Speaker 1: The game is over and New York the world. You
Speaker 1: play to win the game. He's got as jet locks down, can't.
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Official New York Jets Podcast, a
Speaker 1: Jets three sixty production. What's Up, Everybody? Thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Official Jets Podcast. Ethan Greenberg, Eric Allen in Studio
Speaker 1: e A. Another week goes by. I do want to
Speaker 1: say that although the Jets did lose Saturday against the Texas,
Speaker 1: you can't not be excited about what you're seeing out
Speaker 1: of Sam Donald. And really this part of the season
Speaker 1: for fans, when the team is eliminated from playoff contention,
Speaker 1: that's really what you want to see is your rookie quarterback,
Speaker 1: the guy that you believe will lead this franchise to
Speaker 1: winning records for the years to come. For one as well,
Speaker 1: a lot of buzz in the stadium Saturday night. And
Speaker 1: I don't think it necessarily started that way, but it
Speaker 1: all goes back to him sitting out a few weeks
Speaker 1: over a month where he didn't see any game action
Speaker 1: with that strain right foot, came back against the Buffalo Bills,
Speaker 1: did his damage late, becoming the youngest quarterback in NFL
Speaker 1: history to lead a game winning Dry leads the Jets
Speaker 1: to come from behind victory. That had to do wonders
Speaker 1: first confidence. The following week against the Houston Texans, I
Speaker 1: know a lot of people rightfully saw we're wondering what
Speaker 1: was the Jets offense going to be able to do
Speaker 1: against the Texans defense? Because your minus Isaiah Crowl obviously
Speaker 1: balal poles by in on injur reserve for a while
Speaker 1: Quincy and Noonwall was down. You're shuffling a lot of
Speaker 1: pieces up front along that offensive line. But I think
Speaker 1: Donald turned in the best effort so far of his
Speaker 1: young NFL career thirty eight to fifty three, two touchdowns.
Speaker 1: He also used his feet very well six rushes thirty
Speaker 1: five yards UM and uh, Josh mccowll told me after
Speaker 1: the game that you knew about his athletic ability, but
Speaker 1: now he's starting to win in the pocket, and that
Speaker 1: was always the question with any of these young guys,
Speaker 1: and Donald's starting to show a lot of positive signs.
Speaker 1: So for me, I'm kind of disappointed that the season
Speaker 1: is gonna end in two weeks. Sure, but it is
Speaker 1: nice to close on a high nose ye. But I'm
Speaker 1: just saying he's going to play the way that he
Speaker 1: has been. Yeah, But my point is I just want
Speaker 1: this kid to keep on playing. Oh yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1: And it's been well documented the time between the end
Speaker 1: of this season and the beginning of next season. Really
Speaker 1: where O t A s begin in the spring is
Speaker 1: where Donald will see the most growth, or where you
Speaker 1: would assume most quarterbacks see the most growth from their
Speaker 1: rookie year to their sophomore year. But Saturday was the
Speaker 1: third time this season that Sam Donald has had a
Speaker 1: rating of one hundred or more. You think about Week
Speaker 1: six against the Colts, debatably one of the better performances
Speaker 1: for Samulans. I thought this one was more impressive because
Speaker 1: I thought maybe while the offensive line played very well
Speaker 1: against the Texans, I thought the Jets had everything going
Speaker 1: offensively against the Colts. And I don't think the Colts
Speaker 1: played awfully well that game. So I would just say
Speaker 1: that to me, Uh, he has completion percentage wasn't as
Speaker 1: high as it was against the Colts, but I think
Speaker 1: overall he was doing better things. I agree. I think
Speaker 1: that you mentioned it that Donald looked more comfortable in
Speaker 1: the pocket and he was more decisive, and what I
Speaker 1: really like there's one play in particular where he gets
Speaker 1: the snack, immediately realizes that no one's really open. You
Speaker 1: only need the X amount of yards to get the
Speaker 1: first out. Immediately tucked and Rand got the first out.
Speaker 1: That was it. I think it was probably like third
Speaker 1: and five or so, and he tucked it. Ran slid
Speaker 1: popped up that I was it. And I think what
Speaker 1: you're seeing is Donald look a lot more comfortable at
Speaker 1: the line of scrimmage pre snap, understanding what exactly he
Speaker 1: wants to do, what defense is met, what the defense
Speaker 1: is trying to do. And Sam Donald said it himself.
Speaker 1: Taking a couple of weeks off, although it was because
Speaker 1: of an unfortunate reason with the strain right foot, eventually
Speaker 1: ended up helping him because it helped him slow the
Speaker 1: game down. Slow his mind now a little bit while
Speaker 1: learning from Josh McCown, not that he hasn't been learning,
Speaker 1: but he sees it through different lens, watching Josh McCown
Speaker 1: lead the starting off as lead the first team offense
Speaker 1: and practice and walk through and everything that he does.
Speaker 1: And frankly, I'm excited to see what Sam Donald does,
Speaker 1: not only this weekend against the Packers, but then up
Speaker 1: in Foxborough against Tom Brady and the Patriots, because that
Speaker 1: is probably one of the tougher places to play in
Speaker 1: the NFL. I don't think the Patriots lost on this year.
