There is a lot of hype surrounding the New York Jets heading into the 2023 season. Many people believe their acquisition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers will take the team to heights they haven’t experienced in a very long time.
Currently riding the longest playoff drought among the four major sports in North America, the Jets are hopeful Rodgers will help them snap their 12-season drought. That is the very least New York will accomplish with Rodgers under center, as some people believe that Gang Green is now a Super Bowl contender.
However, some people are skeptical about the hype. One of those people is Jason La Canfora. The NFL insider recently made an appearance on the “In The Huddle” podcast where he revealed some strong feelings about the Jets. They are a team that he is ‘fading the hell out of’ despite having Rodgers as their quarterback.
“The Jets have a really tough early schedule in part because they’re playing a lot of primetime games,” La Canfora explained, according to Ryan Gilbert of Audacy. “The league is looking to make money off the Jets.”
The start of the 2023 season is brutal for New York. Not only are they playing a lot of primetime games as La Canfora noted, their opponents are very difficult. Four of their first six games are against playoff teams from last season; the other two are against their AFC East rivals the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
Things don’t get easier after their bye week, where they face off against playoff teams in three out of the first four games. La Canfora doesn’t envision the team having a winning record heading into the bye and hinted that Rodgers’ 2022 performance shows he is past his prime.
“When they’re below .500 at the early bye, we’ll see how Aaron Rodgers handles that,” La Canfora predicted. “We’ll see how up for the fight Aaron Rodgers is.”
2022 was a tough season for Rodgers, as he dealt with multiple injuries and some ineffective play around him. For the Jets to get him back on track, they need their offense to be clicking on all cylinders.
Arguably the most important thing in that regard is the team’s offensive line. Rodgers is as good as anyone at getting the ball out of his hand and moving in the pocket to avoid pressure. But, the Jets’ offensive line has some serious question marks in the opinion of La Canfora.
“The part I love about the Jets — I bet you don’t hear a whole lot about this on ‘Hard Knocks’ — how (offensive tackle) Mekhi Becton still looks like a stiff,” La Canfora continued. “How Duane Brown’s a 36-year-old starting left tackle.
“Who’s behind Mekhi Becton on the depth chart? Max Mitchell,” La Canfora added. “I bet you don’t know him at all. So that’s what I’m looking at. The best teams in football are built from the inside out. (Rodgers) at this stage of his career needs to be incubated.”
La Canfora certainly brings up some solid points when discussing some of the things the Jets need to focus on for the remainder of training camp. Expectations are high in New York and with Rodgers giving the team back $35 million, they at least have the means to fill any holes that may pop up.
