Speaker 1: The game is over, New York, Jeff the world. You
Speaker 1: play to win the game. He's got a Jet tousdown.
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Official New York Jets Podcast, a
Speaker 1: Jets three sixty production. What's up, everybody in the Official
Speaker 1: Jet Podcast? Back in studio? Ethan Greenberg, Eric Allen, we're
Speaker 1: always in studio. Were new director's chairs? Yeah, we got
Speaker 1: an upgrade into studio. Yeah, did you know that? Because
Speaker 1: you got a black fest on and black pants today
Speaker 1: and we have black cushions on the chairs. That is
Speaker 1: not a coincidence. Okay, I'm just kidding it in quick
Speaker 1: all right, Jets Bears this Sunday we gate the midway
Speaker 1: point of the NFL regular season, are just about fair.
Speaker 1: We spoke to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN. He covers the
Speaker 1: Bears for ESPN Chicago. I guess it would be that's correct. Well,
Speaker 1: just like which some men, he is ESPN New York,
Speaker 1: he's ESPN New York, or he's ESPN New York dot com.
Speaker 1: Now I don't know what there's some technicality, Well we
Speaker 1: better figure that out. Whatever. Just been covering the team
Speaker 1: for a long time, Always great to talk with. He
Speaker 1: was on the podcast. Last year, he was not on
Speaker 1: the podcast. We we almost had him for the mock
Speaker 1: draft back in April, but we we had to we
Speaker 1: had to call an audible there because he was busy
Speaker 1: in Bristol actually at ESPN. So it's finally nice to
Speaker 1: have Jeff aud He had some good insight about the
Speaker 1: status of Khalil Mack, who was a little bit banged
Speaker 1: up with an ankle. He's big time banged up. I
Speaker 1: would say, we don't know, we're not inside the trainer's room,
Speaker 1: but he played on it. It's not like he's been out. Yeah,
Speaker 1: there's but there's a lot of guys out there played
Speaker 1: every Sunday or hobbled a little bit, just like I
Speaker 1: would say Isaiah krol elsbund battling that foot ankle issue,
Speaker 1: and it's probably impacted them a little bit. I would
Speaker 1: definitely agree with that, especially when you look at mac stats.
Speaker 1: He had a sack in his first four games, and
Speaker 1: then he's telling and that hasn't had in the past
Speaker 1: two Well, what I thought was fascinating last weekend. I
Speaker 1: didn't see the game, but I did read Jeff Dickerson,
Speaker 1: and I did read a lot of people in Chicago
Speaker 1: is they deployed Mac and Leonard Floyd in coverage situations
Speaker 1: a lot against Tom Brady. Now you're damn if you do.
Speaker 1: You're damned if you don't against the Patriots, and they're
Speaker 1: very unique offense. But I don't know if you got
Speaker 1: a thoroughbred and let him run man. Yeah, that seems
Speaker 1: a little interesting to me too. Caught me by surprise,
Speaker 1: because if you have someone that's debatedly the best pass
Speaker 1: rusher in the NFL, you would want him to rush
Speaker 1: the passer. Yeah, so we're gonna have to monitor his injury.
Speaker 1: Stead it's throughout the week, but you know, the Jets
Speaker 1: hit the midway point. What do you think about the
Speaker 1: Green and White three seven games right now? I think
Speaker 1: that similar to last season, some up, some down, but
Speaker 1: I would say that overall things are a little bit
Speaker 1: better and last year that I think there's a little
Speaker 1: bit of a different vibe that made That could be
Speaker 1: mainly because of the fact that the Jets have their
Speaker 1: quarterback of the future and Sam Donald, and coming into
Speaker 1: the season, everyone said with a rookie QB, you're gonna
Speaker 1: ride your eyes, You're gonna ride your lows. They're both
Speaker 1: gonna exist last week against the Viking was a rather
Speaker 1: low point the week before against the Colts, or rather
Speaker 1: high point. Jabal Adams talked about this time last year.
Speaker 1: The Jets were three and three last year, then went
Speaker 1: to three and four and then went to three and five,
Speaker 1: and he was talking about how he doesn't want to
Speaker 1: let that happen again and that this team is a
Speaker 1: little feel a little bit different. This team is a
Speaker 1: great team. We have three man roster full of a
Speaker 1: lot of talent. Let's just put it like that. And
Speaker 1: there's there's no we're waiting for for next year rebuild.
Speaker 1: There's there's none of it. Um. At the end of
Speaker 1: the day, I think this team right here, can can
Speaker 1: you know, be special? A calendar year later, here we
Speaker 1: are and the Jets are the same exact record as
Speaker 1: they did a year ago. The roster is completely different.
Speaker 1: You're not playing with the thirty eight thirty nine year
Speaker 1: old quarterback in Josh McCown. This year has a different
Speaker 1: field because you do have a twenty one year old
Speaker 1: signal caller who's leading the show now and not only now,
Speaker 1: but the foreseeable future and it could be for a
Speaker 1: decade to come. That's what you hope. So are you
Speaker 1: agree with me and that you feel like things are
Speaker 1: better than may were last year? Well, I think we're
Speaker 1: gonna find out, right. I don't think you can say it.
