A Conversation with Willie Colon (8/2)

what you're doing in broadcasting, because you're blowing up. Well, thank you, I appreciate it. I was with Barstool for three years. I had fun there. I was doing barstood Breakfast with my co host, Large McCarthy and the whole gang. Uh left Barstool. Now I with Sirius XM. You can catch me on Channel Lady too, Mad Dog Sports from sixty nine AM with Evan Cohen and Mike bab Check

and we're talking about everything unneath the son morning Man. Yeah. Sports, I'd like to say it's sports, uh sports show with a bite. We get a little ackey, but it's fun. Yeah, and you're and you're still gonna be fine on the Jets throughout the season as well. Yeah, that's that's true. I'm on That's why you catch me doing the prim post, me and Bart Scott and Gelps who does an amazing job. And I'm just active. Man. I got two little babies.

I got a two year old, I got him one year old, and uh, I was very active during the pandemic to say the least. I got my sports bar in the Bronx six or five Brooklyn Boulevard, Berkston Hops. That's my sports bar. So and on top of that, my wife is doing reality TV right now, so I'm we're moving and grooving. I'm all over the tail. What is reality TV all about? From your perspective, man, it's it's it's weird because you realize when you walk into it,

at least trying to be entertaining and trying to be realistic. Um, sometimes you just have to be you, which is not hard for me. But at the same time, it's it's very You're walking into a lot of confrontation. Yeah, and sometimes it's cool, sometimes it's not. But it's entertainment and we try to be entertaining as possible. So where can we check that out. Yeah, it's it's on own the first episode it's called Bell Collectives. My wife is, uh,

she's one of the bells so to speak. Yeah, I'll make a couple of pearances on there, and uh you catch it on their own network, it will be there. I think. I think they're at eight o'clock. So, so do you catch yourself watching a new reality television that is not sports? Because I always had this argument with my wife the only reality TV remaining is professional sports. Yeah, I get into it. Like one of my favorite shows

that Below Deck right now. I love that, damn. I mean you get to see great you know, exotic places and in the storylines are pretty good, and I get into it. Um, I was a traditionalist. I used to watch the Jersey Shores and the car Dazzings for a while and I'm kind of over that. And uh so that's if there was one show that I actually watch, uh is probably below Deck for a his reality TV and Jersey Shore. It's still got to spend them off.

They're still going right, like they all got kids, you know, their kids got kids, and they're still you know, fist pumping and uh causing the causing the Rucket. So they're still at it. All right, So let's talk a little Jets football. If you are back here at de dri what do you think it's on the horizon for Robert Sala and company as they start year two. Well, I'm interested to find out where's this patience U where's this

patience level is at? And I say that from a standpoint when you into a new job with a new quarterback in the whole new regime and everything's kind of new, you kind of just have to sit back and just see what you have and let the team kind of mature on its own. Now that the fact that had I think personally, I've been on record as saying this, I think they probably probably had one of the best drafts in franchise history as far as addressing need, adding

weapons um depth was huge. Um, I feel like they just hit Joe Douglas and Robert Cosalid hit everything I thought. I thought they were a macclate and so now it's like, all right, we know what we have, we know what we can do. Where's where's my patients level? How long am I going to accept things that I know we should be doing better at this time? Or how long am I gonna sit back and allowed his team to kind of, you know, just kind of go through the emotions.

Am I gonna be the coach to kind of really crack the whip and lean on these guys? I can tell you from my experience and this is mostly with my time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The more success we had to previous year, the less patients might have coach had because there was an expectation, there was a demand, and there was a let level of everybody's gunning for you.

So what are you gonna do about it? So we we we were forced to have a lot more sharper practices and we were forced to be a lot more physical because that's the identity we we created, and it led for us to have a lot of success and go on to the playoffs and obviously championships. So I'm wondering what the team, this team in particular, because you do have the talent, you do have valid young talent.

