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Aaron Rodgers says he isn't the Jets' 'savior.' But, in one sense, he already is.
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- Aaron Rodgers says he isn't the Jets' 'savior.' But, in one sense, he already is.
If I told you I grew up among New York Jets fans and cited The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" in conjunction with the team's largely tortured 64-season history, you might draw some assumptions about me.
For the record, yes, I'm older – though not old enough to have seen The Who in their prime ... though I did drink them in at Super Bowl 44. And, yes, I've seen my friends shattered from false hopes ignited by the likes of Richard Todd, Ken O'Brien, Boomer Esiason, Neil O'Donnell, Chad Pennington, Brett Favre, Mark Sanchez, Sam Darnold – and others – in the decades since Joe Willie Namath took his final snap for the NYJ in 1976. (And, for the record, most didn't get fooled by Browning Nagle, Ryan Fitzpatrick or even Zach Wilson when he was drafted two years ago – after the team fumbled its shot at Trevor Lawrence . And most certainly not by Tim Tebow.)
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But Aaron Rodgers ' official arrival Wednesday felt different.
As protracted as the process for his acquisition seemed – and pessimistic Jets fans (looking at you, Mike Greenberg) were just waiting for talks with the Green Bay Packers to disintegrate over the past month-plus since Rodgers telegraphed his desire to join Gang Green – watching the four-time MVP stride confidently into the team's rural Florham Park, New Jersey, headquarters wearing black and green J-E-T-S gear warranted a serious double take.
For many Jets faithful, it was surely an instance of expletive-laden disbelief.
"I just really believe that this is where I was supposed to be," a relaxed Rodgers said at his introductory news conference, while immediately trying to commiserate with the long-suffering legions he inherits.
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"I noticed, walking in this morning, that that Super Bowl 3 trophy's looking a little lonely," Rodgers quipped while revealing he was up to speed on the franchise's travails.
Winning is a rarity for the Jets. And so is football royalty.
No Jet has been named NFL MVP. The team currently owns the league's longest playoff drought, dating to the 2010 season, when Sanchez, Rex Ryan, et al. lost the AFC championship game for the second straight year. Whenever (if ever) the Jets win the Super Bowl again, they'll surpass the Kansas City Chiefs for the largest gap between Lombardi Trophies, the Jets' lone title coming after the 1968 season when Namath famously guaranteed the then-AFL squad's historic upset of the NFL's heavily favored Baltimore Colts.
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And even still – and I'm decidedly more a Led Zeppelin guy than The Who as long as we're talking bands whose heyday coincided with Namath's – Wednesday registered more like a "Stairway to Heaven" moment.
Rodgers said all the right things. He extolled the leadership of GM Joe Douglas and coach Robert Saleh. He expressed confidence and admiration for an organization that has rarely earned it. He vowed to participate throughout the offseason program, something he didn't do in recent years with Green Bay . And he didn't overplay his hand, not going so far as to offer a Namath guarantee or even an ironclad promise he'll return in 2024.
New New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers shows off his new jersey and number at Wednesday's introductory press conference.
"I think I can just fit in perfectly. I'm not here to be a savior of any kind," said Rodgers. "I'm just here to be the best quarterback I can be, to lead authentically and to inspire the guys around me to raise their level of play to an even greater spot."
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Skeptics might draw parallels between the entry of Rodgers and Favre, his Packers predecessor, when he was dealt to the Jets almost exactly 15 years ago. But there are some fundamental differences:
► Favre was resurgent in 2007 for Green Bay but was also a decade removed from his final MVP season. It's only been one year (and one broken throwing thumb) since Rodgers earned the hardware in back-to-back campaigns.
► Rodgers is reuniting with former Packers offensive coordinator (and close friend) Nathaniel Hackett, who was recently hired for the same job with the Jets, and will know this playbook backward and forward as he teaches it to his new teammates. Favre? Well as he performed for most of the 2008 season – before playing poorly with a torn biceps tendon at the end – he was also literally drawing up plays in the dirt at times. Acquired in August that year, there was a certain slapdash element to Favre's one-year tenure (which preceded the drafting of Sanchez in 2009) that doesn't apply to Rodgers as he enters stage right.
► And the Jets had a good team in 2008 with players like emerging star (and, now, Hall of Fame electee) Darrelle Revis, RB Thomas Jones, a stalwart offensive line and a solid defense. But Favre wasn't a massive upgrade from Pennington, who was shipped to the Miami Dolphins to accommodate him and eventually knocked the Jets from playoff contention by beating them in the regular-season finale.
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But this 2023 edition projects to an entirely different level now that Rodgers has parachuted in. After their 7-4 start, Wilson almost singlehandedly kept the Jets out of the playoffs in 2022. Now Rodgers, even at 39 and coming off a down season by his standards, will be expected to elevate a roster with the reigning Offensive (WR Garrett Wilson ) and Defensive (CB Sauce Gardner ) Rookies of the Year – plus emerging stars like DT Quinnen Williams and RB Breece Hall , along with a potentially elite defense and stout group of blockers – into the postseason ... at minimum.
"They smoked us last year, so I knew they had a good team," Rodgers said, referencing New York's 27-10 walkover at Lambeau Field last October.
Social media already suggests he's won over the team's young stars, namely Gardner, Hall and Garrett Wilson. And the numbers suggest even an average Rodgers will have the Jets in the thick of what should be a rugged AFC slugfest.
He passed for 3,695 yards and 26 TDs in 2022, subpar by his standards. But that yardage benchmark would have qualified as the fifth-best in Jets history, and only two NYJ passers have topped 26 TDs in a season. In fact, Fitzpatrick holds the team record with 31, while Namath owns the lone 4,000-yard effort in club annals.
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Rodgers has thrown for 4,000 yards 10 times and for at least 31 TDs seven times.
Best-case scenario?
Rodgers breaks the Jets' Super Bowl hex – even admitting it's something he'd love to add to his legacy – wins a fifth MVP (tying Peyton Manning's all-time mark), shatters all of New York's single-season passing records and somehow does so while only playing in 64% of the team's snaps, thus preserving Douglas' 2024 first-round pick.
Worst-case scenario?
Meh. Worst-case scenarios are standard fare Week 13 blowout losses for Jets fans, if not unthinkably gut-wrenching playoff collapses in the best of times. This feels like a completely reasonable roll of the dice, especially in light of what transpired just months ago.
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You're cleared for takeoff, Aaron Rodgers, who beamed Wednesday: "This is a surreal day for me."
And for Jets fans everywhere, who in the great lyrics of Led Zep, are desperate to shower their QB1 with a "Whole Lotta Love."
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Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jets' Aaron Rodgers says he isn't 'savior' – but the QB sort of is
