- NFL. Aaron Rodgers is being pressured to retire after Jets' poor performance: 'He's finished!
- NFL. Aaron Rodgers is fed up with media noise and erupts during a press conference
The New York Jets (2-5) season is rapidly deteriorating after another loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday. Hopes of ending their playoff drought, which dates back to 2010, are fading. The Jets are the longest active franchise in major American sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) without a playoff appearance, and the way this season is going, that streak is likely to continue. There's still plenty of time left in the season, but another loss would certainly make things much more complicated for them.
Tom Brady on Aaron Rodgers and Jets problems
A few weeks ago, the Jets lost to the Bills on an interception after a miscommunication between Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Mike Williams. Rodgers later publicly criticized Williams, and as a result, Williams missed a few days of practice but then he clarified the situation by agreeing with Rodgers. In the end, nothing major came of it, but the situation of a captain like Rodgers, who at 40 is the oldest player on the league this season, publicly criticizing a teammate had Tom Brady saying in the "the let's go podcast" his opinion
"I always tried to lead with just communication and developing a relationship with the players that I was playing with, just so they knew if I did say something critical, I did it because I was trying to help the team improve, and maybe it wasn't even publicly, locker room or field, something like that."
It's not like he directly criticized him but it does seem like he was trying to give him a message on how to handle this complicated situation, although Brady has never had the Patriots or the Buccaneers 2-5 so he doesn't have much of an idea of what it must be like to be this bad for a season.
It's clear that Brady was a leader in the locker room - he is, after all, the winningest player in history - and I agree with his point that attacking a teammate like that doesn't help, especially with Rodgers' level of experience. The result was that Williams didn't practice for a few days, and honestly, when you look at the Jets' receiving corps-Davante Adams, Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard, and Mike Williams-I don't think any team has that kind of depth. Hopefully they've moved on from this situation and are ready for the next game after another lost against the Steelers.
Jets Games
While the season looks tough with five losses and ten games left, the Jets still have a chance. They're going to have to be near perfect in November and December. Fortunately, their next game is against perhaps the worst team in the league, the New England Patriots, who they beat 24-3 earlier this season. After that, they host the Houston Texans and then travel to Arizona. If they can win those three games, they'll be back in the playoff hunt. But anything can happen in the NFL.