Speaker 1: Official Jets Podcast is presented by Win Bett. Betty is
Speaker 1: a team sport bet together went Bett. Eric Gallen here
Speaker 1: joined in the studio by Jets offensive lineman Elijah Vera.
Speaker 1: Tucker Avt. Thanks for coming. What has the last week
Speaker 1: been like for you? It is Monday, last Monday, at
Speaker 1: this time, you're preparing to play the Buffalo Bills to
Speaker 1: start the season and then you just finished up.
Speaker 2: The week in Dallas.
Speaker 1: Crazy span of time in terms of emotions. I gotta
Speaker 1: imagine I gotta be a roller coaster.
Speaker 3: Yeah, like you said, were coming in a week ago,
Speaker 3: we were playing Monday night football. Energy is very high
Speaker 3: and then unfortunate things happened in that game. You know,
Speaker 3: we came out with the dope, which is really cool.
Speaker 3: So the vibes really high going in to last week,
Speaker 3: and unfortunately, you know, we just didn't perform like we
Speaker 3: wanted to in Dallas. So credit to our team, good defense,
Speaker 3: good offense, good team as a whole. Fans showed out,
Speaker 3: so you know, we know we have to work on
Speaker 3: and we'll come in. We know we're gonna face diversity
Speaker 3: again throughout the season obviously, and it's just about everybody
Speaker 3: being on on point.
Speaker 1: Talk about the emotions going into last Monday Night and
Speaker 1: had you ever been part of pregame atmosphere like it
Speaker 1: was at Mount Life Stadium.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, playing college ball at SC is definitely
Speaker 3: a lot of cool things that you get to experience.
Speaker 3: But I would say definitely Monday night pregame was something
Speaker 3: I'll definitely never forget, you know, with the fans showing
Speaker 3: up early, being loud, and the introductions were so cool,
Speaker 3: and then when you had number eight too and everybody
Speaker 3: just walking out of the tunnel with the flag, I mean,
Speaker 3: it doesn't get any better than that, right, And that
Speaker 3: was the loudest.
Speaker 4: I've heard Met Life in a very long time.
Speaker 3: So danger was real high and U you got to
Speaker 3: give credit to a lot of the fans even when
Speaker 3: things didn't go our way early on in the game,
Speaker 3: that they stuck through it with us.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Can you describe what was that like for you coming
Speaker 1: out of the tunnel because method Man introduced me, Yeah
Speaker 1: and the rest offensive teammates.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Yeah, it was really cool. So I didn't realize.
Speaker 3: Method Man was was actually introducing us until I'm running
Speaker 3: out to sit on and see him, like, oh shoots,
Speaker 3: it's methan.
Speaker 4: Man doing this.
Speaker 2: Oh you really didn't know.
Speaker 4: No, I didn't know. So that was really cool and
Speaker 4: all the guys loved it. You know.
Speaker 3: I feel like it just really picked up our energy
Speaker 3: going into that Monday night football game, because with late
Speaker 3: night games, you're in the hotel all day or just
Speaker 3: doing whatever you're doing all day, and then you got
Speaker 3: to come in and play football game eight eight thirty
Speaker 3: at night, right, So, uh, the energy was definitely up.
Speaker 3: Juices were flowing, and it was really cool. Like I said,
Speaker 3: something I never experienced before, and uh, the energy was
Speaker 3: was real high.
Speaker 1: So when you see Aaron go down fourth offensive snap play, yeah,
Speaker 1: what immediately goes through your mind?
Speaker 3: Honestly, I would say for me and speaking for the
Speaker 3: O line or the offense in general, wash he went down,
Speaker 3: We see him looking on the field. All right, you
Speaker 3: gotta move on to the next play, right, So Zach
Speaker 3: comes in, and Zach comes in with high energy and
Speaker 3: great poise as well, and I feel like the offense
Speaker 3: kind of knew what to expect, Like, you know, obviously
Speaker 3: things are going our way right now, so let's pick
Speaker 3: our energy up, Let's get this run game going. Whatever
Speaker 3: we need to do. To win this football game. Let's
Speaker 3: get it done. And that's just basically what we did.
Speaker 2: When did you realize the significance of his injury?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I kinda could sense a not so
Speaker 3: positive vibesas feeling during the game that the game, you know,
Speaker 3: it was confirmed that it was achilles. So obviously you're
Speaker 3: out for the remainder of this season with injury like that,
Speaker 3: and that one hurts not only just thinking about, you know,
Speaker 3: the future of his team, but really just feeling for
Speaker 3: Aaron in general. You know, the season end of injuries
Speaker 3: is no no fun for anyone who you know, me
Speaker 3: personally experienced something like that.
