Speaker 1: Guys, we got a great deal of hype around us.
Speaker 1: We do all kinds of expectations, and with great expectations,
Speaker 1: we know that there's going to be a whole lot
Speaker 1: of people, a whole lot of crows, expecting us to
Speaker 1: fall on our face. What are you doing to find
Speaker 1: that little bit more to get us closer to being
Speaker 1: a great contigue? You finish practice now what? You finished meetings?
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 3: What?
Speaker 1: Lifting a rep now what? And if we come together
Speaker 1: and we challenge ourselves to do a little bit more
Speaker 1: every day, the crows they'll fall by themselves. Embrace what
Speaker 1: we're capable of. Embrace the fact that we are the
Speaker 1: same old Jets. Embrace the fact that we do have
Speaker 1: a target on our back. Embrace the fact that when
Speaker 1: teams look at our schedule, they're not chalking us up
Speaker 1: for a w They're coming at you. That's exactly where
Speaker 1: we want to be, and that's awesome.
Speaker 4: I'll remember this episode for the walk that Walk, which
Speaker 4: begins the latest season of Hard Knocks, a walk that
Speaker 4: tells the story of this beautiful and unique place in
Speaker 4: time for the New York Jets. Aaron Rodgers exits the
Speaker 4: doors of the Jets facility in Flora Park and begins
Speaker 4: that brief journey to the practice field for another day
Speaker 4: of work in the summer heat, waiting for him his team. Yes,
Speaker 4: Robert Sala, who you heard? Yes, thousands of adoring fans,
Speaker 4: many wearing number eight jerseys, and all them calling out
Speaker 4: to the longtime Packers quarterback they hope will finally serve
Speaker 4: as the rightful successor to Joe Namath for the Jets.
Speaker 4: In January, it will be fifty four years since the
Speaker 4: team's lone Super Bowl triumph.
Speaker 5: It's time. It's been time.
Speaker 4: Rogers knows who he is and what he represents to
Speaker 4: his teammates, to the front office, to the success starved fans,
Speaker 4: to his critics, of which there are many, as we know,
Speaker 4: and you know what, he loves it. After he exits
Speaker 4: that front door, he says to the camera following him,
Speaker 4: I'll give you some good stuff today, and he does.
Speaker 4: Everyone is chasing the top tier quarterback, says Robert Sala,
Speaker 4: positively beaming by the way across the entirety of this premiere.
Speaker 4: Because Sala said, they change games, they change entire locker rooms.
Speaker 4: I'll take Sala's deadly accurate statement a step further the
Speaker 4: arrival of a truly great quarterback can change lives and
Speaker 4: the identity of an entire fan base, no matter what
Speaker 4: they've been through previous to the arrival of a true
Speaker 4: difference maker at the game's most important position. The New
Speaker 4: York Jets will enter Week one riding a postseason draft
Speaker 4: that is stretched across a dozen seasons. Now it's the
Speaker 4: backdrop of this show. It's tied for the longest of
Speaker 4: any team in North American sports. And last year began
Speaker 4: with hope as a dynamic rookie class and a rising
Speaker 4: defense put New York into position to snap that dry
Speaker 4: spell until let's call a G fours free fall in
Speaker 4: the quarterback play sparked a catastrophic offensive implosion.
Speaker 5: The waiting game continued for.
Speaker 4: The playoffs and for a quarterback who could return the
Speaker 4: franchise to prominence. And now let's take a brief aside,
Speaker 4: and let's offer a full disclosure for the unaware. I'm
Speaker 4: a Jets fan. My first game in person was October second,
Speaker 4: nineteen eighty eight. It was a seventeen seventeen tie with
Speaker 4: the Chiefs, and it was played in a downpour at
Speaker 4: the Old Metal Lands. The Jets had five fumbles that night,
Speaker 4: and three of them lost, including the Freeman McNeil turnover
Speaker 4: with the Jets at the case fifteen in overtime. I
Speaker 4: was eight, and I left that building feeling like my
Speaker 4: dad just took me to an R rated horror film
Speaker 4: I had no business seeing at that age. Six years later,
Speaker 4: I watched from those same red seats at Giants Stadium
Speaker 4: as Dan Marino led the Dolphins on that furious second
Speaker 4: half comeback cap by the infamous fake Spike ted pass
Speaker 4: to mark ingram sor.
Speaker 6: He's gonna kick the ball corn into the ground I start.
Speaker 4: That prompted a season ending tailspin that got some forty
Speaker 4: two year old rookie head coach named.
Speaker 5: Pete Carroll fired.
Speaker 4: I wonder what happened to that guy. Eleven years after that,
Speaker 4: I was at some random Jaguars game after I graduated
Speaker 4: college in September where Chad Pennington reinjured. And I love
Speaker 4: Chad Pennington, but he reinjured that troublesome right shoulder on
Speaker 4: a sack. He was replaced by a nice fellow named
Speaker 4: Jay Fiedler, who was also flattened and also forced from
Speaker 4: action with a shoulder injury. I could still see it today,
Speaker 4: Feedler looking up at us from our seats behind the
Speaker 4: end zone, giving the thumbs up and mouthing I'm good
Speaker 4: as he jogged up the tunnel.
Speaker 5: He was not good.
Speaker 4: Two days l the two qbs shared the same plane
Speaker 4: to Alabama for a visit with doctor James Andrews. Their
Speaker 4: season's over. There are many sad stories around the QB
Speaker 4: position for this team.
Speaker 5: These are just mine.
Speaker 4: Enter Aaron Rodgers and enter the cameras of Hard Knocks,
Speaker 4: arriving at a crucial moment in time for this starcross franchise.
Speaker 4: The Jets have gone from perennial afterthought to the most
Speaker 4: compelling team in football. You heard it right there and
Speaker 4: the Hard Knocks sizzle reel before the premiere last week.
Speaker 5: Love him or hate him?
Speaker 4: And that all goes back to the grizzled and eternally
Speaker 4: laid back QB from Northern California. Rogers can change games,
Speaker 4: he can change locker rooms, and as we saw in
Speaker 4: Tuesday's season premiere, he can change the temperature of any
Speaker 4: space he enters. Hoping optimism is abundant for the New
Speaker 4: York Jets, It's true, it's real. This all feels different
Speaker 4: and yes, a touch overwhelming?
Speaker 5: Is it time? It's been time?
Speaker 4: I am Dan Hansis and this is the Hard Knocks Podcast,
Speaker 4: back for a second year. In your ears via Around
Speaker 4: the NFL. My partner Colleen Wolf will join us just
Speaker 4: a little bit later from the road. But let us
Speaker 4: start with a very special guest, a man who needs
Speaker 4: no introduction, but I'll give it anyway. He is the
Speaker 4: face of NFL Network since it's inception twenty years ago.
Speaker 4: He has his own show and the Rich Eisend Show
Speaker 4: as well. And a man who bleeds green rich eyes.
Speaker 4: And welcome to the Hard Knocks Podcast.
Speaker 7: How are you brother?
Speaker 5: Very well?
Speaker 4: Really appreciate it Rich like you know I talked at
Speaker 4: the top of the show. My first Jets game was
Speaker 4: eighty eight. It was a five fumble affair and a
Speaker 4: seventeen seventeen tie with the Chiefs and a downpour. And
Speaker 4: where did when did you lose your innocence as a
Speaker 4: Jets fan growing up in a lot?
Speaker 8: Oh, I don't remember. Staten Island is where I got islands? Yeah,
Speaker 8: no problem, It's all the same island of New York City,
Speaker 8: except Staten Island, the fifth and forgotten borrow My brother
Speaker 8: My brother was a Jet met fan because that was
Speaker 8: in the era of you rooted for the teams in
Speaker 8: the same building, and so I realized early on that
Speaker 8: when you know, Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter were winning
Speaker 8: the World Series in New York, I jumped off the
Speaker 8: Met and got on the Yankee, but stayed on the Jet.
Speaker 8: And I have somewhere in my house here my Wesley
Speaker 8: Walker jersey, that number eighty five Wesley Walker jersey with
Speaker 8: my name and bunk number from Camp low Conda stitched
Speaker 8: into it. And I'm pleased to say that I survived
Speaker 8: the aj Dewey Interception Festival when Don.
Speaker 5: Shula, maybe that's it, rich Maybe that's your moment.
Speaker 8: Don Shula watered down the Orange Bowl turf to slow
Speaker 8: Freeman McNeil down, and then you know, I've been I've
Speaker 8: been a Jet fan ever since. And and watching Hard
Speaker 8: Knocks tonight was quite awesome. It was a lot of fun,
Speaker 8: and I have thoughts, if you want to fire away,
Speaker 8: go for it.
