Speaker 1: The teamside The Jets brought to you by e Y
Speaker 1: Building a Better Working World, and by M ANDT Bank,
Speaker 1: the official community bank of your New York Jets. No
Speaker 1: like here's Eric Gallen and Eric Coleman. Welcome to it, said.
Speaker 1: The Jets were broadcasting live from Vanderbilt Sports and Spirits
Speaker 1: inside the Windham Hamilton Park Hotel Eric Allen alongside my
Speaker 1: partner Eric Coleman. Later the show will be joined by
Speaker 1: Jets cornerback Bless Austin. But welcome back. Good to be back,
Speaker 1: Handerson Business. Last week, you guys held it down. I
Speaker 1: saw the show. Yeah, okay, then you were down in Texas,
Speaker 1: but now you're back in Florham Park. The Jets are
Speaker 1: five and nine with two games remaining the two thousand
Speaker 1: nineteen season. If you're a veteran in that locker room,
Speaker 1: what goes through your mind entering this final stretch. You're
Speaker 1: not making the playoffs, seating is not on the line
Speaker 1: or anything like that. What are you playing for these
Speaker 1: final two games? Well, I mean you have two opportunities
Speaker 1: to get better. If you're a veteran, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: to two more games too. That's two opportunities to show
Speaker 1: the world to show this organization that you should be here,
Speaker 1: you should be a part of their future plans. Uh.
Speaker 1: You know this this organization is moving in the right direction.
Speaker 1: And if you want to be a part of that,
Speaker 1: I mean, put it out there on the film, you know,
Speaker 1: go out there and finish the season strong and uh
Speaker 1: and put some great tape out there. Inside the Jets
Speaker 1: is presented by e Y Building a Better Working World,
Speaker 1: Eric Ellen alongside Eric Coleman. You watched the game Thursday
Speaker 1: night in Baltimore, the Jets go down to one. Is
Speaker 1: Baltimore the best team in the National Football League right now?
Speaker 1: I mean right now? They are? Uh, they played great defense. Uh,
Speaker 1: they run the ball well. They have a special player
Speaker 1: at quarterback. With that being said, they're they're very beautiful,
Speaker 1: you know, just like any other team in the league.
Speaker 1: You know, I think watching that game, you know, yes,
Speaker 1: it was a big difference in score, but there were
Speaker 1: a couple of plays there, a couple of opportunities, opportunities
Speaker 1: that the Jets had to keep it a close game.
Speaker 1: And if you know, you make a play here, you
Speaker 1: don't give uple to play there. You know, who knows
Speaker 1: what the outcome of the game is. So the Jets
Speaker 1: had only seven points at halftime despite reaching the Baltimore
Speaker 1: thirty one miss field goal. They got a touchdown on
Speaker 1: their second drive down there, got to the Baltimore seven,
Speaker 1: turn it over on downs, and then finally the Baltimore
Speaker 1: twenty five yard line and interception by Sam Donald, So
Speaker 1: there were opportunities there. In fact, the Green and White
Speaker 1: outgained the Ravens in the first half. They had nearly
Speaker 1: two hundred yards of offense. Well, I mean that's something
Speaker 1: that you when you look back at it. Yes, you're
Speaker 1: gonna be frustrated that you had some missed opportunities, but
Speaker 1: at the same time, you were in position to make plays.
Speaker 1: You were in position to be a part of this game,
Speaker 1: to to be competitive in this game, and those opportunities
Speaker 1: were missed. The good teams take advantage of those opportunities.
Speaker 1: The teams that have something to improve on leave it
Speaker 1: out there. So, you know, I think that this is
Speaker 1: a coaching point for the Jets. I think it's something
Speaker 1: that's gonna help them grow and as these young players
Speaker 1: continue to mature, it's just only gonna get better. Okay,
Speaker 1: So what do you make of Baltimore getting two eighteen
Speaker 1: yards on the ground against the defense that has been
Speaker 1: so stout against the run. Is it just a blip
Speaker 1: on the radar because they are so unique? You are
Speaker 1: never going to see a team like that over the
Speaker 1: final two weeks of the season, of course. I mean
Speaker 1: I shouldn't say never. I mean, you only got two
Speaker 1: games left. Yeah, Well, no one, no one else in
Speaker 1: the league has Lamar Jackson, and no one else has
Speaker 1: an offense created around such a special player. I mean
Speaker 1: I was watching the film. They were running Vier you
Speaker 1: know Vier power option, and it was like that I
Speaker 1: ran in high school, you know, when I was like
Speaker 1: the star player on the team and there was nothing else.
Speaker 1: You know, they were running plays that were old school.
Speaker 1: They were doing it well extra running back school. I know,
Speaker 1: we don't have the chalkboard in front of us, the
Speaker 1: white board, but break that down for people listening to
Speaker 1: this ESP in New York right, Well, well, the VIR
Speaker 1: play is something that like Vince Lombardi ran. You know,
Speaker 1: it's back like you know Army days, Army Navy runs
Speaker 1: the veer offense, and it's when Lamar Jackson has the ball,
Speaker 1: he puts the ball into the to the belly of
Speaker 1: the running back running into that B gap. If the
Speaker 1: defensive end or that outside linebacker collapses on the run,
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks gonna pull it and run around the corner.
Speaker 1: If the defensive end stays outside, he's gonna hand it
Speaker 1: off to the running back and he's gonna have a
Speaker 1: wide open lane to run the football. It's kind of like, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, pick your poison type offense. But the Baltimore
Speaker 1: Ravens have created this offense where they have the great
Speaker 1: offensive line, they have great perimeter blockers. Uh you know,
Speaker 1: they were they make the looks kind of crazy to
Speaker 1: where guys, is hard to prepare for that when you're
Speaker 1: playing it once a year. How hard is it to
Speaker 1: prepare for that when you had two days a prep
Speaker 1: Monday and Tuesday, and the Jets didn't even have a
Speaker 1: full practice. They went through a pair of walk throughs
Speaker 1: before departing via train down to Baltimore. Yeah, it's impossible,
Speaker 1: you know, to ask uh, you know, the guys to
Speaker 1: go out there and execute that game plan and to
Speaker 1: be that discipline to be able to stop that option
Speaker 1: that they've never seen me since their college days, and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's a big order to to to
Speaker 1: ask and when you when you add into that when
Speaker 1: Lamar Jackson, you know, there were a lot of times
Speaker 1: where the initial routes were covered when he dropped back
Speaker 1: the past. They did a great job on the initial route.
Speaker 1: But now you have a special player back there who
Speaker 1: can pull the ball down and he's a difference maker
Speaker 1: when he's in the open field. What do you make
Speaker 1: on the other side of the ball. The Jets quarterbacks
Speaker 1: Sam Donald, I'm sitting there watching the game in the
Speaker 1: first half, thinking, Wow, this is one of his better performances.
Speaker 1: I know he turned it over two times. And that's
Speaker 1: the thing with Sam right now, he said, I can't
Speaker 1: have those one or two mistakes the game. They're gonna
Speaker 1: come back to haunt me. But overall, that's a very
Speaker 1: good Baltimore Ravens defense. He was down without the Marius
Speaker 1: Thomas and his tight on Ryan Griffin was just placed
Speaker 1: on injury reserve, so again, a lot of moving parts. Offensively,
Speaker 1: I thought Donald acquitted himself quite well. I did too.
