Speaker 1: Good afternoon, Jets Nation. Eric Allen here at the two
Speaker 1: thousand seventeen NFL Combine. We're at the Indianapolis Convention Center.
Speaker 1: I'm joined now alongside by Dane Brugler, who is getting
Speaker 1: ready for the draft. You can file him at d
Speaker 1: P Brugler on Twitter. He is a must follow this
Speaker 1: time of year all the way up to the draft.
Speaker 1: Guys written more than four hundred reports and there are
Speaker 1: only three hundred and thirty prospects here. Uh, Dane, this
Speaker 1: is your time of year, isn't it. This is the
Speaker 1: best time of the year. You know. I do this
Speaker 1: three hundred sixty five days out of the year, So
Speaker 1: now it's fun when everyone else is, you know, coming
Speaker 1: around in my wheelhouse to talk about these prospects. Uh.
Speaker 1: Like you mentioned three guys here, only two fifty or
Speaker 1: so will be drafted, and plenty of the guys that
Speaker 1: will be drafted won't be here. So non combined invites
Speaker 1: so a lot on the line this week for the
Speaker 1: players here. That us talking to a former Jet and
Speaker 1: a former Dallas Cowboy and former Kansas City chief fullback
Speaker 1: Tony Richester today and he came out of Auburn about
Speaker 1: two forty pounds ran a four four at that time
Speaker 1: and was undrafted. So in addition to everybody's gonna be drafted,
Speaker 1: they're gonna be guys here are not here who are
Speaker 1: actually gonna play on NFL rosters next year. Absolutely, there's
Speaker 1: an average of about thirty five to thirty seven thirty
Speaker 1: eight guys who will be drafted who are non combined invites,
Speaker 1: so about fiftent of the field who were actually drafted. Uh.
Speaker 1: And then here there's three hundred thirty players, over a
Speaker 1: hundred players who were here this week will not get drafted.
Speaker 1: So just because you have a combined invite does not
Speaker 1: mean you're gonna get drafted. And just because you didn't
Speaker 1: receive one and you're not here this week, while yes,
Speaker 1: it's a missed opportunity, if you impress enough during the
Speaker 1: All Star circuit and during the pro days and the workouts,
Speaker 1: you still have a great chance to get drafted. Uh.
Speaker 1: Speaking on drafted guys, UH, what kind of grade did
Speaker 1: they have on Temple speedster Robbie Anderson Last year? The
Speaker 1: rookie had forty two receptions for the Jets. He impressed
Speaker 1: during the Shrine game. Uh, that was his chance to shine,
Speaker 1: and he did a player who had some issues in
Speaker 1: his background. You know it was he a corner, was
Speaker 1: he a receiver? You know where did he fit best?
Speaker 1: But I'd tell you what he did the Shrine game
Speaker 1: I think really helped him get drafted. Now today really
Speaker 1: starting to kick it up a notch. Um heights, weights, uh,
Speaker 1: measurements and uh. One thing you tweeted about today was
Speaker 1: about a quarterbacks heighte Uh. People have been talking about
Speaker 1: Mitch Drobiski, a guy who started North Carolina only thirteen
Speaker 1: games in his career, but he's obviously received um a
Speaker 1: lot of notice of late. A lot of people are
Speaker 1: saying that this guy could be a top ten pick.
Speaker 1: We'll have to see where he falls. You said, Uh,
Speaker 1: he measured in at six two For people at home,
Speaker 1: Let's say, what's the difference between six one and a
Speaker 1: half and six two? Can you tell us? Well, you know,
Speaker 1: for certain positions with certain teams, they're just there's thresholds.
Speaker 1: You know, you want to see a player come in
Speaker 1: at least six to hand size. You wanna some teams
Speaker 1: look at okay, at least nine inches, some a little
Speaker 1: more want at least nine and a half inches. So
Speaker 1: It depends on the team, depends on the evaluator. And
Speaker 1: if you're going to possibly invest a top ten pick,
Speaker 1: a first round pick in a Mitch Drobiski, you want
Speaker 1: him to at least hit that six two threshold, which
Speaker 1: you did. Came in at six o two one, which
Speaker 1: is six two and one eighth of an inch um,
Speaker 1: So a good day for him. Also a good day
Speaker 1: for Deshaun Watson came in at six two and a half,
Speaker 1: but the height wasn't the issue. It was the weight
Speaker 1: and he came in a two one pounds which was
Speaker 1: a great wait for him. Good build. You know, we
Speaker 1: saw him against Alabama what he did this past year.
Speaker 1: Couldn't he hold up physically for a sixteen game schedule
Speaker 1: playing like he did against Alabama taking all those hits,
Speaker 1: that's the question. But scouts were worry he'd come in
Speaker 1: about two pounds. That wasn't the case, a thicker bill
Speaker 1: two one pounds. So a good day for these quarterbacks
Speaker 1: so far. So for all those draft experts at home,
Speaker 1: you gotta get this guy's book at DP Brugler. You
Speaker 1: can find him on Twitter. It's gonna be wrapping it
Speaker 1: up in the next couple of weeks. He said, you're
Speaker 1: working day and night on that. Proudly did that end up?
Speaker 1: March is gonna come out. It's gonna get you ready
Speaker 1: for the draft. But we're talking about quarterbacks. You mentioned
Speaker 1: Rabinsky and Deshaun Watson. Oh where uh do you have
Speaker 1: these guys at the top of the draft at this
Speaker 1: point right now? What what are you seeing? And how
Speaker 1: many eventually you think you're gonna fall on that first round?
Speaker 1: That's the big question. I think this reminds me a
Speaker 1: lot of two thousand and fourteen class where we had
Speaker 1: Blake Boardles, we had Johnny Manziel, we had David Carr
Speaker 1: or JOm me Derek Carr, and then we had uh
Speaker 1: Teddy Bridgewater, you know, but we weren't sure what order
Speaker 1: they come off the board. We weren't sure how many
Speaker 1: would go top ten, how many go first round. And
Speaker 1: you know, it turns out the fourth of that group
Speaker 1: who didn't go in the first round car has been
Speaker 1: the best so far. So you know, I think it
Speaker 1: and it will be similar this year where we don't
Speaker 1: know the order right now. I don't think we're gonna
Speaker 1: know a day before the draft, which will make it
Speaker 1: more interesting. We're not gonna have a consensus quarterback this year.
Speaker 1: Some teams will prefer Mr. Robiskie. I think some will
Speaker 1: prefer the upside of a Deshaun Kaiser from Notre Dame.
Speaker 1: Someone prefer the intangibles, the winning attitude that Deshaun Watson brings.
Speaker 1: And then you have Pat Mahomes, who is just now.
Speaker 1: He is well, he's tough because physically has everything you want. Size,
Speaker 1: he's an athlete. He can uh, you know, throw the ball,
Speaker 1: you can make all of the NFL throws. But coming
Speaker 1: from that air raid offense, how where is he mentally
Speaker 1: in his development? How long before he's ready to get
Speaker 1: on the field. That plays a big part in where
Speaker 1: he gets drafted. So a lot of questions with his
Speaker 1: quarterback group. And I don't think we're gonna figure out
Speaker 1: the order today just because there's so much different opinions
Speaker 1: on these guys from team to team, evaluator to evaluator.