Where is his patience level at? You know, is he gonna be like, all right, I I dealt with last year. This year we we gotta go. And so is training camp gonna be harder? Is he gonna be leading on a lot more guys who have had a little long intitude, who had experience um and where the level of execution because there always has to be it always has to be a demand like, oh, you want your team to you know, you had checking points I feel as a coach,

but where's your patience level at? And some a lot of I realized the more success I had there was it was lack of patience. Did you like being the Hunter because you started with the Pittsburgh Steelers, of course and you experienced so much success there. Then he came here a little bit of a different situation where Rex Ryan and company are saying, Hey, we're going after New England Patriots and we ain't putting up with this. We know you're the big bully, but we're here to fight.

Well I was. That was mainly because of Rex's personality and his attitude, and he was he was always kind of a backyard browler brawler. And that's why he called. He got on the phone and called me because I had played against him, not only when he was with the Ravens, his time with the Jets, and so he

knew who I was. And when I got to New York, it was just for me when I was coming home too, I was gonna play alongside Nick Mangold and Brickshaw Ferguson and on top of that, Wreck was gonna give me everything. And he did um and I was excited just to play with him, and he delivered. Obviously, we didn't win a lot of games. We kind of we went through

our little ups and downs. But I was excited to play with him, in particular because of his mentality that it doesn't matter who you are, We're gonna punch you in the mouth. And I think that's a part of just understanding that football, no matter what you draw up, no matter how you make it look pretty, it's all about punching the guy in front of you and the mouth and let him know that you're here for all

four quarters. What do you think about the Jets from an offensive line perspective, because let's rely on your expertise. Here their number one target free ancy link in Thomlinson. They get familiar with the system. Elijah vera Tucker by all kinds, I want to get your thoughts on him. Kind of recoverance back at the pivot, and then an interesting situation of the tackle position right now with McCay back then to George fantast Camp opens. Yeah. I had an opportunity to talk to Fan a little bit at

the Gridiron Gallery. I think he was receiving award UM and I got to chop it up just a little bit. Solid. He's a prose pro does a great job. I love what he did with coming on the field, um for the Jets and just competing. You know, there was so much talk about beck then being out and when he's gonna come back, and there was a whole another saga, you know, not saga, but there was a whole thing going over here with Beckon. I think he ignored it. I think he just played football and he played well.

And you know, there's always gonna be that mantra of being the office in line. When they don't talk about you that that's how you know you had a good day. And for weeks we weren't talking about the Jets office in line. We're talking about a lot of other things that we're going wrong with the New York Jets, but it wasn't that office in line, and that's a sign of guys really jelling, communicating and playing well. Uh. And so I liked the core they have. I think we

have a really really good office in line. Um. I think we have office line that's gritty. The long as they stayed together, I think A. B. T is obviously the leader. He's he's the prize horse amongst the five. UM. I love Fan, I love Thomas and Lincoln Thompson because I think his experience coming from he's a vet. He's been there, done that, and he could be you know whoever you if you're gonna put McKay at the right

tackle now, you give him a buffer. You give him somebody he can lean on, trust and they can communicate with and trust his experience. So I think what they have right now is great. It doesn't matter. I'm staying healthy one and continue to play together. What advice would you give for Beckton because he's a young guy. Interesting point in his career where he said, listen, I'm listening to what the critics are saying right now, and that's

gonna add fuel to my fire. I'm always the thinking of, Hey, whatever your motivation is, it don't matter. Just get out there and do the best you can. Write. Yeah, I'm a fan of having a pistol off football player that big. Seriously, I mean I just walked out there. I didn't realize my first time seeing him with my own eyes. Um, obviously I've watched him play, um, but physically, I mean, he's that's John, that's Johnathan often type size, like that's

generational type of heightened size. So um, I think you just can't. I think sometimes as analysts or people who cover football cover a team, we like to rush a guy's maturation period. Necessarily, it doesn't mean it's happening. Like we expect guys from the bottom from the neck down to be key Man's in all world. Right, Well, the kid is still young, he's still growing, believe it or not, right, and then from the neck up he still has levels

to grow mature. So I'm I'm a fan of investing in a guy as long as he's willing to invest in himself and if you continue to have that type of relationship, like I'm not giving up on you. I don't care what injuries you have, I don't care what the media says, I don't care what's going on around you. Just know. And this is me if I was an office line coach, if I was coach Salah, I'm with you, Like ignore everything, because right now it's all about your

