Big Blue Kickoff Live 6/23 | Giants vs Chiefs Preview

Paul Dottino and Matt Citak talk to Matt Derrick, who covers the Chiefs for Chiefs Digest, about their matchup with the Giants, and take calls from fans.

:00 - Chiefs preview with Matt Derrick

30:00 - Calls

48:50 - Jim Burt vs Leonard Marshall

53:20 - Giants pass rush

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's time for a Big Blue Kickoff line.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Nobody can ever tell you that you couldn't do it
because you're.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
On Giants dot Com.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
You what I saw New York Giant Prime and.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
The Giants Mobile at.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
Seventeen fourteen at the Finals one tundown.

Speaker 4 (00:18):
We are, We're Old Taffrick.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
What they did well?

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Part of the Giants podcast network.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
That's going on on the buds of Crazy Dogs.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
That'sn't and we'll get everybody and Welcome to Monday's edition
a Big Blue Kickoff Live presented by Cadillac, the official
luxury vehicle of the New York Football Giants. Thanks so
much for being with us once again today on Poltatino.
He's Matt Sidetech. We got the next hour to talk
Giants football with you. And coming up in just a
bit a couple of moments, we are going to visit

(00:48):
the land of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Giants will
have their home opener against Kansas City this season. It'll
be week three of the regular season. As we now
begin our day by day previews of summer camp of
the Giants' opponents, and Matt Derek of Chiefs Digest will
join us momentarily. We are coming to you, of course,

(01:09):
from the Giants official podcast studio. It is presented by
Hackensack Meridian Health Keep getting Better. So we do understand
that Matt's on the line, so let's go right to
him and Matt Derek of Chiefs Digest the lead reporter,
managing editor, and publisher of that publication. You can find
it online your favorite browser sites. Matt, thanks so much

(01:33):
for taking the time today. And you know, the Giants
will be playing the Chiefs this year. It's a rare
opportunity for New York fans to get a look at
Patrick Mahomes and company in person, probably last time. I
guess we're going to see Kelsey, right. I don't think
he's going to be playing four years now down the road,
is he.

Speaker 5 (01:50):
Yeah, I think you're right. I think it's a pretty
good chance that it's the last trip to the Giants
for Kelsey and Yeah, New York has never been a
good place for the Chiefs visit, whether the playing the
Jets or the Giants, it has kind of been a
nightmare of horrors for the Chiefs for their New York trips.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
Well, let me ask you this, what is the mentality
and the attitude in Chiefs Nation right now, As we
all know, this is a franchise that over the last
half a dozen years or so has been as successful
as anybody. They're putting together kind of like a Patriots run,
if you will. But obviously, every year is a new year,
and we do know we saw some bumps and chinks

(02:28):
in the arm of this past season.

Speaker 5 (02:30):
Yeah, I mean, there's no doubt. I mean, this organization,
this fan base still feels that it's a super Bowl
caliber team and that should be the expectation every single season,
especially as long as you've got Patrick Mahomes and he's healthy.
There's a certain understanding that this team has some weaknesses
and that they've got some concerns going forward, and hey,
you know, losing Travis Kelsey, which is inevitable, and just

(02:52):
him being on the back end of his career and
not being the dominant tight end that he once was
is one of those challenges. But even with this, you know,
this is still a fan base that expects this team
to make the Super Bowl every year and winning it
is really I mean, that's the only measure of success
right now for this team.

Speaker 6 (03:11):
Yeah, So this is Matt' Sidtech here, So Paul brought
up Travis Kelsey. Obviously he's the number one option in
the passing game for Patrick Mahomes, but I feel like
there's a big question mark around the guy who would
be the number two option in the passing game, and
that's Rashie Rice. And now partly the twofold question. One,
how is he doing in his rehab from the injury

(03:32):
he suffered last year? And then two, are there any
updates on his legal situation from last season?

Speaker 4 (03:40):
Yeah, you talked about it.

Speaker 5 (03:41):
In the first three games of last season, he was
on pace for over fifteen hundred yards and the Chiefs
feel like he is a legitimate number one receiver and
one of the best receivers in the league when he's healthy.
He started to show that as a rookie, and you know,
it's definitely the beginning of his second season started to
show that breakout. This off season, he's looked really good.

(04:02):
Patrick Mahomes had him down in Texas and was working
with him in April. Thought was really encouraging as far
as him just being able to run routes at that point.
He ended the off season workouts. Is a full, go to,
full participant and he'll be a full participant at the
beginning of training camp. So the Chiefs are pretty optimistic
that he's going to be healthy this season and be
ready to go in week one and be what he

(04:25):
was a year ago. At this time, the legal course
with him is continuing to be ongoing. We're on two
years now of this and no end really appears to
be insight And as we all know, the NFL typically
does not hand out any punishments until legal journey has completed,
and at this point it looks like that may once again,

(04:47):
you know, extend into the season and maybe into next
off season. So I'm not certain that we're going to
see any suspension from her. She raised this season?

Speaker 3 (04:54):
Is it necessary for that wide receive a room to
step up no matter who's a available or who's going
to be able to solidify the top spots on the
depth chart because Kelsey is older and I know last year, right, he.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Caught in almost one hundred passes.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
So it's kind of laughable right to say that they're
not going to get the production out of him that
you're used to. But the bottom line is he's getting
closer to retirement now and there's going to be at
some point a cliff there where his production is not
going to be what they expect. So do they have
to get more out of their receiver room.

Speaker 5 (05:29):
Oh, And that's been the case each of these last
two seasons. It's been the underperformance of the receiver room
that's really hurt this offense. I mean, they've been fifteenth
in the league the last two years and that's not
what the offense is used to and the biggest reason
why has just been an underforming receiver group. I think
two years ago you just saw a lot of players

(05:50):
start to deteriorate, and in the second half of the
season it was really Rashid Rice as a rookie coming
through and really bailing out that team. Last year with
all of the injuries that they suffered, was again a
rookie with Xavier Wordby really bangling out that receiver room.
Now they're hoping that if with Rashi and with Xavier
Worthy both healthy, if they can keep Hollywood Brown healthy

(06:13):
as well. They've got a draft pick in Jalen Royal's
that they really like, a fourth round pick, and ju
Ju Smith Schuster is back for a full season, a
full off season, and they fill with those five players
that they should have. If everybody can stay healthy, at
least give them a contribution that they've got an improved
receiver room and this could be you know, Hollywood Brown

(06:36):
told us last week he feels like this is the
best group of pass catchers that he's ever played with.
It might very well be true, but we're only going
to know it if they can stay healthy.

