Malachi Corley will live out a dream Monday night as the Jets and 49ers clash in the NFL's final offering on opening weekend. Corley, a third-round pick from Western Kentucky, will play in his first pro game on a roster that is loaded with talent and is quarterbacked by a historic field general in Aaron Rodgers.
"As a kid you literally dream of those situations, kind of like Russell Crowe in 'Gladiator,' " said Corley, the rookie receiver. "Just being a gladiator in that Colosseum. As kids, we dream of the big moment, that primetime piece in a nationally televised game playing against one of the greatest teams in the league right now and also playing with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time on our team with us. It's an unbelievable feeling."
The Willing Gladiator
While Russell Crowe played a reluctant fighter in Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, Aaron Rodgers is a most willing gladiator. After being limited to four plays in his first season as a Jet, Rodgers' torn Achilles tendon is healed. Entering his 20th professional campaign, Rodgers is delivering perspective with a long road on the horizon.
"Regardless of what happens on Monday, we win, the headline is going to be we're going to the Super Bowl," he said. "We lose, same old Jets. I think we need to get away from some of those outside themes and trust that the program – if it's good enough Week 1 – it's good enough the rest of the season, so we have to trust the process. Be great competitors, be professionals and show out on the field and let the chips fall where they may."
Rodgers has lived in the national spotlight for most of his career and that won't change this season as seven of the Jets' first 11 contests are standalone games. That all starts Monday night on the road against a 'Niners club that lost a Super Bowl OT thriller to the Chiefs in February and has advanced to the NFC championship games the past three years running.
"Gameday in the NFL is like you are in the Roman Colosseum," said edge defender Jermaine Johnson. "It's like bringing you back to millennia ago and I just can't wait to get back to that. I know all of us can't."
Encouraged by the Offensive Line
In a game with endless storylines, Jets HC Robert Saleh, the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2017-20, and his defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, a 49ers LB from 2000-09, will lead their elite unit against Kyle Shanahan's offensive dynamo. Last season, the Jets finished No. 1 in yards per play allowed (4.57) while the Niners became the first team in league annals to have a RB (Christian McCaffrey), a TE (George Kittle) and two WRs (Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel) gain at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage.
"He's got his gameplan, and then he's got the game that happens after the first quarter where he'll create plays on the sideline if he has to," Saleh said of Shanahan. "He is very, very good at recognizing the way players move and the players relate and the space that's created on defense by certain plays and he just knows how to counterpunch, and he knows exactly when to counterpunch. He sees things on tape that gives him opportunities to exploit, and he's one of the best."
But not only do the Jets have a defense that can trade punches with any team in the NFL, they have the potential to be a team that lands big blows with their offense. Rodgers had a scorching summer, WR Garrett Wilson and RB Breece Hall are explosive threats, and the offensive line has three new veteran starters in LT Tyron Smith, LG John Simpson and RT Morgan Moses.
"Really encouraged," Aaron Rodgers said of his O-line. "I think the feel is different. That happens when you bring in a couple of older guys like we have, there's a stability mentally that I think comes with that. Those guys have played and played a lot of football and bring kind of an attitude to the room. The O-line needs to be the policemen of the football team but also needs to be the jokesters and keep things light. I think they do a good job with that."
He Makes Your Life Easier
At the outset of training camp, Aaron Rodgers said the goal for the Jets was to get to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and added the Jets were one of 8-to-12 teams that realistically could win the championship.
"I do agree with the fact that we're capable of anything, but I also recognize that we haven't done anything," Robert Saleh said. "And until we do something, it's all a hypothetical."
But Rodgers, who has a 6-3 record against the 49ers in regular-season play with 20 TDs and 2 INTs, is real and he's really good.
"You have to find a way to be a stability point for the team, so we're not riding the highs too much or riding the lows," he said. "Adversity is going to come at some point during the season. We have to make sure we're handling it the right way."
Unlike Russell Crowe in "Gladiator," Rodgers is not seeking revenge. But like Crowe's character, Maximus, he is a general on a mission as he re-enters the Colosseum. He'll play in his 232nd regular-season game against the 'Niners while Malachi Corley, who will dress in his first pro contest, knows he's in good hands.
"Knowing that you have Aaron Rodgers right behind center makes your entire life easier," Corley said. "He makes throws that no one else in the history of the NFL has been able to make. He's turned a lot of guys into great players, knowing that every decision he makes is for the betterment of the team and he's putting guys in the right spot and the right place. When he throws that ball and it comes off his hand, you know that ball is going to the right spot. If you run your route hard and you're in the right area, that ball is going to find you, it will hit you right in the face."