Speaker 1: I was just looking at it. The Atriots or nine
Speaker 1: and five as we enter what week sixteen in the
Speaker 1: National Football League season, there are three and five on
Speaker 1: the road, So yeah, ge lot, they don't lose too
Speaker 1: much there. But that's why I don't think the New
Speaker 1: England Patriots are going to the Super Bowl this year.
Speaker 1: Green's because they're gonna have to possibly play on the
Speaker 1: road at least twice. I don't see the Patriots going
Speaker 1: to the super Bowl. But the spot is not about
Speaker 1: completely about the Patriots. I would just just a small portion.
Speaker 1: I would say home in a waste splits really have
Speaker 1: my attention right now because the Jets have a hell
Speaker 1: of an opportunity to win this week, and I know
Speaker 1: a lot of fans are still focusing on the two
Speaker 1: thousand nineteen draft. I say, don't worry about that whether
Speaker 1: you have the number three overall selection or which the
Speaker 1: Jets would have at the season end of today. But oh,
Speaker 1: by the way, the season does that today, so they
Speaker 1: don't have the number three overall selection, so you're probably
Speaker 1: gonna have anywhere between what three and time or one
Speaker 1: in time or whatever. I don't know. My point, you're
Speaker 1: gonna have a good pick at the top of the
Speaker 1: first round. And I want to see a Donald win
Speaker 1: some games. He is an opportunity to win another one
Speaker 1: this week against a struggling Green Bay Packers team. There's
Speaker 1: a five eight and one, and oh, by the way,
Speaker 1: they are zero and seven on the road in two
Speaker 1: thousand eighteen. We're gonna catch up with Tom Silverstein of
Speaker 1: the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel later on in the show. He
Speaker 1: also has a podcast. You can listen to that on
Speaker 1: JS online. It is a Packers podcast, but this is
Speaker 1: the official New York Jets podcast. So we talked about
Speaker 1: Sam Nornld, and we keep talking about it. But I
Speaker 1: wanted to be known that the Jets almost won last
Speaker 1: week's game. And I know it's a sour taste in
Speaker 1: the fans mouth. Well, maybe not the fans if they
Speaker 1: want the better draft pick. It's probably actually last week
Speaker 1: was probably the best case scenario for fans that want
Speaker 1: to see Donald play well but want the higher draft pick.
Speaker 1: But this is not about the draft and I think
Speaker 1: that's the loser's mentality. Well, that that's I think what
Speaker 1: the pulse of most fans is right now. They want
Speaker 1: the high pick, but they want their Of course, at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, you want to have a
Speaker 1: draft pick that is higher. I mean once you get
Speaker 1: to April, but you play to win the game you have,
Speaker 1: you have your quarterback. You have your quarterback. So I
Speaker 1: don't know. I'm sure you are a big draft guy.
Speaker 1: I haven't studied too much of the draft. I watched
Speaker 1: a lot of college football. I don't know if there's
Speaker 1: a big difference between picking three and eight and the
Speaker 1: draft buddy this year, especially considering you've got a quarterback.
Speaker 1: I think I think a couple of things. I think
Speaker 1: that one, this class as it stands is edge rusher heavy,
Speaker 1: So no, I don't think that there's a big difference.
Speaker 1: The other part is that I think a lot of
Speaker 1: fans want a high pick just as trade bait, simply
Speaker 1: as trade bait so someone will get up and we pay,
Speaker 1: so the Jets can trade down and stockpile picks. I
Speaker 1: think that's really what it's about. We're playing fantasy football.
Speaker 1: What I would say is, what's realistic is that you
Speaker 1: do have financial flexibility. The Jets are going to add
Speaker 1: pieces around Sam Donald. That is factual. It is going
Speaker 1: to happen. How that is going to look, I don't
Speaker 1: know what positions they are. Um, if it's a guy
Speaker 1: on the line, if it's a receiver, it's a running back.
Speaker 1: They are going to add pieces around Sam Donald even
Speaker 1: before the draft. So again we're trying to look at
Speaker 1: the draft right now, which is impossible because the draft
Speaker 1: board also will shuffle and shuffle and shuffle up and
Speaker 1: seen your bowl combine, and then there's always that late,
Speaker 1: that late riser that comes and smoking hot. Um. But again, uh,
Speaker 1: you got your quarterback. Let's see what happens. Let's see
Speaker 1: what some of the pieces that you add around him
Speaker 1: in free agency, and then we'll get to the draft
Speaker 1: and we'll study where they're at. Yes, you want to
Speaker 1: built for the draft, but oh, by the way, you've
Speaker 1: got Sam Donald in the draft. All right, more Jets
Speaker 1: talk after we catch up with Tom Silverstein. But let's
Speaker 1: bring Tom on the pod. Delighted now to be joined
Speaker 1: by Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Tom, thanks
Speaker 1: so much for joining on the official Jets podcast, You're welcome,
Speaker 1: and Tom also has a podcast you gotta listen to
Speaker 1: that that's the Packers podcast on j S online. A
Speaker 1: little cross promotion here on the official Jets podcasts. All
Speaker 1: podcasts are friends of each other's podcast. But let's talk
Speaker 1: about this Jets Packers matchup for a second here, because
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of fans back in the
Speaker 1: beginning beginning of the year obviously thought of the Packers
Speaker 1: as a team that would be making the playoffs and
Speaker 1: when the NFC North are being contention for that. So
Speaker 1: what do you feel like has happened this year in
Speaker 1: Green Bay? Well, uh, BOI, where do I get started?
