Big Blue Kickoff Live 10/13 | Building Off the Win Over Philly

Lance Medow and Paul Dottino discuss the Giants win over the Philadelphia Eagles, talk about the team winning in the trenches, and take calls from fans.

0:00 - Eagles discussion

8:00 - The run game and Broncos look ahead

21:00 - Calls

37:00 - More on the Broncos

45:00 - Defensive line

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's time for a Big Blue kickoff line. Nobody can
ever tell you that you couldn't do it because you're
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We all, We're all tack, part of the Giants podcast network.
Let's go on dogs An.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome to Monday's edition a Big Blue Kickoff live here
on Giants dot Com, the mobile app as well as YouTube.
He's called a Tino on Lance Medal with you for
the next sixty minutes. It is presented by Cadillac, the
official luxury vehicle of the New York Football Giants. Multiple
ways you interact with us here on the program. You
give us a ring two zero one nine three nine
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two of us on Twitter. He's at Giants w fa

(00:48):
N I'm Atlance Metal one word, last name Medow. We
are broadcasting from the Giants Podcast Studio. It is presented
by Hackensack Meridian Health. Keep getting Better, so a lot
to tackle. Over the course of this program will recap
a little bit from the win over Philadelphia on Thursday Night.
Football Look ahead to the Denver Broncos game. Also count

(01:09):
up how many times Paul actually watched the Thursday night
game over the course of this extended weekend, So stay
tuned for that. We'll have it tally in the upper
right or left corner, depending on what Pearson and the
production team comes from. Again, Oh, I can imagine, and
I can only once again imagine how many times you
did review, especially that fourth quarter, you know, good giants did.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
The good news is now we have digital replays. You know,
back in.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
The day, I had to pop a VHS tape, the.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
VHS tape and I would go back and rewind and rewind,
you'd wear down the film. It was really it was
a lot of burden on that the damn machine. I mean,
I tax the damn VCR machine. TAXI anymore. Yeah, I mean,
you know, to watch the game three times, to go
back and look at some place six times, rewind, fast forward, stop,
slow motion step. It was rough. I could do it

(02:02):
a lot quicker now now.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
I told genitally imagine. Sure.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Yeah. See technology isn't always bad. Sometimes it's actually good.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
Well, maybe this is a breakthrough in terms of Poldatino
actually embracing and commending the future as opposed to living
in the past. We'll live in the past a little
bit in terms of reviewing Thursday night, and let's start there, Paul,
because you know, there's a few takeaways we weren't on
Friday show, so this is the first time that we're
on discussing the ins and outs of this game. And
there are two things that stood out to me, at

(02:29):
least from a big picture perspective. Number One, Philadelphia was
excellent coming into the game and protecting the football, and
the Giants turned the tables on them. That was significant,
especially down the stretch. Jalen Hurds had not thrown an
interception since Week ten in the regular season of last year,
so that just goes to show you how rare of
recurrence what Cordell flot did.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
But then great play by the way.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Heads up play and an excellent play because also his return,
even though he didn't score, shortened the field immensely for
the offense. And the most important aspect that you hear
me always talk about. Takeaways are great, it's all about
what you do with them. The offense then punched it
in and that was keep in mind we're talking about
it is a twenty seven to seventeen game with just

(03:13):
over eleven minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Okay,
just think about that. The Eagles, they're at the Giants
fifteen yard line, Paul, Okay, they're knocking on the door.
If they score a touchdown in this hypothetical world, they
could very well pull within a field goal, and there's
still a lot of time left in the fourth quarter.
Who knows how strategy changes it goes from that to

(03:33):
now the Giants entering the red zone and really putting
the icing on the cake. And then of course Philadelphia
wound up fumbling the ball with aj Dillon on the
ensuing possession. So when the Giants defense needed to put
that game away, they came through. They delivered. And then
the other thing, combined with the takeaways, was the fact
that Philadelphia we talked about, number one, how great they

(03:56):
were in the red zone right when we were preview
this guy last week, We're sent And then the other
thing was just overall their offense for the most part,
even though the passing game hadn't necessarily clicked, but the
Giants held them one of nine on third down. And
I was also looking back at the numbers because that
doesn't tell the whole story. I like to know. Okay, well,
what was the down in distance, Paul, that you actually

(04:18):
had to tackle. They had a third and one and
a third and three outside of that, everything else was
third and six and longer. So that means that the
Giants were playing really good defense on first and second down.
And that coincides with Saquon Barkley had thirty one rushing
yards on his first two carries. Remember right out of

(04:40):
the gates, and I know a lot of people watching
the game and said, oh, here we go. It's gonna
be a long night. And the Giants, remember, right, their
achilles heel had been stopping the run. So he had
ten carries for fifty eight yard twelve carries, excuse me,
for fifty eight yards in the game. That means that
outside of those first two runs, he had ten carries
for twenty seven yards. They held him to two point
seven yards per run after those first two and that's

(05:03):
a big reason why the Eagles struggled on third down
because they weren't efficient, and now they had to make
up for it with the passing attack, and it became
really a one dimensional Eagles offense that the Giants had
to slow down.

Speaker 1 (05:15):
Well, why don't you just flip those two stats. What
was the Giants' third down stats?

Speaker 2 (05:20):
Oh yeah, they were what eleven of fifteen, that's.

Speaker 1 (05:22):
Exactly right, yep, eleven of fifteen, ridiculously high efficiency. And
how about this. You know, I don't keep red zone stats.
I keep scoring zone stats. As I've explained on this
show many times, before you get to the other team's thirty,
you got to get points because these kickers nowadays, you
know you're at the thirty yard line. It's a forty
at yard field. That's a chip shot and that's like

(05:43):
automatic now. So I believe that we should no longer
keep red zone stats. We should keep scoring zone stats,
which indicates what you did inside the opponent's thirty, because
if you get to the thirty or in and don't
get points, that's embarrassing. Okay, Giants four touchdowns on four

(06:03):
trips inside the scoring zone if we discount the last
kneel downs, which the last kneel down is irrelevant. So
out of four real possessions, four times inside the thirty,
four touchdowns, that's off the charts for this team. They

(06:23):
I mean, they came in with a thirty two percent
red zone efficiency, never mind thirty yards an inn. So
you talk about those two stats that really showed it
on the defensive side, I'll give you the two stats
exactly the opposite on the offensive.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
Side, and they were three for three in the true
red zone. I know you said you want to extend
to the scoring zone, but they were efficient, and that
to me, did wonders for the rest of the game,
and it was something that they had to solve because
they were not finishing drives. They were moving the ball,
and I remember in media session after session, the offense

(07:01):
would constantly be asked about the ability to not finish
and they would say, listen, we're moving the ball. It's
not as if we're not moving the ball. You take
away the five takeaways, the turnovers, eever you want to
spin it. Against the Saints, it tells a completely different story.
That shouldn't take away from the Giants. We're moving the ball.
The problem is they had nothing to show for it
because once they got into the red zone or the
scoring area as you want to call it, they just

(07:23):
could not protect the ball and at least have a
shot for even a field goal. So the Eagles game
was the first time that we saw the combination of Paul.
Not only did they move the chains, but you actually
had substance on the other end to compliment what you
had with respect to yardage.