Speaker 1: I think at least one or two ago in the
Speaker 1: top ten, top fifteen, and then we'll have to see
Speaker 1: how how it plays out after that. How about a
Speaker 1: quick breakdown of uh, these guys at the top. Let's
Speaker 1: let's start with true whisky. Uh, thirteen game starter, right,
Speaker 1: U was a backup um, And I'll just give a
Speaker 1: little rundown on what I know is that very accurate
Speaker 1: quarterback in North Carolina. But again, he's gonna be making
Speaker 1: a big system jump. What's your take? Yeah, I know
Speaker 1: that's a good background for him. Uh. And that's really
Speaker 1: the biggest issue is the sample size. Thirteen game starter. Ideally,
Speaker 1: for drafting a quarterback that high, you want more of
Speaker 1: a sample size than just a one year But you
Speaker 1: watch him on film and all thirteen games you see him.
Speaker 1: He has the size, he has, the athleticism, really mobile quarterback,
Speaker 1: the arm strength, the armed talent, very accurate. Like you said,
Speaker 1: the ball placement is what you want. I think the
Speaker 1: biggest thing with him is he's not elite in any
Speaker 1: one of those areas. He doesn't have that distinguishing trait,
Speaker 1: but he's pretty good across the board and so not
Speaker 1: have that fatal flaw is kind of his calling card,
Speaker 1: and that that's you can win with guys like that.
Speaker 1: You know, you don't have to have a guy who's
Speaker 1: elite in one area. You know, he just can't make
Speaker 1: those mistakes. And I think that's what something you have
Speaker 1: with Mr Robiskie. Now, if you want more of an
Speaker 1: upside guy that I think Kaiser is who's really going
Speaker 1: to appeal to these teams because I think when you
Speaker 1: project him two to three years from now, you get
Speaker 1: excited about where he can be. The physical traits are there,
Speaker 1: the mental capacity is there. But he's been inconsistent this year.
Speaker 1: And how do you weigh Okay last year as a
Speaker 1: freshman when he had a top ten left tackle Ronnie Stanley, Uh,
Speaker 1: he had c J Process at running back, little fuller receiver,
Speaker 1: first round about wide receiver. He lost four of his
Speaker 1: five top receivers from that year. So this year goes
Speaker 1: into the year and it was just downhill from the start.
Speaker 1: You know, Texas game played well, Michigan State played well,
Speaker 1: and then just downhill and that really was indicative of
Speaker 1: Notre Dame season as a whole. But how do you
Speaker 1: weigh that? Um, you know, with just the supporting cast,
Speaker 1: the coaching was an issue. Did you know Brian Kelly
Speaker 1: really want Deshaun Kaiser out there? Just there's a lot
Speaker 1: of question sans with Kaiser, but there's a lot to
Speaker 1: like as well. So what about the system does that
Speaker 1: help him? Uh, comparably to the other two guys that
Speaker 1: are mentioned in that mix early on, Watson and trow
Speaker 1: Bisky to an extent, mostly shotgun, but a lot of
Speaker 1: downfield routes. Uh. You see him make left to right progressions,
Speaker 1: whole field reads, and that's something you want to see,
Speaker 1: you know. And that's something that Pat Mahomes. That's a
Speaker 1: stigma he has to overcome, coming from that air raid
Speaker 1: offense where you just look at the mechanics and they're
Speaker 1: all over the place. He has a better back pedal
Speaker 1: than some corners in this draft, which is not a
Speaker 1: good thing. You know. You don't want to see that.
Speaker 1: You want to see him be more tight with his
Speaker 1: mechanics and his fundamentals. Um, you know, can you learn that,
Speaker 1: can you get better? Sure, but you just haven't seen
Speaker 1: it in a game setting. And you know, we talk
Speaker 1: about changing up a guy's routine and it's muscle memory.
Speaker 1: So with Mahomes you might have to kind of live
Speaker 1: and die with. You know who he is, and he
Speaker 1: reminds me a lot of Johnny Manzeld. He he's bigger,
Speaker 1: he has a better arm, and there's no field questions.
Speaker 1: But in terms of on the field you have a
Speaker 1: guy he likes to improvise, who will throw a prayer
Speaker 1: up sometimes and hope that his guy can come down
Speaker 1: with it. But I tell you, he's a fun tape
Speaker 1: to watch and you get kind of you know, maybe
Speaker 1: I can believe in this guy, like maybe a team
Speaker 1: grabs him in the first round. And see, we've seen
Speaker 1: stranger things. UM. Cornerbacks, the Jets released Darrell Revis. They
Speaker 1: took Justin Burr's last year fourth round pick out of
Speaker 1: and See State. I thought he did some nice things
Speaker 1: at the end of his first season of action. But
Speaker 1: this is supposed to be another defensive draft at the top, UM,
Speaker 1: what do you make of the elite corners? And I
Speaker 1: guess it all starts with Marshawn Latimore and this will
Speaker 1: be a big week for him. Um. For the medicals.
Speaker 1: You know, he didn't play his first two years in
Speaker 1: Oh how A State because of you know what they
Speaker 1: called chronic hamstring issues, and so what's going on with
Speaker 1: that any long term worries concerns, UM, So the medicals
Speaker 1: will be first and foremost for him. And then once
Speaker 1: he's on the field, I expected to perform really well.
Speaker 1: When you watch him on tape, you just don't see separation. Uh.
Speaker 1: He has that quick twitch that you want, the speed. Uh,
Speaker 1: he can play press, he can play off with Lattimore.
Speaker 1: Like I said, you just you never saw receivers able
Speaker 1: to separate, and then when they did, he has that
Speaker 1: that recovery speed where he can make that up that
Speaker 1: closing burst and make a play on the ball. So
Speaker 1: I think Lattimore uh is clearly the top corner this year,
Speaker 1: and I think every one in the top ten will
Speaker 1: be considering him now. Dame Brugler joins us from India
Speaker 1: two thousand seventeen NFL combine underway. We're gonna be joined
Speaker 1: by Jets legend Kevin in a few moments. Uh. Uh. Dan,
Speaker 1: We're talking to corners who's maybe not at Lattimore's levelment
Speaker 1: but maybe a step or two below there. And you believe,
Speaker 1: in your mind is first round talent. I think there's
Speaker 1: a few. Marlin Humphrey from Alabama, UH really interesting because
Speaker 1: he has, you know, physically has everything you want, uh,
Speaker 1: the length, the size of speed. Uh is the son
Speaker 1: of Bobby Humphrey, first round running back back in the
Speaker 1: day for another Alabama guy. Uh. So you know with Humphrey.
Speaker 1: You worry about downfield, getting his head turned around finding
Speaker 1: the football. But a lot of coaches will think they
Speaker 1: can coach that. You know, but he has what you
Speaker 1: can't teach, has the physical traits. I think Marlon Humphrey
Speaker 1: is gonna come off the board early. Sydney Jones I
Speaker 1: like quite a bit at the corner from Washington. I'm
Speaker 1: interesting to see what he weighs in at on tape.
Speaker 1: He's rail thin and so it's not an issue. But
Speaker 1: is he a hundred eighty pounds or is he closer
Speaker 1: to two h pounds? Hopefully can play outside, And one
Speaker 1: thing I like about him is he can play different schemes.
Speaker 1: You wanted the press, you want him to play a
Speaker 1: little zone, playoff, he can. You can do different things. Um,
Speaker 1: he's a former receiver in high school and you see
Speaker 1: that those ball skills. When the balls in the year,
Speaker 1: he goes and gets it. So I think Sidney Jones
Speaker 1: is right there in that mix. And then one of
Speaker 1: the top seniors this year. He's not gonna come in
Speaker 1: well in terms of the measurements. George Lewis from Michigan,
Speaker 1: But I tell you this guy can play. Uh guy
Speaker 1: that doesn't him down in a mobile. Yeah, the senior
Speaker 1: boy in a good week. You have to get over
Speaker 1: the size. And maybe he's only a nickel for you.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you can play any outside, but
Speaker 1: if he's only a nickel, you can work with that. Um.
