Welcome back to the Buffalo Bread podcast, season
six, and the continuing and final episode of
our annual tradition unlike any other, Friends
of the Pod, not Friends of the Bills. We are
capping off in style with one of our favorite
co -hosts, Jared, who is our resident Jets expert.
Jared, it's great to have you back on the pod
for a multitude of reasons. You are feel like
the soothsayer for Jets Nation out there whenever
you come on the pod. But I think most importantly,
you really do resonate with a lot of our listeners
because they love your voice. They're like, now
that dude, he's got a podcast voice, unlike me
and JJ, who they barely can stand the way we
kind of great and monotone talk through stuff.
It is always a highlight for our listeners when
you come on a for your content, be for the vocal
aesthetic that you bring to the table. So Jared,
it's great to have you back on the pod, man.
How you doing? I can't wait to forward these
compliments on to my mom. So she feels a little
bit better about the undergrad investment that
she made in my broadcasting career that I never
actually pursued professionally. This is good.
That's great. That's great. Listen, before we
get into it, you you not just not only have a
podcast voice, you actually have a podcast. So
why don't you head up our listeners, some of
your socials, some of your information, put your
good stuff out there before we get into the jobs.
My home base is nail the recruiting process on
Instagram. I run a podcast that helps guide high
school athletes and their families through the
recruiting process at the collegiate level. I
will say I'm on a smidgen of a heater right now.
I always do my podcasts in the off season of
the college basketball season and my guests.
from this past season were like generationally
good both on the men's and the women's side.
So I've got interviews with a lot of coaching
staffs that just made big splashes in both the
men's and women's NCAA tournament. That's really,
really exciting. And yeah, you could check it
out at at nail the recruiting process or anywhere
you get your podcasts, the nail the recruiting
process podcast. Awesome. Like, share and subscribe
folks, you won't regret it. On the topic of regrets.
Listen, I am not, I love nothing better than
a hard transition. So there we go. So listen,
man, I don't think 2025 there were sky high expectations.
You came in the last season, I think very reasonable
on what Aaron Glenn's first year was going to
look like. And, you know, I think, I think, and
we'll get into it a little bit from my perspective,
it's fair that Glenn is coming back for another
season, right? But it did look like at times,
and we never saw this in the Sala era, it did
look like at times the team was quitting. What
I couldn't tell though is if they were quitting
on the coach or if they were quitting on the
organization that at the trade deadline decided
to, um, to ship out some of your most vaunted
pieces from the previous era. That to me was
kind of a signal of all right, we are planning
for 26 and 27 for this organization. And I don't
think Glenn bears the blame for that. It did
feel like the players maybe were less inclined
to play for the organization at times case in
point, Mitchell Trubisky, Mitch Trubisky who
listen. We love us a good we love us a good Mitch
Trubisky meme here on this pod. But he got paid
in Tennessee in large part because of the lack
of effort and week 18 that the Jets were able
to put up. So I mean, when Mitch Trubisky looked
like the greatest quarterback of all time, and
it's like, oh, my God, Josh Allen gets hurt.
He's going to be like the next Jeff Hostetler.
Yeah, dude. And I love everybody that follows
us on social media. But I had people sliding
into our comments were like. watching Mitch Trubisky
play against the Jets. And we're like, we need
to have a hard conversation about Josh Allen,
because this offense has never looked better
under Mitch. And I'm like, it's because they're
playing the Jets. I'm here to tell you, you didn't
watch enough Jets football. I was going to say,
you've only watched two Jets games, and they're
both the ones that Bill's played in, guys. Right.
But but, you know, I think rightfully so Glenn
gets another chance here heading into twenty
twenty six. It's an entirely new coaching staff,
which is usually the sign of a last chance for
a coach before an organization moves on. But
some interesting hires, I think, that come along
with that. And then, of course, maybe finally
stabilizing the QB position with the return of
one Geno Smith. Right. So we now head into the
new league year, man. And there is some potential
for the Jets, I think, to really make some hay
building block wise. They've already done so
in free agency. I like a lot of the moves they
made. But the draft is really where they got
to nail it. Right. But before we get into that,
I always like to start these season postmortems
on a positive note. While it was not the season
you guys planned for, it was maybe rougher than
you intended to, like nothing is without a little
positivity. So why don't you walk some of our
listeners through your 2025 highlights for the
New York Jets? I am exclusively looking at this
from a general manager's lens. So I want to flashback
to our conversation a year ago where we talked
about what Mugi and Glenn's day one press conference
was and what their stated goals were. Their stated
goals were identify pieces currently that they
can build around, draft and move pieces to get
as many draft picks as possible, and then build
the future of their organization around young
players that they draft. They stated explicitly
on day one, we do not want to be a free agent
heavy team. We want to be a team that drafts
develops and retains, and that's the key to long
-term success in the modern NFL. If I were evaluating
on that, and I'm evaluating based on what rebuilds
tend to look like in the NFL when they're done
right, because we have a big enough sample size
to choose from, I think the best thing that the
Jets did this year is that they didn't make any
of their bad problems worse, and they lived their
mission. Let's use the Sauce Gardener trade as
the key example. It's a great one. You have heard
me on this podcast say that I think Sauce Gardener
is not as good as his statistics have inflated
him to be. This is why we love you. We agree.
