WEBVTT - LISTEN | ESPN Radio's Dan Graca and Greg Buttle Talk Jets (4/16) 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:04.760 What's going on? Jets fans? Welcome to another edition of 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:08.640 the Official Jets Podcast, presented by Amazon Web Services. Dan 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:11.760 Grass and Greg Buttle hanging out with you this afternoon 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:17.119 and Greg always good to recoin ourselves. How are you, Oh, 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:21.960 Danny boy the pipes. I'm learning how to sing. Dan, 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:24.439 there's nothing else better to do. To sit around in 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:27.160 your own house with nothing else better to do. You 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:29.640 can't sing in the shower all day because your your 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:33.640 your skin gets messed up. Quarantine life two thousand twenty. 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:35.160 That's what we're living right now. But I mean, people 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:37.320 should know you have a singing background. We've talked about 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:39.640 it on our pre and post game shows. This was 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:43.280 something that was part of your histories and not Yes, 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:47.480 barbershop quartet was a big part of my history. And 0:00:47.680 --> 0:00:50.879 I was in musicals throughout high school, so I had 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:53.000 a blast that was in the choir and all that stuff, 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:57.320 But the real fun was singing in a barbershop quartet. 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.680 And there was not one person I ever met in 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:07.040 the society, uh that was not a good person. And 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:10.240 he is not kidding folks. He has being honest. That's 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:11.959 what he did during his days at Penn State and 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:15.160 you would think that, you know, this big, fierce, intimidating 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:18.000 linebacker who went out to have a great career in 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:21.200 the NFL All American in college, but no, he does 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:24.679 have the Barbershop Quartet on the resume. And you know, 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:27.600 I heard that you were one of the guy the captains, 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:30.679 the driving force behind that group. Have you stayed in 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:35.600 touch with any of those guys today? Actually, uh, just 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:40.000 one of them. Uh my college roommate, Jim Rosecranz. Uh 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.240 he and I. You and I really got into it 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:44.040 because he liked to sing and I liked to sing. 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:47.520 But really what put us over the edge to say 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:51.360 we should join is that when we got there, we 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:53.880 met the guy that owned the beer distributorship and we 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:56.480 got free beer. So that was the best thing when 0:01:56.480 --> 0:02:01.279 you're eighteen years older in college, free beer, the perks 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:03.760 of being in the barbershop quartet, and you played it 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:08.120 to your advantage certainly. But we continue quarantine life, of course, 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:11.560 with everything that we're going on around the world, the pandemic, 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:15.440 the coronavirus. So first off, I just want to see 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.760 how you're doing. You in the family, everybody holding up 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:22.520 well at the Buddle Estate, Well, there's always good and 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:25.760 bad when it comes to the quarantine. And uh, like 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:27.800 I get to know my wife better, she gets to 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:32.560 know me better, and that's the bad part. Anyway, You 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:36.680 you'll you'll learn how to get out of everybody's way 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:40.079 because you're on top of each other. You How big 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:43.000 can your house be if you're if you're a zillionaire 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:45.840 like the Grassive family is, there's a plenty of rooms 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:48.240 so you can hide in. But me, I'm in a 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:52.919 small I'm a fixed income now, so it's a hard thing. Well, 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:54.680 the funny thing about it is, and I was just 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:57.840 thinking about this. Not too long ago, you moved, you know, 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:00.200 you downsized a little bit because the kids were a 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.200 little bit older, you know, they left the nest and 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:05.080 that sort of thing. Now, if you were known then 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:07.920 that you would be in this lockdown situation for a 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:09.640 period of time, do you think you still would have 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:14.359 went ahead with a move? Absolutely, the best thing I've 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.400 ever done. I don't need you don't need a lot 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:19.440 of house. You just need a bedroom at kitchen and 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:26.480 a bathroom and a TV is very important. Yeah, that's 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:32.000 that's that's most imagination. Think about this though, Can you 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:38.920 imagine a quarantine back in pre two thousand when there 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:42.640 was no