WEEK 3 REACTION | Jets blowout Patriots, 24-3

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Short drop, quick throw. [00:00:02] Speaker B: Good move. And despite hanging onto the shirt, into the end zone goes Alan Lazard Rogers. Takes the snap, looks right, pumps one, throws right, caught front right pylon. Garrett Wilson. That's a jet. Touchdown, Garrett Wilson. [00:00:16] Speaker A: Three, two, one. [00:00:18] Speaker C: Here we go. [00:00:21] Speaker B: Ooh. [00:00:23] Speaker A: Oh, my God. That's. I'm ready to run through a freaking wall right now. Hello, everybody, and, uh, welcome to judge just the podcast powered by RCG Digital media. I am your host, your very excited, almost hyper host, Raz Guevara. Along with the happiest man in all the Washington Heights, my co host and founder of the judge chest. Just see, I'm, like, so, like, jacked. Like, I can't even speak properly. I actually haven't slept very much since yesterday. Our amazing founder of the Juds jets newsletter, which our podcast gets its name from. Richard. Mister Richard McLeod. [00:01:03] Speaker B: Richard. Wow. I feel like I'm excellent. Thank you for asking. [00:01:11] Speaker A: Listen, man, let's just jump right into it because I probably can't, like, can't contain myself. Let's bring in our phenomenal executive producer who is yelling at us to calm the hell down. And behind the scenes, let's bring in our fabulous executive producer, Mark Libby. Mark, will you join us here? Because I feel like this needs to be a party. This needs to be a celebration, because. [00:01:33] Speaker C: It'S always a party after a Jets win. [00:01:36] Speaker A: You know what I'm saying? Which we haven't had many of those, but caveat. We haven't had many of those where we feel good. There's always a we won, but we won. But I. We won, but Zach Wilson was our quarterback. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's never been one of these feel good, wire to wire victories. Rich, tell me, man, like, give me your instant, like, reaction. What is. What is going through your mind right now? [00:02:04] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I think we all thought, talent wise, these are two very different teams in very different places. But, you know, we talked about it a ton in this past week's episode on Sunday after the Titans win of just, like, Patriot PTSD. The laundry scares you. You just expect it's going to be a dogfight if you're going to win at all, because that's what we've been conditioned to. And I think I picked something like 20, 413, something like that in the newsletter predictions. But again, thinking like, it probably be a nail biter and maybe they pull away late. Was even wondering if that was too large of a score differential. And pretty much from the second that the game started, there were not many moments where I was nervous. You know, there's still a little bit. A few moments where you're just like, oh, like zirlein missing the kick. There was like a second where I was just like that, like, flinch. [00:03:02] Speaker A: Right? [00:03:02] Speaker B: You were like, yeah. You're just like, I hope that doesn't come back. But I think that's really, like, more of a trauma response. Just watching the jets for these last 10, 15, 20 years, last remnants of. [00:03:14] Speaker A: The PTSD leaving your body. [00:03:16] Speaker B: Yeah. And. And we'll kind of get into. I don't want to spoil that segment, so we'll kind of hold that off here. But really, from the first snap of the game, even though they didn't score in that opening drive, that felt different in a way that the first two games haven't, where it was just like this team was locked in. They were aggressive in a way that we've never seen. The play calling was both aggressive and creative. Again, even more so, I thought, than in the Tennessee game. [00:03:44] Speaker A: Two things you don't usually equate with the jets, but ever. [00:03:48] Speaker B: Or Nathaniel Hackett, really, honestly. [00:03:50] Speaker A: Or Nathaniel Hackett, for sure. [00:03:51] Speaker B: And it was. Yeah, it was really exciting. It felt honestly like a party the entire night. I watched every single second of that game and then had the post game on while I was writing the newsletter. It's like the best nights are when you are staying up to like two in the morning, listening to every single, like, piece of media after the jets win. And we, like you said, never really see these moments of pure domination, wire to wire. And even in the rarest moments when they happen, the only one I can really think of is, like, the Texans game from last year. The caveat is still like, well, that was Zach Wilson's best game of his career, surrounded by a bunch of nothing. So how sustainable is that? Really doesn't really matter at the season was lost at that point. This is very, very different. And I still think they're scratching the surface because the score was 24 to three. It wasn't even that close. [00:04:49] Speaker A: It's that it's. They're still scratching the surface. They could have still dominated even more. But we don't feel empty about it. We don't feel bad about it because, like, it was an easy win. Mark, tell me, man. Tell me, like. Like, what are you feeling right now? Like, do you recognize this feeling? Like, what's going on? [00:05:06] Speaker C: I mean, the only thing I can equate this to, and it's the 2000 920 ten seasons, which is the last time the jets have been good, other than the 2015 season, but we don't talk about that because of the way it ended. So it kind of brought back that, because I remember I was at that final game against the Bengals, where they clinched the playoffs. [00:05:27] Speaker A: Wait, I was at that game, too, where it was four degrees below zero. [00:05:30] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. It was freezing. We had upper deck seats. Half the stadium left in the fourth quarter because the game was out of hand. So my friends and I went down field level. We ended up getting all the way in the front by the time the game ended, and players just making their way around the stadium, high fiving all the fans, celebrating, like, that's. That's the greatest moment of my life as a Jet fan. [00:05:53] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:05:55] Speaker C: And this is recalling those feelings, because you look at this team and the way they played, and you see the potential that they have, and you can see them taking it, hopefully farther than those teams, but at worst, hopefully at least as far as they made it. [00:06:15] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, yes, I was at that game, too. And funny story, I didn't even pay for the tickets. My buddy Eddie Herrera shout out to him. His sister used to work for a large nonprofit, and they used to get tickets all the time. She gets football tickets. She was like, hey, Eddie, you want these tickets? I'm not going. And he's a giant fan, so he's like, yeah, I guess I'll go. And then once the. The weather report came out that it was going to be, like, close to zero, he's like, yeah, I'm not going to this game. He's like, hey, roz, you want these tickets? I was like, yeah. How much? He was like, no, just take them. We didn't pay for them. I was like, what? Like, I called my. Like, we went out there, it was free. I went to get hot chocolate. By the time I got back to my seat, it was cold. And, like, that's how cold it was. The concrete was freezing underneath my feet, and it was just, like, still one