Tag Archives: Aaron Rodgers

More Hard Knocks

Posted on by
Reply

By Jason Klein 

I remember watching that first episode of Hard Knocks with my wife.  The two of us bopped our heads to “Shivers” as we watched Aaron Rodgers launch training camp missiles with precision. “That boy is cold,” Garrett Wilson said at the time. 

The players were in awe.  I was in shock.  I turned to my wife and said, “I can’t believe this is real.  This guy’s a Hall of Famer and he actually wants to be on the Jets.”  Unless you’ve lived with a Jets inferiority complex, you can’t possibly understand what this meant at the time.

I hadn’t been this proud to be a Jets fan since those 2009 and 2010 seasons…1998 before that. Everything was in place to make a legitimate run at a Lombardi. There was hype. There was national attention. There was reason to believe the “Same Old Jets” were dead.

Then, I uttered those words. The ones us Jets fans always regret saying out loud: “This time it’s going to be different,” I said.  We ALL said it!  That’s why this is so disappointing…even for a fanbase that is routinely tortured and teased in the cruelest of ways.

This time, the football Gods did us dirtier than Lucy ever did Charlie Brown.  They pulled the rug out from under us just 4 plays into this experiment and everything changed. After that Achilles pop, we never got the Rodgers experience we were promised.

I’m optimistic that Aaron Glenn is the right hire at head coach, but that doesn’t make this empty feeling go away. It doesn’t make that Super Bowl III Trophy any less lonely, either. Not yet, anyway.  Quarterback purgatory is a tough place to be.  Jets fans have spent most of their fandom there.  I thought Rodgers was the one to get us out of the darkness.  We all did.  Maybe this next regime will finally find a franchise quarterback to get it done.

Life with Aaron Rodgers was just full of hard knocks.

Time To Jet Up

Posted on by
Reply

By Jason Klein

(Updated January 9, 2025)

When I was a kid, I used to spend time
Writing down notes about Jets games in rhyme.
I’d document things that happened each week
Some things were real good and others quite bleak.

I started the year they went 1 and 15.
That season was brutal for fans of Gang Green.
I wrote about Kotite, and Keyshawn and Wayne.
All of the losing and all of the pain.

With things looking up, the time just felt right
To once again give my Jets rhymes the greenlight.
In case this new season is really our year,
I chose to start up before Week 1’s premiere. 

This one just feels different. The roster is loaded.
A ring is the goal with a QB who’s GOAT’ed.
Rodgers is back from his ruptured Achillies.
Can he secure the team’s first since Joe Willie’s?

The legacy logo thrilled fans at release.
We can’t wait to see it on Sauce and on Breece.
This season is huge. There’s so much at stake.
It’s time for these Jets to go “All Gas No Brake.”

The ’24 Jets have pushed in all their chips.
They’re ready to tear up those tired old scripts.
The “Same Old Jets” are a thing of the past.
No longer the punchline or finishing last.

The Jets, through the years, have kept us all humble.
We’ve seen every fake spike and every butt fumble.
It’s time to get past it, it’s time to attack.
We’ve moved on from guys like Sam Darnold and Zach.

We’ve seen all the miscues, we’ve watched all the clips,
We’ve been through the Mud Bowl, the Mono and Yips.
We had to watch Belichick slither away,
Refusing to be HC of N Y J.

Heidi and Tebow, Idzik and Gase.
IK hit Geno real hard in the face.
Favre sending pictures and Sam seeing ghosts,
Doug Brien not able to split the goalposts.

Leon’s pass in Detroit and a darkness retreat,
Chad and his shoulder. Rex and his feet.
Planes over practice for Woody to see.
Vernon, Blair Thomas and then there was Dee.

Le’Veon Bell and the Prez went away,
Testaverde went down on opening day.
Gastineau’s gaffe and Byars’ dropped ball.
Too many moments so hard to recall.

We’ve been tortured and teased in the cruelest of ways.
They’ve given us heartbreak. They’ve given us greys.
But here comes a legend, the one and the only,
To make sure our Lombardi is no longer lonely.

Rodgers will lead us, no need to be leery.
Ignore every flaw and conspiracy theory.
He emerged from the darkness to answer our prayer,
And sit in the throne as Joe Namath’s heir.

Surrounded by players considered elite,
Mike Williams and Tippman are here to compete.
A roster with Quinnen and JJ and Garrett.
Saleh and Douglas have dangled that carrot.

By bringing in good dudes like Tyron and Quincy, 
We now can stack up with the Chiefs and with Cincy.
With CJ and DJ and AVT, too,
The Jets are prepared to go pull off a coup.