Speaker 1: But he's fast, he knows how to cover, he's tough,
Speaker 1: outstanding ball skills. You just have to get over the
Speaker 1: lack of size. Typically, and you know this so well.
Speaker 1: In the draft, there's usually a couple of lineman offensive
Speaker 1: lineman that you're gonna see go early in that top
Speaker 1: five range, top ten range. Right now, it doesn't seem
Speaker 1: that way, does it. It's it's not a great year
Speaker 1: for offensive lineman, and I should say offensive tackle and
Speaker 1: on center guard. I think there's some there's some decent
Speaker 1: depth there um, starting with Forest lamp out of Western Kentucky,
Speaker 1: who I think is a first round pick. But then
Speaker 1: at tackle, a lot of question marks and if you
Speaker 1: don't get your guy early, you're gonna be out of
Speaker 1: luck later on. So Ryan ram Check, the tackle from Wisconsin,
Speaker 1: I think he's a top guy. Well to see how
Speaker 1: his hip, what's going on there? That has to clear
Speaker 1: And then you have a few guys with question marks.
Speaker 1: Cam Robinson from Alabama, Garrett Bowls from Utah Bowls. He's
Speaker 1: gonna be a twenty five year old rookie and he
Speaker 1: needs some work. He's a fantastic athlete, but in terms
Speaker 1: of strength, in his power, his technique, he needs some work.
Speaker 1: They're just a fascinating backstory with him. Was off from
Speaker 1: took off a few years from football, so right well,
Speaker 1: and even after high school we got into some trouble,
Speaker 1: kind of went away from football, and then he went
Speaker 1: to on that mission that kind of invigorated his his
Speaker 1: love for football again. And so a lot of a
Speaker 1: lot of things going on with Bowls. I think that
Speaker 1: athleticism still gets him in the first round, and the
Speaker 1: fact that, like I said, if you don't get that
Speaker 1: tackle early, you're gonna be out of luck. So these guys,
Speaker 1: these tackles are gonna be pushed up a little bit. Uh.
Speaker 1: Speaking of Bowls, we're gonna be talking about Todd Bowls,
Speaker 1: who addressed the media here in Indianapolis earlier today with
Speaker 1: s N Wise Ralph Faciano here momentarily, Dane, what about
Speaker 1: the running backs? Uh? Leonard flour Neett is up there
Speaker 1: and we saw him an Laite player Louisiana State, and
Speaker 1: then Delvin Cook. Um. Most people when you look at
Speaker 1: Mick drafts, and I know it's not all about my
Speaker 1: drafts at this point, but they have Leonard a little
Speaker 1: bit ahead at Delvin Cook, who, in your mind in
Speaker 1: five years going to be the better player Dalman Cook
Speaker 1: is to meet the top running back in this class. Uh,
Speaker 1: and I like four net he's a freak. You know,
Speaker 1: there's not a running back in today's NFL that you
Speaker 1: can really truly compare him to. Uh. We just don't
Speaker 1: have anyone like that. But Dalvin Cook, I think everything's there, uh,
Speaker 1: in terms of his physically, his explosion, his ability to
Speaker 1: string together moves make guys miss, and then mentally his vision,
Speaker 1: his run, tempo, his patience. He's the game teachers again. Really,
Speaker 1: he can take the ball to the house anytime he has.
Speaker 1: Absolutely he's that type of back. The biggest thing with
Speaker 1: him is, since I believe his junior year in high school,
Speaker 1: he has had three shoulder surgeries, came in at two
Speaker 1: ten pounds. He's not the biggest guy. Tell you what
Speaker 1: if you told me that over the next five to
Speaker 1: seven years, he's gonna average fourteen starts a year. I'd
Speaker 1: say is the best running back to come out the
Speaker 1: last few years. But I just worried that that's not
Speaker 1: going to be the case with him. Uh So, hopefully
Speaker 1: he's able to hold up physically, but I think that
Speaker 1: might be the worry with teams and why he might
Speaker 1: not be the first running back draft and why he
Speaker 1: might not go top fifteen like his talent says he
Speaker 1: should these at the end of the day, somebody uh
Speaker 1: takes a staff at him, maybe in the top ten.
Speaker 1: I think it. I think it depends on what we
Speaker 1: hear from the medicals. I think that's what's going on
Speaker 1: to shoulders, what's going on, you know, with some of
Speaker 1: the medical information, that will be the key if it comes.
Speaker 1: You know, if he gets two thumbs up from the
Speaker 1: trainer and from the medical staffs, then absolutely he's one
Speaker 1: of the top ten players in this draft just based
Speaker 1: on talent, and so I think he we're going to
Speaker 1: see him somewhere in top fifteen if the medicals come back. Okay,
Speaker 1: McCaffrey ultra productive at a Stanford. Do you see him
Speaker 1: making his way in the first round? How does he
Speaker 1: project on the next level? He should. There's no reason
Speaker 1: not to keep out of the first round. If you're not.
Speaker 1: If you don't know how to use Christian McCaffrey, then uh,
Speaker 1: you need to change the way you call plays. He's
Speaker 1: he's a first round talent. Is he a player that
Speaker 1: you want carrying the ball five times a game? No,
Speaker 1: but you want him touching the ball twenty five times
Speaker 1: a game. He's capable of sixteen eighteen carries, six seven
Speaker 1: eight targets a game. Uh, my comparisons Brian Westbrook. You know,
Speaker 1: use him in the backfield, but he can also go
Speaker 1: out in the slot, put him out side. This is
Speaker 1: a player who he'll he's a better route runner than
Speaker 1: some of the receivers that will probably drafted ahead of him.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's that diverse with what he can do
Speaker 1: on offense as well as he's a returner. So with
Speaker 1: Christian McCaffrey, he's one of those smartest runners I've seen.
Speaker 1: He understands, you know, how to read his blocks with
Speaker 1: the defenders trying to do make guys miss, and he
Speaker 1: knows when the mission is over, so he gets down
Speaker 1: and he doesn't take a lot of hard hits. I
Speaker 1: think Christian McCaffrey is absolutely a first round pick and
Speaker 1: I'll be surprised if he doesn't go one day one.
Speaker 1: What do you think about Mike mccagnen as a talent evaluator.
Speaker 1: He's a guy that you're very familiar with the Texas
Speaker 1: roots and UM over the first two drafts, I think
Speaker 1: he's done a very nice job. Obviously, we were just
Speaker 1: talking about it before we came out live here. He
Speaker 1: took Leonard Williams number six overall with this first overall pick,
Speaker 1: stuck to his guns, the best player available, philosophy, Guy
Speaker 1: Lands and the Pro Bowl. Uh, Darren Lee. I know
Speaker 1: people said he didn't have a stellar season. I thought
Speaker 1: he started coming on a lot towards the end. He's
Speaker 1: gonna be that three down linebacker that the Jets need,
Speaker 1: and I think he could be a fixture for this
Speaker 1: team for years to come as well. And then we
Speaker 1: think about last year's draft, Um, you go to the
Speaker 1: third round, Jordan Jenkins, he became a starter for you,
Speaker 1: a stout edge center. I mean he might never be
Speaker 1: the ten sac a year guy, but he can get
Speaker 1: to the quarterback and he also can set that edge
Speaker 1: and b a syl player for you. But in the
Speaker 1: fourth round, Justin Burrs, maybe he's starting for you this
Speaker 1: year in the fifth round. I thought he did a
Speaker 1: nice job by getting moving back into the draft to
Speaker 1: get Brandon Ships, right, he gave up a fourth round pick.