Speaker 4: It's tough.
Speaker 3: So really just reaching out to him after the game,
Speaker 3: I feel like it was really important to all of us.
Speaker 3: He seems to be doing well now, So.
Speaker 2: What kind of dude? Is he a good guy?
Speaker 1: Because you watch him from Afar, but then he joins
Speaker 1: this team in April, he's here throughout the off season
Speaker 1: and you have a relationship that others don't see. Yeah,
Speaker 1: in terms of they're watching hard knocks and picking off
Speaker 1: a little bits and pieces.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's funny because I get that question asked a
Speaker 3: lot like family, friends, or what he's.
Speaker 4: Like, what's he like like?
Speaker 3: To be honest, he's just a normal dude. You know,
Speaker 3: you just obviously a hell of a football player.
Speaker 4: We all know that.
Speaker 3: But then he comes in and I feel like one
Speaker 3: of the very first things he wants to do is
Speaker 3: build a relationship with every single guy on the team,
Speaker 3: in the facility, whatever it is. And I think that's
Speaker 3: real special because you know, not too many guys are
Speaker 3: willing to do that, and for him to come in
Speaker 3: and do that, try and build relationship with everyone, and
Speaker 3: I thought that was really cool.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what happened at halftime? You guys are now in
Speaker 1: thirteen to three. Most people thought you were left dead
Speaker 1: to right, but you guys came back and people pointed to, hey,
Speaker 1: some of the discussions that you guys had at the
Speaker 1: inner mission.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I mean, honestly, it was nothing special. You know,
Speaker 3: we just come into the locker room and we know
Speaker 3: what we're doing wrong, we know we need to fix
Speaker 3: and we came in the locker room knowing we could
Speaker 3: win that game if everybody just you know, on their
Speaker 3: on their toes doing the right thing, winning their assignments
Speaker 3: within the one on one blocks. So we had high
Speaker 3: energy going to the locker room because we knew that
Speaker 3: we could beat them last Monday. So, like I said,
Speaker 3: nothing special to know who rob speech is just everybody
Speaker 3: having that feeling that you know, we can come out
Speaker 3: with this win.
Speaker 1: What do you think about Breese's perform? Guy goes down
Speaker 1: for ten for one a reception. We're gonna get to
Speaker 1: what happened in Dallas, but yeah, I just want from
Speaker 1: a calendar perspective, us to go back and say, Okay,
Speaker 1: this is what happened against the Bills and then we'll
Speaker 1: take it forward where you're at right now.
Speaker 4: No, Yeah, that was wild man. Those I mean, what
Speaker 4: do you have? What do you have again?
Speaker 2: Like time for.
Speaker 4: So that's wild.
Speaker 3: So credits to Breee. He's a hell of runner. But uh,
Speaker 3: I feel like that the run game was going, you know,
Speaker 3: and uh with that gap schemes and shut out, I
Speaker 3: think it was like two of those breakaways from like
Speaker 3: good tight end blocks as well right at the edge.
Speaker 3: So credited those guys, and uh, I mean when you
Speaker 3: get when you give Breece, you know a chance, he's
Speaker 3: gonna he's gonna break it run and uh, clearly that's
Speaker 3: what he was doing last Monday night, and it was
Speaker 3: it was pretty cool to see you.
Speaker 2: Ever played with a guy like that before.
Speaker 4: He's so unique, honestly, yeah, I don't think I have.
Speaker 3: I mean just exposing if he exposedness he has out
Speaker 3: the back field is a it's pretty unique to watch.
Speaker 3: And then I mean he's pretty fast too, so that helps,
Speaker 3: right when he gets in an open space.
Speaker 1: How much do you like blocking for a guy like
Speaker 1: that because he's so shifty in no small spaces and
Speaker 1: patient at the same time, and like you said once
Speaker 1: he has a crease.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well I was about to say too, is like
Speaker 3: he's really patient, waiting for the perfect opportunity to hit
Speaker 3: that hole and to you know, make a break.
Speaker 4: So, uh, it's real cool.
Speaker 3: Obviously for officer line, you're always like a guy who
Speaker 3: could be able to set up the blocks in the
Speaker 3: backfield and then break for one. And he did that
Speaker 3: plenty of times last Monday night, which was very cool
Speaker 3: to see it. And it's always fun, whether it's receiver
Speaker 3: or running back, whatever it is. I may have a
Speaker 3: breakaway for about forty fifty hours as the obviously line,
Speaker 3: you get pretty excited about that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he went for eighty plus you guys were backed
Speaker 1: up at like the four young after that white hat interception. Okay,
Speaker 1: so Xavier Gibson your first round pick, so you don't
Speaker 1: know this life. How pumped were you for him to
Speaker 1: shine in that moment in front of the nation.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that was a really cool experience. Man.