Speaker 1 (07:41):
Well, remember we always talk about the different challenge once
you get down near the goal line, because if you
don't run the ball well, and this is why I
always talk about situational running games. If you don't keep
defenses honest and you're not able to run the ball
even when everybody in the stadium knows you to run it,

(08:01):
you put yourself in a very bad situation. You have
to be able to impose your will with the run
game in certain situations. You have to if you're going
to be a winning football team. That's what this offensive
line has now started to do a little bit, specifically
with that firecracker named Cam Scattaby.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
Yeah. Well, and he's the guy that finished the three
times in the red zone. Look, he had a four
yard run, he had a one yard run, and they
had another one yard run and go ahead.

Speaker 1 (08:30):
And what did we talk about when he came out
of Arizona State. He is a touchdown monster. This guy
had twenty one rushing touchdowns at Arizona State in his
last season with the Sun Devils. What I tried to
tell people when I was so incredibly higher than the
sky when they drafted him, was understand something at the

(08:52):
very least, he will have an immediate impact as a
short yardage back and as a goal line back, because
not only do you have to have blocking down there,
but there's a certain mentality and a certain nose for
the goal line some guys when they get down there.
Marcus Allen was another one. Now, don't get me wrong,
Marcus Allen's Hall of Fame running back. I'm not gonna

(09:13):
say he was just an average guy. He was a
Hall of Famer. But down near the goal line, Marcus Allen,
forget about it, he's scoring. There are guys who have
that spidy sense, if you will. There was that one
year where Joe Morris ran for twenty one touchdowns for
the Giants back in eighty six. I mean, you have
to not only get the blocking, but you have to

(09:34):
have the it factor that sniffs out the end zone.
Scataboo has that, which is why I felt immediately he
would have an impact on this team. We saw it
last week.

Speaker 2 (09:46):
And who knew that Tyrone, Tracy was gonna go down
to further expand his role because now we're seeing the toughness,
no doubt in the red zone, no doubt. I don't
think many people necessarily anticipated that, but I mean I
was just as high on the draft pick knowing his
resume and just his power in his strength, and that
was on full display against Philly one of the touchdowns,
if you remember, they were pushing him back and then
he had the second effort to then fight through and

(10:09):
get the ball across the goal line. And that's also
it's not just so much you have to be able
to run the football. You have to have that toughness
and that effort to finish. And I think that's what
Skataboo brings to the table. The good teams historically in
NFL history who are up there at the end of
the season statistically in terms of scoring offense, the one

(10:29):
common element they have, Paul, is their ability to run
the ball in those tight areas, specifically inside the ten.
If you can't run the ball inside the ten yard line,
number one, you're probably not a good red zone offense.
And number two, your scoring rate is on the lower
half of the NFL I could go through, it's too
small of a sample size right now to do it.

(10:50):
We've got to get a little bit more games under
our belt. But if you went last season and you
were to go through the top offense, and let's just
do that real quickly. And this is been the problem
for the Giants in many seasons in recent and past history.
Pittsburgh they had Ben Roethlisberger, and towards the latter part
of his career, they could not run the ball inside

(11:11):
the twenty and as a result, they struggled immensely. So
I'm just bringing up two thousand and four regular season.
If we look at the top scoring offenses from that year,
you're going to see that all of them had really
strong running games. In surprise, surprise, Number one the Lions
with David Montgomery and Jamier Gibbs and a little defensive

(11:34):
correct and remember this is last year. I'm not talking
about this year. Right behind them the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo
another team with Josh Allen by the way as a
component of that rushing attack, and James Cook, Baltimore, Derrick
Henry and a good offensive line. Clearly they're struggling this year,
but remember we're not talking about that Tampa Bay actually
was one of the worst rushing teams in twenty twenty three,

(11:55):
and then Baker and Liam Cohen come together and they're
able to solve that riddle. And then the Washington Commanders,
Jade and Daniels and company. Last year, we don't need
to go beyond that. That was the top five scoring offense.
That wasn't even rushing offense. I'm just saying scoring offense
is synonymous with red zone efficiency.

Speaker 1 (12:15):
Well, you know the one thing that again I don't
want to ignore here. Yes, the running back has a
huge impact on it. The kind of guy that he is,
his ability to sniff out those points. Yes, a running
quarterback absolutely helps. We understand that that's probably the one
area of the field more than anywhere else where. A
running quarterback really helps your offense because of the diversity

(12:38):
that he brings. But last, but not least, the Giants
offensive line. Andrew Thomas comes back and we have seen
a dramatic improvement in this offensive line. Once again, it's
back to where it was the first month of last
season when they were functional. They're not doin it. They're

(13:01):
not great, but they're functional for the most part. They're
giving the quarterback enough time to operate, and they are
certainly able to move the ball on the ground in
spots where they need to do it. Now, having said
that again, they gave away two games with turnovers and
poor defensive play between the Dallas and the New Orleans games.

(13:24):
But I think we would all agree now because Andrew
Thomas didn't play against Dallas either. Let's not forget that
this Giants team is now starting to play much more
like what they are capable of. This is the team
that I thought we would see when I was watching
training camp and when I was watching the preseason. This

(13:45):
is much more like the team that I expected, which would,
in my opinion, over around five hundred for the bulk
of the season.

Speaker 2 (13:53):
Well, the offensive line has not been a liability this season.
I think that's pretty much what you're getting at. And
as long as that doesn't happen, and you could stay
afloat and you could remain competitive. But I'll take it
a step further. I thought this was the first time
in I mean, I'll go so far to say maybe forever,
and that's too strong of a turn, Paul. Where I
thought the Giants outplayed the Eagles on both sides in

(14:14):
the trenches totally, and I can't remember even in recent Istrael.
I know there was that big win for the Giants
not too long ago at MetLife Stadiums, you remember, but
the Eagles weren't necessarily playing everybody in that game. And
I don't know even to this day how much I
take away and Philly remember was not playing good football,
But this is early in the season where I thought
the Giants out muscled even with the four straight push pushes.

(14:37):
I'm looking at the game overall Philadelphia. So you know,
that says an awful lot about when that play in
the trenches can make a statement as opposed to being
a bit of a rocky road, how much different the
trajectory of this team could be.

Speaker 1 (14:53):
Well, I would agree with you, because even Andrew Thomas
just told us in a conference call about ten minutes
before this program started that you know, in this division
you have to be able to fight in the trenches
because usually the teams that do better there. And it
goes really in football for the most part across the board.

(15:14):
But in this division, when you've got Philadelphia, you had
for a while Dallas's incredible offensive line. You know, go
back to the Hogs with Washington back in the day.
In this division, the beef in the trenches, the physicality
in the trenches has usually prevailed and if you get

(15:36):
pushed around up along the line of scrimmage, look, eighty
five percent of the time in any football game, you're
going to be climbing up hill, but especially in this division.
You know, the reason for so many years while the
NFC East was so good and used to send a
representative to the Super Bowl or at least the NFC
Championship Game for year after year after year was because

(15:58):
of that type of football.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
Well, you talked about the Cowboys and their ability to draft.
We know Philadelphia's track record. Unfortunately for the Giants, they've
been on the wrong end of this conversation Paul year
and in year out, and that has put them at
a major disadvantage. Now, in no way are we saying
that they fully turned the corner and all of a sudden,
the rankings are dramatically shifting, well, especially after a performance

(16:23):
like Thursday, But you know, not to get too ahead
of ourselves. You're only as good.

