Old People Get Hurt!

@ianhdr1

I am a lifelong Jets fan. I have suffered a lifetime of heartbreak and agony. I intentionally did not allow myself to be motivated by the hype and hope that surrounded the team from the moment Aaron Rodgers signed. I figured something would go  wrong because they are still the Jets. When you don't allow yourself to hope you don't feel as much pain.

But not even I had QB 1 going down on the first drive of the season.

 

I truly feel for you Jets fans. I wanted to see them take a step toward competing in this season's playoffs. I'm not a fan of QB Aaron Rodgers but I feel for the team, the organization, the fans.

That being said, I heard Shannon Sharp this morning on the show "First Take" give a reality check to us sports fans who sometimes forget to factor in a very important player characteristic that goes beyond strength, speed, agility, mental acuity (IQ): age. 

"Not football players, old people in life get hurt."

Simply put, an aging body cannot continually absorb the physical stress of contact sports, as well as non-contact sports, without something eventually giving out. 

Look at Chris Paul in the low contact sport of basketball, or Tiger Woods in the non-contact sport of golf. As the human body ages, it succumbs to aches and injuries (stress) much easier than that of a younger body. Sure, young bodies suffer aches and injuries, but their physical tolerance is much higher and recovery usually faster. It's a known fact, older people's bones break, and muscles and ligaments tear easier than that of younger people. Athlete or non-athlete, wear and tear on a body will take its toll. The Devil always gets his due.

Injuries can be an indicator of a player getting too old for the game. Stubborn athletes have been known to play past their effectiveness on the field of sport. Most athletes, like boxers, will continue in their sport even though their skills have diminished from age. Aging boxers will step into the ring and take damaging head and body blows from younger opponents, in hopes of tasting past glory just one more time. It usually doesn't end well in the ring for the ineffective aging boxer.

Aaron Rodgers is 39 years old. He entered the NFL in 2005; nineteen years ago. He has played for the same franchise, the Green Bay Packers, for eighteen seasons. This season was to be a new start for Rodgers in New York. Some experts predicted it to be a breakout season for the Jets, just about shoeing them in as a Superbowl participant. 

Everything about the Jets-Rodgers marriage looked solid. Other high-end position players were recruited to give Rodgers more offensive targets and fire power. Finally, the Jets offense was ready to match its tough defense. And then that old, crippling, debilitating devil called age snuck up to bite the Jets in the ass. Reality sunk in.

It is what it is Jets. "Old People Get Hurt"

Sharpe insisted his advancing years left him likely to suffer an injury and blamed Rodgers for the play that injured him.

He said: "There's been a lot of talk about the offensive line. This was a three-step drop, so Rodgers on that third step has to let that ball go or throw it away.

"That's what caused it, that was not on the offensive line, that was on Aaron. He has to let that ball go."

Sharpe added: "Why are we surprised that older quarterbacks get hurt? Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Favre - old people get hurt.

"Not football players, old people in life get hurt. Tom Brady is an anomaly with the exception of the ACL he tore in 2008."

• Sunni Upal

• Published: 11:12 ET, Sep 12 2023
• Updated: 11:13 ET, Sep 12 2023

And yet there is hope!