Speaker 1: Welcome to the Official Jets Podcast. We were presented by
Speaker 1: win Bett Betting is a team sports bet together at
Speaker 1: win Bet. We joined momentarily as always by the mad backer,
Speaker 1: Bart Scott. But we start in the studio with Jets
Speaker 1: center Connor McGovern five and two. Who would have thought
Speaker 1: before the year. I think you would have thought that
Speaker 1: because I looked back at a couple of quotes from
Speaker 1: you last December and you said, this thing is changing
Speaker 1: the culture, here is flipping. What did you see that
Speaker 1: maybe people now outside didn't see. Uh. It starts off
Speaker 1: with you know the guys that uh, Joe Douglas and
Speaker 1: and and the Johnson's have brought in. You know, you
Speaker 1: could tell when guys are buying into what coach Solo
Speaker 1: was was preaching. And then it goes as to Coach Solo,
Speaker 1: who I've always said as a true leader of men.
Speaker 1: And when you get the locker room to buy into
Speaker 1: to the common goal to exactly what he's preaching, Um,
Speaker 1: you can feel the ties start to turn. Um. Every
Speaker 1: good team I've been on, whether it's you know, high school, college, NFL,
Speaker 1: it's when the locker room comes together, starts playing for
Speaker 1: each other and everybody starts buying into what the coaches
Speaker 1: are saying. So, um, I started feeling that you can
Speaker 1: just you can see it on the field and how
Speaker 1: guys are playing. Um, And now we're kind of reaping
Speaker 1: the benefits of that. But this is your six year
Speaker 1: in the National Football League. You've never made the postseason before.
Speaker 1: Have you thought about the potential? Yeah, you know, it's
Speaker 1: it's something We're still early in the season. There's a long,
Speaker 1: long season to go, but you know it is it
Speaker 1: is something that you know, you kind of start letting
Speaker 1: your mind go if you're sitting there on the couch
Speaker 1: one day and thinking about your like, man, we have
Speaker 1: a we have an opportunity in front of us. So, um,
Speaker 1: you know, I haven't been in this position all other
Speaker 1: but maybe once or twice in my career at at
Speaker 1: week seven where you know, have a solid chance at
Speaker 1: you know, really getting into the playoffs and making a
Speaker 1: nice run. Um. So to to be in this position,
Speaker 1: it's special and definitely don't want to take it for granted.
Speaker 1: What was it like for you on the field on Sunday,
Speaker 1: you guys traveled to Denver without Elijah More Then Breece
Speaker 1: Hall goes down Corey Davis is out, Elijah air Tucker
Speaker 1: goes out offensively. I mean, you guys had to basically
Speaker 1: tape it together. Yeah, you know we we were without
Speaker 1: you know, some of our biggest playmakers. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: our best offensive lineman, and um, you know we were
Speaker 1: able to pull out the win. It's tough to have
Speaker 1: those guys who were down on the field. You know,
Speaker 1: you hate to see it. You know it's your your
Speaker 1: brothers and arms, and it's it's never easy. But um,
Speaker 1: it just kind of shows that how this whole teams
Speaker 1: bought in and how the whole team has that common goal.
Speaker 1: Um that no matter whoever's out there, you know, they're
Speaker 1: willing to do what it takes to win and and
Speaker 1: fight for that common goal. How did Cedric play come
Speaker 1: and pay? Well, yeah, he's he's a freak Gathley, he's
Speaker 1: a he's a first round pick. He's a um you know,
Speaker 1: he's he's he's got the length, he's got the speed,
Speaker 1: he's got the size. Um. So yeah, he came in
Speaker 1: and definitely handled it and and uh was played definitely
Speaker 1: good enough to win and in a little bit than that. So,
Speaker 1: have you ever been involved in a situation before where
Speaker 1: you've had so much line juggling, specifically at the tackle position.
Speaker 1: If you go all the way back to the spring, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know it. I don't know if I've ever been around,
Speaker 1: um around this much shuffling. You know, you're always gonna
Speaker 1: have some shuffling. Um, but to have this much from
Speaker 1: the spring to camp into the early seasons. We're still
Speaker 1: in the you know, the first half of the season,
Speaker 1: it's early. Um, to have this much shuffling, it's it's
Speaker 1: it's a challenge that you know, you don't want to have,
Speaker 1: but um, it's kind of what we're done with right now.
Speaker 1: And UM, you know, I have no doubt that whoever's
Speaker 1: out there playing is is going to handle you know,
Speaker 1: rise to the occasion. And and uh, you look at Nate,
Speaker 1: you know he's been absolutely playing, playing out of his mind.
Speaker 1: And Dwayne's out there with you know, a bum shoulders,
Speaker 1: playing awesome. And so everybody that's come in is has
Speaker 1: done a really good job. Um. And it kind of
Speaker 1: goes back to the lot the way this locker room
Speaker 1: is built, the way guys are buying in, um, that
Speaker 1: where they're willing to do what it takes. What do
Speaker 1: you think about Dwayne's mentality, Like you said, he could
Speaker 1: have cashed cash Dan and said, you know what, I
Speaker 1: don't feel that good. I get my paycheck and it
Speaker 1: just didn't work out here. But he comes back and
Speaker 1: he seems like people are gravitating towards him in the
Speaker 1: side of the locker room. One you know, he remember
Speaker 1: the day after he did it, came into the locker room,
Speaker 1: um or into the training room. I was like, you know,
Speaker 1: what's the word one of the docs saying. He's like, oh,
Speaker 1: they all want me to get surgery. I was like,
Speaker 1: how many opinions have you guy? He's like like three
Speaker 1: or four. It's like everyone surgery is like yeah. I
Speaker 1: was like that season and he's like yeah, season ending ending.
