March 19, 2024 • 34 mins
Host Eric Allen is joined in the Audi Performance Studio by former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert.
2:05 - Benkert talks about how his gamer background allowed him to start a YouTube page that teaches football via Madden
6:30 - His experience meeting Aaron Rodgers while playing with the Green Bay Packers
9:05 - The reaction he had to Rodgers joining the Jets
13:30 - What Rodgers brings to the field with his mental game
18:30 - The competition the Jets will face in the AFC East this season
23:34 - Playmaker options for the Jets in the NFL Draft
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Official Jets podcast. Eric Allen here at
One Jets Drive, joined by a special guest today, Kirk
ben Kirk, former NFL quarterback who is a content creator,
a gamer, a father, a husband, And you're coming in today.
You're talking to us from Hawaii, which actually I think
(00:26):
it's five o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
There. It's five o'clock. We just got in yesterday, so
I don't want to want to sound like a superhero,
so we're still on Central time. Yeah, it's pretty early.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Listen. I'll tell you what, how much are you enjoying
things post NFL career because you are so busy right now.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, I love it. It's been fun to be able
to transition the way I have. I do miss playing
and I still miss like being in the locker room
and stuff. But I've been super fortunate that things have
played out the way they have been and a few
different things have taken off.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
So can you talk about some of those things that
have taken off for you?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah? Yeah, So I do work with Sleeper, the fantasy
football app where I do just analysis breakdowns. We launch
a show called Pocket Presence that I do every week,
and then we do quarterback breakdowns with that in season,
then out of season, and that's with Sleeper. And then
I do stuff on my own personal YouTube, just Kurt
Benkirt YouTube where I teach football through Madden. And that's
(01:24):
probably been like the biggest I would say fulfill the
most fulfilling one after leaving, because I'm still attached to
the game just in a way that I want to be,
and I'm kind of scaling, you know, sharing what I
know to millions of people. So it's been pretty cool
to dive into those two things.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
When did that idea originate? Kurt? As far as teaching
football via Madden, and also as a guy not like
many who played Madden, you played in the National Football League?
What helps you in terms of your experience in the
league as far as taking that and then not only
(02:03):
playing the game but teaching it to others.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, so I'll start with the first one. It kind
of came from my background in gaming. So all I
would say for my second year in the NFL to
the end, I've been signed to a protein for gaming,
but I was typically competing in like Fortnite called Duty
and Halo, so a lot of first person shooter games.
And then with the extra time away from football. This
first time around, I was like, man, let me see
(02:26):
like how maddam would go, how the views would be,
how people would like it. And I started just basically
Tony romoing my games of that and saying things that
were gonna happen before they did and what I'm looking at,
and people just gravitated towards it. So that then led
me me to kickstart my YouTube and I hired an
editor and then we got him on full time after
a few months of like testing it out, and now
(02:48):
we're just scaling that and creating new series Somewhere. I'm
like taking myself and redoing my career somewhere. I'm just
teaching like the best plays and how to read defenses
and everything like that. So it it came from a
blend of my background in gaming and then also seeing
masterclasses of other businesses and like, I think I can
do this on YouTube, but in a more interactive way.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Okay, so I'm mad, Now which quarterback do you like
operate and with the best, and which system do you
like the best?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah? So I play with Josh Allen a lot because
I think you need to have a guy that can
move around in Madnes especially I play with Aaron because
of his quick release in the game. I try to like,
you can just do things with him that you can't
with other guys. And then Mahomes has something called Hot
Route Master, which is kind of cheating if you're if
you know football, because then you can just you get
(03:38):
like an extra eight routes that you can audible receivers to,
so I basically have everything at my disposal when I'm
playing with him. So those three are kind of the blend.
And then I actually use the Pittsburgh Steelers playbook.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
When I play Why Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
They have a really good, good empty package that has a
good pre snap alignment with spacing of the receivers. So
it just when you get into empty, it makes the
defense to Claire typically and Madden especially, and so I
get to basically exploit like quick out routes, pylon routes,
and just stuff that it gets into spacing a little
bit different than all of these other playbooks. Though.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Did you like playing empty yourself as far? Yeah, tell
me about it.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
So some coaches philosophies when you're getting blitzed a lot
is to bring more of a protection in block it
up and have like three man routes, and mine is
the opposite, Like I want to know where I'm getting
hot from and throw off of that, And I'd rather
I'm like a creative player, So when I play in
real life, I try to scramble and make plays on
my feet. And I think when you have seven people
(04:37):
blocking and seven or eight people blitzing, it's a lot
of people in the box that you can't really navigate
through as a scrambler. So I'd rather have five of
my guys blocking with more space and be able to
scramble and create plays.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
All Right, You're a fascinating dude in your content is
really engaging. But a lot of Jets fans are probably
listening right now. We're watching them, like Kurt bind Kurt,
what's the connection here? Well, let's go back twenty twenty one,
the summer twenty twenty one when you were a Packer
and Aaron Rodgers was the quarterback. I remember actually watching
(05:08):
you take snaps there because the Jets practice with the
Packers for a week. Let's go all the way back
even before summer though, when the Packers signed you. What
was your first interaction with Aaron?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
So he wasn't there that summer for OTAs, and that's
actually the reason why I got signed. It was me,
Jordan Love, and Blake Bortles and Aaron was having contract talks,
and so when I got signed, I was like, Okay,
I'm just gonna be a camp arm, but I'm going
to show them what I can do it hopefully find
what it sticked around, and then Aaron got back, got
his deal done, and they actually ended up cutting Blake
(05:46):
and kept me throughout the whole season. So they must
have liked what they saw enough of OTAs it could
keep me around. And then my first time actually meeting him,
it's a good story. I'm going in for what was
it training, Yeah, for training. Came and go to the bathroom,
go to take a pee, and he's walking up next
to me to the urinal right next to me. That's
(06:06):
my first time meeting him, and so he knew like
my face from seeing it online, and I obviously knew
who he was. He'd been like my childhood favorite player,
and so I just look over as we're both peeing, like, Hey,
I'm the new quarterback. Nice to meet you. I didn't
expect to meet you this way, but glad to be
here whatever. So it was just a funny moment. And
if you know his personality, obviously enjoy stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Did you make eye contact when you were saying what up?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Eye contact at this level the whole time? Yes?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And then how did your relationship develop from there? Because
you have unique experiences, because it seems like in a
short time you guys grew pretty close.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah. I think it grew so fast because he appreciated
that it wasn't just twenty four to seven football for
me and I have like balance in life and like
things outside of football. I love football, obviously I'm obsessed
with what I do, but I do know how to disconnect.
And I think he's had experience with guys probably that
don't necessarily know how to do that, And that's who
he is as a person too. Like he gets his
(07:09):
work done, he's always prepared, always ready, He's obviously the
top of the game, but he has things outside of
football day's interested in. So it doesn't just want to
talk about it all the time. And from the very beginning,
I wasn't just like trying to, you know, ask all
these football questions and learn from him all the time.
So we had common interest outside of football things that
I was into. He knew that I was into gaming
(07:29):
at the time and signed out pro team, so like,
he loved that. He used to play Halo back in
the day, so that was like our first kind of connection.
And then after that, you know, experience has happened, the
season happens, media stuff happens, and he loved that I
was not afraid to speak my mind in the media,
even though I was a practice squad quarterback at the time.
That's just kind of how I've always been. So he
(07:50):
really appreciated that. And there was like a like the
thing with the COVID stuff, with the immunization and all
of that that went down, and I publicly kind of
put my neck out there for him, and he really
appreciated that. But it was just he was getting dragged
that year like undeservingly. So it just, yeah, we grew
through a bunch of different experiences in one year.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
So how good of a Halo player was Aaron? And
what other games did you play alongside him? Did you
play many?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
We never, we never played together. We talked about it though.