Speaker 1: I thought he managed the game well. He made some
Speaker 1: good decisions. Yes, he had the mistake at the end
Speaker 1: of the half where you know he maybe it was
Speaker 1: a miscommunication between he and a wide receiver. Tell you
Speaker 1: on Daniel danil Brown. Yeah, but but at the same time,
Speaker 1: you know you can't you can't have those miscommunications in
Speaker 1: the red zone specifically. Um. You know, I thought he's
Speaker 1: progressing as a quarterback. I think he's getting better with
Speaker 1: each game. And you know, the sky's a limit for
Speaker 1: what he can do as a quarterback. And you know,
Speaker 1: and you imagine this, Imagine the offensive line being healthy,
Speaker 1: imagine him having all his weapons. You know, there's there's
Speaker 1: a lot of possibilities that can happen with the healthy team.
Speaker 1: Adam Gates was adamant about it after the game with
Speaker 1: the Ravens that he's improving week by week. I see
Speaker 1: little things in terms of details, maybe that you all
Speaker 1: don't see. But he's gonna become a really good player
Speaker 1: in the National Football League. Your thought, I agree with it.
Speaker 1: I agree with that. I mean, you've seen him grow,
Speaker 1: You've seen the growth. He's not making the dumb mistakes
Speaker 1: where he's instead of throwing the ball away, he'll try
Speaker 1: to throw in the track. He's throwing those balls away. Y. Yes,
Speaker 1: he may take a sack here there where he's not
Speaker 1: supposed to, but overall as a quarterback, as a leader
Speaker 1: of this team. His confidence is growing, his decision making
Speaker 1: is improving, and you know he's starting to throw the
Speaker 1: ball more accurately as well. So you know, I think
Speaker 1: Sam is taking some strides. It's all about getting guys healthy,
Speaker 1: keeping his weapons around him, and continuing to learn with
Speaker 1: each mistake. I thought the Jets really got going offensively.
Speaker 1: First play the second quarter of forty one yard hook
Speaker 1: up with Jamison Crowder, where Sam stepped up in the
Speaker 1: pocket again, moved to his right, then displayed the accuracy
Speaker 1: on the move, and then later on that drive he
Speaker 1: goes back to Crowder. Crowder dropped a layout. I told
Speaker 1: him after the game, you have that pass in your
Speaker 1: hands a hundred times from here now on, you're gonna
Speaker 1: catch that ball a hundred times. But Donald goes back
Speaker 1: to him the very next play and somehow completed and
Speaker 1: absolutely ridiculous. Kind Yeah, that was awesome that he had
Speaker 1: the opportunity to redeem himself. But I mean, again, Donald,
Speaker 1: everyone knows he's accurate on the run. That's that's his strength.
Speaker 1: He's a great mobile quarterback. He can throw in the run.
Speaker 1: But now you know, as you go into the off season.
Speaker 1: As you go into the later part of the season,
Speaker 1: let's start working on the pocket presents. Let's start working
Speaker 1: on other aspects of your game to make you a
Speaker 1: complete quarterback. That's when you start to have a playoff contender.
Speaker 1: That's when you start to have an elite quarterback. And
Speaker 1: I think Sam is making those strong. The bottom line
Speaker 1: here is Sam Donald missed three games earlier this season
Speaker 1: with Mono. We know that he's also worked with an
Speaker 1: offensive line that's had two starters at each position from
Speaker 1: left to right, from left tackle to right tackle. I
Speaker 1: just mentioned Ryan Griffin gone to into reserve. Ryan Griffin
Speaker 1: tight a number one for the Jets. But let's think
Speaker 1: about Chris Hernon the connection Sam Donald and Chris Herndon
Speaker 1: had in year one. Herndon basically a lost season for
Speaker 1: him as well. Quincy and noon Wa was figuring into
Speaker 1: the plans here way back in training camp. Unfortunately he
Speaker 1: went down as well. Demarrius Thomas gets incorporated into the offense.
Speaker 1: He wasn't in the game. So you're seeing guys like
Speaker 1: Vincent Smith out there on the field, um in key
Speaker 1: situations for this team. Well, you know, I saw a
Speaker 1: stat that showed that the Jets have played over seventy
Speaker 1: players this season, and I mean, and that's if that
Speaker 1: isn't a credit to the coaching staff of getting these
Speaker 1: young players prepared to step into roles that they weren't
Speaker 1: expected to play in. You know, then I don't know
Speaker 1: what is. You know, I think that the young players
Speaker 1: have done a great job preparing themselves. I think the
Speaker 1: veterans have done a great job of showing leadership and
Speaker 1: and bringing them along. And the coaches have done an
Speaker 1: excellent job of coaching and preparing these young players. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, we look at our guest Bless Austin and
Speaker 1: you talk about that secondary how many injuries they've had
Speaker 1: back there. I mean, Steve Jackson and Dennar Wilson, Uh,
Speaker 1: they deserve a Christmas bonus of some sort for the
Speaker 1: job they've done with these young players, preparing them for
Speaker 1: these game time situations. And they've done one heck of
Speaker 1: a job. And that'd be a silver lining for the
Speaker 1: New York just in two thousand nineteen, considering Joe Douglas.
Speaker 1: Joe Douglas was hired as general manager in June, and
Speaker 1: now he's seeing all some of these young guys play uh.
Speaker 1: Brandon Copeland talked about it on a conference call today.
Speaker 1: He said, you can look at each level the defense.
Speaker 1: Kyle Philips, undrafted free agent on the Tennessee fuller Runzo Faticasi,
Speaker 1: who was on the show a couple of weeks ago,
Speaker 1: has become one of the better run stuffers in the
Speaker 1: National Football League. Those defensive alignment at the inside linebacker position.
Speaker 1: Who would ever thought that, James Burgess and Double Hewitt,
Speaker 1: we're starting for you and playing well inside linebacker position.
Speaker 1: And then Cope did talk about our guest tonight as well,
Speaker 1: and that is blessed Austin. Yeah, I mean they they've
Speaker 1: done a tremendous job of preparing and having that next
Speaker 1: man up mentality, and it's just it's just adding depth
Speaker 1: to the off season, is adding depth to the future.
Speaker 1: Getting these young guys rips when you're not making it
Speaker 1: to the playoffs, that's what you do. You get rid
Speaker 1: of guys who are gonna be a part of your future.
Speaker 1: You give younger guys the opportunity. Well, because of injuries,
Speaker 1: these young guys have had a whole season of experience
Speaker 1: and it's gonna make things tough. Decision making is gonna
Speaker 1: be tough in the off season. They're gonna have to
Speaker 1: get rid of some guys who are making a ton
Speaker 1: of money because the younger guys can play as well.
