 coach. It's Peter Rosenberg and Don LaGreka. Obviously this is not the situation we thought we'd be talking to you in, but thank you for joining us on a day like today. We appreciate it. No, thank you guys. I want to get into a lot about your feelings and just how last night played out, but off the bat I'd be remiss to not ask you. Is Zach Wilson the starting quarterback for the New York Jets moving forward in 2023? Zach Wilson's our guy. Really excited for his opportunity and saved for him to show the world how far he's come. And we were just talking up as devastating as yesterday was. You won the game. You could have put your tail between your legs. Your team didn't. I thought defensively they were outstanding. You ran the ball. I mean, I don't have to tell you, you're an optimistic guy, but do you still see enough there that this season is way more than just salvageable that you can still be a playoff team and maybe deep into the playoffs? Yeah, you know, it's funny. I was, uh, talked to anyone inside a football building or any sports building. Everyone believes that they should be competing for the whole surveying, you know, but, uh, you know, you got to take it one day at a time to focus on your moment and do the best you can and find ways to get better. And, um, you know, that's the only chance you have to put yourself in position to achieve what you're hoping to achieve. So, you know, I, obviously I'm biased. I believe we have a championship defense. I believe we have championship caliber skill guys. I believe we have an offensive line that's, uh, that's going to continue to gel and and show, uh, their ability and how good they, how good they can get. And, um, you know, so we have a lot of really good things going for us. And I think Zach has improved so much over the course of a year and, uh, his, his, uh, regain confidence not only in himself, but with his teammates. And so, yeah, there's, there's a lot of things to look forward to. We still have a hard road ahead of us, you know, um, it's, uh, we've got, you know, over the, you know, going to Dallas on a short week is obviously it's going to be tough. We all saw what they look like Sunday night. And, uh, but you know, we're up for the challenge. We're excited to pour the challenge. Did, did Zach take the first team snaps last week at all? Um, no, Aaron, usually the first, uh, the starting quarterback takes all the, uh, all the snaps and then he might get a couple of walkthrough rupture in there. That's a standard. But you, you felt, did you feel that he was in a good position last night and knew what needed to be done? Like, how do you assess his performance last night? You know, that's, that's one of the deals. So it was a backup quarterback. You're prepping in the, in the meeting room. You're getting extra reps. Uh, you know, you might take a few scout team reps to keep his arm loose. There's things you do post practice to keep yourself ahead of the game. So that, you know, in your, that's how you prep. That's lead wide. Um, but a lot of confidence in those guys, they, they know that every player on this team knows are really every player in the NFL. Those are just one play away and, uh, and you have to prepare accordingly. So a lot of confidence for him to go in there and execute the game plan as it was designed. Now, will you be looking for another quarterback just so you have three again? And would that backup quarterback, that quarterback that you get, be someone that could be put into a situation to challenge Zach at all? So there, you know, it's a, um, we are, we are going to look for a third quarterback. I don't know what that, that looks like or what that, what I much detail on that right now. Uh, Tim Boyle will be elevated to our, uh, to the backup quarterback. But, um, this is Zach's team. You know, he's gone, you know, I think, I think people get confused sometimes. And I think we play the game of Madden in the outside world in terms of like, Hey, let's just go get this quarterback, plug him in. He'll be good. You know, there's, there's so much detail that goes in the quarterback play, understanding the playbook, all the nuance that's been, uh, created over the course of OTAs and training camp and preseason games and all the different meeting times and all the conversations that are had in the locker room. Like there are, there are months and months and months of conversations that are happening and to expect someone to just jump in within a week or two and pick up on all that nuance is kind of unfair, not only to the individual that would be past of that, but to the entire organization as a whole. And so I think when, when people look at those circumstances, it just doesn't work that way. Now, um, so when it comes to Zach, we have a lot of a ton of confidence. Like I said, he's, he's improved so much over the course of the year, confidence in himself and his teammates and all that. And, uh, so we're going to look to add a guy just so we get third, uh, a third quarterback, but, you know, that, uh, for anyone to expect that third quarterback to jump in and compete. That's, I think it's just unrealistic. When, when did you really like, when did you really process that this could be bad? Was it within a few seconds, a few minutes? Was it not till halftime? Just take us through, you know, as a guy, just what your emotions were last night when you realized what was