New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is "thankful for the lessons" he learned amid his recovery from the torn Achilles he suffered last September but also knows some doubt he can be the same dominant force coming off that injury at the age of 40.
Rodgers delivered a message to such doubters while speaking with reporters on Thursday.
"How do you not [play with a chip on your shoulder]? I've always kinda played with something on my shoulder," Rodgers explained, as shared by Nick Shook of the NFL's website. "You've got to manufacture things from time to time. But it kinda goes back to the 'prove it.' Who would I need to prove to? Just myself at this point. But I have a lot of pride in my performance, so when I take the field, I expect greatness because I've done it before. So that's kinda the standard I hold myself to."
The Jets were advertised as Super Bowl contenders roughly one year ago, but their campaign ultimately fell apart after Rodgers went down with his injury four offensive snaps into New York's regular-season opener. Earlier this week, longtime teammate Allen Lazard warned the rest of the NFL that Rodgers was "somewhere in between amazing and excellent" as he completed his rehab during summer practices.
According to Shook, head coach Robert Saleh said on Thursday that Rodgers was "in a great place" both mentally and physically ahead of the upcoming "Monday Night Football" matchup at the San Francisco 49ers.
"If we win, the headline's going to be, 'We're going to the Super Bowl.' If we lose, 'Same old Jets,'" Rodgers said about what he expects to see and hear on Tuesday morning. "So I think we need to get away from some of those outside themes and trust that the program, if it's good enough Week 1, it's good enough the rest of the season. So we've got to trust the process, be great competitors, show up, be professionals and show out on the field and let the chips fall where they may."
As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Jets as 4.5-point underdogs for the prime-time game against the reigning NFC champions. Gang Green may begin the campaign at 0-1 but could consider Monday to be somewhat of a success if Rodgers is good to go for the Week 2 contest at the Tennessee Titans.
"It's a grind," Rodgers added during his comments. "It's a long season, a lot of ups and downs. You've got to prepare yourself to really get off the wave. You've got to find a way to be a stability point for the team so we're not riding the highs too much or riding the lows because adversity's gonna come at some point of the season. We've got to make sure we're handling it the right way."
