Speaker 1: Hey, they're Jets fans. Welcome to another episode of the
Speaker 1: Official Jets Podcast, powered by Amazon Web Services. Dan Grassa
Speaker 1: alongside Greg Buttle, we are the pre impost game voices
Speaker 1: ESPN Radio and the Jets Radio Network each and every
Speaker 1: Jets contest. And Greg, this is nice that we get
Speaker 1: to reconnect and do something like this. Shoot, we haven't
Speaker 1: been together since that last game against the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1: How have you been, my friend? All I can tell
Speaker 1: you is doesn't it it needs a pandemic for you
Speaker 1: and I to get together and talk for more than
Speaker 1: five minutes. It took something like that exactly. But if
Speaker 1: there was one glimmer of positive to come out of
Speaker 1: this pandemic, as you said, it's that you and I
Speaker 1: are together again and we'll have some fun. But on
Speaker 1: a serious note, you know, you bring up everything we're
Speaker 1: going through right now in the country, in the world,
Speaker 1: and you want to give a shout out, or at
Speaker 1: least we should give a shout out to the people
Speaker 1: on the front line, the doctors, that nurses, the healthcare workers.
Speaker 1: They've been the true heroes during this entire thing. And look,
Speaker 1: we're in a very difficult spot right now as a
Speaker 1: planet as a society. But if not for them, it
Speaker 1: will be even that much more difficult. So they certainly
Speaker 1: deserve a big, big tip of the cap. Well, I
Speaker 1: sure do. And part part of the tough thing to
Speaker 1: it comes down to and understanding a pandemic and how
Speaker 1: it affects everybody is you don't know how it affects everybody.
Speaker 1: I mean I I know one person that has COVID nineteen.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you know anybody, And there are
Speaker 1: friends of mine who don't know anybody. Yet we know
Speaker 1: people are set, We know that it is happening, and
Speaker 1: it just shows you how vulnerable we all are. You know,
Speaker 1: this is you know, an equal opportunity offender attacks everybody
Speaker 1: or can attack everybody, right, It doesn't matter how big
Speaker 1: or strong you are, how wealthy are there, that doesn't
Speaker 1: mean anything. You know, we are all exposed to this thing.
Speaker 1: And that's why you have to heed the advice of
Speaker 1: all the professionals out there who you know, encourage the
Speaker 1: social distancing. And you know a lot of us have
Speaker 1: been home for the lay a few weeks doing our
Speaker 1: best to beat this thing. Because as we come together,
Speaker 1: Greg and we can all collectively chip in sooner this
Speaker 1: thing will go away and we can get back to
Speaker 1: our normal lives. And I'm just curious. You know, what
Speaker 1: has your routine been like here over the last few weeks,
Speaker 1: As for most of us, we have been shut in. Well,
Speaker 1: for most of the most part, I probably walked four
Speaker 1: to six miles a day. It all depends on whether
Speaker 1: I hit the ball left or right and if I
Speaker 1: have a cart. But other than that, I it's it's
Speaker 1: total total boredom. You do a lot of things around
Speaker 1: the house and you're done. Uh. You You you can
Speaker 1: only sit around here and look at everybody from my
Speaker 1: wife to my kids to my granddaughter for so long
Speaker 1: you go star crazy. So it's very difficult just just
Speaker 1: thinking about how you you you run your life daily.
Speaker 1: Then you think back and go, what the hell do
Speaker 1: they do on that space station with three people up
Speaker 1: there for a year? Well, I would think the people
Speaker 1: that would be trapped in the house with you, they're
Speaker 1: they're they're the real heroes. Here are the ones that
Speaker 1: have to actually get up with all of your stuff
Speaker 1: for these days. Huh. I think you're getting out over
Speaker 1: those skis again, Danny, But it's true. I mean, you
Speaker 1: know again, some of the things we take for granted,
Speaker 1: you know, just being able to go out and have
Speaker 1: a normal routine. And you know, I'm blessed to do
Speaker 1: a lot of great things in my life as far
Speaker 1: as work is concerned, but I can't do those things
Speaker 1: now because I'm shut down. So you're right. You spend
Speaker 1: time with the family, a lot of movies, a lot
Speaker 1: of TV. The Netflix has been given a good work
Speaker 1: out here over the last few weeks. But you know,
Speaker 1: hopefully sooner rather than later, we can convene again and
Speaker 1: get back to doing what we're customed to doing, and
Speaker 1: that's getting ready for you know, a football season, and
Speaker 1: one that for two thousand and twenty, at least with
Speaker 1: the New York Jets. Greg, there's probably a lot of optimism,
Speaker 1: not just with the way that the Jets finished up
Speaker 1: two thousand and nineteen by having such a strong second
Speaker 1: half year, but the moves that were made already in
Speaker 1: the off season. Now the draft is just a few
Speaker 1: weeks away. Things are hopefully looking up for this branch.