He he loved talking about it. He would see the
clips that I'd be posting, and at that time, Halo
Infinite had just came out, so it was just there's
a lot of like stuff on the timeline about that game.
But he just he loved that I was into things
outside of football and growing business outside of football while
I was playing. So he obviously thought that was decent,
(08:42):
decently cool in his world.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
So what would I What would you said if I
told you way back when that at Rogers was actually
going to end up with the Jets back in twenty.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
One, man, I would have first asked, what's the connection
and how did it get there? Because I don't think
he does anything without purpose, and so to know that
he was gonna go, and Hackett was gonna go, and
he was gonna get some of his guys, and I
would have thought, like, yeah, there's definitely a chance there.
I would have been. I was kind of shocked though
(09:13):
with obviously how they moved on in Green Bay from him,
but timing wise, that's just kind of how Green Bay operates.
So yeah, I was less shocked about the green Bay
moving on. I would have been decently like shocked about
where he ended up, but I think it all makes sense.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Did you know when you're in that situation that hey,
not only obviously Rogers is a future Hall of Famer,
but Jordan loved This guy's going to be pretty good himself.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah. Actually, so from the beginning with Jordan, I always
thought that he had like a unique way of playing
and like a different skill set, and that it wasn't
really fair for him to have to try to emulate
Aaron every day in practice or try to like kind
of follow in his favorite plays and stuff. So I
was just hoping that at some point this year for Jordan,
he would have the chance to have the offense be
(10:02):
more his own, have plays be catered more towards him,
like the style of things. And I think that changed
around like somewhere between week six to eight. But I
knew he had He's a talented passer, he just is
a little bit unorthodox and how he gets it done.
And he's a baller like he can he makes plays
all over the field, gives us guys chances, typically knows
when to take the risks when not to. And for
(10:24):
him being his first full year, it's been cool to
see like his progression because he was not who he
is today in year one, two three, Like it's taken
time to get there, which he would say the same thing.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
And Kurt, that's something you continue to preach out there
to folks on social media, and that's not a platform.
Social media platforms are often not about patients. But you're saying, hey,
listen a lot of times, it takes quarterbacks time, necessary
time to develop well.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
And I think it's just it's you're playing. People don't
understand that College to the NFL is it's like two
different games. It's not even like playing football that just
slowly ramps up. It's a completely different game that you're learning.
It's in college, it's about exploiting space, get the ball
in the hands of people that have speed, a lot
of bubbles, the hashes make such a big difference that
(11:12):
people don't understand, Like the wide side of the field
in college is a lot wider than the white side
of the field in the NFL. And that changes play calling,
splits like it changes everything. And so in the NFL
you have to really learn as a quarterback one protections matter.
It's like number one is a quarterback knowing where you're protected,
knowing what problems you have and what answers do you
have on any given play and in college, at least
(11:35):
in my scheme and a lot of these other schemes
that I'm watching, it's full slide, a running back's blocking
a d end and you have to get the ball
out quick and quick game. Or it is a tight
end and a running back responsible for a d n
and the line is still full sliding. A lot of
teams use that full slide, where in the NFL you
would only ever use that when you're getting zero blitz.
And so that was my first like light bulb that
went off, like, wait a minute, this is a different
(11:56):
game of chess than I was ever playing. Yes, we
can all throw the ball, we can all run, we
can all do these things, but like how you get
to those point, the point of like having successful plays
time and time again in situational football, there's things we're
never preached in college. At least where I was, it
was just get the ball to your guys in space,
read the triangles in the zone, and take man beaters
if you got them. And that's it was simple. It
(12:18):
is just as simple as that. And so I just
think that stuff takes some guys longer than others, and
some guys are more talented but aren't given the time
to get to that point where it's second nature, and
that's why you see guys in your ten, twelve, fourteen,
fifteen start to actually like hit this consistent rhythm that
a lot of guys don't get the chance to get to.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah, it's interesting. You were just tweeting about former Jets
quarterback Gino Smith his development late in his career. As
far as approaching the chess board, What does Rogers bring
to the table from a mental standpoint.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, as a.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Guy who's forty years old, he's going to be heading
into year forty one here in the National Football League.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
I think that are you? And is this in regards
to like other quarterbacks in the room or just what
he has to the take.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
What he I guess I would say, Kurt, like what
he brings out there just in the huddle and then
go onto the line of scrimmage itself.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah, so there's not a look that he has not seen.
And I think that that helps a lot, because one
I would say, when you're preparing for teams one, you
have to be prepared for your own game plan first,
and then you have certain plays, especially in a WESCO system,
that are very defense dependent that you have to watch
more for more film for When you've been in it
(13:38):
that long, your film study, I would imagine, gets a
little bit slighter, a little bit like not as long,
because you're knowing exactly what you're looking for. You're not
just watching the games just to watch them and feel
it out, like you know exactly what you're looking for.
You're looking for the third down tape, the red zone tape,
the specific situations on third and you know three to
six then eight to ten plus your break the game
(14:00):
down specifically. So for him, he's just trying to see, Okay,
in this situation, what are they gonna do? Got it?
It's in my toolbag. I know that. That's what I'm
to expect this week. Where with younger guys, I feel
like there's so much time spent watching all the film
possible that you actually slow down the game or you
make the game harder to play because you're slowing down
your processing because there's so much information overload. Where in
(14:20):
a West Coast system, you really just need to know
your stuff, know the few things that they're gonna do,
and then know the matchups and the players that you're
trying to pick apart. So for him, it's that processing
that I just think he's not wasting as much time
on the things that don't matter when he's preparing. And
then on top of that, you have a guy that
situationally had been in every situation possible in a game
(14:42):
that you can bring those guys in the huddle around
and say, look, this is what we're to expect. If
it's third in you know three, Hey, we're gonna probably
get heavy man here. Expect blitz because this is this
coordinator's tree. Like he says stuff like that in the
meeting room without even having to watch the film because
he knows who these guys are, and he knows the
names of all the rest, like down to that point.
And so when you have that type of guy leading
(15:05):
the way, there's just these hidden like attributes that level
up everybody else on the team that everybody plays betterny
of a guy like that.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
What's the quarterback room like with him in there? We
saw a glimpse of that Darren hard knocks and we
got one Jets drive here the Jets in house documentary team.
But for a guy lived it and breathed it every day.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Yeah, Yeah, So it's is such a good ability to
flip the switch to like when it's time to get
shit done, sorry, get stuff done, get stuff done, and
yeah it's a podcast. When it's time to get stuff done,
you get it done. And then also when it's time
to be one of the boys, you can be one
of the boys. And he does such a good job
of navigating that line and going back and forth between
(15:48):
that that I think it just there's like a calmnist
to win when he's around and obviously healthy and an
asset to the team that you just can't even like
quantify that. And that's what we felt like with when
we were in Green Bay, like it didn't really matter
like if we felt like we had a great game
plan that week, or if it was like, ah, maybe
there are a better defense than us. Like Aaron's gonna
lead the way and find a way and navigate it
(16:08):
and have to like deviate slightly off course if he
has to in a game, or I think sometimes if
the young quarterback, there's no deviation. You're just gonna stick
to the game plan. And if you guys are gonna lose,
you're probably gonna lose without like risking your job. And
so he brings that to the table and the meeting
rooms are just like I don't know. He he enjoys
having fun. There's mini games and like like basketball and
(16:30):
darts and all that stuff. But then you you also
flip the switch and get to business.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
So for you a guy who can call Aaron his friend.
When you're watching September eleventh, Jet spills, he goes down
on the fourth play, what goes through your mind?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Man? I almost cried for him because I felt that
just like sink in my stomach of what I know
he's kind of went through to get to that point.
