Sauce Gardner on Aaron Rodgers’ injury + AFC & NFC Championship games | The Stephen A. Smith Show

Sauce Gardner on Aaron Rodgers’ injury + AFC & NFC Championship games | The Stephen A. Smith Show

New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner joins The Stephen A. Smith Show to discuss:

0:00 Aaron Rodgers’ injury in the first game of the season
2:00 The Jets’ expectations before Rodgers’ injury
3:30 Comparisons to other cornerbacks
4:20 Best cornerback before you entered the league?
5:40 How hard is it to excel in your position?
6:50 AFC Championship: Chiefs vs. Ravens
7:35 NFC Championship: Lions vs. 49ers
8:50 Who would you rather go against? Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson?
10:20 Expectations for next season

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We’ve got one of the elite young stars in the National Football League in just the second year just two years in the National Football League he’s already one of the best corners in the game I’m talking about the one and only sauce Gardener from the New York Jets what’s

Up big time how are you man how’s everything I’m great man can’t complain blessing to be here you know huge fan of your work man so I appreciate you man thanks so much and I’m a huge fan of your game it ain’t your damn fault that

Y’all ain’t in the playoffs I can tell you that much it ain’t your damn fault I want you to put it in perspective in all seriousness what this season was like for you the moment you saw the superstar that is Aaron roders go down just four

Plays into the NFL season what was that like can you take us back to that moment I mean like you got to think like I was building a bom with him you know the whole offseason otaa training camp you know um he was also building a bond with

The rest of the team you know we all loved him you know he was just a great leader great role model so you know it’s like we had everything made for us you know especially when he got here you know controlling that offense you know making plays in training camp all of

That joint practices so once I seen him go down it like my heart drop you know um I’m going just be honest I’m like when he went down I’m like man is we about to be able to achieve everything that we was about that we thought we was

GNA achieve with them here and I was like I don’t know uh at least I could do my job you know I could focus on what the defense what we got to do but you know as far as the overall team I didn’t know what to expect because you know uh

He he was he a superstar you know the city itself meaning New York City because I’m from Hollis Queens born in the Bronx raised in holl Queens the city of New York was like yo they could go to Super Bowl I had y’all going at the very least to the AFC

Championship Game obviously that’s scheduled to take place this weekend but I was looking forward to it in the whole bit you know and and and what was y’all expectations what were y’all thinking about before he got injured man we thought he was gonna go

All the way and win you know what I mean uh you got these teams in the league um it’s a lot of great Elite teams but you know um I feel like every team is beatable you know um just a few weeks ago people was talking about how good

The Eagles was and the Eagles was going to be the Cowboys this this and that and just like neither one of them is in the playoffs right now you know so you just really you don’t know what to expect you know and um especially the way our

Defense was playing we was able to go up against any offense out there so and we was expecting to to go far and go to the Super Bowl ultimately win it when you look at your career thus far how are you feeling about you in terms of your

Talent compared to anybody else that’s playing in the league right now and uh I like me you know what I mean um I feel like I’m as humbl as it gets you know um I just it’s me versus me you know I don’t really compete versus other people

You know I be seeing a lot of stuff on the internet people trying to compare me to other corners but really is like my goal is to be better today than I was yesterday and when it comes to football be better next year than I was the year

Before so that’s the exact definition of competing with yourself you know you versus you I feel like a lot of people just say that just to talk but you know me that’s actually what I’m getting at I want my second year to be better than my

Rookie year and I want my third year to be better than my second year so all the comparisons and everything like that I feel like um I’m In My Own Lane I feel like the other Corners are in their own lane you know um yeah we all Corners have something unique about them

Something that they they do at Elite level all Corners have some weaknesses but you know me I feel like um y’all fall into that category as well you know we all have strengths and weaknesses but you know I just focus on myself I watch other Corners I watch a lot of other

Corners when it comes to like trying to help my game you know whatever other Corner strengths are you know I watch some other Corners to see like what I can improve on you know so it’s not one of them things where I’m just out here just feeling myself you know um I’m just

Always trying to find find ways to get better before you arrived in the National Football League who do you believe is the best quarterback that you had ever seen um like ever or like during that time uh both okay so ever it was like I had a few so of course

Revas like when I got drafted to to the uh to the Jets of course I’m like Reas that guy but you know revas um Chad Bailey Charles Woodson Prime but I didn’t used to watch Prime but like on YouTube just seeing those things like he

Was he was an animal but like during the like in the league at that time it was Jaylen Ramsey you know all all while I was in college that was the only Corner that that I used to watch so you know Jaylen you know he he was my favorite

Corner do you find yourself playing in the NFL these days because me covering the NFL and knowing guys like Ray Lewis Ed Reid and various others and hearing the kind of complaints they’ve had about how Defenders don’t get a chance to really really do their things this game

Is CAD so much to offense you I mean you could get penalized for having bad breath for crying out loud that’s how they felt that’s how ridiculous they think the NFL has gotten as a Defender as a quarterback as a guy that’s on his own Island out there patrolling the

Secondary the way that you do how hard is it particularly in today’s game to excel at your position in your estimation um I mean it’s definitely got a lot harder uh coverage wise uh also when it comes to the physicality that you can have but um you know there’s

