FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The matchup between Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday in Week 1 of the NFL season carries a unique storyline, but the New York Jets are determined to treat it like any other game.
Sauce Gardner, who shared a special handshake and plenty of laughs with Rodgers during their two years as teammates, echoed this sentiment. “I don’t know,” Gardner said Tuesday. “I’m just preparing like any other game.”
The situation is undeniably complex. Rodgers, 41, signed with the Steelers after a tumultuous stint with the Jets that saw a season-ending Achilles injury just four snaps into his debut and ultimately contributed to the firing of coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas. The Jets, aiming for Super Bowl aspirations, fell to a 5-12 record last season.
Edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, returning from a torn Achilles tendon in Week 2 last season, is focused solely on his role with the team. “I’ve got a job to do for this team. And whoever the quarterback is, I get paid to put him down,” Johnson stated.
Justin Fields, who replaced Rodgers in New York, acknowledged the unusual circumstance. “That’s why the NFL set us up for Week 1, just for that. It’s cool to kind of see that. And it’s gonna be fun going up against these guys on Sunday.”
New Jets coach Aaron Glenn is prioritizing the present. “That’s been gone. I’m not going to answer questions about guys that aren’t here and what I saw,” Glenn said. “Right now, I’m looking at what our guys can do.”
Glenn, a former defensive coordinator in Detroit and New Orleans, acknowledged Rodgers’ intelligence. “He’s always been someone that really understands what the coordinator is thinking. You can tell he does a lot of film study. Mentally, that never goes away. Physically, we all start to wane at some point as we get older, but I know at that position, when mentally you are on point, man, he makes it a challenge.”
Gardner, who shared a viral handshake with Rodgers, described the experience as “a great experience” and suggested Rodgers could use the Jets’ handling of his departure as added motivation. “You know, we are human,” Gardner said. “We use a lot of things as motivation and there’s things every day I use for motivation.”
Fuente: https://sports.yahoo.com/article/other-game-jets-downplay-facing-213256915.html