And it wasn't like Sunshine and Roses to become a Jet.
It was a lot of like outcast and it was
like being kicked out and moved on from right Like
this was his redemption to why they shouldn't have moved
(17:10):
on so soon. And that's how I felt like this
was going to play out this season, and to see
it get cut short and one, especially with the way
that the roster was, but the way the defense was
for the Jets this year, with the young talent with Brees,
with Garrett Wilson, like it felt like for the first
time he had some of these things that had been
missing like the defense for one, that he didn't have
(17:31):
to be a superhero this year to make things work.
He could have played his game, played efficient, played accurate,
and you guys would have had a good path where
things change obviously when that injury happens and the defense,
it's like kind of felt like a wasted good defensive year.
And so it was just this opportunity that you know,
he talks about it a lot too, like that year's
(17:54):
team will never be that year's team again, right, So
to miss the twenty twenty three season with the way
that it looks, it's just a missed opportunity to where, now, okay,
twenty twenty four, what's the defense going to look like,
what's the offen's gonna look like, what's the rest of
the division going to look like? Are they getting better?
They're getting worse? This year just felt like there were
a lot of good qu question marks in the Jets
favor had he not gotten hurt. And next year it's
(18:16):
gonna be a little bit harder. But you're gonna have
Aaron Bach speak.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
To that about it being a little bit harder, and
what do you think he's facing as far as twenty
twenty four is concerned.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yeah, So I look at the division and I'm looking
at one of the Dolphins look like they're getting worse
in free agency. They've lost a lot of guys. I
don't know what the draft looks like, obviously with the
amount of picks, but they got to nail their draft
to in my opinion, get better. You're either you're getting
better or worse in the NFL every season, there's no
in between. I'm looking at the Bills and they've cleaned house,
but they cleaned a lot of older players out, so
(18:49):
who are they going to bring in? Who are they
gonna have, Like, you lose some of that veteran leadership.
So then I look at it as the beginning of
the season is often harder when you have a younger team.
It's just kind of how it goes. You look at
the Packers last was the same case. So I'm looking
at the Bills and the Dolphins like, Okay, they still
have some of their guys. They still have good players.
You're gonna have to handle them, but there might be
a little bit of an opportunity early in the season
(19:10):
before they catch their groove to use some of the
veteran leadership and having some of the older guys around
with the Jets to get some of those wins early
that are a little bit easier. And then I look
at the Patriots, and last year was an unfortunate missed
opportunity to not be able to take advantage of a
bad Patriots team. I think they're gonna get better this year.
They're gonna play a little bit more inspired. Their roster
isn't where obviously it needs to be to compete with
(19:32):
all the other teams in the division consistently, but I
think they're going to play more inspired football, so they're
not just going to be a walkover team. But I
think this year again it looks like it's a good opportunity.
I think your guys's team wise, like defense should be
better than they were last year. An offense, I just
think he's gonna play well, like I think though his
(19:55):
achilles doesn't affect his playstyle as much as it would
other guys. The year to take care of his body
on all the other things, which is also sometimes a blessing.
So I think it's another really good opportunity for you
guys to go and take it. And now it's what's
the rigor of the season gonna look like. Is there
gonna be a lot of injuries? Is it what happens?
Speaker 1 (20:12):
So that's a really interesting point you just said. You
don't think his achilles is going to impact his play
style as much as it would other guys. Can he
elaborate on that?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Yeah, so's he's a scrambler. Sorry, there's a chuck rolling by.
He's a scrambler, but he doesn't scramble to run. He
scrambles us to get out of the pocket, shrambons to
get out of space. He scrambles and get out of space.
And he doesn't need that extra burst necessarily to change
his like to change a game. He just needs to
(20:44):
evade that first guy and typically I feel like an
achilles yet you lose some of your burst. But he's
got enough juice in the tank to make guys miss
and enough savviness to play within that one by one
frame that he talks about, like the yard by yard
box that he likes to play in, like that precision
precision passing game is not going to change. Might be
a little slower on scrambles, but he's still gonna get
out of the pocket, and he's still gonna make plays
(21:05):
on the run, but he just might not see him
break off a twenty yard run or whatever it might be.
But knowing him, he's gonna he's gonna do it. He's
gonna stay told you just so when he sees this.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
So everybody talks about the importance of continuity along that
offensive line. What do you think about some of the
additions the Jets have made in free agency and how
can Aaron help those guys as far as protections are concerned.
You got Tyron Smith, an eight time Pro bowler, a
five time All Pro, the two time first team All Pro,
(21:33):
three times second team All Pro coming in a left tackle.
You got John Simpson at left guard, and then Morgan
Moses Returns at right tackle. That on paper is three
new starters.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, that's a stout line, and I think it's a
it's a lot of like those are big dudes. It's
not just like their agile dudes. They're big dudes. They
take a lot of space. And I think for Aaron,
the way that he plays, he's comfortable with guys being
in his lap, he's comfortable with guys being pushed into him.
He doesn't play as well when he's got free rushers.
So I think those are the types of guys offensive
(22:04):
play style wise that like, look, it's okay you can
get push back and get deep, but you're not just
gonna get like ripped through and let guys free. And
I think part of letting guys free which saw last year,
like Zach just he's not at the level of what
Aaron was in protections. And Aaron can take two or
three different protections that are talked about in the week
and blend them together mid game to get exactly what
(22:25):
he wants even if it's like not talked about, and
he has his answers, He's always prepared with the protection.
It's what he's so good at. The people I don't
think really talk about enough because of how accurate he is,
but he's really good at taking hits off, buying that
extra half a second to get the ball out, and
he's also comfortable with like standing in there and delivering
last second. So I just think you're gonna see some
(22:45):
plays pop up this year that obviously didn't even have
the chance to come to Fruition last year, just off
a protection alone between the beefyr o line and the
rules that he's going to be applying to them. When
they're picking up pass pro problems.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
You Mitch Garrett Wilson bresee Hall before Sunny Stars in
the National Football League entering year three? What else do
you think the Jets should do around those guys? Tyler
Conklin is a good tight and I thought he played
very well last year. Sixty one catches as well, and
his production should be interesting with a guy like Rogers
(23:19):
fire on the football. But what other offensive skill pieces
do you think the Jets should be interested in here
as the offseason progresses.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Yeah, you guys have picked ten in the first round.
I believe, yes, yep, yeah, I'm the I had one
mock that if brock Bowers falls, I know, like I
don't like taking tight ends top ten or top I
don't even like taking them really in the first round
if you can get at value later. But he's he's
really good, Like he's a really good player. And I
think for someone like Aaron with his play style, having
(23:49):
an explosive tight end with a good catch radios could
be just a lot of really easy first downs on
third downs. So I look at it from that perspective,
and then I also look at like you have a
dune who if he falls to ten. I mean, it's
never you can never go wrong taking a game changing
receiver in my opinion that early. I don't know what
the defense looks like at this point, but I mean
(24:11):
I think Aaron's going his entire career without having a
receiver taken top ten, maybe first round. Like, So, to
think of it from that perspective, what happens if you
have a Garrett Wilson on one side and then and
then Dune's say, if he drops her neighbors, if he
drops I think it could be pretty cool. You look
at Joe Burrow in the success that he's had. He
(24:31):
has a loaded receiver room with Jamar Chase and t Higgins.
