Aaron Rodgers might be washed but at least he's already better than he was last season

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you for reading today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time.

Is it safe to say we finally saw Aaron Rodgers’ debut with the New York Jets?

I mean, OK. I know that we technically saw it last season. He only played four snaps before tearing his Achilles last season. But that doesn’t really count.

This was it. This was the moment. And, well, it was spectacularly disappointing.

Our Christian D’Andrea writes that Rodgers just didn’t really look like Rodgers anymore.

“He was, for the most part, better than Zach Wilson. This may not be something that needs to be said, but it does feel necessary to qualify just how low the bar is here.

But he also looked like a quarterback trying to force plays that came easily when he was still in his 30s and didn’t have a surgically repaired Achilles. Rodgers has long depended on two things that made him impossible to plan against. He has an almost preternatural sense for pressure and how to escape it with nimble feet. He also has the arm strength to throw a football through a cubic meter of Jell-O.

As you might expect from a man who came into the world the same year Plinko became a Price is Right game, those gifts are fading.”

Part of it may have been the 49ers vaunted defense — San Francisco is a returning conference champion. They’re good. And facing that defense after a year off is tough.

The Jets’ offensive chemistry just seemed off, too. It didn’t help that Rodgers seemed to ignore Nathaniel Hackett on the sideline while New York was floundering. That’s not a good look.

But it also probably doesn’t matter as much as this: Aaron Rodgers might be washed, folks.

That’s a reality that Jets fans have reasonably been pondering for the last year. Sure, they had Rodgers waiting in the wings for this season. But what did that actually mean? Would he be good? Could he still make plays? As Christian points out, the 40-year-old QB isn’t what he used to be. He’s old for an NFL player! And that’s OK. He’s not supposed to be good forever.

The season is far from over and this is only one game. But it’s entirely possible that he doesn’t get much better than this for Rodgers this season.

If it does, that’s alright. Fans can always take solace because he’s already cleared the bar from last year.

Tyreek Hill responds

On Monday evening, body camera footage from Tyreek Hill’s detainment on Sunday flooded social feeds.

Hill already spoke out about the situation and made clear that he wants to do something about it. I wrote on Monday that the NFL needs to have his back with this one.

If it wasn’t clear that he’s not letting this go before, it certainly is now. After the footage was released on the internet, Hill had a simple four-word response that hammered home exactly what he said before:

“Let’s make a change.”

The ball is in your court, NFL. Let’s hope the league takes the next steps here to help Hill and make something happen.

Rest in peace, James Earl Jones

I know this technically isn’t sports, but whatever. James Earl Jones is one of the most influential and consequential actors of our lifetimes, and we lost him yesterday. He died at 93 years old.

The man played iconic roles in some of the greatest movies ever. He was Mufasa. He was Darth Vader. He was Mr. Mertle. Our Cory Woodroof managed to perfectly describe Jones’ excellence here while recounting some of his iconic roles:

“Few actors can lay claim to so many historic soundbites in American cinema as Jones can, giving film some of its most iconic line readings: “No, I am your father.” “Remember who you are.” “I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

…

Consider his colossal impact. Just in a snapshot, Jones crafted the first run of Troy Maxon on stage in August Wilson’s Fences, delivered one of the defining performances of Othello, played Malcolm X alongside Muhammad Ali in The Greatest, battled Conan the Barbarian, appeared in a Jack Ryan movie (Patriot Games) and played a president in The Man.”

He will be missed, surely. But he left us with so many pieces of iconic art that we’ll be able to cherish forever.

Thank you, James.

The 10 most memorable roles played by James Earl Jones

Quick hits: Winners and losers from Week 2 in CFB … NFL Power Rankings… and more

— Here’s Tyler Nettuno with winners and losers from Week 2 in college football.

— Robert Zeglinski and Christian D’Andrea have your post-Week 1 NFL power rankings ready to go.

— Charles Curtis breaks down the Colorado touchdown song controversy with Deion and Shedeur Sanders here.

— Here’s Meg Hall on Shaq dismissing Charles Barkley’s claim that WNBA players are jealous of Caitlin Clark.

— Here’s Charles Curtis with tips for the waiver wire in the NFL after Week 1

— Cory Woodroof has more on our first Aaron Rodgers meme of the season.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you. Have a fantastic Tuesday.

-Sykes ✌️