Speaker 1: Like games over the world. You played to win the
Speaker 1: game a Jet touchdown. You're listening to the Official Jets podcast,
Speaker 1: Jets three sixty production. Welcome inside the Official Jets Podcast.
Speaker 1: Ethan Greenberg here alongside Eric Allen. Yeah, we got a
Speaker 1: great show. We're bringing in the Hall of Fame running back. Huh, Yeah,
Speaker 1: we certainly are. Ladanian Thomason. I had the pleasure of
Speaker 1: covering Ladanian back in two thousand ten and two thousand
Speaker 1: eleven one. He was a member of the Green of
Speaker 1: White and he was a key figure in that two
Speaker 1: thousand ten team, the last Jets team who made the
Speaker 1: playoffs as they advanced to a SC championship game. An
Speaker 1: emotional game for Ladinian was that divisional playoff round contest
Speaker 1: against the New England Patriots. They said, can be done,
Speaker 1: They said, we have no chance. Hey, let me tell yourself.
Speaker 1: Didn't make a B b oh any day. What a
Speaker 1: fantastic career. Uh, And what a powerful speech he gave
Speaker 1: as he got inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: last summer. Green's I watched all twenty six minutes, as
Speaker 1: did you, I'm pretty sure, and it is very inspiring
Speaker 1: and just something that you touched on LT after the
Speaker 1: game in two thousand and ten against the New England
Speaker 1: Patriots in Foxborough. Well, I remember before the game him
Speaker 1: walking out there to midfield for the coin tolls holding.
Speaker 1: Dennis bur Jersey has an honorary captain because correct me
Speaker 1: if I'm wrong. But didn't Dennis deliver a speech the
Speaker 1: night before the team? He certainly did, um, you know.
Speaker 1: And unfortunately we've lost Dennis uh he was killed in
Speaker 1: an automobile accident. But that was certainly an emotional moment
Speaker 1: for the Jets. But looking forward here to tall can
Speaker 1: Ola Danny and you're talking about a five time Pro bowler,
Speaker 1: a first team All Pro three times, the NFL's Most
Speaker 1: Valuable Player in two thousand and six, the Walter Peyton
Speaker 1: Man of the Year in two thousand and six. And
Speaker 1: also when you think about Ladanian Thomason Green's you think
Speaker 1: about a guy who got into the end zone. Is
Speaker 1: twenty eight rushing touchdowns in two thousand and six, We're
Speaker 1: an NFL record, as were his thirty one touchdowns from
Speaker 1: scrimmage in that same season, and at eighteen consecutive games
Speaker 1: with a touchdown. He was a dynamic football player. Unbelievably
Speaker 1: explosive and he could catch it out of the backfield.
Speaker 1: He ran hard, and when he came to the National
Speaker 1: Football League out of TCU, he set the league. I
Speaker 1: fired the first round of the two thousand one draft
Speaker 1: of San Diego Charger. So like Ladanian Tomlinson running back
Speaker 1: to TCU, Holt was instant offense, and I thought the
Speaker 1: Jets got a lot out of him. As he finished
Speaker 1: up his career here in New York, I remember LT
Speaker 1: his staple halfback passed to Antonio Gates. That was That
Speaker 1: was like my first memory of LT. And obviously he
Speaker 1: then took the NFL by storm, thousand, six eighty four
Speaker 1: yards career rushing, fifth in the NFL all time, right
Speaker 1: behind Curtis Martin. Alrighty, A, I think it's I think
Speaker 1: it's about that time. You're right, Greens. We've talked enough
Speaker 1: about Ladani and let's talk to him, all right, Greens,
Speaker 1: Let's bring in the A four mentioned Ladanyan Thomlinson. Ladany
Speaker 1: And how are you this morning out in California? Down wonderful?