Speaker 1 (16:26):
As your next game.

Speaker 2 (16:28):
And this, I would say, this coming game is probably
their biggest challenge in the trenches area because Denver, and
we're going to get into a lot of the Broncos
throughout the week, and Paul and I a little bit
later in the show will give you some of our
initial thoughts. But just to set the table here, Denver
leads the NFL in sacks. They have thirty in the
first six games. I mean they're averaging five a game.

(16:48):
Twelve different players have at least half a sack, and
one guy only has eight. Okay, and that's one of
their top linebackers, Nick Benito. So this is going from
a Philadelphia tea tea that is strong. But remember Jalen
Carter did not play to a Denver team that's gonna
have all hands on deck. And we know what the
way the NFL operates. And I can't tell you how

(17:10):
many times we go through this year, or even with
this show, you look at a game on paper, you
go through the statistics, you think it's gonna turn out
one way, and then all of a sudden, those two
teams have completely other plans. So don't fall for this.
Not to take anything away from the Giants, they deserve
a lot of credit, but it is a week to
week league, Okay, more so than any other professional sport.

(17:31):
And just because you come out and win the battle
one week does not guarantee anything with respect to your
next opponent. That's the caveat that we at least need
to note. Despite the positives that came out of Thursday.

Speaker 1 (17:43):
Night, one brief look ahead, I think what you will
see is Dallas's Dallas Denver's defensive front has a nice
edge over the Giants offensive front. But I think it's
also true the other way. I think the Giants defensive
front has a big edge over the Broncos offensive front,
especially if you watched the game yesterday. Quite frankly, what

(18:08):
you saw with the Broncos Jets game yesterday, in a
perfect world, that's what you'll see on Sunday with the Giants.
It'll be a low scoring tug of war, and the
Giants will have an opportunity to win this game in
the fourth quarter. In all honesty that I would sign
up for that tomorrow. I would like to believe the

(18:29):
Giants will do what they need to do to pull
it out, unlike what the Jets did. But that's the
kind of game you're probably going to see.

Speaker 2 (18:37):
Well thirteen eleven and as bad as the Jets were.
They had eighty two total yards in that game. Yet
on the final drive, to your point, they still had
an opportunity to kick a game winning field goal. Yeah,
but you know what happened. Denver had two sacks on
that drive, right and that ended that.

Speaker 1 (18:53):
So the Fields is just oh my goodness. Whatever. Hey, look,
I was never a fan. You guys know that I
was never a fan.

Speaker 2 (19:03):
Well, listen, the question is, not to get off topic,
was always about could Fields become a true pocket passer.
That's been the mo and the big looming question mark,
regardless of the environments he's been in. And when you
have issues like the Jets have, the environments don't get
any smoother. But their defense, in all fairness, defense played
very well with them in that game and deserves a

(19:24):
lot of credit.

Speaker 1 (19:25):
And I think the Giants d if they play to
their capabilities, they could do the same.

Speaker 3 (19:29):
Well.

Speaker 2 (19:29):
Bonix and the Broncos have not been lighting up the
score scoreboard, excuse me, by any means. So that's the avenue.
It's the Giants defense keeping things low scoring and then
hoping that their offense could stay afloat against a really
good Denver defense. It's not so much Denver's takeaways. They
actually have a minus turnover differential this season. But it's

(19:50):
the fact that they're really good against the run, right,
They're really good at getting after the quarterback. They're really
top six against the run and the pass. You know,
sometimes you see a defense that really good against the run,
but they give up explosive plays. No, they're extremely balanced.

Speaker 1 (20:04):
The secondary is no slouch either.

Speaker 2 (20:06):
They got playmakers. They're complete.

Speaker 1 (20:08):
That defense is complete.

Speaker 2 (20:10):
This secondary has Patzertan, it's got Brandon Jones, Riley Moss
is no slouch. And then they brought over Tlenoa Ulfanga
from the Niners.

Speaker 1 (20:22):
And by the way, they're using him like Palomalo used
to play for Pittsburgh Troy. He is all over the field.

Speaker 2 (20:31):
That's what he did for the Niners.

Speaker 1 (20:32):
Two. They will line him up everywhere and he will
do a variety of things from everywhere. Hulfango was a
maniac yesterday.

Speaker 2 (20:44):
And that's exactly what I saw when he was on
the West Coast with San Francisco. It's basically, you're watching
the same player, you just changed uniforms. All right, let's
open up the phone lines as we move forward here
on Monday's edition of Big Blue Kickoff Live recapping Philly
looking ahead to Denver a little bit of both storylines
as it is presented by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle

(21:05):
of the New York Football Giants. Lance Metal, Paul Datino
with you, and we start things off with Andrew in
Virginia with us here on BBKO. Welcome toboard Andrew. What
do you got for us?

Speaker 4 (21:15):
Lance and Paul.

Speaker 5 (21:16):
I don't want to be accused of only calling up
to complain. I haven't called up since Weak one. I
want to give the Giants a very well earned pet
on the back. Tom Coughlin used to lead off talking
about the weeks challenges ahead and imparting how physical the
gameplay would need to be in a lot of cases.

(21:38):
And you used that word earlier, Paul.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
Physical.

Speaker 5 (21:40):
It's exactly how the Giants, whatever they did in that
internal meeting, they came out and played physical. And it's
not just Cam Scataboo and Jackson Dart though. There is
an attitude now on this team that we haven't had
in a very long time. I'm not going to use
the word identity, but maybe we'll get there. But it
is a physical attitude and the fans are absolutely loving it.

Speaker 3 (22:04):
We love it.

Speaker 5 (22:05):
I love it. It's incredible. Dark Maid's incredible throws. The wide
receivers stepped up. We're finally using the tight ends, and
we're using two tight end packages in Bellinger's as a
fullback when needed, and the running the ball the last
six minutes of the game. They knew what we were
going to do. We knew what we had to do,

(22:25):
and we went out and executed. The O line is
playing incredible. Carmen Bursillo. We got to keep that man here,
and that's if I'm going to ask a question, that's
really what it is. What are we doing about the
injuries possibly with JMS Zudu? Are we looking like we're
going to be all set on that offensive line to

(22:48):
deal with Denver this upcoming week?

Speaker 2 (22:51):
All right, Andrew, We'll let you go on that note
and appreciate the phone call. I think it's a fair
question about JMS, But remember he had a cut on
his nose and then I'd believe it was concussion proto call.
So at this point, Brian Dable he had his last
meeting with the media on Friday and did not give
any updates in terms of personnel, and the next time

(23:11):
we'll probably hear from him, I believe his Wednesday, So
I wouldn't say that there's going to be any new
developments on that front. It all depends on with JMS.
When you're in concussion proto call, there's no way to
cheat that. You got to go through the process and
if you get all the check marks based on what
you need to pass, he'll be eligible to take part
in practice or be in consideration for the game. If

(23:34):
he doesn't get through it, it is what it is,
and he'll be on the sideline. So it's really a
matter of the medical testing and so forth. With respect
to that, I mean, I guess the good news for
the Giants with respect to John Michael Schmidz is that
it was a Thursday night game Paul, so he's a
little bit ahead of the curve because he had it
from Friday till now and now he's got the full

(23:56):
week before they play again on Sunday, so it gives
him maybe a little bit more time to fully recover
and get out there. But as far as Zudu, I mean,
a Zudu is not a starting offensive lineman, so I'm
not exactly sure what he was insinuating there, other than
maybe just having some depth in areas. But I mean,
if they're gonna beat Denver, they're gonna have to do

(24:16):
it with their starting five offensive linemen and the assistant
to the tight ends. I'll tell you that.

Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, I think you know, Zudu is on ir until
further notice. I have no indication that he's about ready
to come off. And as far as the center spot,
John Michael Schmidz played really well the other night until
he had to come out of the game, and then
you know, Slotman came in and I got to give
him credit because you know, I kind of doubted his ceiling.

(24:46):
You know, I've seen him since we was with Minnesota,
and I know how the Giants use to take advantage
of him out there. And then he came here as
a veteran backup with experience and didn't play much. I
was like, all right, well, John Michael Schmidz is going out.
Let's see how this works. You know, I was always

(25:07):
impressed with Van Roten when he moved into the center
spot when John Michael Schmidz got hurt last year. But
of course that means you got to have two positions
too many changes. Yeah, so you'd rather not. So they
went with Sloatman and he held up. He did. Okay,
So you know, I'm not ready to jump for joy

(25:27):
and say, well, if he starts against Denver, everything's going
to be rosy. I don't know that, but he certainly
made me feel a lot better with what he did
the other day.

Speaker 2 (25:37):
Well, whoever's out there, if it's not JMS, if he
doesn't get through Kucushia protocol. The front for Denver Zach Allen,
who is an outstanding free agent edition two years ago,
DJ Jones and John Franklin Myers. I mean that's their front,
not to mention who of course they have at the
linebacker position, and Benito is one of their outside guys,

(25:58):
but their base is at east to three to four,
So they're gonna be tested outside. They're gonna be tested
specifically inside, So that center position. Not that you could
get away with a game where you don't have to
worry about it, but the interior pressure for Denver is
a big challenge this week. They don't just bring it
off the edge, They're gonna bring it from the inside.

Speaker 1 (26:17):
Well, it's a multiple look defense, and they will send
guys from everywhere. I mean, look, the thirty sacks neither
remind you, folks. It's only the second time since nineteen
ninety that a National Football League team has had thirty
sacks in its first six games of the season. The
second time nineteen ninety. That's a long time ago. This team,

(26:42):
this team is getting after it.

Speaker 2 (26:44):
And Benito, who had thirteen and a half sacks last season,
I mean, he didn't come out of no way, no,
but he already has eight through the first six games.
Now he's not.

Speaker 1 (26:52):
And Brian Burns has seven. By the way, Well, I'm
not taking anything away from Brian. I just want to
make sure we get his name up there too.

Speaker 2 (26:58):
Now Burns is having outstanding start.

Speaker 1 (27:01):
Because it would be unfair for us to gloat over
how great the Broncos defense has been and ignore the
fact that the Giants defense, when they're playing up to
their best, they're right up there. All right, They're right
up there. And I don't want to just talk about
sack numbers. I'm talking about pressure numbers, et cetera, et cetera.
Giants have a very formidable front seven.

Speaker 2 (27:21):
No, they do, which is why we talked about bo
Nixon Denver has to deal with that. Yeah, and there's
a way for the Giants defense. This c sarily contained
that group. It's just the Bronco sack total. As you
just mentioned, it stands out, historical content stands out.

Speaker 1 (27:35):
But to see the Giants have to have the mentality,
and this goes to the caller's point. Their mentality has
to be, Hey, Denver, we're coming out there. You gotta
deal with us. You gotta deal with odd defensive front.
You gotta deal with Dexter and with TIBs and with
Carter and with Burns. Okay, so you better get ready
because we're coming. That's the attitude the Giants have to have.

Speaker 2 (27:59):
Let's say, back to the phone lines. We got coach
Marvin in Delaware with US coach Marvin, what's happening?

Speaker 4 (28:04):
How you doing?

Speaker 6 (28:05):
Lance? And Paul?

Speaker 2 (28:06):
You're right, what's on your mind?

Speaker 4 (28:10):
Well?

Speaker 6 (28:10):
I just prom everything you guys said is right on point.

Speaker 4 (28:13):
Today.

Speaker 6 (28:15):
You were talking about the red zone and you have
to be able to run the ball because if you
can't run the ball, you're going to be facing these
zones with seven people standing in it and the gold
and the out of bounds area. So it's not a
lot of room to try to throw the ball down,
so you got to be physical and have to be
able to run.

Speaker 2 (28:34):
Yeah, you can't use the whole field once you get
down in the red zone, so it changes exactly.

Speaker 6 (28:38):
Yeah, that's why it changes so much. I'm proud of
the way the guys play.

Speaker 3 (28:43):
You guys were talking.

Speaker 6 (28:44):
About the offense, and I think a lot of the
key they were it was a physical game that they
played that they took to the Eagles. I'm not gonna lie.
It really surprised me. I thought the Eagles would come
in really more physical after what they went through the
week before.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
Against by the way faulty four.

Speaker 6 (29:05):
Yeah, but I thought that the Giants defensively, what they
did is they kept them out of those thirds and
short They kept them out of those areas where they
because normally the Eagles they're not really trying to get
for they can get a first down on third down,
they would, but they trying to get as close as
they can to that first down one yard out a

(29:28):
yard and exactly.

Speaker 1 (29:29):
So they could cheat. That's all they try to do.

Speaker 6 (29:32):
Yeah, they try to play with four downs rather than three, right,
and they trying to get you into that position. And
I don't think they ran the toush push in the
middle of the field at all. I don't believe they
know it's.

Speaker 2 (29:45):
Just four times in the red zone that they did
for the touchdown. Yeah, well, part of that was because
once again I went through the third downs, the downs
and distances early in the program. They faced a third
and one of the third and three, that was it.
There's seven other downs were six yards or more. So
they didn't have the opportunity to do stuff like that
in the middle of the field.

Speaker 6 (30:05):
Now, you know what, when you said they had a
third and one, what did they run on that third?

Speaker 2 (30:10):
And I don't you know what. I believe they didn't
convert it because I was going back through the play
by play it was Jalen Hurts I believe attempted a run.
I don't. I'd have to go back to the film.
Off the top of my head, Marvin, I don't believe
it was a touch push. But they the Giants stuffed
them on that.

Speaker 6 (30:24):
Play, right, Okay, And defensively, I think the guys up
front did a really good job with pression. I thought,
what the Giants did? You noticed there were some times
in those possessions where Jalen had a lot of time
to throw the ball. I believe it's had to be

(30:45):
somewhere around four seconds to.

Speaker 3 (30:46):
Throw the ball.

Speaker 1 (30:47):
Oh, there was a few it was about eight seconds,
to be honest with you, coach. But the secondary was
a lot more physical and they got into it with
guys and they weren't giving them as much cushion.