Speaker 3: I just remember on the sideline seeing him running down scoring.
Speaker 3: I'm thinking, like, there's no way that could have happened, right,
Speaker 3: It's got to be flag somewhere. So I'm just sitting
Speaker 3: there and then it hits me all of a sudden,
Speaker 3: like this man really just did that. And you know,
Speaker 3: credits to special teams get and all that, but it's
Speaker 3: really cool, exciting, you know, for Xavier. For a guy
Speaker 3: to come in day one, works his tails off or
Speaker 3: works his tail off and you could always just he's
Speaker 3: grinding in the playbook every day this and asking, you know,
Speaker 3: a lot of questions, always doing the right thing. Really,
Speaker 3: so for him to get that spotlight Monday night football,
Speaker 3: I mean, what more could you ask for?
Speaker 4: And he definitely deserved it.
Speaker 2: Storybook I need, So that was week one.
Speaker 1: This is a seventeen chapter book though, yea, indeed it is.
Speaker 1: So what happened in Dallas. Jets fans obviously upset disappointed
Speaker 1: this morning. You're disappointed, but you got to turn the page. Yeah,
Speaker 1: from your dvantage point, what happened in Dallas because you
Speaker 1: guys got behind the eight ball early and then never
Speaker 1: could kind of get that momentum.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I just think, you know, for offense in a whole,
Speaker 3: we just never got into rhythm. You know, I think
Speaker 3: our game plan was was coming in. We knew how,
Speaker 3: we knew we had to run the ball. We knew
Speaker 3: we had to run it well, and unfortunately, you know,
Speaker 3: we didn't. Like I said, we just couldn't really get
Speaker 3: into the rhythm and were forced to, you know, be
Speaker 3: throwing the ball pretty much all second half. And uh,
Speaker 3: I mean it is turning into the passing league. But
Speaker 3: the end of the day, you gotta be able to
Speaker 3: run the ball, and like I said, we just weren't
Speaker 3: able to get it going. So credit to their defense,
Speaker 3: you know they did. They did a good job of
Speaker 3: shutting it down early. And that's that's pretty much it.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 3: It's just that's all I could say about it. So
Speaker 3: we couldn't get into the rhythm, and yeah, so now
Speaker 3: we gotta gotta put the page and move on to
Speaker 3: a big game this week, Patriots at home.
Speaker 4: We all know what type of game that is. We
Speaker 4: all know what's going to be a dogfight.
Speaker 3: So everybody in the building is isn't happy about you know,
Speaker 3: last night or yesterday's game. But uh, we had to
Speaker 3: come in and fix those corrections and make sure, you know,
Speaker 3: we turn the page.
Speaker 1: How good is Parsons because this guy lines up all
Speaker 1: over the place and moves around and he's so explosive.
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, it's a it's a good Eleven is a
Speaker 4: good player. Definitely.
Speaker 3: Uh we seen it yesterday on the field. I mean
Speaker 3: we've seen it for the past two years now. Uh say,
Speaker 3: credit to him, he's definitely. I would say that the
Speaker 3: leader of that defense I wanted to get them going,
Speaker 3: makes a big plays for him, and yesterday he was
Speaker 3: all over the field, So getting credit to him in
Speaker 3: their defense. But yeah, I mean, good player. You know,
Speaker 3: we had our good plays against him, he had our
Speaker 3: good He had his good plays against us. So that's
Speaker 3: how it goes.
Speaker 1: It seemed like you guys situationally weren't in I guess
Speaker 1: traditional first and tense situations like a lot of the
Speaker 1: time that you will facing. Okay, you gotta definicit right
Speaker 1: out of the gate. Yeah, they get the lead, they
Speaker 1: take the ball, go right down the field.
Speaker 2: It's seven to nothing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that fake punt early in the first quarter, that
Speaker 1: a nine yard run from Breese. I just thought this
Speaker 1: was a microcosm of how it went offensively. Nine yards
Speaker 1: on first down, and then second and one can't convert,
Speaker 1: third and one can't convert, and then before you know it,
Speaker 1: you got a punt away and third down was a
Speaker 1: problem all game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, So that's what I'm saying about earlier when you
Speaker 3: asked me the questions, like we couldn't just get into
Speaker 3: the rhythm. I don't know what it was looking at
Speaker 3: the tape, you know, it was either we were one
Speaker 3: block away or or we were just shooting ourselves in
Speaker 3: the foot, you know. And that happened pretty early on
Speaker 3: in the game. And then once that happens, once you
Speaker 3: don't come out fast, you know, especially in this league,
Speaker 3: it's hard. It's hard to I guess, get the energy
Speaker 3: back or pick it up, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4: So, yeah, we just didn't come out.
