Big Blue Kickoff Live 12/17 | Turning the Page to Minnesota

Madelyn Burke and Shaun O’Hara turn the page to the Minnesota Vikings, talk about the Giants roster, and take calls from fans. 

0:00 - Turning the page to the Vikings

12:00 - Calls

22:00 - Youtube questions

31:00 - Giants schedule

38:40 - Roster chat

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.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Do it because you're on Giants dot com.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Do you know what I saw?

Speaker 2 (00:12):
New York Giant Crime.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
And the Giants mobile as.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Seventeen one time down. We all we're all tamping it?

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Did it well happen? Part of the Giants Podcast network.

Speaker 4 (00:24):
Let's go ahead on the craze.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Dog has a hot Welcome into today's episode of Big
Blue Kickoff Live, presented by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle
of the New York Football Giants. My name is Madeline Burke,
alongside the Super Bowl champion Sean O'Hara. The phone number
here is to A one nine three nine four five
one three. You can find us on social media using

(00:46):
hashtag Giants Chat. We're still defrostrating here.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Our faces are finally have feeling now. After the postgame
show on Sunday after the game, I still don't know
how you got through the second half of that show
because my mouth was not working. I feel like my
eyes were like frozen. It was that was definitely the
It's not so much the temperature that was like the factor.
It was the wind factor that was. It was almost

(01:12):
like there was a SEM forty seven in front of us,
just blowing cold.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Air, just the coldest on us.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
So yeah, kudos to you for powering through like a trooper. Unfasable.
Mattelenburg is unfasable.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Honestly, I am always cold, being from California. When it
drops below sixty degrees, I will not suffer in silence.
But when I knew it was cold, when I looked
over and I saw Sean O'Hara was uncomfortably cool, I
was like, this man can can't handle anything you put
his way. And I'm like, all right, it's we're fighting
through this one.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
That was next level. That that was like through the bones,
like the bone marrow was cold.

Speaker 5 (01:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
And yeah, when I looked over you and you had
the handwarmers on your face, I'm like, yeah, I'm like
this is next level right now.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
I mean it gets let's do it. It gets so cold.
I mean you know this, It gets so cold your
muscle stop work. And so it just starts to sound
like you're a little drunk because you can't enunciate because.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Your place mustle feel like you're slurring, Yeah, and like
not because you're having fun. It's okay to slur if
you earned it. Yeah, through through a little cocktail.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
But yeah, no cold beers were harmed in the making
up postgame show. Unfortunately, that was tough. Yeah we did it,
good job, we conquered. Excellent teamwork right there, rain sleet
and snow, rain, sleet, snow passages were like Rudolph.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
You were like Rudolph out there guiding the sleigh.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
You know, we powered through it, and we are much
warmer today as we're coming at you from the Giants
Podcast Studio presented by Hackensack Meridian Health. Keep getting better.
It's Wednesday, my dude. It's Wednesday, December seventeenth. Week sixteen
is upon us. The Giants only have three games left,
starting with another home game that will be much less cold,
thankfully it'll be. I mean, I never thought that I'd

(02:52):
look at a weather report that's at forty degrees and
be like, oh few nights.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Oh yeah, that feels warm.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
I know, right, I might even wear a tank top.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
What's what's the win prediction? Like that? Because that that,
I mean, MetLife is always has a little bit of
that magical wind to it.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
It's like a toilet bowl, but.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
It was constant. Like usually it's like you'll get a
gust here or there, but like that one, I mean,
I feel I don't know anybody that was kicking or
kicking or throwing in that wind is atrocious, So it
is it won't be that windy.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
This And if you if you've been watching.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Sonny in forty six is saying, wow, all.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Right, it feels like a Aruba right there. Yeah, if
you've if you've been watching in season Hard Knocks, you
know that Jackson Dart, Tim Kelly, Theo Johnson out here
in the first episode of in season Hard Knocks this
season where very baffled at where this wind comes from.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
It comes from the ocean, Yeah, parently.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Which is one of these directions. I don't know either,
So I'm I'm not even people in glasshouses shouldn't throw
stones because like such as the maps, I don't know
where I am. The East Coast geography is a lot
harder than the West coast geography. There are so many
more states.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
When you're on the East coast, it should be pretty
easy to figure out that the ocean is just a
little more east.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
But hence the word east coast.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Yeah, I get it, you know, what they're so locked in,
But like, how do you know? Players are locked into?
Just how do I get to work? How do I
get home?

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Do you have an internal compass? Like which direction is east?

Speaker 6 (04:16):
Right?

Speaker 1 (04:16):
Now? Do you know?

Speaker 2 (04:18):
Yeah? It's that way?

Speaker 1 (04:19):
How do you know?

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Because I know the front of the building is right there,
New York City is right there? Like I always know direction.
It drives my wife nuts because if I use her phone,
she has it like just turn right, turn left, like
I have it by based on a compass, because I'm
always always know if I'm going south, I'm going north,
and I want to know directionally which way do I turn?

Speaker 1 (04:39):
That is such a that is such a skill that
I do not possess. I feel like I still go
like this between left and right, Like this the left
is makes an L but north south east west unless
it's sunset. If the sun is currently setting, then I
know that where the sun is going down is the west.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
Jared Golf doesn't know that. He doesn't know where the
sun rises. He's overcome that, though it has not had
any impact whatsoever on his career.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
There we go.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
Yeah, I feel like direction is one of those things
where like either you have it.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
Or you don't, right.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
I don't think it's something that people get better at
as the age. It's like either you either you have
that compass, that internal coms or you don't.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, we have, you know, sometimes I have other skills.

Speaker 7 (05:22):
You know.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
It's okay, Yeah, it's not a deficiency. It's just like, yeah,
we don't have it. Some people have great vertical leaps.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
I also do not have that well documented.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
Some people live life above the wren. You know, like
Johnny Smelt He's he's a big basketball fan, big Knicks fan.
He's actually probably really celebrated, really excited about the NBA Cup,
the big win.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
I feel like I feel like somebody said this, and
I feel like it's an accurate way of describing it.
The NBA Cup is like hitting a hole in one
on a golf simulator. You know, it's a really great accomplishment,
but you're not buying drinks for everyone in the clubhouse afterwards.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
No, Yeah, that's you're definitely and you're definitely not getting
a plack.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
From in the plaque right exactly. So I think it's
valid that the Knicks are choosing not to hang a
banner for the NBA Cup. John Schmelck nodding in approval.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
I'm not gonna hang a banner, but they are going
to have some sort of fan celebrations.

Speaker 1 (06:12):
They should play a song by David Banner before the game.
That'll be you know, checkout David Banner. I don't know.
Que it up on Spotify anyway. On that note, the
Shenanigans as side, let's talk some Giants football news today.
Caveon Thibodeau will not practice again today Wednesday, of course,
the first day of practice for Week sixteen. It is
grants to prepare for the Vikings. Thibodau has been sidelined

(06:34):
since Week ten with a shoulder injury. Hopefully we'll see
him again this season, but he.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
Have a hip two. I thought I thought he was
a injury too.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
No, I don't know. Yeah, I'm not sure that I
know that the injury that kept sideline Nacho Dimitri's Flanning
and Foles Bo Collins also not practicing. Jamie Gillen will
return to practice. General Chewsky has cleared concussion protocol so
that it's all exciting getting guys back and well and healthy.
The Giants did wave kicker young Way Coup, so the

(07:08):
likely kicker four week sixteen is going to be rookie
Ben SAAL's. He's on the practice squad. He's also a lefty,
which is an interesting element when you consider all that
goes into the process of kicking. The holder now is
going to be positioning on the other side, and the
way you catch the ball and line it up, it's
going to be on the other side for a left
footed kicker, left hand.