internet. You're not allowed to go golf, you 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:46.000 can't go to church, you can't do anything, and you 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.600 have no internet. Oh my god, what would happen? I 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.000 couldn't imagine it. You know, it's like the dumb might 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:53.840 as well be the dark ages compared to what we 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:56.120 have at our disposal right now. So yeah, you know, 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.360 things could be worse. And you know, on a serious note, 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:01.080 the funny thing at it is, it's like we sit 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:03.840 here and look, everybody wishes we could resume our normal 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:05.800 lives and go out and do the things that we're 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:09.160 accustomed to doing, whether it's work, just going out to dinner, 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:12.520 anything that, you know, going to the park, anything there. 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:15.760 But you know, the curve does seem to be flattening 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:18.680 at least if we follow along with the reports from 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:21.560 our health officials and so on and so forth, that 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:24.680 you know, things are starting to look up. And you know, 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:26.800 the cool thing about it, Greg is that we, you know, 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:28.960 all have a hand in this thing. If we do 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:31.400 our part, if we stay home, you do the social 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:34.320 distancing and whatnot, that we're all gonna have a hand 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:37.120 in beating this thing. As fast as possible, and we 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:39.680 can go back to doing what we're all accustomed to doing, 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:42.600 and that is, you know, sports, and in our case 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:45.240 here football, and that's hopefully the direction that we're gonna 0:04:45.240 --> 0:04:47.880 be heading in soon. Well, direction that the NFL is 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:51.360 going soon, of course, is the annual NFL Draft, which 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:54.680 thankfully we have despite everything we have going on in 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:57.000 our world right now, and that is gonna be next week, 0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:59.440 and it's going to be a draft unlike ones we've 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:02.279 ever seen before. Everything is gonna be done virtual, much 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:04.520 like the world that we live in right now. And Greg, 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:06.400 I think it's no secret that when you think about 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:09.800 the NFL Draft and significance that it has in terms 0:05:09.839 --> 0:05:13.440 of building that winner, building that sustained success. You know, 0:05:13.560 --> 0:05:15.839 free agency is nice and it gets a lot of 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.920 attention and a lot of money's flying around, but the 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:22.719 foundation of any good football team is through the draft. 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.240 And I think that all Jet fans are a little 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:27.960 bit excited and eager to see what Joe Douglas has 0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:30.240 in store, given that this is gonna be the first 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:32.719 draft that he runs as the man in charge of 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:37.120 the Jets football operations. Well, if the all season is 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:41.440 any indication I mean last year at the season, he 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:44.120 was behind the gun. Now he's in front of the gun. 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:49.599 So I think the opportunity for Joe Douglas to uh 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.240 really put his stamp on what's going on with the 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:56.159 New York Jets and their talent acquisition was pretty good 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:59.560 so far in the off season. Taking care of the 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:02.960 offense the line the way he did um uh, not 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:07.560 disrupting the apple cart in certain areas and totally changing 0:06:07.720 --> 0:06:12.200 in others. So what remains to be seen is what 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:16.000 are the pickings going to be for Joe Douglas in 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:19.200 the draft. I think, in my personal opinion, what he 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:22.440 did was is he really has set the Jets up 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:27.200 where they don't have to grab an offensive lineman. They 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.280 don't have to chase an app an offensive lineman. They 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:33.800 can get somebody that's available, as opposed to I'm going 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:35.960 to move up and get that guy. I think that 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.520 he solidified the offensive line enough that they don't need 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:42.520 to do that. Yet if one of those guys is available, 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:45.080 he can always take them, right. I think it's a 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:48.359 case of where you don't necessarily have to reach or 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:50.920 maybe draft for need per se, because as you said, 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:53.720 the Jets were active in free agency and bringing him 0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:56.480 some new pieces to that offensive line, the Connor McGovern's, 0:06:56.520 --> 0:06:59.960 George Fans, Greg Van Roten bringing back at Alex Louis. 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:02.880 So you have some guys they're ready on that line. 