What are the Jets going to look like?
That’s what every fan wants to know.
What are the 2023 Jets, with Aaron Rodgers added to 2022’s fourth-ranked defense, going to look like this season?
With merely marginal play at quarterback last season, the Jets team that finished a 7-10 could have been at least a 10-7 team with a playoff berth.
Are the 2023 Jets the championship-caliber team many believe they can be with the addition of a Hall of Fame-bound quarterback and a group of young players experiencing their second year in head coach Robert Saleh’s systems?
Beginning Wednesday in oppressively hot Spartanburg, S.C., where the Panthers train at Wofford College, the Jets will begin to answer some of those questions as they practice against the Panthers for two days before heading to Charlotte, N.C., to play them in a Saturday afternoon preseason game.
After a practice that lasted about 100 minutes Tuesday before the Jets departed for South Carolina, they conducted a modified walk-through to skim over some of the Panthers’ plays and tendencies in preparation for the next two days.
“Just being around another team for two days, it’ll be really good to see kind of the hands-on action,” linebacker and defensive leader C.J. Mosley said Tuesday. “There’s not a whole bunch of game-planning, it’s just two teams running plays and competing, seeing who can do their job better … and seeing where we are.’’
Mosley said the joint practices will offer a “a small feel’’ for where the Jets are at this stage.
“It’s going to be a chance for our ones [starters] going against someone else’s ones,’’ he said. “It’s going to be another early test for us to really see where we are, where we stand on communication. When we see another team, see another color, can we keep our focus and communication — all the things we’ve been building up these past few weeks?’’
Of course, the most important building block is Rodgers.
Even the Jets’ defense is stoked to see what the Rodgers-led offense will look like against another defense. Rodgers didn’t suit up for the preseason opener against the Browns last Thursday, and he is not likely to play a preseason down (unless he convinces Saleh to play him against the Giants for a series or two in the third and final preseason game).
That makes these joint practices (the Jets will host Tampa Bay for two upcoming joint sessions as well) the equivalent to Rodgers’ preseason games. Wednesday and Thursday will mark the first time Rodgers will have faced another team while wearing anything other than a Packers uniform.
That makes this a big deal.
“I’m excited to see it,’’ Mosley said of Rodgers versus the Carolina defense. “I want to see what our guys can do against somebody else. I’m going to be a fan just watching what our offense can do, too.’’
The Panthers have some studs on defense, beginning up front with defensive end Brian Burns, who recorded 12.5 sacks and 22 quarterback hits last season, and linebacker Frankie Luvu (a former Jet), who had seven sacks and 19 tackles for a loss.
“I can’t wait to see our offense go against those guys,’’ Jets safety Tony Adams said. “I know them boys are going to bring it. They bring it against us every day.’’
There, too, is an element of excitement on the part of the Jets’ defense in taking on Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young, the top overall draft pick this year.
“I’m excited to go against Bryce,’’ Mosley, a fellow Alabama product, said. “I’ve seen him play the last three or four years at Alabama. I’m excited to see his quarterback IQ and see his playmakers.’’
Adams said: “He was the first pick for a reason. I know he’s going to bring it. We’re coming, too. We’ve got bullets, too.’’
All summer, Saleh has sounded like a coach who plans to use these joint practices as preseason games for a lot of this starters, most notably Rodgers.
“I’m a big fan of the inner-squad scrimmages because you get to work against new schemes,’’ Saleh said. “You get to work against new verbiage. You get to work against different humans. We’re still installing our stuff. You’re just getting to do it against a different person and a different way of doing things, a different scheme. We’re just trying to continue to get better.’’
When Mosley was asked what his expectations are for the Jets this season, he said: “I expect every person to come here every day ready to be the No. 1 defense and ready to help this team win a championship. I’m ready for this defense to win a championship. [Wednesday’s] going to be our first real taste of it.’’
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