Speaker 1: Eyes And if you're a fan, that's a lot to
Speaker 1: be excited about. You're not You're not kidding, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: the Kendall's were a country western singing group Father Daughter,
Speaker 1: and they sang a song thank God for the Radio,
Speaker 1: and I'm saying, thank God for the Internet. If you
Speaker 1: don't have the Internet, you are you are information less.
Speaker 1: You've got to be able to find out what's going
Speaker 1: on out there, not just for the virus and people that,
Speaker 1: but your favorite sports teams. They're not playing the Jets.
Speaker 1: I think they're all going to go to the draft
Speaker 1: and and that stuff, and however they're gonna do it.
Speaker 1: But think about it what it's It's put such a
Speaker 1: crimp in the American way, and I think that that's
Speaker 1: a hard thing for people to get get a handle to.
Speaker 1: Well in a way too. You know, sports has always
Speaker 1: been kind of something that we look to as a
Speaker 1: diversion in the in our lives when things get overly difficult.
Speaker 1: Football is really the only sport that's been in business
Speaker 1: right now right I mean, baseball shut down, hockey, basketball.
Speaker 1: At least the football is going about their off season activity.
Speaker 1: As I said, you know, the draft is gonna be
Speaker 1: here in a few weeks time, so at least we've
Speaker 1: had that to keep us busy and at least gives
Speaker 1: us some sports information, and you know, when you look
Speaker 1: at what the Jets have done here so far in
Speaker 1: the off season, greg offensive line was certainly an area
Speaker 1: of priority that Joe Douglas and pretty much anybody affiliated
Speaker 1: with this team identified at the end of last season.
Speaker 1: If you think about the struggles they had on the
Speaker 1: old line last year, just with all the moving parts,
Speaker 1: you know, nine different starting combinations, eleven different offensive lineman
Speaker 1: used entirely last year, they allowed fifty two sacks, and
Speaker 1: so far Joe Douglass has been active on that front
Speaker 1: here in free agency, They've brought in a handful of
Speaker 1: offensive lineman. You know, re signing a guy like Alex Lewis,
Speaker 1: who was very instrumental for them last year, stepped in
Speaker 1: at that left guard position and did really really solid job.
Speaker 1: But you know, let's start with the guy here in
Speaker 1: George Fanton, who was the first one to climb aboard,
Speaker 1: came from the Seattle Seahawks. He's got ex Buriens playing
Speaker 1: both tackle positions here. And the thing that you hit
Speaker 1: that did you hear people say about George fan He's
Speaker 1: extremely athletic, he's versatile, and in that conference called that
Speaker 1: Joe Douglas did with the media on Wednesday, Greg all
Speaker 1: these offensive lineman that he talked about bringing aboard versatility
Speaker 1: was the one thing he stressed and George Fan certainly
Speaker 1: provides that. Yeah, I would I would agree with that.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think, what is this his fifth theory
Speaker 1: he's going into and he's uh, he's He's played a
Speaker 1: lot of different positions. He wasn't drafted, he wasn't a
Speaker 1: football player. He's a basketball guy. Uh. But uh, I say,
Speaker 1: why not about that guy? The guy wants to play
Speaker 1: offensive tackle. He's got nothing but athletic ability, as you
Speaker 1: call balanced athletic ability. Uh, that's that's a lot better
Speaker 1: than what the Jets have had at that position for
Speaker 1: the last two years. I would say, now, you hit
Speaker 1: on a on a on a hot button issue, which
Speaker 1: is injuries. The offensive line has been injured, they have
Speaker 1: You've got is playing out of position the whole time.