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:06.440 But I think any good football talent executive is going 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.000 to tell you that, you know, you believe in your board, 0:07:09.200 --> 0:07:12.160 You trust what you're scouting department has done. You know, 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:14.600 you look to your board and see how you have 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.720 these guys slotted regardless of position, and you're gonna take 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:19.720 the best player available here. And if that just so 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:22.679 happens to be an offensive lineman when the Jets around 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:25.680 the clock at number eleven, then they're gonna take that guy. 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:27.880 But as you said, I don't think that they're necessarily 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:30.520 you know, you have to take that offensive linement. It 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:32.760 could be wide receiver, could be corner, who knows. I 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:36.200 think they're gonna take the best player available. And Jets 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:37.960 are gonna have eight picks to work with here. You 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:40.520 have four in the top eighty, which I think is 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:43.560 pretty exciting. So it gives you some flexibility as to 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:45.960 what you can do. But let's start by talking about 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:48.240 that first round selection and look, trades could happen. They 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:50.040 can move up, you can move down. You never know 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:53.480 what's going to transpire here over the next few days 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:55.480 or even on draft night itself. But right now the 0:07:55.560 --> 0:08:00.400 Jets are slotted to pick number eleven. Offensive tackle certainly 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.840 is a position that the Jets are maybe going to key. 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:06.760 Uh could be a wide receiver as well. This is 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:09.960 a very very deep class when you talk about the 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.760 wide receiver position, as deep as it's been in years. 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:15.440 As you hear all the so called experts tell us. 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:17.920 But you know, one thing I keep coming back to Greg, 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:19.600 and I want to get your take on this. You know, 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:21.680 you think about the comments that Joe Douglas made on 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.600 that conference call not too long ago that you know, 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:27.320 he talked about Sam Donald and with Sam being the 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:30.800 franchise quarterback now heading into year number three, and he 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.400 said that when he first met Sam's parents that he 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:35.120 made a promise to them, I'm gonna do everything I 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:38.239 can to protect your son, make sure he's as successful 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:41.440 as possible. So there are a couple of ways that 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:43.520 you could go about doing that. You already so all 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.520 the reinforcements to the offensive line. Maybe it could be 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.840 a skill position player, but I think that offense would 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.640 probably be the side of the ball that we're all 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:56.280 expecting the Jets to go at number eleven. I would 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:58.920 think so if if you if you take a look 0:08:58.960 --> 0:09:02.800 at what the Jets don't need. Okay, don't need a 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:06.120 running back, don't need a quarterback, don't need a tight 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:11.080 end at least offensive lineman or wide receiver. Don't really 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:14.920 need an offensive lineman because I've gotten a lot of 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:19.719 stuff in the off season. But if Tristan Worse was available, 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:23.360 I think I'd take. So my thing is is that 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:25.600 you take a look at some of the guys that 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:29.439 are there, and then you you you try to validate 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.280 the worth. Is it worth it for me to go 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:37.760 up and take that offensive lineman that's available, or do 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:42.360 I take uh, I don't know, Ceedee Lamb from Oklahoma 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:45.040 because he's available. That then you look at it and 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:47.960 you go, well, I've got enough off the offensive lineman. 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:50.560 I can make do with this, but I need an 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:54.120 offensive wide receiver. Those are the good options that you have. 0:09:54.320 --> 0:09:56.840 You can always obviously trade up if you want to, 0:09:56.960 --> 0:10:00.480 or trade down. Uh, but now you can you can 0:10:00.559 --> 0:10:06.199 really uh. You don't have to under reach. You don't 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:09.640 have to under reach, and you don't have to overreach. 