It was 17 months in the past when Aaron Rodgers was formally launched as the newest savior of the New York Jets. Meaning earlier than he would tear his Achilles tendon and lengthy earlier than he would flip himself right into a actuality collection, and never simply on Tuesdays with Pat McAfee. This was when the Jets nonetheless had Joe Douglas as a common supervisor and Robert Saleh as a coach, and Rodgers, even about to show 40, was going to take all of them and the Jets to the highest. Boy, these have been the times.
Rodgers held up his new No. 8 jersey that day, and nobody might have dreamt that Rodgers and the Jets would discover themselves the place they’re now, with the Jets making an attempt to win as many video games with him — seven — as Zach Wilson and Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle did with out him a 12 months in the past.
Right here is one factor Rodgers stated that day, April of ’23:
“Not every franchise is like the Jets. There are a few iconic franchises in the league, and when you win there, it’s different.”
He’s not proper about numerous issues when he’s not throwing a soccer round, sometimes in addition to he did final Sunday towards a Jaguars group even worse than his personal. However he was proper on the cash with the half about not each franchise being just like the Jets, and never simply in professional soccer, now that the Jets have gone longer than any group in professional sports activities on this nation with out making it to the playoffs.
The banner that should be flying over MetLife Stadium on Sunday earlier than the Jets proceed taking part in out the string towards the Rams writes itself, as spinoff as it might be:
“14 Years of Lousy Football is Enough….”
All athletes, particularly star athletes, coming to new groups say what they assume the fan base needs to listen to. So that you wager individuals ate it up when Rodgers seemed on the one Lombardi Trophy the Jets have received and stated it wanted a buddy. However the actual cash quote from the day he was launched was the one which advised the Jets are an iconic franchise, simply because it ought to have been amusing line to deliver down the home that day.
By now all people is aware of about an awfully damning piece in regards to the Jets proprietor, Woody Johnson, in The Athletic the opposite day, as a result of at this level if there’s life on Mars, they know in regards to the piece, too; about Johnson’s teenaged sons speaking him out of a commerce for Jerry Jeudy and all the remainder of it.
“He’s worse than I thought.”
There’s even one thing within the piece about Johnson getting the final decide within the NFL draft as a result of he was mounted on drafting Mr. Irrelevant. Solely it wasn’t the participant he drafted. It’s Woody himself.All of it comes out about Johnson at a degree the place he’s beginning another time but once more; about to rent a brand new common supervisor and a brand new coach. And he has to determine, lower than a year-and-a-half after Rodgers was lastly going to vary all the pieces for the Jets, if the Jets can run Rodgers on the market in 2025, the season when he’ll flip 42 years previous, as a result of he actually may give them their greatest likelihood at respectability.
This isn’t about Rodgers’ personal and persevering with diva-like silliness, which continued this previous week when he was appearing as thin-skinned as ever, nonetheless mounted on vaccines and beefs with ESPN personalities in his weekly look with McAfee, for whom Aaron Rodgers has been infinitely extra productive, simply when it comes to the clicks he continues to generate, than he has been taking part in quarterback for the Jets.
That is about whether or not or not the Jets may be caught with him and he may be caught with them, which might be one other form of fantastic Jets issues to have occurred, simply in mild of all the intense promise and expectations — and all that Tremendous Bowl chatter — from the spring of ’23.
All people will get why the Jets determined they needed to go for him on the time, due to all of the dominoes than began falling once they first drafted Sam Darnold at No. 3, gave up on Darnold, then rotated and drafted Wilson with the second decide within the draft. And since that is the Jets we’re speaking about, completely, Darnold has already received yet another recreation with the Vikings this season than the Jets have received the final two seasons mixed. He’s 12-2. The Jets are 11-20.
Now the Jets are confronted with the prospect {that a} quarterback who has by no means been the identical after that Achilles harm — and naturally it’s truthful to surprise how this story would have turned out if Rodgers hadn’t gotten harm in that opener towards the Payments on Sept. 11 of ’23 — is price rolling on the market for an additional 12 months, whereas the newest Crack Soccer Committee over there in Florham Park commences its personal seek for … look forward to it … the following Joe Namath.
For many of this century, when it was the Knicks who have been the NBA model of the Jets, it appeared laughable to maintain calling Madison Sq. Backyard a “mecca,” simply because it had solely change into a mecca of unhealthy administration and unhealthy basketball and really terrible possession by James Dolan. That’s why it’s fairly superb, looking back, for Rodgers to have described the Jets as being iconic seeing what they’ve change into underneath Johnson since they final made the playoffs, a interval wherein he has been as unhealthy an proprietor as we’ve ever had round right here.
Over a half-century because the Jets performed in, and received, their solely Tremendous Bowl. Fourteen years since they’d an opportunity to return. Rodgers now making an attempt to win as many video games as Wilson and Siemian and Boyle and them did. One other misplaced season taking part in itself out at MetLife Stadium.
You all the time hear there’s no “I” in group. With this group there’s. Simply not iconic. Irrelevant.
IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT THE MONEY, TIME TO FIX ADAM SILVER’S NBA & MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY NEWS FAMILY …
Did I not inform you that the Yankee protection would start to inform you — and nearly at warp pace — that one way or the other the Yankees can be higher off with out Juan Soto?
By the way in which?
Whenever you hear what Soto stated when he received to the Mets, and what Max Fried stated the opposite day, you all the time return to the knowledge from George Younger:
After they say it’s not in regards to the cash, it’s all the time in regards to the cash.
Hey, if I have been Garrett Wilson, I’d be questioning if I wished to say a Jet, too?
Malik Nabers might be considering the identical approach.
And Nabers hasn’t even been right here for a full season.
LeBron James is totally proper:
The NBA has change into the Hoist-Up-a-3 League, which is why the product turns into more and more unappealing.
And why a really good man like Adam Silver has to know his product is getting weaker and never stronger, no matter he’s saying when he’s out entrance.
They got here up with a tricked-up in-season event.
They preserve making an attempt to trick up the All-Star Sport but once more.
I do know, I do know, the NBA remains to be rolling in TV dough with their new contracts.
However let’s see how the networks really feel about their funding over the following few years if the scores don’t get higher than they’re proper now.
Inform you this:
I truthfully consider they should transfer again the 3-point line, even when which means the deep-corner shot is not in play.
Baseball discovered methods to make the sport higher.
Professional basketball can do the identical.
Proper now, this minute, in the event you give me a selection between a regular-season NBA recreation or a regular-season faculty recreation, I’m going faculty each single time.
For those who haven’t but seen the music video Chris Martin and 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke did collectively for Martin’s tune, “All My Love,” do your self a favor, as a result of it’s fairly fantastic.
Lastly at this time:
Meaning Kyle and Andy and Will the Again Web page Man and my Corridor of Fame pal, Invoice Madden; and all people else with whom it’s my excessive honor, in any case my years at this paper, to work.
And I additionally ship out greatest needs and admiration to these with whom I not am privileged to work, like the nice Delores Thompson, who was the boss of us all as soon as, and Teri Thompson.
I’ll all the time miss Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin, and Michael O’Neill, who gave me a column right here, and Edward Kosner and the nice Jim Willse, who introduced me again from The Nationwide so we might struggle collectively, which we positive did.
That’s simply the brief record of people that helped me alongside the way in which, and make me nonetheless wish to do that work.
Not simply do the work.
It’s greater than that.
Do the work right here.
Merry Christmas.
