Jets' center Joe Tippmann carries himself differently in his second season with the team. No longer a rookie or switching between guard and center, Tippmann has found his role and the confidence necessary to execute it.
"I'd say my confidence," Tippmann said about the biggest area of growth from his rookie season. "That's something that I've always focused on and it's something I hold really high in my game. Just being able to see that confidence on the film while I have more on my plate than I did last year. It's been something that has really helped me to play faster, play more confident, and kind of take on a more leadership role on the O-line.
"Even though I have John [Simpson], AVT [Alijah Vera-Tucker], Tyron [Smith] and Morgan [Moses] who've been in the league for a really long time, I feel like I've been able to take that step to where I can walk up to the O-line, take over on commanding and direct traffic out there. That's something I really take pride in at center."
Tippmann, who has started all 11 games at center this season, played 3 games at right guard and 10 at center while snapping the ball to three different quarterbacks in the 2023 season. This year, his position and the QB behind him, Aaron Rodgers, have been consistent. Playing with the four-time MVP with 20 years of NFL experience has been vital to his success and growth on the field.
"He's always trying to help me and trying to elevate my game," Tippmann said of Rodgers. "Little things from X's and O's to even coaching me on 'you should step with this foot first.' Being able to have someone who's as seasoned as him, it takes a lot of stress off my plate on the field. I feel like I can go out there and just execute at a higher level just having him back there."
According to Pro Football Focus, Tippman's 73.8 offensive grade ranks fifth among centers who have taken 80% of the snaps through 11 weeks. In addition to Rodgers, he credits an entire offseason focused on building his strength to his success.
"In the run game especially, being able to move people off the spot," Tippmann said about where his strength has helped him most. "That's something that was the work that I put in this offseason. Just trying to get my strength back to the numbers that I had. I didn't get to really see that last year, but I had seen it in college. I got to see those numbers again going into this season and it's something that I believe was able to help my game and just give me more confidence going into the season.
Tippmann's confidence and command of the offense are just some of the keys to the Jets' success following the bye.
"One of the big messages has been finishing,. On the offensive side of the ball, we took the took the ball down to the red zone three times [against Arizona] and we didn't score any touchdowns. So that's a big thing on offense, to finish. Collectively as a team, we just have to be able to finish games and especially go get this one done. Then we can take a couple days off and get our bodies back right. We can't be overlooking this game we have in front of us. We have to attack this game just as we would any other game and plan on finishing."