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:13.520 You can make a decision that's sound and and it 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:16.920 only makes your team better. It's not a reach to 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.280 make your team better. Well, when you look at the 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:24.000 offensive tackles, Okay, Jedrick Wills from Alabama worfs, as you mentioned, 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:27.160 Greg from Iowa, McKay becked In from Louisville, and Andrew 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:31.040 Thomas from Georgia, those are the consensus four top guys 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:33.800 and then after those four there's a little bit of 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:36.600 a drop off. So the question you have to ask yourself, 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:39.040 and I'm sure that you know, look every team in 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:41.880 the NFL, all thirty two teams when they have their board, 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:45.920 I'm sure that you can probably find as many different 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:49.400 combinations to how each team ranks those four tackles. Like 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:52.520 one team might have Andrew Thomas ranked number one, in 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:55.480 Tristan Worfs fourth, Some team might have mackay Beckton ranked 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:58.400 number one and Will's fourth. There's something like that. But 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:00.520 you know, we don't know how the Jets raft board 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:02.560 looks right now, and I think that the question that 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.640 they're gonna be faced with, Let's just say for argument's sake, 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:08.080 when the Jets are on the clock at number eleven. 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:11.360 If three of those four tackles are already off the 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:14.840 board and there's one guy who's still there, you know 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:17.720 where is he rated on the Jets board. That's what 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:19.679 I think the question is gonna come down to. So 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:22.480 if they have one offensive tackle to choose from, or 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:26.600 potentially you can have any of those top three wide 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:30.800 receivers you mentioned, Ceedee Lamb, Jerry Judy from Alabama, Henry 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:33.960 Ruggs from Alabama. So are you then faced with a 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:38.000 decision of do we take the potentially fourth ranked offensive 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.560 tackle or maybe the number one wide receiver in this 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:44.840 draft in and I'll repeat myself again a wide receiver 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:47.280 class which is as deep as any we've seen in 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:50.080 so many years. And then you could potentially Greg and 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:52.040 we'll talk about this in a little bit, get a 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:55.800 first round caliber wide receiver, maybe even in the second round. 0:11:56.120 --> 0:12:00.760 That's I think the tricky dilemma here if you're the Jets. Yeah, 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:04.080 but here's here's the uh. Here, here's here's the way 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:07.240 that you you manipulate the trick. I'm taking the best 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.520 wide receiver I can get if he's available. That's the 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:14.440 trick And saying that guy's gonna I'm plugging him in. 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:18.720 That's that's the That's the thing about the first round. 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:23.280 You cannot draft somebody that you can't plug in and 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:26.040 make him play. And you can't make a guy play 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:29.160 that's not capable. The Jets have done that in the past, 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:32.720 where they've drafted people that all of a sudden they 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:35.440 just didn't pan out the way they wanted him to 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:39.560 pan out. And you can go back to Ohio State University, 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:43.280 uh for for one of them, but as recent as 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:46.360 in the two thousands. But my thing is is that, look, 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:50.520 you know me, they they've weaponized the wide receiver position, 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:54.480 and so I want the best fastest wide receiver that 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:57.880 catches the ball with his hands that that's on the 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:02.880 draft board. That would be me. Now again, if Tristan 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:06.120 Worths was available, because I think that guy's that that 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:10.840 guy's number one on the offensive lineman athletic balance, He's 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:15.080 played many sports. Uh, he's fast, He's got a thirty 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:19.760 six inch vertical jump. That's that's ridiculous, getting three pounds 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:22.679 off the off the ground three ft What are you nuts? 0:13:23.080 --> 0:13:25.560 That guy is pretty good to me. Uh, that guy 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:27.720 I would take if he was if he was available, 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:31.719 and if I really needed that offensive tackle, maybe I 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:34.800 trade up for him. But I don't think that's gonna 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:37.080 be he's gonna be available. I don't think that's what 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:39.040 the Jets are gonna do. So I always look back 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:41.960 at two things wide receivers. You said it, there's a 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:44.240 lot of him in there. But now I can get 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.920 my guy. I can get him, uh with with the eleven. 0:13:48.000 --> 0:13:51.520 I believe you can get that guy with number eleven. Uh, 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:55.680 don't forget Jets are in need of a cornerback now 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:59.920 that Jets drafted Darrell Reevus and got an all time player. 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:05.800 And I don't think anyone believed Darrell Reevus was an 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:09.880 all time player when they drafted him. I think they believed, boy, 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:15.000 this guy's got really sound athletic abilities. He can play. 