They Tyler Boyd like mixing. Aaron cannoperate at a really
high level with guys like that around him, and I
would like to see maybe one more piece of firepower.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Veteran quarterbacks. We talk about Brady in the past, he
likes a certain type of receiver. Yeah, is Rogers the
same way? Or like, what would a transition transition be
for a young guy coming in and playing with a
guy like Aaron.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, So the first thing is being aware of all
of his signals and all of his like one on
one checks. That's probably number one. There's there's signals in
plays and routes that were not rammed this year because
Aaron wasn't there doing it. That great example, DeVante Adams
had a route in the red zone I think it
was like week fifteen, thirteen fourteen, something like that in
(25:24):
twenty twenty one where they just called a route that
they had from four years prior on a whim on
an old signal that they scored a touchdown on because
the leverage was not what they had predicted in the
film room. He was supposed to run a I think
a go or something and he ended up running like
a delax lant. And that that's something that was never
talked about. I mean, if we had ram what was called,
(25:45):
it would have been stonewalled, and so there were no answers.
So he went and found an answer that they had
from years past. So to have a guy like that one,
I think he has that in Garrett Wilson. They're preparing
him to be that guy. But you have to be
ready for those signals that come up that maybe aren't
in the game plan but you talked about a month ago.
That is a big adjustment for him to start trusting you,
and once he has your trust, I mean it's it's over.
(26:06):
So I think for a guy like him, he basically
is playing Madden out there. When he's playing, he's got
the full playbook available, he's got his full experience available.
He can audible anything at any time if he wants to.
And so the younger guys, when you can get caught
up to that speed and get on that same level,
you'll play earlier and you'll play better.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Well, can you tell us about the Nathaniel Hackett slash
Aaron Rodgers system because we didn't have the opportunity to
see it last year when Rogers goes down and obviously
the Jets end up playing with four different quarterbacks and
they start thirteen different offensive line combinations.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Yeah, So I would say the best analogy I can
use for those two, I would say, Hackett, have you
ever seen like the uh my daughter's like three right now,
and she loves these coloring books. But you have to
like draw the lines and then you can color in
them like you've connected out some color.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yes, I would say, my daughters four.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Okay, so you're in, You're in the thick of it. No,
I would say, Nathaniel Hackett connects the dots, draws the lines,
and makes the that stencil. Aaron will go color it
in within certain a palette. However, if he wants to
where you have other guys like the guys that you
had last year, I don't think we're coloring it in.
(27:19):
And I don't know if the way that the offense
was designed would have really helped many other quarterbacks because
it was specifically set for Aaron. And so I love
Hackett to death. I think him and Aaron are going
to do a great job this year. I think that
the way that it's set up for Aaron is not
set up to work for other guys. But it kind
of felt like all eggs in the basket for Aaron
(27:40):
this past year. So I would say you're gonna know
within a like a range of what to expect with Aaron,
and every game will be a little bit different. But
Hackett man, he does such a good job of prepping,
of giving you all the information you need, of every
look you need all week long, what to expect. This
is why we're attacking it the way we are, and
even though it may not be the best way to
(28:01):
attack it, one week over another, you at least know
he has reasoning behind why he's doing it that way
and that's what he believes in. And so with that,
Aaron has given all of that, and then it's his
job to navigate and weave throughout the game, going back
and forth with the coach to figure out the best
way to navigate that game. And I think that's something
that people don't understand about NFL football is like some
guys play like a robot, and those guys I don't
(28:23):
think have like deep success throughout the season. There's only
one guy, and I think it's Peyton Manning that played
like a robot that found a way to have success
at a high level for a long time. I would
say Brady somewhat like that. But he also lend himself
more to being like an artist from time to time,
especially in situational football. Aaron plays as the game like
a straight up artist. And so for someone to give
(28:45):
him the canvas, give them the lines, this is what
we're expecting. These are the shades and pallets and everything
you can use for or using this drawing, this piece
of art. Go do your thing. That's how Aaron operates,
and that's how he's successful. And I think you'll see
that this year. I really do.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
He's got an interesting way about himself. Anybody who's been
with him inside the locker room speaks to that. Can
you talk about Aaron and did you always see a
chip on his shoulder and inherent chip on his shoulder?
And what about his position specifically heading into twenty twenty
(29:21):
four where he's going to turn forty one in December,
he's coming off to Achilles and everybody's going to be
counting them out, probably more than ever.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah, he's one guy I would not bet against for sure.
I think he will do things just because you said
he couldn't do it, to prove a point. And I
think that's what's made him so successful. He's had that
from the beginning before he even got into the NFL,
when he was in junior college getting into a Division
one program, and he's had that. That's how he's wired,
(29:52):
and so he's wired that way. He's extremely talented. He's
only gotten better and he is a master of his game.
I think a guy like him, he's not like a
Lamar Jackson that needs his legs and like a Russell
Wilson that needs his legs to operate like. He could
be pinpoint accurate and delivering with a tight space around
him for a long time. And I think he could
play as long as he wants to. Just like Tom Brady,
(30:15):
I think he could have kept playing. I think the
game you do need to move around a little bit,
and I think Aaron does that. But I think he's
gonna he's gonna bring all of that together this year,
and I think the guys in the locker room are
gonna elevate because of it.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
As someone who enjoyed his experience with Aaron so much,
would you like to see the Jets add a quarterback,
a rookie quarterback here on Day three the draft? Obviously
they signed to Rod Taller, an accomplished guy who's had
a number stops in the National Football League. This is
his seventh organization, But you know, Taylor, you have definitely
(30:48):
upgraded the backup spot. Would you like the Jets to
add a young guy as someone who's been in that
position before?
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Yeah? Yeah, I think, And I don't know, like a
day three pick, Like I think a Day three pick
undrafted guy makes sense for like what the goals are
right now. I think if you waste. If you waste
anything earlier, it's an opportunity costs that you're losing on
another player that could be a stud, especially in such
a deep receiver class, Like there's gonna be guys day too,
(31:17):
going all day long that can play. So yeah, I
do think though, like if a guy like Spencer Rattler falls,
I could see him benefiting heavily from being around Aaron.
I don't think he will. I think he's getting more
kind of trending up a little bit. I think it'll
be like an early day too. But I could see
like a young guy with talent that's maybe just a
(31:38):
little raw, really benefit and expediting his development and transition
to the NFL by going and being in a room
with him because the footwork, Like everything starts with footwork,
Everything starts with like progression, under knowing everything, understanding the line,
understanding the rules. And Aaron is so much of a
master of that stuff that we just forget about that
because he throws well, but those things are the details
(31:59):
that he does not miss. And I think being around
him every day for me, I spent three years with
Matt Ryan and he was awesome for me. I learned
a lot. I learned how to play the game from
like a methodical way, but Aaron took it to a
new level and a different understanding for me that like,
actually it resonated even more so I felt like I
took a bigger jump from that one year there and
than I did in the three years trying to figure
it out in Atlanta. So I could see it being
a huge benefit to a young kid.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Well, I've had a lot of fun, man, catch it
up with you in your content is tremendous, Hey, I
appreciate it. Why do you remind fans where they can
find you right now? As far as it because you're
on all these different platforms, Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Yeah, I use them all a little bit different. But
it's just Kurt ben Kirk k U rt b e
n k e r T everywhere. Twitter is more of
my opinions and my takes and kind of what's on
my mind. YouTube is more methodical with teaching football TikTok,
who the hell knows what happens on TikTok, and then
I live stream on Twitch from time to time when
I slay that. So it's kind of everything acrosss the board.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
And what would you tell people about your journey as
a guy who grew up in Florida, went to East Carolina,
you made the transfer to the Wahoo's the University of Virginia,
and then you have a number of stops in the
National Football League, and now you're making your way here
across all these kind of content platforms.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Yeah, I would say the biggest thing that I learned
is that you have to take matters into your own hands.