They sold as high as humanly possible. They flipped
him. for two draft picks and Adonai Mitchell.
Adonai Mitchell was the best receiver on the
Jets for the final quarter of the season. Love
that kid too. He just needs a shot. Yes. And
again, perfect fit for what the Jets are saying
they want. Young person, buying low, developing.
Let's see what he can do. They flip another trade
to the Philadelphia Eagles for John Meche III
and the Jets two best slot weapons for the final
half of the season are two players that did not
start the season on their team offensively. So
they are showing you, and I know this is a low
expectation, but remember who we're talking about.
They're showing you at a baseline, Dan, competency
in season. These are moves that people typically
make in the off season that they made in November
and were successful. So that's a big thing for
me is that they were able to identify on the
fly Where our problem area is where the people
that we're gonna have to be stuck overpaying
that might not even buy into what we're doing
And can we flip them now to your point? When
that happened you could tell that it sunk some
of the veterans. Yes, and you could tell, and
I think if I were to give you kind of the dark
spot, it was definitely the way the season ended.
You could tell that everyone sort of lost their
heart. And something I thought about over and
over again, and I wonder if this is going to
become a recurring theme for this little segment,
is you can't talk about Aaron Glenn without talking
about what he just did with the Detroit Lions.
And one of the most viral segments of coaching
in the last like 25 years of NFL football is
Dan Campbell begging the Lions in year one to
stay bought into him. Yes, we're and that's an
interesting comp. Yeah, keep going with that.
So he and may I add and I'm sure we're going
to talk about this later. They didn't. And and
and he kept legitimately he kept around anyone
that did. Flipped the rest of his pieces. They
drafted exceptionally they used new coordinators
Aaron Glenn included and they you know, they
flew to the moon and I Do I think the Jets are
on their way to the moon? No, do I do not think
the Jets are on their way to the moon Do I think
we can upgrade from Penn Station to Grand Central
station? Yes, I do and and I so what I see is
a team that is living their mission They have
accomplished the exact thing they said that they
wanted to accomplish, which was we want to work
around our dead cap space issues. We want to
get as many picks as we can. You want to identify
the culture problems and get them out. We want
to identify our people and get them in. And if
you look at what they've done in short time,
they're on their way, dude. And, you know, I
wanted to bring this up later, but you've segueed
and set it up perfectly right. I wanted to bring
this up when we talked about the jet's draft,
but that lion's comp. is so true that first season
under Dan Campbell, that Lions team only had
three wins. And remember, we were mocking him
in that that off season heading into the 2121
draft, the kneecap fighter guy and all that stuff.
That draft ended up being a seminal moment for
them where they really got the building blocks
that they needed to build not just the team,
but the culture that led them to the moment the
Lions are in now, which is perennial NFC contender
and as Dan Campbell considered one of the best
coaches in the league, as a Jets fan, that's
got to give you a little bit of faith that coming
from that culture that Aaron Glenn did, plus
his connection and his passion for the Jets organization,
they're setting things up in the same way with
some of the moves that they've made. I mean,
that next draft year for the Lions, they got
Aiden Hutchinson. when healthy, all pro at Russia,
Jameson Williams, maybe the nastiest, fastest
number two wide receiver there is in the league,
Kirby Joseph, all pro defensive back and then
really nice depth pieces and Malcolm Rodriguez
and James Houston at the linebacker core. I mean,
you can't ask for more than three solid starters
to all pros and then some really great depth
pieces behind that. If you're a Jets fan and
you're sitting here with four top 50 picks in
the twenty twenty six draft, you've got to look
at that blueprint in Detroit and be like, this
is something that we can do in this year's draft.