Speaker 1: I think the belief is there within the locker room.
Speaker 1: And you certainly mentioned what Jamal Adams said. Jermaine Curse,
Speaker 1: who had nine receptions against the Colts but had zero
Speaker 1: receptions against the Vikings, he said, what are you gonna
Speaker 1: do when adversity strikes? And we say we are a
Speaker 1: gritty team, Well, we have to be a gritty team.
Speaker 1: And the Jets over the last a year and a
Speaker 1: half or so have struggled on the road. We know
Speaker 1: that they opened up the season with the win over
Speaker 1: the Detroit Lions, but uh, it would be really something
Speaker 1: to go to Chicago, who is and I think a
Speaker 1: very similar outfit to the Jets, not in terms of personnel,
Speaker 1: but where they are in terms of their built They
Speaker 1: have a young quarterback that they're trying to get to
Speaker 1: the next level. They've added some pieces around him. Defensively,
Speaker 1: They've been stout at times this year, and they traded
Speaker 1: for a superstar in Khalil mac But the Jets could
Speaker 1: catch a break this week with Mac being less than
Speaker 1: all right, I have a good question for you after
Speaker 1: we roll into Jeff Dickerson interview. So without further ado,
Speaker 1: here's our chat with Jeff Dickerson. I think it's time
Speaker 1: to go out to the Windy City to speak to
Speaker 1: Jeff Dickerson of ESPN. Jeff, thanks so much for coming
Speaker 1: on the Official Jets podcast. Oh guys, it's my pleasure.
Speaker 1: Great to be with you. We almost had you on
Speaker 1: for the mock draft, but times in the ligne, so
Speaker 1: now we get you on during the season. So let's
Speaker 1: talk a little Jets Bears this Sunday, of course, is
Speaker 1: the Bears are very I think are very interesting team
Speaker 1: so far throughout the regular season. And obviously the big
Speaker 1: splash move here is Khalil Mack in the beginning of
Speaker 1: the year. And you see the stats, and you know,
Speaker 1: you watch the primetime games and you see Khalil Mac
Speaker 1: really be in a force. But what really has Khalil
Speaker 1: Mac meant to the Chicago Bears defense. Oh, I would
Speaker 1: say everything, And I think you can look at when
Speaker 1: he first injured his ankle against Miami two games ago
Speaker 1: in the first quarter. The Bears defense really hasn't been
Speaker 1: the same since that point. Uh. He is the heart
Speaker 1: and stall of that defense because he is such an
Speaker 1: impact player. I mean, he cannot only treasure the quarterback,
Speaker 1: but he can play the run. I saw him have
Speaker 1: a pick six in that first game against Green Bay.
Speaker 1: He's just a tremendous player who I still cannot believe
Speaker 1: the Raiders traded away to the Bears, but I guess
Speaker 1: that is what it is. But the problem with clil Mac, though, guys, is,
Speaker 1: you know, the ankle was not right against the Patriots
Speaker 1: last Sunday. He was only credited with one tackle in
Speaker 1: that game. He spent most of that game dropping back
Speaker 1: in the past coverage, which we found so strange and
Speaker 1: so bizarre. Um, the Bears haven't really given much indication
Speaker 1: as to what his status is gonna be this weekend.
Speaker 1: But you can rush assured that if that ankle is
Speaker 1: hurting him and bothering him the same way against the
Speaker 1: Jet that it did against the Patriots, even though it's
Speaker 1: you know, not Tom Brady back there at quarterback, Um,
Speaker 1: that's gonna be a problem for the Bears defense when
Speaker 1: he's not right. Just a defense this isn't right. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's what I'm wondering, and I've read you here getting
Speaker 1: my preparation and for the Jets and the Bears this
Speaker 1: weekend is that he dropped a lot along with Leonard
Speaker 1: Floyd against the Patriots and Tom Brady. And this is
Speaker 1: a different animal with the Jets, and we know the
Speaker 1: Jets aren't the caliber offense that the Patriots have. But
Speaker 1: with that being said, and you said that Khalil Mack
Speaker 1: has not been right the last couple of weeks, is
Speaker 1: there any possibility you think the team would shut him
Speaker 1: down for a week or two in order, uh, for
Speaker 1: look into the long term. It really is a great question.
Speaker 1: It's a great debate to have as well, because the
Speaker 1: Bear already had their bye week, so there's not a
Speaker 1: lot of time for kobil Mac to getting an ankle right.