Speaker 5: Yeah, why don't we get to it this way?
Speaker 4: Because I talked about that initial walk that Rogers had
Speaker 4: onto the field that started things off really kind of
Speaker 4: painted the picture of where this team is both in
Speaker 4: you know, obviously you could feel the fans just wanting
Speaker 4: this to work and wanting this to be finally the
Speaker 4: end of this long wait. As a native New Yorker,
Speaker 4: Rich I think about it. You know, fifty four years
Speaker 4: for the Jets. Remember the Rangers finally got over the
Speaker 4: hump in ninety four. It was the nineteen forty chance
Speaker 4: that they were getting before that, and that was fifty
Speaker 4: four years. That's we're dealing with something that is extended
Speaker 4: and kind of historic in terms of New York's pro sports.
Speaker 4: How do you see Rogers and how he has transformed
Speaker 4: this team, because it seemed like a lot of the
Speaker 4: players were kind of in awe and even the coaches.
Speaker 8: Well, and so, you know, I'll be honest, you know,
Speaker 8: I just was watching it, and I know this has
Speaker 8: been a reality since April, but I still can't believe
Speaker 8: he's a New York Jet and he's happy to be so.
Speaker 8: And I know, you know, it wasn't really covered in
Speaker 8: this Hard Knocks episode, the concept of his contract that
Speaker 8: he forfeited money, and that he forfeited money that he
Speaker 8: could earn. Obviously, you know, guaranteed money actually went up
Speaker 8: for him with the way that he could you know,
Speaker 8: constructed his contract, but the amount of money that he
Speaker 8: could earn overall over the two year period went down.
Speaker 8: And he's happy to do it, and he's happy that
Speaker 8: he's there, and he doesn't feel anything but excitement. And
Speaker 8: just seeing that is just again part of the scars
Speaker 8: from your you know, tie game and Intercept, you know,
Speaker 8: Turnover Athon from the Chiefs and what I just mentioned
Speaker 8: for you know, my birth into the Jets fandom.
Speaker 7: It's just difficult to compute. I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 8: It's tough to compute that this is actually happening and
Speaker 8: and and seemingly working.
Speaker 7: Obviously.
Speaker 8: He even pointed out when Leev Schreiber said to him,
Speaker 8: you know, all of New York's excited, and he basically said,
Speaker 8: you know, we haven't played games yet. He understands how
Speaker 8: this works, and so far, so good. I just it
Speaker 8: really is. It's too good to be true. I'm like
Speaker 8: waiting for shoes to drop, trap doors to open up,
Speaker 8: and here we are on August eighth, and and it
Speaker 8: hasn't happened yet. And we are coming up on Friday,
Speaker 8: one month from the opener against the Bills, and obviously
Speaker 8: that's when Rubber is really going to meet the road.
Speaker 8: But right now it's just great to see and you know,
Speaker 8: obviously one last thing to say here and then I'll
Speaker 8: you know, obviously hand it back to you here for
Speaker 8: this conversation is we're all looking at Rogers, or at
Speaker 8: least Jet fans have through the last few months through
Speaker 8: the prism of Brett Farv, like here we go again,
Speaker 8: that we're reaching, we're out of We're out of ideas
Speaker 8: and options at the quarterback spot. So let's take the
Speaker 8: Packers longtime first ballot Hall of Fame or goat at
Speaker 8: the end of his career and hope for the best.
Speaker 8: And clearly this is a different scenario. Clearly Rogers is
Speaker 8: in a much better headspace. Clearly Rogers is in a
Speaker 8: much better body space as well. You know, Farv was
Speaker 8: at the end of a very long consecutive games played
Speaker 8: Streak Road and essentially used in the long run the
Speaker 8: Jets as a transfer portal to Minnesota as the vessel
Speaker 8: for his revenge on Green Bay. And I don't think
Speaker 8: Rogers wants vengeance on Green Bay. I think what he
Speaker 8: wants is to win with the Jets, to do what
Speaker 8: Brady did at the end of his career, except this
Speaker 8: one is he's coming into the AFC East as opposed
Speaker 8: to leaving the AFC East to get that ring that
Speaker 8: he's looking for. And whereas the young roster in the
Speaker 8: way things were constructed in Green Bay appeared to grate
Speaker 8: on him, he is loving being the OG in this situation.
Speaker 8: And I caught everything from the cameras and the microphones
Speaker 8: being picked up in hard Knocks that he appears to
Speaker 8: really relish the role that he is in. He's comfortable
Speaker 8: in it, he enjoys being there, and he's not thinking
Speaker 8: of anything but winning with the Jets. As as to
Speaker 8: what happened with FARV where you know, we all it
Speaker 8: turned out to be a way station, that doesn't appear
Speaker 8: to be the case here, and I'm thrilled about it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's despite the obviously it's odd that it's this
Speaker 4: legendary packer going to the Jets.
Speaker 5: It's apples and oranges for the reasons you just said.
Speaker 4: And you know, it does feel like he just his
Speaker 4: presence and the fact and you could see it, I
Speaker 4: mean you could see it even in the in the
Speaker 4: practice and of course the dispatches from the Beat writers
Speaker 4: that He has a lot of high level ball in
Speaker 4: him that I think I feel despite and yes, Jets
Speaker 4: fans leaning aside, I know you could look at the
Speaker 4: numbers last year and say he was down a little bit,
Speaker 4: but there were injuries and there was a lot of
Speaker 4: drama around the Packers. This is a fresh start he needed,
Speaker 4: and I think he's really gonna lean into that, and
Speaker 4: you know, I want to talk about it on to
Speaker 4: set up a clip here, Jeff Albrick, who's the defensive
Speaker 4: coordinator of the Jets.
Speaker 5: We know the story of last season.
Speaker 4: The defense was on the rise and the implosion of
Speaker 4: Zach Wilson in the quarterback position, really submarine season that
Speaker 4: was looking very promising, you know, ahead of around you know,
Speaker 4: Thanksgiving or so. Here's Olbrick talking to the Jets in
Speaker 4: a meeting. They're going over a clip showing Rogers making
Speaker 4: an insane throw in practice, kind of across the field,
Speaker 4: a throw that you.
Speaker 5: Just don't see. And again you see that the team
Speaker 5: and the coaching staff like, wait, this is different, this
Speaker 5: is exciting, this is new. Here's Olbrich.
Speaker 6: Just understand this. I don't give what goes down this year.
Speaker 6: We will always be in games no matter what, we
Speaker 6: break some shoelaces and get a few points on us, guys,
Speaker 6: we're gonna be in every game. Guys, this is across
Speaker 6: the field on the back shoulder.
Speaker 5: Look at this.
Speaker 6: I don't know's there's any other human on earth that
Speaker 6: can make that throw.
Speaker 5: He's our quarterback. He's ours, He's ours, awesome man.
Speaker 4: And it's like Obric speaks for all of us too, rich,
Speaker 4: like he's ours. He's our quarterback, I know.
Speaker 8: And that dovetails a little bit into what we've already
Speaker 8: talked about. Two things from that moment in the Hard
Speaker 8: Knocks debut, because that did stand out. That's an excellent
Speaker 8: choice of a SoundBite. That stood out to me because
Speaker 8: I thought it was the best inside meeting room truth
Speaker 8: telling Hard Knocks at its finest right there SoundBite of
Speaker 8: the debut quite frankly. But two other things. First of all,
Speaker 8: don't watch Hard Knocks around your twelve year old son.
Speaker 8: Where the defensive coordinator of the Jets is on camera.
Speaker 8: I mean, that's number one. So we'll give that heads
Speaker 8: up to you. We're gonna hear from Tony Dungee again.
Speaker 4: Remember it in twenty ten, Dongee saying Rex Ryan in
Speaker 4: the League conversation.
Speaker 8: Well, I mean really, but when I saw that, it
Speaker 8: was again just the first fifteen minutes of that and
Speaker 8: the whole thing, and you know, and I know Aaron
Speaker 8: Rodgers was saying how he had nothing but good experiences
Speaker 8: with NFL films and that's the truth. When Leev Schreiber
Speaker 8: asked him point blank, you know, like why don't teams
Speaker 8: want to do this? And I know, like Leev Schreiber
Speaker 8: was just basically giving voice. I'm sure he loves doing
Speaker 8: this show and being the voice of Hard Knocks, and
Speaker 8: I'm sure he's beginning to get concerned that they're running
Speaker 8: out of teams that want to do it, and see
Speaker 8: as that of Aaron Rodgers point blank, and I know
Speaker 8: Aaron's like, you know, hey, you know, some people think
Speaker 8: it could be a distraction, but I really like, you know,
Speaker 8: NFL films. He did use the phrase of it being
Speaker 8: jammed down the team's throats when he was asked about
Speaker 8: it at the celebrity golf outing in Utah. So that's
Speaker 8: why Leev brings it on. But the issue I think
Speaker 8: some teams don't, you know, like being put out there
Speaker 8: is the dynamic here that I guess my point is
Speaker 8: this is that the thing I got out of it
Speaker 8: was z Zach Wilson seeing.
