- 11 months ago
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00:00Another Sunday, another rough week for the New York Jets.
00:04They were blasted at home by the New England Patriots, 42-10.
00:09We're going to talk some Jets football, or at least try to talk about it.
00:12I'm going to do it with a host from WFAN, my man EJ Stewart, who joins me now.
00:17EJ, what's going on, man? How you doing?
00:20How am I doing? Complicated.
00:22Very, very disappointed in the Jets' effort, but very happy with the draft positioning they were in.
00:27So, mixed bag. I don't like seeing the Patriots run up the score on the Jets, but at the end of the day, it's tank season, baby.
00:33Okay, mixed bag, and you used the word effort, which we're going to get to here about this team,
00:40because that word has been used a lot about this team.
00:42So, look, the Jets, they were destroyed in this one, EJ.
00:45They did not pick up a first down until the second quarter when they were already down 21-zip.
00:50Now, some of you guys know you play Madden, you're down 21-zip.
00:52You might want to turn the game off.
00:54I'm not saying you should quit, but I understand why you feel that way.
00:57We've heard head coach Aaron Glenn use the word effort numerous times this season.
01:03EJ, did the Jets show any effort today, or was it already 1-2-3 Cancun around gangrene and they'd given up on the season?
01:13It's really tough to say, to be honest, because the effort certainly didn't look like a team that was still fighting until the end
01:20and trying to show that they definitely believed in this head coach.
01:22But I also got to be real, this Jet roster, particularly defensively, is just malfunctional.
01:29It is not a team that, to me, is NFL caliber.
01:33And you're seeing that now week to week.
01:35You're seeing, whether it's the Jaguars, whether it's the Patriots, whenever they face some of these top NFL teams,
01:39they can pretty much write in the number.
01:41So, some of it, yeah, I guess you could say some of it is bad effort,
01:44but I also think there are a lot of bad players on this team, which is by design.
01:48The Jets have been very clear.
01:49When they made that trade with sauce for sauce, trade in sauce garden, when they traded Quinnen Williams,
01:53this was all about working towards next season.
01:56This was not about winning games this year.
01:58So, you're seeing a lot of guys out there that, quite frankly,
02:00may be seeing some of their first and last real action in NFL games.
02:05Yeah, that could be the case.
02:06And you're right, not a lot of talent there right now on the defensive side of the ball.
02:10Now, look, this was a game, we just talked about the final score, 42-10, EJ.
02:14But when you looked at this game, especially how dominant the Patriots were early on in that first half,
02:19they looked like they could put up 70-plus points in this one.
02:22So, when you look at this loss and where this Jets season has been,
02:26is this rock bottom for the Jets in 2025?
02:30Yeah, for a while, I thought this might end up being a 50-point loss,
02:33and I didn't think that was going to be hyperbole.
02:35This looked like this could have got extremely ugly for the Patriots,
02:38I think kind of just took their foot completely off the gas.
02:41Rock bottom?
02:42No, I think rock bottom was starting, what were they, 0-9 or 0-8,
02:45whatever they were to start the season.
02:46I mean, that to me was rock bottom.
02:48And the way I looked at this season,
02:51the evaluation of this team really ended when those trades happened midseason,
02:55when you get rid of two of your best defensive players.
02:57The Jets had an opportunity to make this a season with some better moments,
03:01make this a season that showed a level of competitiveness the fans would be proud of.
03:05They wasted that when they essentially went two months without a win.
03:09So I don't look at this necessarily as rock bottom.
03:11I think a lot of Jets fans didn't actually watch this game or pay attention at all.
03:14So I don't see this as rock bottom.
03:16It's just another disappointing effort in what has been an absolutely miserable season.
03:21I know rock bottom was starting the season basically 0-4 for several months.
03:25Yeah, hard to get worse than the 0-4 that you saw there,
03:28even though, you know, things, I guess, can always get worse.
03:32Now, EJ, another thing I think that was part of this, well, I'll call it rock bottom of the week
03:36because you said it's not rock bottom.
03:37We'll use the word debacle that you just used, debacle of a week.
03:40This week was before the game on Sunday.
