A competitor is someone who is internally motivated to be his best regardless, regardless of the situation. His place on the death chart does not matter. Money does not matter, fame does not matter. He is always trying to absolutely be his best. He can't be swayed because he's already maxing out his potential.
This dude is trying.
To pr every day of life. He's got a championship mindset. And when you have a championship mindset, you embarrass the see ones and you make the great ones look normal. Final one is a commander. He basically has all the traits of a competitor, with one exception. He brings people with them.
Which one are you of the Chris Westling podcast studio. It's the Hard.
Knocks Podcast Training Camp of the New York Jets, Episode three recap. My name is Dan hansis with me my co host Colleen Wolfe, kylil As.
Bob Salas said, head coach of the New York Jets.
Four levels of competitors, And I know it's a little confusing because one of the levels of competitors is competitor.
That one I have a little bit of an issue with. But that's fine, so I'd say we're both commanders.
So let's go yeah, because I was gonna say I would love to say we are because I feel like commander, competitor, contender, survivor.
I feel like I've been all of those.
Yes, maybe sometimes in the same day, uh huh. Like, for instance, survivor is the is the bottom, and the survivor loves taking the easy way out and they're miserable and.
They pull everyone down with them.
They love taking you with them.
And then I'm thinking like survivor, like Destiny's Child had a huge hit that was just saying how awesome it is that I'm a survivor and this whole time survivor sucks.
Ooh, that's a great point.
I feel like it's a negative connotation here and survivor.
You know, if you're surviving, you're doing it right.
So first we had all break the DC getting after Belichick, nes saala Is getting Beyonce interesting, contender, someone motivated by external factors like playing time, money, fame, opponent. Definitely feel like that that checks out competitor in the four levels of competitor, internally motivated, motivated, regardless of situation, always trying to be his best or her best.
And I learned what PR is today personal record because I'm not a peloton, not on the peloton.
Not motivated by money, fame, or opponent. This dude is trying to PR every day of his life.
Huh okay, maxing out his potential championship mindset.
And then commander all the traits of competitor with one more. He brings people with him.
He's a leader.
Paul as a leader, I see my I have a couple things here with this. The competitor, which you as a level of competitors. It's just a little confusing. I probably would have picked a different term for it. And then commanders the highest of the levels, when the commanders are also a team in the league. I just maybe would oh yeah, go on a different route there. But we have some notes, is all. We'd like to make this better because we're competitors, all right.
Can you get Roberts all.
On the line, Maybe we could, you know, take another crack at it, like the rookies had to take another shot at the Talent Show last week right to this week.
It's just like you have and you have three of the levels that start with C. I like alliteration, commanders, competitors, contenders, and then survivor, Like maybe we go all one to really drive the point home.
You're right, You're right, Yes, Episode three of Hard Knocks is you know you feel like this is like a little bit lived in. Now we know this team, we know what their vibe is, we know the energy around it, we know the excitement and anticipation, and we know this is Aaron Rodgers's world, And I think about what are people talking about coming out of this? I think there's there was so much build.
Up, Connie to.
The pursuit of Rogers. Remember the infamous report that Rogers had a demand's list or a hostage, hostage, a ransom note.
Sure, well that's how how was it presented? It was like Rogers demand he.
Had as he definitely had a list of things that he wanted.
Right and one of those things he wanted was to have Randall Cobbs still be a teammate. And but in general, there's this idea of this undercurrent with Rogers that he's so bigger than life and such the focus of the Jets universe, which he is, that it's like how much power does he have? Like what are we seeing right now. That shows how much power he has in this organization. What are we not seeing, which is we'll get into
a little bit later. What we're not seeing through three episodes of Hard Knocks, and one thing we know is that like, you got to be able to you have to reach the level of competiti for Aaron Rodgers for him to deem you worthy of being part of his world.
Correct.
You know who knows this. Randall Cobb knows this, Alan Lizard knows this. Garrett Wilson and the other wide receivers are learning this. And I thought one thing everybody's gonna be talking about is this clip of Randall Cobb talking to his fellow wide receivers at practice about what you need to do to be on Aaron Rodgers's good side.
I was just talking at twelve or eight and he was just telling me, you know, we had a lot of mistakes in our room today and just basic stuff, little things right like we can't have that. And it's all cool right now, but I'm telling you, one day he's gonna lose it. It's gonna happen if it continues to go to the way it's going right now, because if you don't trust you, He's not gonna throw you ball. I can promise you that if you don't trust you,
he don't not like throw interceptions. So if he can't trust that you're gonna run the right rode, he's not gonna throw it. It's just a matter of time. Continue to work and stay in your book and stay locked in so we can get to where we want to go.