Speaker 1: People are like, oh, you gave up a fourth round
Speaker 1: pick and next year's draft. But he was figuring he'd
Speaker 1: get a compensatory selection this year, which he in fact has.
Speaker 1: So just overall, how do you think he's done his
Speaker 1: first two years? Um as the GM of the Jets. Uh,
Speaker 1: as far as drafting his concerned, he's done a good job.
Speaker 1: I've known Mike for a while since he was in Houston, UH,
Speaker 1: and would have always appreciated with him is he's he's
Speaker 1: a scout at heart, so he knows how to evaluate.
Speaker 1: He's at all the All Star Games. Uh. You know,
Speaker 1: there's not an event too small. If there's a possible
Speaker 1: NFL caliber player there, he's there. He's evaluating. Uh, he
Speaker 1: is a scout at heart, and so I always enjoy
Speaker 1: when I have a chance to catch up with with Mike.
Speaker 1: And I've I've really appreciated his his grind for a
Speaker 1: long time. UM, and so I think so far, you know,
Speaker 1: in two drafts, he's he's done a solid job. I think,
Speaker 1: you know, George Jenkins really outplayed his draft slot and
Speaker 1: I think he'll continue to do that. Like you said,
Speaker 1: he might not be an elite player who uh you know,
Speaker 1: as an all pro, but I think he'll outplay his
Speaker 1: draft slot and be a solid contributor. Darren Lee, I
Speaker 1: think people need to remember as a richer sophomore when
Speaker 1: he came out of out house state, this is a
Speaker 1: guy who could have used another year in school. Uh.
Speaker 1: And I even said that on Twitter, and he called
Speaker 1: me darrenly called me out on Twitter for saying that.
Speaker 1: But you know, I think he will get better in
Speaker 1: year two and year three. Um So I give Mike
Speaker 1: a lot of credit for what he's done. Eager to
Speaker 1: see what he does now with another top ten pick,
Speaker 1: you know, back in the top ten, plenty of options, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, could he possibly go quarterback? Could he you know,
Speaker 1: maybe help that defensive secondary, But there will be several
Speaker 1: options he could go. So eager to see what he
Speaker 1: does there. Well, we're eager to see your book. It's
Speaker 1: at DP Burglar. You guys can jump on there, follow
Speaker 1: him on Twitter. You're gonna get all your draft information, Dane,
Speaker 1: so great catching up. Make sure you get some rest
Speaker 1: this week, all right, thanks, Dane brewser uh joins us
Speaker 1: here in Indianapolis at the Convention Center. Momentarily we're gonna
Speaker 1: be joined by Ralph Acciano, who was at Todd Bowls
Speaker 1: news gathering today in Indianapolis. The Jets head coach um
Speaker 1: addressed the media today. Uh here in Indie. Ralph was
Speaker 1: there and we're bringing him on set right now and
Speaker 1: if ill experience underway here Indianapolis. Ralph, thanks for joining
Speaker 1: us and my pleasure. How are you? I'm great? Uh.
Speaker 1: Your takeaways uh from today's morning briefing an early star
Speaker 1: for everybody. It was a little early for me, but uh,
Speaker 1: you know, it was somewhat interesting and typical coach fashion.
Speaker 1: Todd Bowls did not reveal a lot of things, but
Speaker 1: he shed a little more light on the Darrell Rievaus release,
Speaker 1: which he insisted was had nothing to do with his arrest,
Speaker 1: had more to do with the financials which with his play. Um.
Speaker 1: They did consider moving him to safety, but when you
Speaker 1: factor in the fifteen point three million dollar capit, it
Speaker 1: just wasn't worth keeping around just to find out whether
Speaker 1: he could play that position. Um, So that was one
Speaker 1: of the big topics, and he kind of hinted a
Speaker 1: little bit at some of the things that they're thinking
Speaker 1: of in the off season, for example, the quarterbacks. He
Speaker 1: did say they're going to look at the veteran quarterback market,
Speaker 1: and that honestly, whatever decisions or questions the Jets have
Speaker 1: heading into the off season, they all pale in comparison
Speaker 1: to who is that quarterback And it seems clear that
Speaker 1: they've got their eyes set on somebody and maybe a
Speaker 1: few guys on the open market before we get to
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks. Ralph, I don't want to paraphrase here. I'm
Speaker 1: actually gonna take the quote from Todd Bowls today. This
Speaker 1: stood out to me. He said, as a coach, you
Speaker 1: get energized every year because you're always trying to win
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. There's no rebuilding. You're always trying to win.
Speaker 1: Whether you have younger or older players, you're always trying
Speaker 1: to win and get better. That's how I coach and
Speaker 1: how I'm going to be every day, whether it's street
Speaker 1: ball or professional ball, I'm trying to win. So you
Speaker 1: know part of that is, well, what else is a
Speaker 1: coach to say? Supposed to say. But a lot of
Speaker 1: that is Todd Bowles. I mean, the reality is, from
Speaker 1: all appearances, the Jets are rebuilding. But Todd Bowles is
Speaker 1: not going into this season thinking, Okay, in a couple
Speaker 1: of years, I'll have a winner. He's still looking for
Speaker 1: the best players. And he's right when he says that
Speaker 1: those could be young players at twenty two year old
Speaker 1: come out of college, could be better than a twenty
Speaker 1: eight year old veteran at the end of his career
Speaker 1: um and so he's looking for the best guys. He
Speaker 1: thinks he can put together a roster once he sees
Speaker 1: free agency with a lot of cap room to spend there,
Speaker 1: once he sees the draft they have I picks, maybe
Speaker 1: they can put together a winner. He's not going to
Speaker 1: diminish the expectations, not for the fans of the organization,
Speaker 1: but especially for the players. I don't think he wants
Speaker 1: to go into the locker room it's any veteran players
Speaker 1: and say relaxed guys will rebuilding. They're gonna go for it.
Speaker 1: Whether that's realistic or not, we'll find out. But stranger
Speaker 1: things have happened. So what do you make of the
Speaker 1: quarterback market? After we leave Indy Ralph, you know you're
Speaker 1: gonna be covering it every day. Free agncy starting and
Speaker 1: just a few days because Indianapolis is late this year,
Speaker 1: it's already March second, and before you know it, free
Speaker 1: agency starts next week. Yeah, it's it's not a great
Speaker 1: quarterback market and it never is. I mean, the reality is,
Speaker 1: if you are an elite quarterback, you're never gonna hit
Speaker 1: free agency. You know, the Eli Mannings and Matt Ryan's
Speaker 1: and Drew Brees, they get those contracts un there's a
Speaker 1: reason why teams keep them. So you're looking at second
Speaker 1: tier guys with some promise. Mike Glennon and the Buccaneers
Speaker 1: jumps off the page. Um, you're looking at a guy
Speaker 1: who has is a little bit of damaged goods and
Speaker 1: Jake cut Or, who you know is one of the
Speaker 1: more accomplished guys out there, but all of the bill
Speaker 1: is still under contract with right not assuming he becomes
Speaker 1: a free agent. Let's say with Colin Kaepernick, who I
Speaker 1: guess the forty Niners are gonna allow to become a
Speaker 1: free agent. There are guys with question marks. The problem
Speaker 1: is while they may not be any of them may
Speaker 1: may not be ideal candidates, they will be expensive because
Speaker 1: teams get desperate when they don't have a quarterback. So
Speaker 1: the question becomes, if the Jets go after a guy
Speaker 1: like Mike Glennan, how crazy are they willing to go?
