Aaron Rodgers and the Jets offense certainly don’t look as if they need a final preseason tuneup to be ready for the first game of the regular season Sept. 9 against the 49ers.
Rodgers positively picked apart the Giants first-string defense in a one-sided joint practice Wednesday in Florham Park.
The 40-year-old quarterback threw four touchdown passes, including two long ones to Garrett Wilson in 11-on-11 drills, to the delight of the fans in attendance at the team’s practice facility.
“That is my favorite part of the day when we go up against other teams, to be ready for that two-minute period, and to be able to see the offense do their thing,” Pro Bowl cornerback Sauce Gardner said after practice. “It’s like, you know when Garrett’s getting the ball. Obviously I go up against him all the time, so it’s like you’re watching the other color jersey on the other side, and you’re like, ‘Garrett’s getting the ball.’ The way they were operating the two-minute drill, it looked crazy. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, I know they’re probably gonna have big heads walking into the facility tomorrow, but it was crazy.”
Gardner went up against impressive Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers during the session, and he waved good-bye to the Giant sideline after the rout was completed.
Gardner also called Rodgers — the four-time MVP returning after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 1 last year — “the best quarterback I’ve ever seen, and I’m not saying that just because he’s on my team.”
“[The offense looks] great, but like I learned last year, things can be taken away from you at the snap of a finger,” Gardner said. “We sit here and talk about Aaron and Garrett. But Allen [Lazard], he’s already nice, but he’s improved a lot. Breece [Hall] already do what he do. … And another thing is the [offensive] line is looking really good.
“An O-line like that, with Aaron, and having the weapons around him … they have a great group, like the defense has a great group, and the special teams. And that’s great to see, all that meshing together.”
Rodgers completed short touchdowns to Hall and Lazard, in addition to the two deep scores to Wilson.
One went for roughly 70 yards after a breakdown by the Giants secondary early in the scrimmage and the other was a 55-yard connection off Rodgers’ back foot against Giants cornerback Nick McLeod.
Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor also threw a deep touchdown pass to Jason Brownlee.
“It’s a test to go against [Rodgers] every day,” said veteran safety Chuck Clark, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL. “You gotta be on your best, even on days when you don’t feel like it or you’re sore, you gotta work. You’re gonna get challenged, you’re gonna get exposed if you don’t. It’s definitely a test every day coming out and competing against Aaron.”
Jets coach Robert Saleh hasn’t disclosed whether the starters will play in the preseason finale Saturday against the Giants, but it is considered highly unlikely that Rodgers will be in uniform.
“He’s looking great. Don’t know much more to say than that,” added eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith. “He has all the respect in the world from me. He’s one of the greats out there, and we’re just trying to do our best to keep up with the man.
“[Rodgers’ presence] makes everything a lot smoother out there. There’s no freak-outs, we’re on the field and we trust that he knows what he’s talking about and knows what he’s doing out there, and as long as we have that trust in one another, we can move forward.”