Speaker 7: This, and he must sense it.
Speaker 8: I mean again, the fact that we're seeing it will
Speaker 8: maybe make it that much more intense for him. But
Speaker 8: he's whether we're seeing it or not, it's happening behind
Speaker 8: the scenes, and this is Aaron Rodgers's team, and the
Speaker 8: team is clearly relieved that he's there and that Zach
Speaker 8: can't but help sense that he was the guy that
Speaker 8: scuttled last year. Rogers's presence is obviously testimonial to that,
Speaker 8: but everybody in that building is just like, that's our quarterback.
Speaker 7: We're going to be in games.
Speaker 8: This guy is incredible, you know, Minicole Hartman going up
Speaker 8: to him saying, I'm going to tell my grandkids and
Speaker 8: my kids that I played with you, you know. And
Speaker 8: so again, how Zach handles it is going to be interesting.
Speaker 8: And the only reason why that would, for the lack
Speaker 8: of a better phrase, matter right now.
Speaker 7: Is he may have to get in games.
Speaker 8: And you know, if Rogers somehow doesn't answer a bell
Speaker 8: or gets a bell rung, he might have to shake
Speaker 8: that off that oh god, I'm the guy coming in
Speaker 8: that nobody wants to see in the game, and that
Speaker 8: is definitely a mental aspect that I think Rogers is
Speaker 8: clearly addressing by coaching him up. Which is one last
Speaker 8: thing as well, that if Rogers deep down did think
Speaker 8: this was being jammed down the Jets' throats, this is
Speaker 8: basically a sixty minute documentary as to how awesome and
Speaker 8: cool Aaron Rodgers is and how his teammates feel. It
Speaker 8: was a big, fat, wet kiss to number eight on
Speaker 8: the New York Jets, and credit to him too. He
Speaker 8: even said when he was miked up walking out to
Speaker 8: the field for the first time and practice like, he
Speaker 8: looks at the cameras, I'll give you some good.
Speaker 7: Today, and he did.
Speaker 8: He was engaging, He talked off camera knowing clearly it
Speaker 8: was miked up and it was a fun first episode.
Speaker 8: But that sounds by calls me to think, you know,
Speaker 8: how is Zach Wilson taking the clear relief and excitement
Speaker 8: that his teammates rightfully have that Aaron Rodgers is their quarterback?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 4: That I mean following this team a number two overall
Speaker 4: pick that as recently as this time last year, the
Speaker 4: idea was that he's the face of the organization.
Speaker 5: I thought it was telling that Sala.
Speaker 4: Says in one of his comments, I feel like him
Speaker 4: showing up is successful because he's being asked.
Speaker 5: What he's being asked to do is hard.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Like this is highly humbling for a guy that's
Speaker 4: still very young and twenty four years old. And then,
Speaker 4: just to add a little bit more to this stew
Speaker 4: like Rogers, it was documented before any of this ever happened,
Speaker 4: that Rogers was Wilson's hero, and now he's in the
Speaker 4: building and everyone's relieved that he's here to save the
Speaker 4: day from Zach Wilson.
Speaker 8: Dan, here's the truth. The day needed to be saved.
Speaker 8: Rogers is there for a reason, Okay, And obviously Rogers
Speaker 8: has his own reasons for not wanting to be in
Speaker 8: Green Bay anymore and pulling the ripcord and giving up
Speaker 8: thirty five million dollars or so to go to the
Speaker 8: New York Jets because the Jets needed him, they were
Speaker 8: desperate to have him, that this team was ready to
Speaker 8: start to succeed. That's the other part about Hard Knocks
Speaker 8: as well. Certainly, when you're comparing this team to what
Speaker 8: Farv came in on, this is a far more talented
Speaker 8: team than the one Farv joined from from the coach
Speaker 8: in Sala, being, in my mind, a much more ready
Speaker 8: for prime time and this moment coach than Eric Mangini,
Speaker 8: you know from you know, that's Garrett Wilson, not Jericho
Speaker 8: KATCHERI you know, like this is Sauce Frigin Gardner, that's
Speaker 8: Quinn Williams. I mean, and that's just three to name
Speaker 8: off the top of my head. I mean this this
Speaker 8: roster is deep, and this roster is hungry, and this
Speaker 8: roster is young and ready to roll. All you need
Speaker 8: is just to add future Hall of Fame quarterback with
Speaker 8: Chip on shoulder and Zen in heart and mind. I mean,
Speaker 8: holy cow, this is real. It's the sense that I
Speaker 8: got right now. But what is real is they needed him,
Speaker 8: and Zach, you know, kudos to him for, yes, just
Speaker 8: showing up. But the part about just showing up that's
Speaker 8: tough is that everyone in the building is charged by Rogers'
Speaker 8: presence and also ready to roll and follow his lead
Speaker 8: on every front. And clearly this is something that Zach
Speaker 8: didn't engender or earn last year. But that is the
Speaker 8: ultimate part about Rogers's journey that starts from now is
Speaker 8: that how it does play out this year is crucial,
Speaker 8: and next year we're assuming he will be there, is crucial.
Speaker 8: But the endgame scenario, I mean Brady left and it's
Speaker 8: Baker Mayfield versus Kyle Trask on the same line as
Speaker 8: their depth chart in Tampa. Right now, we all know
Speaker 8: what the plan is for the Jets is when Rogers
Speaker 8: does hand this thing back is hopefully Zach Wilson will
Speaker 8: be what a fourth, fifth, sixth year pro that is
Speaker 8: imbued with all of this knowledge and confidence and talent,
Speaker 8: and off you go, and you just keep going on,
Speaker 8: like say far to Rogers, like that's the way that
Speaker 8: this plan is set up, and the fact that there
Speaker 8: is one is exciting.
Speaker 4: Yes, you know, and I guess the big picture plan
Speaker 4: of handing the reins back over in a few years, Okay,
Speaker 4: you could sell me on that hypothetically, the one where
Speaker 4: he's the number two quarterback and you know he's one
Speaker 4: hit away from being in the lineup in September, that
Speaker 4: is the one that scares me.
Speaker 5: And we'll leave. We'll end it this way, Rich because
Speaker 5: and again, thank you for your time.
Speaker 4: And Rich got it of course all over NFL Network
Speaker 4: and his own Rich eyesend Show, which you can catch
Speaker 4: on the Roku channel, west Wood one Odyssey. Anything you
Speaker 4: want to see episode two, anything you didn't see here
Speaker 4: that you're looking forward to diving.
Speaker 7: I don't.
Speaker 8: Here's what I want to see, and I don't think
Speaker 8: we're going to see it. I want to see Dalvin Cook,
Speaker 8: what happened when he was there? I clearly the Jets
Speaker 8: didn't want any of that stuff at the center good,
Speaker 8: you know. And I want to see Breesce Hall. Let's
Speaker 8: go like, what's what's he looking like? Clearly I don't
Speaker 8: think the Jets are going to show you that either,
Speaker 8: you know, and that's that's essentially it. And I just
Speaker 8: want to see this team continue to be a cohesive,
Speaker 8: chill unit, you know. And again I want to we're
Speaker 8: you know, I've been talking about the differences between the
Speaker 8: last goat to come from Green Bay to land in
Speaker 8: New York and be the hope of Jets fandom that
Speaker 8: we will finally reach a promised land and you and
Speaker 8: I will cover a Super Bowl for the NFL media
Speaker 8: group and see the word Jets in.
Speaker 5: An end zone. You know.
Speaker 8: That the difference between this hard knocks Jets team and
Speaker 8: the previous one. And again I'm very appreciative and thankful
Speaker 8: that that two AFC Championship Game appearances back to back occurred, right,
Speaker 8: and that Sanchez and Rex Ryan were born out of
Speaker 8: the far failure. I get it, But to me, Sala
Speaker 8: seems to be so much more just sustainable, you know,
Speaker 8: And and this team appears to not be on the
Speaker 8: credit card either. Now, obviously Rogers is going to come
Speaker 8: at a cost once he's done. But the Jets team
Speaker 8: that we saw that Mike Tannenbaum put it on the
Speaker 8: credit card, grounded pound and try and win with the
Speaker 8: Ryan where Sala is absolutely the coach of the moment
Speaker 8: the Jets need in the same way Ryan was where
Speaker 8: I don't need to kiss Bill Belichick's rings.