Speaker 1: You know, it started with Aaron Rodgers getting hurt in
Speaker 1: the season opener and injuring his knee, and a lot
Speaker 1: of what Mike McCarthy's plans for the season got altered
Speaker 1: pretty dramatically because of the things that uh Rogers was
Speaker 1: limited to. I mean, for a while, he couldn't line
Speaker 1: up under center. He had to do everything out of
Speaker 1: the shotgun or the pistol, and so, you know, things
Speaker 1: just kind of they just kind of struggled offensively. Then
Speaker 1: they found out you know that they really uh didn't
Speaker 1: have enough helped at wide receiver that they were playing with.
Speaker 1: You know, they lost one of their veteran guys, Geronimoy Ellison,
Speaker 1: and then they're playing two rookies, and then you know,
Speaker 1: Jimmy Graham hasn't been as good as they thought he
Speaker 1: would be, and it's just been kind of one thing
Speaker 1: after another, and Rogers just had been playing while he's
Speaker 1: he's missing receivers that you've never seen him missed before.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's really pretty remarkable how different he is,
Speaker 1: you know, and you're used to a certain standard and
Speaker 1: he's not hitting that standard right now. So just it's
Speaker 1: been one thing after ever, and they had a brutal schedule.
Speaker 1: They had to play four road games in five weeks,
Speaker 1: and the road games were at l a h then
Speaker 1: at New England, then they went to Seattle and then Minnesota,
Speaker 1: and they lost all of them. And they haven't went
Speaker 1: on the road all year. So it's just been one
Speaker 1: of those years where you know, it's it's it's not
Speaker 1: been pretty. And then McCarthy lost his job because of that.
Speaker 1: Some people tom are saying that this is the first
Speaker 1: season that the Packers will not be in the playoffs
Speaker 1: with a healthy Aaron Rodgers since two thousand and eight.
Speaker 1: But what I would ask you is, is Aaron Rodgers healthy?
Speaker 1: I know he's been playing, and you mentioned he hasn't
Speaker 1: been the same guy. Do you attribute that to injury?
Speaker 1: Because just looking at it from Afar and we've seen
Speaker 1: a little bit of Aaron Rodgers when we're not covering
Speaker 1: the Jets, of course, because you're still getting a lot
Speaker 1: of prime time exposure there in Green Bay. That his
Speaker 1: numbers haven't been awful if you consider him. I know
Speaker 1: that's not a typical a rod year in terms of
Speaker 1: completion percentage, but wow, has it really struck out to
Speaker 1: me that the interceptions are solo? What is the twenty
Speaker 1: three touchdowns and two interceptions so far this year? Well,
Speaker 1: I think that's part of the problem. Actually, he's thrown
Speaker 1: more passes away. He's been less willing to take any chances,
Speaker 1: and I think that's what hurt his game more than anything,
Speaker 1: is that he has played it safe and he sort
Speaker 1: of I don't know if he's gotten um caught up
Speaker 1: in the whole interception thing. You know, he had this
Speaker 1: broke the record for the streak of the longest number
Speaker 1: attempts before throwing an interception. But he's not throwing guys open.
Speaker 1: He's not throwing a lot of contested balls. He's you know,
Speaker 1: scrambling a lot. He'll just bail out of the pocket
Speaker 1: and go to the scramble play really quickly. And it's
Speaker 1: been really remarkable the number of um uh receivers that
Speaker 1: he's not throwing the ball to. You look at it
Speaker 1: and you go, Okay, that guy's open in your mind,
Speaker 1: but in his mind, he's not. And that's that's a big,
Speaker 1: big change to what you know you're used to. And uh,
Speaker 1: there's just something you know early on it was that
Speaker 1: he wasn't happy with the offense that McCarthy's often was boring,
Speaker 1: and it wasn't doing what all the things that you
Speaker 1: know that that Sean McVeigh is doing, and um, you
Speaker 1: know Shanahan and that they had gotten stale and all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, um, they're just he just he was
Speaker 1: a different guy. And that's kind of how it's been
Speaker 1: all year. What are your thoughts on the job Mike
Speaker 1: McCarthy did in Green Bay. Uh, we think about all
Speaker 1: the playoff appearances and he did lead the Packers to
Speaker 1: a Super Bowl championship, it seems like that relationship with
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers fell apart. It's at some point, But overall,
Speaker 1: what do you think about the job he did in
Speaker 1: Green Bay? And also how good of a hike coach
Speaker 1: Mike McCarthy is. I think he did a phenomenal job
Speaker 1: and I don't think you can ever take away uh
Speaker 1: what he what he did there, which was, uh go
Speaker 1: to a Super Bowl and four n a C Championship games.
Speaker 1: And while you know his detractors will say, well, you
Speaker 1: didn't win enough super Bowls with Aaron Rodgers, Well, you
Speaker 1: know that's that's sort of uh comes with the territory.
Speaker 1: I mean, you want to say that about Sean Payton
Speaker 1: that he hasn't won enough with Drew Brees. You know,
Speaker 1: the only guy you say is consistently one is Tom Brady,
Speaker 1: and there's just winning super Bowls is hard. McCarty's put
Speaker 1: them in the He's every single year they were in
Speaker 1: the mix. You know, they were a team that had
Speaker 1: a chance to go somewhere, you know, and it didn't
Speaker 1: happen every year. So I think he did a phenomenal job,
Speaker 1: and I think he'd be uh really solid coach for anybody.