Speaker 1: I guess is you know, look, he's likely not going
Speaker 1: to practice much all of them get to the end
Speaker 1: of the week. In his ankle, is it feeling any
Speaker 1: better than it did last week? They might have to
Speaker 1: have that hard conversation about possibly deactivating him for one
Speaker 1: game just to make sure that he's good to go
Speaker 1: for the stretch run. Kobel Mack has never missed a
Speaker 1: game I can't imagine he wants to start doing that now,
Speaker 1: but he is so important to this defense in the
Speaker 1: grand scheme of things that maybe you could sacrifice a
Speaker 1: week if he's shown no improvement, maybe another week of
Speaker 1: rest and recovery and treatment gets him to the point
Speaker 1: where he feels good enough like he can actually go
Speaker 1: out there and make more of an impact they did
Speaker 1: against the Patriots. We'll see, We'll see what his status
Speaker 1: is this week, if he talks. We couldn't get him
Speaker 1: in the locker room after the Patriots game. He he
Speaker 1: pulled the old veteran move or he pulled the stuff
Speaker 1: out of the locker and said he was going to
Speaker 1: treatment and just never came back. That's the old veteran
Speaker 1: moved there for the postgame locker room. So we haven't
Speaker 1: spoken to him yet, but obviously he was not happy
Speaker 1: with his performance. And yeah, I mean that ankle was
Speaker 1: he wasn't even eight percent he was he was se
Speaker 1: this did not look healthy playing out there against New England.
Speaker 1: You know, outside of Khalil mac though, this Bears defense
Speaker 1: is highly regarded as one of the best in the league,
Speaker 1: even last year. So outside of Khalil Mack is what
Speaker 1: is the strength and the identity of this Bears defense? Well,
Speaker 1: really everything. I can't overstate just how much Mac sets
Speaker 1: the table for everyone else. Because when he's not applying
Speaker 1: that pressure, um a secondary is it nearly as effective.
Speaker 1: They're really instantly that identity after Phil Mac. So when
Speaker 1: he's not able to do the things that he normally does,
Speaker 1: the entire defense suffers. And again, I just think you've
Speaker 1: seen how they've played the last two weeks without him
Speaker 1: being at full strength. It is concerning um. Even with
Speaker 1: the Jets coming up, but then Buffalo the week after,
Speaker 1: the Bears one of those teams guys that could either
Speaker 1: win these next two games or lose these next two games.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's no predicting how the Bears are gonna bear.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be probably a close game and exciting game.
Speaker 1: But without that pressure and those sacks from Mac, just
Speaker 1: a different defense. Again, what have your impressions been first
Speaker 1: year head coach Matteggie. Yeah, I like him a lot,
Speaker 1: I really do. I think he is innovative. I mean,
Speaker 1: he's young, he's got the offensive background. I think a
Speaker 1: lot of teams are looking for now. I feel like
Speaker 1: people are buying into what he's selling. You know, the
Speaker 1: offense works. It really does. If the receivers are open.
Speaker 1: The quarterback Mitchell Robinski is sometimes not finding or seeing
Speaker 1: the open guy, which is another issue the Bears are
Speaker 1: facing at the moment. But everything I've seen for Matt
Speaker 1: Naggie is positive. He's likable, he's a good spokesperson for
Speaker 1: the organization, which John Fox was not. There's just a
Speaker 1: whole different vibe and feel with the Bears through six
Speaker 1: games under Matt Naggie than they were under those three
Speaker 1: horrific years under John Fox. Schematically, what can the Jets
Speaker 1: defense expect? Like you mentioned, Naggi comes from the and
Speaker 1: you read coaching trade. He likes to take deep shots
Speaker 1: down the field. Now again, the hold up has been
Speaker 1: that those routes appear to be open often during games,
Speaker 1: but the quarterback just isn't seen the play. That's an issue,
Speaker 1: and I think that's why you look at Travisky and
Speaker 1: you see some really good moments and some not so
Speaker 1: good moments. He's kind of all over the map, but
Speaker 1: they like to flood the zone. It's a very West
Speaker 1: Coast style of offense. Um. I think Tarik Cone is
Speaker 1: really sort of a guy that that sets it all off.
Speaker 1: I think the offense can flow through him more so
Speaker 1: than Jordan Howard because Tarik con can attack the edges,
Speaker 1: he can run between the tackles that he has to.
Speaker 1: He's an effective weapon in the flat out of the backfield.
Speaker 1: He can run up the field. So you're gonna see
Speaker 1: a lot of different looks. Um, you've seen personnel groupings
Speaker 1: this year where Chase Daniels is on the field. They
Speaker 1: almost through a pig last week. The Bradley Soul. You've
Speaker 1: never heard of Bradley Soul and for good reason, he's
Speaker 1: a backup offensive lineman that report as an eligible receiver.
Speaker 1: And for some reason, Tropisky throwing the ball who knows right?
Speaker 1: But um, I mean Neggie tries to keep you off balance.
Speaker 1: He tried to keep you guessing. So I would look
Speaker 1: for a lot of innovative and creative looks. Do not work,
Speaker 1: but the Bears do get a lot of points for creativity.
