When Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos in 2012, the coaching staff took Manning’s preferred Colts playbook, added a few wrinkles and introduced a new offense. They signed tight end Jacob Tamme, who was a favorite of Manning, and wide receiver Brandon Stockley, and on Saturday, they signed center Jeff before going to the Packers.
In 2020, Tom Brady was traded to the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay soon signed tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Antonio Brown, both Brady favorites who scored a touchdown in Tampa’s Super Bowl victory. One of the big storylines before the Super Bowl was how the turning point in Tampa’s season came during the bye week when Bruce Arians changed the offense to give Brady control.
“Coach thinks so. [Bruce] Arians gives him a little more control over the offense,” team running back LeSean McCoy said. “After the bye week, things changed a little bit. [Brady] Getting some plays, getting the tight ends a little more involved, getting some play action, being able to take control of the game as well as get shots down the field, and that all changed after the bye week. ”
So back to Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.
Yes, Rodgers has a lot of influence on the Jets. And he should.
This has been a topic of discussion again this week following an article in The Athletic that featured a joke from a rival GM about Rodgers being the GM and Joe Douglas being his assistant.
Manning and Brady’s second act is the only real comparison to what the Jets are doing with Rodgers. Brett Favre was traded to the Jets in August 2008, so they didn’t have time to really adapt the system to him. But when you add the greatest quarterback of all time to your team late in his career, you’d be foolish not to listen.
The problem for the Jets is that Rodgers hasn’t completed the pass yet. He played four snaps, threw one incompletion, and then spent the rest of the season reminding himself weekly of what could have been an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
Rodgers is also an easy target. There are a lot of people who hate him, and he often thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room. Understood.
The Jets are also an easy target after a disappointing season.
But they did nothing wrong following Rodgers’ advice last season. Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb had bad contracts. But they probably would have been better if Rodgers had been their quarterback. Any receiver would have looked better with Rodgers throwing to him instead of Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle, or Trevor Siemian. Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks who ever lived.
Rodgers wasn’t making all the calls, either. Do you think he told the Jets to draft a defensive end in the first round? Douglas still had plenty of power and was back on the trail this week for the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
I don’t think Rodgers will have much influence over personnel decisions this offseason. The Jets were courting him last year. Now they are married. There will be fewer romantic relationships this year.
From a scheme standpoint, the Jets should absolutely cater to Rodgers. It would be foolish not to do so. That’s why firing Nathaniel Hackett was not on the table at the end of the season. If Rodgers feels comfortable with this person, that’s who he should be paired with.
Hackett had an inauspicious debut season with the Jets. But maybe he’s Art Garfunkel, and we really need Paul Simon to bring out that talent.
As for Rodgers’ influence on whether Robert Saleh stays on as coach, I think that too has been misrepresented. It’s not like Rodgers stomped his foot and told Woody Johnson he had to keep Saleh. It makes sense to give Saleh a chance to spend a season with Rodgers and see if the plan Saleh and Douglas came up with last season works.
It’s easy to see why Jets fans would be frustrated. They waited too long for a winner. But Rodgers’ loud voice within the organization is part of the solution, not the problem.