of the greatest nights of my life. For me, like, yesterday was very special. Yesterday be. Obviously, Thursday night football was very, very special for a variety of reasons. Number one, I was surprised with tickets to the game. So I was in attendance at MetLife, my oldest. Last year, he gave me the joe name of Jersey and a sauce gardener Jersey. This year, he was like, hey, what are you doing Thursday? I go, well, nothing. I'm recording a podcast. He was like, hmm. You recorded after the game, right? I was like, yeah. He's like, okay, good, because we're going to the game, and I was like, what? Like, oh, I was, like, shocked, right? I was, like, super excited. And when we get there and, like, the seats were incredible. I would have been happy with, like, bleacher seats all the way up in the last row, changing the light bulbs of this metlife. I wouldn't have cared, because, like, you know, it's. It's a. It's a special gift. It's a special team. It was a special feeling just getting into the ballpark, the crowd chanting. Like, it was just, like, an electric atmosphere. It was like a rock concert. It was just, like, just this sheer happiness, but it wasn't. It wasn't a happiness where you can tell is, like, excitedness, but also, like, scared. It was a confident happiness. And I've never felt that as a jet fan. Like, it's just. And it. Again, it was permeating through the entire stadium. Like, we were talking about patriots PTSD. And, yes, that's a real thing. We. We fear the jerseys, and we fear that team. But from the very first series, like, that was not a thing. Like, it's just. It is so different to have a quarterback of Aaron Rodgers caliber where you know that if you go down, he can bring you back. If you are up, he can keep you up and extend the lead. And then it's just, like, such a weird, odd feeling. I found myself looking for things, and I was texting in the group chat. Oh, my God, Braylee now. And I think he's limping. He shouldn't be in the punt. He shouldn't be in kickoffs. I found all sauce. Went for a swatting a ball, and he landed on his back. I think he's limping. And I was texting you guys, and it was just me looking for things that just were not there because of that, like, trauma. Like that. That trauma that we're so, like. Like, used to, that. It was just. It was just a unreal experience. An unreal feeling. I haven't slept. I slept in my hat. I had to hop on a flight for work. Right now I'm in an undisclosed location. But it was exciting, man. It was exciting, and I am still jacked. I want to run through a wall. I think I wrote yesterday. I want to punch somebody and hug somebody at the same time. And that's literally how I feel. Like, I am excited about the potential for this team. I'm excited that I get to share with my family. I am excited that, like, my kids are old enough to enjoy this. I am excited that wherever this ride goes, core memories have already been made and this team is responsible for that. So in our little descriptive adjectives on our names, I'm delusional because that's how I feel right now. I am delusional that this team will continue to take us to a place that we've never been before. And that is, you know, that is how I feel. Each week. We are going to award game balls to the contributors we feel deserves them. So, you know, let's get to it. Let's start with you, Rich. Who are you awarding the coveted McLeod game ball to? [00:10:44] Speaker B: Well, just because I get to go first, I obviously have to start with the most obvious choice, which is Aaron Rodgers. We're going to break him down in one of our segments coming up. So I won't get into this too much, but he dominated this game in a way that we have been dreaming of since the trade was made. We never got to see it last year. It's four plays. We hadn't seen it through the first two games this year because he's just like shaken off the rust, getting the chemistry with the play calling new team like teammates he hasn't really played with before. And it really started coming together last night and it just felt like after what happened last year in front of all those fans that this was the home opener we all deserved. And a huge part of that was just like, holy shit, we have a quarterback. We'll break it. We'll break him down in a minute. But, yeah, he was fantastic. Like number one game ball, no questions asked. [00:11:46] Speaker A: All right, Aaron, the McLeod game bowl is in the mail. You should be receiving it shortly in the four to five business days. Mark, who are you awarding the, the very special, very sincere, sensational, very illustrious Levine game ball to? [00:12:00] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, as much as I would love to give it to Aaron because I think he was the most important player on that field. The defense played amazing and Will McDonald was the biggest part of that. He was in on three of the seven sacks. He only, he only got two because he got half sacks for two of them. But one tackle for a loss for QB hits. I mean, Jermaine Johnson goes down last week and we're all freaking out. What's going to happen? We don't have a son Reddick yet. This team is not going to have a pass rush. They have like Breeden McGregor filling in who's never played a down in his, in his career and you're like, what are we going to do? The Patriots, I believe, started rookies at left tackle and left guardous. So there was a little bit of an easier time there. But I mean, Will McDonald, five sacks in the last two games. He is just coming on. Everyone was wondering why they drafted him and Ulbricht and Salah. I mean, they just turn everyone on that defensive side into an amazing player. And I think Will McDonald is a big part of that. And I think I. He will just continue to improve and he should be looking at a lot more game balls in his future. [00:13:21] Speaker A: I think hopefully more levine game balls, you know, very, very special. [00:13:28] Speaker C: I've heard that will might love my balls. [00:13:32] Speaker A: He's going to block you and you won't be able to give them any more balls down the road. [00:13:37] Speaker B: We may or may not cut that out. [00:13:39] Speaker A: May or may not. We're going to keep it in. Go ahead. [00:13:44] Speaker B: By the way, will McDonald, five sacks over the last two games, had three sacks all last year. [00:13:50] Speaker A: Oh, unreal. And we'll get, we'll get into him a little bit more along with the defense, we'll have, we have a topic, a segment that we're going to discuss them in depth. But now I. The Guevara game ball is part a reward for excellent performance and part amia Culpa because I, in our game preview, I made a snide remark. Snide sentenced to mister Tyler Bake Conklin. I was like, well, the offense is going to continue to develop and if he remembers how to catch, it'll get even better. And boy, did he remember how to catch. He led the team in receptions, he led the team in yards. He had the team in targets. He had the longest cat, second longest catch of the evening. He was just flat out sensational. And he was developing this amazing chemistry with, with Aaron. He, every time Aaron Rodgers would, would scramble out of the pocket and he would, would, you know, like the, not that necessarily the protection would break down, but like every time that he would scramble and a plane needed to be made, Conklin would abandon his route, find an open space and was there an easy target for him and he would bring the balls on and run after the yard and he, his blocking