Speaker 1: What if the Jets can somehow manage to get five
Speaker 1: guys to stay on the field healthy and not have
Speaker 1: to transform an offensive line and to make shift um
Speaker 1: offensive guard carousel, Well then I think they have a
Speaker 1: pretty good shot. And right now, maybe the Jets are
Speaker 1: getting younger on the offensive line, and maybe that's gonna
Speaker 1: be one of the big things to help them. They
Speaker 1: are getting younger. That's a very good point. But you know,
Speaker 1: back to all the injuries that they suffered last year
Speaker 1: on that line. I mean, how many times did you
Speaker 1: and I get ready to go on the air on
Speaker 1: a Sunday morning or an afternoon or whatever to do
Speaker 1: the pregame show, and you know it is, well, who's
Speaker 1: on the offensive line today? Who's star? Who's the start
Speaker 1: in five in the offensive line? Because it was almost like,
Speaker 1: you know, a game of just you know, throw the
Speaker 1: dart at the board and see whose name it was
Speaker 1: gonna land on this week, just because of all the
Speaker 1: different bodies that they were shuffling in and out of there.
Speaker 1: And you know, George fancy guy who comes from a
Speaker 1: winning program with the Seattle Seahawks. You know, he's got
Speaker 1: experience playing in some of these bigger games. And the
Speaker 1: thing you like about him and a lot of these
Speaker 1: guys that they brought it on the offensive line, which
Speaker 1: we'll get to in a second. Upside you hear that
Speaker 1: word a lot as well. Upside that they haven't reached
Speaker 1: their ceiling, haven't reached their potential yet. And hopefully the
Speaker 1: Jets can bring that out of them and they're the
Speaker 1: ones that are going to benefit from it. Well, uh,
Speaker 1: with what's going on right now, they're gonna have to
Speaker 1: do it quite quickly. I don't know how much playing
Speaker 1: time these guys are gonna be able to get in preseason,
Speaker 1: if there is a preseason, because we all don't know.
Speaker 1: But this is going to be a work in progress.
Speaker 1: And again, Jet fans have watched works in progress over
Speaker 1: the last ten twenty years that it always has changed.
Speaker 1: What they're looking for is stability, and hopefully with Joe
Speaker 1: Douglas getting these guys into free agent, you free agency market,
Speaker 1: you will start to get stability along the offensive line.
Speaker 1: And one of the things that Joe Douglas alluded to
Speaker 1: on that conference call with the media earlier in the
Speaker 1: week is that, you know, yeah, they're bringing in a
Speaker 1: lot of body reason. Who knows if they're done yet.
Speaker 1: You know, the draft is still coming up, and we'll
Speaker 1: hit on that in just a few moments here, but
Speaker 1: he said, the best five guys are gonna play, and
Speaker 1: really that's what you want. You want a competition. You
Speaker 1: want to put your best guys out there. And I
Speaker 1: think that as an organization, they're confident that they are
Speaker 1: going to find those five guys. This is the Official
Speaker 1: Jets Podcast powered by a WS Dan Gross of Greg
Speaker 1: Buttle hanging out with you on this episode. Another guy
Speaker 1: that they brought aboard Greg here, Connor McGovern comes from
Speaker 1: the Denver Broncos. And you said the word stability a
Speaker 1: few minutes ago. The Jets were blessed for a long
Speaker 1: time to have stability at that center position. Think about it,
Speaker 1: between Kevin Mawai and Nick Mangold. You had two guys
Speaker 1: who held down that center position for almost twenty years,
Speaker 1: and the last few seasons it's been a revolving door.
Speaker 1: You had Wesley Johnson who opened the season in seventeen,
Speaker 1: Spencer Long and eighteen last year was Ryan Khalil. Now
Speaker 1: you have a guy in Connor McGovern who you know,
Speaker 1: you think his best football is ahead of him. He's
Speaker 1: played a lot of snaps for the Denver Broncos the
Speaker 1: last couple of seasons. And the thing you like about
Speaker 1: it more than anything, Greg, you know how many times
Speaker 1: he was penalized last year? Zero? Because what are the
Speaker 1: things that can set you back any drive? And what
Speaker 1: you hate to see on offense. It's when the laundry
Speaker 1: comes out in those penalties. Well, that's one of two things.