Speaker 1: So you know it's gonna put you in a tough position,
Speaker 1: but I think it's gonna help and strengthen your team
Speaker 1: because of all this experience are gaining. All right, So
Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming to MetLife Stadium on Sunday,
Speaker 1: and we're gonna get into that matchup. The Jets will
Speaker 1: conclude the two thousand nineteen season up in Buffalo against
Speaker 1: the playoff bound Bills. But we got a loaded show
Speaker 1: here tonight on Inside the Jets. We're gonna come right
Speaker 1: back and be joined by the A four mentioned Bless Austin.
Speaker 1: You are listening to Inside the Jets on ESPN New York.
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Speaker 1: Inside the Jets Eric Allen alongside Eric Coleman. We are
Speaker 1: broadcasting live at Manabro Sports and Spirits inside the Windham
Speaker 1: Hamilton Park Hotel. Our player guest segment is presented by
Speaker 1: I'm in t Bank, the official community bank of your
Speaker 1: New York Jets. Now, let's welcome in a man who
Speaker 1: was born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens bless Austin, Hey, blessed, Thanks,
Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining us. How was the weekend off?
Speaker 1: I mean, you're getting into a groove of things in
Speaker 1: the National Football League, playing a lot and then a
Speaker 1: Thursday night game and then getting extended break. I mean
Speaker 1: it was pretty cool. You know, it's pretty refreshing, you know,
Speaker 1: to have after you know, playing in Life File six
Speaker 1: consecutive games, so you know, just get a step back
Speaker 1: from everything and review the pass a little bit. You know,
Speaker 1: it was pretty cool to have. And you talked about
Speaker 1: playing in five or six consecutive games. What has it
Speaker 1: been like to be back in the swing of things,
Speaker 1: be a part of the game, and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: you know, you were hurt before for the last two years,
Speaker 1: but now you're a part of the mix. You're you're
Speaker 1: part of the what goes on in the game. What
Speaker 1: has that been like for you? I mean, it's been exciting. Man.
Speaker 1: It's been interesting too because I remember early on when
Speaker 1: I started playing, I had to kind of relearn how
Speaker 1: to study, you know, how to study for the game playing,
Speaker 1: you know, which things was more important to know than others.
Speaker 1: I had to kind of decipher that, like throughout the weeks.
Speaker 1: So it was pretty interesting to realize, all, this is
Speaker 1: my best way to study. This is how you know,
Speaker 1: comprehend the most out of the game playing like, so
Speaker 1: going through that, it's pretty interesting to learn, you know,
Speaker 1: how I was doing things for the past. Well, let's
Speaker 1: get into your backstory, because I don't know if everybody
Speaker 1: is aware of what happened you at Rutgers very productive
Speaker 1: player that two thousand seventeen comes You're living in the
Speaker 1: four games, right, yeah, A cl injury rehab, Get all
Speaker 1: the way back two thousand and eighteen season opener, same
Speaker 1: a CEL correct and your college career. What was that
Speaker 1: like and how were you able to overcome that verse game?
Speaker 1: I mean the first time, I mean it was devastating
Speaker 1: without it, doubt because I've never been through anything like that.
Speaker 1: I never got surgery playing football as long as I did,
Speaker 1: you know, So I wasn't sure I was gonna bounce
Speaker 1: back the first time it happened to me. So, you know,
Speaker 1: when it happened, you know, I was actually thinking about
Speaker 1: declaring that. Yeah. Remember you know, always joking to my coaches, Hey,
Speaker 1: you know, this my last year playing around. So when
Speaker 1: it happened, to be honest, the first thing that popped
Speaker 1: into my mind is, uh, I gotta come back, num yea.
Speaker 1: That was the first thing that crossed my mind. So,
Speaker 1: I mean the first time, you know, I went through it,
Speaker 1: you know, it was hard and got over it. The
Speaker 1: second time it happened, I wasn't really you know, sweating
Speaker 1: it as much because I was pretty much like I
Speaker 1: went through it, It's gonna be a breeze, you know.
Speaker 1: The second time, I just gotta you know, be consistent
Speaker 1: with my rehab. So I wasn't really sweating at the
Speaker 1: second time as much. But what is the rehab like
Speaker 1: after an NCL. I mean you kind of relearned how
Speaker 1: to do everything again, as far as walking, you know,
Speaker 1: and when you start learning how to walk, you got
Speaker 1: to get to let you to walk in you know,
Speaker 1: a lot of mileage, and it's the jogging phase, getting
Speaker 1: back in shape, getting the leg back. You know. You
Speaker 1: so you add you feel a little bit in the leg.
Speaker 1: You know, you lose a lot of weight, you know,
Speaker 1: I remember being you know, it was one man. I
Speaker 1: dropped to about one six eight after surgery. While so yeah,
Speaker 1: so it's just a whole bunch of stuff that comes
Speaker 1: with weight loss, you know, your confidence, you know, getting
Speaker 1: confidence back in the leg, explosion power, It's a whole
Speaker 1: bunch of stuff that goes into it. But you just
Speaker 1: gotta have patience. And so can you talk about what
Speaker 1: it was like getting back into football, because when you're injured,
Speaker 1: people don't know this. When you're injured, yes you're a
Speaker 1: part of the team. Yeah you go to practice and meetings,
Speaker 1: but you're not really a part of the team because
Speaker 1: you're not practicing. You don't have those stories to tell.
Speaker 1: What was that like getting back into the swinging things
Speaker 1: and what was it like being out with that injury.
Speaker 1: I mean, it was pretty cool, man, because when I
Speaker 1: remember when I first started practice and I felt comfortable
Speaker 1: being around everybody again, you know, in a comfortable man,
Speaker 1: because now I can look at everybody in the face
Speaker 1: like I'm sweating, I'm getting in with y'all now. So
Speaker 1: I was pretty happy about that. You know, when you're
Speaker 1: not practicing with the guys, you could feel like you
Speaker 1: secluded a little bit, and not that they made you
Speaker 1: feel like that, but you know, you naturally feel like
Speaker 1: that because you're not out there physically funding the work
Speaker 1: with them. And what was it that got you through
Speaker 1: those times? You know, I know it was tough, you know,
Speaker 1: going to rehab, you know, not going to meetings and
Speaker 1: not being a part of it. What got you through
Speaker 1: those phases are being injured. I mean that had a
Speaker 1: strong support system back home, you know, and I got
Speaker 1: a mentor as well, you know, coach Corey Robinson. He always,
Speaker 1: you know, pretty much you know, preached to me back
Speaker 1: my senim in college about you know, you can't you
Speaker 1: gotta control the controllable, you know, you can't try to
Speaker 1: control things you can't control. So I just took it
Speaker 1: to day at the time, and I didn't try to
Speaker 1: look too far. What was draft? We kind of like though,
Speaker 1: because you got taken in the sixth round. I'm sure
Speaker 1: after the multiple injuries, maybe there was some uncertainty. But
Speaker 1: the one thing that always has stood out to me
Speaker 1: about you here earlier in your career is that you
Speaker 1: are a confident guy and no matter what was gonna happen,
Speaker 1: nothing was gonna stop you from break and down that
Speaker 1: door in the National Football League. Yeah, I mean, I
Speaker 1: always knew I played in a big time for a
Speaker 1: couple of years, so I knew I had the talent
Speaker 1: I able to take to play at the next level.
