At this time last season the New York Jets and their fans had bigger hopes than most can ever remember. Everything had fallen into place for the Jets and their long suffering seemed to be over. Aaron Rodgers, the sure fire Hall of Famer was leading the offense and the sky was the limit for the Jets, whose fans were even muttering the words Super Bowl.
That all ended and ended very quickly as Rodgers left the game, for the season, just a handful of plays into the year. Once Rodgers went down you could almost hear the stadium deflate and the hopes of New York go with it. So, it is not far fetched to say as goes Rodgers, as goes the New York Jets for the 2024 season.
New York might have as much talent as any team in the league. Breece Hall was slow to come back from an injury but once he did he was a force. Hall missed time and was brought back slowly and still registered 223 carries for 994 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. He also caught 76 passes for 591 yards and four touchdowns. Hall could be the best back in the league as soon as this season. Garrett Wilson also has a path to becoming the best at his position. Wilson was constantly double teamed and being shaded on by safeties. He caught passes from QB's who simply shouldn't be starting for an NFL team, maybe not even be on a roster, yet he still managed to catch 95 passes for 1,042 yards and three scores.
Then there is the defense. You won't hear many argue that this is a top 5 unit in the league and many would say they are the best. The Jets do everything well on that side of the ball from tackling to pressure to an elite secondary, this defense seemingly has no holes.They also will be helped by the fact they won't be on the field as much this year and could add some real talent if the Reddick contract is worked out.
Most of that all existed last season, yet the Jets disappointed because of that man Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers will determine how this year goes as well. For some fans they expect the Rodgers of old, the MVP form and top all time passer to return automatically, but this is a 40 year old who is coming off of multiple injuries trying to reignite his career. Rodgers has the talent around him, albeit a few slight questions on the line, to show what he did three seasons ago. But, that was three seasons ago and in the NFL that is a lifetime. Also going against the Jets are the questions surrounding the coaching staff. Many interpreted Garrett Wilson's comments this off season as a knock on Hackett and Salah has been a questionable coach so far to add to that.
The Jets are in one of the most challenging divisions in the NFL but Buffalo lost a ton this off season and Miami is replacing their defense, while the Patriots seem like two easy wins on the schedule. New York has the talent, they have the young exciting RB and WR, their defense will be elite, but can Rodgers and the coaching staff give gang green one run at playoff success? Shooting for a division is well in sight for the Jets and some might even whisper a Super Bowl run this year, but you can't blame Jets fans for being cautious, after all it was just a year ago that they had their hearts broken ... again. With that said on paper this team doesn't only look good, they might look Super.