The Aaron Rodgers narrative is starting to sound all too familiar

If you’re a Packers fan and you just read this headline, you’re probably smiling. If you’re a Jets fan, you’re probably snarling. (Or worse.) If your rooting interests are focused elsewhere, you undoubtedly have an opinion about Aaron Rodgers, but those are typically all over the map.

But Packer fans know this narrative, and that’s the reason they’re smiling. A new team with a .500 record? Check. A sputtering offense that occasionally looks powerful? Double check. A running battle of comments with a beleaguered coach who just seems to be sick of it all? Yup, we’ve got that one, too.

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The Aaron Rodgers narrative took a while to liftoff in New York

While the Green Bay version of the Aaron Rodgers narrative ultimately felt like a repetitive story that took forever to end, the Jets version took a while to achieve liftoff. This was mostly due to the quarterback’s Achilles tear on the fifth play of last year’s home opener, when the highlight was a flag-waving Rodgers charging out of the runway.

That was all basically all the charging Rodgers did that night, though, and that lowered the narrative to a whisper. The former superstar quarterback faded into the background as the Jets struggled through a Zach Wilson season, although Rodgers did make some noise about a possible early comeback if the Jets still had a chance to make the playoffs.

The narrative picked up steam in the offseason as Rodgers healed, especially when he began doing Rodgers things. Appearing on podcasts and chipping in with memorable quotes. Making predictions. Then going Egypt during the spring when he was supposed to be in the Jets facility, although Rodgers claimed that coach Robert Saleh knew about this in advance.

Coach Robert Saleh went all along with this, of course. That’s his job. His livelihood depends largely on Aaron Rodgers walking the straight and narrow and playing well, so this man clearly deserves all the sympathy we can give him.

The blame game has already begun in New York

The narrative was bound to shift once the games began, and sure enough it did. There were reports that Rodgers looked old and slow in camp, which were quickly followed by rumors that he wasn’t on the same page with star receiver Garrett Wilson. The quarterback responded by saying how thankful he was to be put through a tough camp, and then the games started for real.

San Francisco routed the Jets in their home opener, and suddenly Aaron Rodgers comeback became a secondary story. He was largely ineffective, but the apologists insisted it was his first game back after a long layoff, so everything would be okay.

Sadly, it’s not. The Jets struggled to put away a weak Titans team in Nashville, and that was when a clearer picture started to emerge. Rodgers is still able to make plays that remind you of how good he once was, but he has trouble escaping from the pocket, to the point where he was at the mercy of Broncos blitzers against Denver.

The narrative shifts

Cue the finger pointing and the weird stories. The latter included a strange near-miss hug between the quarterback and coach, and the finger pointing about Rodgers’ use of cadence to induce offside penalties and capitalize on free plays became a thing, too.

Garrett Wilson seems to be an especially unhappy Jets camper, as he was expecting his quarterback’s legendary arm to carry him to new heights after posting big numbers with the likes of Wilson. He’s already talking about “doing other things” to help the team, but the Jets just got beat by another .500 team that posted just 60 yards in the air, so who knows where all this will end.

Packer fans do know, though. They know it ends with a borderline .500 season, possibly as a playoff contender, but maybe not. Given Rodgers history in Green Bay and the Jets history of doing Jets things, it’s getting harder and harder to imagine this ending well.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough