Unlike last year’s opener, Aaron Rodgers played the entire game and left it in one piece. That’s the good news. The bad news? With Rodgers back and solid defense, this team needs more from Robert Saleh and his staff to win consistently.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh sounded giddy, saying the Jets at 0-1 with Rodgers is better than 1-0 last season. That may be true, but the Jets still took a 32-19 whooping by the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers on Monday night at Levi’s Stadium.
Salah knows he can win games against inferior teams with Rodgers under center, which he could not say last year with Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle, and Trevor Siemian as his quarterbacks. Still, who will cheer about that?
That’s fine to be glad Rodgers is back, but his return doesn’t erase the stench of a loss. It’s a reflection of how poorly coached the Jets are. It’s an indictment of how poorly run their training camp was. It speaks volumes that this team put on another stinker. How many more games like this can Jets fans continue to tolerate?
No one expected the Jets to win Monday night. The 49ers are a terrific team with so many playmakers on offense and defense, and they should be the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this season. But long-suffering fans wanted to see the Jets put on a game. That had to be the bare minimum, and Monday night’s display was far from that.
After the Jets led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Niners outscored them 29-12 the rest of the game. The home team scored on eight consecutive scoring drives. Niners quarterback Brock Purdy was gunslinging it well against the Jets’ secondary, and the Jets couldn’t stop Deebo Samuel and Jordan Mason. The 49ers did whatever they wanted on offense, and the Jets couldn’t stop a nosebleed.
The coaching? Rodgers didn’t do what he does best: throw. Instead, the Jets ran the ball often, relying on Breece Hall. When the Jets quarterback did throw, it was dink-and-dunk with plenty of short passes. If this was a board game, the 49ers staff played chess while the Jets staff played checkers.
As usual, the Jets made no adjustments on the fly. They had no idea how to stop the 49ers whatsoever. Saleh has been around the 49ers organization before being the Jets head coach. He should have a clue on some of these 49ers players. That’s where it gets frustrating. When a coach has no idea how to stop a team’s personnel despite being familiar with them, it’s a problem. It sure seemed like Monday night was about coaching.
Saleh knows this is a make-or-break year for him. Jets owner Woody Johnson understandably hasn’t been happy with his head coach’s job performance. Monday night’s type of display sure did not gain much confidence from Saleh’s boss.
The Jets won’t be this bad this season. The talent is there. They will win at least ten games as long as Rodgers stays healthy. And one thing is for sure: the Jets’ defense will never be the 1985 Bears or 2000 Ravens, but they are good … just not great. It’s time for some of their players to stop reading their press clippings and start playing football moving forward.
Again, last night should not be a cause for alarm. But fans should be ticked off and bothered by how the Jets came out to play. If they can have a game like this, who’s to say they won’t have any more games like it? What about the Jets? That should give them the benefit of the doubt.
The Jets had every reason to go out there and prove a point. They were on national television, and they had Rodgers playing. This was a showcase for them to play with the elites. That’s why Monday night was so disappointing.
It makes you want to say, “Same Old Jets.”
