Welcome into the Official Chess Podcast. Dangling a stake in front of the lion and you ain't got no cage in between you.
He don't get to that state.
So let's cool inside the matchup.
Motivated Aaron Rodgers? Is it dangerous? Aaron Rodgers?
Game Day and every day? Score a jewelry touchdown with Kendra Scott. Shot Fashion and find jewelry fit for another winning season at your local store or at Kendrascott dot com. Shine Bright, Do good with Kendra Scott. Mister mango, let's start here. How much are you enjoying coaching at the high school level.
I'm loving it.
That's exactly what I thought, what I expected, football wise, but the amount of fun I'm having is so much more than I expected.
What has changed and what remains the same as far as football is concerned. That you're coaching now compared to when you were in high school.
Oh hey, film, Like we didn't have film in high school, and so now we have sideline, we have end zone, we have drone footage, We're able to watch everything from practice. So like that blows my mind for these high school kids that they have all this information available to them. But it's still x as and knows and you know, still got to get the job done. So but it's great kids, and that makes the job so much easier.
What do you like most about it? You love playing and you love being in the room. But now as a coach, what do you like the most about it?
I love the teaching aspect of it, you know, being able to spread the joy of football and the knowledge of it and understanding the game not just what to do, but why to do. And I think that's a big proponent of it. And you know, it's just it's it's a lot of fun. And I was very fortunate having some great coaches in high school who helped me along not only football but life in general, and so be able to get back in that same hopefully role for
some of these kids. You know, it's a lot of fun too, and so it's just been it's been great experience. It's nerve wracking, yeah, because more than it is a play, yeah yeah, Okay, explaining as a player, you have final control over whether you win. A player you don't win a play, you're still in a team aspect, and it takes all eleven guys, but for your yourself personally, you have control whether or not you win. As a coach, you can lead the horse to water, but you can't
make him drink the water. So you have to hope that everything that you've taught and you're drilled and done and hopefully repped multiple times sinks in and they win the play.
But ultimately they have to do it. You can't do it.
I find it so interesting that you're doing this now. Do you have more of a passion for coaching than he did playing or is it just a different passion.
Love is the same, Love is the same. It's a different passion.
I love playing there was obviously one of the greatest things I've ever done, probably other than my kids. But the coaching, like the passion of it, the exact and of it, is a lot of fun.
All right.
So a lot of our viewers and a lot of people are listening right now official Jets podcasts, tuning in and listening because they want to know about the Jets. I just want to speak about your relationship with the organization and how much it is meant to you over the years.
Yeah, I mean, obviously drafted here in two thousand and six, and you know, coming right out of college, moving to Strong Island when we were still at Hofstra and then making transition over to New Jersey and settling here and being a part of this team. As you know, we've made growner roots deeper and deeper here in the Flora Park area. And so it's it's been something being able to finish out my career here. I only playing for one team is something really special to me. It's a
great team to be a part of. This fan base is as passionate as they come. You know, loyal is all get out and you know, dying for a winner, and you know that's something been striving since two thousand and six to hopefully, you know, bring home to to here in New York is that winner that everyone wants and deserves.
Dying for a winner.
That's a great transition.
Right down.
The Jets are three and seven after this year with so many expectations. You know, you live down the street, you were here throughout the summer, You're helping us on the content side throughout the year. How much do you empathize with the fan right now because of what's actually transpired and also with that being said, what kind of message would you have for the guys in the room right now, because there's still seven games remaining in the year.
You play seventeen games, their season is not over.
Yeah, And I think so it's the duality of football where you have the fan side, the fanatics, the people that love this game live and breathe it, you know, week in and week out, and you know, with the expectations that were set at the beginning of the season, you know, through the spring, through the summer, and to be sitting where we are at three and seven as a fan is frustrating and disappointing, and you have such
high hopes of where we were going. But then at the same time, as a player, you know you're still in the fight. It's not over by any means. And we had this in two thousand and nine. I want to say, you know, Rex count us out of the playoffs.
Yes, infinitely. Yeah, So that well, there it goes.
You know, that's the seasons it was like, oh, Rex, actually we're not mathematically eliminated.
We could still make it. Lo be hold, we still made it.
And so that's just that's one of the funny things, like it's not over until the math says it's over. And so the guys in the room right now, they're fighting, you know, and this is part of their struggle because.
They want a winner.