Speaker 1: And I think the thing that Um, the only thing
Speaker 1: I would say with the caveat is that I do
Speaker 1: think he needs to add some youth to his offensive staff.
Speaker 1: He needs to bring in some new people who can
Speaker 1: have some different ideas because he surrounded himself with a
Speaker 1: lot of the guys who are steeped in the offense
Speaker 1: that he has this matchup offense, and this offense is
Speaker 1: really good, but you have to have really good players
Speaker 1: for it to succeed. And I think that's kind of
Speaker 1: been the issue for the Packers is that they're in
Speaker 1: a transition period. You know, they're transitioning from uh a
Speaker 1: new with a new GM, and he's brought in new
Speaker 1: players and they kind of got a little bit old
Speaker 1: and now they're they're retooling. So that that played a
Speaker 1: role in in their record this year. How would you
Speaker 1: describe Mike McCarthy's style off the field and how would
Speaker 1: you describe his offense? So, Um, he's a straight shooter.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's he's a guy for m Pittsburgh. He's
Speaker 1: he's all Pittsburgh, you know, I mean he is he
Speaker 1: is uh very much a down to earth. Um, He's
Speaker 1: not a pretty talker or a big raw rock guy.
Speaker 1: He's really organized, he's really good at um. He loves
Speaker 1: calling plays, he loves the challenge of calling plays, and
Speaker 1: he's pretty good at it. People around here will will
Speaker 1: dispute that, but I I UM, I think the thing
Speaker 1: with his offense is it's totally a matchup offense. He
Speaker 1: does not do a lot of scheming to get people open.
Speaker 1: He what he does is try to create one on
Speaker 1: one matchups that favor the offense. So if you have
Speaker 1: really good receivers, he's going to get one of those
Speaker 1: guys open one way or another. Are someone's going to
Speaker 1: get a one on one and then he counts on
Speaker 1: them getting open and they don't. You know, this year
Speaker 1: that hasn't happened because they've had some rookie receivers who
Speaker 1: just are still learning the offense, and so it's been
Speaker 1: a little bit different that. Man, what do you think
Speaker 1: the Packers need as they looked at the offseason. We're
Speaker 1: gonna get to the match up here in a second.
Speaker 1: We're definitely not forgetting Jets Packers. But it's just been
Speaker 1: a fascinating their fascinating year there in Green Bay. And uh,
Speaker 1: you've been right in the midst of it. For so
Speaker 1: long time. What do you think the Packers do need
Speaker 1: in terms of a new leader when their search begins. Uh,
Speaker 1: if Joe Philbin just finishes out here and then they
Speaker 1: start that coaching searching earnest well, the big thing is,
Speaker 1: you know, and I think every candidate they bring in
Speaker 1: you have to ask yourself, Okay, you have to ask
Speaker 1: this guy, Okay, what would you do with Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: right now? You know, how how would you get him
Speaker 1: playing back to the way he was playing? And you know,
Speaker 1: I would be curious to hear from all of the candidates,
Speaker 1: especially the offensive one. You know, what, what is your
Speaker 1: offensive plan? Who do you plan on bringing in as
Speaker 1: some of your assistance? Do you have some a strong
Speaker 1: quarterbacks coach, a guy who probably has played the position,
Speaker 1: because Rogers is going to need somebody he really trusts
Speaker 1: and and respects. And are you, you know, to what
Speaker 1: degree are you gonna be able to coach him? And
Speaker 1: then you know, are you willing to uh be just
Speaker 1: a coach? Because they have a GM and he has
Speaker 1: total say over personnel, but he doesn't have total control
Speaker 1: over the whole football operation, which is a weird setup.
Speaker 1: It's sort of like the head coach reports to the president,
Speaker 1: the GM reports to the president, and the CAP guy
Speaker 1: reports to the president. So I'm not really sure. I
Speaker 1: guess the president in charge that would be Mark Murphy.
Speaker 1: And it's it's not a great set up, and um,
Speaker 1: but you have to find out are you okay with that?
Speaker 1: You know, will you be able to work with the
Speaker 1: GM and play his guys and and and so that's
Speaker 1: the kind of stuff that they're going to be looking at.
Speaker 1: I think they could hire an offensive or defensive guy.
Speaker 1: They've traditionally hired offensive guys. I mean, going all the
Speaker 1: way back to uh, you know, Forest, Greg Wendy and Fonte,
Speaker 1: Mike Holmgren, you know, Ray Rhodes was the one difference
Speaker 1: and we lasted one year. Mike Sherman, Mike McCarthy, So
Speaker 1: you would think they'd be after an offensive guy, but
Speaker 1: you never know. I mean, I think they need to
Speaker 1: look at mc fangio in Chicago. He's been kicking their
Speaker 1: butt for you know, a decade, and you know, if
Speaker 1: you can't you can't beat them, join them. So I
Speaker 1: wouldn't be surprised if they take a look at him.
