The New York market waits for no one. New York Jets fans especially.
Owner Woody Johnson outdid even the most impetuous fan when he suggested to the Jets’ coaches that they bench Aaron Rodgers — after Week 4.
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In hindsight, though, some Jets fans seem to think that would have been the better move. Rodgers has looked like a shell of his former self and ranks in the bottom 10 among quarterbacks in most key statistical categories.
However, longtime WFAN host Mike Francesa vehemently disagrees.
“The opinion that the Jets would have been better off sitting Rodgers is a ridiculous take,” Francesa wrote on X. “He has played behind a badly coached OL and he is clearly playing hurt. Still he has 17 TDs, 7 interceptions. He is no longer great. But he isn’t washed up.”
There is a lot to unpack here.
Few Jets fans would agree that Rodgers deserved to be benched after the 10-9 loss to Denver in Week 4. Just one week prior, Rodgers threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns on 8.0 yards per attempt in a 24-3 drubbing of the Patriots.
Rodgers did not play well in that Denver game, but he was also under constant duress. He was sacked five times and often had free rushers coming at him; even when pressure did not get home, he was forced to release the ball almost instantly to avoid taking another beatdown.
A week later, after Rodgers threw three interceptions against the Vikings, perhaps Johnson’s demand would have been more understandable. The quarterback played extremely poorly in that game, particularly on a terrible overthrow of Allen Lazard for his second pick.
Still, Francesa’s point about the Jets not being better off benching Rodgers may not be entirely correct. As Jets X-Factor’s Michael Nania pointed out, when backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor played last year for the Giants in a worse offensive environment, he outplayed Rodgers’ production this season.
Taylor took a downtrodden Giants offense and coaxed competitiveness out of them, going 2-2 in four games that he started and completed. Would he not have been able to do the same with the Jets’ superior receivers and offensive line? Would he not still be able to do that now if given the reins?
Furthermore, the argument about Rodgers’ 17:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio is extremely disingenuous and lacking nuance. He has the second-most pass attempts in the NFL, behind only Joe Burrow. Therefore, despite ranking seventh in the NFL in passing touchdowns, Rodgers is actually 16th in touchdown percentage (the rate of passes that go for a touchdown) at 4.5%.
Additionally, the Jets have allowed Rodgers to steal passing touchdowns by throwing the ball inside the two-yard line instead of rushing. He has five passing touchdowns from inside the two, while the Jets have only two rushing touchdowns from that same yard marker. That +3 margin between passing and rushing touchdowns inside the two is the highest in football.
In general, more than his touchdown passes or passing yards, Rodgers’ 6.4 yards per attempt (29th in the NFL out of 36 qualifiers) tell the truest story about his season. Essentially, all he has thrown are shallow passes with a smattering of slot fades or isolated go balls down the sideline.
Yes, the Jets’ offensive line is very poorly coached — but at least some (if not many) of the issues in pass protection come from Rodgers himself. Even with Keith Carter’s dubious coaching record, Jets fans relied on the idea that Rodgers would change protections at the line. He does, but the line still looks dysfunctional. Whose fault is that?
Furthermore, as much as Rodgers helps his line by releasing the ball quickly, he also gets them into trouble. Pro Football Focus blames Rodgers for 16.3% of his pressure, the 10th-worst out of 32 quarterbacks.
As far as the argument that Rodgers is injured — is that not a primary reason to bench him? Regardless of why he’s playing poorly, the fact is that he is playing poorly.
Whether or not Rodgers is “washed up,” the Jets have a quarterback on the roster who was more effective the last time he saw the field. Francesa’s arguments for Rodgers are well-worn among many Jets fans but hardly accurate.
With Joe Douglas gone and Woody Johnson essentially having been the de facto general manager since the end of last season, Rodgers may end up taking a seat on the bench sooner rather than later.