is still not great, but it was more than enough yesterday. He was doing a fantastic job of, of blocking, run blocking and pass blocking. But truly, truly, like, if you were to guess who was going to be the leading receiver in a game where we blow out the Patriots, I don't think anyone would have Tyler Conklin at the top of their list. He was amazing. He shut me up. And as an apology, I am going to award him the gerardo game ball. So congratulations. Our guy, Tyler Conklin. Can I call him big Conk? Is that. Is that acceptable or. Or no? What do you guys. [00:15:48] Speaker C: It's fitting with the theme so far. [00:15:54] Speaker A: It turns out we get a lot of very inappropriate when we are happy and the jets win. So let's Lethenne. That's hopefully a sign of things to come. But anyway, thank you, Mark. We'll let you get back to running the show for us and telling us what to do. And thank you very much for your contributions. Hopefully you don't write funny things about us in the Chirons at the bottom while we're continuing the subject. All right, buddy. Thank you so much. Let's keep going on with the show. As we do every week, we like to dive into four different talking points coming out of the game, each corresponding to a quarter of a football game. And obviously no better place to start than QB one. Number eight in your program, number one in your hearts, Aaron freaking Rogers again. We've dropped a whole bunch of platitudes on this man. He was simply sensational. And the best part is there still room for improvement? There's still many, many things that we can clean up and do better. But, rich, tell me, tell me, what were some of the things you were looking for from Aaron Rodgers in his home debut on short, on a short rest, we've talked about it. Tell me, what were some of the things that you were particularly looking for or wanted to see out of him in this game? [00:17:20] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, just continued signs of progression, I think getting more comfortable with the non Alan Lazards of the world, just like, and not anything against Lazard. He's actually been very good this year, surprisingly. I believe only, you know how I feel about him. Only because the jets played earlier than everybody else. Alan Lazard does lead the receiving touchdowns right now with three. When this guy, when he plays with his friend, it's like completely different story. But just in terms of, you know, Rogers feeling comfortable with guys he hasn't actually played with before, it's very important. I think you're starting to see that still a little bit off with Garrett Wilson. They're getting closer, but not quite there. And I thought Rogers made a really good point of just, if you look at the game tape in all three of these games, the defenses are completely scheming around Garrett Wilson. So while some of it is, their chemistry is off, the defenses are also really taking a lot of that away. I think that's going to be a lot harder for them to do as Mike Williams gets more healthy. As you know, Breese and Braylon continue to hurt people both on the ground and catching balls out of the backfield. And now if the tight ends are going to really start to get into it, you know, it's going to be really hard for defenses to completely just focus on one receiver the whole time. So I thought that was a big thing. He looked really comfortable. He made, you know, it's the best game we've seen out of Tyler Conklin. I think as a jethouse, he. The biggest thing for me, and I think a lot of people were talking about this on twitter during the game, was jets fans are so used to, like, second and 15 or just third downs in general, being like, at the end of the drive, like, it's over, we're going to punt, and then that sucks. And, I mean, how many times did the jets have, like, third and ten, second and 18 last night, and every single time, like, bing, bing, bing moved down the field. They were incredibly efficient on third down. I believe they finished ten for 15 on third downs, which is, we never ever see that. I mean, we used to have games where it was like, if you got one third down conversion, it was a big deal. [00:19:37] Speaker A: It was a huge deal. [00:19:39] Speaker B: And last night it was just like, automatic. And then on top of it, I didn't expect this. I wasn't looking for this. He was so much more agile last night than I ever thought. Especially after the injury. He could be. I mean, there were so many times he was moving up and around inside the pocket. He was getting out of the pocket. A couple of times he ran off. You know, hold your breath a little bit, but, you know, it's. You're feeling a little bit more comfortable with every hit that he's taking now. [00:20:09] Speaker A: Forget about the injury. The way he rolled out in game one against the Niners, he looked like an old man. [00:20:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:20:15] Speaker A: And yesterday he looked nimble. He looked like, you know, like, hey. [00:20:19] Speaker B: How many plays did he extend to when he, when he didn't take off and run, but running out of the pocket, I can remember one of the conversions to Conklin was completely like, there was nothing there. He runs, he rolls out to his right towards the sideline until Conklin can get released, fires it over, conquer, makes a diving catch. First down, they move down. They wind up scoring, I think, later on that drive. So, I mean, what, what didn't Aaron Rodgers do last night is the real question because he was incredible, and I honestly think that's maybe the best quarterback game I've ever seen in that. Like, he can do better than that. That's the crazy thing. That's not even the best he can be. [00:21:03] Speaker A: That's the thing that gives you the confidence. That's the thing that is making me delusional about where we can go. And at the beginning, actually, during episode one, I went on a whole tangent about how if Aaron Rogers is, if we consider Aaron Rogers our MVP, then that means this season is not a successful one because that means we needed him to be a superhero, and that means other parts of the team are failing. Boy, was I wrong. Like, I mean, look like a superhero. I mean, he is a leader of men. He is a person that instills confidence. He is everything that you, that you see or you read about in, like, football movies, you know, those guys who are, you know, like, who motivate people who, who people want to be better. And I've mentioned my, my taste for Lazard many times, and I will continue to do so because I just like him. But during that first touchdown, he showed a will to score that was in part motivated by Aaron Rodgers. He said it in the post game press conference. He was emotional. He says, I was doing everything I can. Nobody was going to stop me for scoring from scoring his, the first touchdown for Aaron. And as soon as he scores, he runs over to him, hands him the ball. I mean, like that sort of things, man. Like, those sort of things are, are like, such, so, like, like empowering, right? You see that and you're like, God damn, they love playing for him. They will run through a wall for him. Maybe not for Salah, maybe not for Hackett, but for him. They will run through a wall. Right? Why? Because people talk in the NFL. The NFL is very small. People understand what he has done for people. And like, he is responsible for Lazard's career. He is responsible for him signing his deal with the jets and for him remaining on the Green Bay packers because he