Speaker 1: And then I just kept seeing him in the training
Speaker 1: room no surgery, no surgery, and all the things on
Speaker 1: the field, and uh So, I don't think people realize
Speaker 1: when you know, shoot more than nine times out of ten,
Speaker 1: if if through two, three, four doctors sorry to get surgery,
Speaker 1: the guy gets surgery. So for him to, you know,
Speaker 1: at that point, not know us very well, not know
Speaker 1: the team very well, You've just gotten here. Really, it's
Speaker 1: just started to Mesh and for him to be willing
Speaker 1: to sacrifice like that, it's huge. And it just goes
Speaker 1: back to the testament of you know, what guys are
Speaker 1: willing to do to get this team roll and get
Speaker 1: get to get some wins on the board, and and
Speaker 1: and it's something that you know, you see a guy
Speaker 1: sacrifice something like that, it's easy to get behind. It's
Speaker 1: interesting because we talked in the spring and you said
Speaker 1: after free agency the early stages that you thought Joe
Speaker 1: Douglas should be like the executive of the year already
Speaker 1: because he liked the group of players that brought in
Speaker 1: that was prior to the draft. This draft class has
Speaker 1: been something else. The last I've been telling me, the
Speaker 1: last two draft classes have been you know, remarkable. Um.
Speaker 1: And when you hit two drafts like that, you know,
Speaker 1: there's no read, there's no wonder. You're winning a lot
Speaker 1: if you can, if you can win on draft in
Speaker 1: and free agency the way we want. I mean, we
Speaker 1: went from you know, you know, one of the youngest
Speaker 1: if not the youngest team. So now our middle of
Speaker 1: the pack, um, then then not only are we the
Speaker 1: middle of the pack on guy like age group, but
Speaker 1: our young guys are just playing out of their minds.
Speaker 1: So you know, when you can win free agency and
Speaker 1: win the draft. And then obviously your head coaches is
Speaker 1: doing a great job, you know, developing guys. This is
Speaker 1: the kind of the spot you're putting your team in,
Speaker 1: so they've done a phenomenal job. Bruce Hall had a
Speaker 1: sixty two yards scoring run against the Broncos. He was
Speaker 1: well on his way to his second consecutive hundred yard
Speaker 1: effort four consecutive games with a rushed touchdown. How bad
Speaker 1: do you feel for him personally now that he's gonna
Speaker 1: miss the rest of the year. How special of a
Speaker 1: player is seeing? How much are you looking forward to
Speaker 1: what's ahead for him? Yeah, he's remarkable. He's an absolute playmaker. Um,
Speaker 1: a guy where you can you can see where I
Speaker 1: think he's a two time All American or whatever it is,
Speaker 1: uh so you can see that come through. He's just
Speaker 1: an absolute ball player. He makes play has happened, and
Speaker 1: you know, you feel bad, You feel terrible for him.
Speaker 1: And I talked to him after the game and I
Speaker 1: told him, I was like, you're you're grid and good
Speaker 1: enough athlete. You'll come back better than ever. I mean,
Speaker 1: you're gonna he took a lot of hits in college.
Speaker 1: He you know, he's I think he was Iowa State's
Speaker 1: the only guy that ever touched the ball at Iowa State.
Speaker 1: So for him to take that many reps and then
Speaker 1: come to the NFL, you know, he's gonna rehab the
Speaker 1: knee really well. He's a freak athlete, he's young, healthy,
Speaker 1: He'll come back fast, He'll be able to rest his
Speaker 1: body and while he's doing it, and uh, next year
Speaker 1: he'll be even better than he was this year. Can
Speaker 1: you talk about the faith and belief that you guys
Speaker 1: have in the other guys in the backfield, starting of
Speaker 1: course from Michaelter. I mean, Michael Carter is a freak
Speaker 1: to you know, he's a he's an amazing player. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, obviously this year, you know, Breecee has kind
Speaker 1: of got gotten a little bit of the spotlight um
Speaker 1: over MC. But now it's MC's time time to kind
Speaker 1: of take that back. And you know, like everyone saw
Speaker 1: it last year, he does he does really well on
Speaker 1: the spotlight. So um, and then you got Ty Johnson,
Speaker 1: who I think so phenomenal running back. You know, he
Speaker 1: has some unmatched speed, the way he can come out
Speaker 1: of the backfield and and make plays in the past
Speaker 1: game as well. Um, you know, we have a we
Speaker 1: have a really good running backs room and um so
Speaker 1: it'll be exciting to see those guys get a little
Speaker 1: bit more opportunity. But MC is the real deal as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: no doubt about that. Is it weird for you to
Speaker 1: go back to Denver? He started your career there three
Speaker 1: years now, it's your third season with the Jets. You
Speaker 1: did it last year in Week three, so is the
Speaker 1: old hat? I know? Yeah, So last year is definitely
Speaker 1: a little bit more weird. This year, wasn't. It just
Speaker 1: kind of felt like another road game where I knew
Speaker 1: a little bit more people on the sidelines than before. So, um,
Speaker 1: this year it wasn't wasn't quite as different. But I
Speaker 1: will say last year it was a little weird to
Speaker 1: be back in that stadium on the other side for sure. Yeah. Um,
Speaker 1: you would family in attendance, right because they're not too
Speaker 1: far away. And can we talk about where you grew
Speaker 1: up and how people continue to support you. Yeah, growing
Speaker 1: up in far North Dakota. Um, so my my parents
Speaker 1: have been inly supportive. Um, you know, my dad's about
Speaker 1: half retired now. So they get My parents love to travel,
Speaker 1: so they enjoyed going to the games and coming out
Speaker 1: here and seeing family on the East Coast and then
Speaker 1: going to Denver se and some um lifelong friends that
Speaker 1: have in Denver, and um yeah, my parents have really
Speaker 1: been really been supported my whole career. They came to
Speaker 1: every home college game, and then my senior year they
Speaker 1: kind of did the same thing with with traveling and
Speaker 1: kind of seeing you know, there's so many cool places
Speaker 1: to visit for the college atmosphere. Um, so my parents
Speaker 1: have really really been huge, huge supporters. And then you know,
Speaker 1: going back to Green Bay, my wife grew up about
Speaker 1: forty five minutes south of Green Bay, so we had
Speaker 1: about thirty family members at the Green Bay game. UM
Speaker 1: so yeah, my i uh um definitely have the most
Speaker 1: supportive family on both sides. My family and my wife's
Speaker 1: family are are extremely supportive. So to have you know,
Speaker 1: about thirty lifelong Green May Packers fans all in jet
Speaker 1: skiar when you're playing the Packers is uh is definitely
Speaker 1: test went to their support. That's awesome. How cool is
Speaker 1: it when you guys pack up get on the charter
Speaker 1: like that? Feeling right now Sauce Gardener after the game said,
Speaker 1: road Warriors, you guys have went into some very good
Speaker 1: environments and come home with victories four and all on
Speaker 1: the road so far. Yeah, we've played in some of
Speaker 1: the most hostile environments and and been coming out, you know, victorious,
Speaker 1: which is which is nice. You know, Pittsburgh notoriously top
Speaker 1: five hardest places, Mile High notorious top five, um, and
Speaker 1: then uh, Cleveland's got a very good the Dog Pound Cleveland,
Speaker 1: and then you know, Lambo's Lambo. So um. You know,
Speaker 1: I think all we're missing in the top five is
Speaker 1: is Seattle, which we have that one at the end
Speaker 1: of the year, and then Kansas City. So um. You know,
Speaker 1: it's been remarkable and it just kind of it goes
Speaker 1: back to that the testament of this team and the
Speaker 1: resilience that this this locker room has and and the
Speaker 1: way we've bought in and um, you know, there's not
Speaker 1: a day that that that happens that we didn't we
Speaker 1: didn't think we're gonna win. So um. You know, everybody's
Speaker 1: confidence is high, and um, my opinion, confidence is key.