And for me, like I had played for five years,
but I'd just been sitting and waiting and waiting for
an opportunity, and I decided that I needed to start
doing things outside of football that I could move forward
and that I had control over it, because at the
end of the day, in football, I was still relying
(33:44):
on someone either missing a game, getting hurt or something
to see the field, and that's just what it was
going to be as an undrafted guy. So I think
you have to not be afraid to pave your own
way and do your own thing and do things that
you enjoy doing, and if you can monetize them on
the way, then that's obviously a.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Plus awesome advice. We hope we can catch up here soon.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Kurt. Of course, we'll be in touch. Have a go
one mm hm m m m
Welcome to the Official Jets podcast. Eric Allen here at
One Jets Drive, joined by a special guest today, Kirk
ben Kirk, former NFL quarterback who is a content creator,
a gamer, a father, a husband, And you're coming in today.
You're talking to us from Hawaii, which actually I think
(00:26):
it's five o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
There. It's five o'clock. We just got in yesterday, so
I don't want to want to sound like a superhero,
so we're still on Central time. Yeah, it's pretty early.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Listen. I'll tell you what, how much are you enjoying
things post NFL career because you are so busy right now.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, I love it. It's been fun to be able
to transition the way I have. I do miss playing
and I still miss like being in the locker room
and stuff. But I've been super fortunate that things have
played out the way they have been and a few
different things have taken off.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
So can you talk about some of those things that
have taken off for you?
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yeah? Yeah, So I do work with Sleeper, the fantasy
football app where I do just analysis breakdowns. We launch
a show called Pocket Presence that I do every week,
and then we do quarterback breakdowns with that in season,
then out of season, and that's with Sleeper. And then
I do stuff on my own personal YouTube, just Kurt
Benkirt YouTube where I teach football through Madden. And that's
(01:24):
probably been like the biggest I would say fulfill the
most fulfilling one after leaving, because I'm still attached to
the game just in a way that I want to be,
and I'm kind of scaling, you know, sharing what I
know to millions of people. So it's been pretty cool
to dive into those two things.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
When did that idea originate? Kurt? As far as teaching
football via Madden, and also as a guy not like
many who played Madden, you played in the National Football League?
What helps you in terms of your experience in the
league as far as taking that and then not only
(02:03):
playing the game but teaching it to others.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, so I'll start with the first one. It kind
of came from my background in gaming. So all I
would say for my second year in the NFL to
the end, I've been signed to a protein for gaming,
but I was typically competing in like Fortnite called Duty
and Halo, so a lot of first person shooter games.
And then with the extra time away from football. This
first time around, I was like, man, let me see
(02:26):
like how maddam would go, how the views would be,
how people would like it. And I started just basically
Tony romoing my games of that and saying things that
were gonna happen before they did and what I'm looking at,
and people just gravitated towards it. So that then led
me me to kickstart my YouTube and I hired an
editor and then we got him on full time after
a few months of like testing it out, and now
(02:48):
we're just scaling that and creating new series Somewhere. I'm
like taking myself and redoing my career somewhere. I'm just
teaching like the best plays and how to read defenses
and everything like that. So it it came from a
blend of my background in gaming and then also seeing
masterclasses of other businesses and like, I think I can
do this on YouTube, but in a more interactive way.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Okay, so I'm mad, Now which quarterback do you like
operate and with the best, and which system do you
like the best?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Yeah? So I play with Josh Allen a lot because
I think you need to have a guy that can
move around in Madnes especially I play with Aaron because
of his quick release in the game. I try to like,
you can just do things with him that you can't
with other guys. And then Mahomes has something called Hot
Route Master, which is kind of cheating if you're if
you know football, because then you can just you get
(03:38):
like an extra eight routes that you can audible receivers to,
so I basically have everything at my disposal when I'm
playing with him. So those three are kind of the blend.
And then I actually use the Pittsburgh Steelers playbook.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
When I play Why Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
They have a really good, good empty package that has a
good pre snap alignment with spacing of the receivers. So
it just when you get into empty, it makes the
defense to Claire typically and Madden especially, and so I
get to basically exploit like quick out routes, pylon routes,
and just stuff that it gets into spacing a little
bit different than all of these other playbooks. Though.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Did you like playing empty yourself as far? Yeah, tell
me about it.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
So some coaches philosophies when you're getting blitzed a lot
is to bring more of a protection in block it
up and have like three man routes, and mine is
the opposite, Like I want to know where I'm getting
hot from and throw off of that, And I'd rather
I'm like a creative player, So when I play in
real life, I try to scramble and make plays on
my feet. And I think when you have seven people
(04:37):
blocking and seven or eight people blitzing, it's a lot
of people in the box that you can't really navigate
through as a scrambler. So I'd rather have five of
my guys blocking with more space and be able to
scramble and create plays.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
All Right, You're a fascinating dude in your content is
really engaging. But a lot of Jets fans are probably
listening right now. We're watching them, like Kurt bind Kurt,
what's the connection here? Well, let's go back twenty twenty one,
the summer twenty twenty one when you were a Packer
and Aaron Rodgers was the quarterback. I remember actually watching
(05:08):
you take snaps there because the Jets practice with the
Packers for a week. Let's go all the way back
even before summer though, when the Packers signed you. What
was your first interaction with Aaron?
Speaker 2 (05:26):
So he wasn't there that summer for OTAs, and that's
actually the reason why I got signed. It was me,
Jordan Love, and Blake Bortles and Aaron was having contract talks,
and so when I got signed, I was like, Okay,
I'm just gonna be a camp arm, but I'm going
to show them what I can do it hopefully find
what it sticked around, and then Aaron got back, got
his deal done, and they actually ended up cutting Blake
(05:46):
and kept me throughout the whole season. So they must
have liked what they saw enough of OTAs it could
keep me around. And then my first time actually meeting him,
it's a good story. I'm going in for what was
it training, Yeah, for training. Came and go to the bathroom,
go to take a pee, and he's walking up next
to me to the urinal right next to me. That's
(06:06):
my first time meeting him, and so he knew like
my face from seeing it online, and I obviously knew
who he was. He'd been like my childhood favorite player,
and so I just look over as we're both peeing, like, Hey,
I'm the new quarterback. Nice to meet you. I didn't
expect to meet you this way, but glad to be
here whatever. So it was just a funny moment. And
if you know his personality, obviously enjoy stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Did you make eye contact when you were saying what up?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Eye contact at this level the whole time? Yes?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
And then how did your relationship develop from there? Because
you have unique experiences, because it seems like in a
short time you guys grew pretty close.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah. I think it grew so fast because he appreciated
that it wasn't just twenty four to seven football for
me and I have like balance in life and like
things outside of football. I love football, obviously I'm obsessed
with what I do, but I do know how to disconnect.
And I think he's had experience with guys probably that
don't necessarily know how to do that, And that's who
he is as a person too. Like he gets his
(07:09):
work done, he's always prepared, always ready, He's obviously the
top of the game, but he has things outside of
football day's interested in. So it doesn't just want to
talk about it all the time. And from the very beginning,
I wasn't just like trying to, you know, ask all
these football questions and learn from him all the time.
So we had common interest outside of football things that
I was into. He knew that I was into gaming
(07:29):
at the time and signed out pro team, so like,
he loved that. He used to play Halo back in
the day, so that was like our first kind of connection.
And then after that, you know, experience has happened, the
season happens, media stuff happens, and he loved that I
was not afraid to speak my mind in the media,
even though I was a practice squad quarterback at the time.
That's just kind of how I've always been. So he
(07:50):
really appreciated that. And there was like a like the
thing with the COVID stuff, with the immunization and all
of that that went down, and I publicly kind of
put my neck out there for him, and he really
appreciated that. But it was just he was getting dragged
that year like undeservingly. So it just, yeah, we grew
through a bunch of different experiences in one year.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
So how good of a Halo player was Aaron? And
what other games did you play alongside him? Did you
play many?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
We never, we never played together. We talked about it though.
He he loved talking about it. He would see the
clips that I'd be posting, and at that time, Halo
Infinite had just came out, so it was just there's
a lot of like stuff on the timeline about that game.