Speaker 1: Just of course he's pretty early here. The first part
Speaker 1: of the day is just getting started. So U dorn
Speaker 1: Well but you are joining us here on the Jets
Speaker 1: Official Podcast. And Uh, the first thing that I wanted
Speaker 1: to talk about, Ladinian was the last time I saw
Speaker 1: you in person was last winter, and that was before
Speaker 1: you actually got officially inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: What was the Hall of Fame induction weekend like as
Speaker 1: you officially took your place among the mortals of our game. Well,
Speaker 1: it was experienced like no other, of course. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's one of those things that you kind of
Speaker 1: envisioned one day happening, but you really don't know what
Speaker 1: it's gonna feel like once you, you know, get the candle,
Speaker 1: Ohio and see, you know, the Hall of Fame for
Speaker 1: what it really is a place to celebrate excellence, um,
Speaker 1: and the greatest football players in the world. Until just
Speaker 1: going through that hole, um, you know, four or five
Speaker 1: days that I was there, I mean, I tried to
Speaker 1: take it in as much as I could, but it
Speaker 1: was just so overwhelming. It really was, because we're talking
Speaker 1: about all the history of pro football and the greatest
Speaker 1: players to every play and then finding myself, you know,
Speaker 1: amongst them. Um. And then one of the Polist teams
Speaker 1: was one of the first meanings we had having Jim
Speaker 1: Brown come over to me and sit right next to me,
Speaker 1: and what he said. He said, you know, once you
Speaker 1: get here, we're all equal. And I was thinking to myself, unbelievable.
Speaker 1: This is Jim Brownson next to me and he just
Speaker 1: told me that we're all equal at the Pro Football
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame. And my first thought was, well, I
Speaker 1: appreciate that, Mr Brown, but we're not all equal. Just
Speaker 1: football Player of All Time six minute Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: speech and in it you trace back your family's roots,
Speaker 1: going act to your great great great grandfather George Thomlinson,
Speaker 1: who came to this country on a slave ship some
Speaker 1: a hundred and seventy years ago from West Africa. At
Speaker 1: what point did you decide, Hey, I am going to
Speaker 1: share this with everybody my official story. I probably really
Speaker 1: didn't come to say I'm absolutely doing it until about
Speaker 1: maybe a month a month before the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 1: So after my football life, you know, I had a
Speaker 1: lot of people around this country coming up to me,
Speaker 1: you know, saying how much day in joy my football life,
Speaker 1: and it meant so much for them to see that story,
Speaker 1: and you know it, it helped them and all the
Speaker 1: great responses from that football. So you know, I started
Speaker 1: to think, man, you know, I need to talk more
Speaker 1: about this when it truly means to me, you know.
Speaker 1: And so I had thought of abut it for a
Speaker 1: long time, you know, uh, and going back and forth
Speaker 1: in you know, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna talk
Speaker 1: about it, and then said, no, I don't think I
Speaker 1: should talk about it. But I woke up one morning
Speaker 1: I just had an overwhear and feeling that I had to, like,
Speaker 1: I had to talk about it and say and tell
Speaker 1: people what it actually meant to me, because I felt
Speaker 1: like this was something that would help so many people,
Speaker 1: and so many people in this country have the same
Speaker 1: story I do and have struggled with that story. And
Speaker 1: so it came out, and and I was really proud
Speaker 1: of the way, um, you know, it came out, and
Speaker 1: also the response that I got from it. Well, listen,
Speaker 1: I encourage everybody in JAT nation who is listening, everybody
Speaker 1: who subscribes to the podcast, and go back and listen
Speaker 1: to your speech, because that was inspirational and and this
Speaker 1: moment with this country struggling with a lot of issues,
Speaker 1: I thought that was courageous of you to challenge everybody
Speaker 1: to try to make this the best team by working
Speaker 1: together and living together representing the highest ideals of mankind.
Speaker 1: Those are your words. I thought. I thought that was
Speaker 1: a fantastic speech, and you know, it was a time
Speaker 1: and I still think people should It should resonate with
Speaker 1: people more than ever Nowadayia, Yeah, I mean, I think,
Speaker 1: you know, we need to understand in today's generation. You know,
Speaker 1: this is a very important time in our country, UM,
Speaker 1: and we need to come together as a country and
Speaker 1: be strong. You know, we gotta look around and see
Speaker 1: what's happening in the world and the other nations, and
Speaker 1: you know, um, the different conflicts that our country has
Speaker 1: happened with other countries. UM. And so that's why it's
Speaker 1: more important now to to have you know, this team America,
Speaker 1: so that we do represent the greatest ideas of mankind.