Speaker 2 (07:28):
Yeah, that changes that whole dynamic. So they call it
the battery, the snap, the hold, the kick. That's what
we call a battery. So now the holder of being
on the other side as a snapper too, you know,
like I always knew, like, okay, if you're ever going
to miss on a snap with a right footed kicker,
it's okay to miss towards the body. It's easier for
them to grab that and put it down. If you
miss away, it's harder from their reach and still get

(07:50):
it back in there. So now for the snapper, it's
kind of like you're you're going the other way. Now,
it's like, okay, you want to hangle a little bit
more towards less since he's got a hold it like
this and put it down with his opposite hand. So yeah,
not ideal to have to change that whole process. But yeah,
welcome to the NFL Bend and you get to kick
in met Life Stadium, one of the toughest stadiums to
kick in. As we just saw young Waiku, you know,

(08:13):
with the two missed field goals and when you're kicking
down in the East End zone, brutal. You know, we
talked about it before. The flags were not dancing at
all in the West End zone. They were not moving.
They were stationary.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
See I am just like your east West. I'm like
stage right, stage left as well.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
Right. So yeah, from our stage, as you're looking at
the field, that's the East end zone, that's the West
end zone. That'll be tricky. So you know, hopefully hopefully
the Giants can you know, punch it in. It's just pats,
you're not going for long field goals, but that's definitely
something they're going to be working in and I don't
know if they're practicing this week or Yeah. So what

(08:52):
we used to do, our kickers would go into the
stadium on like a Friday and they would practice kicking
on a Friday, just so they could used to the
wind and the conditions and the turf. You know, we
saw the ball slip on a hold up in New
England on the Monday night game. So the holder, the kicker,
the punters, the kickers, the holders, the snappers, they would
all go into the stadium on a Friday at some

(09:15):
point to try to get acclimated to that and get
used to kicking those conditions.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
Well, and that's interesting because right now as we speak,
the Giants practice field outside is still covered in quite
a bit of snow, so they're indoors today and likely
for the week. But you know, to your point, you know,
guys go over to the stadium to get used to
not just the wind conditions but also the vision and
the site line and all the things that go into

(09:41):
kicking in that environment. And when you are, you know,
three hundred yards away from the stadium, no reason really
not to How does that work if a guy wants
to say hey, you know, because obviously MetLife Stadium is
you know, its own entity that is played in by
the Giants. But you can't just come and go whenever
you please. Can a player request, hey, I'd like to
go over there? Or does a team have to coordinate

(10:01):
or how does that even work.

Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, I think they probably put it on the schedule
because you're right, they're they're prepping for the game. You know,
obviously it was a Giant's home game on Sunday, so
they don't have to you know, rinse all the Giant
stuff off there, like if it wouldn't have been a
Jets game. So there's really not a whole lot of
turnover going on on the field, but you've got to
kind of there is maintenance, and there is stuff going
on inside the building. But I'm sure that's something that

(10:23):
they orchestrated ahead of time, like, hey, look, here's this
dedicated block of time, you know, from ten to eleven
thirty where our players can come over there and kick. Ideally,
if I'm a kicker, I want to go over there
and kick from you know, sometime between one and three, right,
because that's going to be game time conditions. And like
you said to the Sun, now you've kind of got
a realistic viewpoint of what it's going to look like

(10:44):
on game day. But even if they go over at
you know, ten thirty, you know, or eleven o'clock, they'll
still get you know, a good gist of you know
what it's like to kick in there and feeling the wind,
which will obviously change by Sunday, but at least you
can kind of get comfortable so that when you go
out there on game day. For Ben Sould, it's not
his first time pumping it through the uprights.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
Absolutely a big moment for a rookie. Also news Evan
Neil returning to practice today. They're opening the window of Neil.
He was on IR for a period of time. No
plans to get him on the no plans to get
him immediately involved, but looking to make not looking to
make changes to the starting offensive line, but you know,
getting him back in the rotation and in the depth
there to a one nine three nine four five one

(11:27):
three is the phone number. Make sure you go and
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(11:47):
Apple podcast, leave a five star positive review for all
of our Giants Podcasts again to a one nine three
nine four five one three is the phone number. Let's
head to the phone lines. We've got Arnold in Buffalo
calling in Arnold, Welcome to Big Blue Kick Off Live.
Yere On, Sean and Maddeline.

Speaker 8 (12:02):
Hey Sean a Madeline.

Speaker 2 (12:05):
What's up, Barnie?

Speaker 8 (12:06):
So, I wanted to ask you about Jams and you know,
before the season started, everybody was talking about him making
like a big jump and stuff. You know, what do
you think, Sean. I'm not cutting you out, Maddeling, but Sean,

(12:27):
what do you think about his play this year?

Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah? Great question, Arnol. You know, I think it's it's
tough to kind of categorize something when you say a
player has to make a big jump from one year
to the next, especially with offensive line player. It's it's
tough statistically to just say, like, what does that production
look like? I think JMS said this is probably the
best that we've seen in play at times. But I

(12:51):
do feel like there's been a lot of times where
you know, he's on the edge of blocks or kind
of blocking half the guy and he's kind of behind
him a little bit. So I'm surprise at this point
in his career that there are still some times where
he's out of position and you know, is kind of
on the ground. So that's kind of been one of
the things that I think he's really been trying to
address and work on, is you know, staying on the

(13:13):
feet and finishing the blocks. I think his run blocking
this year has been much improved, and I think that
that's something that really comes with He's played with the
same two guards all season long. He missed a little
bit of time there, he got banged up, he had
a shin injury, and I think last year he battled
through a shoulder injury which really impacted his ability to

(13:36):
use his hands and to be really physical at the
point of attack. So I think this year he's done
a really good job with Runyon and you know with
GVR at right guard, that synergy with the center and
two guards. They've they've played a lot of snaps together
this year, and I think you see that in a
lot of the combination blocks and a lot of the
run scheme that the Giants have done this year. They've

(13:57):
been very consistent as an offensive line. Even this game
against Washington. Look, there were a number of times where
Jackson Dart you know, had a lot of time behind
the pocket, and there were times where he was back
there just kind of bouncing, you know, a couple of
different times. So I think they've been very consistent. Look there,
they have not been They're not a smash mouth offensive line.
We're just gonna pound the rock thirty five times and

(14:20):
we're gonna rush for two in the yards. But they
have gotten better as the game gets something goes along
almost every single week. So to answer your question about JMS, Look,
I think that that they've got to make a decision
about him. You know, we're gonna sign him long term,
and you know, what does that look like? Where is
that contract going to to rank in terms of other
free agents? So I think that that market is going

(14:42):
to be very interesting to watch and see, you know.
And then he's gonna have to make a decision. Does
he want to come back to the Giants. Does he
want to sign here and stay here and then build
with Jackson Dart or is you know, if he gets
a really good offer from another team, you know, he
may have a tough choice to make. But I do
think he's gotten better with a lot of the different
areas in his game. Run game certainly looks better this year.

(15:04):
I think the pass protection is something that he still
seems to struggle with, with the change of direction, the twist,
a lot of the movement. That's always the toughest thing
to handle as an offensive lineman. But those are areas
that I think he can still improve in. You know, look,
you look at the simple stuff that we kind of overlook.
Snaps never been an issue for him, shotgun snaps under center.

(15:26):
I think he's very smart. He understands protections, he understands
reading defenses and making sure everybody's on the same pace.
So I think he's handled a lot of that. The
one thing I think I have seen more of from
JMS this year, he has been much more aggressive. He's
been much more physical. You see him down the field
trying to peel guys off the pile. You know, he's
always one of the first guys in there. If somebody

(15:48):
hits Jackson Dart, he's sticking up for him. That big
hit he took a Monday night football. You know, THEO
was the first guy in on the scene, but JMS
was in there, you know, sticking up for his guy.
We even saw JMS get a little penalty in this
last game, which I thought was a bogus call because
he kind of went up and stood up for one
of his guys and it was actually the guy on

(16:08):
Washington's team that grabbed his face mask and kind of
the act a little bit. But I feel like I've
seen a little bit more, a little bit more of
an edge to him this season than I've ever seen
in any previous year. So I think that's coming with
his confidence and he I think he kind of feels
like he's playing some of his best football.

Speaker 1 (16:26):
I like that. We like the edge. What do you think, Arnold?