Speaker 1: And I knew that the type of talent I had,
Speaker 1: and where everybody you know, said what I looked like.
Speaker 1: The coaches even told me, you know, straight up, hey,
Speaker 1: you like this type of dude, Like that type of
Speaker 1: dude some of the some of the best I played
Speaker 1: at where they was at. So, you know, with them
Speaker 1: telling me that I had the confidence that I was
Speaker 1: good enough to play, it was just a mad of
Speaker 1: getting there staying healthy. So now that I'm healthy and
Speaker 1: I can play, now, now I'm just happy I can
Speaker 1: put the talent on display. So let's go to the
Speaker 1: scout team I got. I gotta ask these stories about
Speaker 1: because you're notorious for getting out there. Adam Gates said, listen,
Speaker 1: this guy Bless Austin gave us fits. Then we had
Speaker 1: somebody here a couple of weeks ago actually on inside
Speaker 1: the Jets and said, yeah, bless you started mixing it
Speaker 1: up with Prian winners, Brian winners, pretty big dude and
Speaker 1: offensive linemen. So when you started practicing in mid October
Speaker 1: and you had been cleared, what's the mentality when you're
Speaker 1: going out there on the sculpting. Man, I'm just I
Speaker 1: got so much fire built up in me from from draft,
Speaker 1: from the draft process, you know, being out for so long.
Speaker 1: You know, my passion, my passion that is for the
Speaker 1: game is that it's highest level. I think it's as
Speaker 1: high as it could be, you know, So every time
Speaker 1: I'm out there, I want to impose my will at all.
Speaker 1: Of course, you know it's a bigger corner. You know,
Speaker 1: I probed myself up be in physical health here. You know,
Speaker 1: I feel like it's not enough big corners that's embracing
Speaker 1: that physical role. So that's something that I want to
Speaker 1: embrace as a bigger dude playing the position. So you
Speaker 1: know out there, I mean you said it, man, I
Speaker 1: just I just want to oppose my will whatever it is.
Speaker 1: You know, if if it's a matchup that I like,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna take that matchup, but you know, Brian Winners,
Speaker 1: that's not a matchup my life. It wasn't a match
Speaker 1: about life. So I didn't I couldn't take that one.
Speaker 1: So can you give us an inside look at your
Speaker 1: meeting room as a defensive back because you know, listen,
Speaker 1: there's been injuries throughout the whole secondary, but at the
Speaker 1: same time, guys are stepping up and they're playing and
Speaker 1: they're confident. What kind of chemistry, kind of bond do
Speaker 1: you have with your coaches and the players that are
Speaker 1: in that room. Um, we have a great bond. And
Speaker 1: you know one of the things that helped out is
Speaker 1: the fact that you know, ho, I know my role
Speaker 1: as a rookie. You know, I don't try to overstep
Speaker 1: my boundaries. You know, I try to be seen instead
Speaker 1: of herd. So I just know my role. You know.
Speaker 1: I asked questions and then I lean on the guys
Speaker 1: and I'm not afraid to show the guys like, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm depending on you to to help me out with this.
Speaker 1: And then the third I don't try to, you know,
Speaker 1: come come across as a guy that know it all
Speaker 1: as a rookie. So I think the coaches and and
Speaker 1: my team may see that, so you know, that's why
Speaker 1: they embrace me. You. I don't know who you're you got,
Speaker 1: I don't know what your mentor is, but he's uh,
Speaker 1: you know, giving you some great knowledge. Because there's a
Speaker 1: lot of young players that come into this league and
Speaker 1: they think that they haven't figured out. They think that
Speaker 1: because of the prior success they had, because of the
Speaker 1: popularity they may have, that they have all the answers.
Speaker 1: But you seem like a guy who's humble, who's willing
Speaker 1: to take coaching, willing to take advice from other people.
Speaker 1: And I commend you for that. Keep up with You
Speaker 1: are a big cornerback, and I don't think people can
Speaker 1: truly appreciate that. I'm not just talking about size, uh uh,
Speaker 1: only in terms of your heights, because pregame Baltimore, he's
Speaker 1: out there, it's twenty degrees, he's got the cut off
Speaker 1: his shirt. You're broad, man, So how does that help
Speaker 1: you in terms of playing physical with receivers because you're
Speaker 1: not just a lanky guy. Because I think sometimes people
Speaker 1: are like, oh, yeah, bless Austin tall cornerback. No, you
Speaker 1: you're pretty built up. Yeah, I mean they're in college man.
Speaker 1: One of the knocks on me was I was a
Speaker 1: skinny dude. I had a skinny, lanky frame. So you know,
Speaker 1: I gotta remember, I've been hurt for two years and
Speaker 1: you know, right a CF, So you know I had
Speaker 1: two years upper body, a lot of upper body, so
Speaker 1: pretty much, yeah, I pretty much packed some weight on
Speaker 1: up top and then got the legs to catch up.
Speaker 1: So you know, I got to I got a little
Speaker 1: size to me. Now, I got a little bit more
Speaker 1: power to me now, So now I could really like
Speaker 1: impose my will when I'm hitting dudes. So I mean,
Speaker 1: I just I just weren't told to sleep, put the
Speaker 1: weight on, put the work in, and now I'm able
Speaker 1: to take the punishment too that comes with being physical.
Speaker 1: So so when you go back and watch the game film,
Speaker 1: you know, the last five six games that you played,
Speaker 1: what are some things that you think that you need
Speaker 1: to work on as a corner, you know, is it
Speaker 1: the press, is it off coverage, is it coming off blocks?
Speaker 1: What are some things that you see from your game? Um,
Speaker 1: I think I think some of the things I need
Speaker 1: to do better on probably anticipating more, probably anticipating plays better,
Speaker 1: you know, being in the spot faster, you know, and
Speaker 1: that's things that just comes with experience. That comes, Yeah,
Speaker 1: it just comes with experience. You know. My coaches always
Speaker 1: made me aware of that because some of the some
Speaker 1: of the times that what can happen is that I'll
Speaker 1: go out there and trying to anticipate things so much
Speaker 1: that you start playing out of the scheme. So that's
Speaker 1: that's not my playing style. That's not my game at all.
Speaker 1: I always trying to play within the scheme. And you know,
Speaker 1: I just trust that the coaches they said to come
Speaker 1: with experience. So it's more as much of these games
Speaker 1: I keep getting in, I'll trust that the players be
Speaker 1: come eventually. It's not the Jets Sport of U MT
Speaker 1: Bank Deficial Community Bank of York, New York Jets. You're
Speaker 1: listening that, it's like the Jets on ESPN New York
Speaker 1: and ark on alongside Eric Coleman were with Blessed Austin.