Speaker 1: To the time, very recently in the journal sense, and
Speaker 1: all you wrote that Mike Patton is making his case
Speaker 1: to stay on if in fact the Packers do elect
Speaker 1: to go with an offensive mind as their head coach.
Speaker 1: Can you talk about Patton, the former Jets defensive coordinator,
Speaker 1: what he's been doing there in his first year in
Speaker 1: Green Bay, considering all those injuries on the defensive side
Speaker 1: of the ball. And then let's fast forward to Sunday,
Speaker 1: what do you expect Patton is going to throw at
Speaker 1: rookie quarterback Sam Donald. Yeah, he's done a really solid job.
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't think you could have asked for
Speaker 1: anything more for a guy who's playing. So they've had
Speaker 1: so many injuries, and you know in on defense that
Speaker 1: on Sunday they were playing with um two rookie corners
Speaker 1: where they're two starters. Their third corner has been played
Speaker 1: only about four games. For Shot Breland, it was a veteran,
Speaker 1: but he's been hurt pretty much all year. They're playing
Speaker 1: with Tramon Williams, U career corner playing safety for the
Speaker 1: first time. And uh, they're playing with a guy they
Speaker 1: picked up off the street two weeks ago at their
Speaker 1: nickel linebacker spot. So all that said, you know they
Speaker 1: were missing their two best defensive lineman Mike Daniels and
Speaker 1: Kenny Clark. They lost Mohammed Wilkerson at the beginning of
Speaker 1: the year. He's just put together. He's just kept them
Speaker 1: together and his third down defense has been really good.
Speaker 1: They have these moments where they play poorly, but then
Speaker 1: they always seem to get their act together. And I
Speaker 1: think he's just done a really nice job. Is he
Speaker 1: going to be sun and everything? But the kitchen sink
Speaker 1: against Donald on Sunday? You think a lot of blitz packages,
Speaker 1: a lot of overloads. Uh, you know, that's really interesting
Speaker 1: because of course, you know, you know, you guys know him. Well,
Speaker 1: he's was uh running the Rex Ryan defense and they
Speaker 1: do blitz but he's picked up some other things along
Speaker 1: the way to uh you know, and he said that
Speaker 1: that it's being out of football for a year to
Speaker 1: give him a chance to look at some other schemes,
Speaker 1: and he's kind of blended some things in. So, yeah,
Speaker 1: you'll see some some of those blitzes, but it won't
Speaker 1: be constant. You know, there will be times where he'll
Speaker 1: he'll drop eight guys and then other times he'll bring
Speaker 1: corner blitzes. Uh. He's he's really had to mix things
Speaker 1: up to you know, have some success with this defense.
Speaker 1: They probably won't look exactly like it did, but uh,
Speaker 1: you will see some of those blitzes they brought him
Speaker 1: against Mr Drabinsky last week, but you know, only in
Speaker 1: a controlled manner. So the Packers are all in seven
Speaker 1: on the road. They have they have been winless on
Speaker 1: the road since nineteen seventy eight. I know the team
Speaker 1: obviously has endured a lot of difficulty this year, but
Speaker 1: can you point you You talked about the schedule strength
Speaker 1: before as far as they to brutal road schedule, but
Speaker 1: in addition to that, can you point to anything specifically
Speaker 1: and say this is why this team can't get it
Speaker 1: done away from home. Well, aside from the Washington game,
Speaker 1: they've been in every single one of those games and
Speaker 1: they could have won every single one of those. Maybe
Speaker 1: New England was a little borderline, but they were tied
Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter, so you know, Seattle that they
Speaker 1: should have. They had a chance to win that with
Speaker 1: a game winning drive the Rams. They were all set,
Speaker 1: they had two, two or five to go, uh, down
Speaker 1: by two, and their kick returner for some reason, decides
Speaker 1: to take it out of the end zone and flumbles
Speaker 1: and they lose the game. Then, uh, Minnesota they were
Speaker 1: right in it all the way, and Seattle they had
Speaker 1: a chance to win. So it's been like that every
Speaker 1: single week. And it was like that in Chicago they
Speaker 1: had a chance. They tied it up late. You know,
Speaker 1: they had the ball at fift the yard line after
Speaker 1: a stop with the game tied, and Rogers overthrows two
Speaker 1: guys for sure touchdown or one of them are for
Speaker 1: sure touchdown, the other's a big game. They just can't
Speaker 1: get over the hump on these close games. And you know,
Speaker 1: these are games that Rogers wins all the time, you know,
Speaker 1: or has one all the time. You give him a
Speaker 1: chance with on the road, he's been you know, a
Speaker 1: dagger thrower, and he's not done that year. And that's
Speaker 1: probably the biggest explanation, Tom When you look at this
Speaker 1: matchup on both sides of the ball, do you see
Speaker 1: or what are the areas in which you think that
Speaker 1: the Jets could exploit the Packers, that maybe the Packers
Speaker 1: a little less strong than years pasted. Well, you know
Speaker 1: on defense, they I mean they are they are really
Speaker 1: beat up on the defensive line. So you gotta want
Speaker 1: to try to um run on them. Their pass rushes
Speaker 1: and't gonna be all that great. They're gonna have the
Speaker 1: blitz to create pass rush. So if you can pick
Speaker 1: up their blitzes, then you've got a chance to uh
Speaker 1: gash them pretty good. Um. Offensively, you know, they they're
Speaker 1: playing with a backup right tackle and a backup right guard,
Speaker 1: and so you know you've got to put pressure on
Speaker 1: Rogers off of that side. I mean, you've got to
Speaker 1: take advantage of those guys. Uh. The rest of their
Speaker 1: offensive line is very good, but those two young guys
Speaker 1: on Jason Spirits at right tackle and uh Lucas Patrick
Speaker 1: at right guard, you gotta you gotta take advantage of that. Um,
Speaker 1: their best running back is out here and Jones. So
Speaker 1: you should hold them to you know, twenty four points
Speaker 1: max unless Rodgers is for some reason breaks out. But
Speaker 1: it's a winnable game for the Jets, it really is.