Speaker 8 (16:30):
So one more one more little question? So because you
said that, you know with gv are on one side
and run I forgot the name on the other side.
But but what about maybe trying you know, he just

(16:51):
came back, so you think that would upset you think
it would if we put in, you know, just for
a game or so to see if Evan Neil came in.
What do you think? What do you think if they
brought him in? Would that mess up? JM?

Speaker 7 (17:12):
Mess Yeah?

Speaker 2 (17:14):
I mean anytime. I mean, look, if there was due
to injury, you do what you gotta do, and somebody
has to go in there and step up. But I
don't see any reason why anybody would put Evan Neil
at any position right now and shake up the offensive line.
That's been one of your most consistent position groups this season.
So and I think part of the reason why the
consistency is there is because for the most part, they've

(17:35):
been together. That five has been there together for the
majority of the season, and that's why I think they're
playing so well as a unit. And to be quite
frank with you, why would I put Evan Neil in there?
What has he done to earn that? Like, I'm not
giving I'm not just going to give him reps and
just tell Greg Van Rowden you don't get to play
or John Runyon like. They've been two of our best
players offensively. They've played every single snap this season. Greg

(17:56):
van Roten played every single snap last year. The guards
have been two of our best players up front. And
I think Andrew Thomas is our best office the lineman.
But what Greg Van Roten and John running have done,
they've been the most consistent guards that we've seen in
a long time. So I would not put Evan Neil
in there. And to be quite frank, he hasn't earned anything.

(18:17):
He hasn't earned the right to go in there and play,
So why would we do that? And it doesn't benefit
you as the Giants if he goes in there and plays,
and then what if he gets hurt? You know, now
you know if he gets hurt, and now you're on
the hook for him next year too, Like that's not good.
So that's not smart ball in my mind.

Speaker 8 (18:35):
All right, all right, well you you are an expert
at the center profession, I think so.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
I think you're right to arnold. He definitely won a
Super Bowl as a center and Sean knows a thing
or two, and.

Speaker 2 (18:46):
Well, I appreciate that. It's I think it's just, you know,
as an offensive lineman, you don't want change unless you
have to, like if there's injury, and that's the only
you know, you have to roll with the punches. All right, Hey, fine,
next man up, like you got to step up. And
there can't be any slough off like works afecting you
to produce, but to voluntarily change the lineup just for
the sake of hey, we want to give Evan Neil

(19:07):
a shot, Like, I don't see any benefit to that.
If this was Evan Neil's second year. Okay, listen, let's
get him some reps because we have a plan for
the future. But you know, I don't think he's done
anything to earn getting, you know, more playing time right now,
just especially just coming back off of injury. Like, I
wouldn't do that. To me, that would not feel prudent
and I wouldn't feel justified in doing that. And if

(19:28):
I'm the coach, how do I look Greg Van Roden
or John Runyan in the eye and say, we're gonna
let this kid go play. You know, if those guys
weren't playing well and there was an issue, then maybe
I could see it. But they're playing well.

Speaker 5 (19:38):
Yeah, thanks so much, Ahead, Giant, I said, go Giant, Thanks.

Speaker 1 (19:45):
So much for the car. Call Arnold, happy holidays, all
that good stuff to a one nine three nine four
five one three is the phone number. Yeah, I mean
it's you know, it's an interesting thing. And I think
for the lay football fan to look at the offensive line,
there's so much much nuance going on in there, and
I appreciate the detail with which you can kind of
break it down and make it make sense.

Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, I think offensive line, that's one look. If we're
talking about defensive lineman, then by all means, hey, rotate
him in, you know, get him in, get him a
couple series. You can sprinkle him in, you know, let
him go in on first and second down and rotate
on third down. But you know you don't want to,
you don't. If you don't need to upset the apple cart,
then don't do that.

Speaker 1 (20:22):
Yeah, yeah, don't don't swap out a finger on the
hand to keep them all yeah together.

Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, especially when it's a fist.

Speaker 1 (20:28):
Yeah yeah, be the hammer, not the nail. We're getting
some comments on on the YouTube channel as well. Dart
will have a three hundred game, three hundred yard game
this Weekend's his track Star eighty two. That'll be interesting
to watch. Giants and Vikings at Mettlife Stadium. We got
two young, swaggy quarterbacks, Jackson Dart and his rookie season.
JJ McCarthy and his red shirt rookie season. Obviously missed

(20:52):
his entire rookie year with an ecl injury. Is playing
his first season this year. We saw him last week
hit the gritty into the end zone. They both had
a lot of moxie and charisma, and you know, Dart
has had some success.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
Did he get scolded.

Speaker 8 (21:07):
No.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
I thought I read something where Kevin O'Connell was like,
don't do that.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
Okay. So Kevin O'Connell was being a little tongue in
cheap kind of sassy about it and the presser and
the poll quote. When you read it, you lose the tonality.

Speaker 2 (21:19):
Of it, okay. So he kind of said it like
he was like, okay.

Speaker 1 (21:23):
Yeah, I don't. I mean, it's like you can't. You
can't dance like that. You don't need that move.

Speaker 2 (21:27):
I feel like, you know, there's a time and a
place for everything, you know, like if you're winning games
and you're doing well, like okay, you know what, like
go ahead and like do the gritty do a little bit.
But like, but the McCartney has not been playing great
this year, Like like going into the game the other night,
he had thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. So like you know, like, look, hey,

(21:47):
you scored a touchdown, Go celebrate with your teammates, have fun,
be excited about all this stuff. But like, you know,
let's not start tap dancing on people yet.

Speaker 1 (21:54):
Like yeah, yeah, he's been a bit inconsistent in the
passing game, and it's also been affecting the players around him,
including just Jefferson, who you know, one of the greatest
wide receivers in this league, but he's having an uncharacteristically
low statistical season. In the last three games combined, Justin
Jefferson has six receptions for thirty seven receiving yards and

(22:15):
not just one game in three games. That's so uncharacteristic.
He's got an average fifty nine point four receiving yards
per game this season. That's a career low for him.

Speaker 2 (22:25):
Has he had a thousand yards receiving every season, like
he's at eight hundred and thirty two right now. So
with three games to go, you know, I mean he's
I mean, this could be unpresident territory for him too,
which has got to be frustrating. I mean, I think
you know, coming into this season, he's right up there
with one of the best receivers in the game right now. Yeah,

(22:46):
and the production has not been there. So you know, obviously,
whenever you're having injuries at quarterback that changes things, but
it is it has been a little bit of a
I'm sure a frustrating season for him because there's time
where he's been opened and you know, they just can't
get him the ball. Yeah, you know, he's had he's

(23:07):
only had two games this year where he had one
hundred yards receiving, and that was against Pittsburgh and Cleveland
right back to back weeks.

Speaker 1 (23:13):
Yeah, back in late September early October. And then yeah,
I mean a couple of weeks ago, he had eleven
yards receiving.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
That was not even JJ McCarthy those two games. That
was Carson Wentz.

Speaker 1 (23:26):
That was Carson Wentz. But then last week JJ McCarthy
comes back. He's got two catches for twenty two yards.
But you know, got a respect hitting the gritty as
a hat tip there.

Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well, I think because it was a rushing touchdown and
it was actually it was a great play calls the
touchdown that he had. I mean it was a great fake.
Everybody in the building and everybody on defense thought that
the running back had the ball right and then he
just kind of sauntered in. So I think that's part
of the reason why he felt that they need to celebrate,
was there was nobody within ten yards of him. But
he does have a little juice to him, a little moxie,
as you mentioned, he's got a little sizzle. Ironically, he

(23:59):
does his face as well, kind of Jackson Dart like,
but he does both. He does both sides. It's kind
of more like Aiden Hutchinson. I guess, so maybe that's
a Michigan thing. But yeah, I don't know. I mean,
this might be like one of those stupid trivia facts
that nobody knows. But have we ever had a game
where both quarterbacks paint their face? This could just be

(24:20):
the first double face painting game in the NFL.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
You can't triple stamp, but double stamp, and they got three.

Speaker 2 (24:27):
I'm not talking about just EyeBlack.