I I agree with you on everything that you just
said. So rather than waste everyone's time, I
want to expand on what you just said. Go for
it. How how did they do it? They flipped. Matthew
Stafford, the king's ransom of draft picks. If
you look at what the Jets have, this draft and
next draft, I haven't, and I mean this, I can't
even think of a time before the Rex Ryan era
of the Jets where the cupboard looked this ripe
for opportunity for this franchise, and to think
that it's happening in the face of gigantic roster
management problems. They're paying two quarterbacks
that aren't on the team a combined $45 million
this year, and they're still operating with this
much of a draft surplus. So, I mean, if you are
simply evaluating them by the hand that they
were dealt, I am completely on the same page
with you, and it, in my opinion, validates the
trades with Tennessee. It validates the trades
with Philadelphia. Most notably, it validates
the sauce trade. And by the way, the Jets don't
even look that bad in the moment. I mean, obviously,
the injury to, oh my God, why am I drawing the
blank on his last name? Colts quarterback used
to play for the Giants, Dan. Oh, Daniel Jones,
yeah. Daniel Jones. Thank you, DJ. The injury
to DJ takes the Colts out of contention. But
the Jets don't even look bad. It's not like they
just handed the Colts a Super Bowl. Right, exactly.
So all of this in my opinion, is looking up.
There are so many promising draft picks. And
again, much like Detroit was in that situation
to kind of tie a bow on the Dan Campbell reference,
much like Detroit was in that situation, it wasn't
like, oh, we have one need and if we get it wrong
in the draft, it's curtains. No, no, no, no.
We can draft for value and whatever person that
can help us that's staring us in the face at
that pick, come on in. and then combine that
with not only players, like one of the picks
I'm most, or the pickups I'm most excited about
is an average wide receiver in Josh Reynolds,
but Josh Reynolds played Detroit when Aaron Glenn
was there. Like they're going out and finding
people that they know. And I think when you combine
that young blood that's gonna be hungry for a
chance and the veterans that I think understand
what Aaron Glenn wants to do, Aaron Glenn and
Dan Campbell are not for everybody. We learned
that. for Dan Campbell in year one, we watched
Aaron Glenn dance down the sidelines in the game
he ultimately lost. He's not for everybody. But
I think he's going to find his people. And I'm
much more excited about years two and three than
year one. Yeah, for sure. And that and the the
choices that the squad has made and who they've
retained Garrett Wilson, obviously, Armin Membu,
who was my rookie of the year last year, right
tackle. I mean, very rarely am I impressed by
splash plays at the tackle position. That's a
JJ thing. But even I recognize the greatness
in that kid. And then Bruce Hall back on the
franchise tag. There is a very clear vision to
me on who fits with this team. And based on the
pieces they sent off who they didn't. More importantly,
Harrison Phillips, I think is still on the roster
for you guys, right? You traded for from Minnesota.
There are a lot of bills fans being like, Hey,
could we maybe send the Jets a seventh rounder
and get Phillips I'm like, Glenn is not going
to want to give up a like Phillips, like Phillips
is going to be a culture and a tone setter in
that locker room for what Glenn wants to build.
And then low key, the Devondre Sweat trade. I
forget, I forget the edge that you gave up for
him. Oh, I'm blinking on that name. Oh, my goodness.
He another Titan signing them. Yep. Yep. It was
a kid for kid trade, right? And Devondre Sweat
just going to be a boulder in the middle of that
defensive line for you guys is going to make
James Cook's life hell on earth to try to run
up the gut on that team. And you know what, let's
stay on that because Trevonde Sweat was somebody
I had in bold on my rundown. On the subject of
veteran leadership, I don't know if DeMario Davis
can move laterally anymore, but I know he can
lead a football team. And I know that that's
what Aaron Glenn is looking for. And if you can
get a grizzled, like it's like movie script stuff,
but it's real. A grizzled veteran linebacker.
that can be the quarterback of your defense.
Maybe he doesn't need to be on the field for
even a quarter of the snaps, but he can get everyone
else where they need to be, keep the energy up,
keep the communication up between that at the
linebacker position, between healthy, and I'm
putting this in glaring air quotes because you
never know with him, but currently healthy Minka
Fitzpatrick in the secondary. Then with Sweat,
you literally have added explosive leadership
at every level of your defense, and it's not
even April. And the spine of that defense looks
a lot different now from sweat all the way through
to Fitzpatrick. Right. So my, you know, what
I had in bold is you combine those three signings
with the returning Okorafor, Sherwood, and Sisko.