Speaker 1: Either he's very smart or be or be he can
Speaker 1: cheat like the best of them. And and and all
Speaker 1: I can tell you is that I don't know an
Speaker 1: offensive lineman that doesn't hold, and that starts at center.
Speaker 1: That being said, you did touch on a couple of things,
Speaker 1: and and that is is the that when when you
Speaker 1: think about offensive line, particularly at center for the Jets,
Speaker 1: all you thought about was consistency, competence, balance. And there
Speaker 1: they are again, those funny little tough to understand athletic
Speaker 1: descriptors I just described mangled. You just talked about their
Speaker 1: I mean you're talking about guys. One's got a gold jacket.
Speaker 1: The other one I'm sure is going to get one
Speaker 1: of those. Uh. But if if the Jets get three
Speaker 1: quarters of that and in eighteen games out of McGovern
Speaker 1: at the center position, then that's the score for the Jets.
Speaker 1: I mean, Khalil was the last such hope last year
Speaker 1: in a prayer you know, uh, that that the Jets
Speaker 1: line was off injured they needed They were talent pressed
Speaker 1: on the offensive line. But I like it and there's
Speaker 1: still room for Jonathan Harrison to be important along the
Speaker 1: offensive line because he's able to play a lot of
Speaker 1: different positions. Jonathan Harrison extremely dependable, solid veteran last couple
Speaker 1: of years. He'll be back as well here to provide
Speaker 1: some of that depth on that offensive line and really
Speaker 1: one of the key cogs that you would hope to
Speaker 1: have from a successful unit, that center position, that anchor.
Speaker 1: So if it ends up being Connumer, Governor also has
Speaker 1: experienced playing guard, we'll see how that plays out here.
Speaker 1: A guard by trade that the Jets also brought in.
Speaker 1: Greg greg is Greg Van Roten, a local product from
Speaker 1: Long Island. He's well traveled, actually spent some time in
Speaker 1: this thefl before he settled in with the Carolina Panthers
Speaker 1: the last couple of seasons. You're talking about a guy
Speaker 1: who's undrafted, you know, so he has always had a
Speaker 1: little bit of a chip on his shoulder with something
Speaker 1: to prove. But another one of these guys that's versatile
Speaker 1: and can play multiple positions on that line. Yeah, it's
Speaker 1: just I guess he's in a sixth year. He's uh,
Speaker 1: he's a he's a pretty good player. We're all got
Speaker 1: to find out what a ceiling is, obviously, but I
Speaker 1: think they signed him at three years at three and
Speaker 1: a half million per But since the NFL began weaponizing
Speaker 1: the forward pass, which and part of that was the
Speaker 1: quarterback the NTZ, that's the no touch zone and wide
Speaker 1: receivers without you can't touch a wide receiver and the
Speaker 1: whole rules are incredible to me. And by calling quarterback
Speaker 1: roughings through fingerprint analysis. Nowadays, it's never been more important
Speaker 1: than to pass protect for just another half a second,
Speaker 1: not for forty two seconds. Give me another half a
Speaker 1: second for the kid to look over here or look
Speaker 1: over there, or sidesteps something. Some people made the minutes
Speaker 1: like a Van Roton's worth by evaluating as you as
Speaker 1: you started off with, as unable to be a difference maker,
Speaker 1: so to speak. But I'll take confidence and balance at
Speaker 1: the offensive guard position. In today's I don't have to
Speaker 1: run the ball to score NFL. Let me tell you something.
Speaker 1: I think it's overblown about that run stuff. Run run
Speaker 1: gets open when they start playing nickel. You get teams
Speaker 1: to play nickel, you're gonna run the ball out it. Well,
Speaker 1: bottom line is I think we can all agree that
Speaker 1: probably the guy that the Jets need to put the
Speaker 1: most priority in is the quarterback Sam Donald to protect
Speaker 1: that investment. Joe Douglas said on that conference call that
Speaker 1: you know, before the first preseason game last year when
Speaker 1: the Jets played the Giants, that Joe Douglas went up,
Speaker 1: introduced himself to Sam Donald's parents who were at the game,
Speaker 1: and he said, I'm gonna do everything in my power
Speaker 1: to make sure that I give your son the best protection,
Speaker 1: the best opportunity would be successful. The guys that we
Speaker 1: just mentioned Greg throwing again, Alex Lewis who's resigned and
Speaker 1: he's gonna be back next year, plus the Chuma Adoga's
Speaker 1: Jonathan Harrison's Uh. Joe Douglas still spoke highly, of course
Speaker 1: of Brian Winters, who's a holdover and has been here
Speaker 1: for several years. Plus whoever they enter in the draft.