03:44The Jets decided to not allow Ashley Castanillo-Gervasi
03:48to compete in their kick-for-cash field goal contest,
03:51only to change their mind after they were publicly shamed for not letting her do it
03:56because she was a high school soccer coach and former soccer player.
04:00Were you disappointed in the Jets' handling of that?
04:03I would assume so.
04:04And then also, were you disappointed that today she did get the kick,
04:07but she did not make the kick because I was disappointed.
04:09I wanted her to make this kick.
04:10I wanted a win for her when the Jets couldn't get a W.
04:13So how did you feel about this whole thing?
04:16Yeah, as a quote Jared Allen, I guess the lights were too bright for Ashley.
04:19But to be honest, I blame the Jets.
04:20I think that they iced the kicker or iced the high school coach in this sense
04:24because I think that none of this nonsense would have happened.
04:27She probably went up there and made the field goal
04:28and all this would have been put to bed.
04:30But no, this was truly an embarrassing moment for the New York Jets.
04:34It's bad enough that you've had fans have to go out there
04:37and trek to these games in bad weather, watch horrendous football.
04:41Here you have someone who is a longtime Jets fan.
04:44Their family has been part of this organization in terms of going to games
04:47since they were playing back in Shea Stadium.
04:49And to throw her through this ringer and create a negative headline
04:52literally out of nowhere, once again,
04:55speaks to just how dysfunctional this entire organization is.
04:59It seems like they can't actually do anything right
05:01when it comes to stuff on the field, when it comes to stuff off the field.
05:06I mean, this is literally a promotions event,
05:08something created by the PR department to either be a nothing burger
05:12or create a good story.
05:15And somehow they made this a bad story.
05:17I think it speaks to just how much just mismanagement you have at the top.
05:22And it leads right up to Woody Johnson.
05:24And if you're going to have any concerns about the Jets and say,
05:27why does this story about a halftime kicking contest matter?
05:30It matters because Woody Johnson's incompetence seems to have its tentacles
05:34all throughout every facet of the organization.
05:37And this ridiculous halftime kicking contest fiasco
05:42is just another part of that situation.
05:43I 100% agree with you on it, that this is just another part of it, EJ.
05:48And I think it's fair of the question.
05:49So I'm going to toss this question back to you
05:51because I think you're spot on with this about the dysfunction organizationally.
05:56And it shows in their mishandling, shall I say, of this.
06:01But if you see this as a fan and you watch what happened this week,
06:05before we even get to what happened on the field against the Patriots,
06:08why should you have any hope when the Jets, they can mess up a free lunch?
06:13They have a free lunch out here to make people happy.
06:15You talked about people coming out in the bad weather and all the bad vibes.
06:19This is something to try to make the people feel good.
06:22And they messed that up.
06:23So why, if you're a fan, why should you have any hope?
06:27It's tank season, baby.
06:29And you're looking at that NFL draft.
06:30That is where your hope lies.
06:32And that's all you got.
06:32I have nothing else for you.
06:34Do I have confidence in the head coach?
06:36No.
06:36Do I have confidence in the roster?
06:38No.
06:39But I do have some hope that with this general manager,
06:42that you draft a couple of good players.
06:44This draft, Mason Taylor has been a great player.
06:47Obviously, he hasn't played much this week.
06:48Obviously, he's probably going to play the rest of the year.
06:50No Mason Taylor.
06:51But Armand Membu, he's going to be the only guy with a pulse in this game.
06:54He was furious at halftime about the team getting their behinds kicked.
06:58He seems like he's a piece moving forward.
07:00So it seems like the general manager seems to have a clue.
07:03And they're going to have a lot of draft capital.
07:04I think you look at this upcoming NFL draft with the Jets and say, hey, this could be our opportunity as long as the owner or someone else or his kids don't come in and screw it up, that we could actually turn this team around.
07:17Now, will they step into a bunch of other rakes or slip on a bunch of other banana peels after the NFL draft?
07:22That's quite possible.
07:23But we've got to deal with what's ahead of us.
07:25And what's ahead of us, I think, is the Jets in a very advantageous situation.
07:29You've got four picks in the first two rounds of this year's draft and next year's draft.