And you don't have all of what you need, but
you have half of it. And you happen to have a
ton of draft picks. Let, and you know what, let's
dive right into that. Cause you've done such
a good job of, of summing up the roster moves
so far. The, the, your squad still has holes
in it, right? However, you have got the assets
both cap wise and draft wise this year and next
year to address a lot of that. You guys are making
an unheard of four picks in the top 50. You pick
second 16th, 33rd. and 44th. You have a grand
total of nine overall picks here in this draft.
I want to start with the QB position, right?
Because that's what everybody goes to. It's not
a great QB class. You guys just brought back
Gino Smith from a limited and unsuccessful stint
with the Raiders, but he has only maybe two years
removed from playing really solid quarterback
play. Yes, for the Seattle Seahawks, right? Do
you think the Jets are done at QB? Or do you
think they're going to use one of these nine
picks to pick a developmental kid in this year's
draft? For the way that the general public thinks
about the quarterback position, they are done
at QB. For the way people like you and JJ and
me think about the quarterback position, they
are not done at the quarterback position. I think
the two things that work in conjunction here
is if they wanted to have a battle for QB1 with
Geno Smith, then they keep either Tyrod Taylor
or Justin Fields on the roster. They didn't do
either of those things. The only quarterback
that I'd really consider drafting early in the
most kind, backhanded way possible has made it
very clear he doesn't want to be a champion.
So I think your solution is kind of staring you
right in the face. The longer the off season
is gone, The more validated Geno Smith appears
to have been in his struggles. I mean, we've
heard some horror stories about the lack of coaching,
about some maybe some nepotism plays leading
to him not actually having a quarterbacks room
or not getting like adequate film breakdown.
And, you know, he's a guy even in his struggling
years, he's a guy that's always kind of had the
pro attitude and took it on the chin. really
add a character stuff from him last year that
I think makes a bit more sense when you hear
some of the internal reports of what was going
on in Vegas. Yeah. So put him with a guy like
Frank Reich, who for all of Frank Reich's limitations
is going to basically say to Gino, Gino I just
am going to put you in the shotgun. Reese Hall
is going to be right next to you and you're just
going to make the decision every play. whether
or not Bruce Hall is getting the ball or you're
going to throw the ball five to 10 yards, then
every once in a while when I feel like you're
doing really well, I'm going to just let you
air it. Dude, and I, I, I am higher on the franchise
higher than I think a lot of people are. Sure.
Yeah. Yes. He is he the most creative schemer
out there? Is he like a mad scientist, Mike McDaniel?
Absolutely not. However, He has generated excellent
QB play out of what a lot of folks wouldn't consider
to be average to slightly above average talent.
And game to game, he is excellent at understanding
what the opposing defense wants to run out. And
he knows exactly what the pros and the limitations
of his squad are. And he will tailor. a game
plan to exactly what his team can do and the
other team can't do. While that may not be flashy,
it sure can be effective if you're a team like
the Jets that are just looking for a little bit
of offensive stability to get you through the
season. So I actually like the professionalism
of the Frank Reicheier, and I like what he's
going to add to that coaching staff overall,
for sure. You can't get better until you've stabilized.
Right. You need a foundation. You need a floor
somewhere. And I think Frank Wright, and in a
very weird way, as you know, I'm a big basketball
guy, I would almost compare this to Tom Thibodeau
with the Knicks. Such a good comp. Can the Knicks
win endless championships with Tom Thibodeau
and the way that he views the game of basketball?
No. Are the Knicks as good this year without
the history of Tom Thibodeau building them up?
Absolutely not. So like you need someone that's
going to be like, I'm going to be Crazy about
the fundamentals and if I were to give you actually
like inside baseball the biggest problem I'm
looking for him to resolve in his first three
years Breece Hall averaged 50 or more Receptions
out of the backfield and I think he barely hit
30 this year He was coming off of the of the
second Aaron Rodgers year when he had 80 and
They basically made him a predictable Downhill
rusher to his credit He still eclipsed a thousand
yards, had a very respectable yards per carry,
and earned the franchise tag. But imagine what
this can look like with a reliable quarterback
that has way more poise under pressure than Justin
Fields ended up having, that can make decisions,
that can get him involved at the right times.
I'm valuing stability as the Jets try to get
everything else right. And you are you are maybe
an interior offensive lineman or two away from
having a really stout offensive line, which is
something that Gino Smith needs to succeed. So
again, this brings me back to the draft draft.
Yes. Yes. So there are listen, this is a draft
rife with tackle prospects. It's rife with offensive
lineman that have inside outside versatility.
