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Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer
New York Jets coach Robert Saleh has been around Aaron Rodgers for only a handful of games, but he already has learned an important lesson about his quarterback: You don’t mess with his cadence.
Saleh, under fire after a sloppy, penalty-filled loss Sunday, said his coaching staff spoke “at length” Monday morning about ways in which they can eliminate the alarming number of pre-snap flags — five false starts in their 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Altering Rodgers’ sophisticated cadence — one of the hallmarks of his game — isn’t among the potential solutions, according to Saleh, who hinted otherwise after the game.
“We’ve got to figure it out, whether or not we’re good enough or ready to handle all the cadence,” Saleh said Sunday after watching his offense go without a touchdown in 13 possessions. “Cadence had not been an issue all camp. Felt like our operation had been operating pretty good. Obviously, today it took a major step back.”
On Monday, Saleh backtracked when the issue again was raised in a videoconference with reporters, saying there’s a distinction between “cadence” and “operation.”
“We’re always going to push the envelope with cadence. Always,” he said. “But with regards to operation, getting in and out of the huddle, getting to the line of scrimmage, the communication that’s being had, those are all things that we can continue to look at and clean up.
“But from a cadence standpoint, that’s part of what makes us who we are, and we’re going to continue to always push the envelope on that.”
Throughout his career, Rodgers has demonstrated the uncanny ability to create “free plays” by drawing defenses offside. In fact, he has 18 career touchdown passes on such plays, including one in the season opener.
The Jets committed only one false start in the first three games, but they were jittery against the Broncos — three false starts by the offensive line and two by running back Breece Hall. All told, the Jets were called for 15 penalties — 13 accepted for 90 yards. That included seven pre-snap penalties — five on offense, two on defense.
Clearly, Rodgers doesn’t believe his cadence is an issue, saying postgame that five false starts was an “outlier. I don’t know if we need to make mass changes based on kind of an outlier games.” Adjusting his cadence is “one way to do it,” he said. “The other way is to hold them accountable.”
Penalties have been an issue throughout Saleh’s tenure. Since 2021, the Jets have committed the fourth-highest number of penalties. Saleh, whose record is 20-35, said it’s incumbent upon the coaching staff to “clear [the players’] minds” in an effort to eliminate the pre-snap penalties, hinting they might have to simplify from an assignment standpoint.
Another issue was pass protection, as the Broncos registered 14 quarterback hits and five sacks. Rodgers, back from Achilles surgery, was limping late after a fourth-quarter sack — trainers examined his left leg — but he’s not expected to be on this week’s injury report, Saleh said. The coach called it “just standard wear and tear from getting beat up a little bit.”
Asked if it was unsettling to see his 40-year-old quarterback sustain so many hits, Saleh said, “To be honest, it’d make you sick if he was a 20-year-old quarterback.”
On Sunday, the Jets (2-2) face the blitz-heavy Minnesota Vikings (4-0) in London. Before Monday night, the Vikings led the league with 17 sacks.