Speaker 7: And you know, the.
Speaker 8: Man genius who you know, really didn't have much of
Speaker 8: a personality given way to Rex and his braggadociousness, which
Speaker 8: definitely worked for a New York audience and for a
Speaker 8: fan base that was, if I may say so, sick
Speaker 8: and tired of getting kicked in the balls by the
Speaker 8: football gods for forty years.
Speaker 7: At that point in time.
Speaker 8: You know, Sala just seems to be a much more
Speaker 8: sustainable coach for the Jets, that the cult of personality
Speaker 8: isn't going to run out.
Speaker 4: And yet you know, and yet this is the year
Speaker 4: three for Sala, right right, so I know, if it
Speaker 4: doesn't happen this year, you can imagine ownership potentially making
Speaker 4: that change, which.
Speaker 8: Then that would be a mistake. That would be a mistake.
Speaker 8: I think it would be a mistake. And obviously we
Speaker 8: need to see how things play out from here. But honestly,
Speaker 8: Joe Douglas, you know, winding up turning Elijah Moore into
Speaker 8: a second round selection, that wound up turning into Rogers.
Speaker 8: The drafting of the team, the way that they've been
Speaker 8: drafting it. The smart I mean Lazard, I mean he
Speaker 8: barely showed up in this first episode of Hard Knocks.
Speaker 8: I mean, come on, Like that is a heck of
Speaker 8: a wide receiver pickup Mikole Hardman. Also, like, this is
Speaker 8: a really talented, deep team that isn't really discussed as
Speaker 8: such because we are all attracted to and distracted by
Speaker 8: the Rogers acquisition because it is so splashy and so big,
Speaker 8: the Quinn Williams signing. Again, the defensive line is deep.
Speaker 8: They are a deep, young, hungry team, and I guess
Speaker 8: I'd like to see more of that over the next two,
Speaker 8: three four weeks. But just let's keep it healthy and
Speaker 8: cohesive and hit the ground running on the first Monday
Speaker 8: Night of the season, because that is a big fat
Speaker 8: piece of Filet mignon the Jets have. The league is
Speaker 8: served up to all of us on the first Monday night.
Speaker 8: Then a trip to Dallas, then the Belichick visit, then
Speaker 8: the Mahomes visit, then the Week five game against Denver
Speaker 8: that wasn't on anyone's marquee until Sean Payton's comments hit
Speaker 8: open air, and then Jalen Hurts visit. So I just
Speaker 8: need health and calm and chill and cohesiveness because the
Speaker 8: first six weeks is going to be the crucible that
Speaker 8: will forge this team or springboard it or even worse.
Speaker 5: Yep.
Speaker 4: And as to your point or your your vision of
Speaker 4: one day us both being in a building at the
Speaker 4: super Bowl, the Jets in the end zone is another
Speaker 4: famous Jets fan, Joe Beningo is known to say, from
Speaker 4: your lips to Gadzia.
Speaker 7: Yeah here, let me hold on, let me flex hold on, sacking.
Speaker 5: Always go, which is walking off Mike. He's in his office.
Speaker 7: Hold on, I'm sorry I should describe it to your
Speaker 7: podcast on.
Speaker 8: All right, here we go. This is at an NFL
Speaker 8: This is the NFL Honors in Atlanta. Okay, give us Okay,
Speaker 8: there you go. That's that's me. Well oh yeah, sorry,
Speaker 8: let me uh hold on, there you go. That's me
Speaker 8: with Joe Willie. Okay, there it is. And I saw
Speaker 8: him and we hugged it out. We like we had
Speaker 8: an And then my friend Julie from gave this to
Speaker 8: me for my fiftieth birthday. She got to sign because
Speaker 8: she worked for UH sports Net New York at the time,
Speaker 8: and she got Joe Willie to sign it.
Speaker 7: We well, we just need.
Speaker 8: You know, we need we need This is great and
Speaker 8: Joe Willie is the greatest and I you know, but
Speaker 8: we need new generations to have their Yeah, like we've
Speaker 8: got rich that to to coin the phrase that Lombardi
Speaker 8: trophies lonely. And that's my way of flexing in a
Speaker 8: way to make a point.
Speaker 5: There you go, you.
Speaker 8: Know, like we gotta we gotta, we gotta have our own,
Speaker 8: you know moment here. I don't know if Rogers is
Speaker 8: gonna hug me out like.
Speaker 5: This, but in a big radiant smile.
Speaker 7: And I don't know about that.
Speaker 8: I don't know if we'll ever have that, but you know,
Speaker 8: maybe I'll just surf off of Peter Schrager's new found friendship,
Speaker 8: you know, with him, and.
Speaker 4: Is making a tweet where he explained how it all happened, that.
Speaker 5: I saw a big scoop, you know, no I saw that.
Speaker 8: And again, just to wrap it all up, is that
Speaker 8: Rogers appears to be really you know, uh at a
Speaker 8: a in a really good state of mind here and
Speaker 8: has really taken to New York and New York to him.
Speaker 8: And we will just see how it all works out
Speaker 8: once schemes are played, and you know, adversity strikes. But
Speaker 8: so far, so good. And I thought the first episode
Speaker 8: of Hard Knocks was just surreal. That's the only way
Speaker 8: to put it. I can't believe it's happening. I can't
Speaker 8: believe it's happening.
Speaker 4: Rich and we are in the same boat. We are
Speaker 4: in the same boat, sir. Thank you so much. You
Speaker 4: got rich eyes and check them out on the rich
Speaker 4: Eyes and show them of course an NFL network. We're
Speaker 4: going to take a break and be back with Connie Fox.
Speaker 4: All right, welcome back and as promised. She is my
Speaker 4: co host on this wonderful podcast of Hard Knocks. She
Speaker 4: is the great Connie Fox, also known as Colleen Wolf.
Speaker 4: Where are you, Colleen right now? You should be in
Speaker 4: the studio with me. This is the premiere of the
Speaker 4: Hard Knocks podcast.
Speaker 5: I'm upset.
Speaker 2: Here right now, and that's all that really matters, even
Speaker 2: though not physically there, Dan, I'm here with you.
Speaker 5: Very Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 2: You know, listen, I am in a hotel right now
Speaker 2: in Seattle, looking out at the beautiful skyline and the water.
Speaker 9: It's gorgeous here. I love the city. I'm not even
Speaker 9: sure I can leave.
Speaker 2: I don't know if I'll be back at studio because
Speaker 2: I might not ever leave Seattle, but it's great. I
Speaker 2: have Seahawks camp tomorrow, so I'll be on inside Training
Speaker 2: Camp live.
Speaker 5: Get that plug in.
Speaker 4: I like it, Connie, and you know, this is our
Speaker 4: second year doing this podcast, and you know we've always
Speaker 4: been big fans of Leev Schreiber, the actor and longtime
Speaker 4: narrator of Hard Knocks and Connie. Let's get it's like
Speaker 4: the fun kind of nuggets from episode one.
Speaker 5: But let's start with a it all because it's it
Speaker 5: was pretty.
Speaker 4: Meta in general that the narrator of the show gets
Speaker 4: put into the news cycle. Here's the backstory by Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 4: Everything again, everything goes back to Rogers, who tells reporters
Speaker 4: that one thing he was looking forward to in terms
Speaker 4: of being having the cameras in the whole vibe is
Speaker 4: Leev Schreiber because he's a fan of his work, and
Speaker 4: so on and so forth. So what what I mean
Speaker 4: the budget, Connie? What the budget of NFL Films and HBO?
Speaker 4: Do they split the check? They rent a helicopter to
Speaker 4: have the man flown in to the middle of the practice,
Speaker 4: and and and then you ask Leev Schreiber to narrate
Speaker 4: his own arrival on Hard Knocks. And as people fans
Speaker 4: of this show know this podcast, we do not have
Speaker 4: contractually the ability to use Leev's voice on this program.
Speaker 5: Legally it's a big time no go.
Speaker 4: But we do have Jason Zummol to read transcription from
Speaker 4: an episode hit it.
Speaker 6: Sometimes when a show is truly epic, it pulls out
Speaker 6: all the stops.
Speaker 5: Full disclosure. I wanted to drive, but the producers thought
Speaker 5: a helicopter might.
Speaker 7: Be more dramatic.
Speaker 5: Should have ironed my shirt.
Speaker 4: I'm alt on point as always, the voice of God
Speaker 4: for atn and the voice of God of NFL Films.
