It was my coach, Mike Tyson, who taught me that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
The Jets had a plan when they convinced Aaron Rodgers to come and rescue the team.
They were punched in the mouth on Monday night.
At 40 years old, Rodgers still seems strong enough, both physically and mentally, to give the Jets a chance to do more than punch a punch and turn things around and become a championship contender.
He could be the savior, but he can't save the franchise on his own.
Not against the 49ers. Not against the NFL's elite.
Help Aaron Rodgers out there.
He can still throw the ball, he overcame the psychological hurdle of surviving four or more plays and being taken to the ground by a defender again, and he successfully escaped danger when he needed to.
“He didn't panic,” Saleh said. “He was calm on the sideline and I think last night was a big break for him in terms of finishing the game and winning.”
“Our offense is going to be really good this year.”
According to the carefully laid out plan of a pair of mice and men named Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh, the combination of a healthy Rodgers, an offensive line that can keep him healthy and a reliable, competent defense is the recipe for success.
Great athletes find ways to win even as they get older — Muhammad Ali doped George Foreman in Zaire — and Rodgers knows how to attack just as well as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have always known how to attack.
But the administration cannot save jobs by sitting on the sidelines.
Help Aaron Rodgers out there.
He was on the sideline for 38 minutes, 40 seconds, mostly because his elite defense was being grossly humiliated by play-calling genius Kyle Shanahan.
“Our style of play is effort, skill and violence,” Saleh has told us since joining in 2021.
Lamb's violence instead.
“We're on some really bad medicine, to be honest with you,” Quincy Williams told the Post. “We have to help the team win and get the ball to our offense.”
Ah, the irony: For the past three seasons, the Jets defense has had the right to tell the offense to just hold them back.
What is Saleh worried about?
“It wasn't a lack of trying, it was guys trying too hard,” he said at the tribute. “When you play a team like San Francisco, they've been together for eight years and they're very precise in what they do. It's as simple as, 'Just do your job.'”
“Thank you, Coach Belichick,” Saleh recalled, noting that the core of the defense has been together for three years.
“The problem will be solved,” Saleh said. “It will definitely be solved. I'm not discouraged at all.”
Everything is cut and unbroken.
With Jordan Mason filling the Christian McCaffrey role and this 49ers machine running through the Jets defense, the Jets defense couldn't dictate the terms of the engagement.
With Bryce Huff leaving for better conditions in free agency, Haason Riddick asking for more to end his holdout and John Franklin-Myers being traded to the Broncos, the Jets were thrashed on the ground and struggled to mount a heavy pass rush on Brock Purdy on the few third-down and long-pass opportunities they had.
“I thought Brock held the ball for too long for us to really have any effect,” Saleh said.
Rodgers wasn't making the excuse that it was hard to establish a rhythm because the three-and-out gave other players a chance to establish one.
Rodgers will need Breece Hall to become Breece the Beast to provide more balance and options in the passing game outside of Hall and Garrett Wilson. Allen Lazard catching a touchdown pass was encouraging for Rodgers and Saleh, but tight end Tyler Conklin was targeted just once and wide receiver Mike Williams barely got on the field.
“If we get more opportunities, other players will get more opportunities,” Saleh said.
Saleh feels better being 0-1 this year than being 1-0 last year because he has Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Now, get the defense back on its feet.
And help Aaron Rodgers.