Speaker 1: I think it's a good offense again, I think you'll
Speaker 1: see on Sunday. Um. I think the players are gonna
Speaker 1: be there to be had for the Bears. The question
Speaker 1: is will the quarterback make it happen and not leave
Speaker 1: big players on the field. So you mentioned Mitchell Drubinsky
Speaker 1: and some of his problems. Well, one is, can you
Speaker 1: just talk about some of the other problems that you
Speaker 1: think that Mitchell Troubinsky has been facing this year? And secondly,
Speaker 1: is on the other side of the spectrumers, What are
Speaker 1: the some of the things that he's done well so far? Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: I mean, listen, he is a very good athlete. You'll
Speaker 1: see that this weekend. Um, And if you've seen him
Speaker 1: run the ball out of the pocket and eighty one
Speaker 1: rushing yards against the Patriots, that was the second most
Speaker 1: rushing yards ever by a quarterback against the Bill Belichick
Speaker 1: New England team. We saw that crazy Legs Hirst touchdown
Speaker 1: against the Patriots and that was great. Covered yards on
Speaker 1: that one, and then he had a big thirty nine
Speaker 1: yard scramble on third down that was huge for the
Speaker 1: Bears in the second half. He's a great athlete and
Speaker 1: the arm is good enough where he can get at
Speaker 1: the ball where it needs to go. Um. He has
Speaker 1: had moments this year when he's been really locked in.
Speaker 1: He had six touchdowns against the Buccaneers back in Week three.
Speaker 1: I thought he played really well in the second half
Speaker 1: against the Dolphins, and in the overtime they lost that
Speaker 1: game because they turned the ball over multiple times inside
Speaker 1: the red zone. But again, I think the dilemma is
Speaker 1: you've got this good that Trabinsky does, but there's also
Speaker 1: the times where he's not accurate. He missed on twenty
Speaker 1: four pass attempts against the Patriots. That's a lot of misses.
Speaker 1: We have the Statar ESPN we used called tight window throws,
Speaker 1: and at one point on Sunday Trabinsky was over ten
Speaker 1: with two picks on what we call tight window throws.
Speaker 1: That's not good. Um, guys will be open, he'll airmail
Speaker 1: the ball over their head. So I think it's just
Speaker 1: a product of a byproduct of a guy that did
Speaker 1: not play a lot in college, played in this archaic
Speaker 1: offense last year, is learning this new system. There's a
Speaker 1: lot coming at him, and he's just not where he
Speaker 1: needs to be right now. I think with the mental
Speaker 1: stuff to consistently be an above average player, he has
Speaker 1: way above average talent, but the great ones typically played
Speaker 1: pretty well week after week. He's not at that point yet.
Speaker 1: I think there again, there were times against New England
Speaker 1: that you look great. There are other times that it
Speaker 1: left you scratch in your head. So I think right now,
Speaker 1: trying to get him more consistent is that Bears the
Speaker 1: biggest objective. I have a two part question here. Part
Speaker 1: A would be the Bears rushing offense. Is that solid
Speaker 1: or is it more of um? You can point to
Speaker 1: the reason the stats are good is because Traubinsky is
Speaker 1: using his legs so much. And the second part of
Speaker 1: this is how can this jet's defense exploit potential mismatches
Speaker 1: against the Bears. Yeah, well, I think the rushing offense
Speaker 1: is a concern because I just don't think Jordan Howard
Speaker 1: fits into what the Bears do anymore. On offense, He's
Speaker 1: had a really down Here's the guy that have back
Speaker 1: to back when bouts in the yard seasons. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm not putting police when I say this. Don't jump
Speaker 1: out at me, but like, statistically speaking, what he did
Speaker 1: over the first two years of his Bears career, only
Speaker 1: guys like Walter Payton have done better. I mean, he
Speaker 1: really from a statistical standpoint, has done very well, did
Speaker 1: very well. But I don't think he's fast enough for
Speaker 1: this offense. I don't think this offense is big on
Speaker 1: you know, the big plotting guy between the tackles with
Speaker 1: this RPO style. So I just think that, you know,
Speaker 1: and then plus he had a bad fumble around the
Speaker 1: goal line against the Dolphins two weeks ago. That's not
Speaker 1: gonna endear him to Matt Naggie. So I don't think
Speaker 1: beyond this year he's got much of a future in Chicago.
Speaker 1: So I think the running a tag, I wouldn't say
Speaker 1: the status are misleading. I think it's been pretty disappointing
Speaker 1: this year, and it really starts with Jordan how Ward
Speaker 1: and the Bears relative um lack of usage with him.
