Aaron Rodgers believes Jets' offense is ready for Week 1 vs. Buffalo Bills
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) walks to the locker room after winning a preseason football game against the Giants on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: AP/Adam Hunger
The Jets’ most anticipated season in decades will begin in less than two weeks, and Aaron Rodgers is only elevating that anticipation with his words and his actions.
“I think we’re ready,” he said after throwing a touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson in the Jets’ final preseason game Saturday.
Rodgers was referring to the offense, which is far from a finished product.
Let’s check in on the defense.
“They’re ready,” Robert Saleh said.
Bring on the Bills.
The Jets will open the season on Monday night, Sept. 11, against their AFC East rival. The time between now and then will be very important for them — particularly the offense.
The defense is in good shape. The Jets were ranked fourth overall last year and have their sights set on being the No. 1 defense this season. They’ve also been together most of training camp.
The Jets have so much depth on the defensive line. Edge rusher Carl Lawson (back) is the only starter currently in danger of missing the Week 1 game, and second-year end Jermaine Johnson is expected to start in his place. The improved Johnson had a sack while playing only four snaps Saturday night against the Giants.
The offense has made strides since the first camp practice on July 20. Rodgers’ leadership, decision-making and ability to read defenses will lift that group and make up for some of the unit’s mistakes and growing pains — a
nd there may be some.
The Jets have to trim the roster to 53 players by Tuesday afternoon, and Rodgers called this “an important week.” Going forward, the Jets can hone in on what they want to do offensively, work on plays they want to run and add to their playbook.
“We’ve held back a few things that we’ve been taking notes on in the quarterback room,” Rodgers said. “So if we want to put them in [this] week coming up, we’ll put kind of the final touches of the offense. I feel good about where we’re at.”
The Jets will return to practice Tuesday and hope to build chemistry in a hurry with some important players returning or debuting in prominent roles in the offense.
The starting offensive line has yet to play a single snap together in practice or the preseason. Mekhi Becton was moved to first-team right tackle only last week. Left tackle Duane Brown came off the PUP list last week and hasn’t taken part in team competition.
The Jets’ backfield will look different, too. Michael Carter and Bam Knight have taken most of the first- and second-team carries in camp. They will give way to Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook.
Hall, coming back from an ACL tear, has shown great burst in his limited reps in team competition the past two weeks. Cook, a four-time Pro Bowler with the Vikings, should practice for the first time this week.
“Those are three impact players for us that we’re going to want to see on the field and get in the mix,” Rodgers said of Brown, Hall and Cook. “Might be a slower start for some of those guys, but got to get them going with what we’re doing.”
The Jets also lost an important receiver last week when Corey Davis announced he was “stepping away” from football. The Jets have a good receiving group featuring Wilson, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, and veterans Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman and Randall Cobb.
They could replace Davis from within if they keep 6-4 Irvin Charles on the 53-man roster. General manager Joe Douglas could see who’s available in a trade or on waivers.
If the Jets bring someone in, he will have to take a crash course on learning Rodgers’ hand signals and getting used to his cadence and hard counts. Some of the current Jets are still working on that.
“There’s going to be quick signals and new stuff and more variation to cadence and more quick adjustments,” Rodgers said. “So there’s going to be some mistakes, but we got to learn from every single one of those and there’s not a wasted rep, whether we’re in the walk-through in the indoor before or out on the field here. We got to make every rep count.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
