Despite his own struggles in the NFL, Ryan Leaf has shown respect for other players deemed busts, offering critiques while avoiding negativity. This explains his disapproval of Adam Schein’s remarks about Zach Wilson following the Mac Jones trade.
Jones was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday for a sixth-round pick, leading Mad Dog Radio SiriusXM host Schein to wonder what Zach “JaMarcus Russell” Wilson would fetch in a trade. Schein implied that if Jones was only worth a mid-round pick, Wilson’s potential trade value might be as low as a subscription to the NFL+ streaming service.
If Mac Jones is getting traded for a 6th, Zach “Jamarcus Russell” Wilson’s value is an NFL+ subscription
— Adam Schein (@AdamSchein) March 10, 2024
Leaf took exception to that.
“Funny thing is Zach could step in to your studio and do your job as good or better than you at any moment,” he wrote.
You’re better than this passive aggressive shit man, c’mon. Funny thing is Zach could step in to your studio and do your job as good or better than you at any moment. You couldn’t lace up your own cleats in an attempt to do what he does without completely shitting yourself. Be… https://t.co/42CAk57sr4
— Ryan D Leaf (@RyanDLeaf) March 10, 2024
Schein has yet to respond, but it’s not the first time he’s been criticized for his remarks — and rather harshly — regarding young quarterbacks in the NFL.
One Twitter/X user told Leaf that Schein was generous in describing Wilson’s value. Leaf didn’t have it.
Not the point and you know it. The trade value is a fun & accurate bit, it’s the condescending way he tries to demean another human. He has a name, it was not needed, and I said something about it. You can be critical of the player without being a dick and you know that. #GTFOH
— Ryan D Leaf (@RyanDLeaf) March 11, 2024
It’s condescending, you get that, but you’re caping for guy, and we won’t agree and that’s fine. Won’t stop me from calling his ass out on it, regardless of what you randos have to say about it. He can be critical of Zach’s career without being a dick, that’s his choice.
— Ryan D Leaf (@RyanDLeaf) March 11, 2024
Despite past criticism for his own NFL career, Leaf takes issue with Schein’s approach. Leaf openly acknowledges his struggles and even uses humor to address them. However, he finds Schein’s comparison of Zach Wilson to JaMarcus Russell to be excessively critical and veering into personal attacks.
Leaf differentiates between constructive criticism and negativity, whether you agree with him or not. While he offers his own critiques, he sees a clear difference between analyzing a player’s skills (as with his comments on Caleb Williams) and unfairly labeling a young talent like Wilson, who faced a challenging situation with the Jets.
While his argument holds some weight, Leaf didn’t exactly help himself with the tactics he retorted to several reply guys in his mentions. There are a few less-than-stellar tweets that have since been deleted, where he included insults and threats directed at those who disagreed with him.
Leaf essentially said that if he can resort to analysis without name-calling, then so can Schein. He then proceeded to accuse someone of having AS (Schein’s) genitalia in his face. He then seemingly threatened another reply guy, referencing his previous crime.
Is Ryan Leaf okay? pic.twitter.com/60O4apsh4a
— Thomas (@Winston_Wolfe) March 10, 2024
This is all over Schein referring to Zach Wilson as JaMarcus Russell. Imagine if Schein chose to compare Wilson to Ryan Leaf instead.
As far as criticism goes, Schein’s comments are relatively tame. Yes, they miss the mark, and he’s clearly taking a thinly veiled shot at Wilson, but I think we can all agree that it probably doesn’t resort to the name-calling that Leaf implies it does.
[Ryan Leaf on Twitter/X]