Speaker 6 (30:58):
But I think the to that is now, I think
people are going to start looking what is Jalen at
his best? He's at his best when you go cover
one and he has one read. When he has one read,
he's outstanding. And I tell my Philly friends about this
all the time. I don't say I'm not saying Jalen's

(31:20):
a bad quarterback. I'm just in my listing I don't
have him as a top five quarterback because he doesn't
win games. He just doesn't lose games. Those are two
different people. And I think what the Giants did they
went zoned quite a bit, and I don't know how
many times they went zoned in that game. What the

(31:41):
percentage was they made him think when they went zoned,
he had to look for his guys. So if he
perfect at going from his first read, second and third,
I don't believe he is that good in those. I
think once he doesn't get his first read and possibly
his second, his eyes come down. He starts looking for

(32:01):
that rusher. And I think the Giants kind of did
that to him in that game. And I think when
they were rushing and he at that time, it looked
like they were just keeping them in the pockets. If
you notice, guys wasn't really pushing to get Ton, it
looks like they were just standing keeping them in that part.

Speaker 2 (32:18):
Well, because I think the philosophy and will let you
go on that note, Marvin appreciate the phone call. The
philosophy is, especially when you go up against a guy
like Hurtz and you could say all you want in
terms of what you think about him as a passer,
he could take off and run. He's proven that. There's
actually been criticism this year that they're not running him
enough at times, and he'll extend plays and he'll run
for first down. So I think the Giants were disciplined

(32:40):
enough to say we're not going to let him damage
this game on the ground. Now, with all that being said,
remember there was one play in that game that DeVante
Smith got behind the Giants defense, and if Jalen hurts,
Paul throws a better football that had home run touchdown
rinning all over him. So there's things to clean up,

(33:01):
of course, and there were opportunities, and some of the
things that I think Philadelphia could have done didn't necessarily
have a reflection on what the Giants did. It was
more of what the Eagles failed to do under those circumstances.

Speaker 1 (33:12):
See, you got to be careful putting stock in something
like that lance because every coach will tell you each
and every week there are openings and there are plays
that if the other team just took advantage of them,
you would have been burned to the tenth degree. They're
there every week, every week. Even the New England Patriots

(33:32):
when they had their undefeated regular season, okay back in
two thousand and seven, if Bill Belichick went back and
showed you every one of their films, there would have
been holes in that defense every single week, a handful
of them where if the other team had just executed,
if they had the proper timing on what their pass

(33:53):
was or their route was, or if they had just
caught the drop pass, whatever the case may be, it's
all about opportunity. And there is no such thing as
a one hundred perfect, one percent perfectly played defensive game.
It does not exist. There are always going to be
plays to be made for the offense, so don't put

(34:16):
any stock Hurtz missed that throw. Okay, there were a
number of other plays too, on both sides of the ball,
where if teams had just taken advantage of that moment,
it would have changed the complexion of the game. People
don't notice those because often often those don't materialize because

(34:38):
the offense did not take advantage of that play that
was there. We all see the wide open receiver who
doesn't get the bomb because it was overthrown by five yards.
We all see that one, and those show up every
couple of weeks where a team will get lucky because ah,
they just totally misfired. But they're gonna be numerous since

(35:00):
and says I wish coach Marven was still on the phone,
you could tell you every single game there are opportunities
for the offense to hurt you, and they just miss
it or they don't execute it. So I don't want
to I don't want to give give Philly the benefit

(35:20):
of the doubt that ah. You know, if they had
just hit that pass, it would have been a whole
different story. But that happens in every game.

Speaker 2 (35:26):
Well, I understand, it's a hypothetical, and I'm not saying
that the game would have dramatically changed and the Eagles
walk could.

Speaker 1 (35:33):
I don't disagree with that. That's the point.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
I'm saying that DeVante Smith had several feet okay between
him and the nearest No, I understand. I mean that
was a walk in touch. I understand if that gets executed.
That's my main point. And yes, of course it happens
in every game. But there are other plays.

Speaker 1 (35:50):
We just don't see them. We don't notice them. Well,
not that obvious.

Speaker 2 (35:54):
Correct, that was an obvious It was very obvious. That
was my point. There may be other plays. Absolutely, the
defender goes for a can tested catch and makes an
unbelievable catcher, doesn't I.

Speaker 1 (36:03):
Guarantee you there There were plays that were also on
Phillies defense that were wide open during the course of
the game, and some of the Giants didn't hit either. Sure,
but we just don't notice them as much.

Speaker 2 (36:13):
No, And I think what you're getting at is when
you watch the film, sometimes you'll see the quarterback throws
to the right. On the left side, a guy would
have been wide open. This was this guy, DeVante Smith.
He was the targeted player though on this play, no doubt.
And that's the difference between some of the other things
that I think you're insinuating. So I just wanted to
make it clear that that was a big play that Listen,

(36:35):
I'm sure Shane Bowen is showing that film and he's saying,
if this happens again, you know we're in trouble. They're
definitely using that to shore things up. So it could
have been an explosive play for Philadelphia. But yes, it
does not mean that even if the Eagles converted that
that all of a sudden they were walking away with
the w That's not what I was pointing out. I
was just saying that the guy who was wide open
was targeted on that play, and there was no one

(36:56):
in his vicinity based on that. Let's head back to
the phone lines. Big Ed is in Maryland with us
here on BBKL. What's happened to Big Ed?

Speaker 3 (37:03):
Hey, guys, how you do one.

Speaker 7 (37:06):
Man?

Speaker 3 (37:07):
Big Paulie? What's up man?

Speaker 1 (37:09):
How you doing? I'm all right, brother, I'm glad I'm glad.
I'm fine right now. I'm dry inside the building here.
We got about three days of straight rain here in
North Jersey.

Speaker 3 (37:22):
Yeah it's okay, man, it can rain. Wh when you win,
when you win that football game.

Speaker 4 (37:30):
Oh we can rain.

Speaker 2 (37:31):
Go ahead, Mother Nature has your permission.

Speaker 1 (37:33):
Okay, I'm glad, I got you there. You go, yes, sir, man.

Speaker 3 (37:36):
Look all we gotta do simply to go to Denver
and just go play football. Don't make it hard, don't
make it difficult, but just go play football, man, don't
overthink the game. Play the game, man, and win. That's it.
We took Gary reasons in that big, dangerous eighties defense

(37:57):
and went to Denver against a dangerous bro goes.

Speaker 4 (38:00):
In one you dag on write, Paulie, We go go
there and do it just like that, you exactly right.

Speaker 3 (38:08):
Attack attack, attack.

Speaker 4 (38:11):
While we're getting as good that way all.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
Right, big, I mean, you know you are aware that
was multiple decades ago. We're trying to deal with twenty
twenty five right now. So we're trying to move the calendar.

Speaker 4 (38:24):
The eighty five back into this thing, man, and then
telling you, because we got to make this run while
we can, we do it right, now.

Speaker 3 (38:35):
If everything is right like we just did, or just
the Eagles the chance, see, we gotta go play them again, PAULI,
But right now, we got to focused on dinner. But
I was going to mention this though. We need to
go out there sooner than later because of the altitude
that's five thousand feet above sea level. We have to
get used to that air, PAULI gotta put that on

(38:57):
they guy, Well, I don't.

