Don, Hahn & Rosenberg — “Hour 2: Moral Victory Monday”

Date: September 22, 2025
Podcast Overview:
This hour of “Don, Hahn & Rosenberg” dives deep into the rollercoaster weekend of New York football, focusing primarily on the Jets' stunning special teams play and loss, perennial issues with building and sustaining team identity (especially with the Giants), quarterback development debates, and some wider NFL topics. The hosts bring their signature blend of sports knowledge, New York cynicism, and biting humor, serving up both analysis and levity for frustrated local sports fans.

Main Theme / Purpose

• The core focus: Unpacking “moral victories” in New York football, with particular attention to the Jets’ and Giants’ recent performances, identity issues, and the perennial struggle between hope and heartbreak for local fans.
• Recurring question: Are moral victories enough, or do they just highlight the dysfunction?
• Tonal blend: Sarcastic, passionate, introspective, and self-deprecating, reflecting the lived experience of long-suffering New York sports fandom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Jets’ Heartbreaking Loss & Blocked Field Goal Play

Timestamps: 01:08 – 09:00

• The Play: Jets come back from three scores down; electrifying blocked field goal returned for a touchdown by Will McDonald to tie the game late—only to lose after failing to deliver a defensive stop.

• Radio call reactions: The hosts dissected emotional GoPro/booth and broadcast calls, highlighting the chaos and elation, but also the much-too-familiar “same old Jets” heartbreak.

  “It was there and then it was gone immediately...I wanted to believe, but the second the Bucs got the ball, you knew how it was ending.”
  — Anthony Beck (08:58)

• Debate on Jets’ “talent” and defensive ability:

  • Alan Hahn: “I think their talent is overrated. Sauce? Garbage.” (07:00)
  • Injury depletion and youth at key positions noted.

• Recurring frustration: The Jets’ inability—despite supposed defensive identity—to get crucial stops late in games.

  • Discussion of coaching (Aaron Glenn), young roster holes, accountability for “personal fouls that keep happening.”

2. Are Moral Victories Worth Anything?

Timestamps: 09:22 – 12:25

• Clapping After Losses: The crew (and callers) debate whether Aaron Glenn’s visible postgame enthusiasm is appropriate, or just optics for change-starved fans.
  • Hahn: “Moral victories do exist in Jet land. They do. ...But until you start winning, you’re the same old Jets. Culture doesn’t change after losses.” (10:17)
  • Rosenberg: “Stop saying it’s not same old Jets. It absolutely is. Your job is to get to the point where it’s no longer ‘same old Jets.’” (12:07)
  • Consensus: You don’t tell people you’ve changed—winning makes the case.

3. Quarterback Development Debate (Jets & Giants Focus)

Timestamps: 14:36 – 26:10

• Callers & Hosts: Should the Giants/Jets throw their rookie QBs (specifically referencing the Giants’ “Dart”) into the fire to “see what they have,” or risk damaging their futures by rushing them?
  • Rosenberg: “You cannot put this kid in if you don’t think behind the scenes he’s up for it already…You can damage him, then you start all over again.” (19:59)
• Room dynamics & “losing the locker room”:
  • Hahn: “You can lose a room by playing a kid who’s not ready. ...But if you’re 0-4, 0-5, what kick do the players have? Just do your job.” (18:35)
• Comparisons to other teams/QBs: Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, and Tommy DeVito.
  • Discussion emphasized that draft slot matters for expectations and timeline ("project" QBs sit more often, e.g., late 1st/2nd rounders).

4. NFL Binge Quick-Hits — Wild Week Recap

Timestamps: 27:43 – 38:47

• Historic Sunday:
  • 7 games with game-winning scores in the final 3 minutes (most since merger).
  • 5 blocked field goals, 4 in the 4th quarter (most in 45 years).
• Game Recaps and Host Gripes:
  • Browns’ defensive dominance and Cleveland’s win (Anthony: “I felt pretty good about Cleveland covering...No one did a thing.” 30:14)
  • Eagles’ blocked kick return for a win (“Do you believe in miracles?”/Al Michaels reference ribbed).
  • Chargers’ surprising 3-0 start with all division wins (commentary on “Cameron Dicker the kicker” and comedy about his name).
  • 49ers’ win over Cardinals, Chris Carlin’s call, and “living the dream” life as a broadcaster.
  • Peter notes Washington’s (“the Commies”) ugly win as “the kind of game you just lose for years. But instead, when you’re a functional franchise, you bring in a backup and spank a bad team.” (37:45)
• Self-Mocking: Hosts roast their own picks and fandoms.