Speaker 1: You know, if you you have to go into every
Speaker 1: game believe you're gonna win and you can just feel
Speaker 1: in the locker room that you know, it's more than
Speaker 1: a belief. Everybody is pretty is extremely confident. This is
Speaker 1: your sixth professional season. How important is legacy for you?
Speaker 1: Because the thing that struck me also about some of
Speaker 1: your comments last year is you said, in ten fifteen years,
Speaker 1: I want to look back and say I put in
Speaker 1: the work in this team eventually got over the hump. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's something that you know, it would you know, I
Speaker 1: mean a lot to me. It's something I got to
Speaker 1: be a part of UM in high school. It's something
Speaker 1: that you know, we kind of got to do in college,
Speaker 1: had a couple of rough seasons when we first got
Speaker 1: to the SEC, and then we kind of bumped it up.
Speaker 1: And then to do it here and in New York
Speaker 1: and you know, the biggest city, the biggest the one
Speaker 1: of the best fan bases. To be able to ring
Speaker 1: that back, it would be huge and you know, more
Speaker 1: than anything, would just be fun. You know, it's it's
Speaker 1: it's a place where you know, when the people are
Speaker 1: behind you, they're incredibly supportive UM. And to be able
Speaker 1: to go into this this you know market and this
Speaker 1: team and start winning UM, it is special. We're doing
Speaker 1: it so, um, it's it's it's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 1: What's the difference in Zack Wilson in year two four?
Speaker 1: And oh is a starter. Everybody points to the passing
Speaker 1: statistics and right now, obviously you guys are gonna need
Speaker 1: more balanced down the line, but you're playing winning football.
Speaker 1: And you went into a Denver building yesterday the Broncos
Speaker 1: were giving up ten points a game at home no
Speaker 1: matter who you lost on the field. I thought they
Speaker 1: were gonna be at times. You knew that. Hey, listen,
Speaker 1: we gotta be patient, we gotta keep on grinding. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, I you know, there's a lot of different
Speaker 1: ways to win a football game. And you know, Zach
Speaker 1: has has been playing phenomenal. He has been playing, he's
Speaker 1: been doing what it takes to win, you know, whether
Speaker 1: it and he hasn't had to throw for three yards
Speaker 1: to win football games. And um, you know, I think
Speaker 1: when people start looking at stats, you know, they're just
Speaker 1: kind of digging for ways to to to kind of
Speaker 1: split split the locker room or whatever. You know, as
Speaker 1: long as the only thing that matters and the one
Speaker 1: goal that we all have is to win. And if
Speaker 1: you're winning, you're doing you're doing it right now? Is there?
Speaker 1: There's always things you can do to get better, and
Speaker 1: you can always improve. UM. But you know one thing
Speaker 1: about Zach is he's not worried about his stats. The
Speaker 1: only stat that Zach cares about his winning UM and
Speaker 1: and he knows that the other stuff will come. You know,
Speaker 1: our formula right now is kind of wear people down
Speaker 1: and then in the fourth quarters score more points than
Speaker 1: the other team. And UM, you know that the way
Speaker 1: A huge part about that is the run game, obviously,
Speaker 1: but our defense allows us to do that. You know,
Speaker 1: our defense is holding us in every game so that
Speaker 1: when when we finally have kind of you know, given enough,
Speaker 1: body blows and the the other team's defense starts to
Speaker 1: kind of give us an inch and we can take
Speaker 1: a mile it. You know, without our defense playing the
Speaker 1: way they're playing, we wouldn't be able to do that.
