EA Podcast: Episode 25 with Bart Scott

list goes on. And you can talk about Buddy Ryan, former Jets defensive assistant who was on we View Bank staff as the Green and White captures the Super Bowl Championship back in ninety following the sixty eight season January twelve, nineteen sixty nine, down at the Orange Bowl in Miami. But I just hope we've done for a while. I hope, I hope we just seems to be our year and that's what we're done for the next years. Man. It's

it's been a tough, tough couple of weeks. You know, it brings your faith to face with your immortality, because at any point that could be any of us brain aneurhythm. Really no predictor of how that happened, why it happened Joe McKnight, tragic road rage incident, that could be any of us. You know, it makes you really appreciate the day. I appreciate the ones you love, UM, put them a little closer, tell him you love him, you know, because

you just never know. Man. I know it sounds cliche, sounds like you know your parents, but it's just crazy out here right now. Now you say it's crazy out here right now with what happened to Joe, what was your immediate reaction? And also we gotta get into that you just got back from Louisiana. Now you stopped doing something out on the West coast with your financial literacy program, and we know that, but you were in Louisiana, so you talked to Joe his family and you were there

as well everyone late Joe the Russ. I just wanted to make sure that he had the proper representation as a lot of his teammates or guys that he played with are still playing in the league. You know. I just want to make sure, you know, as one of the leaders when I was here, that I continue to be a leader all the way to the end to

was final resting place for my teammate. Um, so I was able to you know me the Brickershaw Ferguson, Antonio Crimarti, Willie Cologne who already believed played with Joe but but showed his respects. And it was one of the Paul Bears, Lyndale White Um and Mark Sanchez. Mark Um caught up playing stayed after the Sunday night game with the Giant. You know that just showed you what type of leader. Not only was he his quarterback in college, he was his quarterback in the pros as well. And that's what

it is. It's a brotherhood and you know so many of its only a select few of us that's fortunate enough to make it to this level. Um. And like I said about comrade, you know, the beautiful thing about being a teammate is that you have to leave yourself completely vulnerable. And not a lot of people get to see us totally vulnerable. You know, my mother has never seen maybe my mother saw me vulnerable, My sisters never saw me a vulnerable. A lot of my friends never

saw me a hundred percent vulnerable. But my teammates have all saw me vulnerable. They saw me um uh emotionally vulnerable, physically vulnerable, pushing through trying to mentally, you know, tell the body to do with the body with the mind is telling you they can't do. And your teammates are the ones that that are they're that can help pull

you through. And because it's such a small fraternity, it's only so many of us that can understand the pressure of the stress and all the things that come along with trying to achieve your dream. That's why we're so heavily connected. That's why the bond is so strong. Because what could be my new to other people, it's significant to us. And if you try and explain it to people that's not daring to be greater, trying to achieve their dream, that childhood dream, they won't understand it. So

you don't try to explain it. But we can look at each other and see how each other feeling. We can kind of know what's going through each other's mind because we've all been there at some particular time, you know, in the best place. The greatest example of that his training camp, because you stripped down mentally and physically, and you know you have to lean on your guys when you don't have it for them to bring something enough

for themselves and something for you too. With all that being said, that Joe had this childlike exuberance to him and within the building he seemed to always have a smile on his face. He was very well liked by his teammates. You just talked about how you were a

Paul Bear at his funeral. The pressures these guys and you were part of the deal here, uh undergo each and every day sometimes can be enormous, and don't you think early in his career, Joe, on one hand, he was so comfortable with being out of the spotlight, but the spotlight he because of his pedigree. He was one of the um most highly recruited number one player in the high school in the country. And then he replaced the legend at US Reggie Bush, and you know, come

here with the expectations replacing Leon Washington. Let Leon Washington walked because you know, they brought him in. And you know, early on, I think he struggled a little bit with the expectations, as all young players do, trying to make the adjudgment from the from the college ranks to the pros is a tough situation, you know, and learning how to take care of your body, learning how to be a professional. But he was learning at all while balloting

depression from you know, uh Katrina. And you know he was a young child, a young kid, I believe in high school in Katrina happened in New Orleans and he was displaced, and I think he was on the roof for a long time, you know, and he was champion everything that had God got in front of him. He had he had beat even to still walking around with a smile on his face. And you know, that's what