Speaker 1: Are they willing to go all in the way that
Speaker 1: Texans were with a flawed quarterback? And Brock as well?
Speaker 1: Do you think it's gonna be crazy? A crazy market? Perhaps?
Speaker 1: Like you brought up Astwiler last year? Is that the
Speaker 1: natural compare that Glennon hitting the market now, a guy
Speaker 1: who's got some starting experience. Um, but it's been backing
Speaker 1: up Jameis Winston. Um. Do you think there'll be a
Speaker 1: lot of people after him on once once this thing
Speaker 1: starts next week? I do. I think I think Glennon
Speaker 1: is better than Ostweiler from one. I don't know if
Speaker 1: everybody who shares that opinion, but I think with quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: if you just get two teams involved, the bidding can
Speaker 1: get crazy because if you think about it from the
Speaker 1: Jets perspective, they're gonna have dollars in capram whatever it
Speaker 1: comes out to after they finish all their cuts. If
Speaker 1: they have the money to spend and their choices get
Speaker 1: Mike Glennan or somebody else, and they don't like anybody else.
Speaker 1: Their intention should be in a lot of teams will
Speaker 1: be to overspend to make sure you get that guy,
Speaker 1: because there's no more important position. If two teams are
Speaker 1: thinking I'll do anything to get him, well that's when
Speaker 1: the prices get out of control. Now. One thing that
Speaker 1: Bowls did say today, he was asked clearly by one
Speaker 1: of the reporters, if Bryce Spudding, Christian Hackaber we'll have
Speaker 1: a chance to start, and he said, yeah, yeah, they'll
Speaker 1: be part of the mix. Yeah. Absolutely. I don't necessarily
Speaker 1: think that they will emerge as starters. But again, just
Speaker 1: like you don't want to tell the veterans we're rebuilding,
Speaker 1: you don't want to tell those guys no, no, they're
Speaker 1: not they're not starters. You want them to fight for
Speaker 1: the job. And Bryce Petty showed some things last year.
Speaker 1: I don't know if he showed enough or not, but
Speaker 1: there was some promise there. We have on the outside
Speaker 1: no idea what Christian Hackenburg is, but he was the
Speaker 1: second round pick. There's something about him that they like,
Speaker 1: so it's possible. You know. I do think if they
Speaker 1: go out and they get a Mike Glennon or somebody
Speaker 1: on the free agent market that will be your starter.
Speaker 1: But if they can't, um or if in training camp,
Speaker 1: Christian Hackenburg lights it up. I think Todd Bowles is
Speaker 1: open to whoever the best guy is. That's who's gonna
Speaker 1: lead the way. And whoever the best guy is. Uh.
Speaker 1: The Jets of a new offensive coordinator and John Morton
Speaker 1: and a new quarterbacks coach and uh, Jeremy Bates and UH.
Speaker 1: Todd discussed both of those today as well. He did,
Speaker 1: and he glowed about them. Not surprisingly he hired them.
Speaker 1: He talked about Jeremy Bates, the quarterback coach had been
Speaker 1: out of football for four years, and Todd Bowls downplayed
Speaker 1: that because and he's right, there are reasons why people
Speaker 1: might leave a job for a certain amount of time.
Speaker 1: It doesn't mean he's not a good coach. He's got
Speaker 1: experience with quarterbacks. He did very well with Jake Cutler
Speaker 1: as as one of his quarterback projects. Um, so he's
Speaker 1: confident that he can take whatever young quarterback the Jets
Speaker 1: have and mold him. And UH. He talked about John Morton.
Speaker 1: We've all sort of assumed that he's going to come
Speaker 1: in and run a West Coast offense. But Todd Bowle's
Speaker 1: message was, it's not a West Coast offense. He's gonna
Speaker 1: run a good offense whatever that is. Throwing the ball
Speaker 1: down exactly, He's gonna And he said John Morton, strength
Speaker 1: is to look at the personnel and figure out what's
Speaker 1: gonna work the best. Speaking of the personnel, the Jets
Speaker 1: have been very busy this offseason and and we frankly
Speaker 1: anticipated it, Bigs that you had to make some moves
Speaker 1: to get underneath the cap. And the Jets released prominent
Speaker 1: veterans Darrell Reeves, Nick Mangold, um Brno Jack Beany and
Speaker 1: of course the second leading U score in this franchise's history.
Speaker 1: And Nick folks so the year take on the release
Speaker 1: of that quartet um necessary but difficult decisions. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's football's business. You're in a salary cap sport.
Speaker 1: You can't afford to keep guys around as a luxury.
Speaker 1: Nick Mangold, maybe he can play, certainly would be great
Speaker 1: in the locker room, that fans would love him. But
Speaker 1: for the price, his age, the injury, it's too much.
Speaker 1: It's become a young man and the less expensive, the
Speaker 1: better young man's sport. Um so, they sort of had
Speaker 1: to move on. They were uh two years ago, ten
Speaker 1: and six, they were a veteran team. They tried to
Speaker 1: keep everybody together to make a run. It didn't work
Speaker 1: out last year. The only thing they could really do
Speaker 1: at that point then is start cutting some of these
Speaker 1: big salaries. I suspect there'll be a few more of
Speaker 1: and again they all hurt. But it's the right movie.
Speaker 1: It's you know, you you have to be a young,
Speaker 1: fiscally responsible team to compete in this league. When you
Speaker 1: look at six, and I know it's early because we've
Speaker 1: got a couple of months and the teams are going
Speaker 1: through the medicals with three under thirty prospects right now,
Speaker 1: and they're finding out more about the guys as they
Speaker 1: put them in the interview room. The Jets are one
Speaker 1: of thirty two teams, and we'll have sixty formal interviews
Speaker 1: with the prospects they choose, um so, and then we
Speaker 1: have prones as you know, and then you'll invite some
Speaker 1: of your prospects to your complex. So this thing, this
Speaker 1: scouting is just basically I don't want to say starting,
Speaker 1: but we got a long way to go until April,
Speaker 1: late April and the two thousand seventeen NFL Draft. But
Speaker 1: for our storylines are concerned what jumps out to you
Speaker 1: right now about the combine. You know, it's interesting you
Speaker 1: phrase it that way because a year ago at this time,
Speaker 1: everybody was saying there are no quarterbacks at the top
Speaker 1: of this draft, and before long Jared Goff and Carson
Speaker 1: Wentz go one too. So everything does change. But I
Speaker 1: think the storylines, especially for the number six pick, the
Speaker 1: storylines that are emerging. The first one is are there
Speaker 1: any quarterbacks that are gonna be worthy of being in
Speaker 1: the top ten? Um? Mitch Trobinski is kind of the
Speaker 1: odds on favorite to be the guy. Um, will he
Speaker 1: go number one? Number five? Will the Jets consider them
Speaker 1: a number six? We're sort of watching how that develops
Speaker 1: and if another quarterback DeShawn Kaiser, DeShawn Watson can uh
Speaker 1: sort of emerge as a guy to join that elite
Speaker 1: group we'll start to see this week a little bit.
Speaker 1: The other thing from the Jets perspective that I think
Speaker 1: is interesting, um is there seems to be a glut
Speaker 1: of defensive backs near the top of the draft. Corners
Speaker 1: and safeties, which as we saw last year, is something
Speaker 1: the Jets really need, especially now that they've gotten rid
Speaker 1: of Darrelle Revis, Calvin Pryor I think is going into
Speaker 1: the last year of his contract. They have some free
Speaker 1: agents this year end up coming next year they could
Speaker 1: use to strengthen that secondary. They could get the top
Speaker 1: cornerback or top safety in the draft at number six.