Speaker 1 (24:28):
Okay, because I guess that's that's.

Speaker 2 (24:30):
Where I'm actual, Like, I mean.

Speaker 1 (24:32):
It is eye black that they put on it.

Speaker 2 (24:35):
You know, like back of the day, it was like, yeah,
baseball players.

Speaker 1 (24:38):
Wilson Russell Wilson does that, which is funny because it's
meant for to stop the glare of the sun getting
into your eyes. But now it's just become like style points.

Speaker 2 (24:49):
Now it's it's like, yeah, you know, like Lord William
Wallace's Brave Heart, I'm going to battle, so I'm gonna
put this on there. Yeah, this might be a first.
This might be the first time we ever had that.
But but yeah, for the Giants defense, Look, this is
I mean J. J. McCarty has really struggled with taking
care of a ball, throwing a lot of interceptions. He's awful.
He's been awful on third down. I think he's the

(25:10):
worst quarterback in the NFL on third down. So defensively,
this line, this lines up perfectly for the Giants who
have struggled with takeaways. I think we only have eight
takeaways on the season, which is again, I think that's
one of the lowest takeaway numbers and percentages in the
NFL right now. So this this could be a great
day for the defense to go out and and yeah,

(25:34):
I think that that treasure box that.

Speaker 1 (25:35):
The treasure chess.

Speaker 2 (25:37):
Chess has been has been twenty thousand leagues under the sea.

Speaker 1 (25:40):
Yeah, it feels like only nine opponent turno versus season.
Two of them though last week in the fourth quarter, Yeah,
so that.

Speaker 2 (25:47):
Was Niceyeah, a nice sack force Fomo by abdul Carter
and then he punched the other one out. That was
good to see, you know, And Abdul Carter is getting
a lot more playtime because of Kevon Thibodeau's absence. You know,
he kind of had his breakout game. We talked about
on the post game show, all of those reps now
and obviously, you know, I think the wake up call
for him, both literally and figuratively was good for him.

Speaker 1 (26:11):
You know.

Speaker 2 (26:12):
And now all of a sudden, you know, we saw
what we were expecting from Abdulla Carter when the season started,
So I think, you know, both of those things in combination. Look,
the accountability factor is there. He took a little extra
time studying, coming in, watching film, being prepared, and now
the production has has showed up. You know, now he knows, okay,
this is the formula for how you have success. That

(26:34):
income combination with the more reps he was, He's obviously
out there a lot more now without Keveon Thibodeaux. And
actually they moved him around quite a bit so he
would be at defensive end and then they had they
would have Brian Burns standing up over the center, and
then there were times where he and Burns would switch.
Burns was rushing and now he was over the center,
and that's really where he showed up a lot. I mean,

(26:56):
he was given Tyler Biadas all he could handle on
third down pass plays when he was lined up off
the ball and kind of giving getting giving him space,
giving warn to roop room to work. He really showed
his athleticism with some of those plays.

Speaker 1 (27:09):
Yeah, yeah, and you love to see that. It's burnsy
though it's been on a burnsy that I just made
that up. Spider Man Brian Burns has been on a
bit of a dry streak with the sacks. I mean,
as much as he came out with volume in the
beginning of the season and hit a career high thirteen
sacks on the season in eleven, you know, it's had

(27:31):
a couple of weeks without getting to the quarterback and
finishing at the quarterback. Do we see him kind of
ramping that up again this week?

Speaker 2 (27:39):
Yeah? I think for Burns, you know, the sacks, you know,
he's been there, like there's been a couple of almost
sacks as well, and I think that's you know why
we've kind of seen him stall out at thirteen. But
you know a lot of it too is you look
at these last two games. The Giants have been down early.
So you're down seventh nothing against New England on Monday Night.

(28:01):
Guess what they're gonna do. They're gonna run the ball
and play action pass, So you're not getting that same
you know, run to pass ratio, same thing. You know,
har against Washington they're down ten to nothing, you know,
early on, and now all of a sudden, that kind
of changes the flow of the game and that ratio.
So I think that's been a factor as well for Burns.
But you know, he's still playing at a high level and

(28:23):
watching the film, absolutely they're accounting for him like they're chipping,
they're they're putting tight ends over there to help out
their tackles and almost he's kind of he almost has
to beat two guys to get to the quarterback.

Speaker 1 (28:34):
And to your point too, the offense not really coming
out as strong as they were earlier in the season.
I mean early in the season we saw them, you know,
scoring on opening drives at a high clip and kind
of getting a lead earlier in games. And of late,
it seemed to the offense is off to a bit
of a slower start and playing from behind more, which,
as you mentioned, affects the way that the defense side
the play.

Speaker 2 (28:52):
Yeah. Well yeah, it's funny because we were doing such
a good job of scoring on the opening drive and
then that just dried up real quick. Yeah, I think
it's been a week since we had that.

Speaker 1 (29:01):
Yeah. Yeah, Special Olympics New Jersey's annual snowbol is heading
to Rutgers Football Stadium in twenty twenty six. This annual
flag football tournament will be on the field from March
six through eighth, twenty twenty six. The six on six
tournament will feature competitive, recreational and co ed divisions, and
all proceeds benefit thousands of Special Olympics New Jersey athletes

(29:21):
across the Garden State. Register your team today at njsnowball
dot org. That's njsnowboll dot org. Two A one nine
three nine four five one three is the phone number.

Speaker 2 (29:31):
I tell you the Special Olympics, they do a great job.
This whole snowball thing is really cool, and it's really
cool they're doing it at Rutgers, at your alma mater,
the birthplace of college football. I actually happen to go
down to the facility. It's down in Lawrenceville, and it's
a beautiful facility. And what they do for these kids

(29:52):
it's awesome. I mean, they've got a basketball court in there,
they've got a little football field outside. It's really cool
and it's so fun to see, these kids love football
like they they know all of the celebrations, they know
all the moves. I went down there and we kind
of did like a little football clinic, and you know,
these kids are like, I'm going deep. I'm going deep,

(30:12):
like you know, I'm running a slant like they they're
locked in on the football knowledge and it's really cool
what they're doing. And this snowball I know they're looking
forward to it. It's gonna be.

Speaker 1 (30:23):
It's in March, right, yeah, March, March six to eighth.

Speaker 2 (30:25):
March six to eighth. Yeah, so it might be snowy,
it might be chilly.

Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah, it might be. I mean we've already got snow
on the ground. We'll see how long it goes. March
six to eighth, twenty twenty six and jsnowball dot org
for more information. To A one nineteen nine four five
one three is the number. Let's go back to the
phone lines. We've got Brian in Central New York. Brian,
thanks for calling Big Blue Kickoff Live. You're on with
Sean and Madeline.

Speaker 9 (30:47):
Thanks guys. I just want to start out by saying, Manland,
we got to try everything we can to get uh
to get Sean on the Revival.

Speaker 1 (30:58):
Oh yeah, New York Revival. They do a great job.
It's a podcast. I've been on it many times and
they're they're big Giants fans. They came to the draft
last year. Their podcast is growing so much.

Speaker 2 (31:14):
Nice.

Speaker 1 (31:15):
You gotta yeah, you love those guys on the Crow.

Speaker 9 (31:20):
So I just do you guys have any.

Speaker 7 (31:26):
Draft talk here?

Speaker 9 (31:27):
Do you guys have any information on how like the
whole strength of schedule works and stuff, and whether we
would like if I like, I don't want to lose out,
but like the forumla for strength to schedule to to
where it go, Like if between Austin the Raiders, I mean,
obviously one has to lose, one has to win, but

(31:48):
like I'm hearing, like if if Tennessee still if Tennessee
still still lose it out, they can beat us, and
and like just anything about the strength of schedule.

Speaker 1 (32:03):
The strength of schedule essentially takes the cumulative winning percentages
of the opponents that each team is faced. So if
you look at every team the Giants went up against,
every team the Raiders went up against, every team the
Titans went up against, and you count how much each
of those teams won, and the winning percentage of those
teams combined, the highest winning percentage would be the strongest

(32:26):
strength of schedule there.