Speaker 5: Meeting once more, Connie the.
Speaker 4: Schreiber coming down to practice, awkward chit chat, all great stuff,
Speaker 4: and then it led to one of my favorite parts
Speaker 4: of the episode, one of the things we talked about
Speaker 4: last week, Connie about like, what is it about the
Speaker 4: Nathaniel Hackett and Aaron Rodgers of it all, this relationship
Speaker 4: that has helped create this whole system or situation for
Speaker 4: the Jets right now? And here's Rogers who was just
Speaker 4: giddy about meeting Schreiber and thought that all these young
Speaker 4: twenty four year old quarterbacks around them should be like
Speaker 4: super amped up about this veteran character actor. Here is
Speaker 4: Rogers and Hackett kind of sniping at each other in
Speaker 4: a way that only good buddies can.
Speaker 10: Wait. Say right, he's nervous, he won't say you know me,
Speaker 10: people feel comfortable. He's never been to a hard knocks practice. Overwhelming,
Speaker 10: Just say hi, just be nice, look at him. Hey,
Speaker 10: if you don't dressed up for.
Speaker 4: It, slam slim, say hi to Ifaniel Hackett say hi,
Speaker 4: it's striver.
Speaker 9: Okay, all right, I have so many thoughts here.
Speaker 2: First of all, Zumbwalt, I almost forgot how accurate he
Speaker 2: is with these impressions. It is just so spot on,
Speaker 2: It's so well done. I love his driver. The helicopter itself.
Speaker 9: Was so extra but also so perfect.
Speaker 5: I loved it much.
Speaker 9: I loved it.
Speaker 5: The jets are the jets kicking it on it.
Speaker 9: Oh, of course, I have no idea.
Speaker 5: I guess this.
Speaker 9: Blade blade is like a thing in New York. It's
Speaker 9: almost like a helicopter uber. I have no I don't
Speaker 9: have that type of money. I would have no idea
Speaker 9: where to start with.
Speaker 4: It has to be it might five from five hundred
Speaker 4: to fifty thousand dollars is what I'm going to stay for.
Speaker 4: My guess of how much it cost it to bring
Speaker 4: in s Treiber on.
Speaker 2: The on the HELLI I would say definitely more than
Speaker 2: five hundred.
Speaker 9: I'm taking the over.
Speaker 2: But maybe they've worked out a deal because they got
Speaker 2: the blade promotion in on the show, so who knows.
Speaker 2: Who knows what kind of strings HBO can poll. But
Speaker 2: the producers were absolutely correct.
Speaker 9: It was super dramatic. That's an insane entrance.
Speaker 2: Uh And of course Leam Dreiver kind of he seemed
Speaker 2: a little bashful about it, which I kind of loved,
Speaker 2: and he also just kind of came off as a
Speaker 2: little humble in general when he.
Speaker 9: Talked of out the fact that he doesn't really do anything.
Speaker 2: It's just his voice and he's just ripping off John
Speaker 2: DESCENTA like that I was into, and I loved Aaron
Speaker 2: Rodgers sort of fan boying over him and thinking that
Speaker 2: everyone else was going to feel the same way that
Speaker 2: exchange with Haack.
Speaker 5: It was so cute, I think it was.
Speaker 4: I thought it was endearing for all parties involved in Connie.
Speaker 4: One of the things that's great about you is your awkwardness,
Speaker 4: which I always enjoy in various social settings, and Shreiber
Speaker 4: just gets kind of put in a weird spot because
Speaker 4: it made sense to ask, Hey, do you want to
Speaker 4: be go down to camp Rogers mentioned you. Then he
Speaker 4: gets there and it's like, yeah, it's not everyone is
Speaker 4: going to know who he is, so he's standing there.
Speaker 4: But Rogers was nice, and it just I think it
Speaker 4: was something very real about Rogers sensing that Shreiber should
Speaker 4: be getting more attention because he was brought in here
Speaker 4: on a helicopter. So he's like, let me get my
Speaker 4: buddy Hacket to help me out here and try to
Speaker 4: make this a little less awkward in his mind, and
Speaker 4: Hackett was like, I don't know, man.
Speaker 5: And then even one of.
Speaker 4: The quarterbacks on the Jets, one of the guys deep
Speaker 4: on the depth chart, Rogers, this is Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 5: Come on, man, go say hi to him. Go say
Speaker 5: hi to And finally the quarterback's like, I'm talking to
Speaker 5: the coach. Can't I know?
Speaker 9: Rogers is like, he's the voice of God. Don't you know.
Speaker 7: Who this is?
Speaker 9: And then I just thought it was.
Speaker 2: Really sweet that his whole thing with Hackett, the way
Speaker 2: that he was trying to persuade Hackett to go over
Speaker 2: was like, come on, he's never been to a hard
Speaker 2: knocks practice, like he just let's just make him feel comfortable.
Speaker 2: Let's just be nice people with that. Once again, I
Speaker 2: thought was really sweet on a human level. So I
Speaker 2: was into the whole thing. It was absurd.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I thought they did a nice job not
Speaker 4: hammering the Sean Payton storyline because at this point it's
Speaker 4: a couple of weeks old, but we did get to
Speaker 4: see a little bit of that Pylon game, and they
Speaker 4: use the old psych out technique from the South Park
Speaker 4: Guy's movie Basketball, And at one point when Hacket's about
Speaker 4: to throw the ball, Rogers goes Sean Payton and he's like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 4: that's a good one. You psych me out with that one.
Speaker 4: But yeah, it's interesting. You also get like, you know,
Speaker 4: more of an idea of Hacket and and maybe that'll
Speaker 4: come up a little bit later.
Speaker 5: What else kind of did you like from this episode?
Speaker 2: Okay, so there were a few things. I love the
Speaker 2: music in this episode in general.
Speaker 9: I there were so always.
Speaker 5: Now with the music on the show, always goad.
Speaker 2: I mean like there were They even had a little
Speaker 2: bit of the Police in there.
Speaker 9: I thought as well.
Speaker 2: I knew that you would flag that they had greatness
Speaker 2: on there by Quavo in the Sauce and Garrett Wilson montage.
Speaker 9: Which was timed perfectly. That song is great. And then
Speaker 9: they had a little.
Speaker 2: Cream which is a Wu Tang method Man classic, the
Speaker 2: instrumental version of it, and they played it after Meth
Speaker 2: broke the huddle, and I think we have some of that.
Speaker 9: Can you pay it?
Speaker 5: All right?
Speaker 3: I want to do a quote from Bill parce Elves,
Speaker 3: it's down all right with y'all, all right, all right,
Speaker 3: you can pull the whole world down the highway of
Speaker 3: years and take pats on the back as you pay,
Speaker 3: but your final reward will be herded in tears if
Speaker 3: you cheat. The Man in the Glass Jets three two three, Yeah, I.
Speaker 2: Mean having method Man at practice, Like the Jets are
Speaker 2: just sexy as hell. I love this team, I love
Speaker 2: everything about them, but having method Man there, I am.
Speaker 2: I would be fangirling all over the place. If I
Speaker 2: was at that training camp that day.
Speaker 9: I was in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2: Ce Swiss Senior was at Jets practice and he was
Speaker 2: fanboying over method Man like that was Method Man was
Speaker 2: my first ever concert.
Speaker 9: It was Redman and Method Man and having Meth.
Speaker 2: Do a Bill Parcells quote like I just I need
Speaker 2: someone to remix that. I need someone to put the
Speaker 2: cream beat under it. Maybe I don't know, but there
Speaker 2: was Ed Sheeran, there was the Poppin'.
Speaker 9: Song huh Like. There was just so many good ones.
Speaker 2: So my expectations for like the season now are higher
Speaker 2: than ever.
Speaker 4: I remember like being in high school and learning that
Speaker 4: cream he meant cash rules everything around me and just
Speaker 4: thinking that was the coolest thing I'd ever heard in
Speaker 4: my life.
Speaker 9: I mean it's not not true.
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, yes, the music is always uh epic on
Speaker 4: this show.
Speaker 5: I thought, you know, let's me and you're a solid fan.
Speaker 9: Too, Connie, as we know of his coaching.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure he I thought it was so nice.
Speaker 4: I was very excited to get finally some context, you know,
Speaker 4: when the Sean Payton thing went down, and he does the.
Speaker 5: You know, if you ain't got haters, you ain't popping.
Speaker 4: But also then he's talking about he's talking about crows
Speaker 4: and suffocating and like I think everyone collectively was a
Speaker 4: football fans like shrugging the shoulders.
Speaker 5: Like, what the hell is this guy talking about? And
Speaker 5: then uh, it is.