It's funny because even the wide receiver coach has to look like coach. We don't want to get him mad.
Well, so you can tell that Aaron Rodgers has that type of personality that he is like so chill, he's so cool, like he will deal with a lot of bs that comes his way, but when he gets pissed and the line is crossed, he will freak out. And it's scary because it's like he is maybe suppressing a lot of that all the time, and.
It seems like he's so even keeled even.
When all of the or the fights were breaking out in the joint practices and he goes over to I think it was Devin White and he's like.
Like, the fuck are you doing?
Man?
And he's like sort of laughing, and I'm like, oh, that kind of was like a little spiralized, but I like it. I recognize myself in him in that moment, so it's coming. And I also like that Garrett Wilson talked about how you have Randall Cobb and Alan Lazard as translators for him and the other wide receivers for Aaron Rodgers.
Yeah, and it makes sense now as you hear an explanation like that from Cob why Rogers even if some people like, oh, you need Randall on your football team in twenty twenty three or Alan Lazard, Wow, the Jets seemed to give him pretty good contract for you know what his production has been in the league. Whatever makes Aaron Rodgers comfortable, makes the team better, will make the
offense better and the Jets. I think there's a very there's a very fine line from wisely working with someone like Aaron Rodgers is bigger than life character to letting him run your organization like what happened with Russell Wilson and our friend Nathaniel Hackett last year. And I think the Jets have been on the right side of the line.
What I really but that's from our vantage point, right, I wonder what's really going on on the around the NFL podcast this past Monday, we had talked about how the Jets offensive line has continued to be a subject of consternation if it's going to be good enough, and Rogers basically said in a presser He's like, listen, I don't have control of you know, who's playing where. That's
not a decision or conversations I'm privy to. And then you wonder like if a is that true actually or be when does Aaron Rodgers step into that room and
say this is who I want playing? Because I think if he wants to be that guy, he can be because he has that much sway, which makes it it's a tough It's a tough thing for Robert Sala because everything is so great because number eight, number twelve, I mean number eight is here until you know, you get punched in the mouth, and what version of Rogers is in that building at that point.
Yeah, it's yet to be seen.
If it continues to trend in that direction, that's going to be a major problem. Even Robert Sala when he was talking about the different levels of competitors at the end, he drove home the point that the defense they were there the whole time.
Like they showed up, they were competitive.
It was the offense that needed the defense to really bring it out of them. It wasn't like the offense showed up. And this is not a knock on Rogers. It's just the knock on the offensive line and just some things that were not in place yet. The offense did not show up with the same fire that the defense did. I guess when camp started, and now he was thanking the defense for being like, thanks for bringing it out of the offense and dog.
Gas that's right, And like, just to be clear, I didn't even think Roger's stature and what we clearly see the level of respect he engenders not just from his own team but everything around him.
Huh.
He is like one of those rare figures where it would make sense and the position he plays and what the quarterback means in this sport to be have hands everywhere, like he would be a guy where it would make sense. Now does it happen at the expense of the head coach having any power real power? And that's when it would get a little dicey, right, But Rogers seems to be in the right mindset because he's trying to win
another World Wort Series. Another super Bowl here, It'd be cool if he won a world series.
I do wild cannyway.
Can we also talk about the fact that we watched the first eleven minutes of this show about any of the narration. We were watching like a raw cut of what Hard Knocks was, and I'm watching it thinking it seems like it's maybe moving a little slow, or it just like something amiss and I couldn't quite figure it out. And then we realized we were not watching the final cut. So I'm really glad we.
Figured that out well.
And you know, credit to Leev Schreiber and credit I looked it up.
I wanted to mention it, Okay, not just credit to Liev Schreiber, credit to Jerry. I hope I go is right remail or remal who says writer in the credit. So, as Leev Schreiber had said in the first episode to Aaron Rodgers, don't give me too much credit.
I just read what's on the page.
I think Jerry big g Jerry with a g oh is out there giving this content. But I mean I was gonna do it a little bit better show with Jerry getting Jerry in the house. Yeah, Jerry with the g G Dog. Since we're bringing up Leev Schreiber and how the show is not the same without him, it's not too early, is it to play the Leev Schreiber Quote of the week?
Dan, It's never too early, Never too early.
There's a couple of things here. I want everyone to know. Maybe it's your first time listening to the show. Okay, welcome, welcome Leev Schreiber, famous actor, incredible, incredible voice and.
Narrator of the show.
We can't use it on this program legally, Yeah, disqualified.
But we have a buddy named Jay who sounds like him.
