Aaron Rodgers is the old man of the New York Jets' offense, which equips him with the privilege to get on his teammates' cases when the situation calls for it.
After all, he's running out of time. Rodgers is 40 years old and coming off an Achilles injury that cost him his first season with New York. Urgency is justifiably omnipresent, and an example of it surfaced this week when Rodgers engaged in an animated exchange with receiver Garrett Wilson during practice.
All is fine, according to Rodgers, who downplayed their interaction on Wednesday.
"I think there's often appearance versus reality in life and on the football field, and what it appears to be might not always be what the reality actually is, as far as whether or not we're upset with each other," Rodgers told reporters. "We're just passionately talking about the details of a situation that might not have to do with either of us. So, G and I have got a great relationship. We spend time together off the field. On the field, there's a way of doing things that we both agree on, and when it doesn't look exactly how we want it to, sometimes there's some sad conversations that happen.
"I love those conversations. It's about the details, it's about winning, it's about seeing what he sees. He's got to get on my page, but I've got to get on his page, too, because he's got a whole book that I need to understand fully of skill set and ability and feel and rhythm and all the different things that he does out there.
"So those are good conversations. They might appear to be much more heated than they are, but there's usually a smile on our face afterwards -- at least one of us."
Such exchanges might alarm the average bystander -- just look at the vibes surrounding the Patriots and Matt Judon -- but those who understand Rodgers' place within the Jets organization understand they need to occur in order for New York to climb out of the offensive hole in which they've been mired since the Sam Darnold era. As an elite passer with a future place in Canton, Rodgers wants things done in a certain fashion, and won't rest until that is accomplished.
Fortunately, at the professional level, this is often understood. Wilson is no different.
"He's vocalizing he was pissed off," Wilson explained on Wednesday. "I know when we're getting our ass beat, I'm pissed off. I might not vocalize that way to the guys, but I'm pissed off, too. So it's kind of a mutual feeling. It's like, I'm glad he said something.
"It's not personal. I don't think anyone in this building takes it that way. It's like, all right, this is our leader right here. Obviously, he's not happy with what we're doing. So it can be a reminder for some of the guys."
This storyline might remind folks of last season, when the Jets were featured on HBO's Hard Knocks, and veteran Randall Cobb -- a receiver who knew Rodgers quite well from their time shared in Green Bay -- warned the rest of the receiving corps that Rodgers wasn't pleased with how they were performing. It was effectively a message to the Jets pass-catchers to elevate their performance to match Rodgers -- or else.
Cobb is gone, and so are the fair warnings. There's little time to waste, and protecting the feelings of teammates is not a priority. What remains important is striving to achieve, collectively, at a level that justifies Rodgers' decision to leave Green Bay for New York, and to do so before time runs out on Rodgers' career.
"That happened a little last year leading up the season, so we got to see it," Wilson said on Wednesday. "You got to feel the practices without it once he was injured, and maybe how the practice didn't feel as detailed because of that. It's people like that [who] demand greatness in your details and your mindset, and you're watching film and you can feel it when it's not there, when it's absent. I think we all appreciate it, but we all know it's go time when that comes out. Honestly we're feeling it, too, it's just certain guys have the ability to verbalize it in that way. He's one of those."
Criticism is often good in football, a sport that isn't made for the physically or mentally weak. It might come off as harsh in the moment, but anything worth having isn't earned without some discomfort.
Rodgers knows this all too well, and won't rest on any laurels, especially not after he was forced to sit out and watch his teammates struggle without him. This might be his last go-around, and there's only one way to do it: with maximum effort.