Speaker 2 (32:27):
Yeah, and every year it flips as far as what,
like you play another division in the AFC. This year
we played the AFC West, so we played the Broncos,
the Chargers, the Raiders, the Chiefs. So next year obviously
that'll be different. So that also factors into who your
strength of schedule is, Like what division are you playing
in the AFCAH? But I mean honest with you, I

(32:48):
don't think anybody really cares in this building right now
about the strength.

Speaker 9 (32:51):
Of SCHEDULEA No, I get it.

Speaker 1 (32:53):
And if you're and if you're at home wanting to
root for, like what do I root for? To keep
the Giants at number one? Root for the teams the
Giants have played against and loss to win, and that's there,
you know, that gets the stronger schedule.

Speaker 9 (33:05):
Yeah, that's that's probably the best course of action. I
do want to I do want to win some games
because I feel like there are players in that locker
room that like they're just so used to losing that
like it's it's all the mentality.

Speaker 7 (33:21):
And I don't want the new the new.

Speaker 9 (33:22):
People coming in uh, like Jackson Dart and Cam Scattaboo
to just accept losing. I feel like there are players
in that locker room that are like that.

Speaker 8 (33:34):
Yeah I'm not.

Speaker 9 (33:35):
Naming names, but like I think I don't want them
to get used.

Speaker 2 (33:39):
To it as a valid point. I don't think they will.
And I think just based on you know what we've
heard Jackson Darts say after games, you know, even when
he's played well, you know, it's like it doesn't matter
we lost, like, you know, that's all he cares about.
I think Scataboo I think the same thing. I don't
think they're gonna I don't think they're numb to that.
And I honestly, I don't think this team has become
numb to that. I don't think that they have accepted

(34:01):
losing and like, oh yeah, you know what, We're just
going to lose another game. I just don't think they
have figured out how to win. And there's a difference
between that, like they're still trying to find ways to
win games, you know, and that's a confidence thing. Going
back to your strength of schedule question, Look, the Giants
had one of the toughest schedules this year, if not
the toughest and then you look conversely, the Patriots had

(34:23):
one of the easiest strength of schedules, and so you
just kind of look at you know, everybody was saying
for the Patriots when they played Buffalo, was like, well,
they've got this inflated record because they played a bunch
of bad teams. But their confidence was high, sky high,
and like when we played them, they looked like a
ten and two team. We looked like a two and
ten team. Confidence is a huge factor, and they they

(34:45):
found a way to win games. And yes, they may
have been playing inferior opponents based on the strength of
schedule formula, but you know, look, the Giants have also
had ten point leads in five of those losses. You know,
that's an NFL record. You know, to lose games when
you were up by ten points at one point just
tells me that you don't know how to close games out,

(35:06):
You don't know how yet to win. And you know,
then you look at Denver. Denver has twelve wins this year.
I believe eleven of those twelve wins have come were
come from behind victories, So that team has figured out
how to win games at the end of the game.
The Giants have not figured out how to do that. So,
you know, I don't think this is a situation where, well,

(35:27):
these players are just okay with losing. I don't think
they are, and I don't think that they have not
thrown in the towel. You know, look, they want to win,
and they know, like, we have three more opportunities to
go win a football game, and you know, when you're
out there playing like you're given it your all and
you know you can't go out there in half asset like,
and I don't feel like they are. I don't think.
I don't feel like they have. I don't think Jackson

(35:48):
Dark feels that way, and I think the fact that
he's out there slinging it and even this last Sunday,
there were times where I felt like, all right, man,
the game, there are two scores out, you know what,
the game's probably wrap and then boom, Jackson Dark a
couple of big throws, they go down to score touch
on You're like, all right, hey, we've got a ball
game here, and the defense responded, they went and got
the ball back. So I don't think there's any quit

(36:08):
in this team right now, but they still are trying
to figure out like the confidence it has to be there.
It can't be all right, hey man, we're down, well,
this isn't going our way. We've been here before. It's
you know, like we've got to have the belief that,
you know what, we're down one score, let's get the
ball back and our offense is going to go down
score and have that belief and go out and play
and do it. But I don't feel like this team

(36:29):
is laid down at all.

Speaker 6 (36:31):
Okay, just one more question if you could so me
and my family, we actually got tickets for the Dallas
game January fourth, Okay, so yeah, that that's when it's
supposed to be.

Speaker 9 (36:47):
But it's like murky on what the actual day is
that says.

Speaker 2 (36:52):
It's TV, it's TBD. I think what they do is
they have waited what they figured out, let's wait to
figure out there may be a couple of games on
that Saturday, and the NFL willt flex games and then
they also based on there will be games in week
eighteen that determine playoffs, divisional championships. So what they want

(37:17):
to do is you know they want that's how they're
going to set the one o'clock games, and then they
want the four o'clock game to be meaningful, so they
kind of look at all, right, if a team plays
at one o'clock and then the team's playing at four o'clock,
if they know their fate before that game even starts,
maybe want to shovel that around.

Speaker 1 (37:35):
Want them playing at the same same time.

Speaker 2 (37:37):
Yeah, so that there's no competitive advantage with that. So
that's probably why you see TBD and they don't know
what time it is. But you know, I'm not a
betting man, but given that Dallas is out of it
and gihnts are out of it's probably gonna be one o'clock.

Speaker 1 (37:48):
Yeah, likely one o'clock on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
I can't see them flexing it to hey, let's watch
bad football in four to twenty five. It's definitely not
gonna be send any and I doubt it'll be a Saturday.

Speaker 9 (37:58):
Dude, I could see if Dallas is still wanning is like,
it's yeah, that's why you reflects it.

Speaker 2 (38:03):
But like one hundred percent, if if one of the
teams needed that win, you know, to kind of get
in the playoffs. Now there's a little bit of a
luster there, and and you know, I think that there's
some more draw with that, but I think you can
probably go to the bank. It's going to be one o'clock.

Speaker 9 (38:18):
All right, Thank you guys. You guys have been awesome.

Speaker 1 (38:20):
Thanks appreciating thanks for the call. Happy holidays. Is the
number of phone lines are full, so let's get back
to some more calls. We've got RJ in Savannah, Georgia. RJ.
How's it going around Big Blue Kickoff Live with Sean
and Madeline?

Speaker 4 (38:35):
Hey, how you doing doing well?

Speaker 1 (38:37):
How are you good?

Speaker 4 (38:38):
Good? I just want to say, Madelon, do a good job.
I appreciate you and we are blessed to have you
as as the host for Big Blue Kickoff. You thank you, yes,
and that you sean big fan of you, a straight
up dog when you played one of my favorite players.
And and you know your career to me went too

(39:00):
fast because I got a chance to enjoy you, but
I want it more. So I just wanted to tell
you how much I appreciate you.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
Sure, I appreciate it, r J. I wanted more too.
You know, sometimes you got to deal with cards that
are dealt. But man, you're the Savannah Smoothie right now.
Butter and everybody up, I like it.

Speaker 4 (39:17):
Yes, I'm down here with all the.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
Good food, all good food and the warm weather and
warm weather absolutely.

Speaker 4 (39:25):
I just want to touch on a couple of things.
One was, what do you think the state of the
Giants would be in terms of the draft? Do you
think they'll go offense, do you think they'll go defense,
or just just the overall state, because this season has
been the worst for me in a very, very long time,
and I just can't wait to see the Giants get
back on track.

Speaker 2 (39:46):
Yeah, I'm with you on that. Look, it's been I
feel like in the last five years, we've had quite
a few like frustrating and really difficult years where it
just kind of felt like, you know, there's a lot
of despair this season. I think we're all extremely disappointed.
I think everybody's disappointed. You know, obviously you know Dable
getting fired, and you know, then you know Bowen gets fired.

