I'm as generally bearish on the Jets as an organization as anyone, but it's hard to overstate just how impactful it is going from the worst QB in the league to a top 10 one. It's worth 5+ wins all by itself. That's not an exaggeration. I could see Rodgers getting hurt again, especially with how awful our OL is and how utterly incapable JD is of improving it, but we are going to be a MUCH better team next year if Rodgers stays healthy.
Hopefully one of the top WRs fall to the JETS (frees up Garrett) and Donovan Smith has a homecoming? https://nypost.com/2024/02/09/sports/donovan-smith-could-end-up-with-jets-after-super-bowl-2024/ “I’m a take-it-as-it-comes kind of guy, and I’m where my feet are right now, obviously, for this game,’’ he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s my life, my career, and I’ve got to figure it out. I grew up a Jets fan. I’m from New York, so that would definitely be something I would appreciate before my career ends. “It would, for sure, be cool to be able to have my name and number on the jersey of my hometown team I grew up with and watched as my favorite. … It would definitely be something that’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing for a lot of people, so we’ll see when that day comes. But right now, I’m just focusing on the big game.’’ If Smith was to sign with the Jets, he will have gone from blocking for Tom Brady in Tampa Bay to Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City to Aaron Rodgers with the Jets. “That would be some legacy,’’ Smith said. “I take it as a privilege. At the end of the day, I’m sure that these guys have a say on who’s protecting their blind side, so that’s a testament to me and my work and what I provide. I’m writing my own legacy.’’
Whatever we do in the draft should be for the long term betterment of the team, not to help the team immediately. An OT or WR is probably the best long term solution to draft, but neither should be relied on as an immediate starter. Most OT’s struggle as rookies. To think Fashanu or Fuaga come in as the solution to start without also signing a real veteran to compete with either will be a disaster to this season
Last year they operated on FUMES. The promise of a Super Bowl run, Rodgers coming in etc... There is NONE of that this year. This year there is pure vitriol. You have a clueless owner going on the record about the shit he has control over. No, the good vibes are long gone and what's left is an unmitigated disaster. I predict 4 wins or less.
I would strenuously argue that Rodgers is still a top 10 QB. There's no recent proof Rodgers will ever be that again. His age coupled with the first major injury in his career tossed on the stench pile that ALWAYS follows the Jets and I would argue Rodgers is going to be a top 15 QB. THAT is simply not enough to overcome the deficiencies. In Green Bay Rodgers had competent coaching all along the hierarchy of the team. Even when Hackett was there the other coaches were considered pretty good. Not this shit show. There isn't a coach on this team that I would take in their respective position, including the D.C. The defense is ALL Saleh. Of course, which means the head coaching spot is really vacant. Saleh simply carries the title as he tools on "his" defense while ignoring the rest of the team. I hold firm, the NY Jets will be combating Carolina for the top pick in the 2025 NFL draft. That's ONLY because Tepper appears to come from the Wood-rough school of ownership. We'll see if their new head coach makes it out of the season...
I get it, Rex is a nice guy and actually played a role in paying/drafting players that are currently on the roster, so there would be some guys that love him. But ... having him didn't result in success for two regimes here, so it's a nice classy gesture by Reed to someone on the way out, who by merit should be on the way out.
He would be a great swing tackle, not sure I like him starting on either side though. Nania posted a graphic and he graded out really bad, worse than Becton.
I can't name 10 QBs better than Rodgers unless he falls off a cliff next year (which is possible). The fringe top 10 candidates are Tua, Dak, Cousins, and Russell Wilson. Assuming Rodgers doesn't fall off a cliff, would you take any of them over him for a single season? I don't think I would. Regardless of the semantics over top 10 though, the main point is that upgrading from by far the worst QB in the league to one much better is a massive improvement. Everything we know about football says it's worth 5+ wins even if nothing else improves. Have you seen that one chart illustrating just how bad Wilson was? I think it was a combo EPA/play and completion rating over expectation chart. I know someone here has posted it. Wilson was MILES away from even the 2nd worst QB in the league. There is zero chance we're competing for the #1 overall pick next year unless Rodgers gets hurt early. Zero.