Speaker 1: There's gonna be some guys that you think that offensive line,
Speaker 1: if they can stay healthy, they're gonna be able to
Speaker 1: get the job done well. Certainly, just from the guys
Speaker 1: that we mentioned right now, the Jets have taken a
Speaker 1: nice step forward, not backwards, and not sideways to make
Speaker 1: their offensive line better than it was last year, not
Speaker 1: every Jet fans got a love. Now you have an
Speaker 1: offensive line, but then what about surrounding the quarterback with
Speaker 1: weapons to be able to distribute the football too well
Speaker 1: the Jets have done and bringing in Breshad Perryman, who
Speaker 1: really had a stand out close to the season last
Speaker 1: year as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now,
Speaker 1: this is a guy that Joe Douglas is familiar with
Speaker 1: because when Joe doug Us was winding up his team
Speaker 1: there or his time with the Baltimore Ravens. You know,
Speaker 1: Harriman was the first round pick four of them in
Speaker 1: two thousand and fifteen, so it's not too far removed
Speaker 1: from that time. He's got talent. I mentioned last year
Speaker 1: with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers final five games of the season,
Speaker 1: Greg he catches five hundred six yards and five touchdowns.
Speaker 1: That was just in the last five games of the season.
Speaker 1: His five hundred and six yards was the third most
Speaker 1: in the NFL over those last five weeks. He's a burner,
Speaker 1: he can fly. This is something that you hope can
Speaker 1: stress stretch the defense or stretch the opposing defense, I
Speaker 1: should say, and give Sam Donald another playmaker to be
Speaker 1: able to give the football to you. Well, you know me,
Speaker 1: I don't disagree if if if the Jets load up
Speaker 1: on wide receivers, I mean, Breshad Perriman is in his
Speaker 1: fourth year, I think, and I guess they signed it
Speaker 1: for one year at six million, and then they'll see
Speaker 1: how that works out. But the Jets need these guys,
Speaker 1: especially the ones that can stay healthy. Some may say
Speaker 1: it's a downgrade from Anderson, not me. I don't think so.
Speaker 1: I think he brings speed to keep the secondary. Honest.
Speaker 1: He may not have played up to his expectations for
Speaker 1: the first three and a half years, but you never
Speaker 1: know what's going on with other teams. But the NFL,
Speaker 1: which is dan as you and I both know, it's
Speaker 1: the what have you done for me lately? Sport that
Speaker 1: determined value, and you mentioned what he did for them lately.
Speaker 1: He was very good at the last five or six
Speaker 1: games that he played in. Uh. I like the fact
Speaker 1: of of of two different things that I that I've
Speaker 1: I've read about him and I know he's capable of
Speaker 1: doing that is uh he's he was at eighteen yards
Speaker 1: per reception, I mean over fifty catches. Yeah, that's pretty good.
Speaker 1: And the other one is one drop in his last
Speaker 1: sixty five touches. That's impressive to me. I mean, you've
Speaker 1: got to be able to hold the ball. And you
Speaker 1: and I have sat up in the in the press
Speaker 1: box and just side glanced each other when a wide
Speaker 1: receiver drops the ball to trite in their hands or
Speaker 1: a tight end of dropped it in their hands, or
Speaker 1: the running back to Dropson catch the ball. And so far,
Speaker 1: I think that this kid is going to be able
Speaker 1: to do it. You mentioned Robby Anderson. He's moved on
Speaker 1: to the CAROLINEA Panthers. You wish him well, of course,
Speaker 1: so Perriman hopefully will help make up for that loss
Speaker 1: of speed and that vertical threat that Robby Anderson certainly provided.