maturation and you're developing. Like he understands that he's a high draft pick. He understands that he's he was built, he was brought here to be kind of uh franchise staple or a key factor for this organization. But you still can't rush his maturation period. He is who he

is and you have to develop him. You still have to keep his confidence high, and you still have to understand like everything you want to train change about yourself from the neck up and the neck down is in your You have the ability to do so, but you gotta be committed to that. So I'm I'm a fan of him. I like him, um part of me when I see him. I know he trains with a good guy out in Texas, Duke Maryweather, who's a big officer

line google guy. Um, so he's in good hands. In the offseason, I would love to work with him and talk to him. Um. Yeah, because you don't have enough time.

I don't have enough time. But I I'm a fan of office in line player, not just because I'm a former officer a linement, because I just know a lot of times the details is not necessarily from the neck down is from the neck up, just seeing how the guy understand the guy's perspective, how he understands what he's doing out there, what he's seeing, and then being able to slow a guy's mind down because so much time.

And you know, one thing I loved about Nick Nick actually died at our communication because he was just so into him with the offense. So we we understood what he was talking about, how he went about his job. So a lot of times when we walked up to the line, he would make a call making and we

were just were bombed all the same accord. Well you don't have Nick, man goes not out there, right, And so how do you now and and it is not no shot acono mc government, But how do you now talk to guys who one all learned differently, all come from different walks of lives and and and taking knowledge and understand things differently. How do you get them on the same accords by taking them individually and seeing what they're seeing so you can make those directions and and um, yeah,

that's just just my that's just my. Would you be interested getting in coaching down the line? Man? My wife talks to me about that because I'm a ball haug man. I just love being around the game. I don't know, Um, what kind of feelings do you get when you just rolled the facility. When I walked in, the first thing I looked for was the was the cafeteria. That's what I was hungry. Uh No, I don't know. I love the game, man, and I love it for me, It's

just a matter of you know, what role would I play? Um? I love the day to day just working with guys. You know, I'm from the old school. I'm I'm I'm used to being on the field. You know, back in the day. People don't remember. You know, we were We were in the building by before St. Patty's Day, and you were on the field doing lineman drills, and you were working technique, and you were doing you working flexibility, you're working angles, you're working. You were doing so much.

When you got to me, it felt like you went through a season. You know, you had went through so much, but yet it just made your level of play execution so much better because you just you were just a part of it every day. Um, these guys are not on the field as much as they used to be, and I think the game reflects that UM and the office line players up and down. The guys who actually think play better. UM more guys who just are able to play longer just because they have the time and

the reps. And to be to do anything, you have to have a lot of reps. But particularly the offseason, it matters for office a linement because you gotta slow you gotta slow the brain down, and the brain has to match what you're trying to do physically. That's so that's where I was gonna ask you, is offensive line

play It's not what it used to be. But from your perspective as a group, is it harder to have consistency across the board now more than ever, just from a communication standpoint and what guys are seeing at the same time, and how the commune he came out there, and how they're rolling off the ball. And you know, I was fortunate to play with a great officer one coach of Sean Coogler, because with the Arizona Cardinals right now, I'm one of his things. He used to say, I

don't want you guys thinking on Sunday. It's my job to get you to understand what you need to do for us. Sunday, but one Sunday, I just want you to be flying around, jumping out of your cleats. When you when you understand your your assignment and you understand the why and what you're trying to do, it's all that flow out of you naturally, and that's when your natural born talent is going to come out. And so

that's what the goal as for me. I think every officer line coaches, how do I get this guy's natural talent to show every Sunday on top of what I need him to do every play and for him to execute at a high level. And if if I'm able to get guys to do that and perform and and have fun and smile, jump around and embrace the intimacy of being an office alignement, man, that's that's good football. I love it. Coach t Mike Tomlins in Pittsburgh, Dude,