Speaker 1: And that's the most important thing for all about charity.
Speaker 1: I know you touched on it a little bit. You
Speaker 1: said that you've had this overwhelming feeling that you had
Speaker 1: to tell your story and just a second what he said.
Speaker 1: I watched the entirety of your speech, and I was
Speaker 1: captivated from the minute it started to the minute and
Speaker 1: it ended. But when you woke up, you know, can
Speaker 1: you try to describe the emotions of what it was
Speaker 1: that you felt like you need to tell the story
Speaker 1: as opposed to just maybe I should maybe I shouldn't.
Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, I know you talked
Speaker 1: about it, but what was the emotion like, Well, I'll
Speaker 1: tell you what I'm You know, I'm a spiritual person. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, I was raised you know, it's just you know,
Speaker 1: to be a spiritual person. I believe in God. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm a Christian man, and so, um. You know I
Speaker 1: lost my father when I was you know, after my
Speaker 1: sixth year in the NFL. Uncle that all season, right
Speaker 1: after the season, lost my father, seventy one years old
Speaker 1: at the time. But you know I never met my grandfather.
Speaker 1: You know, my dad's dad never met him. You know,
Speaker 1: my dad never met his grandfather. And so but I
Speaker 1: heard stories about my grandfather and my great grandfather, and
Speaker 1: so when I woke up that morning, the spirit that
Speaker 1: I had was from them saying, you know, speak speak
Speaker 1: for us. You know, this is what we want. I
Speaker 1: can't describe the feeling that you have inside when it's
Speaker 1: overwhelming and something that's is weighing down on you to
Speaker 1: do something, you know, to speak for them, uh, to
Speaker 1: speak for my father. That's that's the feeling I had.
Speaker 1: That's when I knew I had to do it, um.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of what I went through. I mean,
Speaker 1: that was the overwhelming I'll tell you this. After I
Speaker 1: got done with the speech, For one, I don't know
Speaker 1: how I held it together turn that speech without shooting
Speaker 1: the yeah yeah. But I'll tell you this, Eric, when
Speaker 1: I walked off that stage and I got behind the stage,
Speaker 1: I cried for fifteen minutes. I cried for fifteen minutes.
Speaker 1: I could not I could not contain myself. You know.
Speaker 1: Lorenz O'Neil was there to you know, to to help,
Speaker 1: you know, and and hugged me and and Antonio Gates
Speaker 1: those guys. But I just it was like the spirit
Speaker 1: of my dad and my grandfather and my great grandfather
Speaker 1: and my great great they were all there with me
Speaker 1: at that time. Well listen, Uh, it was an awesome
Speaker 1: celebration of your career. And the great thing now, Buddy,
Speaker 1: is anybody's going to can't know how they go in there.
Speaker 1: For generations to come, they'll be able to see you
Speaker 1: in those football highlights, but also the words that you
Speaker 1: put out there and talked about your family and the
Speaker 1: unity that we needed this country, and I thought that
Speaker 1: was really powerful. And speaking of powerful, you were a
Speaker 1: passionate player, tremendous career with the Chargers. I don't want
Speaker 1: to talk to much about the Chargers, but you're a
Speaker 1: couple of years a round here with the Jazz, did
Speaker 1: some really good things. How much do you enjoy playing
Speaker 1: in New York during that time? I enjoyed it tremendously.