Maybe not so much the same reasons that fans as Jets fans, but they want to winter because it's a business. They want to do their job. They want to do their job to the best of their ability. And so
you're playing for twofold. You're playing for the name on the front of the jersey obviously, so you can get the awards and the accolations and everything, but you're also playing for the name on the backyard jersey, right and you know, whether you're here next year or you're somewhere else, someone's gonna turn on the film and be like, hey, listen, you were in dire streets at three and seven. What did you do and did you play to the best of your ability or did you fold up and call
it quits? Because if you folded up call it quits, we're not going to give you another job. So I think that's the tough part is that you know the players are are fighting tooth and nail to get the job done, and you know, unfortunately, you know, sometimes it doesn't work out the best way, and you know, that's where you end up at three and seven, where the fans are like, well it's all doom and gloom.
You know, they're not even trying, and like, that's just not the case, that's right.
And I was talking to Bart about this the other day when we taped our first podcast this week, and he said that guys can press in terms of they want to do so much that maybe they're taking on a different role or responsibility as opposed to maybe just handling them what they have to And can you speak to that is the guy who's to pivot for so long that you need eleven on.
The same page.
Yeah, you need eleven on the same page. And I think the big thing is when you guys try to do too much, they lose sight of the job that they're supposed to do by themselves. And you know, and it really comes down to, you know, the guys that are working closely next year. So you know, maybe a left guard it's like, hey, listen, I need to help out my left tackle more than I think I do.
And so now he's trying to his mind, he's thinking about, hey, let me help the left tackle, and all of a sudden, now his plague is diminish because he's now thinking about something else other than just playing left guard.
And you can go down the line.
You can look at the tight end being like, hey, listen, I got to hit this route the right way because you know, I need to be here for the quarterback. But then you know if he's only thinking about the routes, and now he's like, oh, well, but my run blocking has gone down because I'm not thinking about my run blocking. So you start to you know, when you're looking for answers, you know when you're going through a rough spell, and you know, the biggest thing you need to do is
just go back to the fundamentals. Do my job and trust to the guy. Next means going to do his job.
Yeah, and that's not sexy for the fan, and you get that too, because they do want to see ultimately the winner. But this is a process oriented business, right like you have to take care of the process. You have to put one foot before the other. How difficult was it for you? This is a different time. I'm older than you, but you played in a different era. Do you think how difficult was it for you at times to ignore the noise externally, if at all? And
how difficult. Do you think it is for these guys now? And how do you kind of put a force field up?
Yeah, it's got to be crazy difficult now. You know, when I first started, there was no such thing as social media. I think Facebook was still just for college kids, and so like, there was no it wasn't in your face every day. Fantasy football was still there, but not to the level that it is now. There were no dms, you know, and so if you wanted to cut out
the noise, you just didn't buy a newspaper. And now all of a suddenly, I'm good, I'll turn on ESPN and I don't read a newspaper, Like I don't hear any noise. Now, you know, it's twenty four to seven. You know, you have your phone with you at all times. You see it, you know, come across. So it's got to be a struggle. It's got to be very difficult to tune it out. But you know, that's the world we live in. And then that's what you have to do.
Game day and every day. Score a jewelry touchdown with Kendra Scott, shot Fashion and find jewelry fit for another winning season at your local store or Kendriscott dot com shine Bright do good with Kendra Scott talented roster.
We didn't know that, and I think a lot of people probably are tired of talking about the talent. But there are very good players here and we've seen it at times throughout all these games, but for whatever reason, not on a consistent level. So I guess that's the battle right now.
It is and you talk to you know, you listen to Aaron talk about the last I think there's three weeks of practice being you know, some of the greatest weeks of practice that we've had, but it doesn't translate on the field, and you know, that's disappointing, and so then.
You try to figure out why, like why is it not translating?
And that's something that you know, I think really only the players and the coaches can can really diagnose, because the fans don't see that. They don't see what happens Monday and Saturday. They just see what happens on Sunday, and so that's difficult also for the fans to hear like, oh, we had a great week of practice, but then you know, we came out and laid an egg here.
There, and you're like, well, you know, why did you do it?
And so it is difficult, it's frustrating, but it's something that you know, great teams are able to work around.
Do you really consider it in the NFL seventeen one game seasons, meaning that this is completely different than Major League Baseball or hockey or basketball, that you only have seventeen of these and then when you play a game like you did in Arizona where everybody was disappointed with ultimately the execution there, how quickly can you turn the page?
I think that's the great thing of the NFL schedule is that you have to turn the page quickly, otherwise, you know, you're just you go into this death sprile or of like, well, well we could have would have should have? You know, we had that forget which game it was with Rex. We had a terrible game, and we came out and laid an egg and came we came back here and he was that you know, we're sitting in team meeting. He was everybody outside outside and he took the game ball from that game and buried
it in the ground. It was like, we're done with that, We're moving on.
You know.
It's that was a part of my French is shitty, shitty game, but we move on, and that's.
What we did.
