Robert Saleh apparently doesn’t want to end up on “the island.”
The Jets head coach has backtracked on concerns expressed after Sunday’s 10-9 loss to the Broncos regarding the cadence of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
“We’ve got to figure it out, whether or not we’re good enough or ready to handle all the cadence,” Saleh said Sunday. “Cadence had not been an issue all camp. Felt like our operation had been operating pretty good. Obviously, today it took a major step back.”
On Monday, Saleh got out the mop, possibly to avoid Rodgers stuffing him in a bucket — and/or exiling him to the figurative place where all family members and friends go if they cross him.
“We’re always going to push the envelope with cadence,” Saleh said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. " Always. But with regards to operation, getting in and out of the huddle, getting to the line of scrimmage, the communication that’s being had, those are all things that we can continue to look at and clean up. . . . But from a cadence standpoint, that’s part of what makes us who we are, and we’re going to continue to always push the envelope on that.”
The Jets had five false starts on Sunday. Rodgers dismissed it as an aberration.
“I don’t know if we need to make mass changes based on kind of an outlier game,” Rodgers said. While he acknowledged that changing his cadence is “one way to do it . . . the other way is to hold them accountable.”
So, basically, Rodgers is saying he’s not the problem. The guys who are moving before they’re supposed to move are. And Rodgers clearly believes that, instead of messing with something Rodgers has used many times over the years to draw defenses offside and get free plays, the coach should be making sure the other 10 players on offense don’t screw it all up.