went to bat for him and he says, no, this guy can catch and you guys should keep him. And he essentially is responsible for Lazard's career. Yes, they're great friends off the, off the field, but that is the type of responsibility he puts in his shoulders, elevating people, you know? And he was doing it a little bit last year with Makai. He put Makai Beckton's arm around him and he was trying to, like, instill the confidence in him that he needed. Who's to say if a full season of Makai and Aaron Rogers playing together. The Makai Becton story doesn't end any different. Very different. Who's to say that Zach Wilson watching Aaron Rodgers for an entire season doesn't end, doesn't change his narrative and his future? Like that is the type of, of person, of individual that this man is because you see it. You see a Tyler Conklin busting his butt to try to get open, to try to get a, get a open reception for extent when Aaron is extending the play. You see when people shove Aaron, the entire team come into his defense. You see Brees hall throwing his entire body into incoming blitzes to try to protect him. He made a joke today on Instagram where the jets did a reel of all his blitz pickups. And I've mentioned before, he needs to work on it. Part of it is his technique, part of it is his size. But the effort is there. He is throwing his entire body in the way of oncoming Blitzer to try to protect a, and like, I don't remember seeing that effort last year protect Zach Wilson. And it's, and it's that minute, it's that, that like, it is, you are playing with a guy who you would run through a wall for. And that just, that just changes the dynamic, changes the, the entire structure. Teams are like living organisms. Football teams are living organisms who either gel and come together and succeed. Football is like a weird sport. Football is, in reality, goes against everything we as human beings should be, right? Nobody should want to throw their body at full speed against another human being. Nobody should want to get hit on every play. If you're a running back, nobody should try to learn a new language because learning a playbook is learning an entirely different language. Nobody should need to be that cerebral and that fast and that strong just to play a sport that you, the average lifespan NFL athlete is only three years. Right? Like, it's, it's like, it is. It doesn't. Like if a normal brain is not a person is like, oh, I want to. Like, there's a reason why a lot of parents are not letting their kids play football anymore is that you're risking brain injuries. Yours. And yet it's such a romantic concept of a team. It is a, it is, it is a meritocracy. And I know I'm rambling, but like, I, it was all unfolding splay yesterday. It was all like the things that we love about football, right? Like the teams coming together and fighting is one and defending each other and fighting for each other and like literally dragging a defender ten yards into the end zone as he's ripping your jersey just so that you can say that you score the first touchdown for your quarterback and running and giving him the football and then getting emotional postgame while you're talking about it. Like, that's fucking beautiful, man. That's like, that's gorgeous. And we've never had that. [00:26:45] Speaker B: Like, it's hard not to get emotional about it. You kind of were giving me a bit of the chills just now just thinking about it. And, yeah, I know there's going to be people who might hear this or just see some of our clips that go on social throughout the week and they're like, come on, guys. Like, they beat a paycheck. Seems not very good and definitely noted, but it's about more than that. It's one, it's like this, like, changing of the guard, which kind of teasing what we're going to talk about next. But it's also is this is why we dared to dream in the first place last year. Like, moments like this. And it. And that's why it hurt so much. Last year was like, you finally opened yourself up to that. Like we talked about in our first ever episode, about opening yourself up, leaving yourself vulnerable to that hurt. [00:27:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:27:41] Speaker B: In hopes that you're gonna get the ultimate reward. And we didn't get that. We had the heartbreak. And this, it's. It's not the payoff, but it's. It's showing you that it could be there. You could get there. You're getting a taste of it, and it's really exciting. It's incredibly foreign. I think that's one thing we didn't mention in our instant reactions at the top of the show. It's just. It almost felt surreal watching the game. It was like an out of body experience because you're like, is this our team? This is the team that couldn't scroll, score a touchdown to save their lives for years. It wasn't just last year or the year before that. This has been going on for like eight years, just with the offense. [00:28:30] Speaker A: I'll go even further. Rich, can you recall the last time our quarterback was our best player? Like, think about it. [00:28:41] Speaker B: No. You know, if you want to say, like a couple weeks of Brett Favre, maybe, maybe. [00:28:49] Speaker A: But even then, maybe. But even that's kind of a stretch because he kind of fell apart and it fell apart. [00:28:55] Speaker B: There were a lot of good players on that team. And, like, the other thing, too, and I've heard some people talk about this, and I think it's a fair point is, like, Brett Favre, for like eleven weeks or so, right, was really the only quarterback play we've ever seen like this. And it's nothing the same for a lot of reasons, because one, Aaron is just better. He is smarter than Brett Favre. He is more like savvy than him. He's. Favre is a gunslinger and he was an excellent one. But Rogers is like a tactician. He is like a mercenary and he just picks you apart with his brain and then his body and it's really incredible to watch and on an emotional perspective. He wants to be here and he wanted to be here and he wants to continue to be here. That Brett Favre never wanted to come here. [00:29:49] Speaker A: We understood what Brett Favre bars. We were a rebound for Bret Favor. We understood that we under means to an end. We were a means to an end. We were a rebound. And Aaron is, albeit a short one. There's a torrid love affair on both sides. You know what I mean? Like, we know. We know that this is going to end in maybe two years. We know that, right? But it is a tantalizing fling that both sides are embracing and accepting and he is accepting us. He's talking about, like, how much we've been hurt. He is like love bombing us and like, we are like, we're like falling into his arms and he is embracing us in his bosom and bringing us close and whispering into our ear. And that's what yesterday was, man. Like, it was, it was, it was. It was cool. Okay. Well, the jets, we are in agreement, are only going to go as far as Aaron Rodgers arm is going to take us. But as we look ahead to an exciting season to come, we must address something that came up last week, the dreaded Patriots PTSD. I mean, I must admit it did keep me up. I did think about it, and that went away immediately, as soon as the game started. But with that being said, let's get to our second quarter topic. Did we exercise our Patriots demons once and for all? I mean, I'll ask you flat out, like, do you think that we are finally cured from our Patriots PTSD? [00:31:29] Speaker B: Yes. [00:31:31] Speaker A: No hesitation. [00:31:34] Speaker