(40:08):
You know, nobody likes that. I mean, I think we're
all disappointed, but I don't feel discouraged. And I think
there's a difference. There's a big difference, you know. I
feel like in a couple of years ago, when you
had a disappointing season, it was like all right, where like,
what are we clinging to? Where is the ray of hope?
Where is the sunlight? And the reason why I say
I'm not discouraged is because, look, I feel like the
Giants found their quarterback. Like so, it's disappointing where this

(40:32):
season is at and where this team is at right now,
because I do feel like there's talent on this team
to be better than a two win team right now.
I think with Milik Neighbors coming back and with Scataboo
coming back, got a personality and you've got some production.

Speaker 1 (40:46):
And also I think we forget because Neighbors and Scatter
kind of the headline are injuries. But you Mike McFadden
went down early this season. That was a huge blow
for the Giants defense. And you know, Largie, when you
talk about the draft, I think the Giants have a
lot of pieces that are excellent pieces and that when
they're back next season and healthy, this team is going
to be a very different looking team. But when it

(41:07):
comes to the draft, I think depth because when you
have your A players go down and the drop off
is significant, that can't happen. So I think finding depth
in a lot of these positions. I mean, we saw
how it happened in the secondary right when you had
Javon Holland and Paulson Adebo injured, and then they had
so many corners banged up, and you know, you're kind
of piecemealing trying to find how do you put that together.

(41:30):
That's something that this team needs to not just have
quality talent at each of these positions, but fortify that
with more depth so that your next man up is
just as capable as your starters.

Speaker 2 (41:40):
Yeah. I think that's a great point, and I think
that's really kind of where how you value and evaluate
a general manager is. Look, there's two main prongs, right,
the kid the players you're drafting, and then the depth
of your team that you're building. And to Mattel's point,
it's got to be competitive. It can't be. Hey, our
twenty two starters are at this level and then the

(42:01):
next twenty guys are all the way down here, Like,
you've got to bridge that gap, you know. I think
a good case study is the forty nine ers when
you look at them the last couple of years, They've
been ravaged by injuries at every single position, and yet
they still find a way to win, and guys step
up and you're like, Wow, how are they winning with
these other guys. That's when you know you've got a
really good roster and it's got to be from one
to fifty three. There can't be a huge disparity between

(42:24):
the top twenty five guys on your roster and the
second twenty five. So that's something that I think they
definitely have to do better job of and they're going
to do that by bringing in younger talented players. And
you know, you want to have guys competing for positions.
That's how you get the best out of them. I
do think, you know, look, it's premature right now to say, hey,
look the Giants need to go after this in the draft.

(42:44):
I think you know, once the season ends, that's when
everybody starts looking at, Okay, what is this draft built like?
Because every draft is different. Some drafts can be heavy
on defensive players, some can be heavy on offensive players.
This you know, one draft can be man, there's a
ton of really good corners, or there's a really ton
of really good pass rushers, or this year there's a
ton of really good receivers. So where is the depth

(43:06):
in the draft, and that can determine where you go
with your first pick. If you know, look, this is
a really deep draft in corners. We don't need to
take one in the first round. We're going to get
a really good one in the second round. So I
think those are kind of your strategies. But I think
when you look at the Giants as a whole, one
of the things that we raved about this preseason was
the production. We went up to Buffalo in the very

(43:27):
first prison game and put up thirty points, like that
was what was been what was missing from this Giants offense.
So I think if I'm Joe Joe Shane and obviously
we've got to they're going to evaluate the coaching situation,
and you know, once that coaching situation and staff is
put into place, it's how do we score points? Because
for some reason, that is still where the Giants have

(43:47):
struggled with. And I think you look around the landscape
of the league, everybodys scoring thirty points. So to your point, like,
we need to get somebody else that can score points.
We need offensive firepower. Elite Neighbors can't do it by himself.
And the point about the attrition aspect of the NFL
leae neighbors goes down somebody's got to step up. You've
got to have somebody else. You know, you look at

(44:08):
a lot around the league. You know a lot of
these teams. Look, the Rams have Puku Nakua and DeVante Adams.
You know, you look at at what the Lions have.
They have a Mono Saint Brown and then they've got
Jamison Williams. It seems like, you know, look, Dallas has
Pickens and Ceedee Lamb. So you know you've got to
have more than just one number one receiver. You've got

(44:29):
to have, you know, studs. You got to In Cincinnati,
they've got t Higgins and Jamar Chase. Like, you've got
to build on all that. And as good of a
season as Wandlle Robinson is having, I think that, you know,
you've got to add to that aspect of it. So
provided that the draft is ready for that, and there
is a player that's worthy of that draft pick, you know,
that's where I think you've got to lean to. But

(44:50):
if you end up with the second pick, the third pick,
the fourth pick, you're looking at player wise, what player
is worth that pick. And while you may need a receiver,
if it's say there's a lockdown corner like Boom, you
go with the best player available that position. You can't
just draft a guy that maybe is you know, late
first round grade, but he's a receiver and you want

(45:13):
a receiver. So you can't reach in that situation.

Speaker 4 (45:15):
Right, Well, let me let me ask you one more
question if I can sure. Yeah, the question is, you know,
you hear people say, well, you know, we shouldn't draft
a wide receiver at number, you know, without first round pick,
or we shouldn't draft a running back with our first
round pick. But if they have late makers, yeah, that
can help the team. Why wouldn't you, you know, look

(45:37):
forward either take that step forward to draft and thinking
to help your team.

Speaker 1 (45:42):
Well, and there's always an exception to the rule r J.
I mean it's like, you know, you look at Jamior Gibbs,
who's taking what six overall, and I think, you know,
at that point, especially in that era, people think, oh,
you don't take a running back that early. But then
as good as Jamior Gibbs has been for the Lions
and as much of an impact as he's made for
the team, nobody scoffs at it. You know, if if
the pick works out, well, nobody he's going to say,
shouldn't have wasted that draft capital on that player, Just

(46:03):
like you never remember what you traded for to move up.
If it worked out well, right, people are going to say, oh, yeah,
the Giants traded to move up to get Jackson Dart
and they're not worried about the picks that they gave
away because Giants fans are so far pleased with they're
seeing from Jackson Dart. If for some reason it didn't
work out on the field, then be like, oh, and
we gave up this and that and this for it.
So the draft capital is a hindsight thing, I think,

(46:25):
because if it's the right player and the right fit,
doesn't matter where you take them.

Speaker 2 (46:29):
Yeah, if they produce and nobody remembers or cares what
you paid for it, you know, it's that's definitely one
of those things that you know, you don't feel bad
about it if they're producing. Look, Abdil Carter was a
third overall pick. Yeah, absolutely, and I think you know
when we picked them, I think everybody said, Wow, the
Giants got the best def of the player in the
draft this year. And you know it's taken some time

(46:51):
now to see some of that production come forth. But
I think when you look at if the Giants are
sitting there at the third pick, and you know what
they're like, we like these players, but we don't really
feel like anybody's the value is there for the third pick.
There's nothing wrong with trading back. You could trade back
to the seventh or eighth pick and then get another

(47:11):
first round pick, or get more picks in that draft
and still get a receiver at seven or eight if
you feel like the second, third, or fourth pick is
too high of a pick for that particular player, and
you have flexibility because you have Jackson Dork.

Speaker 1 (47:23):
And just like with the receivers, right, the Giants taking
the leak neighbors with the sixth overall pick, everyone says, yeah,
that sounds about right. Marvin Harrison perhaps maybe not performing
the same way Marvin Harrison Junior, Yeah, he went three,
and perhaps people looking at that like, oh, why do
we take a player who hasn't executed at the level
that you expect from that capital.

Speaker 2 (47:41):
The three receivers that year where like Marvin Harrison, Roman Dunes, yeahlik.

Speaker 1 (47:45):
And a Junse went nine to Chicago. He'said a good career.
But Chicago also had one where they took Caleb William
So yeah, I think.

Speaker 2 (47:53):
It's not an exact science to your point, but it's
also kind of like, you know, you know, it's like
all right. For my wife, it's like she's like, you're
looking at a dress, and my first question is always
how much is it? Then I'll tell you how much
I like it? Yeah, you know, And it's don't ask
me to answer that question without seeing the price dead
because if they both look good, I'm gonna go with

(48:15):
that one. There's a cous But then the other thing
that you factor in is like how many times are
you going to wear this? It's a one and done,
then I'm actually like, go with the cheaper one because
it's a one and done. But if it's something that
you can absolutely wear and you can you know, you
can wear multiple times, you know, then there's value in
that as well.