Speaker 6 (06:44):
Yeah, and not only that, but I feel like, you know,
the Chiefs receiver room won't be able to reach that
potential if Patrick Mahomes is given the protection and the
time in the pocket to you know, hit those guys
on their routs. The last time we saw the Chiefs
was obviously in the Super Bowl, which did not go
how either of us would have hoped. And I'm sure
you would have hold as well against that Eagles passer rush.

(07:04):
Who we were with you, Matt trust but I bet
you were so. I know that you know, the Chiefs
traded away one lineman drafted another. But how does the
offensive line group look going into this twenty twenty five season.

Speaker 5 (07:18):
Yeah, and you think about it, there's a lot of
just questions in drama at almost every position on this
offensive line. Obviously the biggest focus is at left tackle.
Chiefs draft in the first round Josh Simmons from Ohio State,
who healthy would probably have been the number one tackle
in this year's class. Sure, quite problem is he's not
wasn't healthy. I mean he's coming back from a tele

(07:39):
attendant injury. He was virtually a full go by the
end of off season workouts, and the Chiefs are feel
like that right now. He's that he ended off season
workouts at a point where they were hoping he might
be in like mid August, so he is definitely ahead
of schedule. He's going to compete with Jalen Moore, you know,
the free agent signing from the forty nine ers for

(07:59):
that left tackle position, and Simmons made very well win it.
I mean, it's just going to be a question of
how healthy he is and whether or not he's returned
to his pre injury form. You know, they got to
replace at left guard Joe Toney Kingsley Suamaria, who they
drafted last year to be there's their future left tackle
didn't work out. He's kicking inside and we'll get the

(08:20):
first crack at winning that left guard position. On the
right side of the line. You know, Jawan Taylor had
some off season surgery to clean up a knee that's
been bothering him. They're hoping that's going to improve his
performance because he has struggled the last two years as
a free agent on that right side of the line
and at right guard. Tray Smith one of the better
right guards in the league, but he's on the franchise

(08:42):
tag day. You know, they've got told July fifteenth to
try and get a long term deal.

Speaker 4 (08:45):
Well with him.

Speaker 5 (08:46):
He skipped off season workods only came in for the
mandatory mini camp other than Crete Humphrey at center, which
he is because the Chiefs, you're fortunate you might have
arguably the best center in the league. There's just, like
I said, there's a lot of drama going on as
the other fourth bots right now.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
Well the offensive line.

Speaker 3 (09:02):
If they don't have enough trouble worrying about pass protection,
they also gonna have to throw some blocks in the
running game. Everybody here in Jersey knows about Isaiah Pacheco.
They knew coming out of Rutgers that he was actually
going to be somebody. I know he's surprised a lot
of folks around the league, but people in Jersey, they
knew what Pacheco was, and the Chiefs obviously found out
rather quickly. You got Kareem Hunt back there, But I'm

(09:24):
going to tell you something. There's a guy that you
also got out there from San Francisco, Elijah Mitchell, who
when he was in school, I liked him coming into
the draft.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
To me, he is a sleeper in that running back corps.
What is your thought?

Speaker 5 (09:38):
Yeah, you know, the Chiefs they have a tendency in
Bret Veach when when they like a player coming out
of the draft. You can tell because when they become
a free agent, the Chiefs are first in line to
try and sign them. Elijah Mitchell a great example of that.
You know, they really liked him coming out, thought that
his first year in San Francisco was really impressive, and
that's stuck with him. And so, yeah, he brings some

(09:59):
speed to that backfield that I think they were lacking
with Pichecko and Kareem Hunt. And you're right, Pachecko is
absolutely one of the hardest runners in the league. He
is absolutely fun to watch when he's healthy, and that's
been struggled the last two years and last year he
thought to come back from that fractured ankle was probably
never even close to one hundred percent. In the second

(10:19):
half of the season. He has looked a lot sharper.
He seems a lot healthier this summer. So that's the
optimism for the Chiefs is that they can have a
healthy back group. But it's going to have to be
again a little bit of running back by committee, some
thunder and lightning, and those those three guys in pacheck O,
Hunt and Mitchell are going to have to I think
share a big part of the load. And that's one

(10:40):
of the things that Chiefs need. They need a run
game to be able to take him a little bit
more of the pressure off Mahomes and open things up
for the receivers.

Speaker 6 (10:48):
Now as good as Patrick Mahomes and you know, all
of these playmakers in the offense are, I think it's
safe to say last year, at least in the regular season,
it was the defense that really carried the Chiefs to,
you know, to the postseason and be What are some
of the I guess big training camp competitions to look
for on the defensive side of the ball.

Speaker 5 (11:08):
Yeah, there's a couple and for sure, and you know
one is up front next to Chris Jones on the interior.
The Chiefs need a you know, an upgrade on the
defensive line. They lost her Shawn Wharton as a free
agent who was outside of Jones, their best interior pass rusher.
Lost Derek Naughty, who's been a long time defensive lineman
for them. On the inside, They've got some great older

(11:28):
guys like Mike Panell around, but they need somebody to
step in, you know, alongside Chris Jones and Omar Norman Lott.
Their second round pick is looking like he could be
that guy. Maybe a little bit of concerns about just
the stamina since he didn't play a lot in Tennessee.
They did a lot of rotation there, but the Chiefs
are gonna give him a chance. He might be you
outside of Josh Simmons, he's the guy to bet on

(11:50):
as a rookie who is going to start for this team,
and I think he's got the best shot there. The
other real battle is going to be a cornerback.

Speaker 4 (11:57):
You know.