B: But the fact that I didn't hesitate, I think tells you that it's gone. You know, yesterday was the test. You know, can, can the jets beat them? Can they beat them handily? And is it just going to feel different? You know, the Patriots haven't been particularly good the last several years, really, since Brady left, even that one Mac Jones playoff year. Like, they were okay, but there were a ton of games where it was like, this is not the dynasty Patriots. This is not even, like, late stage Tom Brady Patriots. It was an eminently beatable team and the jets were still getting their asses kicked by them routinely with poor quarterback play and a lot of smoke and mirrors. And so that's, I think, was what you were afraid of last night. You're like, is it like, still going to feel the. Even with Brady gone, even with Belichick on? Yeah. It's like if to truly, truly exercise them in the most cathartic way, would it have been like, this happens when Brady and Belichick are there, of course, but, like, that's not the situation. They're, they're both gone into the sunset. They're both on tv right now. And maybe you can't undo what they did to us for the last 20 plus years, but in order for us to move on, not even just the jets as a franchise, because I really don't think it affects them as much, but for the fans, I think we needed to see it and be given permission to move on. [00:33:07] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:33:07] Speaker B: And they beat them down so bad last night. [00:33:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:33:12] Speaker B: That I genuinely feel like the ghosts are gone and it's the jets now are the ones that the Patriots are thinking about at night. And I mean, yeah, who knows how long that's going to last? But you know how refreshing it is to have Patriot fans responding to me like, oh, big whoop, like, we suck anyways. I'm like, that was us and now it's you. It's like the Patriots have become George, and for as long as it lasts, I am going to enjoy it. [00:33:46] Speaker A: Oh, man. Listen, I agree with you. Yesterday there were moments, I'll admit that I was afraid. Not afraid. Afraid is a strong word. There were moments where I was looking for this shoot a drop right. There was never a full blown panic, frankly, because we have eight, right? We have eight as our QB one. There was never a full blown panic. I didn't think we were going to blow it, did I think, oh, it's going to be closer than I expected. Patriots, here we go. But by halftime, even after we missed that field goal, I was like, this team is ass. Like, I'm like, they can't run the ball. They can't pass the ball, they can't play defense. [00:34:32] Speaker B: Like the vaunted running game that supposedly we couldn't stop. All these pundits on ESPN, oh, my God, the Jets can't stop their running game. Oh, yeah. [00:34:42] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Like, oh, yeah. Like, come on, guy. [00:34:45] Speaker B: Like, it was Monday, Stevenson, and this is in part due to the offense, because they forced the Patriots to have to abandon it. Not that it was working very well anyways. Roger Stevenson only carried the ball six times yesterday. [00:34:58] Speaker A: I mean, I messed up many a parlay who were expecting him to go over 25 yards, but, yeah, no, they. They just. They're not a competent. We. We described them as such from afar last to last week when we were talking about them. They're a competent team. They're not very good, but they're competent. They're well coached. I said well coached because I really thought they were, but they just fell apart yesterday. They fell apart, and they fell apart because we made them fall apart. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's not that they. They didn't beat themselves. We beat them. And that's not something we've been able to say for a very, very long time. Like, we. Last week, we'll be honest, we took the victory, but they contributed a lot. The Titans did. They sure partially beat themselves, and then we were there to take advantage. But a sign of a good team is, you know, pitching a good game when you don't have your fastball. Right. And that's a sign, like, finding ways to win. And we did that yesterday. We didn't find a way to win. Or Thursday, we didn't find a way to win. We went out there and fucking, like, took over and dominated, and by the end of the game, like, oh, like, I don't even hate them anymore. [00:36:10] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:36:11] Speaker A: And it's just another w. You know? [00:36:14] Speaker B: And the weird thing was, like, just because we're so. Again, we're just not used to any of this. This is such, like, a interesting, like, psychological thing that will be happening over these few weeks is as long as this continues, is like watching a tortured fan base come out of it slowly. It's like, I mean, they could use these podcast videos each week as a study in a few years. [00:36:42] Speaker A: Honestly, we're like mood rings. Yeah. [00:36:48] Speaker B: Whatever. The way the wind blows, and it usually blows the other way. But what was so interesting, too, is that not only was it, like, the jets just won out of, like, sheer talent differential, like, they out schemed. Think about it. The New York jets out schemed the Patriots. [00:37:10] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:37:12] Speaker B: Out schemed, out coached, like, out man, out efforted everything. I mean, it got so bad to one point where the patriots were, like, throwing jet defensive linemen down and drawing penalties because they just, like, were, like, fed up and couldn't do anything to stop them. It was. And, like. And they were domination. [00:37:35] Speaker A: Yeah, they were enjoying it. When Rogers came out for that series in the fourth, I was like, oh, they should take him out. Like, this game is over. He was like, no, I want more. And he went out there with a third string running back, running the ball, and I was like, holy crap. [00:37:51] Speaker B: And they just, they were throwing balls in the end zone, too. [00:37:53] Speaker A: Oh, if Mike Williams catches that ball, we put up another set. Like, it was just, it was so much fun. And, like, when have we seen a team have a killer instinct like that? Like, everything you described from this team, like the sheer domination, the out coaching, the out efforting, when have we had a team that has a killer instinct and who is putting teams away? It's one game. But look, we are rounding into form. Like, we are not. We are changing. We are growing week to week. We are evolving. And, I mean, look, that goes, that goes, yes, we've talked a lot about Rogers and we talked about, like, we. It's, it's true. It's, it's. We're evolving before our very eyes and it's fun to see. Look, we're not going to overstate the obvious, right? Like, the defense has left a lot to be desired the last few weeks coupled with the injuries, with the reddick situation, they were, we looked to them to be our strong point while Aaron Rodgers was shaking off rust, and they simply have not been that. And, you know, yes, it was a depleted Patriots offense, but they look like they have turned the corner. Like, they look like they are becoming the dominant unit we were expecting them to be. And yet another encouraging performance from Will McDonald, which would tease at the top of the show. And with that, why don't we jump into our third quarter topic, which is Will McDonald and that resurgent