he has never had a losing season. Sure, what are the keys to consistency in this National Football League where you have that kind of sustained success? Because if you're a Jets fan right now, you're saying, we haven't been in the playoffs in eleven seasons, but things are starting to look good on the rising, we're starting to see things come together. How do you get to a point where it becomes consistent. Well, I think the first thing I always take away from my years with the Steelers

was every guy was willing to compete each and every day. Um. And I'm not just saying that to be cliche, but it's true. And I tried when I got to the Jets, I try to get rexted kind of implement some of this even is it. Um was one of the I think the secret sauce was we never turned off the ability to compete. Meaning when we stepped in the locker room, we had a connect for table over here, we had a shuffleboard. It was we used to have tape on the floor and we just have like a makeshift basketball

on the other side. You would see guys playing chess. Me give a moment. You saw guys competing, just going this, just playing something, doing something. Their mind frame was always in the mindset of competing. And then we had a back room guys who played cards or whatever. But we never stopped competing. So for us to go on the field and turn that on, it was just always on. It never was off, And so that was kind of the thread and makeup of my years of Pittsburgh. We

never stopped competing. Even when we weren't in cleats, there was always some type of form competition. When it was silly and minute and kind of kiddish, we were still doing something. Even in the weight room who could lift. It was always something going on. And that just land for a culture of just we're always going to compete no matter what we did. And to fast forward. I everybody was extremely selfless. Nobody ran away from the challenge, whether whether it was a guy by the name of

Ike Taylor going against Terrell Owners or Chato Sinkle. He never worked from right away from that challenge. That same thing when we did Rail Reeves was here and young young Reevers. He never he embraced it. Actually he called for it. And so when you have those type of guys in the locker room and it's spread throughout the locker room, when you say, hey, man, you know you know a B T. Youve got Aaron Donald's just all right, let's go, coach, let's go. Look all right, let's go.

Those are the guys you need the locker room. Who you know this is? It is the conversation. There's guys who run into the building when the buildings on fire. And these guys who run away. I played with a lot of guys who are running into the building without their helmet, you know what I mean. They were just like they were just whatever the challenge, wherever the fire, whatever the smoke was, they were running to it. And that's and that and that's just a sense of urgency

you have to breed. And I think with this team, Um, coach sale Um, I know his pedigreen, I know Joe d and how he rolls. Um. They're looking for those they're looking for those guys are running into the fire. You know, Salad's got a basketball hoop inside the auditorium right now. Really good competition periods. Let's break some time. Get somebody up here. One of your position groups, whether

it's offensive defense, you can't turn it off. It's hard, man, because this game is fast, it's rough, as tough as brutal. Has a good lot of good, it has a lot of bad. But to be what you want to be, especially during the office, we're trying to train and you know, be this ultimate war you want to win at the end of the day. Bottom line, when they talk about

winning doesn't matter. You know, you have guys that go all over the country, all over the world, and they're doing so many things to their body that taking all these supplements, they're trying to be the best athlete they can be. It doesn't matter. I play guys who look like you know, I play with guys who were built like a bag of laundry. But they kicked the tail

on Sunday and they won. You know, so at the end of the day, it's about winning and and it starts and it starts with you to individ you knowing your job and they do your job, and also going out there flying around and having fun. What's that Wilson's next step? We saw last year ups and downs. Rookie quarterbacks are gonna endure those no matter where you are at uh down the stretch, protected the football, really good athleticism.

The guys talk about his a lad arm talent. I thought he took strides in the offseason just getting together with the guys, and I think that's got to resonate with you. The nationwide tour, going out throwing to Corey Davis and Nashville, going down to Florida with Burials, getting the guys together in Arizona and then finally in July. Even a couple of weeks before training can't throughout Idaho. But what's going on from your perspective? What do you

want to see from him? You know, from me, I'm I'm I'm a pseudo golfer now, right, and one other problems I have. I look amazing in the driving range. Right. I can hit all every ball I want to hit with any iron I want to hit. But when I get on the course, I'm got off at times, and it's baffling, right, like why can't I turn? Why can't I transition? And I see Zach Wilson in the same way.

