Aaron Rodgers may be too old to turn the Jets around, while Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers could be the NFL’s surprise team this year. Those are the thoughts of ESPN’s NFL guru Mina Kimes, who previewed the NFL season the day before it kicks off.
Kimes appeared on the ESPN Daily podcast on Sept. 6 to discuss the start of the 2023 NFL season. Naturally, as she ran through the top storylines in the league, the topic of Rodgers came up.
“Everybody is obsessed with the New York Jets right now,” Kimes said. “I think this is a team that has a very high variance, which makes them fascinating.”
One of the reasons for that variance is the 39-year-old Rodgers.
Rodgers enters a situation where let’s just say the bar is very low based on the offensive play last year. We really don’t know what we’re going to get out of him. He is coming off of a down season. I think you can attribute some of that to injury and the youth of his wide receivers but the ranks or names or examples of quarterbacks at his age who played well in the NFL is very small, including Tom Brady. So he would be defying historical expectations, starting there.
Kimes likes the Jets’ defense, but she has concerns about the schedule.
“The start of the Jets’ season is very challenging,” she said. “This feels like a situation where they could come out of the gate and lose a few games and everybody panics, but they’re still a good football team and figure things out down the stretch.”
Kimes Shows Some Love for the Green Bay Packers
After discussing staples of NFL coverage, like the Jets, Cowboys, Bills and 49ers, Kimes was asked to spotlight a team that’s not getting as much love from the national media.
A team that I like is the Green Bay Packers. I am very intrigued by them based on what we’ve seen in the preseason but also the talent around Jordan Love, their young quarterback, the heir to Aaron Rodgers. They have a very good offensive line, one of the best in football. I really like the young skill players—Christian Watson at wide receiver, Romeo Doubs. They drafted a tight end this year I like (Luke Musgrave). I also think that their coach and playcaller, Matt LaFleur, is extremely talented.
Kimes has some concerns about Green Bay, however.
I make the mistake every year of thinking their defense can be better than they are, based on their talent level. So I have some reservations about hyping them up too much. I still have the Lions winning the division. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re a tougher team than people are giving them credit for. I think Packers fans should feel pretty good about their young quarterback and him being the future of the franchise.
Finally, Kimes gave her thoughts on Love’s outlook for 2023.
I think, for him, success isn’t necessarily winning the division. I don’t think that’s what’s most important for the team, although I think it’s realistic. It’s not impossible. I think you just want Packers fans to feel good about the decision the organization made. You could say Aaron Rodgers wanted out, but the decision was made when they drafted Jordan Love in the first round—he was going to be the future of the team. If he can show promise, poise, progress, I think the Packers will feel pretty good about his very well-run team making yet another very good decision.
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