defense. I mean, there's no, we can start from a multitude of different places when we talk about the defense, but I feel like we need to start with, you know, the gentleman who won the Levine game ball. You know, will McDonnell. Be honest with me. Did you, did you see this coming from Will McDonald? [00:39:45] Speaker B: No. [00:39:47] Speaker A: No. Again, no hesitation. [00:39:50] Speaker B: And, like, you know, I'm so happy to be, to be wrong. I think, again, part of it's just when these guys don't flash right away, you kind of get caught up in all the talks and narratives online of just, like, another Joe Douglas like, whiff of a first round pick. You know, he's, he's only got, he's only, like, hit on these picks in that one year in 2022. Otherwise, it's like, a lot of bad, and that still remains, you know, to be true. And you just kind of like, all right. Like, I guess they just took this guy that people thought they overdrafted, and he wasn't a big factor last year, and he looked really, really rough in that niners game. I know you talked about that a lot after that game. [00:40:32] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [00:40:33] Speaker B: And all of a sudden, it's like, you know, we said at the top of the show, five sacks in two games. He had three career sacks before that in bonkers number in 18 games. It's crazy. And, you know, people nitpicked his sacks against the titans, but you couldn't really nitpick what he did against the Patriots. He was much more of a force, I thought, two total sacks, but, like, uh, Mark said he was in on three of them there to half sacks. So he's really involved there. Uh, I'm curious to see what happens when defenses start accounting for him more. I'm not sure if the Patriots did or didn't last night. It's kind of hard to tell this soon after the game. Uh, but if they did, I mean, he had no problem getting past them, and super, super exciting to see. And, yeah, just the defense overall, man. Like, started off the year pretty rough. You know, they weren't, I mean, they were awful against the Niners, and the Niners are really good, but those, you know, seven straight scoring drives, and then that first half against Tennessee, you're just like, what the hell's going on here? Is this team, like, did they buy into the hype? And, and again, that's. Again. And I don't know what they said to each other at halftime in Tennessee, but look at the last six quarters played by this defense. And again, it's not like Tennessee and the Patriots are these world beaters, but you got to start somewhere. And, you know, a big part of what dominant defenses do is like, yeah, they play well against the good teams, but they really dominate the bad teams. And in the last six quarters, jets have given up ten points. Not a lot of yards, lot of sacks, a couple turnovers, just the one touchdown. It was really kind of a circus touchdown. When you look to that, like, will Levis heave to Calvin Ridley that somehow got between two defenders and that they mistakenly called that he got in the end zone when he really was, like, six inches short or whatever. Um, so shy of that, you know, they've really been impeccable and. And pretty dominant, and, like, this is what you expected, and they're doing this down several guys, like you said, Ray Johnson's gone. CJ Moseley's been in and out, did not play against the Patriots. DJ Reed missed a game. Michael Carter's been in and out a lot, and it looks like they're getting their footing and the offense is getting their footing now at the same time. And that is really, really exciting. [00:43:17] Speaker A: I mean, not to continue to glaze Aaron Rodgers any more than we already have, but, but that. That viral moment, Aaron Rodgers in Salah, were talking about it. Like, this is something that they expected. This is something they talked about in that viral moment, giving this defense a two touchdown lead. And it is very, very different. Um, when a defense is trying to keep you in a game, being dominant, when you are trying to keep a team in a game, it's very different when you have a lead and you can be aggressive, and they were aggressive from the jump, but, like, once they got that lead, they were. They were creative and in the way they were getting after Bruce said they were. They were actively getting out after him. Um, because you can, you know, you can make. Make, you know, some creative decisions or some take some chances when you have a lead, because you know that it's not all on you, and you know that you can trust the defense, the offense, to. To kind of get you out of certain situations. The jets defense Blitz, Jacoby Bursett on 40% of his dropbacks. I mean, that's. That's the highest rate in a game under Robert Sala. Like, that's bonkers. 40% of the time he would drop back to pass, they were sending a blitz at him. So, I mean, that's. That's an incredibly aggressive approach to take to a game. And, yes, part of it is ISdev. You know, our past rush is anemic due to the. Due to the people, the number of people that we've got hurt and Hasan Reddick holdout. But another part of it is, like, you can take those chances when you have a lead. You can take those chances when you trust the defense, the trust. Trust the offense to kind of get. Get back out there, and if you give up a touchdown, they'll get you another one right back. And it all comes back down to, you know, what Aaron Rogers said about. About, you know, the development of the team. It's like expecting and setting a certain level of standards. CJ Moseley, who didn't play in the game, was so jacked up that he posted, you know, on instagram, a picture of himself is like, this is the standard that we're setting, you know, blah, blah, blah. Like, when have you heard a teen talk like that? We've always been, you know, like, same old jets. We got to beat this. This stigma of the same old jets. Fucking Rex Ryan made up, made it a calling card. Same old jets. We're no longer the same old jets. This team is not even tall talking like that. This team is not even addressing, you know, the, like, the shit that's happened in the past, they're more like, no, we're fucking good. This is the standard. And the way Aaron Rodgers said the next step is that is to expect to dominate. And, I mean, that's fucking fun, man, that defense. And just finish it off with Will McDonald. I was watching the tape, and he looked jittery. He looked like he was thinking too much about the moves he was going to do. He granted, he was going up against a, you know, in certain instances, they were moving him around against, you know, Trent, and, like, he. He was just over matched. And then, um, something switched in him. I don't know if it's the confidence. I don't know if it's. If it's just knowing that you're going to play for extended periods of time and you not feeling a need to do something with the 1520 snaps that you're going to be given. I don't know what it is. I don't know. I don't know how the man is wired, but there's definitely a switch. The athleticism has always been there. The speed has always been there. The bendiness, the getting around the offensive line has always been there. It's just the strength is not always translated. And yesterday was just so much fun to see him. And they would play the McDonald's graphic every time he would do something, every time. He is going to be fun. And I love that they took the same approach that they took with JJ. JJ sat for a year, pretty much watched, developed, learned, came back and showed an