Speaker 2 (38:57):
Think they're leaving earlier for this game. I mean some
teams may do that, but you know, we'll let you
go on that notepig. I appreciate the phone call, but
I don't know. I mean, listen, you know the travel
schedule better than I do, Paul.

Speaker 1 (39:08):
I have plan received the itinerary for this week, but
I don't know when we're leaving. I suspect it's going
to be on Saturaturday.

Speaker 2 (39:14):
Right, which would be normally the day before the game.
I don't see them going out there on Friday or
any earlier.

Speaker 1 (39:20):
Some teams have done that, sure, yeah.

Speaker 2 (39:22):
But I just don't see that happening. I'd be surprised
if that shift is made. I mean, the point is
well taken. I mean even heck, even when teams are
playing indoors. I know when they go in the NBA
they play the Denver Nuggets.

Speaker 7 (39:34):
Year.

Speaker 2 (39:34):
Sometimes the players say it's a tough adjustment, but that's
why I think it's suitable to go out there the
day before, you know, get a little bit comfortable with
the environment and this game, and you go from there.
I don't think they're going to overdo it and rearrange
the schedule, because remember, players of a routine, even here
in East Rutherford in terms of preparing for whether it's

(39:55):
a home or a road game. I don't know if
Brian David wants to rock the boat from that.

Speaker 1 (39:58):
Standpoint, probably not. I don't have have the answer to that,
but I think we'll be going out on Saturday.

Speaker 2 (40:05):
All right, let's head back to the phone lines. We'll
stay in the state of Maryland. We got Len on
the line. What's happened in Len? What do you got?

Speaker 8 (40:10):
Hey, guys, good to talk to you. Thanks for taking
my call. Yeah great, you know, terrific win. Terrific win,
and an important win. She's a division rival at home.
We don't get many of those. And so that was
that was really really fun and we clearly look like
the better team third down numbers. Wow, run defense just

(40:35):
just terrific. Those are the two things that stood out
to me. Hey, Lance, A quick question on your comment
about week to week league. I have no numbers to
support this, and I generally agree with with with with
your feeling on this. But do you think that's more
likely early in the season, Lance than it is is
we get into the middle where things start to settle

(40:56):
down and the better teams start to write to the top.
What's your feeling.

Speaker 2 (41:02):
On No, I think it's just the nature of the league.
I mean off the top of my head, and I'm
going a little bit maybe a few years ago. I
remember the year that the Packers were running the table
and Green Bay came here and won a close game
on a last second field goal. Then you had Romeo
Cronell's Chiefs that went and beat them. What was it
a week or two later, and Kansas City was one

(41:23):
of the worst teams in the league, and yet Aaron
Rodgers in that Green Bay offense, and that was we're
talking about one of maybe the final four weeks of
the season. I want to give you another example. The
Giants knocked off. It's funny we're going back in the
day John Elway's Denver Broncos, right, and that was late
in the season. So I don't really think to respond
to that statement, Len, I would not say it has
anything to do with early in the season. I just

(41:44):
think that, you know, with the way injuries play out,
teams lose personnel, strategy, you know, digging deep into your
bag of tricks. I just think it's the nature of
this league more.

Speaker 3 (41:54):
So than anything else.

Speaker 8 (41:54):
Okay, yeah, yeah, okay, you know Schlampmann, there was a
reason why we signed him for two years. I mean,
we gave the guy a two year contract as a
backup and he can play a little bit. I think
we have improved the death along the offensive line, but
that that was a quite a good move. I thought
on my part on John Michael Schmidt, she has played.

(42:20):
He has played better of late PAULI. It's just just
a question. Uh, you know, great Drivey Brisilo. I'm not
trying to I'm not trying to take anything away from
Briscilla on this, but you know, they signed an assistant
offensive line coach last year, young guy, thirty years old.
I mean not young for a for a coach.

Speaker 1 (42:42):
Yeah, but he was a horse.

Speaker 7 (42:43):
He was.

Speaker 8 (42:46):
At the way went for quite a while. The son
kept him around, and of course he comes out. He
comes out of that offensive line factory at the University
of Iiowa, where his father is well known for having
developed offensive lines over the years. I'm wondering if he
hasn't had some effect, of course, on John Michael.

Speaker 1 (43:09):
Coach Stable always says that offensive line room is the
product of both of those guys. You know everybody, and
it's probably my fault more than anybody. I'm always talking
about Carmen Brisillo. I probably mentioned his name on this
program more than anybody else has. But coach ference is

(43:29):
absolutely a part of that room. And I can tell
you this, there are a lot of people in this
building who thought that we might lose him during the
off season, but fortunately for the Giants, he was able
to stay. And they've got that tag team in there
between Brisillo and Ferens, who I think have really done
a good job of getting this line again up to

(43:51):
that functional level.

Speaker 2 (43:53):
And remember they have connections to Dante skinarkav.

Speaker 8 (44:00):
Your friends, to John Michael. I think it's probably helped
him a little bit. I thought that was a good
moose to start with, because he hung around the NFL.
He certainly had the skills to hang around seven eight years, Paul,
how much? Let me let me get to the run
defense for just the second here. I thought it was terrific.

(44:22):
Sorry about Davidson. Hopefully it's not long term. That's such
an important position. You need to have a guy who
you can put out on the field twelve to fourteen
plays a game just to spell that you know, big
Dexter and and and not not have to pay the
price for it. And I thought Davidson in his third year,

(44:45):
Am I right on that, Paul? Third year?

Speaker 1 (44:46):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (44:47):
Was he was? He seemed to be coming along a
little bit and giving us those twelve plays that we
needed to get, you know, to get Dexter a little
bit of rest. But let me speak more to the
defensive line and get your opinion on well.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
I should just say this to you, Lan DJ Davidson
significantly bulked up during the off season from from when
he came into the league. They thought his future was
as a three technique penetrating defensive tackle who would help
them more in the pass rush. They actually thought that
was going to be his role, and this past off season,

(45:22):
seeing that he was injured a lot and never really
got to the point where he was going to be effective.
He bulked up and got really thick and is now
a little bit more of a plugger than maybe a
three technique, and I think it's helped him.

Speaker 8 (45:37):
Good, good, good. I hope we get him back because
I think he's been doing a good job. And you
know in spelling, you know, in spelling dexter, he's probably
not a starter, but I hope you understand what I'm saying. Yeah,
the important we I.

Speaker 2 (45:49):
Mean those rotational guys.

Speaker 1 (45:51):
Hey, Sean Robinson was really good for them a couple
of years ago, and he signed as a free agency
for Caroline.

Speaker 8 (45:56):
What do you think we do there, Paul and Lance?
You think we go to nachos if as the backup
nos or bring up I know Riley's on the practice squad.

Speaker 2 (46:08):
Yeah right, Riley, and we'll let you go on that note.
Appreciate the phone call.

Speaker 1 (46:12):
Riley has the best frame in terms of the prototype
nose tackle. He's the guy who's got the best frame
to do it. But unfortunately he's still on the practice
squad because he's never made that jump to where he
can consistently handle the job and quite Honestly, the Giants
have been playing a lot of shuffle board right now

(46:33):
with their practice squad guys, so I'm not sure how
they feel about necessarily elevating him. But I understand your question.
Robertson Harris is a very large frame human being, and
I suspect he might wind up taking some of those
snaps that Davidson would have had. Otherwise.