Speaker 1: So you know, this formula has been working for us
Speaker 1: right now. UM. You know, who knows what it's gonna
Speaker 1: take next Sunday, on the Sunday after that. UM. But
Speaker 1: I have you know, the confidence that Zach has in himself, UM,
Speaker 1: and the confidence we have in Zach. I have no
Speaker 1: doubt if if there needs to be a game where
Speaker 1: he has to throw, you know, thirty forty times, I
Speaker 1: really hope he doesn't because that makes my life a
Speaker 1: lot harder. But if if that's what it takes, that's
Speaker 1: what it takes, UM, I have no doubt he can
Speaker 1: do it. And I know the old line can can
Speaker 1: hold up and do that as well. How impressive is
Speaker 1: it for you guys as a unit though? That's three
Speaker 1: consecutive games without a turnover. That's pretty rare in the
Speaker 1: National Football League that type. Yeah, you know, it's something
Speaker 1: that UH coach Saul also preaches, and and every every
Speaker 1: coach I've ever been around talks about how important the
Speaker 1: ball is obviously and ball security, um. But to have
Speaker 1: the guys buy in and do everything they possibly can
Speaker 1: to make sure that ball stays in our hands and
Speaker 1: our defense is doing everything they possibly can to make
Speaker 1: sure the ball gets back in our hands. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: that's that's another another good recipe for winning football. If
Speaker 1: you can be positive in the turnover margin. I don't know,
Speaker 1: I think the stats are like six, just just being
Speaker 1: plus one in the turnover margin to win, let alone
Speaker 1: plus two or plus three, which you know, I think
Speaker 1: last week growing plus one, but the weeks before we're
Speaker 1: plus two or whatever. So um, the statistics, you know,
Speaker 1: every turnover you get and the positive like the percentage
Speaker 1: wise it jumps is huge. So you are a workout fanatics,
Speaker 1: So do you like the mentality of this team? Like
Speaker 1: you talked about the body blows, the body blows. Stale
Speaker 1: always talks about taking other teams into deep water. Right now,
Speaker 1: it seems like the New York Jets for sixty minutes
Speaker 1: they're gonna be standing total toll in the ring swinging. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, it's it's it's the type of boxing matches
Speaker 1: I like to watch, and it's so to be able
Speaker 1: to go out and and do the comparable thing and
Speaker 1: in a football game, it's pretty fun. And uh, it's
Speaker 1: it's it's you know, if I could the any alignment,
Speaker 1: I think would pick that way to win football games.
Speaker 1: Just grinded out, make sure that the coaches have trust
Speaker 1: in the old line that you know, you know, you
Speaker 1: maybe hit the first couple of runs are one to
Speaker 1: three yards, but just have the trust in us and
Speaker 1: the confidence in us that we're gonna keep going. We're
Speaker 1: gonna keep at We're gonna keep pounding. And then those
Speaker 1: three runs turned into six yards, the four yards turn
Speaker 1: into ten and so on and so forth. And um,
Speaker 1: you know, especially as the Solilways preaches, is the season
Speaker 1: goes on and the weather gets cold, you know, those
Speaker 1: body blows hurt even more and and you know, you
Speaker 1: you see when you know they were in this staff
Speaker 1: was in San Francisco. Um, that's kind of what the
Speaker 1: mentality that they had. I mean, obviously San Francisco is
Speaker 1: still head coached in the same system, but you know,
Speaker 1: they go in and they go to Lambeau and whatever
Speaker 1: it was nineteen or one, I don't remember the year,
Speaker 1: but they ran almost rushed for three yards and the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers in in um whatever it was late December,
Speaker 1: early January or what a mid January in Lambeau to
Speaker 1: be able to do that. So, you know, that's kind
Speaker 1: of mentality we have and um, what we want to
Speaker 1: be able to do. And I think old Jets fans
Speaker 1: are thinking about teams in OH nine and No. Ten,
Speaker 1: they used to say ground and pound and then the
Speaker 1: Jets hit an elite defense. Different teams, different rosters, different players, obviously,
Speaker 1: but there's similarities there. Yeah, for sure, and then I
Speaker 1: you know that formula has won a lot of football
Speaker 1: games for a long time in the NFL. Um, the
Speaker 1: big flashy you know, five hundred yards of offense wins
Speaker 1: as well. But this is, you know, the other way
Speaker 1: to win. And you know, I think that this fan
Speaker 1: base kind of would would buy in on this kind
Speaker 1: of way to win. It kind of seems to fit
Speaker 1: the Jets Moniker, So I love that. Um, how are
Speaker 1: you going to take in Patriots Bears tonight? Patriots? You
Speaker 1: guys have at home next week? First time this season.
Speaker 1: And actually as far as a three game stretch, you've
Speaker 1: got three games come and up inside the division, two
Speaker 1: of them against the Patriots. Yeah, it's it's huge these
Speaker 1: next three games are you know, every game is big.
Speaker 1: Divisional games are really big, but to have three divisional
Speaker 1: games all back to back, um, you know that are
Speaker 1: really gonna, you know, affect how this division plays out
Speaker 1: when it comes to the postseason. I think these are
Speaker 1: the biggest three games stretch we have. So, um it's
Speaker 1: it's it's big for us these next three games. And UM,
Speaker 1: so you know nobody's taking them lightly by any means. Um,
Speaker 1: everyone's really excited that's something. The style is stressed you
Speaker 1: guys throughout the offseason, right, we gotta close the gap
Speaker 1: inside the ANFC East to get took care of business already.
Speaker 1: Against Miami is such an interesting spot in the schedule
Speaker 1: because three home games against division teams prior to the bye,
Speaker 1: and then you see all those guys after the by
Speaker 1: on the road. Yeah, yeah, you know, I think you know,
Speaker 1: our schedule has been you know, a lot more favorable
Speaker 1: this year than it has been in the past. Um,
Speaker 1: we're not going out west a bunch where. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: we kind of got some couple of home games in
Speaker 1: a row here and get the divisional teams at home
Speaker 1: first so we can try to use that home field
Speaker 1: advantage and get a leg up. So, um, we have
Speaker 1: a favorable schedule and and you know we've been capitalizing
Speaker 1: on it and for um, capitalizing on it for for now,
Speaker 1: and we just gotta keep using it to our advantage
Speaker 1: and um, you know, just keep pounding alright. Lastly, let's
Speaker 1: end here a couple of personal notes the Able games.
Speaker 1: How are things going there? And again you give us
Speaker 1: a refresher because I think some people are familiar with it,
Speaker 1: but for those who aren't. I want people to know
Speaker 1: that what you're doing and what you're involved in, how
Speaker 1: many years you've been doing it. Yeah, the Able Games
Speaker 1: is going awesome. Um, you know the big thing now
Speaker 1: is is kind of what we've you know, more of
Speaker 1: the Able Games into and is now ABLE and it's
Speaker 1: it's the school curriculum. And we're actually coming out and
Speaker 1: having a day on November fifteenth, I believe is the
Speaker 1: exact date. Um, we're gonna try to start bringing it
Speaker 1: into schools out here. So we're kind of doing it
Speaker 1: MO at a at a local high school out here.
