These are the times that try leaders' souls. If there was a name for this time, we could go with "3-and-7." Whatever its name, it is the time that Aaron Rodgers is attempting to address to get the Jets right for the final seven games of their season.

How does he go about doing it this week, ahead of Sunday's MetLife Stadium game against the Indianapolis Colts?

"You've got to be the same every day," Rodgers said after Wednesday's practice at One Jets Drive. "You've got to bring the same energy, the same focus, the same preparation. You've got to set the standards with that. Once you dip your head, you give permission for everybody else to do the same thing. It's important to check your attitude every day, every time you step in the building. Any disappointment, leave it outside. It's about being positive, being part of the solution, carrying yourself in the right way."

That's a mouthful, and there are no guarantees that doing all that will right the Jets' ship. But Rodgers' teammates remain firmly behind him.

"We all look at him as a leader," CB Sauce Gardner said. "We know what he's about. I know how much he helped me this offseason, how much he helped the whole defense, offense, special teams. ... He's a leader and leaders find ways to bring others with him."

"He's the quarterback, man, he's the catalyst" WR Garrett Wilson said. "You're always looking at your quarterback to see what the plan is, how we attack these dudes. He's never been in this position before, 3-7, either. We're all figuring it out together."

Actually, as Rodgers said, he has been four games under .500 before. The trick is in translating all of the good intentions, firm talk and talent in the locker room into a consistent bloc of play. The Jets haven't been able to do that consistently. One glitch might have been overlooking the effect that their two Thursday night victories followed by mini-bye-weekends would have on their following games, the one-point home loss to Denver in Week 3 and last Sunday's disappointment at Arizona.

But if those losses were process issues, they weren't the only ones that impacted the Jets. That led Rodgers to examine what the answers could be beginning this week.

"I think it's a return to fundamentals, a return to basics," he said. "It's a wakeup call for all of us. When you lose the way we've lost this year, you've kind of got to check the process. What is your process during the week? And if it's not resulting in the performance you want, then you've got to make alterations. That's how you win Monday through Saturday doing all the extra things so that when it comes to Sunday, you can play free."

The alterations for the Colts are well-known. The defense wants to cut way back on missed tackles, and some takeaways would be welcomed. Offensively, the Jets went 0-for-3 on red zone TD drives vs. the Cardinals, dropping their NFL ranking to 26th (51.6%).

And while they did generate long drives in the desert to at least reach the red zone, the Green & White, after generating 31 explosive plays (20-plus yards) in the first nine games, had none at Arizona for the first time in 16 games dating to last season.

"If we want to take shots downfield, we've got block it up up front. We do that, we have a chance," Rodgers said. "We have to keep the quarterback clean, run the ball a little more effectively and maybe a little more, so we can get some of those action passes."

The soul-searching comes in because there's a lot of talk but only so much action a player or a unit or a team or a team leader can do during those Monday-through-Saturday stretches. The Jets know what they have to do, but as Rodgers said, it's about more than one leader showing the way.

"There are two choices," the QB said. "One is to become a solo soldier and do your own thing. And the other is to stick together and say, 'I'm going to be a part of this to the end.' And I know there's enough guys in the locker room, enough leadership who will do that."

And when that happens, a spark can take hold. But first things first, and that means the Colts.

"You've got to hold onto the hope of something great happening," he said. "It just takes one to get the momentum going. This is a chance for us to go into the bye week feeling good about ourselves, getting everybody back healthy, then looking at the last six games. There are a lot of things to be hopeful for. But we've got to win this weekend."