Despair throwing has always been a house specialty. Aaron Rodgers knows how to do it. He steps back, almost dances on tiptoe and then…boom, a perfect spiral starts that cuts through the New York night and lands in the promised land of the touchdown where attack and defense crowd together to grasp that powerful and knowledgeable parabola. Yes, because the trajectory arrives punctually at the target chosen by the formidable quarterback who has won little, very little, in terms of talent and aptitude but who wants to give himself one last lap of the carousel with the not at all hidden hope that it will give him back some of that that could have been and wasn’t.
We are at the end of the first half with the Jets trailing 20-10 and on the 48-yard line, Rodgers chose the Hail Mary, the Hail Mary throw that his receiver, Lazard, caught in front of two defenders of the Bills falling onto his back in the end zone in a cluster of outstretched hands and arms. Touchdowns. Golden points for staying in the game with Buffalo and trying to overtake them in the second half. But it won’t be like that. For a series of errors, penalties (11…) and uncertainties and in the end also an interception which will decree a new painful defeat for the Jets. Not even the change of coach brought a smile to NY.
He, Aaron, back in the game this season after a blown Achilles’ heel and a long convalescence, is dark-faced and the cameras are all for him. The thoughtful look, while his opponents compete to get him a greeting, a hug and why not a t-shirt, his, because that’s what you do with the greats. And he will give the 8 to Hamlin, the Buffalo defender who technically died a couple of seasons ago on the pitch after a clash and who, miraculously, not only recovered but returned to play.
Because these super athletes, a little crazy but determined, would play football for their whole lives. And Aaron, who reaches 40 years of age, is like them but knows that time is about to take its toll on him in a sport that demands a lot, which demands everything from the body.
The Jets are also aware of this and, like a curse, have been unable to live a season as authentic protagonists for too long and who wanted Rodgers because he is a champion and still has the same hunger as them.
On yet another night that smacks of defeat, however, it is decided to please the quarterback with a complex character, with often incomprehensible outings peppered with very personal theories, but with an arm capable of anything there in the middle of the field.
And a trade goes through, a football transfer deal, very welcome to the qb: Davante Adams arrives, to recompose a happy connection when both wore the Green Bay Packers shirt.
To clarify: Rodgers-Adams has meant something like 622 receptions for 7,590 yards and 69 touchdowns in the recent past.
Adams, 31 years old, was selected for the Pro Bowl 6 times and has 890 receptions for 10,990 yards and 96 touchdowns in 153 career games (146 as a starter) with the Packers (2014-21) and the Raiders. He himself strongly wanted this exchange and those who saw the Netflix series dedicated to receivers, where he was one of the protagonists, will have noticed how he suffered in Las Vegas due to the team’s lack of competitiveness.
Rodgers did not hide his satisfaction with the receiver’s hiring: “Obviously, I’m really happy about it, he’s a phenomenal player and a dear friend.”
And Adams replied: “We speak the same language of the game and yes, we should be able to pick up right where we left off. That’s the idea.”
Rodgers-Adams, touchdown friends, together again, for what today appears to be a feat: transforming the New York Jets into a winning team and, perhaps, aiming for the highest goal. With another Hail Mary throw, why not?
Monday Night
Buffalo 23 NY JETS 20