It's easy to get the guys together, throw the ball, having camaraderie, look great, look apart, But what is game time? That's what all that matters. So for me, I'm not surprised about the arm talent, which, by the way, is I hate that saying because your quarterback you should have. Um. I know he's athletic, I know he can do anything he ever. I can know he can do anything and everything he wants to do with the football in the field.

But for me, there's four or five, there's through the four five and it's in the game where you gotta be you gotta be it and that wins you the game. I need, I need. I need to see him be that guy knows four minutes and it's not all on him. Defense has played with all office. Line has to pet protect, one of the backs, have to show up from receivers have to be great. Um. But there's there's there's there's

pivotal points in the game. I just want to see him be the guy that they drafted him to be because I everything that you just said, I know you could do that, and I think it's I don't even I don't even think about that. But great quarterbacks you look at the Joe Burrows, the Herbert There's there's pivotal points in the game where they just they just refused to lose and they make the right throws and they make it happen. I just need to be that guy.

And that's what I wanted to ask you. What changes for you when you see a guy as a teammate from your perspective, when you see a guy thrive in those situations, Well, like like while we started, it's a matter of maturation. He's maturing the game slowing down for him, um, not pressing, you know, And sometimes that happens when you feel like, well, if nobody else is gonna do it, I gotta do it. Big part of being a football player, especially when you play at a high level, is trusting

the guys around you. Know you, no, no one guy wins the game, no one guy loses the game. Um. And he has to understand. And that's tough because he's he was brought hair to be the difference. He's brought to be the future. So when things get hot and heavy, you you want to automatically respond to it, but you learn that after a while. You gotta trust the guys around you to do their job, and you do your

job and they do their job. Magic happens because on paper, the Jets should be in those positions right where we're seeing them more in close games this year. I don't care who they're playing, whether it's Baltimore in Week one, whether it's Cleveland week too well to see it, Deshaun Watson's out there, whether it's Cincinnati coming back here in week three, and I can go on and on. You gotta go to Pittsburgh in Week four. But but if you look at the talent assembled on paper. The Jets

roster is sweet, is not efficient in a lot of areas. Yeah, I don't. I don't really pay attention to who's on the roster. I pay attention to who has the will to win, who's gonna compete, because the hardest thing to do football is to compete, and the compete and match the intensity of your opponent all four quarters, you know what I mean, Like everybody comes up the locker room spitting, fighting, swinging, flying around. First quarter, second quarter, maybe have it halftime,

We'll see third quarter. You know, four quarter? Do you still have it and intend to go in and put your foot in the middle of the ring and bang it out. Good teams played quarterback quarter and they know how to just out of halftime and they know how to stay, keep that intensity, keep that fight in the second half. This team is gonna have to learn that. And we got allowed them to learn that right that the media we were just like, oh, I mean it was so good in the first half and the second Well,

they're learning how to win. But you only learn how to win is by learning how to lose. Going back and say hey, this is where this is where we messed up at This is what we gotta do better. This is remember this moment. We gotta have that. You learned that along the way, and so we got allowed this team to do that, and but also understanding like, hey, you don't have a lot of time in this league. I learned that when I retire is proud of it. It's stoney, it's it's proud of I'm extremely proud of

my career. It's not a lot of time. You don't have a lot of time. So you did. The urgency to win has to be every Sunday. You know what, You still don't have a lot of time to You can be jumping on serious right now taping some interviews. We're going to continue to be watching you. So happy about the success you've had post career, not only not only career wise, but family wise, your baby. Thanks so much, Willie, it was great seeing you. Final prediction, Uh, Yankees gonna

bring it home this year. I'm I'm I hope so man, it makes it's great business for me when they win in Man at the Bars two minutes away from the stadium. You got to State at the Bar two morning. Many post even though we got some pre impost here but we we should we should n Yeah, but I'm here. Come by the bar sixty five Broken Boulevard, Brooks and Hopps. I'm there, Um, catch me every morning at six nine am Monday through Friday. Matt Dog Sports morning man, having

a great time with my car. We'll be there. Yeah, I'll bough you a beer. But you're doing a great YEA. Great to see you, but thanks