I'm gonna remember most. I'm gonna remember him coming over my house, you know, rolling my side by side and not telling me and me saying, man, asked my kids what happened? Oh uncle Joe rolled over the road the road to Canada over road in the side of the house, you know. And you know him going with many bikes and kind of hanging out, jumping in the pool with his son Jaden, you know, his girlfriend at the time, Michelle, coming over hanging my wife barbecuing. You know, he was

always there to be a help. You know. He's one of those guys that if you're having something. He was there early to help you set up, you know, always consider that what you may need and and always trying to do his part. Now you have so many relationships within the National Football League, the media world, just your everyday world of people that you will come in contact

with that you have tons of friends. How much have you were able how much were you able to keep up with you over the years, because obviously a different stops along the way in his football career. The latest stop was in the Canadian football and I knew he was going to kind of we had communicated via social media. Um, I was fully aware Joe was, you know, champion things, and I was continued to try and be that mentor.

And you know that some things, when you have friends, you have to let them process it themselves, you know. I told him what he had to do, had to be more of a professional who had to understand that, you know, he could get another opportunity, but he understood at this time he was going to have to earn it and it was gonna be harder than it was the first time, because once you're out, it's harder to get back in. But he was making all the necessary steps.

He was he had a tremendous year early on in Kansas City before he blew us Achilles out and that kind of set him back, you know, because he went there to replace Dexter mc cluster, and um, he was doing a great job. And he actually heard himself think he was on a long run, which is unfortunate. Um, but you know, always was in contact. And we have another buddy that we used to go on vacations, Like me and Joe weren't just like come over the house.

We went on vacations by ourselves together, just me and him, you know, and the fellas and and and you know, not just me and him and only football players there. So it wasn't one of those relationships where we were just here friends. We're friends like for real, like no matter where he went, like, we're that friendship and that Bob would never have been broken. Just Nation wants to know, and you can tell us us right now. How is his family doing? How are his love I mean, he

was a beacon of life for them, you know. He his sister played college ball, his brother played college ball. Um, his mother's deep in her faith. Um, the family was there. They rallied, They made sure that it was a celebration of his life, not a funeral. You know. They had the band, which is traditional UM in New Orleans. I forgot what they call it, half line, that's what they

call it. And they have the toolers and people were playing when the Saints come marshal And and you know, I think that he had maybe twenty different clergymen that showed up, you know, because he was you know, he was the guy. He was the guy that opened the door for Tyrone Matthews, Leonard Fournette, UM, a lot of the young guys that went to l s U. Even a guy like Anthony Johnson, who's a defensive lignement here, who's the Jets signed off of the Patriots practice squad.

He wants to l s U. Played in the defensive line. He said, this guy was the dude down everybody wanted to be like Joe. He was a guy that that told the recruiters that hey, it's talent down here, something brewing down here. And he opened the door for those guys. You know. Tyrone Matthews said the same thing when when I heard some of his remarks about Joe, that people wanted in Louis I don't wanted to be like him. You know, they weren't trying to be like anybody else.

They were trying to be like you know, Joe Munited. And that's just a testament, you know, to him as a football player, but him as a person too. Does it get you mad? Uh? Not? That not just that we lost somebody, because we're gonna talk about Conrad here in a second, But the way it went down. We don't have all the deep ells. And you probably have a lot more than I do because you were just

down there and you've spoken to some people. It's just like, no matter no matter what the circumstances is behind it, we have to ask ourselves, what's the value of a man's life? Is it worth? If it is a man's life worth your pride being hurt because of an argument or somebody saying something insulting to you or something derogatory, is that? Is that? Is that polishable by death? Right? Like I mean, we have more empathy with the rules of engagement in war than we do for each other.

And we're supposed to be fellow Americans. We're supposed to be better than that. We're supposed to be bigger than that, because at the end of the day, if that that man that that pulled the trigger had to could have sat there and hurt the cry and the yell of his son, It's eight year old son. I think he would have thought twice before he pulled that trigger for something. So my new, Um, you have to realize that when you decide to pull the trigger, you decided to take

a man's life, that it has a ripple effect. Then it just not affected his life in your life, but affects the ones that he loves and effects the ones that love you with How do you defend that? How do you defend that? How do you justify that? I mean, what's the value of a man's life? Yeah, it's a cliche quick trigger, but it just seems unbelievable to me that if this really stemmed from something on the road, Uh you first time each other, you cannot connect any