happening. Um, uh, I think it was midway through the first folder. Uh, I asked somebody to go check on the quarterback, see where he's at and, uh, came back with a bad news. So sort of on the first quarter. Yeah, it's just, it was just, you just had a feeling that it wasn't going to be, uh, great news. Robert, when you, yeah, I was hoping, I was hoping maybe it, you know, it didn't kind of roll his ankle. Yeah. Well, that was the, yeah, that's what I thought. I thought maybe I, maybe you're getting a sprain and it just, you know, it hurt, but he'd be back and then, yeah. But, but this is a guy that's completely committed to your team and completely committed to your team for multiple years. So, I don't, I'm, I'm sure you haven't had a chance to process and he probably hasn't had a chance to process, but do you feel like he can still, even from afar, be a positive impactful player on your team, even though he's not playing, do you still think he can help Zach and still be around this team, even though he's not able to perform? Oh, heck yeah. Um, his presence alone, his voice, his words, um, shoot his stories and conspiracy theories, all that good stuff, all of it is good. You know, he's a, he's an unbelievable human being. He's got such thoughtful insight and his, um, you know, he's a pleasure to be around. So he, his presence is not only welcome, but wanted. How much did you talk to him at halftime? Garrett Wilson shared with Barton Han earlier that he got him just a moment with him and, and that Aaron Rodgers words to him, we're sorry, kid. Um, did you get a moment or two with him at halftime? Uh, yeah, I went in there, um, gave him a hug and, and, uh, obviously we had to get to the adjustments, but uh, uh, just to acknowledge that, uh, that we love him and, uh, and his story's not over. And that's not, and that's not just words you guys are saying. Like, we really get the sense from, from hard knocks and from hearing everyone talk. You guys, this guy really came in and won over everyone's hearts, huh? Yeah, he, um, you can't, you can't fake what he did for as long as he was doing it. You can't fake that. Uh, the amount of time he's invested in not only himself, this organization, his teammates, the fan base, the city and itself. Um, I mean, the man gave up a big chunk of change. Uh, he's, he's truly invested, uh, everything he could in this, this chapter in his life. And, um, you know, I just, I just heard for him, they lasted four, four plays, you know, but like I said, it's not over. I mean, not him and, and it's not instinct, but he'll probably be probably gonna come back even stronger. So, um, but we'll let him process what's going on. I'm sure he's still trying to digest everything that's happened. All right. So you're, you're, your team is devastated. You lost your leader. Uh, the energy in the building, the plug is completely pulled. And yet you guys come back with an amazing second half and win the game. Who deserves credit for that? How, who kept them still engaged after getting that gut punch that they got? The locker room, always the locker room. Um, you know, I'd have time just, uh, um, you know, the big thing, you know, last year, I think people, you know, sometimes we need a little reminder. We're down 14 three to these guys last year. Uh, and we came back and won that game point of 17 and it was really kind of the same situation. It was 13 to three and I don't think there was a guy in the locker room that didn't think that we could come back and, uh, offense was speaking the right language. Defense was speaking the right language. Uh, and the challenge for our offense to go out and get points on this first drive on that first drive and the defense to continue to take the ball away. And, you know, we talk about straining in the fourth quarter and if we just keep straining, we just keep fighting and we just keep playing to our standard, uh, we'll find, we'll find some cracks and, uh, and we did. What level of emotion? And I know it's a mixed bag, obviously, because yesterday was just such a bizarre, you know, terrible and then momentarily euphoric kind of day, the emotions when you ran on after the Gibson game winner, um, you don't often see the head coach sort of run into the pile like that. Uh, where does that rank for you in terms of just all time emotional moments on a football field? Um, here's what I'll say. I've said this a few times. I'm gonna say it again. Um, but sometimes, you know, we, when we're in this profession, we get jaded and we get frustrated and, you know, God blessed my wife. I love her to death and she's, she takes it from all angles because she doesn't know how to stay off the comment section of the, of the media. So she, there's a lot of anger and I was like, you know, honey, um, every once in a while I have to remind her that on game day, we are so lucky that we get to experience every emotion that the human body has to, has to offer. We experience all of it in the four hour window. Um, all the ups and downs and the, the, the ebbs and flows of the anger, joy, all of it. And, um, and I could, would safely say without a doubt that in a four hour window during Monday night football, on September 11th, I think the entire city of New York, all the jet fans anyway, so every single emotion that can go through the body and, um, which is a blessing and we are, and we are fortunate that we get to experience them.