Speaker 1: So I think that's number one as far as exploring mismatches.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think really what the Jets have to do,
Speaker 1: honestly is if you take away to Ricon and you
Speaker 1: forced Trabisky to be accurate with his passes, and you
Speaker 1: forced the Bears to give the ball to Jordan Howard,
Speaker 1: I think that's playing in your favor because I don't
Speaker 1: think Rabinsky has shown except for that Tampa game, which
Speaker 1: was terrific, that's been kind of an outlier. I think
Speaker 1: Drabinsky has shown that he can be accurate with those
Speaker 1: throws for four quarters. I just talked about the Bears
Speaker 1: reluctance to kind of buy in the Jordan Howard this season,
Speaker 1: so the Jets defense could absolutely cause the Bears some
Speaker 1: some problems. The Bears also, I should point out, gave
Speaker 1: a fourteen point on special teams last so if you
Speaker 1: throw those out the window, maybe it's a different story
Speaker 1: against the Patriots. So I don't think the Jets will
Speaker 1: completely stymy the Bears offense, but you can absolutely force
Speaker 1: them into make a mistakes. And Drabinsky, his decision making
Speaker 1: at times this year has been suspect. When the Jets
Speaker 1: offense works, they're running the football. How have the Bears
Speaker 1: been against the rush this year? Not great? Last week,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you, um, Sony Michelle got hurt early in
Speaker 1: that game for the Patriots, and then they still managed
Speaker 1: to run the ball late in the game, and they've
Speaker 1: led about three and a half minutes off the clock
Speaker 1: when the Bears knew they were gonna run the ball.
Speaker 1: So the run defense has not been that spectacular. Um,
Speaker 1: they aren't down getting up rushing many rushing touchdowns or anything. Um.
Speaker 1: But but yeah, I think that's something that is going
Speaker 1: to have to be watched closely. I think Day Trevisan
Speaker 1: is a very good inside linebacker. He's probably the best
Speaker 1: guy against the run. I'll tell you someone the Bears
Speaker 1: are waiting for to kind of have a big, you know,
Speaker 1: coming out party even versus the run, is ro Kuan Smith,
Speaker 1: their top ten pick. Very quiet this year. A couple
Speaker 1: of players here there, but nothing like people were saying, well,
Speaker 1: here's your defensive rookie of the year, Bubba. He had
Speaker 1: a great career at Georgia, hasn't been that great memory,
Speaker 1: held out all the free season because of his contract,
Speaker 1: or almost almost all preseason. Then he got hurt and
Speaker 1: missed the tailor of the preseason, so he doesn't have
Speaker 1: a lot to draw upon here. Yet he's still kind
Speaker 1: of green. I think the Jets could probably take advantage
Speaker 1: of that. But against the run, I would say the
Speaker 1: Bears are just kind of average. They're better when Khalil
Speaker 1: Max on the field playing against the run, but last
Speaker 1: week their run defense was nothing to get excited about.
Speaker 1: Just just going off of the question here. So if
Speaker 1: you're if you're Jeremy Bates and this Jets offense, I
Speaker 1: know it's earlier in the week, but how do opponents
Speaker 1: typically have success against his Bears defense. And what do
Speaker 1: you envision the Jets might do to exploit the Bears defense,
Speaker 1: even if Khalil Mack is on the field. Not sure? Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, I think you got to get the ball quick.
Speaker 1: I think that's of course what Tom Brady does. Um
Speaker 1: even brock Oshwiler got the ball out relatively quickly against
Speaker 1: the Bears defense. It's just, you know, the first four games,
Speaker 1: I would have said, good luck, you know. I mean,
Speaker 1: because the first four games with the Bears, Dee was
Speaker 1: outstanding and you were going to do much against them.
Speaker 1: Mac was healthy, everyone's healthy. They were sacking the quarterback
Speaker 1: on average at four point five times per game. That
Speaker 1: was number one in the NFL. They were taking the
Speaker 1: ball away force and bubbles. But again, I think this
Speaker 1: version of the defense if Mac is not healthy, I
Speaker 1: think their defense that you can you can attack. I
Speaker 1: think you can run on them. I think you can
Speaker 1: hit those quick hitters, and you know, you gotta do
Speaker 1: make the Bears tackle you in space. They've missed a
Speaker 1: lot of big open field tackles this year. Big I'm
Speaker 1: talking about big splash plays versus the Dolphins where they're
Speaker 1: safety that he Jackson, Adrian Amos just weren't making the play.
Speaker 1: So it's not this invincible defense that it was earlier
Speaker 1: this year. Unless you know, they tape up that ankle
Speaker 1: or do whatever they gotta do to get Mac right,
Speaker 1: and and he's out there just you know, dancing on
Speaker 1: Sam's Arnold on Sunday, then maybe it's a different story.
Speaker 1: But but if he's not right, I do think Jeffkin
Speaker 1: games contraction that I certainly can't ask you if this
Speaker 1: is a must win for the Bears here as we
Speaker 1: reach week eight. But with that being said, there's three
Speaker 1: and three. They easily could be four and two, maybe
Speaker 1: five and one, when when you look at what has
Speaker 1: transpired for them over the season's first six games, how
Speaker 1: important is this do you think, Jeff, for them to
Speaker 1: get this game? Because after this one, you got to
Speaker 1: think that the Bears have a good shot taken down
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Bills. Well, I mean, if you're thinking playoffs,
Speaker 1: which which, by the way, I have got grip the
Speaker 1: playoffs Bears this year. I thought they would be around
Speaker 1: and eight. Now standing by that, I just think it's
Speaker 1: I think it's too soon for this team that had
Speaker 1: been dead last in the NFC North fourth straight seasons
Speaker 1: all of a sudden contend for a championship. I'm not
Speaker 1: buying that, but you know, it is a huge game
Speaker 1: because what's been lost in all of this really for
Speaker 1: the Bears is that they got after that three and
Speaker 1: one start. It was a surprised even one start. But
Speaker 1: what happened was the Packers, the Vikings, and the Lions
Speaker 1: all had these issues early in the year. But by
Speaker 1: losing these last two games, the Bears have allowed the
Speaker 1: rest of the NFC North they kind of find their footing.