Speaker 1: You were close though, because Garrett Garrett score. They were
Speaker 1: dominated line. But then it's ten to seven.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the thing, Like we were, you know, we
Speaker 3: were very close, and our defense, you know, we didn't
Speaker 3: obviously put him in the best situation, so you know,
Speaker 3: our defense was able to keep us in the game
Speaker 3: for a little bit. But yeah, it's just right when
Speaker 3: we got closed, then just started to slip away again.
Speaker 3: And uh, like I said, that's something that we got
Speaker 3: to look at and figure out why, you know it
Speaker 3: whether it's you know, one block away or shooting ourselves
Speaker 3: in the foot or or miscommunication whatever it is. You know,
Speaker 3: so we got to take all that and turn the page,
Speaker 3: move on to Patriots and figure out the best way,
Speaker 3: you know, to get this win.
Speaker 1: There were two plays there in that first half where
Speaker 1: you guys almost had a lead on the sauce Sauce
Speaker 1: drops of route on the sideline for ceedee lamb. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he catches that ball, he's probably making a call and
Speaker 1: you guys have a lead. And then they're at that
Speaker 1: of the half. What did you see Because Zach makes
Speaker 1: enough a few nice plays with his legs and then
Speaker 1: he's got Garrett open in the end zone it and
Speaker 1: somebody just gets his hand on the ball. Otherwise that's
Speaker 1: probably a touchdown. It's a four point game at the half.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah, So.
Speaker 3: That's another thing too, Right, It's like we go into
Speaker 3: your two minute drive and then and half you know
Speaker 3: we're moving. The ball is actually do in a real
Speaker 3: good job in the pocket making plays with his legs.
Speaker 3: Old line is you know, holding up, you know, with
Speaker 3: protection pretty well. And then it's just like that one
Speaker 3: play where Garrett's open and then someone you know gets
Speaker 3: to that that slightest bit of his hand that kind
Speaker 3: of throws out the throw. It's those plays that I'm
Speaker 3: talking about. It's you know, you never know what play
Speaker 3: it's gonna be, so technique always has to be there.
Speaker 4: You always got to be sound with that.
Speaker 3: And that's just one of those plays where it just
Speaker 3: didn't work out for us. Like I said, where one
Speaker 3: guy is you know, unblocked for a split second.
Speaker 2: What was it like in the locker room after the game?
Speaker 4: The the energy was I said, energy was low.
Speaker 3: It's always gonna be low after after a loss, right,
Speaker 3: especially one like that where we know we're we're going
Speaker 3: in there and with high energy and then we just
Speaker 3: come out knowing that we beat ourselves. Right, Like I said,
Speaker 3: credit to them, they're a good team, but we did
Speaker 3: a lot of things to ourselves that we could have prevented. Right,
Speaker 3: So you go in knowing something like that, or you
Speaker 3: go into the locker room with the end of game
Speaker 3: knowing something like that. It's just one of those, you know,
Speaker 3: weird goody feelings that if we were just if we
Speaker 3: just did this and we just came out, you know,
Speaker 3: like this, and we just didn't shoot ourselves in the foot,
Speaker 3: like I said, you know, it'd be a different outcome.
Speaker 3: But you know, we happed on a plane, came in
Speaker 3: this morning, watched all the film. Know we have to
Speaker 3: correct and like you said, it's a long season, right, Yeah,
Speaker 3: So thank god for that.
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Speaker 1: What about the continuity upfront? You guys hadn't played a
Speaker 1: snap together, you five starters before Buffalo. Isn't there a
Speaker 1: reason to think that, Hey, over time, this thing is
Speaker 1: gonna look a lot different upfront? I mean, obviously you
Speaker 1: had your struggles against the Cowboys, but you had a
Speaker 1: lot of success I should say against the Bills, especially
Speaker 1: on the ground.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I would say with that for offical line, you didn't.