Speaker 1: And UM, it's been going awesome. You know, we have
Speaker 1: uh you know there's state where adding states every day
Speaker 1: and and so it's it's been huge and the amount
Speaker 1: of support we've gotten um ABLE has been just absolutely
Speaker 1: taken off. And then with that that just lays the
Speaker 1: foundation for the Able Games to be bigger and better
Speaker 1: than than ever. So you know, ABLE is a school
Speaker 1: curriculum that goes in. It's it's a physical education credit
Speaker 1: UM towards UM the high school. And it's where it
Speaker 1: would be like a p class where a person without
Speaker 1: special needs and then a student or a student without
Speaker 1: special needs and a student with special needs partner up
Speaker 1: and they do a lot of It's kind of like
Speaker 1: physical fitness and just getting more more than just like
Speaker 1: playing dodgeball in your class. There's some fun, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of fun aspects, but it's more of a working
Speaker 1: out together and um, you know. One of the remarkable
Speaker 1: things I saw was the high school and Morehead, Minnesota
Speaker 1: has been doing this for a while before ABLE had started,
Speaker 1: so to see how their students interacted with the special
Speaker 1: needs students versus a school that had just started this
Speaker 1: program was remarkable. And I think that's an aspect. Not
Speaker 1: only are we helping people with special needs, you know,
Speaker 1: get healthier, move around more, um, you know, learn be
Speaker 1: able to be physically fit, to do a vocation. UM,
Speaker 1: you're also allow It's a it's a two way street
Speaker 1: to get because the ultimate goal is to help people
Speaker 1: especial needs get into the workforce. So it starts it's teaching.
Speaker 1: We are in high school. We give them an outlet
Speaker 1: to go compete with the ABLE Games because I'm a
Speaker 1: big believer in competition. And then they get to compete,
Speaker 1: they get to show off their ability, and then they
Speaker 1: get to train into a vocation and when you have
Speaker 1: people that feel extremely comfortable with working with people especial
Speaker 1: needs and especial needs person it allows them to have
Speaker 1: the most success they possibly can in any aspect of life,
Speaker 1: whether it's a vocation or sports or what have you. So,
Speaker 1: UM it's a two way street because UM, you know,
Speaker 1: people that don't have a lot of familiarity with working
Speaker 1: with the people especial needs, it can be a little
Speaker 1: bit stressful. It takes a little bit of a different
Speaker 1: UM skill set than UM something else. So it's it's
Speaker 1: something that you know, we hope to build UM through
Speaker 1: ABLE and then yeah, there's a million things going on
Speaker 1: right now, but it's all going really really getting into
Speaker 1: the schools because that is huge in But the ABLE
Speaker 1: games themselves, yep, what are they and when did they happen?
Speaker 1: So they happen in the springtime so that I can
Speaker 1: be a part of it and you can get as
Speaker 1: many football guys there. But it's a it's a physical
Speaker 1: fitness competition UM that helps all UH. It encompasses every person.
Speaker 1: It's it's fully scalable from somebody that you know it
Speaker 1: could compete in the CrossFit games to somebody that UM
Speaker 1: has is bound to a wheelchair. UM where you're able
Speaker 1: to scale every workout, and that the trainers there and
Speaker 1: the people that write the programs. It's remarkable how well
Speaker 1: they can tie in. And on the same floor you
Speaker 1: see somebody you know that's a uh could be across
Speaker 1: the games competitive walking hands like doing handstand walks. And
Speaker 1: then on the other end of the floor there's somebody
Speaker 1: in a wheelchair throwing a medball and then going after
Speaker 1: it throwing the medball and doing the same length. UM.
Speaker 1: But you know they're matching what muscles they are using.
Speaker 1: You know, it's using their shoulders and their arms to
Speaker 1: throw the medball, just like the person that's doing the
Speaker 1: handstand walk is is using to do the handstand walk.
Speaker 1: So UM to see the ABLE games and you know,
Speaker 1: hopefully we can we can have an event out here eventually. UM.
Speaker 1: Right now there's only one in North Dakota, but it's growing.
Speaker 1: You know, I think where ABLE spreads into the schools,
Speaker 1: ABLE games will come and UH. It's it's truly life
Speaker 1: changing to see and then to see the smiles on
Speaker 1: um everybody's faces, and the camaraderie and and the people
Speaker 1: cheering everybody on and you know there's somebody that just
Speaker 1: you know, gave everything they had on a dead left workout,
Speaker 1: but they crawl their way down the floor to go
Speaker 1: cheer that last person on as they finished their workout.
Speaker 1: It's it's something really special and and uh, I hope
Speaker 1: to bring to to everybody that is awesome. Um, you
Speaker 1: are a gym rat. You've always been. You've always been
Speaker 1: a gym right. As as far as the cross fit
Speaker 1: is concerned, how have you been able to keep weight on?
Speaker 1: You know, because a lot of people cross fit they're
Speaker 1: jacked up, but they don't have the mass because a
Speaker 1: cross fit you have so many workouts and a lot
Speaker 1: of his fast and explosive right, Yeah, so I I
Speaker 1: definitely modify a lot of it um and kind of
Speaker 1: tweak it to to what an old line does A
Speaker 1: low lineman does. You know, we have such a weird job.
Speaker 1: It's you know, a wide out. They they run a lot,
Speaker 1: they're still running and you know, for us it's you know,
Speaker 1: it's kind of like you're doing a three second burst
Speaker 1: of pushing a car or something. So it's hard to
Speaker 1: train for and and going on. You obviously need a
Speaker 1: good cardiovascular base, but just going out and running, you're building,
Speaker 1: you're using different energy systems and stuff. So CrossFit I
Speaker 1: kind of found in in that kind of realm weighs
Speaker 1: some more mimic um, you know what we do every
Speaker 1: day as an offensive linemen um, and then so stay
Speaker 1: strong in that way, but also train that. You know,
Speaker 1: it's a lot of I do a lot of like
Speaker 1: repetitions of something that takes like three to six seconds
Speaker 1: and just do a lot of them with like a
Speaker 1: forty five second break, and um, so I really enjoy it. Um.
Speaker 1: It's been fun trying to tweak UM. I've been really
Speaker 1: blessed me around a lot of amazing UH strength conditioning coaches.