impact. They did the same thing with Bryce Hoff. Bryce Huff was exclusively a third down rush guy. Sat, learned, did his thing, and got paid by the Eagles. And, I mean, look, it's. It's exciting. Any last thoughts on the, on, on the defense or will McDonald before we move on? [00:47:17] Speaker B: Yeah, two things. First off, overall, jets have 14 sacks over their first three games. Saw Rich Zimini on Twitter said that that is tied for the most sacks the jets have ever had over their first three games of the season. They did it in 1966. Is the only other time that they've done that. That's pretty incredible. And you mentioned Bryce Huff, the now former jets. Look at Will McDonald, has five sacks this year each. All these over the last two games. Bryce Huff through two games with Philly, zero sacks, zero pressures. [00:48:01] Speaker A: So he has more sacks than he has pressures. [00:48:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Pretty incredible stuff. It's been a pretty, you know, you talk about Agent Zero with the jets, with Braylon Allen right now. Bryce Huff's been agent zero for the Eagles for all the wrong reasons. And one last thing. I know we're talking about the defense, but I was glad that you brought it up about the Rogers Salah clip. I mean, these fucking beat writers, man, want the jets to be bad so much that I was, you know, I'm always. I've always been pretty hard on the jetbeat writers. I think they have a couple of, like, better ones than they used to, but the same guys are still mostly around. And they kind of, in a weird way, like, the fans, all they know is losing. They just kind of react to it in a different way than we do where, I don't know that they get joy out of it, but they're certainly not super beat up about it like we are when the team is bad. And in the past, you know, all they've had to talk about was the controversy because that was interesting and almost never was it about, just like, the football team is good at football. So let's talk about that. This team is now turning things around. They're two in one. Last night, they absolutely dominated a franchise. I don't care how bad they are this year, that has whipped their fucking ass for 25 years. Talk about it on stop. And all Brian Costello had on his Twitter feed was Greg Zurline's field goal. Miss the retweet of the Robert Sala video and then complaining about third quarter timeouts and nothing else. Nothing about the touchdown, nothing else. All the beat writers talking about this Salah moment. He was even coming up a lot on the radio this morning as, like, the counterpoint to all the jet jubilation. And it's like, y'all can try to will it to happen and, you know, maybe the jets are going to run into some hard times. Maybe they'll have more bad luck injuries. But until that happens, like, the media has to come to terms with the fact that the New York jets are good at football again for the first time in 14 years. And right now, it's like they, it's the same thing of, like, if you know somebody for a long time in your life, like, sometimes they don't want to see you grow. They want to hold you to the idea that they had of you when you were younger, and they don't, in their minds, they won't let you progress past that, that you're always that same person to them. It kind of feels like the media has this with the jets, where they've let other franchises grow out of the loser syndrome. You know, the Lions are darling browns for a little while. The bangles, the buccaneers, so many teams. [00:50:52] Speaker A: We're grown ups, God damn it. But they no longer bumbling idiots. We're grown ups. We can shave. [00:50:59] Speaker B: For whatever reason. The jets, they never want to let it happen. And they've been right most of the time, to be fair. [00:51:08] Speaker A: To be fair. [00:51:08] Speaker B: But it's like, it's not, they're not those guys anymore, and you have to move past it. Like, they're not still bad just because you think that they're bad. It's the same thing that happens with the Knicks. People still can't get past the Knicks. Even with the Knicks making the playoffs now, there's people still always got something to say. And, yeah, I'll kind of, like, close it there, but I, like, be better and open your eyes to what's happening in front of you. You actually have something interesting to talk about where you don't have to make up stories anymore or overemphasize little things. [00:51:43] Speaker A: Yep. And let's, let's not forget it's the second time a Rogers clip has gone viral. That two second clip with him and hackett, they were like, oh, look, he's ignoring Hackett. He had to address it in the McAfee show. Like, he was like, I wasn't ignoring him. I was looking away for 2 seconds, and then they cut the clip. And then, like, he, if you show the extended clip, he, like, turns and, like, looks at the iPad that he was looking at, but it's like they're just trying so, so hard to, like, to find anything, anything to bring us down to that level, to a level that we, frankly, hasn't been that long ago, a level that we were at with a quarterback by the name of Zach Wilson, who is now with a brand new team, not a starter, transition. He's not the starter. He's a backup. But he is, you know, he is an ex of ours. If we continue with the relationship analogy that we've made a habit of doing, he is an ex. We are with somebody better who loves us better. But he's coming back to town with his new bow and let's talk about it. Let's talk about the upcoming matchup with the Denver Broncos in our fourth quarter of the show, his new bow. [00:53:12] Speaker B: The Denver Broncos. [00:53:16] Speaker A: We need some sound effects. Let's talk to our executive producer. We need some sound effects in this, in this situation because the return, I loved when you wrote in our doc, you were like the return of Zach Wilson. Sort of. [00:53:32] Speaker B: Sort of. [00:53:33] Speaker A: Sort of. Because he couldn't beat out a rookie, the starting job. And it just tells you everything you need to know about Zack Wilson. But he is coming into town and we are facing a crappy Broncos team who, who will, you know, you know, line up against us. [00:53:50] Speaker B: They will also. They will also be there. [00:53:53] Speaker A: They will also be there. Tell me, what are your expectations for the sort of Zach Wilson Bow? [00:53:59] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, the Broncos still play this weekend, so I guess there's like a 5% chance that either Bodix is so horribly bad or gets injured that we would see Zach Wilson. And I'm sure the loving media that we just gave flowers to would be super excited about that one. But looks like Bo Nicks is probably going to be the quarterback that we face, that the Broncos will probably be zero three by then. Yeah. But I think this is probably one of, if not the only team in the AFC that might be worse than the Patriots that we just saw. It's. Things are not going well for them. Bo Nick's like the other rookie quarterbacks who have debuted so far from this draft class, has no touchdowns yet. Cable Williams and Jaden Daniels also have zero. Very interesting. Super early, but just like, okay, maybe some of these guys probably should have sat for a little bit. But yeah, the Broncos, you know, jets beat them last year on the road. That's one thing I'm very grateful for. By the way. We lost Avt in Denver each of the last two years. Finally we get to play them at MetLife. So you kind of get away from that juju a little