Speaker 9: It was very Dan Campbell asked.
Speaker 4: Yes, and then you cut though to the opening of
Speaker 4: the show and we heard the the tail end of
Speaker 4: his speech at the top of our recap here or
Speaker 4: our podcast. The beginning of the first thing we hear
Speaker 4: from sala is explaining the theory that the crows they're
Speaker 4: the only bird crazy enough to go after hawks, and
Speaker 4: the hawks have the ability eagles, excuse me, eagles have
Speaker 4: the ability to fly high, and then the crows get
Speaker 4: too high and they suffocate and fall to the ground.
Speaker 5: And die, and I was just like, thank you.
Speaker 4: I needed a little bit more to I was a
Speaker 4: little concerned that my team's head coach might be going crazy.
Speaker 4: Now I'm like, okay, it kind of connects to a
Speaker 4: private conversation he had with the team, and now it
Speaker 4: all made sense. Thank you for context and clarity on
Speaker 4: the on the crow thing.
Speaker 5: I'm happy.
Speaker 2: I did also enjoy as he was giving that that
Speaker 2: whole speech that there were just guys like that were
Speaker 2: getting really into it.
Speaker 9: In the background when.
Speaker 2: He was talking about the crows just like falling to
Speaker 2: earth and dying.
Speaker 9: They were like, let's go, the crows are gonna die.
Speaker 9: And it's like, I don't know, it feels a little disturbing, Like.
Speaker 4: I'm a picture of like Sean Payton going too high
Speaker 4: into the altitude and then just like free falling to
Speaker 4: a staff and earth. You know, it's pretty hard, Like
Speaker 4: he went pretty hard with that. Any other what are
Speaker 4: some of the things that you liked in the episode?
Speaker 2: Okay, So I felt like we got an early indication
Speaker 2: of our underdog for the season, Chas Surat, the linebacker.
Speaker 2: It seemed like Salah absolutely loves him, but he's also
Speaker 2: like a.
Speaker 9: Third string guy, and I don't think. I think he
Speaker 9: played one.
Speaker 2: Game last year for the Jets, So I am interested
Speaker 2: to see if that ends up being a thread throughout
Speaker 2: the season.
Speaker 5: And what part of the episode was he I'm kind
Speaker 5: of not.
Speaker 9: This was in the Hall of Fame game.
Speaker 2: He had an interception I think in the Hall of
Speaker 2: Fame game and Sala was like.
Speaker 9: He's so fast, that's my guy, keeps stacking.
Speaker 5: He's so good, very very good. Astute. You're a Hard
Speaker 5: Knocks fan.
Speaker 4: When they have the coach miked up doing something in
Speaker 4: a game, they are going to come back to that
Speaker 4: player and track him. And I thought I thought rich
Speaker 4: Eisen made a good point earlier. It seemed like a
Speaker 4: mortal lock that Dalvin Cook would be in this episode
Speaker 4: after the hoopla around his visit to the camp and
Speaker 4: taking a physical and taking selfies and you know all that.
Speaker 4: And then I was thinking in my head, I was like, hmm,
Speaker 4: is that a little bit of a hint that maybe
Speaker 4: the Jets are looking to distance themselves from that situation,
Speaker 4: or more likely Hard Knocks producers are waiting for that
Speaker 4: story line to see itself through and then they could
Speaker 4: kind of use all this footage that they got earlier
Speaker 4: in camp and tied together with his arrival.
Speaker 5: Maybe as soon as episode two, we shall see.
Speaker 2: I would think that it's the latter because I was
Speaker 2: kind of thinking the same thing. I also just as
Speaker 2: like a final little note, I kind of loved that
Speaker 2: Jason Garrett randomly caught some strays in the episode. That
Speaker 2: was so random and the guys were like, we can't
Speaker 2: have the option here, and they were like, is that
Speaker 2: Jason Garrett is that the Cowboys ex coach?
Speaker 5: Wasn't he?
Speaker 9: What the giants like that? I had like a kind
Speaker 9: of love deep down.
Speaker 5: I had a bit of a dad moment.
Speaker 4: And Eric Robert's the producer behind the Glass, had to
Speaker 4: help me out with that. Eric, what was the best
Speaker 4: was your description of what Jason Garrett being compared to ops?
Speaker 5: What does that mean? You should like, please snitch the
Speaker 5: rivals opponent. You don't want to mess with the ops.
Speaker 5: You don't want to do it.
Speaker 4: We don't need the ops in the building, we don't
Speaker 4: need them on the practice field.
Speaker 2: Dan, next episode, we'll tell you what the block is
Speaker 2: hot means.
Speaker 5: I know what cream means. Uh, let's do MVP.
Speaker 4: It's time, Okay, all right, So listeners, new listeners, Hi,
Speaker 4: how are you?
Speaker 5: I'm Dan and that's Colleen, speaking of awkward.
Speaker 4: We do an MVP, but it's a voting system, and
Speaker 4: you just heard from Eric Roberts. Eric, this all falls
Speaker 4: on you are great. Former producer Justin Graver handled these
Speaker 4: duties last summer. We need someone to tabulate this and
Speaker 4: track it. Connie and I cannot do it. Connie actually
Speaker 4: privately told me last summer I'm talent, I don't do math,
Speaker 4: and I was like, that was weird but also true,
Speaker 4: and I agree with that. So here's the system. I
Speaker 4: don't know if this is the point system last year,
Speaker 4: but it.
Speaker 5: Is this year.
Speaker 9: It was complicated last year. Have no idea, so.
Speaker 5: Maybe it's the same one.
Speaker 4: I remember the term vector point scale or something vector
Speaker 4: point scale.
Speaker 5: That sounds cool.
Speaker 4: Whatever that is, we're gonna do it again. So it's
Speaker 4: a vector scoring system. First place, We're gonna do a first, second,
Speaker 4: and third place MVP vote every episode, and then we're
Speaker 4: gonna tally it up at the end of the year
Speaker 4: and then name Hard Knocks MVP. A first place vote
Speaker 4: is six points in the vector system, a second place
Speaker 4: vote is four points, and a third place vote is
Speaker 4: two points.
Speaker 5: Does that sound right? Sounds close enough?
Speaker 9: So you're just taking this up right?
Speaker 5: I don't know what the hell?
Speaker 9: Great?
Speaker 5: All right to me?
Speaker 4: Who's your third place MVP vote for episode one of
Speaker 4: Hard Knocks Training Camp with the New York Jets.
Speaker 9: Okay, third place goes to Solomon Thomas.
Speaker 2: I absolutely love I love the personalities on this defensive line,
Speaker 2: and I thought that Solomon Thomas was involved in the
Speaker 2: best exchange of the entire show because there were so
Speaker 2: many little things to pick out of that at one exchange.
Speaker 9: Can we play the quote so everyone could hear it?
Speaker 4: Yeah, let's play this this exchange Solomon Thomas, and I'll
Speaker 4: just see it up dustly. So it reminded me this
Speaker 4: group of defensive linemen like they were like squabbling Irish
Speaker 4: brothers on Christmas Eve. Solomon Thomas in the role of
Speaker 4: no all older brother, Tanzel Smart as the kid brother
Speaker 4: who tags along even when he's unwanted, but they all
Speaker 4: love each other.
Speaker 5: It's that type of setup. Let's listen in attention. I'm
Speaker 5: not always want to sticking up. I always want to
Speaker 5: sticking up for you.
Speaker 3: You remember you said you don't want me to go
Speaker 3: to Broadway.
Speaker 5: Let's let's just get it up. I said that.
Speaker 7: I said that because I feel like you'd be talking
Speaker 7: during the play, and I want you to respect the performers.
Speaker 5: Okay, I'll get you. I can't. It's actually got bad.
Speaker 7: I want to eat aucie board.
Speaker 9: Oh my, that's the mountaintop. That's it right there, and
Speaker 9: so just.
Speaker 5: End the show. Just end the show. Let's be honest.
Speaker 9: It's so good.
Speaker 5: It's so good.
Speaker 2: It started because Solomon Thomas was like, I promise I'll
Speaker 2: take the whole D line, like on the next off day,
Speaker 2: I'll take the whole D line to MJ the musical.
Speaker 2: And then John Franklin Myers was like, well, we want
Speaker 2: a suite, and Solomon Thomas was like, there's no sweet
Speaker 2: broath like and then it kind of like went on
Speaker 2: from there. So I just kind of loved the idea
Speaker 2: of the defensive line going to a Broadway show together
Speaker 2: and then bickering about the seats, wanting a suite, and
Speaker 2: then obviously the charcuterie board of it all was perfect.
