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.
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 he put his finger on the exact source of the problem.
Rodgers barely disguised rage.
The totally dismissive tone.
His inability to even pretend he has any respect for Saleh’s opinion.
And he’s not the least bit wrong.
I’ll defer to the great point Damien Woody made this morning.
[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.
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.
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.
It’s Diddy being told to host a Freak Off without the baby oil.
And Saleh’s first reaction was to go there.
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.
The names and faces change.
But the Jets will never stop being the Jets.
And I’m here for it.