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:17.240 But boy, i'll tell you what in the NFL. He 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:19.840 shined in the NFL, and he made it. He made 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:23.680 the cornerback position different and UH a lot different than 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:29.000 uh Sanders or even a Mel Blunt. The guy was 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:31.840 just spectacular. So when you take a look at it, 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:34.760 there are some cornerbacks that, hey, you don't have to 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:38.800 reach for him, but they're gonna be there. Jeff Okuda 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:42.320 from Ohio state. You got Henderson from Florida. Those are 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:45.040 the two guys who probably have separated themselves from the 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:46.920 bunch of the cornerback position. And you're right, I think 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:49.680 that's another area that the Jets could look to address here. 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:51.320 I mean, they brought in Pierre to see her here 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:53.880 in free agency, but maybe still a little thin as 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:56.160 a whole when you look at that depth, and certainly 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:58.120 that's going to be another area that maybe they look 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:01.400 to beef up. Here net week during the draft, you're 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:05.040 listening to the Official Jets podcast presented by Amazon Web Services. 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:07.720 Dan Grass and Greg Buttle spending some time with you here. 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:10.040 So the two thousand twenty draft is going to take 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:13.480 place here in just a few days. But Greg, you 0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:18.200 came into the league in the nineteen seventy six NFL Draft. 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:20.440 I'm sure you have some pretty cool stories to share. 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:22.960 In a little tidbit for all the fans out there, 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:26.080 nine seventy six was actually the last year that the 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:30.880 draft featured seventeen rounds. Following season, the draft had moved 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:32.840 to twelve rounds. Now, we know, of course, we only 0:15:32.840 --> 0:15:35.400 have seven, but things were a bit different back then 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:37.040 when he came into the league. What do you remember 0:15:37.040 --> 0:15:41.480 about that day? Well, uh, I'll start it like this. 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:44.200 First of all, as you know, I played at Penn 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:48.000 State and I was a huge Pittsburgh Steeler fan at 0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:52.480 the time. And of course, uh, my Penn State one 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:56.560 hero was Jack Ham, pretty good football player out of 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.560 Penn State. Went on to play with the Steelers, and 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:03.360 you know, did what he did. I would say, as 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:06.880 good a linebackers you could ever get. And I wanted 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:10.040 to be drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. So draft they 0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:13.480 comes around, and uh, all the teams will will call you, 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:15.680 they send you letters, they talked to you, their scouts 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.520 and everything else. So Steelers are one of them. And 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:24.880 uh it comes to pass that I'm sitting there and 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:28.720 I'm and I'm watching and as the Jets select me, 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:32.320 and I'm and I'm very depressed. I'm depressed that I 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:35.480 can't believe it. I'm not going to the Steelers. I 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:41.080 could play opposite Jack Ham at outside linebacker and uh, 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:43.320 you know, and go on to play for a team 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:46.360 that is already in the playoffs. And now I'm going 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.000 to play for the Jets, who really are terrible. I 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:53.120 mean terrible. I hate Nameth because I was a Baltimore 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:55.680 Colt fan when I was a kid, and so I'm 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:58.479 going to probably the worst place that you could possibly 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.800 go if you if you had a choice, the Jets 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:04.679 would have been the last team I wanted to choose. 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:08.600 So I'm so depressed, and it's all the way up 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:11.200 to Mini camp and they bring me in, they give 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:13.680 me a physical, I don't meet anybody but the doctors. 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:17.840 And then I go back to Mini camp and and 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:22.919 that's where the so called stuff hit the fan. And 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:26.000 I met a guy by the name of Walt Michaels. 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:31.840 And little did I know that Walt Michaels could coach. 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:37.480 And he taught me how to play linebacker in the NFL. 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:40.800 And to this day I credited him with me even 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:43.080 bm but play nine years in the NFL. The guy 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:48.439 was that good someone that can tell you and show 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:52.360 you the correct way to do it and not just 0:17:53.119 --> 0:17:56.280 spit it out. But he played the game for the Browns. 