
“There is some unknowns because there is not a whole lot on film of Aaron with coach Hackett. They have both been around each other but never in the two seats that they currently occupy with the OC and the quarterback,” McDermott told the media on Wednesday, September 6. “It has been a little bit of a challenge for us in terms of trying to find what we should watch and how long we should watch it.”
When I showed this clip to Jets analyst Joe Caporoso on “Boy Green Daily” on Thursday, September 7 he called it “coach speak” from McDermott.
He told me that this is simply a cat-and-mouse game coaches will play in the media to imply that they aren’t as ready as they actually are.
Slivers of Truth to the Rodgers-Jets Unknown
While Caporoso might be right that this is a lot of coach jargon, there is also some truth to it as well.
Hackett was Rodgers’ “OC” in Green Bay when he won back-to-back MVPs during the 2020 and 2021 seasons respectively. However he wasn’t the one calling the plays, that was Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
So it’s still unclear exactly what this offense is going to look like in 2023 with Rodgers and Hackett reunited but with a special flair in New York.
This offseason the breadcrumbs lead to some combination of everything from the Denver Broncos days, to highlights with the Packers, to even some new wrinkles based on the Jets’ personnel.
The Jets finished with a disappointing 7-10 record last year lowlighted by a six-game losing streak to end the year. If Gang Green had scored 23 points per game last season they would have finished with a 13-4 record.
That isn’t asking for a lot considering 23 points per game would have ranked No. 13 in the NFL last season.