Speaker 5: A perfect right.
Speaker 4: Smart thinks like Broadway is like Ford's Theater, and he
Speaker 4: would have one of those those gold like little binoculars
Speaker 4: that he'd been watching up from the from the top.
Speaker 4: I that that's a Carcucci board that is outrageous and
Speaker 4: beautiful and I love it. Great third place vote I
Speaker 4: will go with for my third place, and it's tough,
Speaker 4: but I will give it to say I want to
Speaker 4: give it to Leev Schreiber, but I think that will
Speaker 4: be a waste of my vote, just because I don't
Speaker 4: imagine he's going to insert himself in the program.
Speaker 2: You need to focus on the now being present, right now,
Speaker 2: who do you want to don't even think about the
Speaker 2: next voting?
Speaker 4: Nathaniel Hackett. Okay, he's my third place vote. I thought
Speaker 4: I thought that Hackett was kind of exactly what I
Speaker 4: was expecting, but maybe a little weirder and sillier than
Speaker 4: I realized. And I and you see why Rogers for all,
Speaker 4: I think there's something there where when you see all
Speaker 4: these young guys going up to Rogers, even someone like
Speaker 4: Sauce Gardner, who's an instant superstar, it's almost like a
Speaker 4: little kid talking to Rogers and and the and and
Speaker 4: Sauces trying to talk to Rogers before the Hall of
Speaker 4: Fame game, and he's just kind of going on and
Speaker 4: on and it's not exactly clear what what he what
Speaker 4: he's saying, and Rogers is very succinct and sure but
Speaker 4: purposeful in what he's saying, almost like a dad talking
Speaker 4: to his son. It's had that, it had that that vibe,
Speaker 4: and so so many player players and people around Rogers
Speaker 4: in his universe, I think, speak to him in almost
Speaker 4: a state of awe as this living legend. And Hackett
Speaker 4: is a guy that's just like messing with him like
Speaker 4: he's a buddy. And I think that's part of the
Speaker 4: reason why Rogers likes having him around, just somebody that
Speaker 4: will treat him like a regular person and not this
Speaker 4: this other worldly figure.
Speaker 9: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And I also loved just like the little montage that
Speaker 2: they did of Hackett where he's like, I.
Speaker 9: Just want to fly around like a butterfly. Ooh, let's
Speaker 9: hear it. I want to hear it. I want to
Speaker 9: fly around like a butterfly.
Speaker 4: We might be using that often. I also want to
Speaker 4: thank Hackett. And I don't know how this is, you know,
Speaker 4: because I was just at Cowboys Camp County. You're not
Speaker 4: the only one going to camps.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 9: Oh, look at you.
Speaker 4: And Mike McCarthy is still doing Mojo moments over there,
Speaker 4: which is a callback to the second Austin Powers movie,
Speaker 4: which I thought was okay. The first one total classic,
Speaker 4: stolen the cold classic comedy of its era. Second one, Yeah,
Speaker 4: Spyo Shagny, It's fine. Third one I thought was kind
Speaker 4: of a mess and kind of a disaster. Gold Member,
Speaker 4: but Hackett loves it so much that he bases entire
Speaker 4: like schemes and discussions about Red Zone, which he calls
Speaker 4: the gold Gold Zone because of his obsession with gold
Speaker 4: Member the sequel, and I just I'm not down with
Speaker 4: Gold Member, but I am down with anything that leads
Speaker 4: to Aaron Rodgers saying gold Genitalia on Premium cable, I'm
Speaker 4: down with that.
Speaker 9: I flagged this as well.
Speaker 2: I love Hackett's obsession with gold Member, and then Aaron
Speaker 2: Rodgers talking about it and saying like that Hackett wants
Speaker 2: to know about, like how well how he got his
Speaker 2: gold Genitalia where he likes to party, how he roller skates,
Speaker 2: like that whole thing.
Speaker 9: But I also loved.
Speaker 2: By the way Rogers a story about Hackett and the
Speaker 2: fact that Hackett, when he was in Green Bay, noticed
Speaker 2: that Brian Bulaga wasn't celebrating with the team after touchdowns
Speaker 2: and that you know, Hackett loved the Lambeau leap, but
Speaker 2: also wanted them to celebrate with teammates as well, and
Speaker 2: so then he ended up getting Bilaga to celebrate.
Speaker 9: And it was like, Oh, that's so nice that.
Speaker 2: He cultivated this like this team friendly atmosphere and these
Speaker 2: like relationships between people.
Speaker 9: So I'm with you on that. That's a good one.
Speaker 5: All right, your second place vote for MVP of the episode.
Speaker 9: Okay, my second place vote goes to Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 5: Now, oh wow, upset. I know I don't think. I
Speaker 5: don't agree with this, but go.
Speaker 2: Ahead, Well you have yours, I have mine. Rogers I
Speaker 2: think has the constant main character energy throughout the whole show. Yes,
Speaker 2: he was like chewing up scenery in the beginning. And
Speaker 2: I love the fact that his teammates love his personality.
Speaker 2: They talk about how cool he is, and they talk
Speaker 2: about whatever they say on TV about him is a lie.
Speaker 9: And there was a whole thing about his no Look passes.
Speaker 2: But I especially love the fact that he was so
Speaker 2: complimentary to and about Zach Wilson, and he was talking
Speaker 2: about Zach Wilson's NOLA passes and working with him and
Speaker 2: answering his questions and celebrating with him after that bomb
Speaker 2: of a pass in the Hall of Fame game that
Speaker 2: was fun, also alluding to his off season hobby of psychedelics.
Speaker 2: Perhaps you can connect those dots if you want.
Speaker 5: How about his handshake with saus Well that.
Speaker 9: I mean that will be part of another.
Speaker 4: Of all right, hold that thought. Then, I know we
Speaker 4: talked about it with rich eyes in a little bit,
Speaker 4: that Wilson is in such an awkward situation, and you
Speaker 4: can see that's Rogers in his way, trying to make
Speaker 4: an awkward situation a little bit less awkward by making
Speaker 4: him seem like he's still a guy that you know,
Speaker 4: is you can get excited about by the way straight
Speaker 4: thought about Zach Wilson. No, he You don't have him
Speaker 4: coming up again here, do you? Is he getting younger?
Speaker 4: Are we reverse aging?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 4: Yes, he looks like he still looks like a rookie
Speaker 4: or now even like maybe like a high school senior.
Speaker 4: At one point they cut to him at halftime in
Speaker 4: the Hall of Fame game and he's eating what was it,
Speaker 4: like a Smucker's.
Speaker 5: Done crustables.
Speaker 4: Yeah, And then you know when he's in the huddle.
Speaker 4: He's like, come on, he like Bak basically echoes something
Speaker 4: that Rogers said earlier in camp. I think the thing
Speaker 4: you kind of called out that you really liked in
Speaker 4: our preview episode where he was like, come on, guys,
Speaker 4: we don't know how long will we be able to
Speaker 4: do this, so let's enjoy it. And it's like, it's
Speaker 4: just you. It just seemed like a boy like you.
Speaker 9: He's like a kid, a kid brother and uh.
Speaker 4: And the fact that Rogers is there, which is the
Speaker 4: epitome or the opposite end of things.
Speaker 5: This grizzled veteran approaching age forty. It's wild.
Speaker 4: It's not really a shot at Wilson. It's just it's stunning,
Speaker 4: really how cherubic he still appears to be. He needs,
Speaker 4: you know what, he needs a beard? How about that?
Speaker 5: If you can do it, Zach, it might be time
Speaker 5: for the beard. It might be time. All right.
Speaker 4: My second place, I think we flipped. I think we flipped.
Speaker 4: So I have Sala as my second place. And it's
Speaker 4: not a shot on Sala. I think he was exactly
Speaker 4: what I thought he was going to be. And it
Speaker 4: is brought it up with Rich like it is. There's
Speaker 4: a lot of pressure on Sala here as exciting and
Speaker 4: everything is, you know, sunshine and rainbows right now around
Speaker 4: the Jets, but there's also this reality that this is
Speaker 4: year three for Sala And you go show me the
Speaker 4: list of NFL coaches in the past twenty five years
Speaker 4: who have gotten a fourth year if they didn't make
Speaker 4: the playoffs by year three. So it's it in a
Speaker 4: playoff or bust year potentially for Sala. He obviously feels
Speaker 4: like he's in a very good spot, and he is.
Speaker 4: And one difference we talked about earlier about how different
Speaker 4: it is beyond just the obvious the Farv and Rogers
Speaker 4: of all and Rich had mentioned that Farv was joining
Speaker 4: a much less talented team than Rogers is, and that's true.