Generally, I would agree with this, but given that this is the Jets, I don't put anything past their ability to one up themselves when it comes to sucking beyond belief.
"And with the tenth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the New York Jets select..." Does it really matter what name follows that statement? It really doesn't since Joe Douglas and his team couldn't tell the difference between a good draft prospect and a hole in the ground.
this is a ridiculous take - I think people on here aren’t getting just how bad Zach Wilson is / was. The QB controls protection calls and, stating the obvious, controls where the ball need to go (or audible out of a bad play, etc.). Wilson and whatever practice squad QBs we had playing were hot garbage. Having Rodgers, even at 75% of his peak, is going to be night and day. The OL will play better, receivers will get the ball at the right time and get the ball when they’re open (GW often ran open without getting the ball). Wilson often didn’t go through progressions or would not pull the trigger when something was there. I’m not saying the Jets will be Super Bowl favorites - but they are a hell of a lot closer to being a playoff team than a tean at the top of the draft with Rodgers. I get being upset at the team - but let’s be reasonable with our takes
One thing I will add to this discussion about how much better we'll be next season - We won 7 games, yes, but our point differential was bottom 5 in the league. With that in mind, we weren't an average 7-win team last year, we were worse. Rodgers will help a ton but we also can't just say we'll be a 12-win team with him. I think we probably win something like 10 games next year assuming Rodgers stays healthy.
Wow 12 or 10? Rodgers or not I think 7 wins will be tough to repeat, the Jets didn’t suffer any injuries to core players. (Breece Hall, G Wilson, Q Williams, Mosley, or Sauce Gardner) I think that was fortunate and can’t be expected next season.
The re-addition of Rodgers is multiples more important than hypothetically losing anyone else for the season. The replacement players for those hypothetical injuries also probably wouldn't be "worst in the league by a lot" like Wilson was when Rodgers went down. Good QBs are worth 4-5 extra wins relative to bad ones. The position is that important.
Rodgers played only 3 passing snaps, in but every single one he was pressured and then at the end got hurt. I completely understand that is small sample size, but if you guys thought he could have made OL a lot better and stayed healthy last year, to me this is a wishful and unrealistic thinking. You need some sort of baseline OL level of at least borderline competence even for Rodgers to consistently make the line better. We didn't have that level. It's not a coincidence that other QBs, like Flacco and Siemian, look significantly (not a little but very significantly) better on other teams. If JD cannot protect Rodgers, it will be the same exact story this year, and no, a better back-up QB will not help either if OL is bad. However, IF OL talent is upgraded, I do agree that Rodgers can add up to 5 wins IF he can play 17 games. And it's not even because Zach was so bad (I thought for a back-up he was OK), but because a combination of upgrade from the worst OL in NFL to even average and from an average back-up to a good starter is a massive improvement. Just the OL improvement by itself is a couple of wins right there even with a back-up QB. And then a good QB could take this team to next level, particularly since Rodgers can upgrade on a lot of OC calls. So, there is definitely hope with Rodgers returning, but JD needs to step up and finally build a good OL. Otherwise we will be fucked yet again.
Not so fast please. Rogers could not get the ball out of his hands once in four plays before he got creamed. The loss of Rodgers overshadowed how pathetic the OC was, how dreadful the play calling and how inept the game plan, not to mention how putrid the play of the OL. All these variables will not miraculously get better because AR is under center. There was plenty of ineptitude besides QB. In fact, Zach ineptitude was severely compounded by not ever using his strengths in the game plan. We need far more than AR to move to the next level, starting with coaching and OL play.
Not sure 4 plays is statistically significant to extrapolate from where you can just assume that the OL, etc would be a shitshow with Rodgers. A good (hopefully we get a little great if he still has it in him) hides a lot of warts. I think folks here are severely underestimating the impact of a good QB. I get it - we haven’t had one pretty much the entire existence of the franchise (some good years by retreads - Vinny or Amish rifle - or had bad injury luck (Chad.). There’s no doubt we need to improve the OL and pass catchers - but for the OL especially - we just need average guys to come in here to allow for our offense to do things.