Speaker 1: And to be able to tweak everything that I've learned
Speaker 1: in all the UH newspaper magazine articles and internet articles
Speaker 1: now that I've read and kind of try to make
Speaker 1: it my own is really fun and I really enjoy that. Well,
Speaker 1: you're freak, So if anybody's seasy at the GM, they
Speaker 1: could be like, oh my god. That. So let's end
Speaker 1: here with a little fun all time top bench. My
Speaker 1: all time top bench was only four because I was
Speaker 1: going for the school record. Me and Mitch Morris, We're
Speaker 1: going head to head for the school record Buffalo Bill Center,
Speaker 1: going head to head for the the record of Uh,
Speaker 1: we're gonna try to both hit five twenty because of record,
Speaker 1: or maybe it was records five twenty or we're going
Speaker 1: for five twenty and the record was five fifteen and
Speaker 1: at four, uh, I had toward my pack and so
Speaker 1: we both had to shut it down. So Mitch blames
Speaker 1: me for not having the school bench record. Um, but
Speaker 1: I think I've asked you that before. Obviously he doesn't
Speaker 1: do that anymore, but I have way back in the day. Yeah,
Speaker 1: back in the day we were going head to head.
Speaker 1: So the best I've ever hit was one other time.
Speaker 1: So my best squad, my single best squad was a
Speaker 1: seven twenty UM. But like for the numbers thing, the
Speaker 1: best squad ever hit, which is a school record, that
Speaker 1: was it was I did six nine for five. Get video, Yeah, summer,
Speaker 1: it's an old video, bads, you know before camera phones
Speaker 1: are really good. It's it's grainy and everyone's yelling. You
Speaker 1: could barely see what's going on. But what about lift?
Speaker 1: My best dead lift is about I think I pulled
Speaker 1: a seven fifty one time or seven forty somewhere in there.
Speaker 1: So at the end of the day, when you're not
Speaker 1: playing anymore, you can be crushing in the gym. Still, yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I will. My we're the house rebuilding right
Speaker 1: now back in front of Dakota. We have a big
Speaker 1: gym set up. My wife is also wait in a
Speaker 1: U physical fitness. She was when we were in Denver,
Speaker 1: she was a fitness instructure at instructor at three different places. So, um,
Speaker 1: she's way into it. I know. When you know life
Speaker 1: kind of slows down a little bit, she wants to
Speaker 1: get back into um, instructing stuff. So it's designing the
Speaker 1: gym you were, So it's it's uh, it's attached to
Speaker 1: the garage and so there's two floors, so the bottom
Speaker 1: floor is mine and on the top floor as hers.
Speaker 1: So that's pretty sweet up and so uh, you know,
Speaker 1: we're gonna have to come out there and do a feature. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it'll be fun. It'll be fun when it's done. Great
Speaker 1: catching up is always man, Thank you thanks for having me.
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Speaker 1: and Virginia. You're watching the Official Jets Podcast. We're presented
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Speaker 1: As I mentioned at the top of the pod, we
Speaker 1: are now joined by Bart Scott. In fact, this is
Speaker 1: the second time we're taping this because the New York
Speaker 1: Jets went out and made a trade Monday night. What
Speaker 1: did you think about the acquisition by Joe Douglas getting
Speaker 1: Jacksonville Jaguars back James Robinson. I think is as symboled
Speaker 1: to the locker room that we're trying to win now.
Speaker 1: And you know, we understand that this is a season
Speaker 1: where we could, you know, maybe make some noise and
Speaker 1: compete for the playoffs, and it would be great for
Speaker 1: a young group. I'm gonna go in and a wide open,
Speaker 1: not only just a f C wide open, NFL altogether
Speaker 1: and bringing the gully James Robinson, who's only years old,
Speaker 1: I believe, you know, means that you're you're getting a
Speaker 1: good player, proven player, Pro Bowl player or not a
Speaker 1: Pro Bowl player, Rookie of the Year player, and you
Speaker 1: know he replaces not the speed of Breece Hall, but
Speaker 1: the physicality, you know, being five nine and twenty pounds,
Speaker 1: you know, he's a guy that you know that can
Speaker 1: move the sticks. You know. Michael Carter is a lighter
Speaker 1: back of smaller back, just gives you kind of that
Speaker 1: thunder lightning type of dynamic. And of course, moving Thy
Speaker 1: Johnson into there, we know that he's a guy that
Speaker 1: can play at a high level. So I mean, I
Speaker 1: think it's a win win. Cam Akers is to me
Speaker 1: pretty much almost like uh like Michael Carter and Kareem
Speaker 1: Hunt probably would have cost you a boatload and Cleveland
Speaker 1: still holding on to hope. I believe that they can
Speaker 1: still make a run if they stay close enough. With
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson coming off, you know of suspension the level week.
Speaker 1: How do you think this is gonna develop over time?
Speaker 1: What you have in the backfield with Carter, with Robinson,
Speaker 1: with Ty Johnson, uh Breece Hall. He's spectacular of core
Speaker 1: of late. They had the sixty two yard touchdown run
Speaker 1: against the Broncos, the Jets only touchdown in that game.
Speaker 1: He's had four consecutive games with rush touchdown. Such a
Speaker 1: threat out of the backfield as a receiver, and also
Speaker 1: he gives you that dimension of being a home run hitter. Now,
Speaker 1: what is that backfield going to look like in terms
Speaker 1: of distribution? In your eyes? Park Well, I think you
Speaker 1: always have to keep Michael Carter hits down, and we
Speaker 1: know that he's had a history of concussions and you
Speaker 1: don't want to over expose him that way as well.