Speaker 5 (11:57):
The Chiefs signed Christian Fulton to come in and give
them some and you give veterans support and competition on
the opposite the side from Trent McDuffie. He's going to
be battling Jalen Watson and a bunch of other young
guys that the Chiefs have at that corner spot. But
they need one of two things. They either need Christian
Fulton to come in and just be a dominant number
two corner opposite McDuffie, or they need Watson the right

(12:19):
of the challenge and win that job. And either right
competition wise, I mean, that's going.

Speaker 7 (12:24):
To be great for the Chiefs.

Speaker 5 (12:25):
They need both those guys step up because let's face that,
you can never have enough guys that can cover.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
Chris Jones is starting to get a little bit of
mileage on his tires. Now I'm not saying he's not
a great player, because he is a great player. He's
certainly one of the best three defensive tackles I think
in football. But he's starting to get up there just
a bit. How much does Carloftis have to step up
his game to make sure that Jones can still do.

Speaker 2 (12:49):
What he wants to do.

Speaker 5 (12:50):
Oh, I don't think there's any doubt. And that's one
of the problems last year is just you know, with
this teams drop and pass rush production. Jones sacks dropped.

Speaker 4 (13:00):
That was it?

Speaker 5 (13:00):
Otherwise you know, his his hurries, his pressure rate, all
of that was fine, it was great. He just wasn't
getting to the quarterback and why well, you know Charles
and Minnie who was banged up. They had some problems
with depth at the sensive end, and George Carloss is
a big part of that. I mean, they need him
to step up to be the first round pick that
they made him to be a couple of years ago.

(13:21):
They're really depending on him, and obviously he has shown
a lot of potential, but they need him to come
out and be a double digit sack producer consistently. And
if they can get that kind of one two tandem
going and try to open up things. I mean the
attention that Chris Jones got last year with the double
teams and the triple teams. I mean, Carlostis, Miny, you,

(13:42):
Mike Dana, third ground draft pick, Ashton Jelotti. Chris Jones
is going to make it so that you're going to
get a lot of one on one matchups. You got
a windows as an edge rusher when you're giving them,
and that's something that this team just didn't do last year.

Speaker 3 (13:56):
Yeah, and if they don't Chris Jones is going to
get old and beaten up really fast.

Speaker 5 (14:01):
Yeah, I mean he's he's already hitting thirty. So, you know,
for Chris, are his best years behind him. I think
he still might be in the tail end of his prime.
You know, we saw a couple of years ago he
had a sequence where he did exactly this. You know,
he had a lot of production as far as pressure
rate and hurries one year, but they didn't translate in
the sacks. So the next year they did. He had
another you know, double judge judget sax season last year.

(14:24):
The metrics were there that he just wasn't getting the
quarterback on the ground has a tendency sometimes to swing
the other way. So it wouldn't surprise me if Chris's
numbers went up this year. He has certainly remains dedicated
and motivated. He's sometimes been kind of in and out
during OTAs, but he was with this team all through
the offseason, and I think that's just another indication about,
you know, his dedication and his love of football.

Speaker 6 (14:47):
So we talked about the guys up front, talked about
the guys in the secondary, so might as well touch
on the middle level of the defense as well. So
the Chiefs are returning there the same starting three linebackers
I believe for the consecutive season with Nick Bolton, Drew
Drinkwell and Leo Chanel. It seems like it's sort of
the most you know, consistent group in the entire Chiefs defense.

(15:09):
I guess what are expectations for that group? I mean,
they did perform so well against the run last year,
the Chiefs had a top ten run defense. What are
the I guess expectations for these three players, especially Chanal,
who's the youngster of that group.

Speaker 5 (15:22):
Yeah, Chanal, pound for pound, is the strongest guy on
this team. He is an absolute beast and they have
been able to use him in so many different ways
than they did a couple of years ago when he
was just basically an off ball linebacker. Now they feel
comfortable with putting him on the line, rushing, doing so
many different things with him.

Speaker 7 (15:40):
He can be.

Speaker 5 (15:40):
He's an all He's a three down linebacker now that
he didn't used to be. Make no mistake Usdves Bagnolo,
who is the most important player on his defense, and
he will probably say other than Chris Jones and Trip McDuffie,
he might even say first it's Nick Bolton. That's the
guy that he has such a high football IQ. His

(16:01):
ability to set the defense and make decisions on the
field and to make quick reactions when the Chiefs need
to get in and out of different different looks. Bolton's
the one that drives so much of that. And Spagnola
will tell you that the complexity of his defense and
the blisses that he can call is all because of Bolton,
and that's why the Chiefs made a priority to keep
him in the offseason. And you know, one of his

(16:22):
deficiencies in the past has been as a pass coverage linebacker.
And I've actually, I feel like I've seen an improvement
this summer and this spring so far as far as
his pass coverage ability and OTAs.

Speaker 4 (16:33):
We'll see if.

Speaker 5 (16:34):
That's real or if it disappears when the pads come on.
But Bolton have been pretty impressive. And you know, and again,
injuries have been an issue for him the last couple
of seasons. He looks healthy right now. If he can
stay healthy for a full seventeen games, that's going to
be a huge boost for this defense.

Speaker 2 (16:49):
Matt.

Speaker 3 (16:49):
I can't believe we've spoken to you for almost fifteen
to twenty minutes and haven't really asked you one thing
about Patrick Mahons yet. I don't know how that happened,
but somehow it did because we just all know he's
the greatest quarterback on the planet and there's really nothing
to ask you about. But in all honesty, you know,
he's fought off some ankle injuries the last couple of years.

(17:10):
He's shown his toughness, he's shown his grit, he's shown
his guile. But my goodness, the Philadelphia Eagles really did
a number on that offensive line and got after him
like pit bulls during that Super Bowl. What is your
impression of how he has reacted to that, because I
don't I don't think now you're there watching the Chiefs

(17:31):
every day, I don't think I've ever seen him under
that kind of duress before. How is he going to
respond to that or react to that because he knows
as well as everybody knows that he's going to need
some help from that old line or operating behind those
guys is not going to be very fun.

