Less than two weeks after taking the high road at his first Pittsburgh Steelers practice, Aaron Rodgers is back to taking shots at the New York Jets.
According to former NFL offensive lineman Mark Schlereth, Rodgers went on a lengthy rant about how the Jets’ run game “made no sense.”
“Aaron and I had a conversation about when he was with the Jets, how abysmal their running game was and how schematically it made no sense,” Schlereth said on the Stinkin’ Truth Podcast. “I started the conversation, and then Aaron went on for about a 25-minute diatribe on just their run game.”
It is a bizarre stance from Rodgers when considering that the run game in question was crafted by an offensive coordinator with Rodgers’ stamp of approval. Rodgers also had a significant degree of control at the line of scrimmage and could check in or out of a run play on most occasions.
So, what could Rodgers have been upset about?
We cannot answer that question with certainty since Rodgers’ diatribe took place in private. However, this may be the source of Rodgers’ scheme-related frustrations.
Too zone-heavy?
Going into the 2024 season, we at Jets X-Factor were heavily expecting the Jets to transition to a gap-blocking scheme after favoring zone in their first year under Nathaniel Hackett.
This expectation was based upon the Jets’ offseason moves along the offensive line. They added two starters from the Baltimore Ravens, John Simpson and Morgan Moses, which is noteworthy considering Baltimore is one of the most successful gap-blocking teams in the NFL. New York also signed left tackle Tyron Smith, who projected as a better fit in a gap scheme.
Across the offensive line, the Jets were loaded with linemen who excelled as pullers. Simpson, Moses, Smith, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Joe Tippmann all showcased impressive pulling skills on film. Pulling is a critical element of gap-blocking concepts. Thus, it made sense to believe New York was planning to build a gap-blocking scheme around the strengths of their rebuilt unit.
This did not come to pass. Hackett sustained the Jets’ zone-heavy identity from the previous season, as evidenced by the table below.
The Jets’ lead back, Breece Hall (who took 58% of the team’s rushing attempts), ran outside zone on 44.3% of his rush attempts, the fifth-highest rate among 46 running backs. He ran either outside or inside zone on 73.2% of his attempts.
Meanwhile, Hall ran power on just 6.7% of his attempts, which ranked 38th. He was also 38th with just 1.5% of his attempts being counters.
It would be unsurprising and understandable if Rodgers were upset with the Jets for not switching to a gap-leaning scheme. Before the season, all signs pointed to them making the switch, yet nothing changed.
However, in fairness to the Jets, they were at their best when running outside zone. Hall performed terribly in any other concept.
According to FTN Fantasy, Hall averaged 4.8 yards per carry (12th of 46 qualifiers) and produced a DVOA of 4.4% (11th) on outside zone plays. In all other concepts, Hall ranked dead last out of 46 qualifiers in both yards per carry (3.3) and DVOA (-30.6%).
Considering these splits from their top running back, the Jets’ decision to stick with an outside zone scheme was a smart one to maximize the personnel at their disposal. It is a rare case of the Jets’ offensive staff doing something defensible.
Given Hall’s solid performance on outside zone and poor performance otherwise, it is difficult to understand what Rodgers could have wanted the Jets to do differently from a scheme standpoint. Their run-game woes seemed to primarily be the product of poor individual execution from Hall and the blocking (specifically the tight ends) rather than schematical mismanagement.
Going into 2025, the Jets project to be an outside zone-heavy team once again. Offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand comes from a Detroit Lions offense that utilized very similar rush concept tendencies to the Jets last season.
If it is true that Rodgers was unhappy with the Jets’ decision to remain a zone-heavy team in 2024, it would make sense why he and the Jets’ new regime mutually agreed they were not a match for one another.