Speaker 1: I tell people all the time. You know, I don't
Speaker 1: think I could have went to a better place my
Speaker 1: last two years. Um, you know, to go to a
Speaker 1: totally different coast, a totally different you know, kind of
Speaker 1: brand of football that if you will, on the East
Speaker 1: Coast and with what those fans, you know, what they
Speaker 1: mean to to the Jets, not only the Jets, but
Speaker 1: the East Coast period. The way the fans are on
Speaker 1: the East Coast, they're very passionate. They're allowed, you know,
Speaker 1: and they're into it. They love it. Uh. They really represent,
Speaker 1: you know, the passion of America. Where we talked about
Speaker 1: football is America's passion. Where I see that on the
Speaker 1: East Coast, you know, from those fans. So that was
Speaker 1: you know, that was incredible and they accepted me. And
Speaker 1: even now I go back and it's the same. You know,
Speaker 1: I fans around you know town when I was there,
Speaker 1: when I was there on um I got there last
Speaker 1: Wednesday before the game. Obviously did the game on Thursday,
Speaker 1: but I wrote the subway on Wednesday evening and and
Speaker 1: you know, people started asking me for photos and you know,
Speaker 1: signing autographs and they were just like, man, we enjoyed
Speaker 1: your time with the Jets, you know, thank you for coming.
Speaker 1: And I'm like, no, thank you for accepting me. And
Speaker 1: really your cheers inspired me. And that's that's the way
Speaker 1: I felt when I first came. I felt to love
Speaker 1: but also I enjoyed the brand of football that we
Speaker 1: played the Jets. I mean, we really had a good team.
Speaker 1: We you know, we got along, we challenged each other,
Speaker 1: and it was just a great situation. And I'll tell
Speaker 1: you what, that's has something about you. You didn't have anybody,
Speaker 1: You don't have a driver come pick you up or
Speaker 1: even uber. Yeah, you know, when you're moving around the
Speaker 1: city times it's hard to just have a job. You
Speaker 1: might as well, just, um, you know, do what the
Speaker 1: people are doing. You're about the subway and everybody must
Speaker 1: have had their phones out. You know, it probably did
Speaker 1: a couple of thousand photos during a three stop move
Speaker 1: our city's transportation. We talked about it many times, but
Speaker 1: I gotta bring it up because Jets fans will be
Speaker 1: delighted to reminisce about this. The divisional playoff win against
Speaker 1: New England. After you guys and went Indianapolis and beat
Speaker 1: Petty Manning in his house a final week, you go
Speaker 1: to New England, beat Tom Brady, Bill Belijack and company.
Speaker 1: I'll never forget you walking in the tunnel with the
Speaker 1: tears in your eyes. Just how much did that mean
Speaker 1: to you? Uh? It meant a lot um too. You know.
Speaker 1: I felt like my career at that point had come
Speaker 1: full circle. Um, you know, one of the biggest games
Speaker 1: of my life with the charges, the championship game, not
Speaker 1: being able to play, you know, from a from a
Speaker 1: spraying mcl um and and just feeling helpless at that moment,
Speaker 1: you know, um, that I couldn't play two now here
Speaker 1: at the end of my career, have another opportunity to
Speaker 1: to help my team move on in one of the
Speaker 1: biggest games of my career. To be able to do that, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, it just felt like I, um, you know,
Speaker 1: I just I don't even I can't even explain the feeling,
Speaker 1: you know, the emotions that you go through because it
Speaker 1: is a as a as a player, and we we
Speaker 1: really do, um, you know, hurt with the losses. You know,
Speaker 1: we we really do. When when we win, it's great,
Speaker 1: but you're always thinking about the next one. And so
Speaker 1: football is not just physically challenging, it's mentally challenging because
Speaker 1: you've got to be able to overcome losses, tough losses,
Speaker 1: and pick yourself up and think about next week when
Speaker 1: in fact you're deal kind of thinking about last week.