dots and say this is an unresult. This is where you get an unresult out of this? And then I know most authorities, no doubt about it, Like in any walk of life. I believe that you know, the enforcement officials are going to try to help citizens, just like in any walk of life. Uh that I believe most people are good with that being said, it's tough. I know it was tough those first few days with people wondering this gut the y and also this guy was

on the streets for a couple of days. I know the police chief down there got really upset and things like that. But you know, in the fact that this isn't his first incident, that he's supposed to had two other incidents, you know, and the fact that you know, we were so lenient with being able to give people licenses and allow them to get guns, not knowing, you know, truly what their mental capability is, and not knowing that when you get somebody a gun, you give them power

to take a life. And you know, that's a powerful responsibility and not everybody deserves that. And that's why I'm not a fan of you know, carry carry states, because what happens is you do something impulsive and heat at a moment that you can't take back, and you act impulsively.

Because if he didn't have a gun, he would have just probably or whatever the situation is, maybe insurance would have been would have been exchanged, maybe a fisticuff, or maybe somebody would have took somebody license plate down and called the police on right. That's very that's relatively minor. That's what that situation warranted, not somebody putting the gun out and shoot somebody over a material thing when I'm sure both of them had car instruments. Things could be

fixed and replaced. If you take a man of life, you can't you can't give it back. Yeah, this is not a political podcast. It's just upsetting for anybody, whether you're a member of that or a or you're against guns or anything like that. Just upsetting the violent crime we have in an industrialized sized society like the United States, when you look at the other numbers throughout the world.

And I'm not even trying to make it a racial with him, because you look at Will Smith in the same city losing his life because a guy got upset, got a heated argument with him. Whether it was a fender banner he pulled off or not. He had to do was right down his license plate and and and sure you would have got your you, you would have got your justice. But you know, when you decide to confront somebody and guns are pulled, you know, people lives

were taken. And at the end of the day, and then it's then and no thought was Will Smith like worth taking no matter if he was wrong or not. You know, it's not worth that. No a material car or then on a car. Derogatory terms shouldn't be punishable by death. Yeah, listen, our prayers, our thoughts are well. Wishes are with the Joe McKnight's family. And and yeah, and you mentioned Conrad, So um, just guy has a late November out of nowhere from I haven't been following

too much. I know he played with the Ravens last year, but yeah, but late November brain aneurism, and I guess he struggled with that for weeks and he loses his life nine years old? What do you what can you tell us about Conrad sharing a locker room once? I was always messed with him. I don't know really what his nationality, looked like a surfer but but yeah, but because his hair was like that, he had that that

that blond that Rick Flair blind in hair. So I always made fun of him, you know, checking him and stuff in practice, talking trash. He wasn't watching a talker, but it was fun. You know, he was a competitor, you know, like I said, what makes you know? Being teammates so special is when you're physically vulnerable and emotionally vulnerable, you find out what people are made of it. He

was very prideful, you know. He was always trying to make a play and you know, eventually started giving it back. And it was fun, fun to be around because of course we always want to get to each other in practice, whether it was blocking or coverage, you know, and unfortunate man, it's just it's just tough because his family, he overcame so much, you know, great education at Stanford, come here trying to you know, solidify his place in the NFL, find a place to you know, call home, and battling.

And this is something that you can't see. This is almost like somebody you know dying from a blood clocks. It could happen to any of us, you know. He just never would expect that. This guy's, like you said, six five to fifty. Guy looked like a model coming out of the store. Actual, I always tell my do my taxes because he's from Stafford. You know something, he's too smart to play. What do you think about you did?

He just get he gets laster. People always take me to Grain, so I they understand and you know, if if I'm making funny, if I'm message that's because I like you. I don't say nothing to you, don't acknowledge you. Then then then you should be concerned. I mean, I don't mess with you. You mentioned Mark Sanchez before. He's just spent some time with Mark. How is Mark doing? He went to Mission V a whole high school with