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:59.439 He's All Pro linebacker for the For the Browns, he 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:05.199 unders stood that the linebackers what they had to do. 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:10.640 He was more about getting the job done than doing it. 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:15.600 A certain way. And uh, I think that was the 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:19.119 best part about it. I had Dan Radio, which became 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:22.679 the Jets linebacker coach in my final year. He was 0:18:22.800 --> 0:18:25.760 very good, a little different way he was coaching. Uh, 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:28.639 he was more technique in that type of stuff. Walt 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:31.879 Michaels was more about results and he could show you 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:35.159 how to get results. And to this day, if it 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:37.240 wasn't for Walt Michaels, I wouldn't have played that long 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:41.240 in the NFL. So what I was really depressed about 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:44.840 became the thing I was most happy about. I had 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:48.600 the best advantage to play in the NFL because I 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:51.000 I thought I had the best coach who taught me 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:54.720 more about the game in sitting with him in one 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:57.400 week than I had ever learned before. And who would 0:18:57.400 --> 0:18:59.560 have thought, see Wave all those years ago, if you 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:02.320 had only known if you were taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:04.199 then you and I probably are not sitting here right 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:06.200 now doing this podcast. You and I wouldn't get to 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:09.199 work together on Sundays doing the games, and you know, 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:11.439 our friendship never would have gotten off the ground. So 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:13.760 things happened, I think for a reason, and things happened 0:19:13.800 --> 0:19:16.080 for the better. Greg, and I think you're proof positive 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:19.400 of that. You were a third round pick overall. Now, 0:19:19.440 --> 0:19:21.879 interestingly enough, if you look at that Jet draft class 0:19:21.960 --> 0:19:26.320 your comrades in ninety six, Richard Todd was the first 0:19:26.400 --> 0:19:28.800 round pick that year, who, of course was the Jet 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:30.600 quarterback for a number of years. You guys went to 0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:33.480 the championship game. Of course they're in eighty two. You 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:36.120 had to due Salam who was taken in the seventh round. 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:39.120 He became part of the New York stackic sack exchange. 0:19:39.359 --> 0:19:41.400 And I don't know how many fans know this, but 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:45.639 do you remember, Greg, in the twelfth round, the Jets 0:19:45.680 --> 0:19:50.199 selected a pair of twins, one pick apart from another, 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:55.440 Don and Dave Bucky, both from North Carolina State. Did 0:19:55.440 --> 0:19:58.920 you remember that? No? Yeah, the BUCkies. I played against them, 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.080 and they were they were select because Lou Holtz was 0:20:01.119 --> 0:20:03.760 the head coach and he liked those two guys to 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:06.359 play with them. And the Holtz had some vision of 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:09.560 running the veer option in the NFL, which you know 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:13.119 you couldn't run the veer option with Joe Namath. You 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:14.800 might be able to run it with some of the 0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:19.000 quarterbacks they have now, uh, And you can see how 0:20:19.040 --> 0:20:21.800 the the the R P O s are all run today, 0:20:22.400 --> 0:20:24.200 But in those days, you didn't have that type of 0:20:24.280 --> 0:20:26.520 quarterback to run that. It wasn't about the back, one 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:29.040 about the lineman. It was about your quarterback and the 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:32.120 ability for them to do that. And certainly Joe Nameth 0:20:32.160 --> 0:20:35.040 in his twelfth year at the Jets at the time, 0:20:35.160 --> 0:20:38.119 or his tenth year at the Jets, uh with no 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:40.960 offensive line, nobody around him to help him, he wasn't 0:20:41.040 --> 0:20:44.560 running any type of veer. But yes, I played against 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:48.480 them in college for three years. Dave was actually cut 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:50.680 by Lou Holtz, who was the coach in seventy six, 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:52.320 so he never made it here. But Don had a 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:55.560 few games as your teammate there with the New York Jets. 0:20:55.560 --> 0:20:58.200 So we'll see which new members are gonna be added 0:20:58.240 --> 0:21:00.479 to the Jets family, of course, in the two thousand 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:02.720 twenty draft that's coming up in just a few days here, 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:06.000 and you know the interestingly enough, if you think about 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:09.679 you know what's gonna happen after the NFL Draft. Normally 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:11.800 you get into the off season program and you have 0:21:11.880 --> 0:21:14.240 O T A S. Then of course Mini camp and 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:16.720 that takes into the summer. But because of everything going 0:21:16.720 --> 0:21:18.399 on with the coronavirus, and we're not going to have 0:21:18.480 --> 0:21:21.880 the in person on field activities. So the NFL has 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:25.080 put out a memo in conjunction with the Players Association 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:28.520 to where essentially this is gonna be a virtual off 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:30.800