Speaker 3: I mean, you really gotta gel well with each other, right,
Speaker 3: And I feel like we were definitely doing that each
Speaker 3: week where or each day we practice, we're taking another step,
Speaker 3: you know, to improving. So just the more reps you get,
Speaker 3: you know, the better off we're gonna be. But I think,
Speaker 3: you know, people would look at you know, grades and
Speaker 3: stuff like that all over Twitter, and I don't really
Speaker 3: think that translates.
Speaker 2: To do pay attention to that stuff yourself.
Speaker 4: No, No, I don't, because I don't know.
Speaker 3: I was like it's hard for you to to really
Speaker 3: know what's going on unless you in the think of it, right,
Speaker 3: So when you look at all these grades like it's
Speaker 3: gonna show you something, and then people just kind of
Speaker 3: run with that, right, But you don't really know what's
Speaker 3: going on in the room. And we really tape, you know,
Speaker 3: I don't want to say it wasn't it wasn't bad,
Speaker 3: but there's definitely some things we could work on. But
Speaker 3: there's also some things that you look at where we're like, okay, yeah,
Speaker 3: we got this right, Like we know what type of
Speaker 3: unit we can be. So we're coming in today knowing that,
Speaker 3: you know, knowing that there's a lot to improve on,
Speaker 3: but there's also a lot to look at that we
Speaker 3: could build off on and go from there.
Speaker 1: How do you feel physically? We went down in week
Speaker 1: seven the torn try steps you work your way back.
Speaker 1: You were here throughout the spring, but after two games
Speaker 1: now back in the lineup where.
Speaker 4: You at, I'm feeling good. I'm feeling real confident.
Speaker 3: You know, in my play always some things you can
Speaker 3: work on after the game, right, we all know that,
Speaker 3: But you know, physically I'm feeling good. Mentally, I'm feeling great.
Speaker 3: And I would say my conditioning is a good thing too.
Speaker 3: That's something I was a little worried about, you know,
Speaker 3: not playing in a lot of those games last year
Speaker 3: after going down in Week seven. But I'm feeling good,
Speaker 3: you know. And my dog over there to right tackle Makai.
Speaker 3: He's a he's doing a really good job right now too,
Speaker 3: So credit him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, how much do you credit him for what he
Speaker 1: did this offseason coming back at three fifties, say, he's
Speaker 1: your dog. A lot of people when you were drafted,
Speaker 1: we're thinking, okay, Mackay comes in. You guys are gonna
Speaker 1: be on the left hand side together, But now you
Speaker 1: guys over there on the right.
Speaker 4: Yeah. It's crazy how life works, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we were talking about the other day, like, you know,
Speaker 3: I got drafted and we were supposed to be on
Speaker 3: the left side to get it, and unfortunate things happened
Speaker 3: with injuries, and then two years later, you know, we're
Speaker 3: both on the right side looking to make some great
Speaker 3: plays with each other. I mean, that's just how life works, right,
Speaker 3: kind of comes full circle and going back to Mkay,
Speaker 3: I mean, away from the game for two years unfortunately
Speaker 3: with injuries, and then comes back off season, gets in shape,
Speaker 3: doing all the right things, you know, to protect himself
Speaker 3: his body whatever it is, and comes out in the
Speaker 3: games and kind of does this thing right and each
Speaker 3: week improving on the little things. And that's definitely what
Speaker 3: he's been doing.
Speaker 4: So credit.
Speaker 1: How painful is the torn rides ups that you sustained
Speaker 1: against Denver, then you know you got that's got to
Speaker 1: be an injury, you know immediately.
Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3: Well, I mean I was hoping right because I never
Speaker 3: had that. I mean I had pulled a hamshing before,
Speaker 3: but I never had anything with upper body issues. So,
Speaker 3: you know, I just a normal punch, just like any
Speaker 3: other punch I've done, you know, my career, than some
Speaker 3: odd reason, you know, weird free accident. You know, my
Speaker 3: tricept just pools or whatever whatever it is.
Speaker 4: So it definitely hurt. I didn't know what it was.
Speaker 3: I thought i'd be out, you know, probably three four
Speaker 3: weeks really at most. Yeah, I mean, because I just
Speaker 3: didn't know what it was. I didn't know it had
Speaker 3: completely been torn off. So that was tough news. On
Speaker 3: Monday after the Monday after the game, getting the mry
Speaker 3: and them telling me I'm out for the season. You
Speaker 3: know it's real tough mentally, but you know, I got
Speaker 3: through it, came in, got my rehabit, and.
Speaker 4: I'm feeling strong this year.
Speaker 2: What was rehab like a lot of hours.
