Like most great quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers has a reputation for holding his playmakers to an almost impossibly high standard. In particular, towards the latter years of his tenure with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers was notorious for dressing down just about every green-and-gold playmaker sans Davante Adams.
And it seems like nothing has changed with the New York Jets — for the worse.
During a key sequence of the latest episode of Hard Knocks, veteran receiver Randall Cobb spoke to the Jets’ young receiver room. As a Rodgers favorite for a decade in Green Bay, Cobb knows how the signal caller approaches practice better than anyone. He knows how to make Rodgers happy. And he knows how to put him on edge, too.
So, Cobb issued a stark warning to the Jets’ outside playmakers about attending to details, in turn making Rodgers sound like some kind of horror movie monster:
"If he don't trust you, he not gonna throw you the ball."
Veteran WR Randall Cobb showing veteran leadership 🦾#HardKnocks on @streamonmax pic.twitter.com/eQyaYZF2jq
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) August 23, 2023
I’m gonna be honest. I wouldn’t be encouraged if I was a Jets fan watching this clip.
Part of the problem with Rodgers’ latter years in Green Bay was that he refused to trust other receivers, almost to the point of stubbornness. He wouldn’t have force-fed Davante Adams over 300 targets from 2020-2021 if he believed in other Packers players. And such an insistence made Green Bay’s offense easier to game-plan for. Focus on Adams, and suddenly, the Packers’ attack felt extremely limited.
It’s too early to make any definitive declarations, but a similar situation could be boiling with Gang Green. Based on other Hard Knocks sequences, Rodgers appears to already be developing quite a rapport with sophomore receiver Garrett Wilson. In fact, during the latest episode, Rodgers called Wilson “special” on multiple occasions, suggesting he’ll (rightfully) be his go-to guy.
The concern is whether Rodgers looks Wilson’s way almost too much. If the Jets will prevail in a logjam of an AFC, they’ll need a balanced offensive approach. They’ll need to keep defenses on their toes with every weapon at their disposal. They can’t succeed if Rodgers fixates on Wilson to the point that he starts ignoring his other options. As much as the onus is on the Jets receivers to keep Rodgers happy and earn his trust, it’s on him to mellow out and perhaps give his teammates a little more leeway.
The success of the Jets’ 2023 campaign could depend on it.
This was how Twitter reacted
65 percent! https://t.co/p1hMTDzqIo
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) August 23, 2023
Yeah we know that Randall. He probably didn’t trust Lazard in back to back playoff games when he was wide open. https://t.co/r0mh8Jz4Mn
— Dadrian🧀 (@KingDay__) August 23, 2023
Now that Rodgers is gone, this is why we never won a second Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers. Everything had to be perfect, every route had to be perfect, every protection.
Would Aaron Rodgers have thrown the David Tyree ball? Nope.
Love and thankful for Rodgers but chaos wins too https://t.co/iJ7wslBI4h
— Anthony (@Anferrrney) August 23, 2023
I love that Cobb operates like he’s the underboss for Rodgers The Don 😂 https://t.co/m1kiWpi01f
— LempsMKE (@itsjustChrisnow) August 23, 2023
Honeymoon phase wearing off already… just wait til they start playing real games https://t.co/cB2mdNe8OQ
— Brennan Olin (@brennan_olin) August 23, 2023
Jets fans eating this up. So cringe. Rodgers just going to be chucking it up to Garrett Wilson all year.. https://t.co/1klt02tiNk
— President of the LaPorta Supporta’s (@JohnPapp2) August 23, 2023
Veteran leadership? lmao he sound shook to me 😭 https://t.co/JBqyo25MO9
— Breeze (@BreezeSeason) August 23, 2023
The Jets have 0 idea what they asked for….can’t wait till we’re in week 5 and Corey Davis is frozen out of the offense because he dropped 2 passes and ran a 10 yard hitch instead of a 12 yard https://t.co/4xF8KLo2TF pic.twitter.com/2RYodj0VyP
— iTried aka the Love Boat Captain (@Moms_Fav_Ninja) August 23, 2023
I love this. They finna get a taste of the Rodger Rage! https://t.co/35ja2YFkMA
— Von D. Cannon (@KayvonC) August 23, 2023
