Former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum Doubts Aaron Rodgers Can Take Jets to Super Bowl.

In an appearance with ESPN, former Jets Mike Tannenbaum threw some cold water on the idea that Aaron Rodgers is capable of taking the Jets to the Super Bow. One of the reasons why is that he claimed Aaron Rodgers was not very good under pressure.

“Older quarterbacks do not leave the league because of their arms, they leave because of their legs. When you look at that great Buccaneers offense, it was led by Donovan Smith, Ryan Jensen, and Tristen Wirfs to let Tom Brady go to work.” “When you think of Aaron Rodgers, he struggles when pressured. Look at left tackle. Mekhi Becton has played in one game in two years. Duane Brown is 38. If there is a vulnerability on this Jet offense, it’s upfront”

There is absolutely some truth to the statement. The Jets tackle situation is a boom or bust prospect this year with Duane Brown and Mekhi Becton. Although they do have alternative options if they chose to more Alijah Vera-Tucker outside. That’s not on the cards right now with the Jets looking to give AVT some stability at RG as he works his way back from injury, but it’s an option.

But did Aaron Rodgers struggle when pressured? In terms of accuracy, absolutely. I wrote an article recently that highlighted Rodger’s stats under pressure, as well as where he ranked among his peers.

• 2008 – 42.7% (22nd of 28) – 4 TD – 3 INT
• 2009 – 55.6% (2nd of 41) – 9 TD – 2 INT
• 2010 – 49.3% (18th of 40) – 5 TD – 7 INT
• 2011 – 47.0% (15th of 41) – 4 TD – 0 INT
• 2012 – 48.2% (16th of 38) – 9 TD – 1 INT
• 2013 – 44.9% (26th of 43) – 4 TD – 3 INT
• 2014 – 46.3% (23rd of 42) – 11 TD – 2 INT
• 2015 – 44.0% (35th of 41) – 15 TD – 5 INT
• 2016 – 49.5% (13th of 38) – 13 TD – 2 INT
• 2017 – 44.9% (31st of 42) – 4 TD – 2 INT
• 2018 – 37.7% (38th of 39) – 5 TD – 0 INT
• 2019 – 45.3% (26th of 41) – 7 TD – 1 INT
• 2020 – 44.0% (28th of 39) – 8 TD – 1 INT
• 2021 – 39.5% (34th of 40) – 8 TD – 3 INT
• 2022 – 47.0% (21st of 42) – 4 TD – 4 INT

As you can see, outside of his 2009 season, he’s never really been a highly accurate player under pressure, it has nothing to do with his age. But he has been a productive player under pressure, consistently ranking in the top 10 in terms of touchdowns thrown when pressured.

So while I agree with Tannenbaum in some regards, the comment needs some context. His accuracy has struggled under pressure, but production has been consistent. In fact, 2022 represented a relatively good year for accuracy, but a poor year for production.

Over his career he’s been thrown 111 touchdowns to 37 interceptions when pressured, would you classify that as struggling? I’m not sure I would. I’d rather he complete 44% of his passes with 15 touchdowns, than complete 60% of his passes with 4 touchdowns.