Speaker 1: You just as long as you know the package, don't
Speaker 1: don't turn other teams over much. They have like seven
Speaker 1: interceptions the whole year, and uh, they're just they're just
Speaker 1: a very mediocre team right now. Last one for me,
Speaker 1: do you like what you've seen out of Sam Donald.
Speaker 1: Obviously you're you got the Packers that you're covering. You're
Speaker 1: chronicling Aaron Rodgers every step and every misstep so far
Speaker 1: in two thousand and eighteen. But the last couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: as Donald impressed you and considering it looks like Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers still gonna play these final two games. Um, do
Speaker 1: you think that adds a little juice to this matchup
Speaker 1: as far as Aaron Rodgers, one of the games all
Speaker 1: time greats at the position, and the Jets rookie quarterback
Speaker 1: Sam Donald, who's starting to take some steps as his
Speaker 1: rookie year comes to a conclusion. Yeah, as much as
Speaker 1: you know, I'd like to try to build it that way,
Speaker 1: I can't really see it in any lens other than
Speaker 1: the Packers are playing out this year. They're just they're done. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's nothing for them to accomplish in these last two years,
Speaker 1: the last two games. There's a lot of young guys
Speaker 1: who want to be around next year, that want to
Speaker 1: you know, want to play and want to play hard,
Speaker 1: and they'll play hard for Joe Filban. They like Joe
Speaker 1: Philban a lot, but uh, you know from from uh
Speaker 1: you know, matchup, you know, getting psyched about a game
Speaker 1: or something like that. I I don't know. I think
Speaker 1: it's they're just playing because they're professionals and that's what
Speaker 1: they do. They play. But there's like no add INCENTI. Um.
Speaker 1: As as far as Donald, I'm sure. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: I've had a chance to watch a little bit. I've
Speaker 1: seen more of uh Baker Mayfield because Cleveland is just
Speaker 1: you know, a team that I know a little bit
Speaker 1: more off. They have some Packers guys who are running
Speaker 1: that that show. Um. But the good I've seen on
Speaker 1: Donald is you know, he's having what I think is
Speaker 1: a typical rookie year for for a quarterback, and that's
Speaker 1: not bad. You learn a lot in that first year.
Speaker 1: You know, Rogers sat for three years and didn't really
Speaker 1: get that chance to go through all the all the
Speaker 1: things that a rookie quarterback gets to go through when
Speaker 1: he plays. And so it's a really valuable time for him.
Speaker 1: And you know, I think these last two games for
Speaker 1: him are really important because you know, he's trying to
Speaker 1: build something there. The Packers are just trying to finish
Speaker 1: out and you know, figure out where the heck they are.
Speaker 1: But I think you know, with with the Jets, I
Speaker 1: would guess that they're trying to build something for next year,
Speaker 1: even if it's with a different coach. Real quick, just
Speaker 1: bouncing off of ease topic right there before we let
Speaker 1: you go. I know you've only seen a little bit
Speaker 1: of Sam Donald, but do you see any resemblance to
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers in the sense of the magical sloppiness, the
Speaker 1: ability to extend and excel all scripts. You know, that's
Speaker 1: a that's a tough question because the thing about Rogers
Speaker 1: that it developed over time. You know, his this uh
Speaker 1: scramble ability that was not who he was right in
Speaker 1: at the beginning. Um, he sort of gave him a
Speaker 1: lot as time went on that they went to more
Speaker 1: no huddle and they gave him more freedom to do
Speaker 1: things that the line of scrimmage and his scrambling was
Speaker 1: not at the beginning, was not as big a part
Speaker 1: of his game. It's sort of developed later when he
Speaker 1: figured out, um, how much of a weapon that could be.