Speaker 1: The Steelers played Sunday night football. Now, I know you're
Speaker 1: gonna get separate cut ups and you're gonna be studying
Speaker 1: on your own also with the full defense and in
Speaker 1: the defensive bats. With that being said, did you take
Speaker 1: a look at the game? I took a look at
Speaker 1: I took a look at a little bit of the game,
Speaker 1: not too much of it. You know, it's pretty uh
Speaker 1: knocked out toping to day years. So I kind of
Speaker 1: took it down early. And what do you think about
Speaker 1: the challenge ahead moving on from Baltimore? Because I know
Speaker 1: you guys didn't play overall to your standards, and this
Speaker 1: is a completely different offense than the offense you just
Speaker 1: faced in Baltimore, of course, but um, the thing that's
Speaker 1: gonna help us out is, you know, Baltimore had a
Speaker 1: pretty different you know scheme when it comes as far
Speaker 1: as far as offense. You know, a lot of r
Speaker 1: p O S read ops and that's not something you
Speaker 1: see from every team in the league. So now it's
Speaker 1: pretty much back to you know, the prototypical you know,
Speaker 1: uh drop back past the game when the sender running
Speaker 1: the football, you know, sneelers football. So you know it's
Speaker 1: it is it not easier to scout up for it,
Speaker 1: but it's a little bit more to what you used
Speaker 1: to doing, you know what I mean. And so what
Speaker 1: was that like last week? You have a couple of
Speaker 1: days to prepare for Baltimore. You know, an offense is
Speaker 1: different than any other offense in the league. What was
Speaker 1: it like preparing for that? Did you have receivers or
Speaker 1: running backs pointing quarterback during the scout team and you know,
Speaker 1: like like what can you pick up in that in
Speaker 1: those two days before the game? I mean it depends
Speaker 1: when your preparation on your preparation. I mean I felt
Speaker 1: like we we had we had enough time to prepare,
Speaker 1: you know, as good as as anyone. So I mean
Speaker 1: this is just a matter that the only difference is
Speaker 1: you know, y'alls, y'alls, is that more important than the game?
Speaker 1: Like that? Because you know you're running a lot of
Speaker 1: a lot of options. You know, y'all's gonna be in
Speaker 1: the right place and your feet gotta be in the
Speaker 1: right place as well. You know, just like that, you
Speaker 1: know a big play could happened. We got a guy
Speaker 1: like Lama Jackson, a qub. What do you think the
Speaker 1: preparation this week's gonna be like for the Steelers because
Speaker 1: you're gonna be facing the rookie quarterback. You neither Devlin
Speaker 1: Duck Hodges or maybe they go back to Mason Rudolf.
Speaker 1: We do know at this point, I mean, every quarterback
Speaker 1: in this league is respected you know, every everybody's a
Speaker 1: professionals league. So we're gonna go about practice the same
Speaker 1: way we always do. We're gonna go work hard, you know,
Speaker 1: make sure I was in the right place, you know,
Speaker 1: be consistent. Yeah, do you consider this when you look
Speaker 1: at the final two games? People on the outside, are
Speaker 1: you gonna live today? The Jets are out of it?
Speaker 1: These games don't matter? Tell us how much these two
Speaker 1: games matter for a guy like yourself, first year in
Speaker 1: the National Football League. Get this feat wet cashing in
Speaker 1: the opportunity right now, playing well, and now you have
Speaker 1: two final chances here in two thousand nineteen. I mean,
Speaker 1: these last two games don't don't mean a lot to
Speaker 1: me because of that, Like individually, honestly, it means a
Speaker 1: lot to me because you know, these is Buffalo is
Speaker 1: a team that just clinched the playoffs, so that's a
Speaker 1: playoff contending team. And then with the Stealers they also
Speaker 1: a playoff contender as well. So you know, to get
Speaker 1: these last two wins, it will meet a lot, you know,
Speaker 1: because those are two teams that's playing great football right now.
Speaker 1: And to get a winning on those two teams that
Speaker 1: that would be thirty seconds here. What is it meant
Speaker 1: to you to play for New York team considering where
Speaker 1: you were raised? I mean, it means the world to
Speaker 1: me to be able to represent represent my home state.
Speaker 1: Doesn't get any better than this. I mean this picture perfect.
Speaker 1: I mean, the words can't even explain it for you know,
Speaker 1: I'm trying to explain it, but I'm just getting soaked
Speaker 1: up because you know how so real it is. That's
Speaker 1: awesome you're doing. You're doing the state. Proud man, You're
Speaker 1: doing a great job. The work. Bless Austin. Born in Brooklyn,
Speaker 1: raised in Queens, and now he's making in roads and
Speaker 1: floora Park, New Jersey for the New York Jets. Check
Speaker 1: him out Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're gonna come
Speaker 1: right back here on inside the Jets. You're listening to
Speaker 1: ESPN New York has the punk plots, but Jets get
Speaker 1: the blocking on me recovery. That's batch them blocks it
Speaker 1: farms pump j Bellow. He runs down inside the Jets
Speaker 1: ESPN Radio. We're broadcasting live and real sports and spirits
Speaker 1: inside the Windham Hamilton Perclo Teller Eric on the one side,
Speaker 1: Eric Coleman, Since we just heard from the great Bob Shoes,
Speaker 1: and I got lost in my thoughts. Listen, that was
Speaker 1: one of the positive things you could take out of
Speaker 1: that Baltimore game. I thought special teams was awfully good.
Speaker 1: Yeah they were. They did a great job in the
Speaker 1: return game. Uh we just heard them blocking a punt
Speaker 1: and there's nothing that changed the momentum of a game.
Speaker 1: And then then blocking a punt, you know, that takes
Speaker 1: all the wind out of the opposing team, gives you
Speaker 1: a you know, the crowd gets him into the game.
Speaker 1: I blocked a couple of punts. H excuse me in college.
Speaker 1: That never in the NFL. But it's a it's a
Speaker 1: great feeling, better than a touchdown. Obviously, the Jets lost
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowl return man, and uh Andre Roberts, who's
Speaker 1: now taking care of those duties for the Buffalo Bills.
Speaker 1: We'll see him in the season finale up there in
Speaker 1: Western New York. But listen, I thought the return game
Speaker 1: was at its best in two thousand nine team both
Speaker 1: Time Montgomery and Vincent Smith. We're getting it gone. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they've done a great job this season. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: continuing that momentum from last year with Andre Roberts, you know,
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl return man. Now you have two guys in
Speaker 1: in Vincent Smith and uh time Montgomery who have done
Speaker 1: a great job in the return game. And that's just
Speaker 1: the credit to the special team's unit. They've they've been excellent.
Speaker 1: You know, that's a selfless job. It's one of the
Speaker 1: tougher jobs on the field is blocking in the kickoff
Speaker 1: return game. Now, you'd like to have that missfield goal back.
Speaker 1: You you know obviously had a block in there as well,
Speaker 1: but Lockland Edwards goes under the radar as well. The partner,
Speaker 1: uh and perhaps his finest game in the two thousand
Speaker 1: nineteen season. Yeah, I mean having a partner that that
Speaker 1: can flip the field, that can uh, you know, give
Speaker 1: you those extra yards on defense is a huge bonus, uh,
Speaker 1: you know for that field position game is a game
Speaker 1: that we sell them talk about. You know, you know
Speaker 1: what part of the field did they start to drive with?
Speaker 1: And then when you have a defense like the Jets defense,
Speaker 1: you need every everything that you can get, you know,
Speaker 1: to give them an opportunity to get it three and out,
Speaker 1: get the ball back to your offense with great field position.