Speaker 1: Um I think thy Johnson, it means that you have
Speaker 1: to keep three running backs up lively. You know, I
Speaker 1: don't know if Robinson has any experience and really playing
Speaker 1: special teams, but if he was coming in as an
Speaker 1: undrafted free agent. I'm assuming that he played forms of
Speaker 1: special teams. You don't want to be able to get
Speaker 1: players that can do multiple things to help you in
Speaker 1: different areas. You know, who knows if he can return
Speaker 1: kickoffs or anything like that as well. You don't try
Speaker 1: and just get all the talent that he has and
Speaker 1: put him in position to be successful. I know that
Speaker 1: thy Johnson catch the ball fluid, I know Michael Carter can.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if Robinson is a natural catch of
Speaker 1: the ball um, but that was a huge part of
Speaker 1: what Briest did. You know, being able to, you know,
Speaker 1: win the one on one matchups with linebackers and receiver,
Speaker 1: many linebackers and safeties. You know, his presence will be
Speaker 1: missed in the passing game just as much as it
Speaker 1: is in the running game. What does that offense have
Speaker 1: to do moving forward, not only this week against the Patriots, buddy,
Speaker 1: but over the course of these final ten games, Because
Speaker 1: you could make an argument that these were the two
Speaker 1: best offensive players the Jets had on the roster in
Speaker 1: brief Hall and then Elijah Vera Tucker who's done everything
Speaker 1: for this team along that offensive line. Here in the
Speaker 1: five and five and to start well. For me, like
Speaker 1: I said all the time, some time, it's better to
Speaker 1: have a bunch of good players and a few great
Speaker 1: players because you talk about the depth and everybody in
Speaker 1: the NFL. Depth is going to be tested at some
Speaker 1: point this year. And you know, because the Jets have
Speaker 1: a bunch of good players, I think they'll be able
Speaker 1: to withstand because, yeah, you lose the very Tucker is tough,
Speaker 1: but he was filling in for no for George Fant,
Speaker 1: who may be returning you know sometimes, So we'll see
Speaker 1: after the you know, after the bye week, but you
Speaker 1: know he should be getting closer. You know, he didn't
Speaker 1: have a season in the injury. And then Max Mitchell,
Speaker 1: I mean, so you still have an opportunity to have
Speaker 1: good pieces. You know, you can't replace vera Tucker, but
Speaker 1: you know Fant and and Max Mitchell would be you know,
Speaker 1: still a substantial increase. And what the Jets have, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe going this week against the Patriots, you know, just
Speaker 1: having experience and having you know, guys that were filling
Speaker 1: in to go back to their natural roles and be
Speaker 1: swing guys. That's the that's the beauty of being able
Speaker 1: to have versatility and and players that can play on
Speaker 1: the inside, play on the outside rather this receiver, running back, safety, linebacker.
Speaker 1: You know, it's important because this game nowadays is about
Speaker 1: who can last the longest with the best quality pe
Speaker 1: pieces and be able to try and win. What's next
Speaker 1: for Zach Wilson four and all as a starter? Uh
Speaker 1: Robert Sala being asked this week if he's con cern
Speaker 1: about the past game the Jets, I should say, have
Speaker 1: faced Dona Felts, two top past defenses over the last
Speaker 1: two weeks in the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos,
Speaker 1: So we have to take that into consideration. And there's
Speaker 1: that alement the ground and pound working for this team
Speaker 1: that has great defense paired with excellent special teams. Right now,
Speaker 1: I mean, listen, they found it formula. But I think
Speaker 1: you're gonna act Za Wilson to do a little bit
Speaker 1: more now, right because you can't just say, hey, we're
Speaker 1: gonna get a hundred and fifty yards, you know, a
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty yards you know from breeze in big place, right,
Speaker 1: so now you may have the ground upon it. You'll
Speaker 1: remember in this town. You know, it's a team that
Speaker 1: had three good running backs. They used it to wear
Speaker 1: the opponents defense down. They were consistent with running the ball.
Speaker 1: When you think about you know, Brandon Jacobs, I believe
Speaker 1: Ward and Bradshaw, I mean, I think they have that dynamic.
Speaker 1: They have two big bruising backs, you know, Ty Johnson,
Speaker 1: you know Robinson and now you know Michael Carter. You're
Speaker 1: just trying to break them down and like, see what
Speaker 1: if Zach can make plays behind. I think Garrett Wilson
Speaker 1: and Lazare Moore and and MAM's everybody kind of steps up,
Speaker 1: and everybody's gonna get more of an opportunity to get touches,
Speaker 1: you know. So if you're complaining about touches or you
Speaker 1: weren't satisfied with the touches you were getting with those,
Speaker 1: you know, eighteen and nineteen touches are not available. Who's
Speaker 1: gonna step up, you know from a playmaking standpoint and say, hey,
Speaker 1: give those to me. I can, I can, I can
Speaker 1: do something with those. This is the first time since
Speaker 1: two thousand and one, twenty one years, the Jets have
Speaker 1: a two game lead in the division over the New
Speaker 1: England Patriots. Yes, the Jets aren't in first place in
Speaker 1: the division, but with that being said, they're gonna face
Speaker 1: a Patriots team that is three and four, and you
Speaker 1: have an opportunity ahead of you Sunday at MetLife Stadium
Speaker 1: to increase that gap even the three games. Bart, what
Speaker 1: do you think about the situation, the dynamic with the
Speaker 1: Jets and the Patriots right now? I mean, a game
Speaker 1: plan is really right. There is a team that's had
Speaker 1: their number and they're rebuilding, They're trying to figure out
Speaker 1: who they're gonna be going forward after they lost your
Speaker 1: arguably the greatest quarterback of all time. So you wanna
Speaker 1: you wanna. You want to put all that pressure on
Speaker 1: them that they put on you for over the years,
Speaker 1: and you want to try and make sure that you
Speaker 1: can go up about three games and then you see
Speaker 1: him a couple of weeks, you go about four games,
Speaker 1: and then that's one less thing you have to worry about.
Speaker 1: You bury them right, and you make sure that hey, man,
Speaker 1: like all the teams that were beating us here on
Speaker 1: in twelve in the division the last couple of years
Speaker 1: or in six, you take care of business and you
Speaker 1: you inflict that pain and that disappointment that they inflicted
Speaker 1: on you for the last couple of seasons. And that's
Speaker 1: about maturity, right. You can't go in there emotionally. You
Speaker 1: gotta go in there to get the job done, and
Speaker 1: you understand that it's a doable and it's a task
Speaker 1: that is doable. You saw yesterday, you know the Chicago Bears,
Speaker 1: you know who is a team that's on the rebuild.