Conrad Bruin. He played here with They played basketball to get they were on the same, you know, youth basketball team. He went and saw him before he passed childhood friends. And then I like you mentioned Joe McKnight was a teammate of his, and and so how how it is marked on him. He's taking it tough, you know. Um, But he's recently just had his first child. So I'm excited about that. And I told him welcome to fatherhood. That's a special thing, um, And I know he's excited

about that. So that's a good thing. But it's tough for him on a peron from the level because you know, he had a far more intimate relationship with Conrad than than than I had. UM, And it's just tough because he's losing people that It always makes you face to face with your your own immortality or your own mortality, you know, knowing that you know, people think that they see us on TV they were instructible, but you know, the same things that we that happens to the general

public happens to us as well. Do you feel fortunate, though, that you've established such a brotherhood with not just this franchise here and and people who were your teammates and things like that, but down in Baltimore, do you feel fortunate that you have such tight bonds with people? Like people are asking me the other day, They're like, oh, I didn't realize part New Conrad, And I'm like, yeah, they were teammates, but people don't realize the extent because

you're you really like to reach out to people. Yeah, I mean I always always make it my business. I mean I just did a financial literacy program at San Francisco for those guys. Got my phone numbers. They all me and they're looking for advice because I represent what they want to become, what they feel like they can accomplish. You know, they were, you know, younger guys early in

their career trying to find their way. I walk that path and maybe they can lean on me and figure some things out, you know, and I look at it as any time my my my path crosses with somebody else's because God ordained it to happen. So I never disrespect the process. And I'm always willing to be a vessel to help. You know, if you're willing to help yourself,

I'm willing to help. And you know, that's just how I was raised, That's how I've always been and by that way to buy product of that as you get some strong bonds and some strong relationships, you know, Jamale McClain, uh Adelias Thomas, you know ed Reid um Edgar Jones, you know Ray Rice, um T Sizzle. Of course, you know these guys like that, I can call it in the pinch, you know, it's it's not you know, it just one of those things. You can go David Harris, Calvin,

the Brinkershaw, Ferguson, you can go Brandon more. These are guys that you know, we still spend time with each other. You know, a bunch of those guys just came at heartwell, just came from Atlanta to my wife's birthday party. You know, Brandon Moore was there as well. So you know, you get support and you you get back what you what you put out. And I think when people are around me and they get past the barbado or the loud words,

they understand that's a genuine person behind there. And UM, I'll do anything for a teammate and it's not you know, if Conrad you know the same thing I just did for Joe, and try to support and help as much as I can if conrade family needs that right there for him to Yeah. So again, prayers go out to Joe's family and Conrad's family. Is they try to move on, I don't think you're ever the same. We've We've lost loved ones. Both of us have fed things that happened.

People close to us have gone, and I don't think when you lose somebody, yep, And all we can do is try to remember and an honor honor their memory with our life and the way we do. We choose to live our life. That's well said. Um it feels rather trivial, But I want to talk about the current team real quick. Do you like the way uh the Jets responded in San Francisco. I know it's a one on eleven team. I know people at home are saying, I mean you know, we want to draft pick all

this other stuff part. But they could have packed it in a fourteen nothing because those first five minutes look like here we go. It looked like an extension of the Indianapolis Gamp. They didn't have to respond. They could have blamed it on travel um, short week, you know, tired legs from Monday night. Whatever they wanted to say, you know, but they decided to say, you know what, we're gonna we can do something about it. Let's do it,

and it's gonna start one play at a time. And I've been part of a six and ten, you know, Ravens team. The next year we were we were thirteen and three. Because you know, we learned something about some people that we didn't expect. You don't really know how players gonna respond or react until you put him in the pressure and you put them out there and you say, hey, you know, some guys practiced like crap, like man, this guy can't play. You put him on there. The lights

turn on and they get bigger, they play bigger. Some guys get in front of the lights and they play smaller, you know, and that this is how you find out who's gonna dare to be great. Who can I count on because anybody can be a front runner and play and hustle when when it's something on the line, But when you really have nothing to play for, but playing for pride and respect for the name on the back of the jersey and the name in the front of the jersey, you find out a lot about people. What

can you say about two nine? He's a fan favorite. He was one of your teammates. Guy has been here. I think this is a sixth season already, which is amazing. He'll be almost a seven because I've been retiring four years and he was here two years. Yeah, there's probably a six going on the seventh. You know, he's starting to look like the film that I saw in Louisville. You know Louisville, he played a lot faster than he played his first couple of years, I think because he

was trying to figure it out. But I think now he's confident in what he's doing. Confident is a billy of these and you see him playing so much faster and making plays. He's always been tremendous and and and being a past protectors, which is as a tough job that nobody wants to do and nobody does in college anymore, which is skill said that a lot of people don't sign up for, but he does it. He's a he's

not just a willing. He's a great you know, um um blitch pickup guy, you know, Chipper, and he makes he makes big plays. He makes big plays. And we've had a couple of guys like that. They come in and spots and make big players, whether it's Leon Washington rathers Brad you know, Brad Smith, Rother was Joe McKnight.

