Originally, I did not want Rodgers but was all in on Carr. Since that train left the station, its been 24/7 Rodgers. This perhaps was the most annoying occurrence in JetLand since the great Tebow Fiasco. It's been 24hrs now and honestly, after listening to some radio and calming down, I'm seeing this in a completely different light. One that does not totally absolve Woody Johnson's role or JD's apparent overpay. What it does is reflect the reality of the AFC.. I'll start with this. The Jets had no choice but to make this trade. Any leverage folks might have thought we had didn't really take in the big picture. Look at the AFC and who do you see playing QB? Lets list the top names shall we... Mahomes Burrows Allen Hebert Jackson Watson Lawrence If the Jets stood any chance at all to compete against this level of QB talent, the trade for Rodgers OR Carr had to happen no matter the cost. Why did we wind up here? Our #2 overall DP didn't pan out and left us at a distinct disadvantage at the most important position on the field. In fact, The Jets needed Rodgers far more than the Packers did contract not withstanding. Woody and JD must have had some discussion about this situation and came to the conclusion that in order to compete, they had to have Rodgers instead of Carr. So, they went for it and eventually got their man. They had no choice as Zach Wilson is not ready and may never be for the QB1 spot. They paid a high price but they did buy a used Maserati at the QB spot. Kudos to them for recognizing the situation and acting on it. The danger in this desperate move is the chance that this doesn't work out. Rodgers comes in and is not the savior of the franchise and there is no deep run into the post season. There's no PR Dept in the world that could pull the stink off that potential pile of shit. The backlash would be savage in the media and online. Someone will have to pay the ultimate price for this perceived failure. Woody and JD bet the house on Rodgers. I hope for their sakes, as well as all our sakes this moves works out. Looking at that lineup of QBs, there's no guarantees the Jets will win deep into the post season. In fact, there's no guarantee they make the playoffs at all. Maybe for once shit breaks right for the Jets.. It had better...
Nice post Cman. I posted this in another thread -- Less than 2 minutes on the clock, tied or down 3 with Rodgers at the helm vs any of those QBs you just mentioned. Sign me up every single week. How does Stephen A put it? The guy is still a baddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd man!!!
Look at your list of names and tell me with a straight face how Carr fits even remotely close. Rodgers gives us a legitimate shot. Nothing is guaranteed, but we can compete with every one of those QB’s and every one of those teams now. Carr doesn’t do that for us or any team.
Vegas has us with the 4th best odds to win the AFC championship. Of course, as you said, in this league there are no guarantees but Rodgers absolutely gives us a shot to compete at a very high level for the next year (maybe 2).
Even Cman is out of the darkness..... Sure, this Jet will probably crash-n-burn, but fuckit! ALL GAS... NO BRAKE!!!
Exactly why it had to be Rodgers. There was never really any other choice for the Jets. The QB talent level in the AFC left no choice in this..
I agree with this take too…the AFC is absolutely loaded with REALLY good young QBs…all of those names are young. While Rodgers is a short term fix, I think they’ve probably talked about it with him, and I’m guessing they feel good about getting 2-3 years out of him. I also think there is a chip on his shoulder to prove Green Bay wrong here…while he’s not the same personality as Brady who I also felt had that massive chip when he left NE, I do think he wants to ball out. Not sure it’ll be enough to get us through the Mahomes, Allen, Burrow gauntlet, not to mention the next tier guys listed above in LJ, Herbert, Lawrence, etc, but at least now we have a legitimate shot. We are not bringing a knife to a gunfight… I agree this had to be the move…Carr was the next best option but Carr has never been at AR’s level and isn’t still. I think Woody realizes this playoff drought has to end, and even if Rodgers is only a couple year fix, he needs to make the playoffs and not own the longest streak in sports. Was the price a bit high? Well, honestly my only real gripe is that the 2024 pick is pretty much guaranteed…they went with the 65% of plays only to guarantee against injury really. I would have preferred something like a 2024 3rd that became a 2nd if we make the playoffs and then a 1st if we make the Superbowl or al least the AFCCG. But it is what it is…the only thing the condition protects against is AR getting hurt and missing a few games. And even then, STILL the move we needed to make. The draft isn’t an option as there are no surefilre can’t miss prospects in this draft and even then we were at 13 so not in position to get one and even then we really can’t afford to wait a couple years for him to develop. The only other legit option would have been Lamar, but that would have cost 2 1st round picks (sure we could try and negotiate a trade with Baltimore, but if the tag gives them 2 first rounders, there is no reason for them to trade him for less), and even if we were ok with his guaranteed salary demands, whatever they are, there’s nothing to stop Baltimore from matching anyway. And that would have been a lot of money to tie up in a QB who has missed significant time the last 2 years… We had to do this, now the hope is we start to develop someone behind him, whether it’s Zach (which I have like zero faith in) or another drafted QB prospect…
An excellent, well thought out post. Agree completely. This was a calculated move to compete in the toughest division with a win now mentally. The trade further protected our ability to retain critical mass draft choices in 2023 to be as successful as possible with AR over the next two years. this is not a move for the faint at heart. Its a bold and aggressive stand that will require great coaching and great team performance to succeed. It will take more than AR. But there was no better time than now to pull the plug and go for broke while the critical player nucleus is still on rookie contracts. The absolute miracle for me will be a deep playoff run and the bonus is after the next two years, Zack finally sees the light behind arguably one of the greatest QB to play the game and puts those raw skills to proper use.
Yes Cman, the Jets had to get Rodgers. GB knew this, and was willing to play "chicken" to get what they wanted. And contrary to reports and assumptions, the Packers did NOT have to get rid of Rodgers. They could have kept him and rolled with him next year and the year after if need be. While they apparently wanted to start the Era of Love, it's not like Love was a certain success - they could've told him to continue to sit behind a future HOF'er or they could've traded him. Bottom line: the only thing GB was forced to do was to pay Rodgers the contract they had already agree to. OTOH, the Jets had to have a top QB going into this season, one that would guarantee at least the playoffs, if not a chance at a SB. Rodgers was by far the best QB available. No other QB - including LJ - would provide that level of opportunity. And the Jets had determined in their talks with AR that he could probably give them 2-3 years to achieve a championship (at least one). While the list of hot young QBs seems to present their teams with a longer window, in the NFL, windows often close suddenly despite how good a QB may be for all sorts of other reasons, so having 2-3 years of nearly guaranteed superior QB play, really isn't such a deficit in comparison. Finally, we don't yet know all the details of this deal, but reports are strong that Rodgers will renegotiate his contract to make it more team friendly to the Jets. Also, it may be that the Packers agreed to pay part/all of the $60M first installment he's due. If so, that could be why JD agreed to pay higher compensation. Even if that isn't the case, it's not like he vastly overpaid as some hysterical people have claimed. This was no Russell Wilson deal where the Broncos emptied their treasury to get him - and BTW, RW is no way as good as Rodgers even now. This was a deal the Jets had to make and they did. For once, all Jets fans should be rejoicing in them finally doing the right thing.
Paul Hembekides on Twitter: "Aaron Rodgers went 80-10 with the Packers when they allowed fewer than 20 points. The Jets allowed 18.6 PPG last season." / Twitter
Hey ..CC I am rejoicing Hopefully no more Sad Sundays!! the rest of the GG must understand how a week ago we couldn't remotely contend for a SB and now Vegas has us up among the Favorites! Wait till this all sinks in...jmho
^THIS^ Getting decent quarterback play was an imperative. Everyone who complained about the Zach/LeFleur combo should be optimistic.
