Building Block Ep. 85: Carl Banks

I think it was not handled very well by the team. So, if we're being honest, Micah Parsons is a generational player. He and TJ Watt and the kid Miles Garrett from Cleveland. These are walking Hall of Famers when their careers are over and you don't let those guys walk out of the door because you're offended that you have to deal with an agent. That's just so 1970s, 1980s football management, right? And so, he got to a point to where, you know, the owner could not convince the general manager, who is himself, to get a deal done. And that's kind of where the danger is, you know, taking your own counsel because, you know, while he's been in the league when general managers took a hard line and you took a hard line and all of a sudden owner has to step in and say, 'Okay, let's figure out how we can get him signed.' Well, those two are the same person with Jerry Jones and he just decided that he wanted to put his ego in front of that. And it's to great benefit to the NFC East because they don't have to deal with him twice a year. Even the Philadelphia Eagles, nobody wanted to deal with this kid because he was just that good. But I just think Dallas handled it poorly. They may not admit it, but he's a generational player. He should have remained there his entire career, but it is what it is.

Well, I mean, he's not for everybody. You know, there are certain coaches that won't go coach for Dallas because of the omnipotence of Jerry Jones. He's there pregame, postgame, he's doing the interviews before the coaches are doing the interviews. And that's just how he runs his business. Now, if you go into that stadium, there's not an empty seat. They still probably lead all teams in merchandise revenue. So, he's doing something right. The football aspect of it, there hasn't been a reckoning yet. The fact that they continue to win and get knocked out of the playoffs early doesn't seem to impact them as of yet. But at some point I'm sure the fan base is going to be like, 'Yo, okay, we get these 12, 13 wins a year and we can't get out of the first round of the playoffs.'

Well, I think in New York it was kind of a marriage of convenience with Russell Wilson. I think he was at a place in his career where he needed kind of a home where he could really be authentic and be a leader and the Giants were in need of someone who could actually be that player leader. And there's a lot of things said about Russell, and I had never met him personally until he got to New York. And we've crossed paths many times, but never really sat down and broke bread with him. And I have to tell you, for whatever people think about him, and you're entitled to that, but this dude is chronically positive. Like, some people call it corny, right? But that is authentically who he is. Like some people will say it's corny, but that is him. He has no bad days for him, man. And he won't let his teammates get down during camp and things of that nature. So he is exactly what the Giants needed in terms of player leadership. And then Jameis Winston's not much different, right? Jameis is a good time, man. But he cares about team. He cares about his teammates. And I mentioned, you know, when you talk about what does Russ mean, he's a guy who's been on both sides of adversity, right? He's won and has been at the very highest. He's lost and been through hell and has come back out on top. And the thing about him is his arm is still live. Obviously they drafted Jackson Dart and he's their future, but I think Russ is the guy who's going to get them on track and leave them in a good space for when the young kid comes in to play. Running back is going to be by committee. Tyrone Tracy is a very good running back. Scataboo from Arizona State, we'll see. He's a big kid who can catch and he's got good lateral movement. But I think the most exciting aspect for me is their ability to now drive the ball down the field with Russ and it just doesn't look hard. Last year, the last couple years, the offense just looked complicated and hard. Not because of the play calling, but it just seemed like everything was a struggle. And Russ is a graduate student when it comes to quarterbacking. So, he's seen it all. He's pre-snap, post-snap, and he does a good job, but the defense is the one area that I think guys you should really pay attention to. If they can stop the run, they're going to raise hell on a quarterback. I mean, they've got with Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter is a different type of guy. He's something else. So, I'm looking forward to seeing them defensively to see if they can stop the run because I think if they can create a negative down, they'll be able to get after the quarterback pretty good.

Well, I mean it means a lot because Ed Block, the award, the organization means a lot in community, right? And it's a recognition of not only athletic achievements but the person of the award. And so it's a special award for me.

So, you know, Ronnie and I go way back. He's a Michigan State trainer. So he broke me in when I walked through the doors at the Giants. He broke me in. But that was in the early 80s when players were a little wild and Ronnie used to have a big stick next to his training table because we had a couple players, Casey Merrill would come in and raise hell and Ronnie at one point just raised the stick up and say I'm not taking it anymore. And we still tease him about it today. But Ronnie's the best in the business. Tess is incredible as well. When it came to managing a veteran player of my age when I was in Cleveland, I was 30, I believe. And so, making sure I was healthy every game and being able to contribute, it was great. Those two are just some of the best in the business.

Oh wow. Okay. So, yes. I was a huge Ronnie Barnes fan and he inspired me to have a positive career in the NFL.

Yeah, he's a huge, huge inspiration to me.

Listen, he was, you know, Wally's great personality. We had a great crew, man. I was walking into a situation that was so talented that I thought, you know, with myself and Pepper, Pepper was there a year before me, but it was just like, let's see if we can get everybody to really max their potential and all push in the same direction. But in doing so, we had so much fun, didn't we, Wally?

Yeah. And look, see, Carl doesn't know this. But me having the opportunity to be in a locker room and be with the Browns during that time, you got to understand the people that were there. You're talking about the Nick Sabans of the world and Bill Belichiks and the Mike Lombardis and even the other coaches that we had, Woody Widenhofer, long time defensive coordinator, won championships with the Steelers. You had a lot of guys who had a lot of experience and a lot of leadership. And I am not, listen, you don't understand, and like I said, I never told Carl this, but you don't understand how intimidated I was, okay, to be in the locker room with these men, okay? Because like he said, Pepper Johnson was there a year before he got there. And all I knew about those guys is those guys acting a fool and stepping on the helmet in the middle of the damn stadium during the Super Bowl.

All right. All I know about the Giants is Carl Banks and Pepper Johnson and Gary Reasons and Lawrence Taylor tearing everybody's ass for a long time in the damn NFL. Okay. And then what I forget my other guy's name.

Harry Carson. Goddamn. How can I.

South Carolina State. Okay. That's all I remember. And I tell kids this, okay, because it happens this fast. I was literally at home at the same house I'm sitting in with my parents watching the draft and going through this process. Okay, within hours I'm sitting in front of Belichick, Ozzie Newsome, and now I'm dealing with Pepper Johnson and Michael Dean Perry and all these kind of things like that. And now I see Carl Banks coming through the room and all these things. I'm like, I'm going to learn something now.

Yes.