Speaker 1: And so to be able to get through that moment
Speaker 1: where I felt so low, not being able to help
Speaker 1: my achieve to ben being you know, at one of
Speaker 1: the highest moments of my life. But when we beat
Speaker 1: the Patriots when I was with the Jets, I mean,
Speaker 1: that's what to me, football is all about. And and
Speaker 1: quite honestly, that's what life is all about, right because
Speaker 1: you're gonna feel down sometimes, you're gonna feel you know,
Speaker 1: like things are not going right, but you gotta pick
Speaker 1: yourself up and find that that next challenge to be
Speaker 1: able to overcome it. Yeah, listen, you rushed for yards
Speaker 1: that first season with the Jets in two thousand ten,
Speaker 1: and I remember it. The stats might not point it out,
Speaker 1: but you could have went four thousand, but instead you
Speaker 1: and Rex decided, hey, listen, it's gonna be better off
Speaker 1: to get you ready for the playoffs. And that was
Speaker 1: the right move to ever think about that SEC championship
Speaker 1: game in Pittsburgh because speaking of full circle, Ladinian, you
Speaker 1: were gonna you are destined to go back to Texas
Speaker 1: and playing a super Bowl for the first time, you know, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it did seem like that, and you know it, um,
Speaker 1: you know, it's funny because when you're going through you
Speaker 1: you really believe that it's supposed to happen, you know,
Speaker 1: and I guess it's it's really kind of crushing when
Speaker 1: it doesn't happen, because you you know, you questioned, like, man,
Speaker 1: this was supposed to happen, Like what the heck? But
Speaker 1: I'll tell you it was. It was a great game
Speaker 1: that you know, against Pittsburgh there and I just think
Speaker 1: about the start we had, you know, the start really
Speaker 1: kind of heard us. We we didn't get off to
Speaker 1: a good start in Pittsburgh. Jumped out on us. But
Speaker 1: then we came rowing back, we did, and we falled
Speaker 1: and just this came up a little short. I'll say,
Speaker 1: we ran out of time. You know, that's what we
Speaker 1: didn't get it. You're right about that. Listen. You're in
Speaker 1: NFL analysts for the last couple of years and we
Speaker 1: watch you out there in southern California. But about this
Speaker 1: Jets team that was left for dead before the start
Speaker 1: of the season, and what Todd Bulls has got working
Speaker 1: for them right now because they've already we'll see what
Speaker 1: the Ruttors have done in the year. They've already exceeded
Speaker 1: a lot of expectations externally, but internally, Ladinian, they're saying,
Speaker 1: we haven't done anything yet in Todd Bowls, that we
Speaker 1: have another gear in us. Yeah, and I think this
Speaker 1: is just kind of the coaching of Todd Bowls and
Speaker 1: and how good he really is as a coach, you know,
Speaker 1: And and you know, you look at Todd's demeanor, it's
Speaker 1: always the same, you know, It's always about business. It's
Speaker 1: always about the next challenge, the next step, not getting
Speaker 1: too high, not getting too low. And if you look
Speaker 1: at all the great coaches in the past and even
Speaker 1: in in in today's game, most of them they have
Speaker 1: that quality. You know, they're they're leader of men, but
Speaker 1: they never allow themselves to get too higher, too low.
Speaker 1: So in essence, you know, the locker room, your players there,
Speaker 1: they all reflection of the coach. And so that's what
Speaker 1: I've seen in this team, a team that's gonna keep balloting.
Speaker 1: You know, they're they're not gonna worry about what they
Speaker 1: don't have and and other things that are going on.
Speaker 1: They just focused on the task and that's why they're winning.
Speaker 1: You know, that's why they're surprising some people and winning
Speaker 1: games that most people probably don't think they should win.
Speaker 1: It is because of the coaching, but also give credit
Speaker 1: to those players who really believe in what they have
Speaker 1: right now, what they what they are building. So you're
Speaker 1: here last week for Jetts Bills Thursday night football, and
Speaker 1: you digest the game very differently than the average fan
Speaker 1: that I do. And so from your perspective, what are
Speaker 1: some of the things that you like about this Jets team. Well,
Speaker 1: I think the strength of the team is the defensive line.