But he just he loved that I was into things
outside of football and growing business outside of football while
I was playing. So he obviously thought that was decent,
(08:42):
decently cool in his world.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
So what would I What would you said if I
told you way back when that at Rogers was actually
going to end up with the Jets back in twenty.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
One, man, I would have first asked, what's the connection
and how did it get there? Because I don't think
he does anything without purpose, and so to know that
he was gonna go, and Hackett was gonna go, and
he was gonna get some of his guys, and I
would have thought, like, yeah, there's definitely a chance there.
I would have been. I was kind of shocked though
(09:13):
with obviously how they moved on in Green Bay from him,
but timing wise, that's just kind of how Green Bay operates.
So yeah, I was less shocked about the green Bay
moving on. I would have been decently like shocked about
where he ended up, but I think it all makes sense.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Did you know when you're in that situation that hey,
not only obviously Rogers is a future Hall of Famer,
but Jordan loved This guy's going to be pretty good himself.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Yeah. Actually, so from the beginning with Jordan, I always
thought that he had like a unique way of playing
and like a different skill set, and that it wasn't
really fair for him to have to try to emulate
Aaron every day in practice or try to like kind
of follow in his favorite plays and stuff. So I
was just hoping that at some point this year for Jordan,
he would have the chance to have the offense be
(10:02):
more his own, have plays be catered more towards him,
like the style of things. And I think that changed
around like somewhere between week six to eight. But I
knew he had He's a talented passer, he just is
a little bit unorthodox and how he gets it done.
And he's a baller like he can he makes plays
all over the field, gives us guys chances, typically knows
when to take the risks when not to. And for
(10:24):
him being his first full year, it's been cool to
see like his progression because he was not who he
is today in year one, two three, Like it's taken
time to get there, which he would say the same thing.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
And Kurt, that's something you continue to preach out there
to folks on social media, and that's not a platform.
Social media platforms are often not about patients. But you're saying, hey,
listen a lot of times, it takes quarterbacks time, necessary
time to develop well.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
And I think it's just it's you're playing. People don't
understand that College to the NFL is it's like two
different games. It's not even like playing football that just
slowly ramps up. It's a completely different game that you're learning.
It's in college, it's about exploiting space, get the ball
in the hands of people that have speed, a lot
of bubbles, the hashes make such a big difference that
(11:12):
people don't understand, Like the wide side of the field
in college is a lot wider than the white side
of the field in the NFL. And that changes play calling,
splits like it changes everything. And so in the NFL
you have to really learn as a quarterback one protections matter.
It's like number one is a quarterback knowing where you're protected,
knowing what problems you have and what answers do you
have on any given play and in college, at least
(11:35):
in my scheme and a lot of these other schemes
that I'm watching, it's full slide, a running back's blocking
a d end and you have to get the ball
out quick and quick game. Or it is a tight
end and a running back responsible for a d n
and the line is still full sliding. A lot of
teams use that full slide, where in the NFL you
would only ever use that when you're getting zero blitz.
And so that was my first like light bulb that
went off, like, wait a minute, this is a different
(11:56):
game of chess than I was ever playing. Yes, we
can all throw the ball, we can all run, we
can all do these things, but like how you get
to those point, the point of like having successful plays
time and time again in situational football, there's things we're
never preached in college. At least where I was, it
was just get the ball to your guys in space,
read the triangles in the zone, and take man beaters
if you got them. And that's it was simple. It
(12:18):
is just as simple as that. And so I just
think that stuff takes some guys longer than others, and
some guys are more talented but aren't given the time
to get to that point where it's second nature, and
that's why you see guys in your ten, twelve, fourteen,
fifteen start to actually like hit this consistent rhythm that
a lot of guys don't get the chance to get to.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah, it's interesting. You were just tweeting about former Jets
quarterback Gino Smith his development late in his career. As
far as approaching the chess board, What does Rogers bring
to the table from a mental standpoint.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, as a.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Guy who's forty years old, he's going to be heading
into year forty one here in the National Football League.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
I think that are you? And is this in regards
to like other quarterbacks in the room or just what
he has to the take.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
What he I guess I would say, Kurt, like what
he brings out there just in the huddle and then
go onto the line of scrimmage itself.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah, so there's not a look that he has not seen.
And I think that that helps a lot, because one
I would say, when you're preparing for teams one, you
have to be prepared for your own game plan first,
and then you have certain plays, especially in a WESCO system,
that are very defense dependent that you have to watch
more for more film for When you've been in it
(13:38):
that long, your film study, I would imagine, gets a
little bit slighter, a little bit like not as long,
because you're knowing exactly what you're looking for. You're not
just watching the games just to watch them and feel
it out, like you know exactly what you're looking for.
You're looking for the third down tape, the red zone tape,
the specific situations on third and you know three to
six then eight to ten plus your break the game
(14:00):
down specifically. So for him, he's just trying to see, Okay,
in this situation, what are they gonna do? Got it?
It's in my toolbag. I know that. That's what I'm
to expect this week. Where with younger guys, I feel
like there's so much time spent watching all the film
possible that you actually slow down the game or you
make the game harder to play because you're slowing down
your processing because there's so much information overload. Where in
(14:20):
a West Coast system, you really just need to know
your stuff, know the few things that they're gonna do,
and then know the matchups and the players that you're
trying to pick apart. So for him, it's that processing
that I just think he's not wasting as much time
on the things that don't matter when he's preparing. And
then on top of that, you have a guy that
situationally had been in every situation possible in a game
(14:42):
that you can bring those guys in the huddle around
and say, look, this is what we're to expect. If
it's third in you know three, Hey, we're gonna probably
get heavy man here. Expect blitz because this is this
coordinator's tree. Like he says stuff like that in the
meeting room without even having to watch the film because
he knows who these guys are, and he knows the
names of all the rest, like down to that point.
And so when you have that type of guy leading
(15:05):
the way, there's just these hidden like attributes that level
up everybody else on the team that everybody plays betterny
of a guy like that.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
What's the quarterback room like with him in there? We
saw a glimpse of that Darren hard knocks and we
got one Jets drive here the Jets in house documentary team.
But for a guy lived it and breathed it every day.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Yeah, Yeah, So it's is such a good ability to
flip the switch to like when it's time to get
shit done, sorry, get stuff done, get stuff done, and
yeah it's a podcast. When it's time to get stuff done,
you get it done. And then also when it's time
to be one of the boys, you can be one
of the boys. And he does such a good job
of navigating that line and going back and forth between
(15:48):
that that I think it just there's like a calmnist
to win when he's around and obviously healthy and an
asset to the team that you just can't even like
quantify that. And that's what we felt like with when
we were in Green Bay, like it didn't really matter
like if we felt like we had a great game
plan that week, or if it was like, ah, maybe
there are a better defense than us. Like Aaron's gonna
lead the way and find a way and navigate it
(16:08):
and have to like deviate slightly off course if he
has to in a game, or I think sometimes if
the young quarterback, there's no deviation. You're just gonna stick
to the game plan. And if you guys are gonna lose,
you're probably gonna lose without like risking your job. And
so he brings that to the table and the meeting
rooms are just like I don't know. He he enjoys
having fun. There's mini games and like like basketball and
(16:30):
darts and all that stuff. But then you you also
flip the switch and get to business.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
So for you a guy who can call Aaron his friend.
When you're watching September eleventh, Jet spills, he goes down
on the fourth play, what goes through your mind?
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Man? I almost cried for him because I felt that
just like sink in my stomach of what I know
he's kind of went through to get to that point.
And it wasn't like Sunshine and Roses to become a Jet.