And this isn't really does too, But this isn't just any other jaysumalt Reid.
After what happened last week with the eight ball, it.
Wasn't it wasn't great. But he's coming back. He's on the road to redemption. We hope, we think, we hope.
Let's play it the Leev Schreiber quote of the week.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in town for a game on Saturday, but today there's a joint practice. The old joke is that New Yorkers go to Florida to die. Now's the chance to flip the script and bury the Floridians.
Oh, well, you did it. That was His voice is so good, very rich Timber, it really is.
He's I love listen. I could listen to Zombie do leev drops all day long.
I could listen to Jayson Walt read the phone Book. Wonderful. Uh, and that is true.
I've I've heard that my whole life in New yorkers go to Florida to die snowbirds, right we retired, Well they don't come back.
Well there's the two times.
There's the people that go to Florida for the winner and then come back.
Oh right, and then there's the people just go to Florida and they don't come back.
It's a nice place to go and just and live out the Twilight years.
Beautiful all right, and other episode news. That's good though. We finally got the Breeze Hall of it All. The Breeze Hall of it All. It was right around the Breeze Hall moment of the show where a definitely mentioned, wait, there's no voice.
Over here, well, because at one point there was a trainer like stretching Breese Hall and there was no music and there was no narration and it was just silence. Like watching him kind of stretch out his groin and it just felt very off.
Right, right right, just like a few minutes earlier there was one of the Jets coaches just going on the sideline to No.
One in particular.
Competition, competition, competition, competition, and without Liev there, you know, a little dry. But now we know we've learned in the future, we're going to look for Leev immediately. Oh yeah, we're moving forward.
Breeze Hall.
I've said this before on ATN I'll say it again. It was awesome that the Jets swept the Offensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards. The craziest thing is, even if Garrett Wilson didn't have that year, if Breese Hall would have stayed healthy, the Jets would have swept it.
With Hall and Sauce Gardner.
The biggest competition was within their own locker room.
Breecee Hall's second round pick in twenty twenty two was looking like a monster, like a one of those running backs that hits the ground and is a superstar until Week five in Denver. Earlier in the game, and they show that in this episode he has a seventy five yard touchdown run. I think it was Bob was Shoes in Voice of the Jets says Breese Lightning.
Is this going to be the thing?
Is this a thing?
One drive later, I kid you not, he gets hit and tears his acl Are.
We banning the nickname then because of that?
Or first nickname?
Because I think it's a great nickname.
It's pretty good anyway.
So we get to see Breee for the first time, and it's good because we learn more about his rehab and and he says, you have a He's talking about how because we don't really see this as football fans, these guys I think, I said, like football is the worst kind.
Of Yeah, the mental anguish that they're going through, just how.
There's no other sport where everything is taken away from you so quickly. Now there are freak injuries in every sport, but a football, especially in a running back, which is and this is set against the backdrop of what's happening in the league right now, with running backs can't get paid and having panic zoom meetings together trying to figure out what they could do about it. Like Breese Hall can go from the fastest man on the planet and butting.
Superstar is a rookie to in an MRI machine learning that his knee is ripped up and he needs reconstructive surgery, and he talks a little bit about the process and the frustrations of it. I think it's noteworthy to like Jets beat reporters that are doing their write ups about this this episode, he says, obviously I want to play the first week, but I got to keep going doing what I gotta do. Dalvin cooks in the building. We see him sign with the Jets. He signs for a
pretty big penny as well, Connie. So Dalvin Cook's in there. You see Breesehall practicing and looking good.
He hits what.
Twenty one mile an hour? That's the magic number.
I I don't think the Jets should. I think they should take every every caution that they can to make sure a haul is one hundred percent before he plays. Everyone always circles week one, but with Dalvin Cook there, you don't need to do it necessarily.
Not at all.
Also, they have Michael Carter there too, right like they have options at the running back position. And if you have Dalvin Cook, I mean I would assume that is a huge reason why they ended up signing him because they don't want to rush Breese Hall back because they know what a talent he is and they want to make a deep run.
How much do we love Nate Hacket?
Oh my god, he's so funny.
You mentioned that he sort of has a little Connor or him, who is over at Sports Illustrated, used to be part of the NFL media group and around the NFL. But he, Nathaniel Hacka just has this funny personality where he.
Will go up around like a butterfly and he's like, hey, hey, hi, I am I'm You're on one of the coaches here. Nice to beat you.
I think we have it.
Actually here is so we mentioned Bresaw. So Breesaw's back at practice. Uh, Nate Hackett was coaching with the Denver Broncos last year, not well. So he doesn't have any real connection to Breese Hall. They've obviously met already in some capacity. But here's Hackett with that sense of humor. We both got to kick out of this.