Speaker 3: In the facility when nobody else is here during the
Speaker 3: off season, So you know, I got a crab out here,
Speaker 3: you know, living my wife and stuff. Coming in here
Speaker 3: every day for about three or four hours, you know,
Speaker 3: get the rehab in, maybe a little lower body lift,
Speaker 3: you know, when I could do that. And it's a
Speaker 3: lot of hours man too. And surgery is obviously no
Speaker 3: fun for every for anyone. No one ever talks about
Speaker 3: that too. But yeah, the surgery, I like doing all that.
Speaker 1: No, I know, how long does it take you to
Speaker 1: put weight back on, because you're saying, like I come
Speaker 1: in and I'm get my lift in and doing the
Speaker 1: lower body stuff. But you're a big dude like you
Speaker 1: has got to lose some weight after surgery.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well that's the thing.
Speaker 3: It's like after even after the season, like two weeks
Speaker 3: of not doing anything, I just feel I feel weird.
Speaker 4: I feel like I need to move my body around.
Speaker 3: So getting surgery was definitely weird because I can't do
Speaker 3: anything for at least two or three weeks, right, because
Speaker 3: I can't really sweat, So that was that was tough
Speaker 3: on me. But definitely have to change my whole diet
Speaker 3: for that. You know, I just can't eat like a
Speaker 3: like a regular obviously Limanwood, you know, someone who works
Speaker 3: out every day.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so I was definitely different.
Speaker 3: You know, of course had my cheap days, but yeah,
Speaker 3: it's when you get like an injury like that, you know,
Speaker 3: you have to prepare for surgery and then for the
Speaker 3: whole playing for the whole off season. It's a lot, right,
Speaker 3: So well, luckily I had a good uh, we have
Speaker 3: a good training staff here who kind of walking through
Speaker 3: everything and got me.
Speaker 1: Right, why are you so open to doing whatever anybody
Speaker 1: asks of you? I mean, because not all players are
Speaker 1: like that, Like I'm really comfortable at guard, or I'm
Speaker 1: really comfortable at tackle. Last year, case in point, Hey listen,
Speaker 1: we'll switch you over to left tackle. Ope, we'll switch
Speaker 1: you over to right tackle. Even this off season, as
Speaker 1: you were asked multiple times by the media, hey where
Speaker 1: do you want to be? And you say, well, I
Speaker 1: think I think my past fit is guard, but I'll
Speaker 1: do whatever they asked me to do.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would say that's just me having the confidence
Speaker 3: of myself. Uh, you know, be able to tell myself
Speaker 3: I can I can't play anyone on the line.
Speaker 4: That's just me.
Speaker 3: Then the other part is just me being you know,
Speaker 3: a team guy, doing whatever the doing whatever I can
Speaker 3: for the team, whatever's best. So, like you said, like
Speaker 3: an off season asking me, it's like, you know, I
Speaker 3: like guard, but you know, if they need you to
Speaker 3: play somewhere else, you know, I'll do that, you know,
Speaker 3: because that has a confidence of myself to do that,
Speaker 3: and I know the guys around me on the office
Speaker 3: line are can to help me to do that as well.
Speaker 3: So also with that a lot of support from the guys.
Speaker 3: And uh, I mean going you know back to last year,
Speaker 3: that was kind of crazy coming in and then I'm
Speaker 3: playing left tackle and right tackle, so I had to
Speaker 3: adjust to, you know, certain things and playing with good players.
Speaker 4: But yeah, that was a that was a cool experience.
Speaker 4: That's something I'll never forget.
Speaker 3: And you know, hopefully it doesn't happen again because of
Speaker 3: injuries or anything like that, you know, but if it does,
Speaker 3: you know, I'll be ready.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And when Lincoln Thalinson signed here, this is what
Speaker 1: and Initially you were moved because he started as a
Speaker 1: left guard and they said, hey, you mind moving the
Speaker 1: right guard, and yeah, I'm good with that now.
Speaker 3: Yeah that was funny too because he they signed in
Speaker 3: my scene he's left guard coming from a San Francisco.
Speaker 4: I'm like, okay, you know, let's see what happens. Coach
Speaker 4: calls me, asked.
Speaker 3: Me, uh, you know what the deal is, and I'm like, look,
Speaker 3: I'm like, if he likes playing left guard, you know
Speaker 3: I have some experience at right guard.
Speaker 4: I'm cool with playing right guard. You know.
Speaker 3: You just gotta give me time to prepare for you
Speaker 3: a little bit. Ohta, So I said, that's pretty much.
Speaker 3: My only request was just tell me early you know
Speaker 3: what the plan is, and then we'll roll with it.
Speaker 2: What's it like for you now?