Speaker 1: And I think that's sort of the line that you
Speaker 1: see with like a Josh Allen um and I think
Speaker 1: Donald's the same way. When do you use it? And
Speaker 1: you know, do you overuse it or keep it under control,
Speaker 1: and I think at this point, you know a lot
Speaker 1: of times when they're running, it's just running to get
Speaker 1: out of trouble. But soon they'll use it, you know,
Speaker 1: after a while, like Rogers, did you start to use
Speaker 1: it as a weapon. And that's kind of the transition
Speaker 1: that you started looking for. Well the time, you've been
Speaker 1: so generous with your time. Fans can follow you at
Speaker 1: Tom Silverstein and also go to JS dot com not
Speaker 1: only just to read Tom, but he's got a blog
Speaker 1: on there. I got a podcast on there as well,
Speaker 1: podcast the Packers Podcast. We will see you at MetLife
Speaker 1: Stadium this weekend, sir, you bet your I will be
Speaker 1: there alright. Many thanks to Tom again for joining the
Speaker 1: Official Jets Podcast this week. E A. We've talked a
Speaker 1: lot about Sam Donald and for rightfully so no doubt
Speaker 1: about it. But what do you think of the way
Speaker 1: Elia McGuire Trent Cannon played after Isaiah Krowell went on
Speaker 1: i R early last week? How do you think they
Speaker 1: played against the Texans and what would you like to
Speaker 1: see out of these guys in what is really very
Speaker 1: much so valuable reps for these guys moving forward the
Speaker 1: past the last two weeks alright, thought Jeremy bas called
Speaker 1: a good game. There was a lot of balance out there. Um,
Speaker 1: it was nice to see Ela McGuire getting some help
Speaker 1: from his friends there on his touchdown against the Houston
Speaker 1: Tech since in the fourth quarter that TD actually gave
Speaker 1: the Jets a lead. So he's got scores in consecutive weeks, Cannon. Um,
Speaker 1: take nothing away from the reps he's getting offensively. He's
Speaker 1: incredible on special teams. That's one of the stories that
Speaker 1: just falls under the radar because he's brought here to
Speaker 1: be a return man and all this sudden has become
Speaker 1: one of the best gunners I've seen a person this
Speaker 1: year period. Um, you know, but uh yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: those guys are getting big time reps down the stretch,
Speaker 1: so it's very important. And I also got I also
Speaker 1: got to credit the offensive line because you got Jonathan
Speaker 1: Harrison center, you got Spencer Long, who was gonna be
Speaker 1: your center at left guar because James carpenters on inju reserve.
Speaker 1: Now Brandon Shall it probably he's gonna head to injury reserve.
Speaker 1: We're sitting here taping on uh Tuesday, and he looked
Speaker 1: like he suffered. I'm not a doctor, but they had
Speaker 1: to bring the card out for him. I would imagine
Speaker 1: he's gonna be out for a while, so you might
Speaker 1: be dealing with Brent waal at and even if the
Speaker 1: shell injury isn't as catastrophic or as severe as we think.
Speaker 1: Two weeks two weeks, yeah, Yeah, it's a week and
Speaker 1: a half from now the season one in New England.
Speaker 1: So I gotta credit the offensive line and what the
Speaker 1: guys have done in the backfield. And there are certain
Speaker 1: pieces that we talked about adding to the mix to
Speaker 1: help Darnald out and here in the future. But there
Speaker 1: are guys developing in front of our own eyes. Robbie
Speaker 1: Anderson and Donald has showing that chemistry the last couple
Speaker 1: of weeks. How about Chris Herndon. He looks like a
Speaker 1: big time keeper and he's got tremendous rhythm going with
Speaker 1: Sam Donald, Eli McGuire is gonna be here for a while,
Speaker 1: Trent and Cannon is gonna be here for a while.
Speaker 1: But all those reps are valuable for those guys. And
Speaker 1: then even if you do add along the offensive line,
Speaker 1: you're depth been tested here and I think the guys
Speaker 1: have responded. I was about to look up a stat
Speaker 1: but you cut your point short. So how I was
Speaker 1: gonna look it up? Look it up? No, No, I
Speaker 1: saw something that Jordan Leggett has had like a I
Speaker 1: thought it was like six six regardless. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: not that he's over achieving, because he's not, but it's
Speaker 1: it's nice to see Jordan Legott finally touched the field
Speaker 1: and make somewhat of an impact after last year he
Speaker 1: basically didn't play the entire years rookie year was cut short. Yeah,
Speaker 1: to me, it just goes back to Herndon. I'm not
Speaker 1: taking anything away from that. I'm not trying to like yeah,
Speaker 1: but I'm just trying to say, like, at least there's
Speaker 1: something that there's somewhat of a future there at the
Speaker 1: tight end position after being non existent for a couple
Speaker 1: of years. I would agree with that. And Donald's the
Speaker 1: two of his most impressive place against Houston is he's
Speaker 1: rolling to the right in the fourth quarter. A lot
Speaker 1: of people thought, hey, maybe he's just gonna talk it,
Speaker 1: and he threw a touch pass to Herndon. And then
Speaker 1: he also did that in the first staff where he's
Speaker 1: rolling to his left and he throws another touch pass.
Speaker 1: So that's what we had heard about Donald for a
Speaker 1: long time, is the accuracy on the move while we're
Speaker 1: seeing more and more. And how about the design role
Speaker 1: from Jeremy bas there where he does the spin. This
Speaker 1: was early in the third quarter, and then through that
Speaker 1: twenty yard dart to Robbie Anderson spin, it's been where
Speaker 1: he rolled to his left. Yeah, that's definitely just I.
Speaker 1: I asked Pennington about it because I can't make that
Speaker 1: call and say, hey, is that something where he reads J. J. Watt?