Speaker 1: And you know exactly how that shakes out might depend on, well,
Speaker 1: how many quarterbacks sneak into that top five. The more
Speaker 1: that do, the more it pushes down to a top
Speaker 1: player to the Jets. Yeah, we're joined by Ralph Acciano
Speaker 1: here from US and y we're in. Indeed, the two
Speaker 1: thousand seventeen NFL Combine is under way. Ralph. No, fans
Speaker 1: probably ask you the same question they asked me, is
Speaker 1: that are the Jets really gonna go to defense at
Speaker 1: the beginning of this draft. Well, they certainly, because everybody
Speaker 1: you talked to on the ground here is saying that
Speaker 1: this is loaded. The first round could be loaded with
Speaker 1: defensive prospects, and when you look at the Jets, you
Speaker 1: definitely want to take the best player available early in
Speaker 1: the draft. But if it marries a need that's certainly
Speaker 1: is going to break a tie, and that's what you're
Speaker 1: looking for. You're trying to look for an impact player,
Speaker 1: and an impact player at six. It could be on
Speaker 1: the defensive side of the ball, right, you know, and
Speaker 1: everybody wants the best available player, but you don't want
Speaker 1: to get your third or fourth defensive end who's not
Speaker 1: gonna play much. Now they might again, Leonard Williams could
Speaker 1: follow them like he did a few years ago. I
Speaker 1: can't see it this year. People are talking about Jonathan
Speaker 1: Allen from ELBA. I can't see it. Yeah, I don't
Speaker 1: see it either, um, but you know, so you do
Speaker 1: try to matchin need if you can. You can't pass
Speaker 1: on the talent if it's there. But if you're matching
Speaker 1: up needs, this early defense sort of matches more for
Speaker 1: the Jets with the top players because the other need
Speaker 1: on the offensive side of the ball, other than ter
Speaker 1: back obviously would be offensive line. And at the moment,
Speaker 1: almost every scout I've talked to seems to think that
Speaker 1: there's not a top ten offensive lineman in this draft,
Speaker 1: which is something else. Because you've been covering this for
Speaker 1: a long time, I don't remember a draft that seems
Speaker 1: this then at the top, because we're always talking about
Speaker 1: tackles are right, and obviously that could change. I still
Speaker 1: think somebody will take a tackle in the top ten,
Speaker 1: but right now it would seem to be a stretch
Speaker 1: at six. So you don't want to reach with the
Speaker 1: sixth overall pick. If you have a need a corner
Speaker 1: and safety or linebacker, or there is a premier pass
Speaker 1: rushing defensive end, yeah you get that and you figure
Speaker 1: out the rest later on. Yeah. The cornerback Marshawn Latimore
Speaker 1: from Ohio State, a lot of people very high on him.
Speaker 1: A couple of safeties at the top, Jamal Adams from
Speaker 1: l s U. I know he's getting a lot of
Speaker 1: love out there. So it's gonna be fascinating to see
Speaker 1: how those dominoes fall, and then you get to the
Speaker 1: if they decided to stay there. Mike mccagnell has always said, listen,
Speaker 1: we call everybody in front of us, we call everybody
Speaker 1: behind us. There's a ways to go until that happens.
Speaker 1: What do you expect from the Jets once free agency commences?
Speaker 1: That you talked about quarterback a little bit, but maybe
Speaker 1: other positions that they might be looking to target because
Speaker 1: mccagnell wants to go on this draft with as few
Speaker 1: as holes as possible. Obviously, I mean quarterback obviously potentially
Speaker 1: could be the big expenditure for them. You know, you
Speaker 1: have no idea where that market is going to go,
Speaker 1: So I think that will be the first thing they do.
Speaker 1: I could see them. I go back and forth and
Speaker 1: whether they'll dip heavily into the cornerback market looking for
Speaker 1: Darrell Reeves replacement in part because the draft is so
Speaker 1: rich with them they might want to postpone that. The
Speaker 1: place that I think they might be um more willing
Speaker 1: to be active is along the offensive one. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: Todd Bowles was noncommittal and a lot of things today,
Speaker 1: but he did not commit to Wesley John in its
Speaker 1: center or bringing Now. He praised them and he said
Speaker 1: they can win the job. They can do it, but
Speaker 1: he kind of left the door open and maybe he
Speaker 1: was coach speak, but he kind of left the door
Speaker 1: open for we're gonna pursue our options. So, um, the
Speaker 1: tackle market on free agency isn't thought to be good. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, Ryan Claydy, just released by the Jets, is
Speaker 1: one of the better tackles on the open market, they'll
Speaker 1: they'll be a few younger, healthier guys, but once those
Speaker 1: expensive ones are off the market, you're looking at um
Speaker 1: older veterans who may be coming off injuries. So I
Speaker 1: don't know that the Jets are necessarily gonna want to
Speaker 1: go that route, but they will have a lot of
Speaker 1: cap room to spend, so maybe some of the bigger
Speaker 1: names might be in play for them. Um. Some of
Speaker 1: the rest of it might depend on what they do
Speaker 1: if they release Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. Receiver is
Speaker 1: not a ridiculous thought. They have good young ones, but
Speaker 1: nobody really proven other than Quincy Ananua, who's still working
Speaker 1: his way up to number one status. Um, I guess
Speaker 1: a tight end if they that's about that as well
Speaker 1: today as a tight end position. Yeah, and that will
Speaker 1: depend on what kind of offense John Morten wants to run.
Speaker 1: But it does sound like they want to emphasize I
Speaker 1: don't know how you can emphasize the tight and less
Speaker 1: than they've done in recent years. They want to do
Speaker 1: that more. Um. But yeah, I mean I think they'll
Speaker 1: be fairly active, but the quarterback is gonna be the
Speaker 1: first thing on the plane. That's that's they have to
Speaker 1: settle that quickly, and then all the rest of the
Speaker 1: dominoes of all in line. As we look at the
Speaker 1: landscape here on press row, I know people are just
Speaker 1: looking at the backdrop, but there's a lot of people
Speaker 1: gathered here. I see the Bills over there, and that's
Speaker 1: one team, uh has a huge decision to make its
Speaker 1: quarterback position. They pick up Tyrod Tayler's option, that I'll
Speaker 1: be there obviously, But if they don't, he becomes a
Speaker 1: free agent there and he's a guy that the Jets
Speaker 1: would have to look at, a different type of quarterback,
Speaker 1: more mobility than a lot of guys on the market.
Speaker 1: Not uh, well, I guess I shouldn't say not as accomplished.
Speaker 1: He's not. In his time starting, he's been good, but
Speaker 1: not great. But he matches up fine with most of
Speaker 1: the guys who are on the market at the moment.
Speaker 1: So I would definitely think that he would be in play.
Speaker 1: I think he might be a little too expensive for
Speaker 1: the Bills to pick up. But as with all of
Speaker 1: these decisions, um, you know, if you if they don't
Speaker 1: pick up the option on him, they have to answer
Speaker 1: the question, then what do we do? Right? Not a
Speaker 1: lot of people have a and Aaron Rodgers sitting on
Speaker 1: their bench so they can let bred farv go. You know,
Speaker 1: there's not there's usually not a second option on your roster,
Speaker 1: so you better have a good plan when you let
Speaker 1: one get out of your hands. Uh yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1: From s n Y joining us right now, we're recapping
Speaker 1: Todd Bowl's news conference today talking Jets. We were joined
Speaker 1: earlier by Dane Bruegler, draft guru from CBS Sports. You
Speaker 1: can check him out at DP Bruegler. He's got his
Speaker 1: draft book coming out done, reports on more than four
Speaker 1: hundred uh prospects, only three thirty here. Uh. Kevin Mawai
Speaker 1: NFL Hall of Fame finalists is in the building in
Speaker 1: the Convention Center. He's gonna join us momentarily. Speaking of Ralph,
Speaker 1: what do you think about Kevin now as he enters
Speaker 1: two thousand seventeen, two thousand and eighteen, you think that
Speaker 1: he's got a good chance of eventually getting into Canton
Speaker 1: now that he's a finalist. I do. I think once
Speaker 1: you get into that finalist realm, you're not a lock,
Speaker 1: but pretty close to a lock. The Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: voting is such a complicated process, and there are so few.