Speaker 1: But Jamison Crowder had a very successful season last year
Speaker 1: for the Jets. He's gonna be back in the mix
Speaker 1: along with you know, the youngsters, Braxton Berrios, Vincent Smith,
Speaker 1: Josh Dotson, a number of another former number one pick
Speaker 1: who hasn't really found that footing yet in the National
Speaker 1: Football League. Jets will see what they can get from him.
Speaker 1: And another thing to remember, Greg, don't forget Chris Herndon
Speaker 1: is going to be healthy again and be back and
Speaker 1: after what was a promising rookie season last year was
Speaker 1: pretty much a wash form because of a multitude of injuries.
Speaker 1: Think about having a healthy Chris Herndon what that can
Speaker 1: do for Sam Donald in the offense. Now to go
Speaker 1: with Ryan Griffin who stepped in and was very valuable
Speaker 1: at tight end last year. Having all those pieces together,
Speaker 1: plus whatever maybe receiver or target you bring in with
Speaker 1: the draft, Sam Donald's going to have his choices here
Speaker 1: to be able to make plays with. Well, you mentioned
Speaker 1: one guy that I mean, I I was tickled pink
Speaker 1: about and and most of its pink is not my
Speaker 1: favorite cup, my favorite color. But when a tight end
Speaker 1: catches a ball, turns and goes upfield and scores and
Speaker 1: out run safeties, that's that's that to me is a
Speaker 1: real tight end. There's not a tight end in this
Speaker 1: league unless you can find one, since I don't know
Speaker 1: who can block a defensive end. So you're talking about
Speaker 1: the tight ends that are able to get in front
Speaker 1: of people. Like just put a trash can in front
Speaker 1: of a garbage truck. You'll swerve to get around the
Speaker 1: trash can, but you got to get in front of people.
Speaker 1: And that's what he does and by away he catches
Speaker 1: the ball. We talked about it with his hands, he
Speaker 1: makes moves, he gets first downs, and he can run
Speaker 1: after the catch. I think I think he could be
Speaker 1: around here for a for a few more years, if
Speaker 1: not more, the rest of his career. Dan Gross and
Speaker 1: Greg Buttle hanging out with you on the Official Jets
Speaker 1: Podcast powered by Amazon Web Services. Let's foot over to
Speaker 1: the defensive side of the ball here to see her
Speaker 1: climbing aboard formerly of the Indianapolis Colds. He was cutting
Speaker 1: a cost saving move by Indianapolis and he said that
Speaker 1: it was just half an hour later where his agent
Speaker 1: heard from the Jets and it turned out to be
Speaker 1: a fit that worked. And this is a guy who
Speaker 1: was battled some injuries last year and maybe that contributed
Speaker 1: to a little bit of a lapse in his performance.
Speaker 1: But a couple of seasons ago, Greg, in twenty eighteen,
Speaker 1: he really was outstanding for Indianapolis. You think about the
Speaker 1: battles he had with DeAndre Hopkins in the Houston Texans
Speaker 1: that playoff game. Hopkins one of the best wide receivers
Speaker 1: in the sport, and to see her pretty much shut
Speaker 1: him down in for a cornerback position that's going to
Speaker 1: have a little bit of chain as from last season
Speaker 1: to see here as a guy that Jehope is going
Speaker 1: to come in here and make a nice impact. Well,
Speaker 1: I I really think so. I mean, if you if
Speaker 1: you really take a look ab at it. From all
Speaker 1: the guys that that Douglas has brought in so far,
Speaker 1: he's he's one of those guys that he's he is,
Speaker 1: he's starting caliber. Whether whether you can uh switch him
Speaker 1: in and out if you want, I don't know about it.
Speaker 1: You know what happens when guys get injured. You know
Speaker 1: it's uh, the more positions players can play, the better
Speaker 1: you are. But I will tell you one thing. You've
Speaker 1: got a couple of young guys on the Jets, Mallett
Speaker 1: and Brian Pool, who seemed to play pretty well as
Speaker 1: you're young, getting part of the system. So maybe things
Speaker 1: are looking up to the Jets secondary that you don't
Speaker 1: recognize just yet because some guys are coming into their own.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Brian Pool, he was resigned. That's a big
Speaker 1: guy to get back into the fold here does such
Speaker 1: a good job in that slot. And you mentioned, you know,
Speaker 1: all these different faces that the Jets had to play
Speaker 1: last year because of injuries and whatnot. At the cornerback position,
Speaker 1: Greg Williams given credit with his scheme. He put those
Speaker 1: chess pieces on the board and he made it work.