Speaker 5 (17:50):
Yeah, I mean, I think the only other game I've
seen him under that kind of duress was really, you know,
Super Bowl fifty five against the Buccaneers when he famously
scrambles for about five yards behind the line of scrimmage
in that game. And you know, and I think it
was just a little bit of an evidence maybe of age,
but like you said, mostly the ankle injuries and some
things that he just didn't have that kind of mobility

(18:12):
and strength against the Eagles that kind of keep things
alive the way that he did against the Buccaneers. But
even then, again that was a kind of a dominating
loss that the Chiefs suffered in that when those are
some commonalities in both those games, is that the offensive
line got beaten up, and that's something that has to improve.

Speaker 7 (18:28):
Obviously.

Speaker 5 (18:29):
The Chiefs not only have to give you better, I
think they need to be more creative. The Eagles exposed
a lot of problems with that offensive line, maybe even
some just tells that the Chiefs had and you know,
things that had gotten stale Di did a really good job.
The Fangio absolutely exploited a lot of things. But you're right,
I mean, there's I haven't seen anything that Patrick Mahomes
can't do, and there's absolutely no doubt to me that

(18:53):
he is the most competitive player in the NFL. I mean,
I think you see that with just some of the
videos and the things that you see there. He wants
to win badly and he takes these losses personally. I
saw how he responded after the loss of the Buccaneers
in the Super Bowl, and basically he worked harder than ever.
And I think you're seeing the exact same thing this offseason.
I mean, losses motivate him and in this entire organization.

(19:18):
You know, hearing from Brett Veach, he's talking about the
fact that he looks back at this team's record and
see that they went fifteen and two last year, and
because of the Super Bowl loss, there's like there's no
he feel like, there's no way this team went fifteen
to two. It had to be like eleven and six, right,
because they just feel like that this season was such
a disappointment because of the way it ended. But Mahomes,
he's the guy that sets the tone for that entire team,

(19:39):
and I don't think there's any doubt. I mean, they're
going to come back with a redoubled effort because Mahomes
is going to force him to.

Speaker 3 (19:46):
Matt Before I let you go, I would be remiss
if I didn't ask you about Steve Spagnolo, a favorite
of mine, a personal friend of mine, and a guy
who I have the most absolute, positive respect for and
just the utmost class of a guy. What I want
to ask you is this, There was an interview that
he had with the Jets. I guess it was last year.

(20:08):
They did a zoom interview. Why does he not get
more calls or more interviews as he has been just
absolutely sensational in helping this Chiefs dynasty become what it is.
Why does he not get more interest around the league?

Speaker 5 (20:25):
Your guess is as good as mine, because I assume
it's got to be a little bit of the fact
that he he's over sixty, so he's not the youngest
guy around anymore. He's a defensive genius, and everybody seems
to be wanting offensive guys for the most part. So
I guess there's two strikes against him. And obviously things
didn't go well in Saint Louis. That was a fractured organization.

Speaker 8 (20:45):
It was.

Speaker 4 (20:47):
That's not on him.

Speaker 2 (20:48):
That's not on him right now.

Speaker 5 (20:51):
Yeah, but everything you said absolutely rings true. In Kansas City,
this dude is beloved, and I mean he's probably pretty
close already the Chiefs fans wanted to put a statue
of him outside the stadium. He's great. I mean, he
has absolutely been a breath of fresh air of this
organization these years that he's been in Kansas City. There's
no doubt you know how important he's been to these

(21:12):
Super Bowl runs. I think he's probably, you know, outside
of Mahomes and Reed, probably the most important part of
these Super Bowl runs. And he is beloved because you're right,
he is a character. He's a street shooter, always treats
everybody with a lot of respect, including the media, which
obviously I love and respect about him too.

Speaker 2 (21:31):
Yeah, for sure. I'll tell you one thing.

Speaker 3 (21:33):
There are no coordinators in the Hall of Fame, and
I've heard some people say, well, if they do put
one in, he's going to be very high on that list.
I certainly would be pulling for him every step of
the way, without without a doubt. Matt Derek from Chiefs Digest,
why don't you tell the people where they can find
more you work. As we get closer and closer to
the season, I know Giants fans are going to want

(21:53):
to know the teams that they're playing and what exactly
is going on with those opponents.

Speaker 5 (21:57):
I appreciate that. Yeah, you can go to Chiefs Digest
and from there you can get links to everything that
I do, whether it's on social media or on YouTube,
and that's where you can also find into all of
our podcasts and videos that we do in live streams
over on chief Digest on YouTube.

Speaker 3 (22:12):
Matt, it's been a pleasure. We appreciate the time and
enjoy the rest of the summer.

Speaker 2 (22:15):
Thank you, Matt.

Speaker 5 (22:16):
Appreciate you guys. Take care everybody.

Speaker 3 (22:18):
Matt Derek of Chiefs Digest with a real terrific breakdown
of the Kansas City Chiefs, and I think he was
very realistic in understanding some of the wards that that
team showed at the end of last year, I mean,
fifteen to one, and then it just all came apart
against a dominant performance by Philadelphia and the Super Bowl.

Speaker 6 (22:36):
Yeah, I mean the performance of that defensive front from
Philadelphia and the Super Bowl that was an all time performance.
I mean, you look and Patrick Mahomes is just in
constant duress the entire game, and then you look back
at the stat sheet after and you see that the
Eagles barely blitzed.

Speaker 2 (22:55):
They were getting this pressure with four guys, it was
the entire game. There was no need to send an
extra blitzer.

Speaker 6 (23:01):
I think it was only a handful of plays throughout
the entire game that they sent more than just the
front four, and it was more than enough. So yeah,
I mean, look, any team that has Patrick Mahomes a
quarterback and Andy Reid as head coach, that team is
just going to be a contender every season going into
the year.

Speaker 2 (23:18):
There's no doubt about it.

Speaker 6 (23:19):
But I think that Super Bowl game showed that there
are some you know, cracks in the armor of that
Kansas City dynasty team that to be one hundred percent honest,
and even more so after hearing from Matt, I don't
know if they really addressed all of those potential weaknesses.