Speaker 1 (48:34):
So there's a difference between the wardrobe staple, the really
great pair of black pants versus the very specific rodeo
themed pool party attire that you have one moment to
wear it.

Speaker 8 (48:45):
Yeah I hear that.

Speaker 4 (48:47):
Yeah, that big.

Speaker 2 (48:48):
The louder the pattern unless you might get out of it.

Speaker 4 (48:54):
Hey guys, thank you, thank you very much. I appreciate
it and you know, be safe and happy. How that
I to both.

Speaker 1 (49:00):
Thanks so much, our Jay, thanks for the call from Savannah, Georgia.
Giants fans. You know you want to take your fandom
to the next level. With the Giants season ticket membership,
you can catch all the action at MetLife Stadium with
a siting home schedule on the horizon, and with membership,
you'll also stay connected to the club all year round,
not just on game days, with exclusive member access and benefits.

(49:21):
To learn more about a New York Giants season ticket membership,
visit Giants dot com slash tickets to a one nine
three nine four five one three. As we go back
to the phone lines, we've got Mike and Fort Myers
Florida calling and Mike, how's it going. You're on Big
Blue KIOFF Live with Sean and Madeline.

Speaker 7 (49:34):
Well it's warm here, Madeline, so as soon as you
get south of the Peace River, it is really nice.
Got two questions for you, folks, going to make both
of you. The general manager. We're looking run Wilson leaving
the organization, so a third quarterback is coming on board.

(49:57):
What qualities would you look for in that third quarterback
because Jamis Wilson of Winston does not run in the
same style that Jackson Dart has. So would you look
for something to be more complimentary to Jackson Dart or
are you just going to look at the talents of
that particular quarterback that's number one, Number two, Sean, you

(50:20):
had said earlier and that we're not a ground and
pound offensive line, does that mean that it's a great
ground and pound running back were available, you'd pass on
him because he may not fit our our scheme, our requirements.
So be interesting to listen to your guys comments.

Speaker 1 (50:43):
Okay, well, thank you, thank you for the questions.

Speaker 6 (50:45):
Mike.

Speaker 1 (50:45):
I think we'll start with the quarterback one his first one.
I don't know about you, but I think when you
look at a quarterback and you evaluate talent, One of
my favorite authors, Malcolm Gladwell, wrote a piece for The
New Yorker years ago where he compared quarterbacks to teachers
and said, okay, like college quarterback to pro quarterback, that's
a hard thing to translate. We've seen a lot of
quarterbacks who are very successful at the collegiate level that

(51:07):
are not necessarily as successful at the pro level. And
he's saying, compare it to a teacher. You could know
everything there is to know about World War two? Can
you teach it? You could know everything there is to
know about trigonometry? Can you teach it? It's a skill
that doesn't always translate one to one. And one of
the things that I have noticed as a football fan
for my life and as somebody who's covered the game

(51:28):
is that the defining factor for successful quarterback is decisiveness.
You know, there's a lot of athletic traits, and all
these guys who are playing quarterback at the college level,
at a high level, you know, they got an arm,
they've got strength, they've got the physical attributes, they've got
the character for it. Can you be decisive? Can you
number one, understand what you're seeing and make a decision
quick and trust it because oftentimes you know you're reading

(51:50):
a defense, you're clocking a defense, you're assessing the defense,
and then you have to decide what you're gonna do
about it. And in that one split second where you
make that decision and you question yourself of is this
the right choice or should I go to that read instead,
that one little moment is just enough to close the
gap and I think the quarterbacks that you've seen have
the most success in this league are the ones who

(52:11):
are decisive, and even if they do make a mistake,
they just keep it moving because they trust their preparation
and they trust their instincts on that. And so whether
or not skill set wise or talent wise, he's built
more like a Jackson Darter, built more like a Jameis Winston.
I think that decisive nature is going to be an
element that elevates the quarterback room as a whole.

Speaker 2 (52:30):
Yeah, I think it's a spot on. You know, the
decision making process is something that they're trying to evaluate
when they're leading up to the at the combine. They
meet with the quarterbacks throughout the draft process, they bring
them in for the visits. They want to get them
on the board. They want to find out how well
do you process information? How quickly can you process it?
So that's a big part of it as well. I
mean the physical attributes are going to be a part

(52:50):
of it too. But you know, look, if I'm a
giant like I don't know. I mean, they're going to
do their due diligence on quarterbacks coming out, but you know,
I don't know that I'm drafting a quarter you know.
The whole reason why he signed Joris Winston was he's
gonna they sign him to a two year contract because
they were like, look, we're going to draft the quarterback,
and we want to make sure that we have some
consistency there if James Winston is called upon to go

(53:12):
out and win a football game. So I don't think
you're drafting a guy either, that's you know, hey, this guy,
we got to have a runner because Jackson Dart likes
to run. You know, you don't draft a player based
on that because you can adapt your system and you
can adapt you know, James Winston is not a runner,
so you know you're gonna as a coach, you can
morph your playbook around anybody. But I do think you

(53:34):
know the type of person that he is, the character
of him, because you don't you quarterbacks. You want somebody
that's going to come into that room and that's going
to fit in well and have a you know, it's
going to be a healthy, competitive room. You know. I
think that's part of the the equation. But I think
if I'm a GM, you asked us to put our
GM het on, like I want something cheap yah, because

(53:56):
my third quarterback he's not dressing. I mean, he's dressing
on game day, but it's it's not like I'm sprinkling
him in to run a couple of plays and you know,
have a package from him. It's not like a Taysom
Hill kind of thing. The third quarterback is basically your
emergency quarterback, and once the third quarterback plays, the other
two can't. So you know, it's kind of one of
those things where I'm not spending a lot of time

(54:17):
on that third quarterback that can iron itself out in
training camp. I'm want to bring guys in that they're
going to compete, you know, but I think you know,
those are guys that you can you can get a guy,
you know through a free agency that can come in
that maybe has some some pellets on the wall and
you know, maybe has some some experience to add to that.
You know, if you happen to stumble on a guy

(54:39):
in the sixth or seventh round, sure, look, you know
Patriots stumble on stumble on to Tom Brady in the
sixth round. So you know, if there is a guy
there that fits that mold, yeah you could take a
flyer on him.

Speaker 5 (54:49):
But but we are still they're thinking about no, and
we're still so early in the Jackson Dark era, right,
this is his rookie season, and this is the quarterback
that the Giants have said, this is our quarterback.

Speaker 1 (55:01):
We are building around this quarterback. So you're not you're
not even looking to draft his air apparent at this point.
You're really perhaps if there's a guy, as you mentioned,
a six seventh round guy that you're saying, Okay, let's
take a flyer on this one and see what kind
of talent he has to bring into the practice squad,
or you know, a player who's been a bit of
a journeyman or whatever to be a practice squad extra
body on this roster. But quarterback is absolutely not going

(55:24):
to be a priority for this team because that's one
position that you know, for the first time, you know,
they've they've got it figured out right now.

Speaker 2 (55:30):
Yeah, I feel like draft picks are like, you know,
like they're like poker chips, right, Like you've only got
so many, So maybe you have seven or eight going
into a draft, and I don't see the Giants right
now using one of those chips to draft a quarterback.
There are many other areas on this roster that need
another shot, they need an injection of talent and young talent.

(55:52):
So I would see that them using those more on
other positions. Yeah, but you know it's you know, the coaches,
you know, you know, whoever they end up hiring as
the head coach and whatever staff that ends up being,
I'm sure they will have a big say in that
as well. So that kind of leads us to your
second question about the ground and pound offense. And if
there's a running back that's a ground and pound running back,

(56:13):
would you draft him? Absolutely? I mean, but the key
is what type of offense are we running. If we're
going to throw the ball forty five times every game,
then you know what, I wouldn't say, go draft the
ground and pound running back. But if you are going
to be a run first team, if you were going
to be a team that does that, then absolutely I
think you can. I think Tyrone Tracy, I think Devin Singletary.