Speaker 2 (46:53):
Yeah, I mean he could play inside outside, So I
mean I think that to me is the most logical choice.
I would have thrown out maybe experimenting a little bit
with Darius Alexander, but I think at this point, given
his youth, I don't know if they'd want to throw
him into the fire that quickly.

Speaker 1 (47:08):
So to me, yes, again, but other guy who's ascending
buddies young, and they're.

Speaker 2 (47:13):
Moving him along slowly, which is what we heard philosophically speaking.
So I think roberts and Harris, if you want to
spell decks for a few plays, probably would be the
first guy up. And then you know, they could elevate somebody,
as you mentioned, from the practice squad, you know who
they feel that can you know, come in for a
few steps. Because the importance going back to what we

(47:35):
were just talking about with DJ Davidson. It's not so
much that you just want to body. You want to
make sure that when you bring in another player that
there's not a significant drop off, Paul, where all of
a sudden, the offense is saying to himself, just like
when a corner comes in right for one of the
outside guys of the slot, Okay, we're going to be
targeting that guy because he's fresh off the bench. We

(47:56):
want to see what he could do. You don't want
to give the opposing offense feel you're putting a target
essentially on that guy's back. So it's not just find
a warm body that can eat up space. It's find
somebody that there's not gonna be a dramatic difference between
Decks and that player. And I know you're not getting
another all pro to come in, but you can close
the gap between Decks and that other player.

Speaker 1 (48:18):
I ask for one thing from the guy who spells
Dexter Lawrence, because Dexter gets double teams like eighty five
to ninety percent of the time, so you're not gonna
get that. The guy who comes in will not get
double teamed. I just asked that guy, can you hold
the point of attack so that you don't get gouged
by a five yard running play. That's all. Hold the

(48:41):
point of attack, clog it up. Let the other guys
come in and make the tackles. I don't care if
you even get an assist. Just try to hold the
point of attack. Make it difficult so that they don't
have a hole that they can just rip through up
the middle and gain seven yards on first and ten.
That's all I want from that guy, if you could

(49:02):
give me, just be a just be a body, a
be a traffic cone, take up space. Just do that,
and if you can prevent that from happening, you've done
your job. Because let's face it again, we know Dexter
is going to play most of the game anyway.

Speaker 2 (49:19):
But you just don't want to wear him down to
the point where he's playing no ninety five percent of
the snaps. I mean, even under the circumstances. Also, when
he was dealing with the illness, you know it was
hard enough for him to I know that game, given
he barely practiced throughout the week. So that's more of
a reason why you have to be prepared for all
these different scenarios. And another thing that I just wanted
to correct DJ Davidson's in his fourth and final year

(49:40):
of the rookie year year with injury. He was twenty
twenty two, he was a fifth round pick, so twenty two,
twenty three, twenty four to twenty five, this year four now,
so this is the final year of that rookie deal.
Because he's dealt with injuries. Sometimes you just feel as
if it's one less year. But remember, from a rookie
contractual standpoint, they don't care whether you're.

Speaker 1 (49:56):
Healthy or hurt.

Speaker 2 (49:57):
Okay, you don't get an addition to that deal. Take
that and that's the end of it.

Speaker 1 (50:01):
Well, it's light for the pension. You get credit for
your ir season. It works both ways, it does.

Speaker 2 (50:06):
No, that's fair. A little bit of a give and
a little bit of a take. Rich is in Florida
joining us here on bbkale. What's happened to Rich?

Speaker 9 (50:14):
Good afternoon, Godfather, the Tino and Lance, you know, the
the Jews that Dexter, Derek, you know, Jackson, Dart and
Scattabo have brought to this team is absolutely delightful, refreshing,
really fun to watch. Paul, you were in the stadium,
I know you felt it. We could feel it, and

(50:34):
just on the TV and you can see it. You know,
it's infects to the team and the fans, long overdue.

Speaker 3 (50:40):
The fact Paul might remember, I think he was born.

Speaker 1 (50:43):
Then.

Speaker 9 (50:44):
Last time I saw two people, two giants, make an
emotional impact on the team like that was back in
nineteen sixty five when they had the two what they
called the baby Bulls, Tucker Frederickson and Ernie Cooy.

Speaker 6 (50:59):
Paul, you remember that.

Speaker 1 (51:00):
Ernie Cooy actually even did some punting duties for a
season two.

Speaker 9 (51:03):
You're right, You're right, Do you remember that?

Speaker 1 (51:06):
Yeah, well, the baby Bulls. That also included don't forget
Chuck Marcine. He was involved in the Baby Bulls. Yeah,
you know, I trust me. Steve Thurlough was another one. Yeah,
oh yeah, I know who the baby bulls were. Believe me.

Speaker 3 (51:19):
Earl Mo was a quarterback.

Speaker 9 (51:21):
But fantastic to see, will you and Lance I along
with Paul, I've watched the replay at least ten times.

Speaker 2 (51:28):
Congratulations for giving him a run for his money.

Speaker 9 (51:31):
So yeah, all right, keep up the great work, go giant.

Speaker 2 (51:34):
All right, sounds good. Appreciate the phone call.

Speaker 1 (51:36):
Rich Bobby Duhan was another one of the Baby Bulls.

Speaker 2 (51:40):
I know this class doesn't compare and because it was
more of a group, but I would say the two
thousand and seven draft class I thought provided a bit
of enthusiasm. Again across the board how they contributed. You're
not going to get two guys in particular that are
doing all the heavy lifting, like perhaps Scataboo and Dart.
But if you want to go a little bit more

(52:01):
recent history, I know he was trying to appease to
you in terms of the good old days in the sixties,
but I'm gonna move it up a little bit. I
think seven. Overall, I thought that group really came in
and held their own and clearly it was a special season.
But even before they went on that Super Bowl run,
you could see that there were flashes from a number
of guys.

Speaker 1 (52:21):
And guys who made key plays in the postseason.

Speaker 2 (52:24):
Yeah, but you know, even I'm going back regular seas
at Bradshaw, the Big Nun in Buffalo, no doubt. You know,
we could go down the list there or you know,
even a diasce. You know, the little things that don't
always show up on film. All of those are important elements.
So I do think you could look at maybe some
recent examples. But I guess what makes this year unique
is everybody who say, well, it's the quarterback, and yes,

(52:45):
you're gonna be hard pressed to find another rookie quarterback
to come in.