5. Giants’ Identity Crisis & the NY Head Coach Problem

Timestamps: 42:52 – 50:45

• Caller ‘Dom’ from Rochester: “Is this some sick joke?” on what it means to watch the modern Giants.
  • Dom and hosts pine for the days of a clear identity: physicality, dominant lines. The current roster is “nothing.”
  • Rosenberg: “Who are the Giants? ...On both sides of the ball, they don’t have that identity anymore.” (45:57)
• Why can’t NY teams build lasting cultures?
  • Hahn: New York may devour first-time head coaches, citing success with experienced ones (eg. Parcells, Coughlin, Keenan for Rangers).
  • Peter & Anthony: Jets/Giants coaching carousel and lack of foundational leadership—unlike franchises that win, where opponents “know what’s coming.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Jets’ defense letting fans down, as always:

  “You’re the same old Jets until you start winning.”
  — Alan Hahn (10:17)

• On the tough love of NY fandom:

  “When you’re no longer same old Jets, you’re not going to have to tell us. We’ll know.”
  — Alan Hahn (12:25)

• On quarterbacks being thrown into pressure:

  “You can lose a room by playing a kid that’s not ready…But if you’re 0-4, what kick do the players have? Just do your job.”
  — Alan Hahn (18:37)

• On Giants’ lost identity:

  “Who are the Giants? They aren’t anything because the coaches aren’t anybody…Are they good at defense? Not really. Great offense? No. Special teams? Nope.”
  — Alan Hahn (47:15)

• On “project” rookie QBs:

  “When you’re drafted 25th overall, that tells you this is a bit of a project.”
  — Alan Hahn (25:06)

• On NY coaching hires:

  “Is this the place to go to a first time head coach? No, it just eats you alive.”
  — Alan Hahn (48:47)

Funniest / Lightest Moments

• Buccaneers throwback uniforms:

  • Alan loves the colors (“gorgeous”), while Beck says, “That jersey, to me, Don, is the epitome of suck.” (12:52)
  • Peter’s “you’re in good hands with Allstott” line bombs, leading to a riff on the worst puns and Chris Berman’s dad-joke legacy.

• Charger Kicker Name Comedy:

  • Alan: “The Chargers kicker, in essence, is Dirk Diggler from Boogie Nights, right?”
  • Anthony: “Two jobs on the table. Kicker is one of them…”

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment / Topic | |----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:08 | Jets miraculous blocked field goal for TD, booth audio breakdown, “moral victory” vs. heartbreak | | 07:00 | Jets defensive talent called out (“Sauce? Garbage.”), injury woes discussed | | 09:22 | Are “moral victories” just an excuse for Jets/Glenn's clapping controversy | | 14:36 | Call-in: Should rookie QBs “Dart”/others be rushed? Locker-room dynamics | | 19:59 | Rosenberg on why you can’t rush the rookie (“You can damage him…”) | | 25:06 | How draft slot changes rookie QB timeline (“project QBs” sit more) | | 27:43 | NFL Binge segment — wild finish games, blocked FGs, host betting gripes, fun with announcer calls | | 37:45 | Washington’s (“the Commies”) ugly but satisfying win; beating bad teams as a “functional franchise” | | 42:52 | Caller Dom: Giants identity crisis — no direction, not ready for anything | | 45:57 | On what the Giants lost: “Physicality at the line of scrimmage… That’s what the Giants were about.” | | 48:47 | Why New York eats first-time head coaches; argument for experienced hires in NY |

Conclusion

This podcast hour is a quintessential New York sports radio hour: exasperated but resilient, smart, and always a little wounded. The crew dissects the fine line between building and regressing, questioning the wisdom of “moral victories” and rookie gambles. Central to it all: New York football’s endless search for leadership and identity—and the faint hope that one day, fans won’t need moral victories, just the real thing.