Wink Martindale says “I love the guy’’ when asked about Aaron Rodgers, which is an interesting sentiment, considering the Giants’ 60-year-old defensive coordinator gets paid to put his guys in position to put guys like Rodgers on their backs, as indelicately as possible.
Theirs is a mutual admiration society, based mostly from afar, between Martindale and Rodgers. At some point down the road, Martindale hopes it can grow into more than that.
“Hopefully when we both retire we’ll have a relationship,’’ Martindale told The Post on Wednesday before practice. “I like the guy.’’
As soon as he said that, Martindale knew where the conversation was headed. Might he go on a darkness retreat and perhaps share an ayahuasca experience with Rodgers when both of them are finished with the NFL?
Martindale smiled.
“No, no, no,’’ he said. “We’ll play golf.’’
The links can wait. Saturday night, Martindale’s defense will go against Rodgers, who is actually going to take the field at MetLife Stadium for the Jets. It will be the first time since 2018 that Rodgers will play in a preseason game. This is a new deal for Rodgers, trading Packers green for the Jets’ hue, and his presence, for however many snaps he is out there, will add something to this last summer exhibition.
“It spices it up just because it’s personal,’’ Martindale said, alluding to the challenge he senses every time he goes against Rodgers, a first-ballot Hall of Famer in-waiting and described by Martindale as “one of the titans in the league.’’
If this can spice up the evening for a grizzled coordinator who has seen everything, imagine what it might do to a youngster who has never been this way before.
“I know if I was a rookie I’d be jacked, the two corners to go against Aaron Rodgers because he’s the best of the best,’’ Martindale said.
Correct. The Giants are jacked.
“He’s considered one the greatest quarterbacks to ever play so it’s really exciting,’’ Deonte Banks, the Giants’ first-round pick, said. “Picking off Aaron Rodgers, that would be crazy.’’
Tre Hawkins, the sixth-round pick who is in the final stages of winning a starting job alongside Banks, tried to downplay it, but failed to do so.
“I’m looking forward to taking the field against him and hoping it will be a competitive match,’’ Hawkins said. “I’m trying to be as honest as possible, I mean, it’s Aaron Rodgers. I feel everybody would love taking the field against Aaron Rodgers.’’
Banks, all of 22 years old, did not have a specific image of Rodgers, other than this: “He used to do this, a lot, that’s all I remember,’’ Banks said, pantomiming putting a belt on across his waist, mimicking Rodgers’ “discount double-check’’ State Farm commercials.
On the subject of insurance and protection, the Jets will surround Rodgers with their offensive starters because that is what is required when a 39-year old quarterback makes his preseason debut. The Giants are not expected to play any of their established, veteran starters. Martindale, though, only knows one way to call a game and that way is all about pressure on the quarterback, from any and all directions.
Lest we forget, Martindale raised the ire of Bill Belichick in the preseason opener last year when he sent 21 blitzes at Bailey Zappe, the Patriots’ rookie quarterback.
“With what the Giants were doing, there’s a lot of reasons for some of the things that we did just to manage the game,’’ Belichick said afterward. “So, just leave it at that.’’
It sure sounded as if Belichick was accusing Martindale of breaking some sort of unwritten rule about the way the strategies are supposed to work in a first preseason game.
“If it’s unwritten, I didn’t know,’’ Martindale said afterward when Belichick’s gripe was relayed to him.
Whoever is in the game will be dispatched to rough up Rodgers.
“It just makes the game more exciting to have a guy like him out there, makes you want to rush harder and makes everybody want to play harder on the defense,’’ second-year outside linebacker Tomon Fox told the Post. “You watch him growing up, you always want to tackle a guy like him.’’
Fox recalled the atmosphere in London last October, when the Giants defeated Rodgers and the Packers, 27-22.
“When we played them last year everybody was like ‘It’s Aaron Rodgers,’ ’’ Fox said.
Martindale knows Rodgers is a difference-maker (“You can see the energy he brought to the city’’) and said his affinity for the quarterback is real.
“Just because I think he’s a good dude,’’ Martindale said. “I think he appreciates what I do differently to him defensively and I obviously respect how he plays the game.’’
This is heartwarming, but will not stop the man tasked with running the Giants’ defense from sending his guys to flatten the good dude.