(23:39):
I mean, especially on the offensive line. I mean, I
love Josh Simmons again, I do think I agree with Matt.
I think he would have been the number one tackle
without a doubt had it not been for his serious injury.

Speaker 2 (23:50):
But sounds like he's healthy now. That's great.

Speaker 6 (23:52):
But they added him, but traded Joe Toney, who was
a veteran guard, a very good veteran guard, And it
doesn't seem like they have like a rock solid option
waiting in the wings to replace him. So unless some
of these somewhat lesser named guys can really step up,
I don't know if their past protection got any better

(24:14):
from last year.

Speaker 7 (24:15):
No.

Speaker 3 (24:15):
I think they were in a bind because it was
either Thuny or Smith.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
One of those.

Speaker 3 (24:20):
Guys was not going to be able to stay because
of their cap problems, right, and they wound up franchising
trade Smith.

Speaker 2 (24:26):
Which makes sense.

Speaker 3 (24:26):
He's younger than I mean, if you're going to have
to pick one, they picked the right guy for sure.
But they're still in a bit of and look, this
is what happens right with the salie cap in the
National Football.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
League and free agency. The way the whole business.

Speaker 3 (24:41):
Model works, they create hurdles for teams to maintain a
high level of play.

Speaker 2 (24:47):
That's the whole idea.

Speaker 3 (24:49):
Behind the business model of the way the NFL is
set up. They want to knock you off your perch.
They make it doubly and triply in four and five
times more difficult to continue to be a top flight
contender year.

Speaker 2 (25:02):
After year after year.

Speaker 3 (25:03):
That's the way the league's designed, you know, So you know,
we shouldn't necessarily be surprised that all of a sudden,
even after a fifteen to one regular season, that the
Chiefs have shown some things in their fender and oh,
well they don't have the money to go out and
get what they need to get to repair it. Okay, well,
too bad, you know, I get that.

Speaker 2 (25:26):
It's just given.

Speaker 6 (25:28):
You know, again, that Super Bowl showed that there are
some weaknesses, especially up front in the defense of the
offensive line. And yet the selection of Josh Simmons, I
think that's going to be a big boost to the
left tackle position to get them, but then they had it.

Speaker 2 (25:41):
They'll never get them, oh one hundred percent.

Speaker 6 (25:43):
But they had what one, two, three, six more picks
after that, and they didn't use a single one on
more offensive line pieces, surprising including they had the sixty
third pick, which they picked Omar Norman Lott, who I
think we both liked a lot and I think he
is a great piece to play next to Christian Jones.
But you had another pick three picks later, and instead

(26:03):
of potentially grabbing, you know, an into your alignment with
that pick, they went with another defensive end, another defensive lineman. Yeah,
and then addressed other pieces on the defense. And when
they did address the offense. Again in the fourth round
Jalen Royals, who I think could be a good wide
receiver and a sleeper pick, but again another wide receiver
when they already had Rashie Rice, Xavior Worthy, Hollywood Brown,

(26:26):
they signed Juju Smith Schuster.

Speaker 2 (26:28):
It just seemed like.

Speaker 6 (26:29):
Less of a position of need. And then even in
the seventh round Brishard Smith. I think we both agreed
he was a pretty good sleeper pick at Day three
at the running back position, but we just said they
have Isaiah Pacheco, they signed Elijah Mitchell, they brought back
Kareem Hunt.

Speaker 2 (26:46):
Just there are some of these picks.

Speaker 6 (26:48):
Look, I'm not an NFL general manager, nor will I
ever be, so I don't want to really, you know,
throw down at the GM's picks. But given how the
offensive line kind of I guess failed Patrick Mahomes, especially
in that Super Bowl, I'm just a little surprised that
they did not address the offensive line more than the draft,

(27:09):
given their cap problems and given the fact that the
two most rock solid pieces on their offensive line, Creed
Humphrey and Tray Smith. Creed Humphrey I believe was a
fourth round pick. Third or fourth round pick. Tray Smith
was a fifth or sixth round pick. Why not take
another chance of landing a guy like that, especially when
the offensive line clearly is the weakness of your offense.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
That's the one thing that I just don't preach.

Speaker 3 (27:34):
Mat I got no problem with this because the Giants
play them in Week three of the regular season, and
with this Giants defensive front that we are projecting, I'm
just saying, if you look at for an achilles, they've
got the achilles that the Giants should be able to
take advantage off.

Speaker 6 (27:50):
If the Giants can slap, if the Giants can slow
down the Chiefs run game in Week three. That yet,
I don't see how that this offensive line will be
able to contain the Giants pass rush. I'm not saying
that not predicting anything in terms of a win loss,
because it's still Patrick Maho. We don't have to predict
any and the Chiefs, but I just on paper, I

(28:12):
don't see how this current group of offensive linemen how
they're gonna slow down the Giants pass rush.

Speaker 2 (28:17):
Everyone's healthy.

Speaker 3 (28:18):
Let's just say this, everybody and their grandparents are going
to pick the Chiefs to be a heavy favorite in
that game.

Speaker 2 (28:27):
Yes, there is no doubt in my mind. And then
there's gonna be some.

Speaker 3 (28:32):
Of us who are walking around this building with a
smile that week saying we may know little something that
you guys don't, and that is this defensive front may
just make Mahomes' life miserable.

Speaker 6 (28:44):
All I'm gonna say is Week three, Sunday Night Football, Giants,
there will be in primetime for the first time the season.

Speaker 3 (28:50):
Of course, that's the one whomy that could hurt this team,
because ye prime time has been horrible.

Speaker 2 (28:56):
Yeah, the Giants, But I'm not putting it all on
one person.

Speaker 6 (29:00):
A lot of those primetime losses in recent years was with,
you know, a certain quarterback that seemed to just not
perform well in primetime.

Speaker 2 (29:09):
I'm not let him go. Let him go.

Speaker 6 (29:11):
But my point being, I'm only bringing this up because
it's Week three Sunday Night Football in primetime. I have
a feeling that's going to be Abdull Carter's coming out
party to the NFL and to the entire country, really
showing out be like, hey, I was the best player
in this draft. I'm happy that I ended up with
the Giants at number three, but I should have been

(29:32):
the number one pick and I think he's gonna show
it in that game.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
Matt said it on June twenty third.