Speaker 1: The Jet Steelers Sunday and MetLife Stadium. Levian Bell will
Speaker 1: be the headliner here. Uh what do you make of
Speaker 1: his first season in Greenham White two four carries, six
Speaker 1: hundred seventy six yards rushing about three point three yards
Speaker 1: of pop, three touchdowns on the ground. He's also pitched
Speaker 1: in in the receiving game fifty seven catches, four hundred
Speaker 1: four yards receiving for Levyan Bell and one touchdown. Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, when you look at the stats that they're underwhelming,
Speaker 1: you know, it's something that you expect a lot more
Speaker 1: from Levyan Bell. But when you go back and watch
Speaker 1: the film and you watch the effort that he's putting in,
Speaker 1: you know, he's fighting for every yard. You know, and
Speaker 1: this guy has not given up on the season. He
Speaker 1: hasn't given up on his team. And it's you know,
Speaker 1: he's a great leader, and I think he's a great
Speaker 1: asset to this team, and I think that he will
Speaker 1: only help them moving forward. What was different about the
Speaker 1: run game against the Baltimore Ravens because that was his
Speaker 1: season high for Leon Boll with eighty seven yards on
Speaker 1: the ground. Well, you know, they were committed to the run.
Speaker 1: I thought the offensive line did a great job of
Speaker 1: getting to the second level. Uh. You know, obviously Sam
Speaker 1: Donald throwing the ball efficiently helps things as well. But
Speaker 1: you know, Leban was running tough. You know, you obviously
Speaker 1: wish he can get more opportunities, but you know, running
Speaker 1: the football takes you know, you have to have a lead.
Speaker 1: You know you can't be you know, four team, you know,
Speaker 1: twenty one points below and running the football continuously. So
Speaker 1: you know, if you you can find a way to
Speaker 1: get convert those drives into touchdowns, I think Lebyan Bell
Speaker 1: becomes more of a part of the officer. What do
Speaker 1: you think it's gonna mean for Bell this week to
Speaker 1: face his former club, the team that drafted him in
Speaker 1: the stealings, It's gonna be h It's gonna be an
Speaker 1: emotional game for him. You know, I remember my first
Speaker 1: time playing against the Jets, you know, a team that
Speaker 1: I loved, you know, a team that I came into
Speaker 1: the league playing for, you know, playing against him for
Speaker 1: the first time, you know, you want to do all
Speaker 1: you can to show them what they're missing. You know,
Speaker 1: you want to give your best effort. You wanna you
Speaker 1: know you're gonna You're gonna have those relationships before the game.
Speaker 1: Of course, guys are gonna come up and give you hugs,
Speaker 1: but when the game starts, they're your mortal enemy. And
Speaker 1: you want to back the team that you're playing for.
Speaker 1: You want to show them why they missed out on
Speaker 1: having you a part of their team. How about the
Speaker 1: attention he's gonna get this week because he's a star
Speaker 1: in the National Football League, And you know what it's
Speaker 1: like when there's media availability on Wednesday and Thursday or
Speaker 1: whenever he decides to talk, You're gonna have people from
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh up here asking him some questions. Yeah, it's gonna
Speaker 1: it's gonna be tough. You know, he's gonna have to,
Speaker 1: you know, revisit a lot of relationships, answer a lot
Speaker 1: of old questions that I'm sure you know he doesn't
Speaker 1: want to talk about right now because it has nothing
Speaker 1: to do with the Jets moving forward in their position.
Speaker 1: But it's something that you have to do with a pro.
Speaker 1: You know, they were in the New York media. We're
Speaker 1: gonna have a lot more media attention than than another
Speaker 1: small market team would. And he's a professional. He does
Speaker 1: right with the media. He's an entertainer. He understands that
Speaker 1: they have to do their job what do you think
Speaker 1: of the way Bell has navigated all this stuff that
Speaker 1: comes with playing in New York and playing for the Jets.
Speaker 1: You know, obviously in Pittsburgh that's a national brand as well.
Speaker 1: But when you come to a new team, all eyes
Speaker 1: upon you. And even though I know he hasn't got
Speaker 1: the numbers he would have wanted, and I know on
Speaker 1: the other side of the spector, Mandam Gates is probably
Speaker 1: frustrated that the Jets haven't been able to get him
Speaker 1: to the second level as much as he's wanted. With
Speaker 1: that being said, guy has been super positive all year.
Speaker 1: I love how you know his attitude. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: he is sticking to his personality. You know, whether the
Speaker 1: Jets are are playing bad, whether you know they're winning,
Speaker 1: whether they're losing. Uh, he still is the same person,
Speaker 1: you know, and he believes in the self people leaving
Speaker 1: this team. You know, even when he goes through some
Speaker 1: it's facing some awkward questions and and facing some controversy,
Speaker 1: he's still let me on and he still gives that personality.
Speaker 1: And I give him a lot of credit for his
Speaker 1: attitude this year. He's been nothing but, uh, an example
Speaker 1: of how to carry yourself as a player, and I
Speaker 1: think it also proves that you can love football but
Speaker 1: also have other interests as well. I think sometimes we
Speaker 1: want you guys, a former player, to be a robot.
Speaker 1: That these guys gotta go home twenty four hours a day,
Speaker 1: study the film, never go out, never play put puck
Speaker 1: golf or whatever, never taking a concert. You know. Yeah,
Speaker 1: why I brought up put puck golf is because it's
Speaker 1: just he went bowl another night. I know much was
Speaker 1: made of that, and you can have your own opinion
Speaker 1: on net. But the thing about Levan is anything that
Speaker 1: he does, he puts himself a hundred percent into And
Speaker 1: you can have other interests in football, and you should.
Speaker 1: You know that that's healthy to have other interests. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm sure that you know. Listen, if you're an attorney,
Speaker 1: if you're you know, whatever your your occupation is, you
Speaker 1: want something to get away from the game. You know,
Speaker 1: when I was when I was playing, all my friends
Speaker 1: that I hung out with, we're not football players, they're
Speaker 1: police officers. They did something else where I could get
Speaker 1: away from the game and have a chance to separate
Speaker 1: from from the from the sport. And I think it's
Speaker 1: important for guys to have hobbies, guys to have other
Speaker 1: interests outside of the game. Yes, you take your job serious. Yes,
Speaker 1: you study your film, you take care of your body,
Speaker 1: you do all the things that are required if you
Speaker 1: as a player, and then some. But you have to
Speaker 1: have an outlet as well. We've talked about this before.
Speaker 1: I thought Belle, for whatever reason, it was an easy
Speaker 1: narrative to say he's the same kind of guy as
Speaker 1: Antonio Brown. I don't know Antonio Brown, but these guys
Speaker 1: have totally different personnel. Yeah, yeah, they're they're they're in
Speaker 1: different classes. You know. I think Levian is a is
Speaker 1: a very much a professional. He had to make a
Speaker 1: business decision last year which he thought was best for
Speaker 1: himself and his family, his future in this game. And
Speaker 1: I don't think you should demonize him for that, you know,
Speaker 1: I think that he made the right decision for him.
Speaker 1: He's come back, he's been a professional, He's trained hard,
Speaker 1: he came back in shape. You know, he was motivated.