Speaker 1: And you look at the standings today and the Bears
Speaker 1: are back in last place because they're all and one
Speaker 1: in the in their division, and you know they're not
Speaker 1: having a bad year or anything, but that's that's how
Speaker 1: quick it can change in the NFL. So I think
Speaker 1: it's a big win for the big game for the
Speaker 1: Bears if they're really thinking about playoffs, and I think
Speaker 1: they will probably win. But again, with this team, how
Speaker 1: up and down they are, nothing but surprised me whatsoever.
Speaker 1: On Sunday, Jeff, last question here for you is, uh,
Speaker 1: the Bears offensive line. How do you think that they've
Speaker 1: fared so far this season? And do you think that
Speaker 1: Leonard Williams can cause them some issues up front, no doubt.
Speaker 1: I don't think the offensive line has been all that great.
Speaker 1: I would say very average, very very average, especially against
Speaker 1: New England in Miami. Uh yes, I think Learn Williams
Speaker 1: is a is a tough guy to handle for them,
Speaker 1: and we will be a tough guy to handle for them. Um.
Speaker 1: I think Trabinsky's scrambling ability that allowed him to get
Speaker 1: out of some sacks, but he's still going down quite
Speaker 1: a bit and they're not running the football. So definitely
Speaker 1: not the best that the Bears need to see from
Speaker 1: their offensive line at this point. That's that's saying it lightly.
Speaker 1: That is Jeff Dickerson of ESPN. Thank you so much,
Speaker 1: Jeff for coming on the Official Jets Podcast. You can
Speaker 1: follow him on Twitter at Dickerson ESPN. Jeff, thanks again,
Speaker 1: Sunday guides, My pleasure will see a Sunday enjoy the game.
Speaker 1: All right. That was Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago. Again.
Speaker 1: You can follow him on Twitter at Dickerson ESPN. ZO.
Speaker 1: Before we rolled into that, I said out a good
Speaker 1: question for you, So we're not gonna break down, Jeff,
Speaker 1: go ahead, No, we'll talk about him in a minute,
Speaker 1: but we got time for that. I want to know
Speaker 1: is what do you think the Jets can prove this
Speaker 1: Sunday If they come out of chicag Go with nothing.
Speaker 1: What Jermaine Curse said, they could prove that they're a
Speaker 1: gritty team. I think right now they were feeling good
Speaker 1: about themselves. They take down the Broncos and the Colts,
Speaker 1: and I thought the effort was there against Minnesota. Execution
Speaker 1: execution wasn't We've seen so far what works the blueprint
Speaker 1: for the Jets. They have to run the football. They
Speaker 1: can't let Donald throw more than thirty five times, not
Speaker 1: because he's not talented, just because the way this offense
Speaker 1: is constituted is you have to have balance, and the
Speaker 1: Jets did not have balance once again against Minnesota. They
Speaker 1: need big plays defensively. They played well against Minnesota for
Speaker 1: large portions of that game, especially early. That was a
Speaker 1: tennis seven game at halftime. But when you have opportunities
Speaker 1: to make plays, and they got off the field on
Speaker 1: third down throughout, but when there's a ladder all there
Speaker 1: in the third quarter, you gotta grab the ball. They
Speaker 1: had a lot of p d s, but they need
Speaker 1: interceptions the Jets have to win, uh in the turnover battle,
Speaker 1: so they have to follow their blueprint. But to me,
Speaker 1: it would just be another step and a process because
Speaker 1: this is a young team who just got punched again.
Speaker 1: Now what are you gonna do? It looks a lot
Speaker 1: different being five hundred at the midway point rather than
Speaker 1: being three and five. A lot different. And while I
Speaker 1: would agree with Jeff's assessment that I don't think the
Speaker 1: Bears are ready to be in the playoffs themselves just yet,
Speaker 1: this is a team who is in a similar predicament
Speaker 1: as you. So if you can go in and on
Speaker 1: the road, I think you're taking another step in the process.
Speaker 1: I agree with that as just going off of Jeff's
Speaker 1: assessment is what did you take away from what Jeff
Speaker 1: said about the Bears of the Jets? Trabinsky, You know,
Speaker 1: I don't think the run game has necessarily been there.