Speaker 3 (29:38):
June twenty third, okay, June twenty third, Abdul Carter NFC
defensive Player of the Week getting after Patrick Mahomes against
the Chiefs in prime time as the Giants role okay
our number two A one nine three nine four five
one three. You can find us on Twitter at hashtag

(29:58):
Giants Chat and as all we if you don't catch
the show live, our entire podcast network is available on
the Giants mobile app podcast platforms everywhere on a Giants
dot com slash podcasts. Let's go to the phone lines
and open things up so you guys can participate in
the show. Cliff in Galveston, Texas, your first on Big
Blue Kickoff Live. Hello, Yes, hi, Cliff, what's up?

Speaker 2 (30:23):
Cliff?

Speaker 7 (30:24):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (30:25):
My name is Chrismall.

Speaker 2 (30:28):
Oh I am sorry, I am sorry, it says Cliff
on the computer.

Speaker 4 (30:31):
But first of all, I want to say I completely
agree with you guys. I think week three that could
be an opportunity for the Giants two shot the league.
I mean, when you look at this defensive line, especially
plugging in that duel Carter go back to that Cowboys
game when they played against the Chiefs. Michael Parsons was
running havoc against that Chiefs backfield. But I just want

(30:53):
to say, Paul, you and I we had spoken a
couple couple of days ago about the off line in
wan Dale Robinson on New York Giants on SI on
your Yeah, I wanted to again talk about the offensive line.
Is that cool? Do you guys?

Speaker 2 (31:10):
Sure?

Speaker 3 (31:11):
So? You know?

Speaker 4 (31:13):
I think you know, maybe I'm just cherry picking. Maybe
you know I'm valid to feel this way. Maybe I'm not.
I'm hoping you guys can help. I'm kind of concerned
with this offensive line going forward. I think when you
look at the offensive line at its best last year,
maybe average at best, and I think when Neil went down,

(31:35):
excuse me, when Thomas went down, you really did see
the talent level of this offensive line. You did have
some guys playing at a place. But in my honest opinion,
I think with you only taking both this year in
the draft, you can argue they didn't need a tight
end and Fordoni in this draft. Why does it seem
that the offensive line tends to be an active thought

(31:58):
with this front offense. I know we've brought in on Luminora.
We brought him running, you know, fairly recently. Don't get
me wrong, but we have drafts where they didn't address
the offensive line. We've had experiences where we're playing the
zudo at tackle when he really should be his art
And I know that just players like Justin Pugh came
out and said, well, he has excellent footwork. You know,

(32:20):
they're hoping that, you know, he could pay him out
as debts at tackle. But I just I can't help
but to look at some of the better teams in
the league, like the Chiefs, like Dallas, like Philadelphia, who
make it a point to address the offensive line every
single year despite that being the strength on their team.
So I mean, I don't know if you guys could

(32:40):
top me off the ledge, but I'm so excited.

Speaker 7 (32:43):
For this season.

Speaker 4 (32:44):
Matt. You are right. We had a quarterback that did
not do good in prime time. But when we look
at Russ historically, Russ under center, especially during the during
priv time, is a solid quarterback. Go look that up.
He is a solid quarterback. I'm hoping he got some
something the rest and I'm worried.

Speaker 2 (33:01):
Well, let's just say this. I believe it was.

Speaker 3 (33:05):
Albert Breer was just on the other day on his
weekly Sports Illustrated show and said that he thought the
Andrew Thomas injury last season was one of the most
devastating injuries in the league because of the impact and
basically the landslide that happened to the Giants o line

(33:26):
after he went down. When the Giants' staff talks about
how satisfied they were, maybe that's not the right word,
how pleased they were with like the first five or
six games of the season last year, with their starting five,
and how they were getting better every week. I don't
think it's a stretch, Chris to tell you that they

(33:47):
were in the upper half and maybe even fringe of
the upper third of the NFL in terms of their
offensive line play at that point, and then Andrew Thomas
got hurt and it all crumbled. So I think part
of their hope this year, and let's face it, it's
all hope until things turn to reality in September. But

(34:09):
I think part of their hope is that they can
replicate some of that quality that they saw last September
and into October as they get a fresh start in
twenty twenty five. I would also say to you Neil
was a number one pick, Thomas was a number one pick.
John Michael Schmidz was a number two pick. So it's
not like they haven't spent some hefty resources on bringing

(34:32):
guys in, and then they spent money on, as you said,
running in an illuminaire. So to say that they've ignored
the position, or at least not given it much thought,
seems to me to be a little bit off base.

Speaker 6 (34:46):
Yeah, I completely agree with Paulie took the words out
of my mouth. Since Joe Shane took over, Andrew Thomas
got a monster extension, They signed John run In, they
signed Jermaine Luminor, they signed Greg Van Rodin. Then as
depth pieces, you know this year James Hudson, who else.

(35:07):
Austin Schlotman was last season stone for sight. They brought
Aaron Stinni in last year, and then again this year
drafted John Michael schmidth in the second round. Just about
every not just about every single offensive lineman that is
on this roster was brought in by Joe Shane, every
single one or extended in Andrew Thomas's case, and I

(35:29):
agree with paul It the first six weeks of the season. Now,
that Week one game was bad. It was across the board,
both sides of the ball. Everyone is bad that game,
There's no denying that. But other than that, the next
five games weeks two through six, the offensive line was solid,
was very solid. I'm not gonna go out and say,
you know, they were elite or to a very very

(35:50):
top of the league unit, but they were I would
say probably middle of the pack, which Grant was Frankly,
all the Giants really need that unit to be. Expects
this offensive line to be a top five offensive line
where Russell Wilson will literally have fifteen seconds in the
pocket every single play. But if the Giants offensive line
could play like they did from weeks two through six,

(36:13):
if they can do that for an entire season, if
they had done that last year, I feel like the
narrative around the offensive line would be so significantly different
than it is right now. And I get your concerns
because the offensive line quite frankly, has been an issue
for I don't even know how many years now, and
it hasn't changed in recent years. But I do think

(36:33):
the reason to be I guess slightly more optimistic this
year is Obviously, the expectation is Andrew Thomas will be
healthy come training camp.