It was a lot of like outcast and it was
like being kicked out and moved on from right Like
this was his redemption to why they shouldn't have moved
(17:10):
on so soon. And that's how I felt like this
was going to play out this season, and to see
it get cut short and one, especially with the way
that the roster was, but the way the defense was
for the Jets this year, with the young talent with Brees,
with Garrett Wilson, like it felt like for the first
time he had some of these things that had been
missing like the defense for one, that he didn't have
(17:31):
to be a superhero this year to make things work.
He could have played his game, played efficient, played accurate,
and you guys would have had a good path where
things change obviously when that injury happens and the defense,
it's like kind of felt like a wasted good defensive year.
And so it was just this opportunity that you know,
he talks about it a lot too, like that year's
(17:54):
team will never be that year's team again, right, So
to miss the twenty twenty three season with the way
that it looks, it's just a missed opportunity to where, now, okay,
twenty twenty four, what's the defense going to look like,
what's the offen's gonna look like, what's the rest of
the division going to look like? Are they getting better?
They're getting worse? This year just felt like there were
a lot of good qu question marks in the Jets
favor had he not gotten hurt. And next year it's
(18:16):
gonna be a little bit harder. But you're gonna have
Aaron Bach speak.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
To that about it being a little bit harder, and
what do you think he's facing as far as twenty
twenty four is concerned.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yeah, So I look at the division and I'm looking
at one of the Dolphins look like they're getting worse
in free agency. They've lost a lot of guys. I
don't know what the draft looks like, obviously with the
amount of picks, but they got to nail their draft
to in my opinion, get better. You're either you're getting
better or worse in the NFL every season, there's no
in between. I'm looking at the Bills and they've cleaned house,
but they cleaned a lot of older players out, so
(18:49):
who are they going to bring in? Who are they
gonna have, Like, you lose some of that veteran leadership.
So then I look at it as the beginning of
the season is often harder when you have a younger team.
It's just kind of how it goes. You look at
the Packers last was the same case. So I'm looking
at the Bills and the Dolphins like, Okay, they still
have some of their guys. They still have good players.
You're gonna have to handle them, but there might be
a little bit of an opportunity early in the season
(19:10):
before they catch their groove to use some of the
veteran leadership and having some of the older guys around
with the Jets to get some of those wins early
that are a little bit easier. And then I look
at the Patriots, and last year was an unfortunate missed
opportunity to not be able to take advantage of a
bad Patriots team. I think they're gonna get better this year.
They're gonna play a little bit more inspired. Their roster
isn't where obviously it needs to be to compete with
(19:32):
all the other teams in the division consistently, but I
think they're going to play more inspired football, so they're
not just going to be a walkover team. But I
think this year again it looks like it's a good opportunity.
I think your guys's team wise, like defense should be
better than they were last year. An offense, I just
think he's gonna play well, like I think though his
(19:55):
achilles doesn't affect his playstyle as much as it would
other guys. The year to take care of his body
on all the other things, which is also sometimes a blessing.
So I think it's another really good opportunity for you
guys to go and take it. And now it's what's
the rigor of the season gonna look like. Is there
gonna be a lot of injuries? Is it what happens?
Speaker 1 (20:12):
So that's a really interesting point you just said. You
don't think his achilles is going to impact his play
style as much as it would other guys. Can he
elaborate on that?
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Yeah, so's he's a scrambler. Sorry, there's a chuck rolling by.
He's a scrambler, but he doesn't scramble to run. He
scrambles us to get out of the pocket, shrambons to
get out of space. He scrambles and get out of space.
And he doesn't need that extra burst necessarily to change
his like to change a game. He just needs to
(20:44):
evade that first guy and typically I feel like an
achilles yet you lose some of your burst. But he's
got enough juice in the tank to make guys miss
and enough savviness to play within that one by one
frame that he talks about, like the yard by yard
box that he likes to play in, like that precision
precision passing game is not going to change. Might be
a little slower on scrambles, but he's still gonna get
out of the pocket, and he's still gonna make plays
(21:05):
on the run, but he just might not see him
break off a twenty yard run or whatever it might be.
But knowing him, he's gonna he's gonna do it. He's
gonna stay told you just so when he sees this.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
So everybody talks about the importance of continuity along that
offensive line. What do you think about some of the
additions the Jets have made in free agency and how
can Aaron help those guys as far as protections are concerned.
You got Tyron Smith, an eight time Pro bowler, a
five time All Pro, the two time first team All Pro,
(21:33):
three times second team All Pro coming in a left tackle.
You got John Simpson at left guard, and then Morgan
Moses Returns at right tackle. That on paper is three
new starters.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, that's a stout line, and I think it's a
it's a lot of like those are big dudes. It's
not just like their agile dudes. They're big dudes. They
take a lot of space. And I think for Aaron,
the way that he plays, he's comfortable with guys being
in his lap, he's comfortable with guys being pushed into him.
He doesn't play as well when he's got free rushers.
So I think those are the types of guys offensive
(22:04):
play style wise that like, look, it's okay you can
get push back and get deep, but you're not just
gonna get like ripped through and let guys free. And
I think part of letting guys free which saw last year,
like Zach just he's not at the level of what
Aaron was in protections. And Aaron can take two or
three different protections that are talked about in the week
and blend them together mid game to get exactly what
(22:25):
he wants even if it's like not talked about, and
he has his answers, He's always prepared with the protection.
It's what he's so good at. The people I don't
think really talk about enough because of how accurate he is,
but he's really good at taking hits off, buying that
extra half a second to get the ball out, and
he's also comfortable with like standing in there and delivering
last second. So I just think you're gonna see some
(22:45):
plays pop up this year that obviously didn't even have
the chance to come to Fruition last year, just off
a protection alone between the beefyr o line and the
rules that he's going to be applying to them. When
they're picking up pass pro problems.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
You Mitch Garrett Wilson bresee Hall before Sunny Stars in
the National Football League entering year three? What else do
you think the Jets should do around those guys? Tyler
Conklin is a good tight and I thought he played
very well last year. Sixty one catches as well, and
his production should be interesting with a guy like Rogers
(23:19):
fire on the football. But what other offensive skill pieces
do you think the Jets should be interested in here
as the offseason progresses.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Yeah, you guys have picked ten in the first round.
I believe, yes, yep, yeah, I'm the I had one
mock that if brock Bowers falls, I know, like I
don't like taking tight ends top ten or top I
don't even like taking them really in the first round
if you can get at value later. But he's he's
really good, Like he's a really good player. And I
think for someone like Aaron with his play style, having
(23:49):
an explosive tight end with a good catch radios could
be just a lot of really easy first downs on
third downs. So I look at it from that perspective,
and then I also look at like you have a
dune who if he falls to ten. I mean, it's
never you can never go wrong taking a game changing
receiver in my opinion that early. I don't know what
the defense looks like at this point, but I mean
(24:11):
I think Aaron's going his entire career without having a
receiver taken top ten, maybe first round. Like, So, to
think of it from that perspective, what happens if you
have a Garrett Wilson on one side and then and
then Dune's say, if he drops her neighbors, if he
drops I think it could be pretty cool. You look
at Joe Burrow in the success that he's had. He
(24:31):
has a loaded receiver room with Jamar Chase and t Higgins.
They Tyler Boyd like mixing. Aaron cannoperate at a really
high level with guys like that around him, and I
would like to see maybe one more piece of firepower.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Veteran quarterbacks. We talk about Brady in the past, he
likes a certain type of receiver. Yeah, is Rogers the
same way? Or like, what would a transition transition be
for a young guy coming in and playing with a
guy like Aaron.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, So the first thing is being aware of all
of his signals and all of his like one on
one checks. That's probably number one. There's there's signals in
plays and routes that were not rammed this year because
Aaron wasn't there doing it. That great example, DeVante Adams
had a route in the red zone I think it
was like week fifteen, thirteen fourteen, something like that in
(25:24):
twenty twenty one where they just called a route that
they had from four years prior on a whim on
an old signal that they scored a touchdown on because
the leverage was not what they had predicted in the
film room. He was supposed to run a I think
a go or something and he ended up running like
a delax lant. And that that's something that was never
talked about. I mean, if we had ram what was called,
(25:45):
it would have been stonewalled, and so there were no answers.