Speaker 1: You know, you you can't knock him. You can't. If
Speaker 1: you're a Pittsburgh fan, Yes, you're gonna be frustrated because
Speaker 1: he's one of the better players in the league and
Speaker 1: you missed out on a season with him, but at
Speaker 1: the same time you have to respect his professional opinion
Speaker 1: and what he did. What do you think at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, after these two games are on,
Speaker 1: Lavan will take from this year because obviously would have
Speaker 1: wanted the team to win more and he would have
Speaker 1: wanted to help more, meaning not in a selfish way.
Speaker 1: But Lady is the kind of guy's like, hey, just
Speaker 1: give me the ball because I want to help you
Speaker 1: guys as much as I can. After sitting out a
Speaker 1: year and then signing here, what do you think he's
Speaker 1: gonna be like when he gets a chance to reflect
Speaker 1: the two thousand nineteen You know, I think that he's
Speaker 1: going to be extra motivated, you know, to come back
Speaker 1: in two thousand twenty and have an even better year.
Speaker 1: You know, he's gonna be a better leader for it,
Speaker 1: you know, helping his offensive line get better. You know
Speaker 1: he understands. I think this season more than any helps
Speaker 1: you understand that this is the team sport and that
Speaker 1: everyone has to be clicking on all cylinders for your
Speaker 1: team to be effective, to be to be a winner,
Speaker 1: especially in this division that's so competitive. So I think
Speaker 1: he's gonna be a great teammate. He's gonna push guys
Speaker 1: in the off season and he's gonna be better for it.
Speaker 1: And I don't care how good of a back you are,
Speaker 1: if you're dealing with the problems the Jets had up
Speaker 1: front this season, you're likely to struggle. I don't care
Speaker 1: who you are. Yeah, challenge any running back you know,
Speaker 1: to any player you know, to step into a position
Speaker 1: where you know, you go into the season with these
Speaker 1: high expectations with all these great players, all these key players, um,
Speaker 1: you know, role players and and star players, and then
Speaker 1: everyone gets hurt and then expect the same result. You know,
Speaker 1: I think you know from what this team has done.
Speaker 1: You know, the injury they sustained. I thought they fought
Speaker 1: back very tough. They never quit on on games. They
Speaker 1: always fought hard. They got better every game. And you know,
Speaker 1: you have to give credit to these players, the veterans
Speaker 1: on the team, the young players, and the coaching style.
Speaker 1: I would imagine both the Steelers fans and the Jets
Speaker 1: fans were at MetLife Stadium this weekend, are gonna give
Speaker 1: a tremendous supplause to Bell because if you're a Steelers fan,
Speaker 1: that guy left it out there on the field for you,
Speaker 1: and you experienced a lot of success because of two sins. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean you should, you know, give him his credit. Uh,
Speaker 1: pray him here with respect because he gave everything to
Speaker 1: that organization and to the to the point where, listen,
Speaker 1: he's going out there on a on a on a
Speaker 1: franchise tag. He understands that he has a future in
Speaker 1: this game. He knows how he approaches the game. He
Speaker 1: wants the ball every time. If he's not getting it
Speaker 1: handed off, he wants to catch it. That's the kind
Speaker 1: of way he attacks the game. And he understands that
Speaker 1: if he's gonna go out there and give it his all,
Speaker 1: he's gonna leave his self exposed. And I think it's
Speaker 1: way too early to write this guy off because I
Speaker 1: think the easy thing to do is look at his
Speaker 1: numbers for two thousand and nineteen and say he can't
Speaker 1: do it anymore. I don't say, I don't see that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that you'd be making a mistake if you thought that
Speaker 1: he can't get back to plus yards as you know,
Speaker 1: total offers two thousand yards rushing in and receiving. This
Speaker 1: guy still has all the juice left that he had before. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the man nicknamed juice. I believe still has plenty of
Speaker 1: juice left. And let's see what happens Sunday, because that's
Speaker 1: a tough Ravens defense and he eighty seven yards on
Speaker 1: the ground against them. I actually think, after watching Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: and you look at their numbers, and we're gonna dive
Speaker 1: into the match up here in our final segment, Steelers
Speaker 1: defense might actually be better than the Races. Yeah, you
Speaker 1: know there's something special over there. You know, the way
Speaker 1: they turn the ball over, They've forced a ton of turnovers,
Speaker 1: they have great pass rush. You know, they really can
Speaker 1: reach you at every level. So it's gonna be a tough,
Speaker 1: tall order for the Jets this week and and a
Speaker 1: good test of where they are. Yep uh. And we
Speaker 1: are going to dive into the matchup in our final
Speaker 1: segment and we'll be right back with that. You're listening
Speaker 1: inside the Jets in esp in New York. Sam Donald
Speaker 1: in a shotgun, I don't roll out to his wife,
Speaker 1: steps up in the pocket, tucks it under fires up
Speaker 1: the right scene and he's got prouder at the thirty
Speaker 1: yard line, running left, put the high steps and it's funny.
Speaker 1: Gets to the fifteen by the pounds of the ten.
Speaker 1: Remember Jets fans, You can stream us at the Jets
Speaker 1: Live through the Jets app presented by M and T Bank.
Speaker 1: Go to the app store or a Google Play Now
Speaker 1: and search Official New York Jets. Eric Ellen and Eric
Speaker 1: Coleman Here Advantables, ben, Real Sports and spirits inside the
Speaker 1: Windham Hamilton Park Hotel will be here next Monday night.
Speaker 1: I want to thank Kyrie is doing an awesome job
Speaker 1: producing back in New York City. And of course Justin
Speaker 1: who is here as well in Flora Park. Well, bless Austin.
Speaker 1: We had on earlier in the show. Um, you said
Speaker 1: during a break e that he's already one of your
Speaker 1: favorite players. Why. I love his mentality, man, he has
Speaker 1: a he has a great outlook on life. Uh and
Speaker 1: those injuries, fighting, battling through tough circumstances kind of help
Speaker 1: you get a better perspective on it. And you know
Speaker 1: the attitude that he takes in, you know, coming in
Speaker 1: here as a rookie, understanding he has a role to play,
Speaker 1: Understanding that you know there's a certain way to go
Speaker 1: about preparing for a game and preparing your body. Um,
Speaker 1: I love his attitude. You know, I think he's grateful
Speaker 1: for this opportunity and I really do think he going
Speaker 1: to develop into uh one of those players that's here
Speaker 1: for very long. And Eric, you played safety in the NFL.
Speaker 1: But I like the physical presidency brings at the cornerback position.
Speaker 1: He's feisty, he's big. Like he talked about overcoming those
Speaker 1: two A c. L tears, he said he was living
Speaker 1: in the weight room while you can tell his upper
Speaker 1: body is he's a jacked up kid and he's ready
Speaker 1: to go out there with bad intentions every week. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he can move, he's physical. I mean that really helps you.
Speaker 1: You know. I look at it as you know, as
Speaker 1: a safety. When I'm playing a Cover two, you want
Speaker 1: a big corner that's going to make that receiver declare,
Speaker 1: am I blocking this guy? Or am I running a route?
