Atlanta Calling

Edition #532

Good morning!

Welcome to the weekend. Despite what we’ve seen recently, I’m still excited about the game on Sunday, even with Tim Boyle playing QB. Can the line protect a little better? Can the playcalling not be as predictable? Can we see a dominant performance from someone, anyone on offence?

Atlanta poses a very difficult matchup for the Jets, but it shows how skewed the NFL is that the Jets have won 4 games and they’re ranked as the 15th team in the AFC, yet Atlanta has won just one more and leads the NFC South, so are technically ranked 4th in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers met with the media yesterday and while the 24th is still the target for a return, he wouldn’t rule out coming back earlier saying “Anything is possible”, but don’t get too excited he clarified "It feels great to be on the practice field, but I'm not anywhere near ready to play,".

He also spoke about the possibility of playing if the Jets were out of the playoffs: "I don't think that would make a ton of sense," he said, meaning to play in a game with no playoff implications. A comeback this year before the four-month mark would mean I'm not 100 percent healthy, so it'd be a risk for myself. For the team to sign off on if we're out of it, I'd be surprised if they would OK that to come back." This means I wouldn’t count on him playing again this year unless we win on Sunday, which I wouldn’t bet on.

He was also asked if his future was tied to the current management system in place, meaning GM Joe Douglas, HC Robert Saleh and OC Nathaniel Hackett. "I think that's such a trap question." was his response but he did praise all of them saying the Jets "have a really good organizational structure,". "I feel like the recipe's in place to be really successful," he said. "Whether it's finishing up this year or starting for us next year, I feel like with those guys in position of leadership, this team can get to where it wants to go."

Lazard spot about his benching on Wednesday and while he said he was a little caught off guard, he also said he saw Saleh’s reasoning after speaking with the coach. He also said “It’s a team sport. I would like to think that football is the most team-based sport there is. There is so much that has to happen for individuals to be successful, for the group to be successful, and for the team to be successful,” said Lazard. “There are a lot of things that I, as an individual, can improve on, and collectively, as a group, we can improve on as well.”

Tim Boyle was asked about the lack of deep shots he took against the Dolphins with only 4 of his passes travelling over 10 yards. He deferred to offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett “I trust Coach Hackett,” Boyle said. “Those are his decisions. I completely trust why he calls what he calls in certain moments. It’s my job to execute it.” You have a feeling Atlanta will take away a lot of the short stuff and force the Jets to beat them deep, and I’m not sure we have the line or the QB to do that right now.

Boyle was also asked if the potential return of Rodgers added more pressure, with the team needing to be in with a playoff shot for the future Hall of Famer to come back this year: “We’re trying to win football games,” he said. “If that’s a by-product of us winning football games, I’m happy for [Rodgers]. But I don’t think it adds a level of pressure or stress to us.”

I missed this little nugget earlier this week from former Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan, who took aim at Bill Belichick and his tendency to not name a starter heading into games, speaking on ESPN’s Get Up he said “Can I just say this: Bill Belichick, please stop. Just name your dang starter, It doesn’t matter, they both stink. Whether it’s Zappe or Peashooter Jones, we don’t care. They stink. Just go ahead and save the drama. Like we care about your team. Your team stinks.”

For today’s focus on My Cause My Cleats we’re going to focus on Michael Carter II who chose the Alzheimer’s Association in honour of his Grandpa who suffered from dementia before passing on. You can see his name on the cleats and his nickname of “Stinger”. “This means a lot that I really get to honour him and continue to raise awareness for a disease that takes a lot of lives and affects a lot of people”

Tim Boyle may say there’s no added pressure with Aaron potentially returning if the Jets are in the playoffs, but some of those coaches may disagree.