Speaker 1: When you think about the number of the fifteen finalists
Speaker 1: that they have, all of them are Hall of Fame worthy,
Speaker 1: but only five of them can get in. Um, they
Speaker 1: have to sometimes, well, let's get this guy in first.
Speaker 1: He's been waiting for a few years. They sort of
Speaker 1: positioned themselves with the voters, so, UM, it wasn't his turn.
Speaker 1: I don't know that next year will be his turn,
Speaker 1: but I suspect that in the next few years he
Speaker 1: will get in. I think there there's a lot of
Speaker 1: respect for him. And how about the run and center
Speaker 1: for the Jets after after MAUI that draft Nick Mangold
Speaker 1: twenty nine overall two thousand six. Of course the brickshaw
Speaker 1: Ferguson was landed in that draft number four overall. But
Speaker 1: this is an amazing running center for the Jets. It
Speaker 1: really has. I don't know if there are other teams
Speaker 1: that have ever done that for that many years and
Speaker 1: just had two guys. And not only that, it's not
Speaker 1: just two starters. Those two guys basically played almost every
Speaker 1: game up until the middle of last year. There weren't
Speaker 1: a lot of times where a substitute center was needed.
Speaker 1: So two incredible players, a lot of luck in getting
Speaker 1: them back to back, a lot of skill in identifying
Speaker 1: those players as well, and uh, you know both of
Speaker 1: them will be up in the Ring of Honor. Well, Ralph,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for joining us. I really enjoyed
Speaker 1: our talk and you can follow Ralph on Twitter and
Speaker 1: also at s n Y. We're enjoying your coverage. You're
Speaker 1: gonna be here until one, UM, and here on Saturday morning,
Speaker 1: so you'll be you'll be here for the quarterback So
Speaker 1: so Ralph will be talking quarterbacks on Friday. Absolutely, thank
Speaker 1: my pleasure. Thank you. Alright, So that's Ralph Acciano from
Speaker 1: U sports Net New York, and of course before we're
Speaker 1: joined by Theme Brugler, Draft Guru from a CBS Sports
Speaker 1: and Kevin y is coming aboard right now. Kevin has
Speaker 1: made his way from Chicago. He's in Indianapolis. Good to
Speaker 1: see a buddy. Yeah, Jasination man, Jess Hastian Gang Green.
Speaker 1: What's up everybody? How do you feel about that? Doing great? Man?
Speaker 1: It's awesome. Okay, So first off, congratulations as far as
Speaker 1: getting as far as you did. Uh. Now, looking back
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame process, being a finalist, Um, how
Speaker 1: would you explain it? How would you describe the past
Speaker 1: couple of months? Um? Interesting, UM, nerve racking at times,
Speaker 1: but UM grateful for the opportunity. Very few people get
Speaker 1: to go to this process. It's a it's being in
Speaker 1: the hall as a Holliday experience. And I'm not there yet,
Speaker 1: but you know, Chris Martin would know, and there's other guys.
Speaker 1: But UM, what I really enjoyed is undergoing through, understanding
Speaker 1: the process, going through it, but spending time with you
Speaker 1: and you know, you guys did a great job on
Speaker 1: the video leading up to that deal and made me
Speaker 1: cry and uh. But talking to the other reporters and
Speaker 1: find it, you know, you know what kind of player
Speaker 1: you were, and it really matters. It means a lot
Speaker 1: when you find out what other people thought about you.
Speaker 1: And to hear what my poems said about me and
Speaker 1: other coaches and the respect that I earned throughout my career,
Speaker 1: that was pretty neat. And then you find these obscure
Speaker 1: facts that of your career, like I had a two
Speaker 1: one games I played in I had ninety hunre yard rushers,
Speaker 1: which is tops for any player in the history of
Speaker 1: the NFL. Never knew that and that's the first time
Speaker 1: I'm here. Yeah, so that was one of the stats
Speaker 1: that they know the guy. Yeah, that's nine hundred yard
Speaker 1: rushers at a two one games played two and thy started.
Speaker 1: Um so nobody in the NFL has gotten close. It
Speaker 1: was like, I think, you know, I don't know the
Speaker 1: seventeen games gap between mine and the next guy, next
Speaker 1: offensive lineman. So stuff like that. You're like, oh, that's
Speaker 1: pretty cool, you know, you know, but it's been it
Speaker 1: was neat going through the process, a little nerve back
Speaker 1: in the last two hours when you either get a
Speaker 1: knock or get a phone call. I got the phone call, unfortunately,
Speaker 1: but um, I couldn't be happier. Man. I think that
Speaker 1: Paul Kaharsky in in Tennessee, John Clayton, I saw him yesterday. Um,
Speaker 1: I thank you the other day. Just you know, I've
Speaker 1: said to Gary Myers and Bob Glover. Bob Glover apologized
Speaker 1: to me, and I'm like, dude, I'm what are you
Speaker 1: apologizing for? I made? I'm on the top ten. I
Speaker 1: was one of the top ten that made and it
Speaker 1: was pusts me in the top three fifty that's ever
Speaker 1: played this game. And if as long as I had
Speaker 1: that perspective on it, you know. But part of our
Speaker 1: mission here at the Jets is to get you in
Speaker 1: and organizationally, uh, we're gonna make sure that you get
Speaker 1: your right Why I really appreciate that we are on that,
Speaker 1: I'm telling you right now, because you deserve to have
Speaker 1: your bust and Canton and uh, I know, uh, they
Speaker 1: should put you relatively close to Curtis whenever you find
Speaker 1: your way there, because you guys maybe maybe a little
Speaker 1: bit in front. But there's a part of me in
Speaker 1: there already. And and I've said that before with Curtis
Speaker 1: going in ten thousands of his thirteen or fourteen thousand
Speaker 1: yards or mine, you know, aside, you know, because I
Speaker 1: think I went on I R and oh five and
Speaker 1: he went on I are very soon after, so he
Speaker 1: didn't get a whole lot of yards after me. But um,
Speaker 1: so there's a special part of us that are already
Speaker 1: in there. Is the guys that blocked for him over
Speaker 1: the course of our careers. Jason Fabini, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: you know, Brandon Moore and Dave z I, all these guys.
Speaker 1: There's so many guys that are part of that. And likewise,
Speaker 1: if I get in whether I'm next to Curtis across
Speaker 1: the hall from I don't care. I'm in, That's all
Speaker 1: that matters. But but I go in, I would go
Speaker 1: in knowing that all those same guys that helped Curtis
Speaker 1: get in, the same guys that were part of me
Speaker 1: getting in as well. keV, what was your combine next
Speaker 1: varience like when you came out of nothing like this.