Not a lot of true like truly great interior offensive
lineman other than the kid out of Penn State.
which will be in your reach, I would imagine,
at pick number 16. So, all that being said, what
are the positions you think the Jets are going
to draft with their bevy of premium draft capital?
Let's start with QB, because that's what everyone's
going to talk about with the Jets having a Geno
Smith. I would not draft a QB until late day
two, early day three. 100%. There are two quarterbacks,
actually, that I will mention by name that I
think would be there. Can I guess them? Yes,
because I want to see if we're saying the same
thing. Yeah. Cade Clubnick and Garrett Neusmeyer.
OK, so Neusmeyer is one of them. OK, Neusmeyer
is one of them. I have a thought here and I'm
trying to find in my notes. If Carson, if Carson
Beck from Miami is available at the very end
of day two. I would I would sacrifice for that
and take him, but I'm looking for any quarterback
that has been developed, that has been kind of
flagged. by a scout already as needs at least
a year of development. There's not going to be
immediate pressure to play this person this year.
There's not going to be organizational pressure
to play this person this year. And by the way,
I'm a big fan of that. Like I'm all for the red
shirt year. I think you learn a lot. And especially
as this team is undergoing so much transition
with a guy like Frank Reich now in the fold that
you could sit with and chew up film with every
day. That's my play. So we've addressed quarterback,
we moved that to the side. I think the only non
-negotiable is your very first pick. Pick number
two. You have to draft the best defensive edge
available. I think it's going to be David Bailey
and I think you have to take him. I have visions
of John Abraham, you know, in my teenage years
for the Jets and that's what I want. Once that's
off the board, I think it is a hodgepodge of
line on offense, biggest emphasis, line on defense,
second biggest emphasis, defensive back. I can't
envision a scenario where we get through an entire
draft after the Jets just got rid of Sauce Gardener,
where Aaron Glenn doesn't want to pick a defensive
back to try to mold, but I also know that as
far as depth goes, the first round value in defensive
backs this year is not super high. And I'd much
rather go with slam dunks early where you know
you're going to get immediate value add. And
I don't like to give, there's a lot that the
mainstream sports media gets wrong, but I want
to give the Yahoo team that's doing their draft
analysis a little bit of credit. One of the things
they said actually earlier today about the Jets
was if they handle, if they just do what they
should, There are four starters that will be
staring them in the face with their first four
picks. If you can add a starter at four different
positions in the first two rounds of the draft,
don't outsmart yourself. Agreed. I hope that
gives it a nice concise look. You know, I've
heard some people talk about Mackay Lemon, like,
oh, if Lemon's there, pick 16, he could be great.
I'm really high on how the Jets receivers ended
last season. Call me crazy. But no, and I think
you've got a legit number two potential in a
D Mitchell for sure. I mean, for sure. And I
think it's a why it's a Listen, the Bills fans
have been studying this wide receiver class up
and down since Joe Brady got the head coach job.
And it is a deep wide receiver class, you're
going to find production and value on days two
and even three of this particular draft. I mean,
a kid like Malachi fields from Notre Dame, who
some have been mocked in the late first round,
others have been going in the third round because
of the the 40 speed that he is predicted to clock
or has already clocked it as pro day, there's
going to be ball winners like that that you can
get big power slots that you can put next to
Mitchell and Wilson, there's going to be a lot
there. I think I think what you're saying is
correct build from the line and then move use
your late early on and then use the remainder
of your draft capital to build out into the skill
positions there. It's not a It's not a generational
talent type of draft, but there are a lot of
teams that are going to be really, really good
and find really productive players in this year's
draft all up and down each day. I mean, it's
going to be, this is where franchises really
do find their high floor and a lot of great building
blocks. And you guys are positioned perfectly
for it, which infuriates the crap out of me as
we give up a second round pick for DJ Moore.
But yeah, I want to give. Yeah. Yeah. I don't,
which I don't, I don't necessarily mind. It's
basically like a third round pick, but I'm like,
come on, like being has to nail this draft and
he's giving up opportunities to do so. So yeah,
anyways, this is not about us. This is about
you. Sorry. You know, it's funny. It's all relative
because when you, when you think about the four
teams in this division in totality, if you're
not getting better, you're getting worse. And
someone in this division is, you know, we're
talking about four Markets, even if Buffalo isn't
as big a market as a Miami or a New York or a
Boston, don't tell that to their fans. At the
pressure, there's constant pressure to maximize
for all four of these teams. It's not like some
of the other divisions where it's like you're
trying to keep up with the Joneses. It's no,
you're trying to constantly show your fan base
that you're going for it. You know, I think by
virtue of the Bills turning it over and trying
to do some stability themselves. And the Dolphins,
to my shock, honestly, Dan, like they made the
Malik Willis signing, which is what I thought
the Jets wanted to do. And the Jets, to their
credit, were able to quickly pivot to Gino. But
then like right after signing Malik Willis, the
Dolphins fire -sailed their whole team. So the
Jets have an opportunity to benefit greatly while
other teams are just trying to kind of maintain.
