Joe Tippman had a full preseason with Aaron Rodgers for the second straight season, and after three games working with the 40-year-old passer, the Jets‘ second-year center said it is a “great feeling” for the offense to see the quarterback “playing his type of ball again.”
“Maybe we’re not always gonna have a perfect pocket, but for him to be able to move like he’s 38 again it’s a good feeling,” Tippmann said Monday. “And just to be able to see him bringing that confidence back within his game, it brings a whole new confidence to our whole offense.”
Like Rodgers and third-year receiver Garrett Wilson needing a bit of time to get on the same page, it wasn’t always perfect between QB and center with snaps being an issue during preseason.
“There were times when he sat down with me, especially when I was having snap issues, and he said, ‘Just get it back there,'” Tippman said, adding Rodgers would joke with him about just snapping one to his feet. “For him to be able to recognize where my issue was with the snaps, just being able to recognize different aspects of my game and him being able to make those recommendations.
“I have all the trust in the world with him, especially with him getting me right, getting me on the same page as him. It’s a great feeling and something we can carry on going forward.”
Tippman said it was difficult as a guy who has “snapped a million balls in my day” for them to go from “being great to not,” and it was a time when he had to look inside to figure out what he was doing wrong.
“He stood by me all the way through,” Tippman said of Rodgers. “Never missed a beat, so to have that with him, it’s a good feeling.”
On Rodgers working with him, the center added: “Somebody who’s as seasoned a veteran as he is to kind of pick apart my game or even take the time, a young player like myself, to kind of make me better, it’s a great feeling and it gives me a lot of confidence knowing that he wants me to be in that position, he wants me to come out to my full potential. That’s something that he helps me do.”
And when it comes to the Jets offense leading the NFL in third-down conversion percentage (56.7 percent) through three games, Tippman was succinct.
“Aaron Rodgers,” he said with a laugh.
“He’s a guy that’s out there communicating, getting us to the right call, right play,” Tippman continued. “He’s breaking down the defense before they’re even showing what they have. For him to be able to do that, and getting us on the same page, and he then just gets time to work and make something happen. That’s what he’s phenomenal at doing. Credit’s to Aaron Rodgers there.”
The center said it comes down to confidence in the offensive line’s ability to give the quarterback time and “that confidence that if we can give him time, he’s gonna make a play, he’s gonna make something happen, he’s gonna pick apart their defense.”
“Those gaps and those windows are really small, it just takes a guy like Aaron to be able to split that seam and make it happen,” he said.
Sunday marks a new challenge after the short week, as with veteran right tackle Morgan Moses going down with a knee injury that will likely keep him out for a few weeks, the Jets will have to make their first change to the starting offensive line that struggled with fielding a consistent lineup due to injuries a season ago.
In Moses’ place, first-round draft pick Olu Fashanu, who slid in and did admirably in 14 snaps against the New England Patriots last Thursday night, will be tasked with joining the unit and not missing a beat.
“I think he did a great job,” Tippmann said. “Especially coming in there. He is getting prepared in the game week, but he is not exactly getting prepared to start.
“For him to be able to step in there with the confidence that he came into the huddle with, it’s a great feeling for the entire o-line knowing that he is going to step in there and he’s gonna do his best not to miss a beat.”
Tippman’s advice for the rookie: “Listen to the vets.”
“Especially big Mo,” the center said. “He’s a guy that is going to do everything he can to ready Olu for each and every week that he’s gonna be starting. So, just listen to those vets and he’s gotta take that stuff that mistakes that he’s made in the game, maybe big Mo has made and he’s gotta take that into the next game.”
