Rodgers Wasn’t Sole Jets Star Whose Underperformance Doomed Saleh

AP Photo / Adam Hunger

During his appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show”, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers basically copped to being responsible for Head Coach Robert Saleh’s firing.

But not in the way the conspiracy theorists think. Rodgers intimated that if he had just performed better this season, particularly during the past two weeks, then the Jets (2-3) would have been sitting pretty atop the AFC East at 4-1 with no need to pursue any major changes instead of reeling into Monday Night’s showdown with Buffalo for the division lead.

Only New York’s offense went into the tank, averaging the NFL’s second-worst expected points added per play over the last two weeks, per rbsdm.com. Rodgers gifted Minnesota three interceptions last Sunday in a 23-17 loss in London.

There will always be those NFL pundits who will die on the hill that Rodgers went to Jets owner Woody Johnson to get rid of Saleh because his Offensive Coordinator buddy Nathaniel Hackett was about to be demoted. Well, interim HC Jeff Ulbrich announced on Thursday that Todd Downing will take over as the offense’s play-caller, with Rodgers allegedly on board. So there goes that theory.

It was always more plausible that Johnson, the former Ambassador to the United Kingdom, was fuming that his pet project looked so inept last Sunday in front of his hoity-toity British friends. Whereas he previously held back (a huge mistake) after last season to give Saleh a mulligan due to Rodgers’ Achilles rupture just four snaps into the opener, this was the last straw for the Trust Fund baby. As one writer put it, Saleh wasn’t done in by Rodgers the Coach Killer, but by Rodgers the subpar quarterback.

While the QB always has the most impact on a team’s success or lack thereof, Rodgers, unfortunately, hasn’t been the only guilty party playing well below heightened expectations. Rodgers had plenty of help with making Saleh look bad. These core personnel members should also be bringing much more to the table:

Breece Hall

For a team that relies quite heavily on its running game, the Jets’ struggles to get Hall going has been devastating. He’s averaging three yards per carry with just one explosive play (over 20 yards) off a handoff this season. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, he’s in the negative on yards gained over expected and is ranked as the fourth-worst qualified running back in its efficiency percentage metric, which attempts to quantify a back’s ability to get upfield. There are some mitigating factors, namely the blocking in front of him, but it’s not because he’s facing stacked boxes (just under 17% of his carries). Here’s hoping Hall is just a slow starter, because he has not looked anything like the dynamic back we’ve seen during his first two pro seasons.

Garrett Wilson

The other half of New York’s 1-2 punch from its shining 2022 Draft class, Wilson is on a pace that would fall shy of the 1,000-yard mark from his first two seasons. Some might think his 13 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown outing versus the Vikings represents a turning point; it should be highlighted that it took 23 targets for Wilson to get those numbers. He averaged 1.8 yards per route run, which put him in 26^th place among the 54 receivers who saw at least five targets during Week 5, per ProFootballFocus.com. Like with Hall, Wilson isn’t breaking big plays either, with just two catches that went for 20-plus yards—he had 11 such gains catching passes from Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian, and Tim Boyle last season. With those guys, Garrett Wilson often could wait to look for the ball until after he was open. Rodgers, though, is more of an anticipatory thrower than anyone GW has ever played with, so there was bound to be an adjustment for him to learn to run his routes more precisely and turn his head around quicker. But we’re heading to Week 6 now. Every time that we keep hearing how he and Rodgers “aren’t on the same page” means that something wrong is afoot.

Tyron Smith

At least he’s been healthy (knock on wood). The Jets left tackle hasn’t measured up to his playing standard from his All-Pro Dallas days. PFF has him responsible for three sacks this season, which is one more than he had over his last two seasons combined encompassing 15 games with Dallas. He ranks 38^th among the 60 qualifying tackles in PFF’s pressure percentage allowed (he was second last season) and he’s also been flagged four times already (three were declined)—he committed three fouls all last season. All throughout training camp, Jets beat writers marveled at his size and his ability to move people in the running game. Though other blockers are involved in these plays—the tight ends have been conspicuously delinquent in their assignments--Hall has averaged less than 3.5 yards per carry going off Smith’s side, per PFF. The Jets desperately need Smith to be more of a difference-maker to have any chance of establishing the identity they desire.

Quinnen Williams

It’s hard to nitpick over a defense that has allowed the second-fewest yards per game this season. Still, they could be better. Both the run stoutness and the pass rush have been too spotty. At $20.4 million, Williams’ salary cap hit is New York’s highest this season. For that money, he has delivered just one sack and been involved in 11 tackles over five games. Worse, his pressure percentage and pass rush win rates are around half as efficient as last season’s PFF numbers. Is he really getting double-teamed more than in previous seasons? I saw one article that reported he was double-teamed on 70% of his 2023 snaps. But while his 5.5 sacks last season might seem like a paltry figure, he was still getting in opposing QB’s faces. The New England rout aside, he has barely sniffed them this season, with just six total pressures in the other four games. Williams is no different than the other underachieving Jets above, with All-Pro talent performing at a more pedestrian level. Yes, the coaching has sucked, but simply put: The Jets’ best players haven’t been at their best week in and week out.         

Prediction: Bills 27 Jets 20