Speaker 2 (36:42):
I know we didn't see him in the spring, but.

Speaker 6 (36:45):
The thought seems to be that he will be okay
later this summer, and with the other four guys and
now there's some serious depth behind those starters. I mean, obviously,
if Andrew Thomas were to go down again, that would
be a huge blow to the off line, no doubt,
because he is an All Pro that you can take
an All Pro out of any offensive line and no

(37:06):
matter who they have is the replacement, that line is
going to take a hit.

Speaker 2 (37:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (37:09):
But even with behind Andrew Thomas, behind the other four positions,
the Giants have depth at basically every single backup position. Now,
every single bat, every single position has a backup that
has pretty serious NFL.

Speaker 2 (37:25):
Experience, which last year that was not the case. I
will say that was not the case.

Speaker 6 (37:29):
And clearly going into this offseason, improving the offensive line
depth was a priority because we saw the Giants brought
in James Hudson pretty early in free agency, they brought
in Stone forsythe pretty early in free agency.

Speaker 2 (37:41):
They spent the pick on Marcus Bow.

Speaker 6 (37:43):
So I get your concerns and until the offensive line
actually goes out in the field and puts it all
together and plays well for an entire season, I get
that those concerns will not go away, but I do
think there is a small reason to be, you know,
slightly more optim mystic about the offensive line despite what
we saw last year.

Speaker 3 (38:03):
Chris, I'll give you another piece of gum to chew on,
and that is I thought last offseason the most important
acquisition for the offensive line was coach Carmen Brisillo, and
I think he showed how valuable he can be when
he had that line.

Speaker 2 (38:20):
Early in the season.

Speaker 3 (38:22):
Once the pedals started to fall off the flower and
everything collapsed, and the deck of cards just was a
mess on the table, It's pretty hard for anybody to
make chicken salad out of you know what I mean.
It just got to be really messy, right, And I
don't blame him or hold him accountable for that at all.
I think he did everything he could to try to

(38:43):
keep some semblance of order amongst that offensive line. So
I will say this, you got Carmen Brisilla now for
a second season.

Speaker 2 (38:54):
That's a big deal for me. It's a very big
deal for me.

Speaker 3 (38:57):
Because I have more faith in him as an offensive
line coach than anybody since Pat Flawherty was here.

Speaker 2 (39:04):
At least that's how I feel.

Speaker 6 (39:05):
You may not feel the same, and it's no I agree,
And it's Carmen Brisilla in year two.

Speaker 2 (39:09):
But with the same five starters also coming for year two.
We don't know who who the.

Speaker 3 (39:14):
Five are going to be true, but at least he
knows these guys.

Speaker 2 (39:16):
But the five starters from last year are all back,
Yes they are.

Speaker 6 (39:19):
Whether or not you know, Greg Van r roden as
up winning the other guard starting guard position, we'll see.
But the same five starters from last year back. And
as you said before, Carmen Brisilla was talking about he
really liked the way the unit was starting to play
prior to Andrew Thomas' injury that five week stretch, the
unit was starting to show some serious signs of improvement.
Now it wasn't perfect, no one's going to say it was,

(39:42):
but they were looking to be a lot better, and
especially a lot better than what we've seen the last
couple of years. I again, and especially you know Evan
Neil has obviously not lived up to expectations the last
three years, but there is you know, some encouragement now
that he's moved inside that he could potentially and it's
a big if, but potentially turn his whole career around

(40:06):
with this move inside to guard. And as you mentioned,
who knows he could end up winning the starting guard position.

Speaker 2 (40:12):
We don't know, but.

Speaker 4 (40:14):
Just well, I want to say this much enough to
cut you off. I mean, because I agree with you.
I mean, you are seeing uh former first round pick,
especially at the tackle positions, transitioning inside. We saw them
back to we're seeing it with Neil. The Saints they
just announced, I believe the other day, that they're moving
their former first round pick inside. I believe it was
Trevor Penning. His name was they're moving him in.

Speaker 2 (40:37):
I didn't see that announcement. Is he is he going
to guard?

Speaker 4 (40:40):
Yes, he will be going to Okay, that was that is?
That is on the page. Okay, But I mean, I
guess for me, what because I agree with a lot
of the points of what you guys are saying, and
I guess I didn't need a phrase it in the
sense of they have not addressed it, because they have.
I guess they haven't. What I meant to say is
they haven't hit on a lot of those picks. They
throw darts, but they haven't hit a lot of bulls

(41:02):
eyes with those darts. And it's easier said than done,
of course, But I just I worry about Jackson dart
next and this is this is so far down the road,
but next year going into an offense where you still
may have Thomas there, especially if he's healthy. We don't
know if the Lumino is going to be here. We
don't know Neil's going to be here, hopefully you know,

(41:24):
he could turn things around. We don't know if they
have Rowland's going to be So there's just a lot
of guys that we have here currently that may not
be here next year. And we're hoping that the guys
that we can bring in can can gel and protect
our possible future franchise quarterback. And all that I ask
really is, you know, if Joe Shane is retained, which

(41:44):
we all hope that he is, you know, just attack
that offensive line the same way you do with you know,
with bringing in a player like Darren Waller, who you
can argue the Giants really did. Indeed you going signing
U signing and training training for Brian Burns. I really
would like to see him, you know, especially discree agency

(42:05):
coming up next year to really attack the offensive line,
because you know, we have a lot of what if
and a lot of I hope.

