“It couldn’t be going better” – Coach Robert Saleh goes into raptures about newcomer Aaron Rodgers and explains what makes the quarterback so special.

“I personally have never worked with a quarterback like this. And I’ve had good quarterbacks like Russell Wilson, Jimmy Garoppolo and Matt Schaub. This is a different level and I don’t want to talk bad about the others.”

Robert Saleh is in love. The New York Jets coach couldn’t contain his excitement about newcomer Aaron Rodgers at a press conference. So far, they’re just training together, but according to Saleh, “it couldn’t be going better. “

New York Jets: Aaron Rodgers makes himself popular

Currently, the so-called “OTAs” are running. So “Organized Team Activities” – so that’s voluntary training that players don’t have to attend. A lot of players like to skip that. This was also the case for Rodgers in recent years with the Green Bay Packers.

But not Rodgers in New York. He presents himself from the first second on in the sessions and knows how to impress the coaches: “On one throw I thought, ‘Too bad, it’s overthrown,’ but the ball flew and flew and flew and hit the target perfectly. I was like, ‘Oh my God’! It was amazing,” Saleh said of A-Rod’s first wow moment in training.

“My second wow moment, I haven’t seen it like that. He throws a ball to C.J. Uzomah (tight end) and I’m like, ‘He’s covered!’ but Aaron told me afterwards, ‘The defender’s not looking at me, he’s open’.” And again, the Rodgers ball arrives, as Uzomah was only freed up by that throw. One of many traits that prove the long back-and-forth with the Green Bay Packers could be worth it.

New York Jets: Saleh doesn’t know where to put his excitement

“It couldn’t be going any better. It really couldn’t be going any better,” Saleh enthusiastically states. And it’s true, Rodgers seems a changed man. He communicates a lot and seems keen to win over the dressing room too.

“He’s very deliberate in the way he goes about things. He goes out with our boys. Every weekend. And every time it’s different players too, so he can spend time with as many different teammates as possible. He wants to know everyone’s name in the building. Whether it’s the boss or the coaches or the guys in charge of the equipment,” Saleh explains why he is so intrigued by Rodgers.

Saleh even has a term for it: “I call it the language of love. Everyone has it. Relationships, relationships and getting to know people is very important to Aaron. And that doesn’t come naturally. “

New York Jets: Saleh on relationship with Rodgers

Rodgers is trust important and an environment he feels comfortable in. On social media, there is sometimes derision for bringing players like Randall Cobb , Allen Lazard or Malik Taylor from Green Bay. But that’s exactly what his thinking on a team shows. He wants to be comfortable to perform.

“He has an incredible understanding of the game. He has comments on practice, says what he likes and what he doesn’t like. Every training is important and he puts the accents on what we should pay attention to. Sometimes that can be little things like, ‘Hey, why don’t you incorporate an expiring clock into the session to practice that?’ Nothing out of the ordinary, but just important,” chats the main trainer.

“He is detail-oriented. And at the end of the day, he still wants to be coached. He doesn’t always want to hear that he’s doing a good job. He wants the challenge. And that’s what I have to do, challenge him. Every thought he has. Anything to make him better, to make us better. I mean that to every one of our players.”

Asked if Rodgers had explicitly asked him about being coached, Saleh replied with a grin, “Not so far. Hopefully he never has to. “