Aaron Rodgers' Inability to Hide His Contempt for Robert Saleh's Stupid Ideas Means He's a NY Jet at Last

Author's note: I was working on this when I saw Chris Klemmer posting on the same subject. But I was too far down the road to turn back. Such is life on an NFL Monday. I apologize for nothing.

Things had been going too smoothly for Aaron Rodgers and the 2024 Jets. Rolling over the dreadful Patriots in his first home game since blowing out his Achilles last year. Winning two in a row. Putting his team into very early contention for the AFC East race. While all that was well and good, that's not the New York Jets experience we've all grown accustomed to over the years decades. It felt more like an ayahuasca fever dream in a sweat lodge than reality as we know it.

Then came last night. And finally a return to our plane of existence:

A total of 13 penalties for 90 yards. Five of those unforced, presnap penalties. And so Robert Saleh was asked to share his wisdom on why things went so tits up with his team. And he put his finger on the exact source of the problem. And with the predictable accuracy of the sunrise, could not have been more wrong:

Even more predictable was Rodgers' reaction to his cadence being to blame:

It would take a heart of stone not to laugh. Rodgers barely disguised rage. The totally dismissive tone. His inability to even pretend he has any respect for Saleh's opinion. The body language that screams "I've forgotten more about running an offense than this empty headset will ever be able to understand if he lives 10 lifetimes." It's fantastic. 

And he's not the least bit wrong. I'll defer to the great point Damien Woody made this morning. That Rodgers' cadence has been one of the most useful weapons in his arsenal:

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"I'm so sick! [pounds desk] Of the Jets! [pound] Being undisciplined as a team! [pound] It's been that way since Robert Saleh has been there!" If the music of ranting about terrible Jets coaches be the food of love, play on!

Woody is, of course, 100% right. For Rodgers' entire career we've been hearing about his cadence like it's a superpower. Keeping defenses off balance. Neutralizing elite pass rushers. Creating presnap neutral zone infractions that give him free plays and risk-free shots down the field. Now because Saleh can't get his players - who were in the huddle and therefore know what count the snap is on - to stay home, he wants to scrap something Rodgers mastered 15 years ago. Like it's the way he calls for the ball that cost Saleh's team the game. Not his trash coaching or dumbassery by his players. Rodgers' verbal rhythm is the reason they lost to a rookie who had 60 passing yards and completed less than 50% of his attempts.

To Rodgers, this must be like telling Shohei Ohtani to leave his bat in the rack. Scottie Scheffler's caddy not handing him his driver. The Fellowship of the Ring telling Legolas to put his bow away and just throw rocks because the arrows are too distracting. It's Diddy being told to host a Freak Off without the baby oil. And Saleh's first reaction was to go there. 

Watching this relationship fracture further by the week is going to be one of the great joys of the football season. By Halloween, Rodgers  will be running this entire offense on his own, Tom Brady in Tampa-style. I mean, he pretty much already is. But by then, he will have cut the wires in his helmet radio and gone full Broken Arrow. Mark my words. 

The names and faces change. But the Jets will never stop being the Jets. And I'm here for it.