Speaker 1: A new offensive system, Nathaniel Hackett, you have a new
Speaker 1: line coach and Keith Carter. I think people probably thought
Speaker 1: Aaron coming in knows the system. You guys got to
Speaker 1: pick it up that maybe you get off to a
Speaker 1: faster start. Now you got Aaron out, you got Zach
Speaker 1: back in the lineup, but he's learning the system him
Speaker 1: as well. But for you specifically, what's been like the change.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the change, I would say it's it's been. It's
Speaker 3: been pretty fluid right from the start of the OTAs.
Speaker 3: I think Hackett.
Speaker 4: Uh. One, I think he's a good office coordinator.
Speaker 3: Two, I think he's a cool, funny guy, which not
Speaker 3: many people may know, but dude's actually hilarious and he
Speaker 3: makes those opposite meetings fun and and uh just makes
Speaker 3: you feel, I don't know, more relaxed or whatever you
Speaker 3: want to call it. And then you know Key Carter
Speaker 3: as well, coming from Tennessee with a good running game
Speaker 3: coming in, I think he really knows how to coach
Speaker 3: will and knows a good scheme as well. He's come
Speaker 3: in and I like him. You know, he's a real
Speaker 3: physical all that or brings a real physical mentality to
Speaker 3: the office line play. But sometimes you don't see anymore.
Speaker 3: So I think both those guys, Hackett and coach Carter
Speaker 3: do a real good job together.
Speaker 1: All Right, we're seeing you all over the nation right
Speaker 1: now in commercials. It is Hispanic Heritage Month, it is
Speaker 1: Latino Heritage Month. Can you talk about how the league
Speaker 1: reached out to you and what you're doing right now?
Speaker 4: Yeah, that was really cool last year.
Speaker 3: I think that's when they're putting the flags on the helmet, right,
Speaker 3: which I thought was really cool. I think it's always cool,
Speaker 3: do you when you get to represent Yeah, when you
Speaker 3: have an opportunity to represent your culture.
Speaker 4: Right. And then this off season.
Speaker 3: NFL Mexico kind of you know, hits me in the
Speaker 3: family of say, hey, we want to we know your
Speaker 3: hair or your background. We kind of want to get
Speaker 3: you out here and do something right and trot to
Speaker 3: Mexico City. And why would I turn something like that down.
Speaker 3: Be able to go back out there and having out
Speaker 3: there in a very long time, which is really cool
Speaker 3: to be back out there and just be able to
Speaker 3: kind of tell my story a little bit more, you know,
Speaker 3: the people was real cool opportunity for me as well.
Speaker 3: So me and if we had a lot of we
Speaker 3: had a good time out there.
Speaker 1: What do you tell kids when you were in Mexico
Speaker 1: about your background, your story and how you grew up
Speaker 1: and now where you're at.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's a I'd say it's pretty simple.
Speaker 3: You know, I grew up obviously, I'm like half black
Speaker 3: and half Mexican, you know, growing up talking about my
Speaker 3: Mexican side, you know, just the kind of traditions we have,
Speaker 3: you know, in the Mexican marriage, it's real fun. Uh,
Speaker 3: And being able to go to Mexico, you know, every
Speaker 3: other summer is really it was a real cool opportunity
Speaker 3: to see our family out there as well, and just
Speaker 3: kind of I don't know, like it's just it's kind
Speaker 3: of hard to explain, right unless you you've done it before,
Speaker 3: I guess, But the opportunity to go out there and
Speaker 3: tell my story, you know, to younger kids was a
Speaker 3: real cool one.
Speaker 4: And I just had a lot of fun out there
Speaker 4: with the family.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but you're an Oakland kid.
Speaker 1: But you said every other summer or every summer you'd
Speaker 1: be in Mexico and whose side of the family.
Speaker 3: Yeah, every other summer, so yeah, I'd be with my
Speaker 3: mom and my dad as well and my two little sisters.
Speaker 3: So we go out to We have family in San Luisa, Potosi,
Speaker 3: so we'd go out there, and then we go to like,
Speaker 3: you know, Coudonovaca as well. At the time, we go
Speaker 3: to like Uncle Pulco. So it was a real cool
Speaker 3: place to visit in Mexico. But like going back and
Speaker 3: looking at it now, it's definitely something I'm grateful for
Speaker 3: because each time we went out there, I got to experience,
Speaker 3: you know, my culture.
Speaker 4: And my hearts just a little bit more.
Speaker 3: And uh, like I said, I was able to do
Speaker 3: that again as well this past summer, so it.