And it makes things honestly, I'm thrilled that
you mentioned the Bills because the 26th season,
in my opinion, is much more interesting for the
Jets, not just because of what they're trying
to do, but what's happening the rest of the league
around them. And that includes an embarrassing
Super Bowl loss by the Patriots. That, I mean,
and we are, we are sadly not doing a friends
of the pod episode with Brandon this off season.
We will have them on at some point. Right. So
we have been actually filling in a lot of the
Patriots commentary for him, which sorry, Brandon,
if you don't come on the pod, uh, you know, you
lose the opportunity to defend your boys, but,
uh, it was. I don't think the Patriots. So let's,
let's take all of this into context. Cause you,
you have a really nice segue here in a discussion
about the division, which I want to get into.
So it is. coaching turnover, complete coaching
turnover now at all four teams, right? With McDaniel
being out of Miami this year, McDermott being
out of Buffalo this off season as well. Over
the course of 18 months, you now have four new
head coaches in a division that used to carry
Belichick, McDermott, like some of the stalwarts
in the division, you know what I mean? Even Salah,
I think you could argue had a pretty long tenure.
by jet standards in New York, given everything
that goes on with your guys franchise, right?
But the Patriots coming off of a Super Bowl,
it does not feel like they are the ones being
hunted in the division to the point that you
made. I think that particular postseason run
and listen, I have a lot of Patriots fans that
every time I even mentioned something slightly
critical of Drake May and his play. They're like,
we show nothing, Josh Allen, but respect because
we respect him. Why can't you respect our guys?
I'm like, all right, pump your brakes. Okay.
Drake May is fine. But what you saw towards the
end of that season, when the schedule got tougher,
which is the type of schedule that the Buffalo
Bills played all season, we played Houston on
the regular season, right? We played Philadelphia
on the regular season, not the giants, not the
Titans. You know what I mean? Like when the schedule
got tough, that is a team that was very, very
limited. And that was a QB that didn't just look
like he hadn't been there before. All of the
things that were in his scouting report coming
out of the draft reared their head again. So
not to say that Drake may is like a regression
candidate or anything like that, but I do think
there was some inflation of progress. for that
particular team and that particular QB that I
think teams are going to key in on this year
as their schedule gets tougher. So I like what
the Patriots have done. But the division does
feel wide open again. And this may be this may
be a little bit crazy. But like, we just saw
the Patriots go from a four win team to the Super
Bowl. depending on what the Jets do in the draft,
could they be a sneaky playoff team in your estimation
this season of everything? Thank you. Thank you
so much for not asking me if they were going
to be a Super Bowl team, because I would have
looked at you like, no, God, no, no, they're
not. No. If Geno Smith makes a Super Bowl before
Josh Allen, I quit football. I'm done. I'm good.
So here's here's what I do think, though. I think
that. You know, the Bills have defensive problems.
The bills like God, the bills now. the Bills
have, in my opinion, they got the best defensive
coordinator available in terms of upside. I love
Jim Lettard and I wanted him to come back to
the Jets, but I could also understand why, you
know, if your boss is going to be someone that
wants to call all the plays and was also a defensive
back, I could understand why that's not going
to work itself out. If the Jets can shore up
their defensive problems, a lot of these AFC
games become winnable again. To your point about
the Patriots, they couldn't beat teams that played
good defense. So this all of a sudden, can you
steal one from the Patriots? Can you steal one
from the Bills? And I mean, if the Jets, it's
a crazy way to look at this, but if the Jets
steal two more conference games this past year,
they're a six -win team. Right. So I mean, the
way I look at it, I now kind of go to, okay,
we're going to set the bar at a six to seven
win season. I think in my opinion, the only good
thing about a 17 game regular season is you can't
go 500 anymore unless you try really hard with
the tie. I know, seriously. The tie is the only
way. To me, the peak of what I think the Jets
are capable of is somewhere in the nine to 10
range and a wild card sneak in. But by the way,
that was enough this year. for a wild card sneak
in. So is it possible? Yes. But what I would
say right after that is even if that's not probable
coming, even sniffing that puts me as a Jets
fan in the ease of they really are following
the lion's trajectory. Aaron Glenn really is
the right coach for this team. And, you know,
and here we go. Right. I mean, if you guys go,
if you guys become a seven, eight, even nine
win team. And I mean, listen, Miami is going
to be what it's going to be. We talk, we talked
to Steve already. He is, uh, he is coping with
hope as I like to say about his fins. Right.