Speaker 1: I think it. Naggi is a very talented coach, and
Speaker 1: he's gonna scheme some things up, and he's gonna get
Speaker 1: his players and positions to make plays. Uh. Trabinsky is
Speaker 1: a guy who he's looking to tuck it a lot.
Speaker 1: And while he can make plays and he's supremely athletic.
Speaker 1: I think there will be plays to be made in
Speaker 1: the defensive backfield against him, and sometimes he is very inaccurate.
Speaker 1: So you have to see what happens out there on
Speaker 1: Sunday because they do have weapons. I like Naggie defensively.
Speaker 1: You know how we keep on talking about Mac, but
Speaker 1: how can you not because Jeff said this defense was excellent,
Speaker 1: and then the last two weeks it's gone away because
Speaker 1: the guy is not healthy. I mean, he's I think
Speaker 1: it's rare that a team will trade a pretty decent
Speaker 1: amount of capital for someone like Mac, pay him, and
Speaker 1: then within the first four weeks that he's played in
Speaker 1: his new uniform have fans saying, Okay, this guy's worth
Speaker 1: every penny because the first four weeks he was a
Speaker 1: one man wrecking crew. I mean you saw it on
Speaker 1: display on Sunday Night Football we were in Detroit. If
Speaker 1: you watched any part of that game, Khalil Mac almost
Speaker 1: took over that entire game for the Chicago Yeah, and
Speaker 1: I know, let's let's not hide the fact either that
Speaker 1: a lot of Jets fans wanted Khalil Mac, but the
Speaker 1: asking price was up there. Who knows what happened. As
Speaker 1: far as phone calls either way and things like that,
Speaker 1: we don't know. We're not privy to those conversations, but uh,
Speaker 1: you know Oakland decided to trade them outside the conference
Speaker 1: to Chicago, and uh, the Raiders just in a little
Speaker 1: tangent here. Wow, they're really tearing that baby down. And
Speaker 1: they're he's got a tiny year contract crowding and he's saying, listen,
Speaker 1: to give me some more ones, give me some more ones.
Speaker 1: I got five first rounders over over the next two years,
Speaker 1: and I don't necessarily think they're done. No, that's Uh,
Speaker 1: we could have a whole other podcast. I'm discussing what's
Speaker 1: going on the Silver and Black podcast. That would be
Speaker 1: for our man, Chris Gardano, the executive Jets three sixty.
Speaker 1: But uh, listen, he's a game changer and you can
Speaker 1: make an argument that he will be the best player
Speaker 1: in the field on Sunday. But again, when when you're hampered, uh,
Speaker 1: when you're dealing with an ankle, that explosiveness is not there,
Speaker 1: and uh, interesting game plans, see how they come out.
Speaker 1: Because Jeff also said they've been average. That's what I
Speaker 1: take away from his answer when I asked him about
Speaker 1: the run defense or you did them an average, And
Speaker 1: so can the Jets get it going on the ground
Speaker 1: with whoever's healthy enough to play? Balapa's bettling in that
Speaker 1: Isaiah Rowaw has been gutting it out lately. And then
Speaker 1: I like what I saw how the Trenton Cannon. So
Speaker 1: there's a couple of young guys offensively that I've been
Speaker 1: encouraged about lately. And and the number one is it
Speaker 1: has to be Chris Herndon had to be chriscerned it.
Speaker 1: You gotta be really happy about him. And then you
Speaker 1: had Trenton Cannon into the mix, who had a number
Speaker 1: of receptions, including on a long one on the wheel route.
Speaker 1: And we'll have to see how quickly the Jets can
Speaker 1: get Richard Matthews up to speak. Yeah, that'll be interesting
Speaker 1: to see what happens there and just to see what
Speaker 1: number he chooses. Oh look at you. Yeah, I'm the
Speaker 1: numbers guy because we're Schard Matthews War eighteen and Tennessee.
Speaker 1: And on Sunday was Deante Burnett who got called up
Speaker 1: Saturday when the Jets released Terrell Prior because of growing issues.
Speaker 1: I'm very curious to see how the numbers game of shuffles.
Speaker 1: Speaking of numbers games or shard, Matthews was very productive
Speaker 1: in two thousand sixteen and two thousand seventeen for the
Speaker 1: Titans if you look at his numbers. Whatever happened this year,
Speaker 1: we don't know. We weren't down in Nashville. He had
Speaker 1: a few receptions and asked to be uh asked the
Speaker 1: team to be traded or released, and the Titans released them,
Speaker 1: and he was on the block for a little bit.