So he went and found an answer that they had
from years past. So to have a guy like that one,
I think he has that in Garrett Wilson. They're preparing
him to be that guy. But you have to be
ready for those signals that come up that maybe aren't
in the game plan but you talked about a month ago.
That is a big adjustment for him to start trusting you,
and once he has your trust, I mean it's it's over.
(26:06):
So I think for a guy like him, he basically
is playing Madden out there. When he's playing, he's got
the full playbook available, he's got his full experience available.
He can audible anything at any time if he wants to.
And so the younger guys, when you can get caught
up to that speed and get on that same level,
you'll play earlier and you'll play better.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Well, can you tell us about the Nathaniel Hackett slash
Aaron Rodgers system because we didn't have the opportunity to
see it last year when Rogers goes down and obviously
the Jets end up playing with four different quarterbacks and
they start thirteen different offensive line combinations.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Yeah, So I would say the best analogy I can
use for those two, I would say, Hackett, have you
ever seen like the uh my daughter's like three right now,
and she loves these coloring books. But you have to
like draw the lines and then you can color in
them like you've connected out some color.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yes, I would say, my daughters four.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Okay, so you're in, You're in the thick of it. No,
I would say, Nathaniel Hackett connects the dots, draws the lines,
and makes the that stencil. Aaron will go color it
in within certain a palette. However, if he wants to
where you have other guys like the guys that you
had last year, I don't think we're coloring it in.
(27:19):
And I don't know if the way that the offense
was designed would have really helped many other quarterbacks because
it was specifically set for Aaron. And so I love
Hackett to death. I think him and Aaron are going
to do a great job this year. I think that
the way that it's set up for Aaron is not
set up to work for other guys. But it kind
of felt like all eggs in the basket for Aaron
(27:40):
this past year. So I would say you're gonna know
within a like a range of what to expect with Aaron,
and every game will be a little bit different. But
Hackett man, he does such a good job of prepping,
of giving you all the information you need, of every
look you need all week long, what to expect. This
is why we're attacking it the way we are, and
even though it may not be the best way to
(28:01):
attack it, one week over another, you at least know
he has reasoning behind why he's doing it that way
and that's what he believes in. And so with that,
Aaron has given all of that, and then it's his
job to navigate and weave throughout the game, going back
and forth with the coach to figure out the best
way to navigate that game. And I think that's something
that people don't understand about NFL football is like some
guys play like a robot, and those guys I don't
(28:23):
think have like deep success throughout the season. There's only
one guy, and I think it's Peyton Manning that played
like a robot that found a way to have success
at a high level for a long time. I would
say Brady somewhat like that. But he also lend himself
more to being like an artist from time to time,
especially in situational football. Aaron plays as the game like
a straight up artist. And so for someone to give
(28:45):
him the canvas, give them the lines, this is what
we're expecting. These are the shades and pallets and everything
you can use for or using this drawing, this piece
of art. Go do your thing. That's how Aaron operates,
and that's how he's successful. And I think you'll see
that this year. I really do.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
He's got an interesting way about himself. Anybody who's been
with him inside the locker room speaks to that. Can
you talk about Aaron and did you always see a
chip on his shoulder and inherent chip on his shoulder?
And what about his position specifically heading into twenty twenty
(29:21):
four where he's going to turn forty one in December,
he's coming off to Achilles and everybody's going to be
counting them out, probably more than ever.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah, he's one guy I would not bet against for sure.
I think he will do things just because you said
he couldn't do it, to prove a point. And I
think that's what's made him so successful. He's had that
from the beginning before he even got into the NFL,
when he was in junior college getting into a Division
one program, and he's had that. That's how he's wired,
(29:52):
and so he's wired that way. He's extremely talented. He's
only gotten better and he is a master of his game.
I think a guy like him, he's not like a
Lamar Jackson that needs his legs and like a Russell
Wilson that needs his legs to operate like. He could
be pinpoint accurate and delivering with a tight space around
him for a long time. And I think he could
play as long as he wants to. Just like Tom Brady,
(30:15):
I think he could have kept playing. I think the
game you do need to move around a little bit,
and I think Aaron does that. But I think he's
gonna he's gonna bring all of that together this year,
and I think the guys in the locker room are
gonna elevate because of it.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
As someone who enjoyed his experience with Aaron so much,
would you like to see the Jets add a quarterback,
a rookie quarterback here on Day three the draft? Obviously
they signed to Rod Taller, an accomplished guy who's had
a number stops in the National Football League. This is
his seventh organization, But you know, Taylor, you have definitely
(30:48):
upgraded the backup spot. Would you like the Jets to
add a young guy as someone who's been in that
position before?
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Yeah? Yeah, I think, And I don't know, like a
day three pick, Like I think a Day three pick
undrafted guy makes sense for like what the goals are
right now. I think if you waste. If you waste
anything earlier, it's an opportunity costs that you're losing on
another player that could be a stud, especially in such
a deep receiver class, Like there's gonna be guys day too,
(31:17):
going all day long that can play. So yeah, I
do think though, like if a guy like Spencer Rattler falls,
I could see him benefiting heavily from being around Aaron.
I don't think he will. I think he's getting more
kind of trending up a little bit. I think it'll
be like an early day too. But I could see
like a young guy with talent that's maybe just a
(31:38):
little raw, really benefit and expediting his development and transition
to the NFL by going and being in a room
with him because the footwork, Like everything starts with footwork,
Everything starts with like progression, under knowing everything, understanding the line,
understanding the rules. And Aaron is so much of a
master of that stuff that we just forget about that
because he throws well, but those things are the details
(31:59):
that he does not miss. And I think being around
him every day for me, I spent three years with
Matt Ryan and he was awesome for me. I learned
a lot. I learned how to play the game from
like a methodical way, but Aaron took it to a
new level and a different understanding for me that like,
actually it resonated even more so I felt like I
took a bigger jump from that one year there and
than I did in the three years trying to figure
it out in Atlanta. So I could see it being
a huge benefit to a young kid.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Well, I've had a lot of fun, man, catch it
up with you in your content is tremendous, Hey, I
appreciate it. Why do you remind fans where they can
find you right now? As far as it because you're
on all these different platforms, Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Yeah, I use them all a little bit different. But
it's just Kurt ben Kirk k U rt b e
n k e r T everywhere. Twitter is more of
my opinions and my takes and kind of what's on
my mind. YouTube is more methodical with teaching football TikTok,
who the hell knows what happens on TikTok, and then
I live stream on Twitch from time to time when
I slay that. So it's kind of everything acrosss the board.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
And what would you tell people about your journey as
a guy who grew up in Florida, went to East Carolina,
you made the transfer to the Wahoo's the University of Virginia,
and then you have a number of stops in the
National Football League, and now you're making your way here
across all these kind of content platforms.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Yeah, I would say the biggest thing that I learned
is that you have to take matters into your own hands.
And for me, like I had played for five years,
but I'd just been sitting and waiting and waiting for
an opportunity, and I decided that I needed to start
doing things outside of football that I could move forward
and that I had control over it, because at the
end of the day, in football, I was still relying
(33:44):
on someone either missing a game, getting hurt or something
to see the field, and that's just what it was
going to be as an undrafted guy. So I think
you have to not be afraid to pave your own
way and do your own thing and do things that
you enjoy doing, and if you can monetize them on
the way, then that's obviously a.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Plus awesome advice. We hope we can catch up here soon.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Kurt. Of course, we'll be in touch. Have a go
one mm hm m m m
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