Nothing I can do about it you know when I think about it like the refs the refs don’t see everything you know they make mistakes too so none of us perfect so the ref’s gonna be making mistakes we gonna be making mistakes and everything but the

Game has definitely got a lot harder um you know when it comes to like targeting there a lot of guys getting taken off of targeting you know me I don’t really have to worry about that CU I’m not trying too hard to you know hit somebody

Helmet to helmet I’m just making sure I make the tackle and cover my cover my guy so know that’s the main thing for me I think you’ll probably get more out of that question if you ask like a linebacker or a safety you know what I

Mean but yeah talk to me about this weekend’s coming up because we’ve got Champion Conference Championship games coming up we’ve got Detroit uh going up against the San Francisco 49ers but closer to home for you because you’re an you’re an AFC team the Baltimore Ravens are about to go up against the Kansas

City Chiefs who y’all lost to 2320 when y’all played them I believe the DAT of that game was October 1st if I remember correctly what are your thoughts about this AFC Championship Game match up coming up this weekend um I think it’s going to be interesting you know one

Thing about the Chiefs they they have some games where it’s close and or or a game that they lose but when it come to that AFC championship and those clut those clutch games that they have to win they always find a way to win but you

Know the way the Ravens playing you know they defense they they playing fast they they dominating Lamar controlling their offense so you know I can’t really say who I think gonna win but you know um I feel like that’s going to be an interesting battle and for Detroit the Lions I like what

They doing you know I’m from Detroit so you know it’s always good to see the Lions making something happen like that um you know growing up I never seen that that’s right they got one play before this weekend you had one play of victory since

1957 I don’t know if you know that one play of victory since 1957 yeah I did I didn’t know the exact year but I just know hey when I was coming up I I never was fortunate enough to see them playing in the playoffs going to Super Bowl NFC

Championship or anything like that so I’m looking forward to seeing seeing that game as well I can’t tell you how that one gonna go um of course I want the Lions to win but you know they got some things that could be better um Personnel wise I feel like I feel like

Um I don’t know if Debo playing but that’s my issue SAU I believe if Debo plays they win if he doesn’t play for San Francisco Detroit’s going to the Super Bowl that’s how I feel about it that’s how important I think Debo is no he’s he’s definitely important you know

They run their offense around him so you know uh I don’t know what to expect but hopefully Detroit can you know get that done as a corner if a in a game of this magnet to Who Would you rather go up against Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson

Um that’s a hard question those two Elite quarterbacks right there that’s right that’s right and I’m asking an elite quarterback what he would do what he would prefer um Dam um this a good question because the thing about Lamar he just so tricky both of them can get out the pocket and

Run but Lamar is just different like right I’ll probably against Pat Mahomes not gonna lie I’ll probably be because at least you you’re more worried about Patrick Mahomes throwing a football than running whereas with Lamar Jackson he’s such an electrifying Runner he can he can just wreak havoc that’s what you’re

Saying basically because when you go against Lamar your whole defense gonna have to change because you gotta have somebody that keep to keep eyes on him you gotta have somebody over the ball so you know that could change the whole defense you know going against Pat you

Got to do it a little bit but you can always switch it up you can make changes going against Pat but Lamar he can run anytime whether it’s a designed quarterback run or if he want to keep running the ball if you want to keep scrambling he could do that before I’ll

Let you get on out of here man as we reflect back on the New York Jets uh the kind of season that y’all had tarnished by the you know the injury the Aaron roders obviously he’s expected to be back and ready to go what’s the mentality of the team I know the season

Just ended for y’all and what have you a few weeks ago but nevertheless I imagine that the excitement at some point is going to stir back up because you’re expecting Aaron roders to be back next season what’s y’all mindset what are the kind of conversations y’all had about

With one another about what y’all are expecting to do next season man we got to stay humble you know stay down all the extra Social Media stuff we gota leave that in 2023 you know what I mean uh you know cuz just that fast it can be

It can all be taken away from you so you just got to we got to be some silent assassins you know you got to be the those underdogs the guys that come out of nowhere you know what I mean we ain’t going to be doing too much talking this

Year you ain’t gonna be too y’all did you think y’all did too much talking last year it was it was a lot it was a lot of talking last year it was a lot of cuz it was a lot of attention it was a

Lot of media it was a lot of it was hard knocks it was a lot going on so it was you got to think when Aaron come it’s automatically going to ramp up a little bit you know so just got to make sure we humble um I know me I’m always taking a

Humble route but we got to make sure we all on the same page and um yeah man the best of luck to you I hope that I see you at the Super Bowl you know because there’s a lot of players that show up during Super Bowl week and

What have you congratulations on your career thus far because you want of the best in the business right now already just your second year in the league so major major props to you and hopefully that bad man that he is Aon Rogers does not get hurt again you know I notice I

Was very very nice I ain’t bring up that damn Zack Wilson I didn’t bring up your teammate I didn’t bring him up all right I’m being very very nice okay so I want to keep it that way but I appreciate you man thanks so much man you take it easy

All right sir you too I appreciate You