Hi, my name is Nathaniel Hackett. I'm one of the coaches here. Thanks, it's nice to see you out here. Nice. He walks away, excuse methane. It's nice. Nice to see nice.
I feel like I need to defend Nathaniel Hackett. I'm a hacketthead like. I love him. I think he's so funny.
His personality would fit in perfect with our whole friend group.
That's it's the vibe.
And it is fun like, Uh, you get why Rogers is into him and some guys, some guys hit a level where this is where they're supposed to be and then they may get promoted once by and it's.
Not for them.
I don't know if this whole vibe maybe makes sense in the big chair, right, especially having the context of knowing what happened last year now is getting to know him.
A little bit this year?
Uh huh.
But in the SoC perch with Aaron Rodgers and it's not bad. Who loves him like a brother. Okay, you can see why he's feeling comfortable and good about himself.
Yeah, he kind of reminds me of a boss that I used to have before I came to work at NFL Media. He just like seems to always keep it light and that no matter what, just makes working with him. And I'm sure it's the same with all the Jets players like it just makes it easier. Obviously that didn't happen in Denver. But when you're not the head coach, I guess it doesn't matter.
You're right, all right? One more thing before we take a break. Okay, we get to our MVP conversation. For episode three, Woody Johnson, Jet's owner shows up again. Yes, and this is his by far, his most memorable cameo on the show, and I count twenty ten that season as well.
What do you want to get into?
Uh, For those that might not be aware of wood he the context of Woody's.
Appearance, Yes, because I sort of grouped his appearance in under a larger umbrella of cringey moments. There were quite a few in this episode, and he was one of them because he brought he addressed the team and he said that he had a sort of like a surprise for them, and he unzipped his jacket and underneath he revealed an insanely like it just it was almost gratuitous. How many diamonds were on this chain and it said Woody in just all diamonds and let's go Jets.
Underneath that, we think it says, yeah, I.
Think we really tried to like pause it and take a closer look.
But that you viewer at home, by the way, you might have a higher definition television. Yeah, then we watched this on and if you could correct us if we have it wrong, but it definitely said Woody in all caps and then definitely said jets and we think.
Go uh huh.
So it was like that was his way of relating to everyone in the audience there, all of the players. It reminded me a little bit of Kirk Cousins dancing with the chains on the plane. Yes, a bit had those vibes to it, So yeah, that's that was one of the cringe moment.
It got popped from the players.
But then you know, if your boss comes in and does that, of course the players are going to react in a certain way. That's like, yeah, I don't know if like a rookie would have done the same thing, the crowd would have would have had the same reaction.
But listen, he's the boss.
I want to dimond count I want to know how expensive that was. What he's gonna do with it? Is he gonna wear it more? Is he gonna wear it if they're winning? Like, what is what happens with the woody chain.
I don't know how much do you think it costs? Do you think I was real?
I don't even know how to ballpark something like that. I would have no it was real.
I mean Johnson, So is he getting a fake one?
But it seems maybe it's CZ's Maybe he just did it for show.
Maybe he's a showman. Maybe that's what he did.
Maybe are you saying he's a commander.
Well, if he's made it this far in life, and I want has the job that he know what?
You know what show?
I want to watch what happens when he walks out of that meeting room and he takes the necklace out. Does he throw it to an intern and turns like what do I do with it? And he's like, I don't care, get rid of it, take it away?
Yeah? Or maybe does he just throw it in a trash can?
No, No, it goes in like a vault somewhere. I'm going to say that it's worth something.
I think is it a three million dollar chain?
I have no idea. I mean, I've never bought a diamond.
You have a lot of jui.
I don't buy I don't buy diamonds for myself.
Also some of the other cringe moments The Rookie Talent Show Part two, the do over Many Many I mean this this poor you know what their football players, and that's exactly the lane that they need to stay in. Uh and that's fine. Although Jake, Jake Capp the tight end, he had a nice Yeah, he had a nice performance doing an Eminem bit.
You know who was really into it?
I felt our producer, Yeah, Eric Roberts, who's right in the age range where eight mile the film would affect him profoundly as a teenager.
I feel like you seem to really enjoy that. Who's that?
I might This is my third guys, second third grade, maybe exactly what the year this came out?
And me check real quick. It came out in like O three.
I want to say, yeah, it sounds about right. Yeah, I was graduating in twenty ten, So count backwards from there. It's about it sounds about right, second and third grade.
Let's pause the show so you can count back. Yeah.