Speaker 1: Come up and take advantage and punch this team in
Speaker 1: the mouth. So now you understand that it's gonna be
Speaker 1: a little bit more personal because it's a rivalry game,
Speaker 1: is a divisional game. They know you, you know them,
Speaker 1: but reintroduce yourself to him because they may think that
Speaker 1: you are a certain way and that things are still compactic,
Speaker 1: that they have your number, swim that you think different.
Speaker 1: Can they have a lasting impact the way they lost
Speaker 1: on Monday Night Football thirty three to fourteen. A lot
Speaker 1: of people would say that game wasn't as close as
Speaker 1: the score would indicate. The Bears at an opportunity to
Speaker 1: put it in a touchdown at the end and they
Speaker 1: kneeled the ball down. Uh. The reason why I ask
Speaker 1: you that is because it's interesting. Last year in New England,
Speaker 1: the Patriots hung fifty plus on the Jets. The tide
Speaker 1: is totally turned when you're looking at these teams. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if if I'm the Jets, I'm trying to inflict that pain.
Speaker 1: If I have an opportunity to run to score up.
Speaker 1: You know, I remember running the score up right, And
Speaker 1: like I said, there's no there's no sportsmanship among rivals.
Speaker 1: Like they hate you, you hate them. You know when
Speaker 1: they were they're up, they take advantage. When you're up,
Speaker 1: you take advantage. Make them feel some of that pain
Speaker 1: used that its motivation, how they embarrass you last year,
Speaker 1: And make sure that they feel embarrassed. But more more
Speaker 1: than that, make sure that you walk out with the
Speaker 1: big three right, because that's the best way to to
Speaker 1: kind of serve that revenge is cold. If you can
Speaker 1: put up fifty, you put up fifty. But if you
Speaker 1: can win three zero, that's three zero. You do what
Speaker 1: you have to do. And I will put the challenge
Speaker 1: on the defensive line to step up, because last week
Speaker 1: gives the defensive backs that stepped up and really carry
Speaker 1: the carry the water, so to speak. So it's time
Speaker 1: for this d line to step up and have a
Speaker 1: great game. And a quarterback that's mobile, but not Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson or Jalen Hurts type of mobile. You should better
Speaker 1: get to him and win at the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 1: You know, look at Troy Brownie struggled yesterday. You know
Speaker 1: you try and make sure that he doesn't get right
Speaker 1: because you know that practice is going to be tough
Speaker 1: for them on a short week. But it's gonna be
Speaker 1: tough for them because you're looking at you know, Bill
Speaker 1: Belichick being embarrassed, guys getting called out in film study.
Speaker 1: You know they're gonna come out there. You're gonna get
Speaker 1: their best effort because they were embarrassed in front of
Speaker 1: the national television and they're gonna try and come back
Speaker 1: and get retribution and really against the team that people
Speaker 1: think are there Darling, you know, good story to have
Speaker 1: in the Jets. What's the biggest surprise in NFL right now?
Speaker 1: You got the New New York team who have combined,
Speaker 1: I believe, with an eleven and three record. You have
Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady struggling to put
Speaker 1: any kind of points on the board. You have Aaron
Speaker 1: Rodgers uh under five hundred and they're facing the Buffalo
Speaker 1: Bills this week. When you look at you got the
Speaker 1: Patriots who are three and four. Biggest surprise in I
Speaker 1: file right now, I mean the biggest surprise to me
Speaker 1: is Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks are first in
Speaker 1: the division. Uh. You know, Kenneth Walker, somebody who I'm
Speaker 1: very familiar with, you know, got a late start, but
Speaker 1: you know he was gonna push Breefe, you know for
Speaker 1: a Rookie of the Year. Anyway, He's a dynamic back.
Speaker 1: You know, they were one and two in the draft,
Speaker 1: one and two in the Big ten, and he's playing
Speaker 1: at a high level hundred six yards. Gino Smith is
Speaker 1: one of the most accurate quarterbacks PBR rating top five,
Speaker 1: I believe. And we thought this was a rebuild year
Speaker 1: where maybe Seattle was gonna play for a future quarterback
Speaker 1: and high draft pick. But it looks to me like
Speaker 1: they're right where they need to be. And it's crazy
Speaker 1: the fact that maybe Seattle's pick is gonna be lord
Speaker 1: than the one that they're they're gonna get from Denver,
Speaker 1: the one from Denver, maybe the one that allows him
Speaker 1: to get a quarterback if they want to get a
Speaker 1: premium player that can be a top eye pick, and
Speaker 1: they're pick maybe a top fifteen pick or twenty that
Speaker 1: would be crazy. Uh, And the Jets do meet the
Speaker 1: Seahawks out in the Pacific Northwest week seventeen, and both
Speaker 1: those teams could figure into the playoff picture. I don't
Speaker 1: think a lot of people thought that before the season final.
Speaker 1: Thought here to British Shaw Ferguson entering the Ring of
Speaker 1: Honor Sunday at MetLife Stadium, a former teammate of yours,
Speaker 1: A kid who grew up in Freeport on Long Island.
Speaker 1: I think he missed one snap due to a trick
Speaker 1: play throughout his career, the anchor at left tackle for
Speaker 1: ten seasons for this team. Your thoughts, yeah, are man
Speaker 1: in class of centified. I think he's very deserved and
Speaker 1: I'm happy for him. I wish I could be there,
Speaker 1: but unfortunately I'm gonna be covering the game, but I'll
Speaker 1: be there in spirit. One of the best teammates have
Speaker 1: ever been around, not only a champion on the field,
Speaker 1: but off the field and what he did around his
Speaker 1: neighborhood and Covenant House, you know, to really attack teenage homelessness.
Speaker 1: You know, I was part of you know, his work
Speaker 1: sometimes within the community. UM, I couldn't be more proud
Speaker 1: of him and happy that he gets his award, he
Speaker 1: gets to get his flowers. All right, brother, you remain
Speaker 1: a champion in our eyes as well. We'll see you
Speaker 1: next week. I appreciate it.