Speaker 1: And the Jets are dealing with a lot of injuries
Speaker 1: right now, keep on talking about it. But once the
Speaker 1: anyone was still on the shelf, and they released Darrell Prior,
Speaker 1: who was dealing with that grin issue. So your top
Speaker 1: two receivers Robby Anderson, who got targeted a lot against
Speaker 1: the Vikings, your main curse was only targeted a couple
Speaker 1: of times. They didn't have any receptions. But then you
Speaker 1: moved other guys into duties that we hadn't seen so
Speaker 1: far before. In two thousand and eighteen, Andre Roberts has
Speaker 1: been primarily used justice the return and then obviously toront
Speaker 1: Peak is a special team's ace what he was out
Speaker 1: there as well. And then finally you mentioned Burnett. So
Speaker 1: those guys were three, four or five, whatever you order
Speaker 1: you want to put them in um. But Richard Matthews
Speaker 1: ads another guy who's put up some decent numbers in
Speaker 1: the National Football League. Well, one final thing here before
Speaker 1: we close out the Official Jets Podcast. So we're done,
Speaker 1: all right, all right, Well we can keep going. But
Speaker 1: I definitely want to bring this up. Is that if
Speaker 1: you look at We've talked about this a little bit,
Speaker 1: but if you look at Chicago and you said they're
Speaker 1: similar to what's going on here in New York or
Speaker 1: I guess I should I say Flora Park, you can
Speaker 1: say both. Is that the Bears last offseason surrounded Mitchell
Speaker 1: Trubisky with a number of weapons like Taylor Gabriel, who
Speaker 1: leads the team in receptions and yards best, Alan Robinson,
Speaker 1: who missed the entirety of two tho vertical threat and
Speaker 1: he's probably and Turbinsky has probably been missing him down
Speaker 1: the field because he even been getting a lot of
Speaker 1: targets lately. I know he's coming back from injury too.
Speaker 1: Go and Trey Burton, who is of course the Philly
Speaker 1: special hero. Okay, he's one of over a hunter yards
Speaker 1: receiving last week. He has New England Patrick. He's been
Speaker 1: one of Mitchell Trubisky's favorite targets as well. So what
Speaker 1: are the Bears gonna do? Greens? After you listens listen
Speaker 1: to Jeff Dickerson, here's my question for you, is that
Speaker 1: Jordan Howard Dickerson doesn't think he's a good fit there
Speaker 1: and he got three Cohing. You think three Cohen possibly
Speaker 1: could get more run against the Jets? I would, I
Speaker 1: would assume. So I think that. I mean, we're recording
Speaker 1: this Tuesday. The trade deadline is next Tuesday. Maybe he's
Speaker 1: a name on the block. If he if he if
Speaker 1: he doesn't fit in the system, why not trying to
Speaker 1: get rid of someone that's had back to back a
Speaker 1: thousand yards seasons and you don't really see him in
Speaker 1: the future plans for your offense. And the Jets have
Speaker 1: dealt with a lot on their back end, you know,
Speaker 1: as far as injuries are concerned. But you U asked
Speaker 1: Jeff about the offensive line and it just seems like
Speaker 1: they're kind of middle of the road. So can the
Speaker 1: Jets get a big performance from their defensive line in
Speaker 1: the outside linebackers? And yeah, I'm interested to see what happens, obviously,
Speaker 1: but something that just circling back is when the when
Speaker 1: we were talking about how the Bears have surrounding Mitchell
Speaker 1: Troubisky with with weapons that you take into account moving
Speaker 1: forward for the Jets is that they they're gonna have
Speaker 1: a lot of cap room, a lot of financial flexibility
Speaker 1: in the off season. Maybe they're gonna use some of
Speaker 1: that money to try to beef up this offense. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's some free agents that the Jets are gonna have
Speaker 1: to deal with on the outside. And as correctly, if
Speaker 1: I'm wrong, is blow of free agent at the end
Speaker 1: of the year. I don't know that could be accurate,
Speaker 1: but regardless of Jets could add a couple of clams.
Speaker 1: You are right, You are right, and that that is
Speaker 1: definitely going to happen. I'm sure that is in the
Speaker 1: cards because you are going to build this team around
Speaker 1: your quarterback and that's Sam Donald. And like you mentioned before,
Speaker 1: he's riding the ups and downs right now. And I
Speaker 1: didn't think he was awful against Minnesota. He just didn't.
Speaker 1: He didn't play that well. But there are a wide
Speaker 1: number of factors UH pointed to that and that weren't
Speaker 1: just all on Sam Donald, and that's all we have
Speaker 1: here on the Official Jets podcast, Together Jets Bears, Sunday,
Speaker 1: one pm, Soldier Field. If you have questions that you
Speaker 1: want us to answer, tweet A E A E Aller Jets,
Speaker 1: you could creet at the Greenberg Jets will answer your questions.
Speaker 1: That gets week's pot or the next week's body. The
Speaker 1: more questions you gave it, more questions will answer. Do
Speaker 1: you have anything else any party words? No, But Donald
Speaker 1: to me has always been able to bounce back, and
Speaker 1: he's got that level head, level headedness about himself, and
Speaker 1: I really like his temperament. So I'm very interested to
Speaker 1: see how he plays this weekend against the defense that
Speaker 1: has been up and down. But if Mac is rarer
Speaker 1: to go, that's a big time challenge. All Right, those
Speaker 1: are E's parting words here on the Official Jets Podcast.
Speaker 1: But that's all we have and we'll see you next week.