Um, I'm going to ask you a question here to,
to wrap this up that, that you'll be, you'll
be, you'll find his answer hilarious too. Um,
it was great. But, um, but like two wins against
Miami is not so unreasonable. Again, I. I don't
know what the Patriots are going to be. I don't
think they're going to fall off the face of the
earth like a lot of teams do. But I mean, we
saw this with the Cincinnati Bengals where they
beat the Chiefs a few years back. They make a
Super Bowl. They get one more good playoff run
and they've been an absolute like They've been
an absolute limbo as a franchise ever since not
being able to figure a lot of things out, because
eventually the quarterback had to be paid. He
had a wide receiver to that needed to be paid.
Right. And there's only so much team building
you can do. Now, I think the Patriots will be
are a far better run organization than the Bengals
are. But you have a lot of examples in recent
history where the Super Bowl loser. um, from
a previous year, they really struggle in the
following season and following couple of seasons.
Again, I don't think that's going to happen to
new England, but let's say you win two against
Miami, you steal one against the Patriots. All
of a sudden you've got three wins in division
and the bills. are vulnerable defensively this
year, nothing to do with Leonard and the way
he's going to coach, but everything to do with
the personnel build out. Me and JJ have been
saying, it's going to take two years to get this
defense to where they needed to be personnel
wise to fully execute this scheme. I don't think
people fully understand how much of McDermott's
DNA is still on this roster, particularly along
the defensive line. And it's going to take time
and resources to turn that over successfully.
You guys steal one from the Bills too. Four wins
in division, right? That puts you in pretty good
place. And you're playing with a last place schedule
as well. In the ultimate league of parody. And
it's funny, this is all things that I'm thinking
about that like, you know, you've heard me repeatedly
as Jets fans over the last few years have tried
to convince themselves that their team is great.
Be like, get that noise out of here. But now
here I am. where they don't look that great on
paper. And here I am going, they have a real
shot at having the youngest defense in the conference.
And every player on the defense that isn't young
is legitimately on a revenge mission. And this
could be like an island of misfit toys sort of
vibe. And I'm - It could be very interesting.
Yeah. I'm excited about it. Yeah, for sure. So
you think nine wins, you think that's the ceiling
for this crew this year? Yeah, I would give you
a ceiling of nine. I really do think the floor
is six, so I think they could hit six very realistically
and I'd be fine if they hit nine. Oh my god,
I'm gonna have to go buy some memorabilia again.
just fix that interior offensive line and give
Gino all the time in the world he needs behind
the line of scrimmage and you'll get the best
of what's left out of him I would imagine. So
it's yeah, there's some there's some sneaky potential
for you guys to be super interesting. All right.
We have gone all over the place with the run
of show we had and I've loved it. This has been
super organic, but there is one I've got to get
your take on. As I'd mentioned, there are four
new head coaches in the AFC East now officially
with, uh, with half Lee and Brady taking the
reins for their respective teams. Give me how
you would rank to finish up here. All four of
these head coaches. All right. You've got variable.
You've got half Lee Glenn, and then you've got
Brady. I will tell you, Steve. Had no shame and
put half Lee number one. Even the dude hasn't
coached a single game for Miami yet. I I got
to tell you, Steve's optimism in the face of.
All evidence to the contrary, it's it's why we
love him on this podcast. Vrabel, I mean, he's
variable. He should have never lost his job at
Tennessee, let alone so. Yeah, no. Vrabel is
number one until somebody knocks him off. Then
this gets really interesting. Sure do. You know,
Brady and Hathley haven't proven anything yet.
But if I'm being honest with myself, neither
is Glenn. I would actually probably go Vrabel,
Brady, Glenn, Hathley. Now, you give this three
weeks into the season, and this might flip around
a lot. But the thing that Brady has done, that
I saw, and I remember talking to you and JJ about
it when it happened is, Brady took control of
the bill's offense for a week after they got
rid of Ken Dorsey. And even if his play calling
got a little vanilla after a while and his agenda
wasn't as sexy as everybody wanted it to be,
it immediately solved the problems the bills
were having. And there is a component of what
we'll call fixedness that I value. in coaches.