07:35That's plenty of capital and plenty of assets to potentially make this team a team that actually has some NFL talent, which, surprise, we're playing in the NFL.
07:43But you know what?
07:44If you watch that game on Sunday, you'd realize Jets are far, far away from competing with the top teams in this league.
07:49Yeah, you definitely saw that on Sunday.
07:51OK, so that's where we're going to end here with the NFL draft.
07:53I never thought we'd have mentions of banana peels and rakes when it comes to talking about the Jets.
07:58But then you think about it, you're like, no, makes a whole lot of sense.
08:02OK, so if you're looking for some hope, as you said, and on the bright side, EJ, I guess the way you can look at this game and what happened on Sunday is, well, the Jets did not mess anything up in terms of having a good draft position.
08:14They still ensured themselves that they will have a very high draft pick.
08:18But there's a lot of talk around the Jets because they need a quarterback, and they clearly do, that they should move up for the number one pick.
08:26How do you feel about that?
08:27Should the Jets move up in this draft for the number one pick, could be trading with the Giants, depending on what happens in their game against the Raiders.
08:33But do you think the Jets should move up and be aggressive to get the number one pick and select a quarterback?
08:39Yeah, I do not.
08:40I think the Jets, first of all, they got a lot of help from the Cleveland Browns.
08:43The Cleveland Browns finding a way to beat up on Aaron Rodgers, of all people.
08:47Look at that, talking about the Jets, another Jet, former Jet.
08:50I even call him a Jet nemesis for what he did to the team last year.
08:53But the Browns winning means the Jets move up to three, and now they're in a position where they should, as long as they lose next week, be guaranteed to at least have a top three pick.
09:02And the way I look at this NFL draft, you have from Aaron Mendoza, who's expected to go number one, a guy that I don't see as generational.
09:10It doesn't seem like a lot of draft experts see as generational.
09:12It seems to be the best of what is here right now.
09:15So if I'm in the Jets, and I look at this draft, if you're not able to land the number one pick, and you look at your draft coffers, you've got all these opportunities to fill out the roster everywhere.
09:24Because you have problems at safety, you have problems at corner, you need at least another one or two wide receivers.
09:31I mean, they are a mess in many different spots.
09:34Linebacker spots are a mess.
09:35They're going to have an opportunity to fill those spots with some high draft picks.
09:38I'm using those picks to fill out those players.
09:41If it means that I miss out on Fernando Mendoza, or I miss out on Adonante Moore, you can live with that.
09:47Because, again, you've got your draft picks for next year, and that's a draft that's going to have some big-time talent.
09:53Arch Manning could be in that draft.
09:54Dylan Rayola could be in that draft.
09:56Norsella could be in that draft.
09:57These are guys that were expected to be top guys this year, and all the weird things happening in college football,
10:02and they end up having to come back a year.
10:04But you'll be looking at a draft next year that has five first-round quarterbacks.
10:08That is a possibility next year.
10:11So if I'm the Jets, I'm using this opportunity.
10:13If the quarterback is not there, don't reach for the wrong one.
10:16Fill out the rest of your roster.
10:18Fill out the other holes that you have on this team.
10:19And then next year, go get your guy.
10:21All right.
10:22EJ, preaching patience.
10:24Jets fans have been waiting for a quarterback for a long time.
10:26I'm not sure everybody's going to have that patience.
10:28But I don't disagree with you.
10:29You don't want to reach for a quarterback.
10:31That can be as bad as just not drafting the quarterback, that you're waiting for the right one.
10:36But the Jets, they're still looking for the right one, especially after this week's 42-10 loss to the Patriots.
10:41Not a good one.
10:42EJ has mixed emotions about the Jets right now.
10:45I just did that and realized it felt like I was talking about 6-7, and I'm not at all whatsoever.
10:50That is EJ Stewart.
10:52Check him out on WFAN.
10:55EJ, I appreciate you always coming on with me this season to talk about the Jets.
10:58Have a happy new year, my friend.
10:59Appreciate you.
11:01Yes, happy new year and happy holidays to you and everybody over there.
11:03Thank you, man.
11:04Anytime.
11:04Anytime.