As the Super Bowl gets ready to kick off in a matter of days, some of the New York Jets are left wondering how they went from all of their preseason hype to 7-10 and holding the 10th pick in April’s NFL draft.
But the players know that the hype surrounding the team was not a mistake and they really can be the team that is competing for a Lombardi trophy next season.
It was not the season that most had expected from the New York Jets and there are a lot of reasons that it turned out the way it did. The main reason would be that the Jets put all their eggs in Aaron Rodgers’ basket only to see him tear his Achilles four offensive plays into the year.
But when Rodgers came back at the end of the year to the practice field, the team was reminded just how good they could be if they would have stayed healthy.
Speaking to the God Bless Football podcast on radio row at the Super Bowl this week, Jets players Quincy Williams and Breece Hall described the feeling around the team late in the year when Rodgers returned.
“The whole season was a roller coaster but the biggest thing we've been telling everyone is like those last couple of games so like looking forward, just how we played those couple of games,” Quincy told God Bless Football. “Actually to get to see Aaron back out there and practice you know, he didn't play any other games, but just practice stuff just like you know, just exciting.”
Quincy learned quickly what having a future Hall of Famer like Rodgers on the team did not just for the offense, but on the entire team. “Playing against him too, at practice like it takes your game to a different level because like let's be honest a gold jacket guy that you're playing against every single day in practice,” Quincy said.
Rodgers was able to get the team to see the smaller details and why they mattered. “He even ran practice squad for us. No job is too small for him. He's teaching us and stuff like that so he actually made us a better defense.”
And that is just the defensive side of the ball. Breece Hall saw early and often the expectations Rodgers expected of the team, especially the offense. “Even like for me mid-play when I first started practicing again and I knew I had to be on my p's and q's from the first day I stepped out to practice because you step up and he's changing the whole play,” Breece told God Bless Football.
“He's making your route different and everything so I'm gonna have to be all eyes and ears with him and just be really attentive because of the way he the way he likes to do things. And as long as everybody's on the same page, you're gonna be fun and you're gonna get the job done.”
While fans might be disappointed or even angry with how the season went, the players see the light on the horizon. For a Jets team that played hard all season, they are about to get rewarded with another shot with one of the best in the game leading the way next year.
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