Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum tells a story about Brett Favre being recruited to the team in 2008.
The Jets were engaged in trade talks with the Packers for the legendary quarterback, but he was not interested in playing for the Jets. The pirates were also trying to get to Favre. Tannenbaum had to sell Favre as a jet and move to the area.
Tannenbaum knew Favre loved the outdoors. Tannenbaum told Favre that he could hunt and fish on Woody Johnson’s New Jersey farm. He went so far as to obtain photographs of the farmland and send them to Favre.
The sales pitch worked, and Favre became a jet-setter.
I’ve been thinking about this for the last few days because we’re going to compare everything about Aaron Rodgers with Gates with Favre 15 years ago.
In the initial comparison, Rodgers clearly doesn’t come close to this as Favre at all.
Rodgers really wants to be a jet-setter and he wants to be in New York. It felt as if Favre was held hostage by the 2008 season, then ran to Minnesota as fast as he could.
Ever since Rodgers appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” on March 15 and announced his desire to play for the Jets, it’s been clear that this is where he really wants to be. There were other teams that showed early interest, but Rodgers chose the Jets.
This point has been driven home even more over the past week. His press conference last Wednesday was a clinic on how to conduct an introductory press conference. He talked about winning Super Bowls and his belief in the Jets. He even said that these are not “the same old Jets”, which shows that he has an understanding of the fragile psyche of his fan base.
After that, he’s been playing the cool fan in New York for the past several days. He attended the Rangers-Devils playoff game Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, and returned Sunday afternoon for the Knicks Heat playoff. He returned to the Knicks game 2 on Tuesday. Rodgers has embraced his role as New York’s newest star.
Will any of those good feelings translate into production in the field? Mostly not.
But that was never what I was worried about with Rodgers. We have a pretty good idea of what a Sunday in the fall will look like.
The big question when all this talk started was whether Rodgers actually wanted to be a Jets after playing for a historic franchise like the Packers. The next question was whether Rodgers would be an “all-in”.
Early indications are that it exists in every sense of the word. He was on the field at Florham Park last Thursday throwing up for his team mates. He said he’ll be in most of the volunteer program this spring getting to know his new teammates. Although Rodgers won’t make any promises by 2024, he said he doesn’t view this as a one-year thing.
Airplanes have been a doormat for the past decade. Hearing and seeing Rodgers this week made it seem like those days are over.
The Jets have a future Hall of Famer quarterback, and he actually wants to be here.
Want to pick up a game? The Jets schedule with links to purchase tickets can be found here.
Winners and losers after the draw for the planes
Now that the NFL Draft is over and the Jets have seven new players, let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from how the draft rocked:
winners
McKee Picton: Draft talk was about the Jets drafting a tackle in the first round. Instead, they did not draft a single until the fourth round. That bodes well for Picton, who is looking to get back into the starting line-up after missing all but one entire game in the past two seasons. Picton — whose fifth-year pick for 2024 was expected to be turned down by the Jets on Tuesday — and Duane Brown are the favorites to be the starting tackle, and it’s hard to see anyone else pushing them for the jobs right now.
Denzel Mims: Another 2020 draft pick from the recipient of the Jets’ unselected. The Jets didn’t draft a wide receiver, and Mims could hold on to the fifth wide receiver position behind Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, Corey Davis, and Mecole Hardman. It still looked like Mims was a long way off from being on the list when the season begins, but his odds have gone up after this weekend.
Kwon Alexander: The Jets drafted a linebacker in the sixth round, but it would be a surprise if he was ready to play defense as a junior. The Jets should bring back Alexander as their third linebacker. He played well at times last season, and he certainly can be had on a reasonable contract. Alexander brought energy to the defense with his big strikes and style. He is good in the locker room as well as on the court.
losers
Connor McGovern: The Jets re-signed the center last week, but he only earned $1.9 million, the first sign that his contract at the center was anemic. The Jets then drafted Joe Tippman in the second round, meaning McGovern was on borrowed time. The Jets said there would be competition for the position, but it was only a matter of time before Tippmann took over.
Michael Carter: I’m not sure Israel Upanikanda will come in the door and beat Carter on the depth chart, but it’s another indication that the team doesn’t have much faith in Carter. Consider what the Jets did last year: He drafted Hall Brees in the second round after Carter had a promising rookie season; He was traded for James Robinson after Hall tore his ACL; Zonovan Knight moved to the starting role after Robinson fell; And they coined Abanikanda. All of this did not bode well for Carter’s future with the Jets.
Edge dashes: I’m not sure how Robert is going to keep everyone who’s pushed to extremes in favor. The room was already packed, and then they drafted Will McDonald in the first round. The spin here will be great to watch. You recently had two first-round picks in McDonald and Jermaine Johnson jockeying for time with two players the Jets recently pushed in Carl Lawson and John Franklin Myers, as well as Bryce Huff and Michelle Clemons. That’s a lot of players for Edge Acceleration role.
Stat is that
People say Rodgers had a down season in 2022. His season was the worst among the best in Jets history. Keep in mind that Rodgers threw 26 touchdowns in his “down” year. Only five Jets players have thrown that many in one season. Here are the top 10 seasons in touchdown passes by a Jets quarterback:
1. Ryan Fitzpatrick, 2015: 31 TDs
2. Vinny Testaverde, 1998: 29 TDs
T-3. Mark Sanchez, 2011: 26 TDs
T-3. Joe Namath, 1967: 26 TDs
T-3. El Doro, 1960: 26 TDs
T6. Ken O’Brien, 1986: 25 TDs
T6. Ken O’Brien, 1985: 25 TDs
T6. Richard Todd, 1981: 25 TDs
T-9. Brett Favre, 2008: 22 TDs
T-9. Chad Pennington, 2002: 22 TDs
Source: Pro Football Reference