2024-11-01 11:30:02
The Jets are a whole lot better at talking a big game than playing well in a big game.
That‘s why they’re 2-6 heading into Thursday night‘s matchup with the Texans and at the bottom of the AFC standings after talking about contending for a championship.
And it‘s why they’re on a season-crippling five-game losing streak, despite claiming before each of the last few games that some magical moment (like coach Robert Saleh‘s firing or Davante Adams’ postgame speech) would turn things around.
And former Texans star and current CBS analyst J.J. Watt has had more than enough of it.
Watt was asked about Aaron Rodgers saying this week that he’d been rejuvenated, in part, because of the cayenne pepper and water remedy pitched to him by fellow veteran teammate and punter Thomas Morstead.
And the 35-year-old future hall-of-famer who retired two years ago couldn’t hide his annoyance with Rodgers and the Jets.
“Oh, that‘ll do it,” a straight-faced Watt said, appearing on ESPN‘s “The Pat McAfee Show” this week. “Yeah, right out of the darkness, baby. That‘s it. I‘m going to do that today and sign up for a team. Maybe that’ll do it.”
Rodgers famously went on a darkness retreat in February of 2023, just before requesting a trade to the Jets. He evoked the retreat after interim coach Jeff Ulbrich called Sunday’s loss to the previously 1-6 Patriots a “moment of darkness.”
“I’ve been in the darkness,” Rodgers said. “You’ve gotta go in there and make peace with it.”
Clearly Watt wasn‘t impressed with the turn of phrase, or Rodgers‘ suggestion of a home remedy being the “fountain of youth.” And he didn’t stop there.
“Is this a joke, man?” Watt said. “Like, is this a joke? Come on. Let’s just go play ball, man. Just play ball. Try and get better. Score some touchdowns.”
To be fair, Rodgers seemed to be joking about the cayenne pepper concoction Tuesday, also crediting his around-the-clock rehab for his suddenly improved physical situation. But it’s always something with Rodgers and these Jets. And when one of McAfee‘s co-hosts pointed out, seemingly mockingly, that Rodgers was using the cayenne pepper and water to “try to get better” it set Watt off.
“Come on, man,“ Watt muttered, still straight faced. ”I‘m so sick of all this talking about this s—. It‘s not working. Like, they‘re 2-6! They‘re 2-6. I know how it is. I‘ve been there. I‘ve been on really — I was on a 2-14 team, I know exactly what that’s like. It sucks. All you want to do is go out there and win the game. You still have to answer the questions but you also don’t have to like stoke the fire a little bit here.”
Watt shook his head and started laughing.
“I just … let‘s just — they’re 2-6!” Watt said.
One of McAfee‘s co-hosts pointed out: “yeah, but they’re 0-0 this week.”
And then McAfee said, “yeah, but the cayenne pepper. Can we send you some cayenne pepper with some water?”
“I have cayenne pepper,” Watt said, incredulously. “Everybody has it in their kitchen. I think if that was the fountain of youth, I have a feeling people would have figured it out by now. I think a lot more people would have been doing it.”
McAfee pointed out that Morstead, the Jets’ 38-year-old punter, is in very good physical shape.
“I love Thomas Morstead,” Watt said. “He‘s great. Nothing wrong with him. No, it’s just the theory.”
He did not say the same about Rodgers before rolling his eyes and continuing.
“I mean, jeez. Yeah. Whatever,” Watt said. “I mean, great. Good for ’em. Maybe it works. And if I works, great, we can sell the s— out of some cayenne peppers. I can tell you that.”
McAfee pointed out, somewhat flippantly, that guys like Morstead (and Rodgers) do a lot of things including hot tubs, cold tubs, cutting out carbs, to keep their bodies at peak performance. And asked why Watt didn’t want to do those things.
“I actually do a lot of those things,” Watt said. “I‘m just not going to sit here and act like those things are going to win me football games. That‘s all.”
It was a tense, somewhat awkward moment on what has been a very friendly space for Rodgers, who has been paid by McAfee to appear weekly during the season for several years. But Watt didn‘t pivot off his message, hinting that injuries aren‘t a valid excuse for Rodgers’ struggles.
“They may help me, they may be beneficial,” Watt said of the things he did to take care of his body” But if I‘m on the football field, I need to execute my assignment. I need to do my job. I need to make sure I’m doing everything to help win the football game. All the off-the-field stuff is great. But you need to play better football on the field to win the games.”
McAfee moved the conversation forward pointing out that demoting Nathaniel Hackett from playcalling duties, firing Saleh and trading for Davante Adams hadn’t work. So maybe cayenne pepper was the answer.
“That‘s it,” Watt said, still clearly aggravated by the situation. “Sprinkle it on the playbook. Maybe it’ll pick good plays, like a Ouija board.”
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Andy Vasquez may be reached at [email protected].
