Before heading out to the practice field for the sixth day of training camp, and the second day with the players in full pads, coordinator Nathaniel Hackett offered some early impressions on the state of the offense and some of the Jets' important players.
"I think Year 2 is a lot different than Year 1," he told reporters early Tuesday morning at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. "Because the system has already been implemented so the guys in the room can help the new guys. They can all work together so they can kind of push the envelope a little bit more, go a little bit harder, experiment with some new things so it allows you to have a little more fun."
Though the offense was challenged -- from the very first series -- last season, Hackett and his players are confident that their extreme trial by fire has made them stronger. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is back from surgery on his torn Achilles tendon, the offensive line has been recast and strengthened, the backfield has added promising rookies and at wide receiver Garrett Wilson appears poised for another stellar season complemented by the addition of Mike Williams, rookie Malachi Corley and a renewed Allen Lazard.
Still, for Hackett and the Jets, the offense begins with "8," the four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers.
In terms of mobility, Hackett said that Rodgers is "good, he's been fine."
Asked if Rodgers is any different than the guy Hackett first encountered when they both were in Green Bay, Hackett said: "I don't know if I'd say he's much different, he's been the same guy with me since the first day I met him."
He added: "He's just how he's always been. He loves the game, he loves practice. When he gets out there with the guys I mean, he has so much fun, he wants to do so many things with them and see the different things they can do, what they can handle. He's a coach out on the field, so I just see him out on the field enjoying the heck out of it."
Through these early days of training camp, Hackett said that, in general, the offense has been "inconsistent."
"I think there's been some good, some bad things that we have to work through," he said.
Part of that is getting acclimated to Rodgers' myriad cadences at the line of scrimmage. On Monday, an issue arose when second-year center Joe Tippmann was erratic in his snaps back to the quarterback.
"That's something that has happened," Hackett said. "He's working through it. He snapped all last year and it wasn't an issue, so I think that just kind of happened that way yesterday [Monday]. Sometimes that's how those days go."
Tippmann will be playing in the middle of the remade offensive line. While Alijah Vera-Tucker returns from injury and will be anchored at right guard next to the reacquired Morgan Moses, the left side is expected to be held down by veteran Tyron Smith and John Simpson, both signed in free agency. After trotting out 13 different O-line combinations last season, the goal is to get a starting unit together to amass as many reps together as possible.
"We'd like that to happen as soon as we can," Hackett said. "I think we all know from what we experienced in the past that any combination can be out there at any time and so you have to be able to adjust at any time. I love guys being able to play different positions and work with different guys. The more we can have that consistency together is always good, but you can never sit there and say that during the season it's going to stay that way.
"Some guys have worked together, some guys are brand new and getting used to some of Aaron's cadences, Tyrod's [Taylor] cadences. There are a lot of new players here, so they're still working their way into it so it's kind of getting those guys up to speed."