Speaker 1: Um you have guys. More Wilkinson is obviously, you know,
Speaker 1: the premier player in the National Football League at defency
Speaker 1: and position. You know, Uh, they move them all around
Speaker 1: the line, and then you got Leonard Williams there. Those
Speaker 1: two guys together, I mean that it's difficult for any
Speaker 1: offensive line to deal with them. But then you couple
Speaker 1: that with um, their ability to be around the football
Speaker 1: and calls turnovers and and just keep grinding. Um, that's
Speaker 1: what I like about them. They're always gonna be in
Speaker 1: the game because of that defense. But at the same time,
Speaker 1: Josh McCown has played some terrific football now and you're
Speaker 1: starting to get the run game going, and to me,
Speaker 1: the offense is so much better when they can have
Speaker 1: the run game going and they have that balance. Um,
Speaker 1: they really can be difficult to stop. Those receivers boys
Speaker 1: have really done a great job. Emerson encouraged those guys
Speaker 1: have been impressive. Uh. And so it's just it's a
Speaker 1: team that's gonna continue to battle. They're gonna surprise a
Speaker 1: lot of people. How special relationship do you have with
Speaker 1: bilal pol You just mentioned the running game, and I'm
Speaker 1: not a pairing anybody to you. I would never do that.
Speaker 1: But I'm just gonna talk about explosion and vision and
Speaker 1: the way he presses the whole and has an opportunity
Speaker 1: or has the patience and then the vision to bounce
Speaker 1: things and to cut Um. You knew below early on
Speaker 1: in his career and he still to this day looks
Speaker 1: up to you. How special is your relationship with him?
Speaker 1: And how happy are you with the way he's developed
Speaker 1: over the years. Yeah, with our relationship. He started his
Speaker 1: rookie year when he came in. We built the relationship then,
Speaker 1: you know, because the Land was a kid that you know,
Speaker 1: wanted to learn. You know, he wanted to know everything
Speaker 1: that he that he had to know, um about playing
Speaker 1: the National Football League and how to sustain playing in
Speaker 1: the National Football League and so um. You know, I
Speaker 1: gave him as much advice as I could. I told
Speaker 1: him everything that that he wanted to know, um and so.
Speaker 1: But the thing that he had was to work at
Speaker 1: you know, you can see him as a young he
Speaker 1: would work on it. He would staff to practice, he
Speaker 1: watched film, he would take notes, you know, and so
Speaker 1: digesting all of all of that, you know, even seeing
Speaker 1: high practice and some of the other guys on the
Speaker 1: team and the way. I guess I went a by
Speaker 1: my business. I'm sure it was. It was a great
Speaker 1: learning experience for him. And now you see it all
Speaker 1: starting to come, you know, come to a head and
Speaker 1: come to fruition his talent what he can do. Because
Speaker 1: for one, he's an excellent football player, but he's smart
Speaker 1: and so that's why he's able to to do so
Speaker 1: many things on the football too. He's able to handle
Speaker 1: bigs pick ups, he's able to run rout out the
Speaker 1: back field, he's able to run the ball inside out. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, he has a physical ability, but he's a
Speaker 1: smart player. And so I'm just so proud of it.
Speaker 1: I've seen him progress over the years and just been
Speaker 1: so prowle that, Um, he's done the job that he
Speaker 1: has done. Um, and you know, quite honestly, you know,
Speaker 1: he just keeps on to me, he keeps getting better.
Speaker 1: That run the other night was incredible when broke both
Speaker 1: tackles and many people miss and almost got to the
Speaker 1: end zone and it was it was just it was
Speaker 1: just so nice to see it, you know. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: I think he's an underrated downhill runner because he doesn't
Speaker 1: fool around while she'll press that hole and if it's
Speaker 1: not there, then whole bounce. But he gets downhill in
Speaker 1: a hurry. What do you think about the committee? John
Speaker 1: Morton's got going in the way he's implementing all those
Speaker 1: backs because we'd be remiss if we didn't match in
Speaker 1: Matt Forte and Eli McGuire is a rookie in here.
Speaker 1: So John Morton has different backs to use at his
Speaker 1: backing call. Yeah, and that Forte is a continent pro.
