A lot of people deserve blame for the New York Jets turning into one of the biggest busts in NFL history, but Aaron Rodgers is near the top of that list.
Tuesday morning on ESPN’s Get Up, Mike Greenberg celebrated New Year’s Eve by offering his “those who dropped the ball in 2024” list. The Jets were aptly No. 1, with Greeny citing owner Woody Johnson gracing all of us with his “Thinking is overrated” quote earlier this year along with the decision to fire Robert Saleh just five weeks into the season.
“The New York Jets of 2024 are gonna have to live with the fact that they are one of the great failures in recent sports memory, from top to bottom,” Greenberg ranted. All fair. But Greenberg spent 45 seconds reflecting on the 2024 Jets and never once mentioned Aaron Rodgers. The glaring omission even caught the attention of a vacationing Stephen A. Smith, who accused Greenberg of “being slick.”
Shocking! Never thought in my wildest dreams I’d accuse the one-and-only @Espngreeny for being SLICK just now on @GetUpESPN. He cannot have the @nyjets No.1 on your list and NOT mention @AaronRodgers12. Come on, Greeny! But I love ya, Buddy😀. Happy New Year to you and the whole…
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) December 31, 2024
Smith wasn’t the only one who noticed Greenberg forgetting to mention Rodgers despite the fact that the Jets quarterback was being prominently featured in the highlight package behind him. Tim Hasselbeck immediately called Greenberg out during Get Up.
“The fact that you had the Jets in there and you didn’t mention Aaron Rodgers in it,” Hasselbeck said, criticizing Greenberg for seemingly absolving Rodgers of any blame. “Like he didn’t drop the ball in terms of how he played. That was a little surprising to me.”
Greenberg defended himself by claiming “there is more than enough blame to go around.” Which is true, it’s not all on a 41-year-old quarterback. But a lot of it is. Rodgers is the one who put Super Bowl expectations on this team, and he followed that up by having the worst season of his NFL career while continuing to pass the blame and seek attention.
The media doesn’t usually give Rodgers a pass. Greenberg hasn’t been an Aaron Rodgers apologist this season and ESPN never shies away from mentioning the polarizing quarterback’s name when possible. It was a strange omission.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com