So, but yeah, no, it's it's you guys asked who it was, It's yeah. It's the climax of the episode, the battle rap between b Rabbit Eminem's character and I forget the other guy's name, but yeah, it was a he got the guy did it from off the top of the head and it was good and.
It's most steph.
It shook ones because that's like throughout the episode he was practicing in the mirror to it. It kind of reminded me the performance itself of it was a lesser version of when Max Crosby was on Hard Knocks with the Raiders and did buy You a Drank by t Pain, which will anytime I see Max Crosby forever when he's on the field making plays, I still think about him singing that song.
This would likely get some pop on social media. I don't know if it was as much as Aiden Hutchinson last year, because he killed it. He's his performance was better. The lyricism what do you do Billy Gen? No, it was as boys in one of those.
We did get a Backstreet Boys thing, ye in this episode as well. Yeah, I'll give it up to at least Jerome cap is it his name?
Yes, that was tough.
That was because you they bombed so much in the first Rookie show. They were out for blood. The veterans like you see Aaron Rodgers and some other players just actually had guns, not real guns, water guns ready to that would be crack and he and he held his own, so so good for him. All right, let's take a break. When we get back. We talked m VP who was the MVP of episode three. And remember it's a.
Vector vector voting.
Vector voting system. Be right back, all right, welcome back, here we go.
Now the vector voting system is tremendously.
Important to us.
Yeah, I mean two people who were aamously good at math, so this makes sense.
Six points, I believe for a first place vote, four points for a second place vote, two points for a third place vote, culmulative.
At the end of the season, there's an MVP.
So we're getting to the point now at the midpoint of the season where every vote counts.
It always does, really, if.
You want to get all mathy about it, it doesn't count anymore or less because it's all the same. But it just feels more important now because now we need to almost start to make decisions based on who we want to be MVP. You know, you try not to do that and not let your biases get away, but you don't want to waste a vote at this stage.
Put it that way.
That's fair, that's fair. But I don't like to look ahead like that. I like to take it one episode at a time. Oh you're that, yeah, so I will not be planning ahead.
All right, who is your third place vote? Then?
Okay, my third place is He's actually I think he was in our MVP voting. Last week he stole the show, and this week he goes third. Cub Ball and Williams because he had one of the best exchanges that made me laugh in the episode when they have joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he takes exception to the fact that Mike Evans calls him fat. And I think we have this in a couple of parts, which I can.
Understand why that would bother him, because Mike Evans isn't just a guy.
This is a potential Hall of Famer.
Not a jag.
And Quinn Williams is he established himself as a star in the league and he's got Evans just banging him like that in a big spot.
All right, let's listen to my game.
Has called me fair?
He called me fair, Bro, Bro, I lose wages all season now, sound cutches, Bro.
He seems legitimately hurt by this.
Well, then one of his teammates, Michael Clemens, uh you know, he chimes in, Yeah, I would say, damn bro.
Well, oh you think me wanting? Do I look good to be through hundred pass? Okay? Cool though? Perforce?
Jo, I think you're fit for a non skinny person. And then later in the practice, Quinn Williams confronts Mike Evans about.
It and says, you call me fat. I lost weight the off season.
And then they start joking around about it, but he just goes to show you, like how sensitive he is about that.
It makes me love him even more.
It makes him relatable.
And I've thought about that before, like, these guys are elite athletes, but the D.
Linemen and O linemen, like, yeah, they don't.
Their bodies don't conform to like society in terms of what looks good.
And levis wide receivers. They're all built different.
Right, So Quentin Williams, who is honestly like a in terms of body, there are very few people on Earth that were gifted with a body as.
Special as Quinn Williams. It's just in a little bit of a different package.
Yeah, I don't love Mike Evans calling him fat. To be honest, I don't love it.
No.
I feel like it was in jest, but because they were laughing at the end, but still a little.
Bit, a little bit, and it was funny.
John Franklin Myers coming in at the end saying you proportion it.
That seemed to set off set off Dane.
You're fit for a non skinny person.
All right, my third place vote, you know, I'm going to give it to the underdogs of episode.
Three. We haven't seen.
This is tough for your vector voting system.
A lot of it.
Yeah, it's kind of I don't want to say it's thrown away a vote, but there wasn't a cleared three to me, so I want to go with Tanzel Smart, a journeyman defensive lineman who's been bouncing around the league for three years.
It did.