Speaker 1: I mean, you love to have a guylike like him
Speaker 1: in your locker room. You know who understands, um, what
Speaker 1: it takes to prepare for game, and and and being
Speaker 1: available as you know as a running back. Um. And
Speaker 1: then you know you gotta you gotta have you know,
Speaker 1: unselfish guys in the backfield that are willing to say, yeah,
Speaker 1: I understand that. You know, I can't get every carry
Speaker 1: and I can't be in there every play. UM, So
Speaker 1: I'm okay with sharing time. That's important because it helps
Speaker 1: the locker room. But it also you know, it helps
Speaker 1: that that backfield, It helps that that running back room. UM,
Speaker 1: that everybody feels like, you know what I can contribute
Speaker 1: and it's not just about one one guy. Why have
Speaker 1: people slept on account. You know, I think a lot
Speaker 1: of Jets fans, to be honest with you, data and
Speaker 1: then you know what this guy was gonna be. You
Speaker 1: see on these fifteen years in the NFL, he's played
Speaker 1: for ton of teams, but he's coming here and he's
Speaker 1: played at such a high level. Yeah, I think it's
Speaker 1: just that, it's just that, you know, the account has
Speaker 1: been uh for the most part. You know, he's been
Speaker 1: a journeyman, but he hasn't you know, have been a
Speaker 1: guy that, um you know, that has been in one
Speaker 1: place for a long time as the starter. And so
Speaker 1: you know, a lot of people really didn't get a
Speaker 1: chance to to watch McCown and really don't know the
Speaker 1: type of player he is because he has moved around
Speaker 1: quite a dead. But anybody who knows football knows that
Speaker 1: he's a really sock quarterback and can make all the throws. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, he's he's a leader, and he really will
Speaker 1: give you a chance every single game to win. Does
Speaker 1: having a guy like that for such a young team,
Speaker 1: especially on offense. I mean, you mentioned Robbie Anderson just
Speaker 1: using his as an using him as an example, is
Speaker 1: having someone like Josh almost jump start the development for
Speaker 1: someone like Robbie. Yeah. Absolutely, Um, it helps for a
Speaker 1: young receiver to how it's veteran quarterback that that understands
Speaker 1: the game and can tell the young receiver how to
Speaker 1: you know, the little nuances of of learning rouse and
Speaker 1: how to get open and where they expect the ball
Speaker 1: and where you know zone coverage, where the ship you know,
Speaker 1: certain things like that. It benefits that you know a
Speaker 1: young receiver to have a vetteran quarterback, And I think
Speaker 1: that's exactly I believe why you seeing Robby Anderson have
Speaker 1: the success that he's having is because having a guy
Speaker 1: like josh Ta can share those little nuances of quarterback
Speaker 1: to why receiver relationships That helps a young guy. Do
Speaker 1: you like the culture that's being built here? You praised
Speaker 1: the Todd Bowls before about his coaching this year, and
Speaker 1: obviously you've liked a lot of things this team has
Speaker 1: done here. Do you think it's been imperative for them
Speaker 1: as they move forward what you're seeing as far as
Speaker 1: the chemistry and building a positive environment. Oh? Absolutely, I
Speaker 1: think you know, you have to take an account of
Speaker 1: the job that the coach is doing with the talent
Speaker 1: that he has. I mean you, you know, you think
Speaker 1: about it, will wait till will wait till the end
Speaker 1: of the year. But we'll see how many guys on
Speaker 1: that team are all pros or make the Pro Bowl.
Speaker 1: And to me, that's the way you can always gauge.
Speaker 1: You know, if if you know a coach is doing
Speaker 1: a good job, meaning if he doesn't have all these
Speaker 1: great players, Pro Bowl guys and all progods, and he's
Speaker 1: still able to win, then I should tell you something
Speaker 1: because you know, I I know some teams that you know,
Speaker 1: we see it every year, and we see it every
Speaker 1: year they have ten eleven Pro Bowler, Pro Bowlers, you know,
Speaker 1: guys six seven on one team. That's easy to win
Speaker 1: with those guys. It's easy to win when when when
Speaker 1: you have um tremendous players and and you know, guys
Speaker 1: that are just better you know sometimes and so you know,
Speaker 1: I think Todd has done a terrific job. But just
Speaker 1: just the culture that he's he's building there, The chemis,
Speaker 1: like you said, the chemistry that he has now with
Speaker 1: that team, and they're only gonna get better, you know,
Speaker 1: They're gonna add pieces to this team. And and you know,
Speaker 1: I think what you're saying now they're just scratching the
Speaker 1: surfers of what they can be to three years from now.