Speaker 4: But also a difference in these situations two thousand and
Speaker 4: eight to twenty twenty three is how much better the
Speaker 4: AFC is now compared to the field in eight. Remember
Speaker 4: in two thousand and eight when Brett Fahr was there,
Speaker 4: Tom Brady blows his ACL in Game one and is
Speaker 4: out for the year. That was a wide open conference.
Speaker 4: This year, you look at the AFC now and it
Speaker 4: is a gauntlet. The top of the season's a gauntlet
Speaker 4: for the Jets, and there are so many teams that
Speaker 4: are just starving, like the Jets, the Bills, the Bengals,
Speaker 4: the name just two. And then of course the Chiefs
Speaker 4: are there waiting that it's going to be a very
Speaker 4: tough ride. It's gonna be very difficult for this team
Speaker 4: to win ten, eleven, twelve games despite all this optimism.
Speaker 5: So just tempering in a little bit.
Speaker 4: But Salad, despite all that pressure behind the scenes are
Speaker 4: under the hood, feels like a guy. It's very confident
Speaker 4: in himself and in this team.
Speaker 2: I you know, I love me some Robert sala Actually,
Speaker 2: when I was at Niners camp yesterday, I asked Kyle Shanahan,
Speaker 2: like how he's going to be on hard knocks and
Speaker 2: like how.
Speaker 9: He like will actually like secretly deal with it.
Speaker 2: And Shanahan was like, Oh my god, He's going to
Speaker 2: pretend like he doesn't like it, but he's going to
Speaker 2: love it. He's going to make sure that he lifts
Speaker 2: his weights before the cameras turn on, that he has
Speaker 2: a fresh shave, like.
Speaker 9: He will be ready for it. Oh yeah, however he's not.
Speaker 9: He's not in my MVP voting. I need you know
Speaker 9: I need to pump the brakes a little bit.
Speaker 2: It's a long season of hard knocks, so my number
Speaker 2: one is a little bit of a surprise.
Speaker 4: Whoa Yeah, you know you could costs all MVP by
Speaker 4: leaving them out.
Speaker 5: Of the no haters you ain't popping?
Speaker 4: Yeah, come on, you leave him out of the vector
Speaker 4: scoring system for an entire week. That's trouble for his
Speaker 4: chances to win the whole damn thing. So it shows
Speaker 4: what a fan you actually are. I do want to
Speaker 4: hear now Now I'm fascinating. Who's number one?
Speaker 2: No, so my number one MVP And it really was because.
Speaker 9: Of this handshake. It's got for me. It's Sauce gard Gardener.
Speaker 5: The ant jake was so good.
Speaker 2: They do they take a hit of something, then they
Speaker 2: put it out on another teammate.
Speaker 9: It's creative, it's fun. I haven't seen it before.
Speaker 2: I also just love the dynamic of him and Garrett Wilson.
Speaker 2: They have such different personalities, but they're so competitive and
Speaker 2: Sauce is such a chirper, like you could tell he
Speaker 2: just loves to get under people's skin.
Speaker 9: And then you have Garrett Wilson who's kind of like this.
Speaker 2: Sweet boyish kind of guy next to him, and Sauce
Speaker 2: is just very fiery and sassy. And then I just
Speaker 2: also loved that he graduated. And you know, I when
Speaker 2: he was putting on his graduation cap, his family was like, oh, like,
Speaker 2: you know, he doesn't want to mess.
Speaker 9: Up his hair. I felt that. I really felt that
Speaker 9: in a way that I there.
Speaker 2: I hated putting on the grift graduation cap. I hated
Speaker 2: getting my picture with it on.
Speaker 5: Its kind of a silly look. Altogether.
Speaker 4: That's maybe something we could kind of transition out of
Speaker 4: years go on.
Speaker 9: Why why not?
Speaker 2: Why are we still doing this? I like the fact
Speaker 2: that he said it felt like a game day, but
Speaker 2: he wasn't nervous, and it was sweet that everyone was.
Speaker 9: Coming up to him and being like, have a great season.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 9: Said that he didn't have a chance.
Speaker 2: To graduate high school because he was in camp already,
Speaker 2: so this was the first time that he actually got
Speaker 2: a chance to walk across the stage, and I thought
Speaker 2: that was nice.
Speaker 4: I mean, I can almost I could like picture it
Speaker 4: right now, like a cranky column from Phil Mushnik in
Speaker 4: The New York Post, like explaining why that handshake between
Speaker 4: Sauce and Rogers is everything that's wrong with the Jets
Speaker 4: and sports in America or whatever. Calm down, take a seat, relax.
Speaker 4: That was just two guys having fun and enjoying. And
Speaker 4: Roger is obviously famous for his extracurricular activities, which hav't
Speaker 4: slowed him down from winning four MVPs in a Super Bowl.
Speaker 4: Love it and it was great as advertising as predicted
Speaker 4: on our preview episode, I think Sauce and seeing Gardner
Speaker 4: excusely Sauce and Wilson on the practice field together is
Speaker 4: just fun. And it's just like, these two guys are
Speaker 4: the future of the Jets and the potentially a future
Speaker 4: kind of the AFC, and here they are going to
Speaker 4: add it every practice. Someone might say, and I won't
Speaker 4: because it's cheesy and cliche and overdone. That iron sharpens Iron,
Speaker 4: Oh my god, I will.
Speaker 5: Not say it.
Speaker 9: I've heard it at every single camp.
Speaker 2: I honestly like, it's Iron versus Iron season his training
Speaker 2: camp and like that, there's nothing we can.
Speaker 5: Do about it, right right?
Speaker 4: And yeah, so my my first place vote does go
Speaker 4: to Aaron Rodgers, and you know, I think he'd absolutely
Speaker 4: like Salah is leaned into this and despite all the
Speaker 4: talk about who we don't want to do it or
Speaker 4: stuff you may have heard.
Speaker 5: Rogers is all about it.
Speaker 4: Rogers loves this moment and he loves this time, and
Speaker 4: he I loved how the way the episode started, kind
Speaker 4: of tying back to how we started today's show that
Speaker 4: walked to the field and just a guy that's basking
Speaker 4: in this moment on this in this second act to
Speaker 4: his career, he could say he went into the darkness
Speaker 4: for five days and was ninety percent retired. I watch
Speaker 4: a guy, you know, hugging Randall Cobb after the DeMarcus
Speaker 4: ware his national anthem and saying I love you it's
Speaker 4: you know, it never gets old, brother, love you like
Speaker 4: and seeing the passion he has for the sport and
Speaker 4: talking with the guys and and just chopping it up
Speaker 4: and the skill obviously the skill he still has, and.
Speaker 5: How easy he makes it all. Look, this guy was
Speaker 5: not going to retire.
Speaker 4: It was all part of a bigger, you know, idea
Speaker 4: with Rogers and a conversation that's fair about like is
Speaker 4: this guy for real or is he full of it?
Speaker 7: Like?
Speaker 4: Who is Aaron Rodgers? But you know, some people might
Speaker 4: even say bad things about Aaron Rodgers. But to that
Speaker 4: you can reply.
Speaker 3: Whatever they say about A and Rogers on TV is
Speaker 3: a lie.
Speaker 5: Yes that is true, or maybe it's not true. I
Speaker 5: don't know, but I will.
Speaker 4: I've been vocal in criticism of Rogers in the past,
Speaker 4: but he is the right guy for this team right now,
Speaker 4: and I thought this episode showed that he is kind
Speaker 4: of the sun in which all the planets around of
Speaker 4: the New York Jets are rotating around. So Rogers gets
Speaker 4: it for me, and we'll see where things go from here. Connie,
Speaker 4: anything else you want to get in before we say goodbye?
Speaker 9: No, I think that was a great first episode.
Speaker 5: Like I right start, I agree.
Speaker 2: I love this like they started, like they came out swinging,
Speaker 2: and so I expect this rest of the season to
Speaker 2: be just as good because I was like stopping myself
Speaker 2: from texting you the entire time in real time as
Speaker 2: I watched it.
Speaker 9: We're gonna have a ton to talk about, a ton
Speaker 9: to talk about.
Speaker 5: Connie is gonna be back in studio with me next week.
Speaker 9: I am.
Speaker 4: I love it Connie and Dan together and hopefully you
Speaker 4: with us along for the ride as we go through
Speaker 4: each the five episodes, And just like this one, it
Speaker 4: lands Tuesday, night, right after the airing of Hard Knocks,
Speaker 4: and it's there for you, for us to discuss this
Speaker 4: great show in this very interesting Jets team until next week.
Speaker 5: Heat the Call