I I thought initially that he was like twenty two or something. I didn't realize until this episode, and that's why I was really confused last week when we saw the pant After the Panthers game, who was it? Johnny Hacker, the punter, goes up to Smart and makes the joke about you know what he's known for us Smart in this season, so I want to eat a carcuccie board, And I was like, how does not to put like punters in a box? But how how does Johnny Hacker
know this young kid? Like did he have to have someone like find out what his name and his number was and he sought him out? No, but that Smart came up with the Rams when Hacker was the punter of the Rams, so they knew each other previously.
Okay, figure that out.
That all checks out, and I like, I like Smart being focused on because he's trying to make this roster.
He's trying to keep his NFL career alive.
A lot of times in the show, the focus is on when we do the quote unquote underdog portion of this these seasons, it's about either undrafted rookies or a late round draft pick. Smart is in a different category, a guy who's seen it, been through it, has never broke through, but is still in the mix. And you see him making some plays both in practice and in the preseason. So shout out to Tanzell Smart. I hope
he finds a home on this team. And then the rookie running back on the other side of that the more customary underdog on this show. Is he a Banakanda? Who that was tough? I gotta say this is more I feel bad for.
Is he the joke the joke that he made in front of the team or no, what was the joke again?
He made a joke.
About like someone not getting in trouble because their first name was Justice.
That was also in my cringe category.
That was cringey.
No, but they have the whole thing where he's from Brooklyn originally, so he's a hometown kid. You have all of his family uncomfortably sitting in the stadium with the camera right on him. That's a tough That's a tough one. I get the way they were. And then is he gets hurt and gets helped off the field. Luckily it wasn't a season ending injury, but it's gonna cost him
a couple of weeks. So that does present actually the Hard Knocks team with a bit of a conundrum because he was supposed to fill that void as the rookie. Is he gonna find a place on this roster? As you mentioned, very crowded running back room with Michael Carter, there, Breese Hall and Dalvin Cook he's out for at least two weeks according to reports out there. So I'm gonna give it to the underdogs one. The journeyman won the rookie. Give him a little bit of love. Who's your second place for?
Okay? Second place goes to head coach Robert Sala.
All Right, we already went through the four levels of competitors.
But did we decide we were what? What did we decide we were.
Of those commanders?
Obviously at least I mean we're at least I guess, competitors on the competitors scale.
Eric, When you see us, the two of us talking on the show, do you think to yourself, this Parker Fenton behind the glass too, does great job on the video side.
He's trying to set you up to tell me that I'm a survivor.
No, like like, oh my god, I would follow these people to hell?
Like do you get that vibe? When?
Of course, yeah, of course, I think Robert Salad mentions that that's why Quinn William Williams got paid all that money.
You know, you guys are the leaders. Follow you in with we could just yell and yell, so the Mike picks it up, would you follow us to hell.
Yeah, since I was gonna say, Parker was pretty hesitant there.
You just forgot her name moments ago.
Did double down on the full name so that Parker Fenton follow her on Instagram.
But had a lovely Journey conversation afterwards.
So it feels like you guys your classic American rock band. Yes, I feel like that got me back in the good graces. She's wearing a Journey T shirt today. See how I clocked that as well.
Yeah, good job, great job.
I'm out of it. I'm out of the doghouse, baby my god.
Okay, So anyway, Robert Sala, maybe we'll come up with like some suggestions for the new levels. Maybe I'll do that on my red eye home tonight because I'm gonna be just crushing time.
Oh You're gonna be listening to Journey on the way home.
That and also maybe watching I have a lot of things on the to do list.
I don't know if I'm gonna have enough.
Time, it turns out, but for real, the reason he gets the second spot here is because he did an hour on the steps.
Can we talk about just any steps like the stadium steps?
The stadiums?
Are you an hour sixty minutes. There's no way I would have died after one minute.
And here's the.
Thing that's jam that's just his cardio. Look, the guy is cut out of marble. He looks They showed him at one point on the sideline. I was watching some of the preseason game. I think he looks younger like he It looks like he could play. I don't know what he's right now.
And so he's working out all the time. He is the head coach.
He has seven kids learned like how he he must have more hours in the day than us normals.
Good one.
He deserves that my second place vote. You know, this one is not just this episode. Ostensibly it is this episode, but I'm going to give him a little love it.
I think this season's better because Zach Wilson's involved with it. Okay, I find Zach Wilson, and we've talked about this to be compelling because of where he came from, which is second overall pick face of the franchise or that was the hope falls on his face in just brutal manner last season and loses his job to his childhood idol, and I just feel like Wilson is someone that's in a good place right now, and there will be a time in his career where he probably is under the
harsh spotlight again. I think that's technically the plan in the Jets, like big Picture Pie in the sky, that Rogers makes them a beast the next two years, at least two to three years, and maybe they get that Super Bowl, and then when it's all over, he hands the reins to Wilson, who, now in this planet that the Jets occupy, has buried all that bad football earlier in his career, and now he's learned from the great Rogers and he could tap into his natural tith.