Speaker 1: And you know, you would expect the same thing again.
Speaker 1: Also the linebacker position, Jordan Jenkins back in the fold.
Speaker 1: He resigned, Neville Hewitt, James Burgess. Guys who were pressed
Speaker 1: into duty because of all those injuries stepped up and really,
Speaker 1: really we're solid contributors for that defense. And you know,
Speaker 1: you talk about the overall depth, Greg, it's nice to
Speaker 1: just say, Okay, these are our eleven starters, and these
Speaker 1: are the same guys that are gonna play each and
Speaker 1: every down for sixteen games. That doesn't happen. You know that.
Speaker 1: I know that anybody who watches football knows that. So
Speaker 1: to have a bunch of players who have proven capable
Speaker 1: that they can get the job done. Having an embarrassment
Speaker 1: of riches with depth, I think is certainly everything that
Speaker 1: a football team wants. Yeah, you know what, I don't
Speaker 1: disagree with you. But the tough part about depth is
Speaker 1: depth always makes you go broke and and and the
Speaker 1: problem with that is that everybody wants more money and
Speaker 1: everybody wants to get more money, and which I don't
Speaker 1: blame them, but that becomes the problem. So you really
Speaker 1: have to look at situation substitution, especially on defense, because
Speaker 1: that's all that is, even even your defensive line, and
Speaker 1: these guys don't play every play in a row. They're in,
Speaker 1: they're out. They's got new guys coming in, new guys
Speaker 1: going out. So when you talk about a defensive player,
Speaker 1: and I would tell you, other than your your four
Speaker 1: secondary guys, the two corners and the two safeties, everybody's
Speaker 1: not playing every single play. If you're playing every single play,
Speaker 1: that means as a linebacker, you're not only starting as
Speaker 1: a linebacker, but you're in the nickel packages and you're
Speaker 1: in the dime packages. Very rare, do you see that?
Speaker 1: So what you need to make sure is no matter
Speaker 1: who you're getting, that you have the capability of switching
Speaker 1: guys in and out for their best ability at what
Speaker 1: they can do, whether it's covering it back out of
Speaker 1: the backfield, whether it's a guy that really can cover
Speaker 1: down the seam against the tight end this running a
Speaker 1: seam route and a cover two. So that you have
Speaker 1: these linebackers that are first and foremost smart, second well balanced,
Speaker 1: and third just hard nosed. I think that these are
Speaker 1: some of the guys that you just mentioned mentioned the draft.
Speaker 1: Jets will pick eleventh in the first round. They have
Speaker 1: eight picks total, four of the top eighties selections in
Speaker 1: this draft because they have two third round picks. So
Speaker 1: there's still a lot of talent that could be had,
Speaker 1: certainly and brought into this organization. You expect Joe Douglas
Speaker 1: and his staff to do their due diligence as far
Speaker 1: as that's concerned. But stepping apart from just the Jets
Speaker 1: for a second here, Greg, when you look at the
Speaker 1: landscape of the a f C East, for the better
Speaker 1: part of two decades, it's been dominated by the New
Speaker 1: England Patriots Tom Brady. They've won the division all but
Speaker 1: two years since two thousand one. They don't have to
Speaker 1: worry about Tom Brady anymore, at least haunting them in
Speaker 1: the a f C East, because he's taken his talents
Speaker 1: down to Tampa Bay. Two quarterback the bucket years. So
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you're the Jets, You're the Dolphins,
Speaker 1: you're the Bills. Opportunity has certainly found you, has it? Not? Well? Listen,
Speaker 1: you can't count the Patriots is dead yet until you
Speaker 1: go to their funeral. So maybe that's what's going to
Speaker 1: happen this year. They're gonna find out how good they
Speaker 1: can be without Brady or are you going to find
Speaker 1: out how bad they are without him? So that's a
Speaker 1: big if you think everyone else in the a f C.