Speaker 1: This is like a circus, But so the combine was here,
Speaker 1: the exist, the Commission Center didn't exist. We're actually sitting
Speaker 1: and I guess would be our c A domes where
Speaker 1: we're at right now, and you know the union station
Speaker 1: where the teams do all their interviews. That process is
Speaker 1: still the same. The meat market of going through and
Speaker 1: your underwear to weigh in and take your measurements is
Speaker 1: still the same um going get in an m R
Speaker 1: S and following the blue tape, of the yellow tape,
Speaker 1: of the green tape on the on the floor. That's
Speaker 1: all the same. The differences the media and what they've
Speaker 1: turned this into be this is the second largest NFL
Speaker 1: experienced in in a given year, next to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: From I understand, and we got radio row a combine
Speaker 1: which is unheard of. It's crazy. And then for this
Speaker 1: first time the fans will be able to watch the
Speaker 1: bench press and the forty yard dash, and so they've
Speaker 1: turned it into somewhat of a marketing whatever you wanna
Speaker 1: call it. I'll tell you. You know, Tony Richardson was
Speaker 1: here before. Yeah, so t rich And I don't did
Speaker 1: he get invited the combine because he went in a
Speaker 1: draft pick. He did not get invited like that. He's
Speaker 1: a draft class. So that's what we were just talking
Speaker 1: about it before. There's three thirty guys who get invited here.
Speaker 1: There are a number of players who are gonna be
Speaker 1: playing in the National Football League next year absolutely, who
Speaker 1: don't think are invited here. And that's the thing to
Speaker 1: forty coming out of Auburn. Yeah ran a four four
Speaker 1: played against him in college. Yeah, I know, and he
Speaker 1: didn't get an invite and Auburn, you know, and back
Speaker 1: then in the SEC, Alabama was coming off of a
Speaker 1: i think the second straight national title or something like that.
Speaker 1: Auburn was a very good team. Unfortunately l s U
Speaker 1: wasn't so good, but um, but it just goes to
Speaker 1: show kids that if you really want it and you're
Speaker 1: good enough, you're gonna get found. Just because you don't
Speaker 1: get an invite to the combine, that doesn't mean you're
Speaker 1: not gonna make it, have a chance to get in.
Speaker 1: But but there's a little there's a little genetics involved
Speaker 1: in it, and there's a little good luck involved in it,
Speaker 1: and there's a whole lot of hard work involved in it.
Speaker 1: What are some of the measurements and uh uh particulars
Speaker 1: that you remember from your Indian experience. How about on
Speaker 1: the bench not a ton, but you know at the time,
Speaker 1: anything over twenty was good. And I at two d
Speaker 1: seventy one pounds. My official way in was I think
Speaker 1: to seventy one. Um, so I got twenty one reps.
Speaker 1: I was happy with that. I ran a five one two,
Speaker 1: which I just found out that that was faster than
Speaker 1: Tom Brady by the way. So that's unbelievable, isn't. I
Speaker 1: think it's good. I'm just saying myself, you know. But
Speaker 1: here's the story about the five the forty. So at
Speaker 1: the end of the forty they had like a little
Speaker 1: string that you gotta run through the string, But I
Speaker 1: didn't know that, and so as I ran, so you
Speaker 1: probably ran four eight. Then I ran and I pulled
Speaker 1: up with three yards to go because the strength surprised me,
Speaker 1: so I could have I probably put it in faster seven.
Speaker 1: I gave everything my first one and now I don't
Speaker 1: know about four seven, maybe a four nine or five flat,
Speaker 1: but uh, it didn't matter. I still got drafted in
Speaker 1: second round. So they didn't do the L drill, which
Speaker 1: is you gotta do this L drill. They didn't do
Speaker 1: that then, but they did the five five shuttle. I
Speaker 1: think I ran at four seven four. I think that's
Speaker 1: what it was. I'm not sure. Um twenty nine in vertical.
Speaker 1: Who I was thrilled about the twenty nine vertical And
Speaker 1: this is why because at college I only had like
Speaker 1: a twenty seven. But at l s U we jumped
Speaker 1: the vertical in the ramp going out to the stadium,
Speaker 1: so you're actually on an incline on a spongey floor.
Speaker 1: So I got the common I hit twenty nine. I
Speaker 1: was pretty excited about that. The thing, the one thing
Speaker 1: that Dusk I got about the combine was this the
Speaker 1: guy kept calling my name may Wag and it made
Speaker 1: me so mad. And finally by the time I got
Speaker 1: to the vertical jump, Yeah, there was using the expletive
Speaker 1: my name is, my name is bleeping way, and so
Speaker 1: I don't know. And then I had I had great workouts,
Speaker 1: like old line workout stuff. Um yeah, So I did
Speaker 1: some of the drills with Wretch Ran about five and
Speaker 1: a half forty five five really yeah. I was in
Speaker 1: rich eyes in his work. He cannot est We'll find
Speaker 1: out this week though, won't we. Yeah. And then the
Speaker 1: vertical was bad though. It was like, yeah, that's bad,
Speaker 1: but the man can't jump, not not this one, not
Speaker 1: this one, that is for sure. Um, what do you
Speaker 1: what do you remember about the interview process talking to
Speaker 1: you know? You remember only there's only one interview that
Speaker 1: stuck out in my mind. I remember interviewing with Seattle.
Speaker 1: That's why I ended up being drafted with there's and
Speaker 1: I don't remember all the teams, Pittsburgh, Kansas City Chiefs,
Speaker 1: and the one the Chiefs stood out in my mind
Speaker 1: more than anybody because I met one of the regional
Speaker 1: scouts and developed relationship with him through the Senior Bowl
Speaker 1: and so forth. And so I got drafted by Seattle.
Speaker 1: But I got interviewed with the Chiefs and the guy
Speaker 1: one I don't know who it was, but he asked
Speaker 1: me the question, if the Chiefs don't draft you, what
Speaker 1: are you gonna do? I mean is that I didn't
Speaker 1: know if that was leading question, or is that like,
Speaker 1: you're not good enough to get drafted by anybody else,
Speaker 1: So if we don't draft you, what are you gonna do?
Speaker 1: I was like, well, the Chiefs don't draft me, somebody
Speaker 1: else is I don't worry about it. I mean that
Speaker 1: that was the dumbest question I thought, because it was
Speaker 1: kind of presumptuous to think that, so that that's the
Speaker 1: only team is going to draft me. And um, As
Speaker 1: it turns out, I found out years later that a
Speaker 1: team wanted to put me in the first round, late
Speaker 1: first round. It would have been twenty six, when I
Speaker 1: was twenty something overall on this one, and I got
Speaker 1: flunked on my physical with the combine and I was
Speaker 1: the last guy standing in my draft class sixteen years later,
Speaker 1: so I could have been a first round heer, but
Speaker 1: I got flunked by one of the teams that happens
Speaker 1: to be a divisional arrival of the Jets, and it
Speaker 1: rhymes with what Hills. Oh, so the Bills. I found
Speaker 1: this out. I didn't intership with the bills. One of
Speaker 1: the old time Scott said, I had you rated as
Speaker 1: the first round er. We wanted to take you in
Speaker 1: the first round, but had to take you off the board.
Speaker 1: The doctor funked on your physical and what sixteen years later,
Speaker 1: no suck us. That was a true story. That's what
Speaker 1: they told me. Thanks so much for stopping by. Thanks everybody,
Speaker 1: uh for tuning in because we've had a great show
Speaker 1: here on Radio. Rodane Brugler talking draft and Rolfagia I
Speaker 1: don't reviewed, Todd Bolts news conference and uh, a legendary
Speaker 1: jet joins us here at Radio ro Kevin Way. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much for your time, Thanks you for tuning in.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, man, Gang Green, Go Gangreen.