Speaker 4: Was really cool.
Speaker 2: How much time do you spend there this summer?
Speaker 3: It was a real quick trip, really yeah, real quick
Speaker 3: business trip. So we went out there, did some filming
Speaker 3: for the commercial right and then so we had a
Speaker 3: little day off after and then I was out there
Speaker 3: with my pops and my brother met our uncle out
Speaker 3: there as well, and we went to the Pyramids, like
Speaker 3: an hour out of the city from Mexico City, which
Speaker 3: is really cool. And that was like my second time
Speaker 3: being there, so it was cool, you know, taking kind
Speaker 3: of before and after pictures, you know, when I was
Speaker 3: younger and being back out there.
Speaker 1: What have you thought of the commercial and the response
Speaker 1: you've gotten.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's a I think it's really cool,
Speaker 3: you know, especially those other guys being able to to
Speaker 3: share their culture as well. But Mexico they have a
Speaker 3: pretty big fan base, I would say for the NFL,
Speaker 3: you know, they a lot of fans like the Raiders.
Speaker 3: I was a Raiders fan growing up as well. And
Speaker 3: the Niners Steelers have a good fan base as well, so.
Speaker 4: It was really cool.
Speaker 3: And then going out there too, it's like people are
Speaker 3: recognizing me or recognizing me as well because they already
Speaker 3: knew right then, I'm a you know, playing in the NFL.
Speaker 3: So that was really cool, real cool experience for me
Speaker 3: and my family as well. And that's just something you know,
Speaker 3: I just will never take granted.
Speaker 1: For Are you sad about what's happened to the Oakland
Speaker 1: sports teams? You're gonna be playing the Raiders, You're going
Speaker 1: to Vegas this year. I mean that's a cool stadium setup,
Speaker 1: but sounds like the athletics are moving as well.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Man, it's tough.
Speaker 3: So you got the I don't know, was the maybe
Speaker 3: the Warriors left first, I don't remember, but the Warriors
Speaker 3: leaving San Francisco, I mean that's just right across town
Speaker 3: over the bridge, but you know, still kind of hurts.
Speaker 3: And then you got the Raiders. You know, in Oakland
Speaker 3: for so long, you know, going to those games growing
Speaker 3: up is really cool, and now that in Vegas, which hurts.
Speaker 3: So you know, I'm still a Raiders fan. You know,
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna switch up, you know, unless we play him,
Speaker 3: then you know I won't be out bins, right. Yeah,
Speaker 3: but yeah, that was tough when they moved on and
Speaker 3: then the A's I guess they trying to get out
Speaker 3: now too, going to Vegas.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so I has more opportunity out there. So what
Speaker 4: you're saying.
Speaker 1: All right, what can you say about the rivalry between
Speaker 1: the Jets and the Patriots. Here's week three, when your
Speaker 1: seventeen game journey here, and it's spend a while since
Speaker 1: this team, well before you came on board, beating this team.
Speaker 2: In the regular season, the Patriots.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so being here for three years now, we haven't
Speaker 3: beaten the Patriots, right, we all know that. And also
Speaker 3: being here for three years, you kind of pick up
Speaker 3: on the rivalry between these two teams, and it's a
Speaker 3: big one between the two teams, the fans, whatever it is.
Speaker 3: So coming into this week, we know what type of
Speaker 3: game it's gonna be. We know it's gonna be dog white.
Speaker 3: We know we're gonna have fun with it. We know
Speaker 3: we gotta come out strong, high energy, and get the
Speaker 3: ball moving early on. And these are the games you
Speaker 3: look forward to, right, these games where it's a little
Speaker 3: it means a little more than just you know, a game.
Speaker 3: This is divisional game probably with that Patriots versus Jets,
Speaker 3: you know, so you got to come in with that mindset.
Speaker 1: Did you watch any of the game on the way
Speaker 1: home last night, Dolphins?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Have you dove into any Patriots tape already?
Speaker 4: Yeah? I actually did just a little bit.
Speaker 3: Nothing crazy, right, you know, still thinking about the last
Speaker 3: game we just played. But yeah, those are two good
Speaker 3: teams that were going at it. And you can never sleep,
Speaker 3: you know, anyone in this division, right, they always come
Speaker 3: out swinging.
Speaker 4: And we got good teams in the division as well.
Speaker 3: So it's gonna be a fun game on Sunday versus Patriots,
Speaker 3: and we know what type of energy they're going to
Speaker 3: come out with, and we got to come out you know.
Speaker 4: Leave more.
Speaker 2: Appreciate your time as always, Thank you appreciate it.