Jay Leno is back in full force, by which we of course mean he’s making a lot of bad jokes about ratings in his opening monologue.

There’s something extremely bizarre about the Tonight show host’s feud with NBC. Namely, isn’t he supposed to be protecting his job? With the rumors about the show moving to New York and Jimmy Fallon being groomed for Leno’s seat, it just doesn’t make sense for the NBC vet to be hurling quip after, frankly, not that funny quip at network big shots. Maybe that’s not the entire reason the Tonight show host laid off the ratings jokes.

Before the initial suggestion that Fallon was being groomed for Leno’s job, there was that one report by Carter, which claimed that he and network chief Robert Greenblatt were exchanging emails about how Leno needed to cool it with the ratings jokes – a sentiment we would agree on, since they’re not exactly Leno’s funniest fare. And well, if that’s true, the warning worked for a grand total of a week.

Jay Leno, Hollywood Walk of Fame
Something is rotten in the state of NBC, but it might not be Leno.

So what exactly is Leno doing here? Could it be that the TMZ report was true and NBC have decided to stick with the abrasive host through the 2014 season? Seems like the only explanation that makes sense at this point.