Speaker 1: Because the first thing I do is playing cover two
Speaker 1: is I look out at my corner. What's going on?
Speaker 1: Is he is a receiver running a route or is
Speaker 1: he being blocked? If he's being blocked, I can I
Speaker 1: can close the space. You know, you're coming from twenty
Speaker 1: yards deep, So the closer you can get the better
Speaker 1: when it's a run. So having a physical presence like
Speaker 1: that at that cornerback position really does help you. And
Speaker 1: and and it's nice to see a cornerback who will
Speaker 1: throw it up in and be physical. We broke down
Speaker 1: the Baltimore game. We're looking ahead two Jets Steelers Sunday.
Speaker 1: With that Baltimore game, I was disappointed Jamal Adams didn't
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to go out there because Greg Williams
Speaker 1: would have certainly had a very big plan for this
Speaker 1: guy against Lamar Jackson, and he could have been a difference.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying the Jets would have won that ball game,
Speaker 1: but that defense would have played a lot better had
Speaker 1: he been on the field, especially against that offense. You know,
Speaker 1: when I was watching the game at home, they were
Speaker 1: talking about how the Jets, it's one thing to have
Speaker 1: a spy for Lamar Jackson, but Lamar Jackson is more
Speaker 1: athletic than your spy is, so it doesn't really matter.
Speaker 1: And I just kept thinking to myself, imagine if that
Speaker 1: spot was Jamal Adams. You know, yes, Lamar Jackson probably
Speaker 1: would have made him miss one or two times, but
Speaker 1: Jamal Adams would have got him down. He would have
Speaker 1: made him pay a few times and made him think
Speaker 1: about leaving that pocket. Well, but that's the other point
Speaker 1: when Lamar jet excellent And we're not gonna sit here
Speaker 1: and talk about Lamar for a long time. But he's
Speaker 1: a great player. That's what a lot of people in
Speaker 1: the NFL are wondering is not can he keep this
Speaker 1: up over a short period of time? Is how many
Speaker 1: hits is he going to sustain? And is his style
Speaker 1: play sustainable? And I'm not taking a shot at anything
Speaker 1: he's doing on the field because he is a brilliant
Speaker 1: football player and if you vote him m v P,
Speaker 1: you're not getting any disagreement disagreement for me. But it
Speaker 1: does have to concern you a little bit when your quarterback,
Speaker 1: he is your star. Yeah, anytime you have the you know,
Speaker 1: the star of your team, the identity of your team
Speaker 1: out there taking shots, out there taking risks, it's gonna
Speaker 1: make you take a deep breath. You're gonna be concerned
Speaker 1: about it. But you know, I think he does a
Speaker 1: good job of getting down. He did take a couple
Speaker 1: of shots last week. Now how they do it, oh
Speaker 1: my god. But you know, most for the most part,
Speaker 1: you know, he's not really taking those shots. He's getting
Speaker 1: out of bounds, he's getting down and so I mean,
Speaker 1: but at the same time, whenever your quarterback leaves a pocket,
Speaker 1: you're gonna be concerned. Yeah. So it's gonna be interesting
Speaker 1: what happens in the postseason. Here. The Jets could finish
Speaker 1: up with three consecutive playoff teams because Baltimore is already
Speaker 1: clinched the FC North, Pittsburgh is right in the mix
Speaker 1: for a wild card, and the Buffalo Bills have already
Speaker 1: submitted their spot in the postseason. Yeah. I mean, this
Speaker 1: is that this is gonna be a true test of
Speaker 1: the the Jets team. You know, they're playing his three
Speaker 1: playoff teams. Um, you know you talk about the Ravens. Uh,
Speaker 1: the Steelers are gonna be ready to go. You know,
Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin, he's up for Coach of the Year this year.
Speaker 1: In my opinion, he's done one heck of a job
Speaker 1: coach on this team. He's on his third quarterback. You
Speaker 1: lose possible future Hall of Famer and Ben Roethlisberger, you
Speaker 1: lose Juju Smith Schuster, and you're still in the playoff hunt.
Speaker 1: It's an amazing job of coaching that Mike Tomlin has done.
Speaker 1: He and his staff so It's gonna be a big
Speaker 1: test this week and coming up next week, going up
Speaker 1: to Buffalo. It is amazing what Mike Tomlin has done
Speaker 1: in Pittsburgh. He was fired his head coach when he
Speaker 1: was thirty four years old. Thirteen seasons later, the Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: Steelers have never finished under five undertime. Unbelievable and people
Speaker 1: take that for granted. And you know, whenever I've ever
Speaker 1: heard his name on the hot seat has made me
Speaker 1: angry because what coach do you know that has gone
Speaker 1: that long without having a losing season, done the job
Speaker 1: that he's done, been consistent every single year and creating winners.
Speaker 1: You know, he has a great culture that he's that
Speaker 1: he's had over there. Uh, you know, it's just too
Speaker 1: bad they're gonna have to come to New York and
Speaker 1: take a hell this weekend. What do you make of
Speaker 1: the predicament they're in without Roethlisberger. They've had some struggles
Speaker 1: to the quarterback position, Mason Rudolph, then they go to
Speaker 1: Devlin Duck Hodges. Dad hod just put the ball up
Speaker 1: a lot against the Buffalo Bills kind of played into
Speaker 1: their hands because the Bills have arguably the best secondary
Speaker 1: in the national Football League, they come away with four
Speaker 1: in receptions, four sacks. I ken can't imagine going to
Speaker 1: stick to that game plan no matter who's lining it
Speaker 1: up at quarterback. I would imagine Pittsburgh to come out
Speaker 1: and try to run the football. Yeah, James Conner, Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, they're definitely gonna have to run the football.
Speaker 1: But I think without having been Roethlisberger for a year,
Speaker 1: it gives you a preview with lifelike after men. You know,
Speaker 1: he's been threatening retirement for the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: You know, he's getting older, and he got drafted with
Speaker 1: me in two thousand four, with Eli Manning and Philip Rivers,
Speaker 1: Eli Manning. You know, these are all guys who are
Speaker 1: on their way out of the league. So at some
Speaker 1: point in time Roethlisberg is gonna take that next step.
Speaker 1: But let's go to the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 1: How about the matchup for Sam and Donald and company.
Speaker 1: These guys get after the quarterback, but dupre he's got
Speaker 1: nine and a half sacks, but he's not the headliner.
Speaker 1: How about t J. Watt thirteen and a half sacks?
Speaker 1: And then Mica Fitzpatrick came over from the Miami Dolphins,
Speaker 1: rookie season, he's got five picks. Yeah, I mean you
Speaker 1: have twenty seconds after the quarterback Minca Fitzpatrick into it over.
Speaker 1: I had done a great job, but it's gonna be
Speaker 1: another task for for Sam Donald to see how he
Speaker 1: can elevate his game. Yeah, it certainly is. I'm looking
Speaker 1: forward to this one because, as Brandon Copland said today, listen,
Speaker 1: these guys are playing for their livelihoods right now. Two
Speaker 1: games remaining for the New York Jets. We'll be back
Speaker 1: right here next week Inside the Jets on ESPN New York,
Speaker 1: though Larry Hardisty is up next.