That was the debacle at Giletta. I think Jimmy Lantern got hurt on the practice field Friday, and you guys went to the Patriots. I think they buried the.
Ball after that, and then that probably was and then.
Not too long after that, you totally flipped the script there in New England divisional playoffs beating Brady in his building.
So you have you only have so many opportunities, so you have to make the most of them when you get them.
We were talking before. You like Jet's young center, Joe Timm What do you like most and what's his future looking like?
You know, his future looks great, you know, as long as he keeps working and keeps doing well. What I love the most is that he is a hard worker. You know, he's a tallest center at six six, I believe, but he bends well and he can move, and so I think those two things combined.
You know, he's still a young guy, so we're still going to get stronger.
He's still going to get as he starts to learn some of the wild vet moves and everything. I think the opportunity to be able to have Aaron behind him is giving him a great base. You know, I was able to have Chad Pennington behind me to start, and you know, Chad taught me so much about protections and you know, how to see defenses, red defenses. So to have that experience going forward, it will be a great opportunity for him.
So no matter what happens in the future, invaluable experience him working with the Hall of Fame passer behind who's got twenty years experience, who's done everything, is one of the greatest players to ever play.
Yeah, definitely.
And I think you know, you watch Aaron on the sidelines and the way that he works with the guys. You know, he doesn't keep anything, you know, close to his vest. He talked to the guys, and you know, he's a teacher while being a coach and while being a player. Yeah, and I think that's a great thing for a lot of these young guys. You see that
a lot with him and Garrett Wilson. You know, after each play practice they'll sitting back and talk about, all right, what you year, what did you do that he ran there out this way? Or throw it this way? And so I think that's invaluable for these young guys.
You are proud alum of the Ohio State University. What do you what have you make? What have you taken from Garrett's development here from the time he was in c bus to now in his third year in the NFL.
He's doing great, you know, proud, proud Buckeye alumnus to have Garrett here and doing what he's doing. And you know, it's great seeing him, you know, continue to find his way here and keep continuing to get better, which is awesome. You know, he's a fantastic receiver and he's a better person. So that combination, you know, here on the beloved New York Jets is a great thing.
But what do you think about his talents?
What sets him apart?
Right now? I think he's at sixty five receptions and chase with the Bengals at sixty six, so he's right there, and then he's third or fourth and receiving.
Yards right now.
I think he's an act for finding the ball. I mean, you know, he has the ability to go up and find the ball anywhere within that catch radius, and you know, I think that's a big you can't teach that that's just kind of a talent that you have, and so he's got one of the great talents of it.
So if you're down there in the locker room, you know what the situation is, you're three and seven and you got the buy coming up, the approach to this game, specifically the Colts, and just getting one and feeling better about yourself before you get a little bit of rest and maybe the coaches have more time to take things in and do a self scout.
Definitely, and I think that's a big thing. You know, you definitely want to get a win before going into the buy. It's always difficult, you know, going to buy with the loss because then you dwell on it for way too long. So getting a win would be great and then you know, finally get to take a breath. You know, we've had a wild schedule of different primetime
games and you know, Thursday night games and everything. So to be able to sit back and you're like, all right, here's where we're at, here's what we do well, here's what we're not doing, so well, let's fix it and let's you know, finish out strong.
With the changes, especially what happened their earl in the season, you're bringing Jeff Wallbrooke, you promote him.
To head coach.
It's it's gonna be huge having this time for the entire staff because not only is Albrooke promoted to head coach where he's seen overseen the entire operation, but to Downey took on the play calling duties as well.
Yeah, and so I think this kid's a chance for the staff to be able to sit down and be like, all right, here's here's what we're doing. Here's what we're not doing. You know this is working well, this isn't working well. You know we report this guy reports here, this guy reports there. So be able to sit down and sit back and be like, all right, we have a week. Let us really focus in on all the different things and take a deep breath and really dive into the details of what we're doing here.
So you're a busy dude.
You're coaching ball, you're coaching your kids' teams. They're keeping you active left and right globally. Your take on NFL so far this season, not just the Jets, but what you've seen.
I think recently we've had some great games.
I've been saying way too late because these oh yeah, you know, we're just just this last Monday night game, you know, coming down to the wire, the last Thursday night game coming down to the wire. So it's been it's been some fun football. As a casual observer of
all all teams. It's been great to be able to turn on a game and you haven't seen too many, too many games where it's like, all right, you know, I know this team is gonna win, Like you come, you watch games like I don't know who's gonna win, Like we have to watch to find out.
Yeah, we're gonna have to watch to find out see what happens with the Jets this weekend against the Colts. Mister Mangle, appreciate you stopping by.
Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.