Speaker 1: Yeah right, yeah, yeah, Because wasn't that the first play
Speaker 1: when Brent Quality was in and one of the first
Speaker 1: that he was in. I'm not sure you might remember
Speaker 1: on that. Uh, your memory might serve you correctly. But
Speaker 1: all I'm saying is I asked Pennington because he knows
Speaker 1: as far as the quarterback position things like that. He
Speaker 1: thinks that's a play you work on in a practice
Speaker 1: and it's a sprint left. It's a sprint left, So
Speaker 1: when you work on in a practice. What he said,
Speaker 1: and you can watch this Jetts flight plan Sunday morning,
Speaker 1: we'll be back on eleven thirty CBS, is that he
Speaker 1: does the spin in practice and then sprints left, throws
Speaker 1: it up the sideline. You do whatever you're comfortable with
Speaker 1: their and Donald probably worked on that there in a week.
Speaker 1: Donald's accuracy on the run has very has been very
Speaker 1: impressive all year, and you saw a glimpses of it
Speaker 1: in the preseason and training camp, and to see it
Speaker 1: in the regular season with with live bullis is very
Speaker 1: nice to see him. And if you're a Judge fan,
Speaker 1: you have to be encouraged. This whole Aaron Rodgers thing
Speaker 1: is crazy that we talked to Tom about it. I
Speaker 1: almost don't not that I don't believe Tom, but I
Speaker 1: almost don't believe Tom. I do, but I almost don't
Speaker 1: believe what is happening in Green Bay because when you
Speaker 1: think how great of a player Aaron Rodgers is, you
Speaker 1: just kind of waiting for him to erupt. I feel
Speaker 1: like you're just waiting for him to finally be Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers at your used to it might have Yeah, that
Speaker 1: might not be this year. Well I don't think it's
Speaker 1: gonna be this year. He could come out and throw
Speaker 1: darts all over the field, but it doesn't seem like
Speaker 1: that's gonna happen. Um. So that was very interesting analysis
Speaker 1: because we just look at numbers greens and maybe we
Speaker 1: see a Packers game once a year or twice a year, um,
Speaker 1: when we had the fortune of being home or something
Speaker 1: like that. But he said the interception number kind of
Speaker 1: is indicative of what's going on with him because I
Speaker 1: look at him, like, guys not turning the ball over,
Speaker 1: that's doing a great job. Where Thom is saying, he's
Speaker 1: not taking any kind of chances down the field and
Speaker 1: it's hurting this team. And he's not being decisive in
Speaker 1: the pocket. Uh, he's not trusting his reads. These are
Speaker 1: certain things that we're talking about with Sam Donald, you know,
Speaker 1: with the rookie quarterback. So I mean he is human, uh,
Speaker 1: and he did uh deal with that knee injury earlier
Speaker 1: in the year. Um. Obviously it's some uh philosophical differences
Speaker 1: with former head coach Mike McCarthy, but they had tremendous
Speaker 1: run together no matter how it ended. But Joe fell
Speaker 1: and said this week that, hey, it's all about being professional.
Speaker 1: I would imagine the Packers come in here with the
Speaker 1: professional effort. But as Tom said, the Packers and the
Speaker 1: Jets are in completely different situations heading into Week sixteen.
Speaker 1: It's crazy to think about. But I will say that
Speaker 1: DeVante Addams a great player, so the Jets might have
Speaker 1: their hand for he is with him. He is a
Speaker 1: great player, but I don't think he is on And
Speaker 1: then this is not a bolton board material because nobody's
Speaker 1: saying this downstairs. He is not on the same level
Speaker 1: as DeAndre Hopkins. I think DeAndre Hopkins is on another
Speaker 1: level that most people in the league. I'm saying that.
Speaker 1: But Davante Adams got yards received, he has twelve touchdowns. Yes,
Speaker 1: but I see other guys on there who I look
Speaker 1: at their numbers and I'm like, well, what's happening there? Randall,
Speaker 1: he used to be a very productive player. That's that's
Speaker 1: very interesting to think about. And then one of your
Speaker 1: favorite names of the draft is yeah, right, he's one
Speaker 1: of the guys in there. And then they had undrafted
Speaker 1: free agent who's yeah, they got the all name team,
Speaker 1: the name team they do. And then they have Jimmy Graham.
Speaker 1: But Jimmy Graham, he's not Jimmy Graham of old No,
Speaker 1: but it's much like Rob Gronkowski. I think, um different players,
Speaker 1: but who were very good, very elite at the position
Speaker 1: for a long time. Those guys are not what they
Speaker 1: used to be, and I think that Rogers making making
Speaker 1: the transition back to Rogers. I think Rogers can get
Speaker 1: it back. I don't know if that's going to happen
Speaker 1: Sunday or whoever they finish up with, and that's gonna
Speaker 1: be an attractive head coaching job. So I'm pretty sure
Speaker 1: the Packers have a lot of picks this year too.
Speaker 1: They have two I know they have two picks in
Speaker 1: the first round two thousand nineteen draft. But you know,
Speaker 1: I was hoping when the schedule came out, we're gonna
Speaker 1: get a chance of seeing Mike Mohammad Wokerson and Mike
Speaker 1: Putton's defense. But obviously that hasn't happened. At disappointed season
Speaker 1: for Mo Big moa on the injury reserve. I believe, yeah,
Speaker 1: he had a leg injury pretty early all this year.
Speaker 1: But we'll get an up close to personal look at
Speaker 1: the Packers this Sunday. I gotta reiterate that is Sunday
Speaker 1: and not Saturday because Saturday football has begune in the NFL.
Speaker 1: But Sunday, one o'clock Jets Packers Week six team. We'll
Speaker 1: see m L.