Speaker 1 (52:48):
And they had a guy hit me up on Twitter
and he goes, well, I think this is kind of
like eighty one, where the Giants weren't expected to do
much and now they're gonna be very competitive, and they
got the injection. And he was more or less talking
about lt with Abdul Carter. He was talking about the
acquisition of Rob Carpenter, who was a basically an overachiever,

(53:13):
a blue collar, undersized fullback, a tweener if you will,
who really injected life into the Giants running game and
gave them that tough, blue collar suburban mentality that helped
get them to the playoffs. So he was trying to
compare Scataboo to Carpenter, and then he was comparing Dart

(53:34):
to Phil Simms, because Phil was very emotional, very energized,
and Phil ran around a lot for his life during
his early days with the Giants, and he kept getting
hurt all the time. And you know, I would only
say this, I do see some of the similarities in
terms of the enthusiasm and the juice and the energy

(53:56):
between Sims and Dart, and the fact that both got
can move around Phil. Phil was much more again a
runner for his life. It wasn't out of design as
a younger player then when he became a strictly pocket
passer later in his career. So I did see some
of that. I will give him some of Carpenter, although
there's no doubt in my mind Scataboo has more athleticism

(54:19):
than Carpenter had. And that's where it stops. Because nobody
lives on the same planet as LT. So I'm not
I'm not letting him put the whole Carter LT thing together.
That's that's a no go for me.

Speaker 2 (54:31):
Well, that's why comparison sometimes get a little out of
hand when people fail to really put history in perspective.
And I get the enthusiasm in the excitement, but sometimes
we could just leave it on an island by itself
and it doesn't have to match which with other.

Speaker 1 (54:44):
Groups I'll do. Carter's more of an Andy Heading type.
You remember Andy Headon at all?

Speaker 2 (54:49):
No, I do remember that name. I can't say that
he's more of vision.

Speaker 1 (54:53):
More of an Andy Heading type than he is a
a LT. Okay, because again LT is a one of
the kind I can't I can't go there.

Speaker 2 (55:00):
All right, let's head back to the phone lines as
we move forward here on mondays that they should a
big blue kickoff live. We got Victor in Pennsylvania with us.

Speaker 7 (55:08):
What's happening Victor, Hey, guys, this is my first time calling,
long time listening just to kind of oh sorry, yeah,
just to kind of talk about what the last guy
was saying. I live in Scranton, Pennsylvania, so I'm surrounded
by Eagles fans all the time.

Speaker 3 (55:24):
Sure, I think.

Speaker 7 (55:25):
Big picture, like what the takeaways of this game and
going forward to the season is we have, you know,
some energy, we have pieces to build on with dartin
scat about and that was a statement when that was
the new regime coming in, the new rookies coming in
and kind of making it known that they, like, I

(55:45):
think Start spoke about it after the game a little bit,
saying that there's a lot of negativity and they came
into this they don't want to like kind of subscribe
to that negativity. They just want to kind of play
and win and establish their own identities here, so I
think that's the big picture. And then going forward, we
got some really good pieces, defenses looking good. We just

(56:08):
got to keep putting next foot forward and just be
excited that Giants football is looking like Giants football again.

Speaker 2 (56:15):
All right, Victor, Well, appreciate the phone call. I'm glad
he brought up Jackson Dart's postgame presser because I don't
know how much that has been previously discussed on this show,
but it was interesting when he was asked about the
past and something came up about whether or not players
read what is on social media and does it resonate,

(56:35):
and he was saying, listen, we're not naive. We see commentary,
we see some of the negativity, and all he was
basically relaying was the fact that we and what he
meant by we, as the younger guys, the guys that
were drafted this year, specifically, they don't know anything about
Giant's history because they weren't around, they weren't in the
locker room, they had not put on the uniform. So

(56:57):
he just said, we should not be synonymous with past
history for the team. We're coming in and we're just
staying focused on the task at hand, and whatever happened
in twenty three or twenty one or anything before that
really has no relation. And I would agree with him,
and I think if you ask most young players that
they pretty much have the same philosophy. They're just thrown

(57:19):
in under the same umbrella of the emblem because they
are now associated with the team, but they have no
connection or anything tied in to what happened prior to
their arrival. So for them to just simply subscribe to, oh,
here we go again, or we know this is going
to be the result based on what happened early last

(57:40):
season is not to me a strong enough mentality to
have for a young player. So the fact that they're
not even taking on that baggage, I think is the
right way to approach this and go about your business.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
In short, much of the misery of the last decade
or so is not part of their their own resumes,
so why should they be accountable to it?

Speaker 2 (58:04):
And also, I'm just big on and this goes back
to a conversation we were having. I believe it was Len
earlier in the program when he asked the question about
why is it a week to week league? And how
to me it has nothing to do with the early stages.
I think you can have examples later on in the season.
I think the separation between a lot of teams is
not as big as people make it out to be.

(58:25):
But it goes back to Paul. Also, there are some
subscribe to the fact that what happened the previous season
just gets carried over. I don't buy into that. I
think every year it's a new team. Whether you have
faith in the team or not is a whole other story.
But this idea that, well, the team struggled last year
and there's a lot of returning players, so they're going
to get in their own way again, I just I

(58:45):
don't buy into that, And I think there's enough examples
in recent that past NFL history that prove that we've
seen teams statistically struggle and a new staff comes in,
new philosophy and they're able to turn the corner. It
happens quickly in this league.

Speaker 1 (58:58):
Your number, which you use to quote all the time,
and I don't know if you've quoted it yet this year,
and I'm not sure what exactly the number was, but
for the better part of the last decade, every year
there's a turnover of four or five teams in the playoffs.
So what is so automatic about the previous postseason team
getting in this year? It's not Heck, we all could

(59:21):
cite Washington two years ago. They were drag yep, and
then they went far into the playoffs this past season.
Just the way it works in this league now, because
it's set up for you know, parody, mediocrity what I
always call, well, never mind, Yes, we won't, we want

(59:42):
we want because I have to copyright myself. I have
to charge myself. I'll say quick saying of mediocrity. I
haven't said that in a long time. Yes, I gotta
pay myself for using it again.

Speaker 2 (59:53):
Well, I like the quicksand term. I won't adopt mediocrity
because I think that's more of a negative connotation. I
don't think it's a mediocre league. I just think a
lot of teams are grouped together. That to me, is
the better way to say it. But just to put
a bow on this conversation before we wrap up, I
bring these numbers up because I charted it year by year.
I go back to two. I started this when the
Patriots were beginning their dynasty. That's what so you could see.

(01:00:16):
I don't know if you could see the numbers here,
but from two to four we have had new playoff teams,
it's never gone lower than four. So and remember we've
expanded the postseason by the way, too, so you have
to take that consideration. Last year the number was five,
which was on the low side because prior to twenty four,

(01:00:36):
from eighteen all the way through twenty three, we had
at least six to seven in that ballpark. So it
just goes to show you. I mean, that's once again
that's almost a fifty percent turnover rate. But it turns
to the postseason.

Speaker 1 (01:00:51):
Every year when Vegas puts out the preseason odds, they
always go to last year's playoff teams and they're the top,
which is they're the top and favor it's every single year.

Speaker 2 (01:01:01):
More of a reason why I also don't allow Vegas
to influence how I feel about the National Football League exactly.
And we could spend an entire show going the ins
and outs of Vegas, which we're not going to do,
but I wish people would shy away from having that
influence whether or not a football game is going to
be one or loss because of the way the book
plays out anyway, that is going to wrap up Monday's

(01:01:22):
edition of Big Blue Kickoff Live, A good discussion on
many fronts. Paul as always just so appreciate the dialogue
and appreciate our callers and our viewers is always. It
is presented by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle of the
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The archive of the show. Our entire podcast network is

(01:01:44):
on the Giants Mobile op podcast platforms everywhere and at
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