Can they solve whatever problem is in front of
their faces? So I'll put him at number two because
he's at least proven that he can problem solve
at this level. I know that Glenn has also done
that because he had his year where literally
11 Lions players were on injured reserve and
he still got him to the NFC Championship game
on defense. You're gonna stay at number four,
especially while your team's in a total rebuild.
You know, hopefully you'll have an opportunity
in Miami to actually show what you can do, but
it's certainly not gonna be this season. Yeah,
it's not going to be this year. And he to me
is the is the one that has maybe the most approved.
I think he's a great defensive coordinator. I
loved him at Boston, Boston College. I actually
think I may have ranked him third when Steve
and I were ranking it. But that was more the
peer pressure that I felt from Steve and his
like, joyous, like, yes, we've got like a lunch
pail guy in Miami, right? Like in Halfley who
Yeah. cold weather coach, like he's going to
bring some defensive sensibility that organization,
I think he's interesting, but I agree, maybe
has the most to prove. Yeah, it variable is like
heads and tails though, even if even if the Patriots
fall off this year, you you've got to do a lot
to convince me that variable is not going to
be the best coach in that division for a very
long time. He just Every in game decision is
perfect. He's an excellent culture builder. He's
got that perfect mix of like player accessibility,
but accountability. He's got the CEO head coach
thing down. You know what I mean? You know, I
have joked about pretty much anyone that will
listen to me about this. The worst thing that
could have possibly happened to Sean McDermott
this year is that the NFL started doing post
game. locker room speeches, broadcasting those
online, because you saw Vrabel and the energy
that he brought, even the wackiness of Mike McDaniel
at certain points, you know what I mean? Ben
Johnson ripping off his shirt, Liam Cohen spraying
water all over the place. And then you had McDermott
and it did feel tight. It felt like a sermon.
And it felt like it felt like players were doing
their duty, not necessarily having a good time
doing it. He is Vrabel is a guy that commands
respect like McDermott did. But also, you could
have fun while on the job with him too. And McDermott
didn't bring that dimensionality to him. And
I think that was on full display. And ultimately,
I mean, I'm going to get into this with JJ. Ultimately,
I think it was one of the things that that made
it so that he was not ever able to really shake
the residue of 13 seconds. And I think I think
casual football fans and non -bills watchers
were probably all very surprised by how much
13 seconds discourse came out after he got fired
and how much of a cloud that was over the organization
until he left. I think what you said is extremely
compelling and gives us a really unique way to
end this because Aaron Glenn is Sean McDermott
counterculture. Yes. So Aaron Glenn is not. Mike
Fable. Aaron Glenn has not proven that he's going
to out scheme you or out X's and O's you. But
what Aaron Glenn is, is a legendary defensive
back for the New York Jets franchise who played
with a level of competitive intensity and ferocity
that he wants out of his players. And I do think
in the same way that Sean McDermott was able
to find enough We'll call purpose oriented people
that even if they got burned out down the stretch
of it. They bought into what he was selling This
test to me in year two is are there actually
enough Aaron Glenn guys out there that can match
his level of intensity and kind of play with
the swagger and The every like every play matters.
I'm coming at you Intensity that Aaron Glenn
brings which by the way, I love I mean, as a
coach, I wanted that in my basketball players.
So I think I vibe with Aaron Glenn more than
I vibe with somebody like Sean McDermott. There
is more than one way to skin a cat. But to your
point in this league, Mike Vrabel is the gold
standard right now because he does it all. Yes.
So until until you prove that you can consistently
beat that, your way is not the best way. For
sure. And that's a perfect place to end it on,
dude. I mean, speaking of doing it all, you are
a father, you're a podcaster, you're a basketball
guy, you're a Jets fan. And as always, we appreciate
your time for coming on the pod and enlightening
us with what you think is going to be happening
this year in New York. We will for sure have
you back on as long as you're available in the
schedules work for our annual Friends of the
Pod AFC East mock draft. You're going to have
a lot of fun, maybe more fun than some of us
that are Bill's fans. I feel like I'm going to
have all the airtime. Jets have infinity draft
picks and everybody else has it. It's crazy.
And we only do three rounds. So and you've got
four picks on the first. It's just it's nuts.
It's nuts. Oh, my God. But but yeah, it'll be
fun when we have you back on. But as always,
man, good chatting with you. All right. And for
those of you listening at home, we appreciate
you listening to the chat. Like, share, subscribe
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Apple as well. And as always, go bills. you