bit. But yeah, the jets should, you know, win this game. I assume the spread is going to be pretty big, especially now that I think the jets kind of earned that after what they did to the Patriots. And they went into that game with as six point favorites in most of the odds that I saw. Bo Nick's not very good. I wouldn't want him this probably the best defense that he's going to be going up against at this stage in this season. And he's been having struggles already. And Sean Payton, even though he was right about Nathaniel Hackett, like, should have never opened his big fat mouth about it. And we got, we got a lot of joy out of that last year and kind of the same feeling this year, like maybe you should have stayed on Fox because it's not looking great early on in your Denver tenure. So. Yeah, like, it's not a ton of analysis this far out. The jets have ten days off, and that's what I'm the most excited about, honestly. [00:56:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Getting, getting our bodies rested, getting some players who are banged up some. Some time off. That is the. The benefit of playing three, three games in 1011 days. You get some time down, you get, you know, ten days to restore. But, yeah, no, spot on. Spot on. I have a question for you. What do you think Zach Wilson, the reaction of the Metlife crowd is going to be to Zach Wilson whether he plays or not? There? Sure. [00:56:48] Speaker B: I mean, if he. If he plays, he's going to get booed to levels that, you know, I guess we haven't heard since he played for them. So. Not that long ago. Um, but, you know, I don't think he's, you know, backup quarterbacks not really getting, like, introduced. Like it's the NBA. So I don't think there's going to be that many moments where the crowd even gets to really boo him. So I don't think that's going to be much of a. Much of a story unless there's some kind of, like, quarterback change in the next week and a half, which plays feels pretty like people aren't pulling the plug on their quarterbacks, even if they're. I mean, they did in their first year. Week four would be pretty early unless he gets hurt. So I don't think it's going to be that big a thing. I think, again, it's more of like, there's going to be obviously, like, op eds and editorials about it and narratives like that, but I don't think it's really going to factor in at all. [00:57:50] Speaker A: I have another question for you. We referenced the Bryce Young situation in Carolina. How. I guess the question is how bad do you feel for Zack Wilson, if any? Like, the kid was mangled, his confidence was shot, the athletic prowess is there, the arm is there. Clearly upstairs was just never right. Do you feel bad for him in the way it unfolded here in New York? Because in an alternate universe, I mentioned it earlier, in an alternate universe, he sits behind a healthy Aaron Rogers for a year and learns. And maybe the narrative or the trajectory of his career is completely different. The jets have been known to chew up and spit out quarterbacks look at Sam Donald. Sam Donald is having success in Minnesota. We fucked him up, too, man. And I'm not going to make apologies for us being a demanding fan base, but we are demanding fan base. We are in a, in a, you know, the largest market in the country with a demanding media core who are looking to sew and find shit that's probably not there. The expect, like, I've been to games where Zach Wilson is getting booed mercilessly and lifted for, you know, like, Flacco and like, do you feel bad for the way his career unfolded here in New York or do you be like, no, you were supposed to be better and that's on you. What are your thoughts on that? [00:59:21] Speaker B: I mean, I think it's a little bit of both on a human level. Sure. I feel bad for him. It's. That was definitely not easy to go through. I thought a lot of it was, a lot of the criticism I think was fair. I think he also got a lot of unfair flack thrown at him. But yeah, I wanted the jets to draft Zach Wilson. I was actually, I thought he was going to be the next guy. Even after what happened with Darnold, even what happened after, like, Gino and Sanchez. I really bought into it just watching a few of his games, watching the film, which doesn't tell you everything. But he also, at the end of the day, he wasn't good enough. He was really, really, really bad. And this is a business, and the jets made the right decision to move on from him. And you could argue that it was a year too late and that he never should have even been the backup to Rogers. I don't know that he would have been able to just like, become a better quarterback by osmosis after already being so bad for two years. [01:00:20] Speaker A: Quarterbacks and situations and teams and coaches all have to be, you know, an ideal fit sometimes. Right? But I agree with you 100%. I am a traditionalist when it comes to football. I feel that football is one of the last true bastions of a true meritocracy. A true meritocracy. And if you are good enough, you will play. And if you're not good enough, and I mean, that is the motto that I have taught my kids, that I've coached, taught my own kids. You don't complain about playing time. You don't complain when you don't, you're not good. You either work harder or you don't play at all. And that's, that's football is a meritocracy. And yes, I feel bad for Zach. Our wonderful executive producer shared the feature that they did on Garrett Wilson before the game on Thursday. And the line that stood out to me is happiness should not be results based. And yes, football is a results based business, but if your happiness is tied to your success in the field, then you're doing it wrong. And clearly he was no longer happy playing football because he was not getting the results that he wanted. And that's not a good way to live life. That's not a good way to, to run a team and be a leader and expecting other people to follow you and run through a wall the way they do for Aaron Rodgers. And it's just, it was just not a good fit. We wish him success. We have a new bow now. You know, we're happy. We won't look at the back. We won't look. What is it that Andrew 3000 said? That's why rocket ships don't come with rear view mirrors. We're going different places. We're going up ahead. We're not looking back. So I think that's a wonderful place to end it. Thank you very much, rich, for always a wonderful conversation. Mark, why don't you pop in? Because I want to thank you as well for everything that you do. This is a labor of love. We do this. Look, our first episode was a little over an hour and it felt like miserable time. This one is almost an hour and it's fun. And I want to keep talking, but we can't keep talking because we have to wrap up the show. Thank you to you both again. We are like mood rings for the fandom. We are. We're enjoying ourselves because we won. And not every episode will be like this, but it was a beautiful, beautiful day to be a Jets fan. I'm gonna go watch more highlights, read a couple more articles. Yeah. [01:02:49] Speaker B: Just also make sure to follow us on socials. We're at just underscore jets on Twitter and just getting going on our YouTube as well. Also just underscore jets. [01:02:59] Speaker A: Alrighty from Roz, Rich and Mark. Thank you very much. We'll see you guys next week. [01:03:07] Speaker B: Thank you for listening to just jets the podcast. Be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And check out the the Justjets [email protected].