Forget ’68 and that Super Bowl drought,
The ’24 Jets are about to ball out.
The season is here. Pour a drink in your cup.
It’s time to Take Flight.  It’s time to Jet Up.

The Jets flew to Frisco to kick off Week 1,
McCaffrey didn’t play, still, they couldn’t stop the run.
Rodgers looked healthy and put up a fight,
Yet, they fell to the 9ers on that Monday Night.

Week 2 took the Jets out to old Tennessee.
Jermaine left the game with a tough injury.
Braelon and Breece showed they’re quite the duel threat,
While Aaron chalked up his first win as a Jet.

For decades the Pats showed the Jets no respect,
But flipping that script is a box Rodgers checked.
On Thursday Night Football, Gang Green turned the tide,
And Week 3 gave Jets fans a new sense of pride.

Everyone thought we were done with the pain.
Along came the Broncos…and so did the rain.
Coaching mistakes and the offense couldn’t score.
So they lost to Bo Nix in a soggy Week 4.

Sam and the Vikings were in the UK.
A Week 5 in London, but to our dismay,
The offense was sluggish and Rodgers threw picks.
Brand new continent. Same old tricks.

Two weeks in a row, the team looked uninspired,
So Woody went rogue and then Saleh was fired. 
In desperate need of a brand new approach,
The Jets made Jeff Ulbrich their interim head coach.

Throwback jerseys and a not to the past,
But the Bills beat the Jets. The good vibes didn’t last.
Flags and missed field goals. A sloppy Week 6.
Tons of bad habits for this team to fix.

Rodgers had wanted his pal from Green Bay.
So Joe D went out and he traded for Tae.
Davante’s a big star and everyone knows,
The Jets must win now or this window will close.

A Week 7 showdown in the Steel City,
The Jets were destroyed and it wasn’t real pretty.
Year after year it’s not hard to predict,
That we all buy the hype and again we get tricked.

The gloomiest Jets fan could not have forseen,
That our season would end just before Halloween.
A dysfunctional loss to the Pats in Week 8,
Had our fanbase disgusted, fed up and irate.

“Sell the team” chants in Week 9 out of spite,
Then a spooky thing happened on Halloween night.
The Jets beat the Texans with “Jumpman” G5.
His catch of the year kept the season alive.

Week 10 in the desert went horribly wrong.
A pitiful effort proved they don’t belong.
This year, the playoffs are not in the Cards.
The Jets, once again, kick us all in the nards.

1 o’clock with the Colts because it was flexed,
Showcased a Jets team that always seems hexed.
In this Week 11 they fell to defeat.
We’ll try again next year. Rinse and repeat.

The Bye in Week 12 is this year’s point of junction.
The Jets proved again they’re a team of dysfunction.
This franchise relentlessly puts us through hell.
Now they fired Joe Douglas. Sell, Woody! Sell!

Two weeks to prepare. The results were obscene.
A loss to the Seahawks capped off Week 13.
The Jets blew the lead and AR passed the blame.
We hoped things would change but got more of the same.

Garrett Wilson is sick of the Jets “losing gene.”
He made that well known, postgame, Week 14.
An overtime loss to the Fins was real gory.
Forever stuck in football purgatory.

The Jets could have easily pack up their bags,
And been a no-show for their date with the Jags.
But Davante went off Week 15 for the win,
Much to the pro-Tankathoner’s chagrin.

The Athletic reported Brick Johnson’s in charge,
And Woody’s reliance on Madden is large.
The Rams beat the Jets Week 16 in the cold.
This season’s a story that’s best left untold. 

In Week 17 the Bills swarmed and attacked.
They made Aaron Rodgers the all-time most sacked.
According to Sauce, some guys might be “checked out.”
Rock Bottom is something the Jets know about.

With little to play for AR was carefree,
By throwing 4 touchdowns he reached 503.
The Jets beat the Fins in a Week 18 clash,
Expectations were high, but this season was trash.

We thought they were ready, we thought they were ripe,
We all got excited and bought all the hype.
This was our shot to get out of the woods,
Instead Woody sold us the same bill of goods.

The Gods from above should have thrown us a bone.
Instead our Lombardi still sits all alone.
Rodgers maintains that he has no regrets,
Taking this challenge to rebrand the Jets.

Instead, after two years, it’s mostly the same.
AR’s not alone, there are plenty to blame.
The guy who said “thinking is so overrated,”
Must be found liable for the mess he created.

But Woody won’t sell, we’ll just have to sit tight,
And pray that they finally can get this thing right.
It starts with the search for a coach and GM,
To settle things down and stop all the mayhem.

Unlike past rebuilds, this roster’s not barren.
Will they run back with Devonte and Aaron?
Can Garrett be happy, avoiding a trade? 
Now is the time to make sure he gets paid.