(56:35):
I'm not sure what his contract situation looks like. I
feel like he signed a two year deal. Maybe it
was three years, but you know, running back wise three
signed three.

Speaker 1 (56:46):
So I think he's got one more more season after
this game, you know.

Speaker 2 (56:49):
I'm sure, they're they're looking at, look who's the best
running back, you know, and when would we take that guy.
I don't see any issue with taking a guy that's
a physical runner. But it's all based on ski team.
So what is your style of offense? When Brian Dable
was hired here, nobody ever accused him of being a
run first offensive coordinator like that was never going to
be his forte or his calling card.

Speaker 1 (57:12):
Doesn't mean it as a respected guy who could run
the ball at Camps Kataboo.

Speaker 2 (57:15):
Yeah, you know, I think you know, and we saw
you know, win Camps Kataboo. All of a sudden, he
was getting rhythm, like they started feeding him. So you
can kind of morph into that. But this offensive line,
when I said that they're not a ground and pound
offensive line, you know, that's based on just kind of
the scheme and the way that this offense has been
run right this year and even in years past, you know,
as opposed to you look at what the Detroit Lions

(57:37):
do with you know, Montgomery and Gibbs, like that is
a that is a ground and pound offense. They will
they are going to line up and just come downhill
on you and you know, try to smash you that
that's not really our running style. Even when we do
run the ball, it's not that downhill running. You know,
we're gonna we're gonna move you, and we have all
these big road graders up front. That's really just not

(57:58):
how this team is built.

Speaker 1 (58:00):
Right now, right Absolutely great questions and great call, Mike,
Thanks so much for that. Giants Fans and Giants Official
Connected TV streaming app. Giants TV brings original video content
and game highlights on demand and direct Big Blue Fans.
Giants TV is free on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon
Fire TV and on the Giants Mobile app. To a
one nine. We've got Bobby in New Orleans. Bobby, thanks

(58:24):
for calling in. You're on Big Blue Kickoff Live with
Sean and Madeline.

Speaker 3 (58:29):
Thanks Sean Madeleine, thank you for taking my call. Longtime
Giants fan at growing up in Rhoda Allen watching the
Giants at Yankee Stadium, and now I live in New Orleans,
but I still hope for the Giants every week every year.
Just a couple of comments and a question. Taking a quarterback,

(58:50):
Let's say the Giants have the first pick. I know
they're going to be playing the Raiders and Uh, someone's
going to have to win that game and lose that game.
So taking a quarterback with Jackson Dodd already as your
franchise quarterback, I think is a big, big gamble. Mendoza

(59:11):
is a great player, but you know, years ago, I
think there was a quarterback out of UCLA Arizona pick
ros yep, and he didn't develop. So I just think
that Dodd's a very exciting player. I'm I like him

(59:34):
a lot. I just hope that he takes care of
his body and there's a lot more concious I don't
want to put him in the bubble wrap, so to speak,
because he's got to make plays with his legs. That's
what makes him, uh a great player and a great quarterback.
But I would probably go if I was looking at

(59:55):
the draft, there's a lot of teams looking at quarterbacks,
the Jets, the Raiders, Arizona. You know, you can go
on Tennessee's got their quarterback. They're just going to have
to get another coach. But I would go after shutdown cornerback.
And if you're going after running back, I know the
running back coming out of Notre Dame. Love has already

(01:00:18):
said he's going to enter the draft, so I would
go after a cornerback. We've been in a lot of
good ball games this year, we just haven't been able
to close the games. We've got a lot of talent
on this team. Uh Robinson, wide receiver Burns. I do
a call to played well this past game, scouta who's

(01:00:41):
coming back? Hopefully he's and of course neighbors from Melis Hue.
So I just hooked the scouting department and Joe Shane
make the right decision. I'd go after shutdown cornerback, maybe
a wide receiver down the stretch. I remember I have
season tickets for the Saints and then six. I think

(01:01:05):
the seventh round pick going not to be one of
the best wide receivers as franchised in New Orleans as
have I had, and that was Marcus Colson at the Hofstra.
So yeah, yeah, you never. No Mendoz is going to
go to definitely a team I wouldn't if I was
the Giants, I agree with Sean. Yeah, no, there, I'd
have to go after a different position.

Speaker 1 (01:01:27):
They would, definitely I would. I would be flabbergasted if
the Giants took a quarterback with the number one overall pick,
with Jackson dart on the roster and Bobby great points.
Thanks for the call. I think, if anything, if they
do end up with that number one pick, I would
probably be surprised if they didn't trade it. You know,
there are a lot of teams that are quarterback hungry

(01:01:47):
going into the next season, and I can imagine you know,
teams wanting to say, all right, let's trade up and
get that number one spot to have our pick of
the litter in terms of who we want at quarterback.
In you know, the Giants not needing a quarterback this year,
could trade down and you know, get perhaps a couple
more first round picks out of it, or a couple

(01:02:09):
more picks out of it, especially considering last season the
Giants did trade away some draft capital to get their quarterbacks.
They could kind of recoup on that a little bit,
get a couple more draft capital pieces by moving down
from one to wherever they go.

Speaker 2 (01:02:21):
Giants are sitting in the driver's seat right now because
they don't need a quarterback. So whether they have the
first pick, second pick, third pick, guess what they're trading out.
If another team wants to come up and get a quarterback, Boom,
it's an easy. It's an easy swap. And I think
that certainly, if the Giants are sitting at number one,
everybody in the league knows they're not picking a quarterback,
so the trade door is going to be open. You know,

(01:02:44):
I'm always curious. I always kind of pay attention to
where general managers go when the bowl games are being played.
You know, which bowl games are they going to watch,
because that they like to go see some of the
guys that they've had their eye on this season, and
they want to go see play given that they actually
do play in the bowl game, you know, this college
football playoff situation, They're going to go and they want
to go watch these guys play live. They want to

(01:03:06):
see how they warm up, they want to see them
in action and see them in person. So you know,
that's always kind of fun to watch and just see
like who are they watching, who are they going and
seeing in person. That can kind of, you know, give
you a little bit of insight into that. But in
no way shape or forming the Giants looking and draft
a quarterback. That's not happening. But I do think the
Giants are in a good position because they will have,

(01:03:28):
you know, a top five pick and they don't need
a quarterback, so it's it's a great situation to be in.
Nobody wants to have a top five pick, but if
you're going to and you already have a franchise quarterback,
then you're in the driver's seat.

Speaker 1 (01:03:40):
Yeah, and the Giants can you know, definitely recoup some
draft capital and get a lot more young talent to
reinforce the depth on this roster, which is necessary. But
you know, a lot of optimism for twenty twenty six
when the you know, key players make their return, including
Scottaboo neighbors Mike McFadden. It's some important returning players in

(01:04:01):
that regard too. Do you draft a kicker?

Speaker 2 (01:04:05):
I mean, we'll see, it wouldn't be the worst thing
given what's transpired here to the last couple of years.

Speaker 1 (01:04:10):
Yeah, we got a lot of time left to get
thinking about the draft. But we've got three more games
this season, starting Sunday at one pm at Mattlife Stadium,
the penultimate home game of the season, as the Giants
hosting the Vikings at one pm. Will be there. It
won't be as cold. You're not doing post game with
me this forty six and sony forty six and sunny.

(01:04:31):
It's literally I mean, I'm gonna have to put on
some sunscreen for this one. We're ready for it. You know,
where's the banana boat? Yeah? All right, Thanks for listening
to today's episode of Big Blue Kickoff Live presented by Cadillac,
the official luxury vehicle of the New York Football Giants,
and archive of the show and our entire podcast network
is available on the Giants mobile app, podcast platforms everywhere
and Giants dot com slash podcasts. For the Super Bowl

(01:04:54):
champion Shan O'Hara, I'm Madeline Burke. That's a wrap on
Big Blue Kickoff Live for Wednesday. We'll see you next time.