That's the plan.
Uh huh.
Now it might sound ridiculous, and even as I'm saying it, this all sounds no like a movie.
I actually wrote down in my notes when we were watching, I was going I wanted to ask you if it gave you any more confidence thinking about the future of Zach Wilson that he could actually learn from Aaron Rodgers and take over and be successful eventually. Well, they know, because you did just start talking about the plans, the plan, because you could see.
It as you watched this whole episode.
Here's what I know here's what we know about Zack Wilson. He is physically talented. Okay, that's how he became a number two pick, even though he was don dominating, you know, not big time programs when he was at BYU.
But he has talent.
If he was ever able to figure out the mental side of the game, yeah, maybe there is a good quarterback in the NFL in there.
Does he have the leadership skills to make it happen?
Does he have the dirt?
Is he a commander or is he a survivor? That's the question. And right now he's in survivor mode, which is just like and not maybe in the way Rogers Solas saying it like he's just resetting his life right now and we're kind of long for the ride for that.
It happened again where someone came up to him and it was saying like, yeah, how are things going, man, And he's like, you know what, it's just been good this year, Like everybody knows, he's put kind of took the ship into the bay and just docked it in neutral and it's just trying to get things under control.
And we've been able to see that over the last couple of weeks and any Rogers Wilson conversation I just enjoy because it is like an uncle talking to his nephew totally, but like an uncle and nephew that have affection for each other.
You can see that because you could see how Wilson.
Will bust Rogers's like balls on things, and Rogers will just kind of laugh it off. It was Kyle Trask their conversation, the latest Wilson conversation with someone else, and he said, you know, it just does run. Every conversation he's having is about how the last two years were rough but this is good.
Yeah.
It almost all of those conversations remind me of like two people just sitting at a park, like skipping, skipping rocks, skipping stones in the lake, just kind of hanging out. It does have that like uncle and nephew vibe to it. But Zach Wilson just seems overall so relaxed and like he's so fresh faced, he's so green, he's so wide eyed. But he does just have this you can tell that, having the ability to be behind Aaron Rodgers and not have all of that pressure on him.
It seems like he's just more at ease too. In general.
Yeah your first place.
First place goes too Cob.
Wow.
Okay, yes, So in this one we get a look at Randall Cobb's personal life a little bit.
Had we heard from him at all really in the.
No, because this was the first episode where we all talked about his eyes being so piercing, So I think that that was the first time it was like really on our radar, green eyes just for this season. But he we get a chance to meet his wife, we see his kids, and also we get the news that there's another baby on the way as well, and this really made me laugh.
There's going to be another hand in the cop mob.
Cop mob?
Do you keep asking me for in my belly?
A baby?
Guess what? He do?
Have a baby now, Mama, my jummy kids.
I don't know why I found that sound so adorable, so funny.
That's such second child energy.
By the way, by the kid, because he's already worried that he's going to be displaced.
Pushed his favorite.
Yes, yes it was that. And then I.
Also really got a kick out of Randall Coov going around to the different Jets players and telling them to clock Thomas Morstead running off the field, telling everyone that he basically sprints when he's finished, and it kind of reminded me. Do you remember that reds pitcher who used to sprint from the bullpen to the mound?
I think it was Jared Hughes.
Maybe, okay, but it was this like all out sprint and he looked insane doing it. And that's sort of what Thomas Morstad did. And they had this whole funny montage where they were like spot shadowing him, just going out of frames and stuff.
It was great.
Yeah.
I likened him too, like a soccer dad, yes, trying to chase down the garbage truck with his trash can that he got out just a little bit too late.
Yeah, So when he's finished punting, you guys must watch him to see him sprint off.
And his explanation was I felt seen as a forty three year old dad. His explanation was, he has to do it. It's not because he's a like a psycho or anything. Because he's getting a little older, he tightens up. He's got to feel loose, so he does his little power sprints to loosen up the old limbs. So it's at Papa Hammy so good.
Yes, So that's my number what about you?
My number one is Quinn Williams. Oh.
I think Quinn Williams has been a real treat because even as a Jets fan, I didn't really know much about him or felt like I knew like what his personality was. Yeah, it's like when this show is at its best, you learn more about these guys as people, and you see he's just like a fun loving guy. And like, I honestly think with that we played it earlier with his Mike Evans exchange, I think that was real. I think he's kind of a sensitive guy. I think he's but he's also kind of kidding on the square
because he knows how good he is. He's confident in his abilities, but also like it seems like someone very easy to talk to.