No matter what happens, there should be no doubt,
The number one goal is to end this damn drought.
A return to the playoffs is long overdue.
Nothing has worked, so they’ll try something new.

We’ve been tortured and teased in so many ways,
It’s got to pay off for us one of these days.
Until then we’ll all pour a drink in our cup,
And dream of the day they can finally Jet Up.

If Aaron Rodgers Can Overcome Jets Wicked Past, He’ll Change Team For Good

Posted on by
Reply

By Jason Klein 

“I’ve heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason.”

After arriving in New York, Aaron Rodgers saw Wicked on Broadway and heard Glinda deliver this iconic line.  The future hall of fame quarterback came to the Jets for one very specific reason.  He’s here to make sure the historically cursed franchise has been changed for good.

It’s been 55 years since another Broadway star, Joe Willie, secured the franchise’s only Super Bowl victory.  Namath defied gravity – and the odds – to add that lonely Lombardi to the trophy case.  Since then, our fanbase has been tortured, teased and tormented in the cruelest of ways.  We’ve been mocked and mistreated.  We’ve been baited and beaten. We’ve been disappointed, disillusioned and disgruntled. 

Unless you’ve rooted for the New York Jets, or you’re another notoriously green outcast named Elphaba, there’s no way you can possibly understand.  You can’t empathize with our inferiority complex or comprehend our constant sense of doom.

Somehow, Aaron Rodgers gets it, though.  Maybe because he knows what it’s like to live in darkness.  This spring, Rodgers spent a few days in the dark.  Jets fans have spent a few decades there.  Together, they will try to see the light.

This isn’t the first time we’ve been promised a brighter future, though.

Ken O’Brien had his moments.  Browning Nagle never did.  Boomer Esiason and Neil O’Donnell had big reputations, but little success. Vinny Testaverde got close.  Chad Pennington got hurt. Mark Sanchez got Tebow’d. Geno Smith got punched. Sam Darnold got mono.  Zach Wilson got the yips.

This time will be different.  It has to be, right?

Aaron Rodgers is a 4-Time MVP and a Super Bowl Champion.  He’s the most accomplished and talented quarterback the team has ever had.  He also genuinely wants to be here!  Since the moment he announced that his “intention was to play for the New York Jets,” he’s embraced everything that goes along with it.  The expectations, the media, the fans, the mentorship role, the Hard Knocks, the city and the history.  He isn’t just the new face of the team.  He’s the new face of the entire franchise.

Give him a shovel.  He’s the right guy to finally bury the “Same Old Jets” and change our sad narrative.

No more Fake Spikes and Butt Fumbles.  Put the Heidi Game on hiatus and dig out of the Miami mud.  It’s time to say goodbye to shovel passes and seeing ghosts.

We’re done talking about Gastineau’s gaffe in Cleveland and Byars’ fumble in Denver.  We’ve had enough of the Idzik 12, burner accounts and googly-eyed head coaches.  It’s time to finally heal from Favre’s torn biceps, Chad’s torn shoulder and Vinny’s torn Achilles. 

Let’s focus on Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner and Breece Hall and stop talking about Vernon Gholston, Blair Thomas and Dee Milliner.  Tell homie-hoppers to bounce and give foot fetishes the boot.

Crumple up that “HC of the NYJ” napkin and toss it along with Lou Holtz, Rich Kotite and Adam Gase.  While we’re at it, give Namath’s interview with Suzy Kolber a big kiss goodbye.

No more Pick 6’s, PSLs or Peyton Manning advice.  We’re done rooting for top draft picks and flying planes over practice.  We’ve had “too much Tebow” and not enough real “brilliant offensive minds.” 

We’re tired of twitching over Leon Johnson’s pass in Detroit and Doug Brien’s kicks in Pittsburgh.  Please, give the legend of IK Enemkpali a right hook and stop calling Cover Zero Blitzes.

We’ve unfollowed Jamal Adams and Le’Veon Bell.  We’re done being humiliated when Favre throws picks or sends pics.  We don’t want to be branded by 3-13 or 1-15 anymore.

No more Mud Bowls and Snoopy Bowls.  Only Super Bowls from now on.

Starting Monday night, if Aaron Rodgers can perform football wizardry and somehow lead the Jets down the yellow brick road to victory, it would be the greatest accomplishment of his Hall of Fame career.  It would be the top line on his already legendary resume, forever.  It would also leave a lasting legacy with the Jets, ensuring that they’ve been changed for good.

Towards the end of Wicked, Elphaba claims, “Everyone deserves a chance to fly.”

No one deserves it more than Jets fans.

Aaron Rodgers could be the right guy, at the right time, to finally help us Take Flight.

Afterall, I’ve heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason.