Jets defensive lineman Harrison Phillips is no stranger to chasing after quarterback Aaron Rodgers from their days in the NFC North -- Phillips with the Vikings and Rodgers with the Packers. On Thursday, Phillips put the task ahead of the Jets' defense in colorful terms as they prepare for Sunday's season opener against visiting Pittsburgh.

"What do they say? That the bigger the dragon, the bigger the hero, the better the story," Phillips said.

He added: "He's one of the greatest quarterbacks that has ever played. I'm a big fan. It's been amazing to go against him as competitors. ... We got a really good football team over here, and we've got some answers in place that I hope can make him patient."

The Jets' defense wants to play fast, with violence and with purpose. Phillips, along with his teammates on defense -- a tenacious upfront group that includes Jermaine Johnson, Will McDonald IV, Quinnen Williams -- would like nothing better than to spoil Rodgers' debut for the Black & Gold, the team he signed with in June.

Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks knows who his defense is dealing with and knows the Jets will have to be on point and smart against an "extremely smart" future Hall of Fame quarterback.

"I keep saying it over and over again, I see a first-ballot Hall of Famer," Wilks said on Thursday. "There's nothing we can throw at him that he hasn't seen. So when you bring him pressure he already knows where he's going with the ball. So we got to do a great job. There's nothing we can throw at Aaron that he hasn't seen before.

"Going to do a great job surveying the field and see exactly what we're in defensively to get his guys in the right position to be successful."

Part of the job for the defense is to not present any gifts to the Steelers' offense, be it penalties as Rodgers varies his cadence or over-the-top enthusiasm that could result in personal fouls.

"We got to be smart and understanding that we can't be jumping offside, being patient, seeing the ball," Wilks said. "He's going to be taking the play clock down because he's going to give you hard counts, trying to undress you and see where you're coming from. That's all in his MO and we know that, so we just got to be smart in what we're trying to do."

For his part, Phillips said he -- the entire team -- is juiced to play a meaningful game after a long offseason, OTAs, minicamp and training camp.

"You know, as vets, we've waited, what? Seven, eight months for this, and as rookies, some of these guys wait their whole life for this moment to go out there and play," he said. "Week 1. Game on tonight. And how exciting is that?"