Speaker 1: That's the great Ladinian Tomlinson, who got everything out of
Speaker 1: himself during his professional career and now rightfully so he
Speaker 1: is forever and can't know how with the NFL's all
Speaker 1: time great. So Ladanian, we're watching you on NFL Network,
Speaker 1: We're following you on Twitter, and we look forward to
Speaker 1: seeing me again real soon. Hey, thanks guys, Always a pleasure.
Speaker 1: That was Ladanian Tomlinson, a man that holds a number
Speaker 1: of NFL records. As e A said before, a great
Speaker 1: guy not only on the field, but off the field
Speaker 1: as well. My favorite part about talking to Ladanion was
Speaker 1: the fact that when he can't when he comes back here,
Speaker 1: he rides the subway. I think that's awesome. Dan, clear
Speaker 1: of the closing doors. Please. You live in the city,
Speaker 1: you gotta appreciate I grew up in the city, but
Speaker 1: you have to appreciate a guy it takes public transportation.
Speaker 1: I'd love to get a camera on him when he
Speaker 1: is on the NYC subway. Well, if you're if you
Speaker 1: know your way around around the city, or you know
Speaker 1: anything about the city, the quickest method of transportation is
Speaker 1: by far the trade because you don't have to wait
Speaker 1: for anybody. You don't have to wait for traffic. It's
Speaker 1: it's a to B. It's quick, it's easy. It's the
Speaker 1: same as the bus. You're underground. It's phenomenal. It's the
Speaker 1: best method. Don't talk about the bus. We're talking about
Speaker 1: Ladinian Thomas. Yeah, so it was good. That's pretty good. Listen,
Speaker 1: let me tell you something. Uh, it's always great catching
Speaker 1: up with Ladinian. Uh, like he mentioned, Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: his experience in Canton was extremely, extremely memorable and his
Speaker 1: speech was so profound, and I think people should go
Speaker 1: back and take a listen to that, but also YouTube
Speaker 1: some of his highlights. Oh my god, you get lost.
Speaker 1: You would get lost watching him. I think that sometimes
Speaker 1: we live in a moment so much on our phones
Speaker 1: and looking at what happened last second or right at
Speaker 1: this moment, and everything becomes old. Ladiny and Tomlinson was
Speaker 1: an amazing football player, an unbelievable talent. A guy could
Speaker 1: take it to the house at any moment, and he
Speaker 1: played so hard and he helped the Chargers turn some
Speaker 1: things around. And he was, like I mentioned before, a
Speaker 1: key part of this team in two thousand and ten,
Speaker 1: and just jumping off your highlights point is I have
Speaker 1: been someone that sat down at my computer YouTube's highlights
Speaker 1: just because I wanted to see them one more time,
Speaker 1: and I mean, oh my god, it's like every every
Speaker 1: play is better than the next one. And if anyone
Speaker 1: that's listening is a Madden player and you have the
Speaker 1: opportunity to go back and play as one of the
Speaker 1: NFL legends and Madden, you gotta put LT on your team.
Speaker 1: The other thing I want people to keep in mind
Speaker 1: and say, hey, what is Ladanian Thomlinson going into the
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame as well? It's not like baseball where
Speaker 1: you gotta pick a hat. Your bus does not have
Speaker 1: a helmon on, so Ladanian Thomason obviously goes in and
Speaker 1: it's both a Charger in the New York Jet obviously
Speaker 1: is greatest days with the Chargers. But again, a phenomenal
Speaker 1: run here with the Jets. And that's all we have
Speaker 1: for this week's installment of the Official Jets Podcast. Again
Speaker 1: we had Ladanian Thomlinson. We're gonna be bringing in some
Speaker 1: more people, whether they're former players, some celebrities. Rumor has
Speaker 1: what we might be getting the Karate Kid on the
Speaker 1: Official Jets podcast, so make sure to take a look
Speaker 1: for that. And that's all we have for this week.
Speaker 1: So for Eric Allen, I'm Ethan Greenberg.