Jets Hire Zach Azzanni
Edition #334
Good morning 🌟
So now we play the waiting game. I have to be honest and say the more I think about Aaron Rodger’s the less I like it. It just seems such a short term answer that in all probability won’t push us over the top. If you get Rodger’s you probably have to win the Super Bowl in 2023 to make it worth it, and as positive as I am, I’m not sure we’re there as an entire roster.
The good news is that it seems as though Derek Carr wants to wait to make a decision, deciding instead to take some more visits. With Aaron Rodger’s set to surface today from his darkness retreat, maybe we’ll start getting some answers.
I just hope that if we do go Aaron Rodger’s it’s a football decision and not a commercial one. As at the moment the talk is that Woody Johnson is the one pushing for Rodgers, that doesn’t mean Saleh/Douglas are against it, but at the end of the day any football decision should be made by the football people and not the owner.
🚘 Some further details on Carr’s visit. The former Raiders QB really hit it off with Robert Saleh and his vision for the team, he was also impressed with the facilities, the prospect of having a dominant defense and getting to work with Todd Downing again, a man he really respected while in Oakland. I’ve been told that the package as a whole was very appealing to Carr, and the Jets have more interest than just a plan B if Rodgers decides to sign elsewhere or retire.
🏫 Brandon Tierney posted that he's hearing the Jets will take part in the Hall of Fame game this year and right now the opponent is slated to be the Cleveland Browns. What a weekend that would be with Klecko & Revis joining the hall.
🧀 NFL Insider Tom Pelissero was on the Rich Eisen show yesterday and he had some interesting comments on Aaron Rodgers. The one that stuck with me was that the Packers absolutely want him back in 2023 if he's fully bought in. That's contrary to many reports. Simple truth here is that until Rodgers surfaces and makes a decision, nothing can happen. All of those works on AR time, and nobody knows what that is, including Aaron who presumably can't check the time in the dark.
🎯 NFL.com is starting to ramp up its free agency coverage and they had an article yesterday outlining “unheralded players who should be kept off the market by their teams” and unsurprisingly the Jets got a mention.
“The Jets made a concerted effort to put Huff in a position to pin his ears back and focus solely on getting after the quarterback this season: 147 of his 181 defensive snaps (81.2%) came on third or fourth down. The results were outstanding, as the third-year player generated a 21.3% pressure rate as a situational pass rusher, setting a single-season Next Gen Stats-era record…Huff has earned the opportunity to prove himself in a larger role next season, and the Jets’ coaching staff should pound the table for the chance to continue his development”
🧐 Daniel Jeremiah released his mock draft 2.0 yesterday and he had the Jets going with an offensive lineman, which is kind of standard for any mock at the moment.
🏈 Yesterday marked the start of the Franchise tag period meaning teams could designate their tags to specific players. All eyes on the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson.
🔵 Jeff Darlington confirmed that the Giants want both Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley back in 2023, but their preference is to reach long-term deals with both. So right now there are no indications that either will receive the tag.
It’s not often that the hiring of a wide receiver coach will be hotly anticipated, but I’ve been eagerly waiting for this hire over the last few weeks.
Assistant coaches often go unnoticed, if things are going well it’s often attributed to the coordinator, if things are going badly, again it’s the coordinator.
I would say there are some exceptions to that rule, most notable with the quarterbacks coach and the offensive line coach, but the wide receivers coach rarely gets mentioned.
The Jets were forced to make a change this year with Miles Austin facing a year out of football due to violating the NFL's gambling policy, although he maintains his innocence and will appeal any suspension.
Austin was hired by Saleh when he took over in 2021 following a year working together for the 49ers in 2019. His reign with the Jets has seen some ups and downs and that’s why I believe the hiring of Zach Azzanni is so key.
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