We had guys that come in like that. And he's moving into that round where he comes in and he leaves an imprint in the game no matter how many plays he gets underrated explosion guy everage is more than five yards per carry. And also he's got forty two receptions, so that means he's the third leading receiver on this team, fifth amongst running backs in the a f C in terms of receptions. So it just seems to me anytime you get Balpa football, good things are gonna happen. Hocky.

He's not a self promotor, you know. Then that's why because he doesn't bang his on That's what I wanted to ask you is that you love him as a teammate. He is just like, hey, whenever they call my number, I just want to be ready for my guys. He's quiet man. He steps up, he walks quiet, but he cares a big stay. What do you think about Petty? For Petty makes his second career start against San Francisco.

He has his ups and downs. Jets Uh couldn't manufacture too much offense early, but when the game's on the line, he makes a few plays and they went to boating teachable moments and that's all I can say. You look at the family who at teachable moments. He wasn't reluctant to pull the trigger. That was a good thing. Could be a bad thing, but in the sense it was

a good thing because he made plays. I love his toughness on the two point conversion play, running through a tackle, not being denied, run through a pretty good defender, and also you know, doing whatever he had to do to get in zone to get the points. Um, are you encouraged by what you're seeing some of these young guys Austin Severian Jenkins. We did a film breakdown on him today and that will be up on New York just dot Com throughout the week, so you can check that

out here. Here's here's a big tight on Robby Anderson continues to thrive. He's probably Petty's number one target right now. Yards reception against San Francisco. Guy like Brandon Shell might stop in and play right tackle Brno Jackoman. He's on I R. Brent quality. One down. You might see a guy who's your fifth round pick, Brandon Shell start this week on the other side of the ball. Um Todd bol said this week that he thought Darrenly was a

little too hype early in the game. He took took him out of the game and put him back in and he said, hey, listen, you're gonna learn from it. Jordan Jenkins, a ricky outside linebacker from UH Georgia, came up with this first career half sack. He made some plays out there. Um, you're seeing him set the edge more. He's having some teachable moments out there. I'm not saying it's all perfect, but we all do. Is not about that. See, a veteran is a veteran nine because he hasn't made

the mistakes. He's a veteran because he's made all the mistakes and he's learned from him, and you can get those mistakes and practice, you can get him in the game. But as long as you learn from it and promise that yourself that you're not gonna make the same mistakes, you're gonna have growth. And I'm really excited to see um Justin Burrs again this week because he played well against the forty nine or fourth round pick out. I see state was used primarily on special teams earlier this year.

Big physical, stout guy. That's not what you know. That's not why you usually see how the cornerbacks first coming out. But he's got a nice billing on him. I like the way place you can tell you what Singletary told me a long time ago. Greatness comes in every shape and size for every hall of fame, and is tall and physical specimen, so you're equally small one. I really want to talk about Sam Mills, Singletary, You want to talk about gods like that, Barry Sanders, guys that wasn't prototypical.

I can show you a big Jim Brown, O j Simpsons. Greatness comes in every shape and size. And finally, last time, Matt Moore made a start at My Life Stadium against the Jets was two thousand and eleven. You were on that team, six win. You shut him down. Uh. Darrell Reeves had two interceptions, including a hundred yard returned for a touchdown, and on that play, Old number fifty seven was actually rushing the passer passes slash tighten, slash whatever.

And then after Darrell made the interception, he was in coverage on Brandon Marshall there ironically, UH number five seven went looking for whom Richie incognito arch nemesis, trying to find him wherever he is. The Rams are trying to find him, Buffalo trying to find him. Yeah, somebody's got guys and just rubbed their own way. I respect him as a football player, didn't respect some of the things that he did. Since now his second chance, I've seeing that he's matured a lot, So maybe I give him

a second chance. I won't swing on one, but he's here. Were there any other guys other than Richie that you can considered your archonomsis? Because high Ward everybody knew him, man high Ward. That was really the two, right, Those are the two I had pointing peace with playing people. But those two were definitely going on. But that's part Scott. We're out