Speaker 1: East is licking their chops. I can only imagine what's
Speaker 1: going up there in New England about who's going to
Speaker 1: be their quarterback, how is their offense going to be run,
Speaker 1: what changes are they making, and and I don't think
Speaker 1: that there's any coach better to do that right now
Speaker 1: in the league than Bill Belichick. So everybody's eyes will
Speaker 1: be on Bill Belichick, absolutely, and I mean certainly. The
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills, who had a successful season last year, made
Speaker 1: the playoffs, and they brought in a couple of key
Speaker 1: editions so far this off season, and Stefon Digs Mario
Speaker 1: Addison talk about the Dolphins how their play improved down
Speaker 1: the stretch for them, and they went out and brought
Speaker 1: in some big ticket free agents Byron Jones, Kyle van Noy,
Speaker 1: Shack Lawson, and of course we talked about the Jets here.
Speaker 1: So I think that everybody wants to improve and get
Speaker 1: to where the Patriots have been for the last two decades.
Speaker 1: And it's not gonna be easy, and a lot of
Speaker 1: things are gonna have to go your way. As we said,
Speaker 1: you know, you have to have good health and those
Speaker 1: type of things when you want to have a successful season.
Speaker 1: But that one guy, at least number twelve, is not
Speaker 1: going to be someone that the Jets are gonna have
Speaker 1: to face twice a season, or anybody else in the
Speaker 1: a f C East. But there is a lot of
Speaker 1: optimism I think as we continue on in this offseason
Speaker 1: and begin to look ahead to what the team is
Speaker 1: going to look like. In Greg well, no one, No
Speaker 1: one ran an offense better, uh in the NFL outside
Speaker 1: of Peyton Manning then Tom Brady. So I don't think
Speaker 1: you're getting another Tom Brady back there tomorrow. Let's just
Speaker 1: be frank about it. Now, someone may step in there
Speaker 1: and do that, but no, now's the time. Now it's
Speaker 1: the time to feast, and now it's the time to
Speaker 1: be there. But like you said, there's other teams in
Speaker 1: the a f C East. Now I'm not talking about
Speaker 1: Miami just yet. I mean, Fitzpatrick is an up and
Speaker 1: down quarterback. You never know what's going to happen with him.
Speaker 1: But as you can see, a lot of these teams
Speaker 1: are looking at special guys, wide receivers, tight ends, running
Speaker 1: guys that can catch the ball. This is throwing catch guys.
Speaker 1: This is not run the ball down someone's throat. And
Speaker 1: if you really wanted to make a microcosm out of
Speaker 1: the NFL, that last Super Bowl, which was spectacular my
Speaker 1: my estimation, had a team that like to run it
Speaker 1: and pound it at you and another team they like
Speaker 1: to throw it. Which team won and it didn't take
Speaker 1: them long to win. They took them two minutes, it
Speaker 1: happened to be the last two minutes. But they weren't
Speaker 1: running the ball to win. They were throwing the ball.
Speaker 1: And that, to me is what is so specific about
Speaker 1: the NFL. Now, all of the all of the people
Speaker 1: that are in fantasy football, to think, the general managers
Speaker 1: and all those type of things that look at it
Speaker 1: are are always about points for running backs and receivers
Speaker 1: and those things. But you mark my words, the way
Speaker 1: the rules are in the NFL, it's only getting better
Speaker 1: and easier to throw and catch a football Greg Buttle,
Speaker 1: a staunch advocate of the forward pass, and don't forget
Speaker 1: there's gonna be one extra playoff team two in each
Speaker 1: conference next year. We can get into that next time. Greg,
Speaker 1: this was a thrill to do, my friend. Let's do
Speaker 1: it again soon, and once again want to give a
Speaker 1: shout out to all the healthcare workers and everybody on
Speaker 1: the front line as we continue to battle the coronavirus
Speaker 1: pandemic out there. Everybody be safe and we look forward
Speaker 1: to seeing you, hearing you everything again once the season
Speaker 1: rolls around in a pact met Life Stadium. But Greg,
Speaker 1: this was a blast, my friend. You and your family
Speaker 1: be safe, and we'll get to do this soon. That's
Speaker 1: I think that's great. Thank you very much. All the
Speaker 1: Jet fans get ready. This is this is really the
Speaker 1: beginning of what the Jets are going to be in
Speaker 1: the future. He's Greg Buttle on Dan Grasso. This has
Speaker 1: been the Official Jets podcast, powered by Amazon Web Services.