So it's good to have somebody.
And you can see the way Salad talks about him that they have this rare guy that's hugely talented that they felt comfortable investing a ton of money in because they know the money's not going to make him.
A worse guy.
It's just going to amplify what makes him a good teammate. Maybe now is he a commander? He said he's a commander he seems almost too nice, like Aaron Rodgers. I could see as a commander, because you kind of got to be like the way Cop explained Rogers like you guys, things are right now, but you don't want to mess with him because he will light your ass up if you keep messing up, Like does Big Cue?
Does he well have that in him?
I don't know if he does, but he doesn't need it, I don't think necessarily to be an all time great jet lovable.
I talked to him at the Combine years ago, and he was the exact same way, and he had his braces at that point and a huge smile, and he was just so happy to be there and so easy to talk to and was offering up all sorts of fun stories. And I remember after he walked away from that interview, everyone that was on the set with us, we were all like, I don't care where he goes, we will be fans of his Yeah.
Braces, Yeah, he was like a teenager. Yeah there you go. All right?
Good and the and the Vector voting system. Only two episodes left now, so every vote.
Wow.
Yeah, big app for Quentinn Williams in the MVP race, who I think has now announced himself as a real player as Hard Knocks MVP.
What's coming next? As we before we sign off?
You know one thing I want to say, so much hand ringing about the Jets not wanted to do the show, and then the idea that what kind of access did we get will we get?
We have gotten a lot of great access.
We've learned a lot about the players, learned, you know, good practice access, you know, fun sideline stuff during these games.
Are we going to get Connie in any of these last three episodes?
Is to get we get closer to cutdown day, Like the old model was actually better for Hard Knocks where cuts kind of were broken down into phases instead of all and all in one shot, so that that built up some of the drama narrative wise for the show
that's gone. But I wonder are we going to see conversations behind the scenes between coaches the coaches rooms talking about Let's use it as an example, Connie the running back conversation correct where they have four guys that they like but really probably only room for three of them. In old and prior seasons of Hard Knocks, we've seen the running back coach pounding the table for a guy.
Who loves We've seen it, Douce Daley. We saw it last year in Detroit with the Lions. That's how we met so many of the coaches. We've now fell in love with so many of the coaches. I want to see the deliberations. I want to see guys getting into arguments about why their guys should make the team. And also, like I always love, in the background you kind of see the board, but you can't make out the names. I just want to see the whole setup of what they're dealing with up there.
And I was like, I'm thinking even of not that long ago, the Browns hard knocks Greg Williams the DC publicly or not privately, I should say, privately challenging Hugh Jackson, the head coach, with Hugh right there and and Hugh in a you know, self defensive way saying I'm driving
this bus. Like real tension in that room now every I know, at least from where aware of standing, everything is great and hunky dory around the Jets right now, but there's got to be These are all guys that are competing and as coaches, they all have strong opinions.
Maybe we'll get some more of that in the last two PEPs.
We don't see some drama. We're here for the drama, the gossip.
Let's see it all, all right, Connie, you've said it all.
I have all gat snow break.
You're off to Philadelphia. Hopefully there will be breaks for the plane that.
God, yeah, I hope. So that's where you went.
Let's do the math here. Let's see what.
Yeah, I hope there's landing gear too.
We have eight miles about probably two and a half hours a best of journey playlists. Maybe i'll you want to like a ten track best of journey?
I would love that.
Shoot you a little link of that. So that'll be an hour. So that takes you to three and a half hours. What is it five hours to Philly?
Yeah? About that?
All right? What was the other thing you were gonna do?
There was something else and I already forgot it because I didn't write it down. I do have a bag of meatballs, though, the.
Bag of meatballs. You can scarf those down.
Yeah, they're gonna be smelly in the person next to you is gonna be pissed off. It's gonna be great bag of meatballs. It's gonna surprisely you take a long time to eat the meatballs. Twenty minutes.
Yeah, so now we're at three hours, almost.
Four hours, and hopefully I can remember what the other thing.
Oh I remember, I was gonna come up with new categories, new categories for the four levels of competitors.
That will take you easily an hour.
And you're touching down at the Philadelphia International Airport, straight to the Phillies game and away we go.
Go see them in fields playing great baseball. Yeah.
The second, all right, more than I could say for my Yankees. Aaron Rodgers, go win a World Series for the Yankees. We could use you, We can use you.
All right.
That's it until next Tuesday. Thank you to everybody for following along, and of course check out around the NFL as well for more football takes until next week.
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