Speaker 3 (42:13):
Yeah, Chris, I'll let you go with this thought. Chris,
and I appreciate the call. Thank you very much. Please,
you know, keep listening to the program. I'll send you
off with this though. I think what the Giants have
done their philosophy, their strategy here has been to try
to get the offensive line to play at a satisfactory

(42:36):
level through quantity. You heard Matt earlier saying the program
they didn't have enough depth that they could reasonably count
on to get the job done.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
So what have they done.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
They've added a lot of quantity. That offensive line room
is busting at the seams. They can't even fit the
guys in the door. There's so many guys candidates in there,
hoping that if you've got a lot of numbers that
will suffice and somehow between those numbers you'll have five
guys who can somehow raise their level, become starters and

(43:09):
get it done. I think in general, the philosophy has
been to add quantity to that room because quite frankly,
adding top fight offensive lineman is incredibly expensive. Incredibly expensive,
and with the Giants having an understanding that their defense,

(43:29):
you know, they they want the defense to drive the
wagon here.

Speaker 2 (43:36):
That's the idea.

Speaker 3 (43:37):
They want this team to climb the ladder in the
NFL by riding on the shoulders of the defense. This
is a defensive first team. I think we both agree.

Speaker 2 (43:47):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (43:48):
So if you're gonna go that route, you're gonna spend
your premiere bucks outside of obviously Andrew Thomas. Okay, you're
gonna spend more your premieer box on some of those
defensive players. Obviously they spent big money on Holland and
a de Bow and Brian Burns. When they made the

(44:09):
trade for Burns, you know, Bobby Okerrike got some good money.
Dexter Lawrence got resigned to a big contract. Because we
all know defense wins, right. Defense is the best way
to contend, best way to be competitive. Load up your
defense and then maybe you just get quantity n offense
and hope that some guys are gonna be good enough.

Speaker 2 (44:30):
I understand the philosophy makes sense, No, it does.

Speaker 6 (44:35):
And you know, I have obviously not spoken directly to
Joe about this, but I feel pretty confident in saying
that if Jackson Dart, or when Jackson Dart eventually gets
into a game or games and takes over and shows,
you know, at least some promise he doesn't have to
go out there and light the league on fire, but

(44:56):
enough confidence where the Giants are going in the next year,
being like, we think we have our.

Speaker 2 (45:00):
Guy here right.

Speaker 6 (45:02):
If that is the case, I can guarantee you there
will be resources put towards.

Speaker 2 (45:07):
The offensive line in the offseason. Oh, I agree, whether.

Speaker 6 (45:10):
It's bringing back, you know, guys like Jermaine aluminor Greg
Van Rodin, signing other guys, drafting guys.

Speaker 2 (45:17):
If Jackson Dart shows like we think he could be
the guy, they will.

Speaker 6 (45:21):
Do all that they can to give him the protection
he needs to fully develop and get to that franchise
quarterback level.

Speaker 2 (45:28):
I have no doubt about that because Joe Shane.

Speaker 6 (45:31):
The one of the things he's done well since he
got here is he attacks obviously positions of need each
off season. Now, Chris, I know you brought up you know,
not needing Darren Waller or not really needing Brian Burns,
but I disagree with the Giants trade for Darren Waller.

Speaker 2 (45:46):
Yeah, it was a swing, and with him retiring after
your year, I g you can call it a swing
and a miss.

Speaker 6 (45:51):
But the Giants did not have a number one pest
catcher in their offense. That's just a year before Milik
Neighbors was here. The wide receiver room was really barren.

Speaker 2 (45:59):
It was pretty pretty empty. Outside of Slayton, who's not
a thousand yard receiver.

Speaker 6 (46:03):
There were slated There was Wandel Robinson, but who was
coming off of his season ending injury as a rookie.

Speaker 2 (46:09):
Jalen Hyatt was.

Speaker 6 (46:11):
This was before Jalen Hyatt was even drafted, so there
wasn't other than Darius Slayton. There wasn't a whole lot
that they knew that they could count on. So I
think that the swing for Darren Waller was warranted for sure.
Obviously it didn't end up playing out how they would
have wanted, but I don't think anyone predicted him retiring
so early, just after one year.

Speaker 2 (46:31):
And in terms of Brian Burns, like.

Speaker 3 (46:32):
You have heard any of his music, he shouldn't have retired.
I'm just saying, I'm sorry, Darren.

Speaker 6 (46:38):
I'm not even gonna go there, but okay, And then
in terms of the addition of Brian Burns, I guess
they had spent the fifth overall pick in twenty twenty
two on Kvon, but they needed someone to play opposite him,
and they thought that they by training for Brian Burns,
they were going to have a top level, top tier
ed rushing duo, which we still haven't gotten to see

(46:58):
the full potential of those two between both of those
guys dealing with injuries last year, but now you have
Abdual Carty of three very talented edge rushers. I do
think that Bright the Giants needed an elite pass usher
last year, So I just I don't agree with you
saying that like the Giants didn't necessarily need those two positions,
because they kind of seriously did. And just to piggyback

(47:22):
off of that, the offensive line, they will address it
in the offseason if it is if Jackson Dart shows promise,
or even if the offensive line does not perform up
to expectations this year, they will go out and get
guys next year then that they hope them will be
able to take the offensive line to where it needs
to be. But point just being Joe is able. Joe

(47:44):
addresses points areas of need. He's done it every off
season as he got here, I have no doubt that
he will do it again when it comes to the
offensive line.

Speaker 3 (47:52):
Yea, our second bold prediction to piggyback off of his
on June twenty third, twenty twenty five, I should the
Giants will pick an offensive lineman no later than the
second round in the April draft.

Speaker 2 (48:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (48:07):
I mean, even if the offensive line plays great this year,
I feel like that is still a very fair.

Speaker 3 (48:11):
Detionensive lineman early in April. There is no doubt in
my mind it's time to now spin the carousel and
get to that position.

Speaker 2 (48:20):
Well, the last it's that simple.

Speaker 6 (48:23):
The last draft pick that was our day one or
Day two picks been an offensive lineman was JMS, which
in this upcoming draft will be three years since that selection.
So yeah, I agree, it would be then time to
add another guy early.

Speaker 3 (48:37):
We go to Rob in New London, Connecticut. You're next
on the program.

Speaker 2 (48:40):
Hello, Hey, p.

Speaker 7 (48:44):
Dot Man, how's it going today?

Speaker 2 (48:45):
Well? How are you? How you doing?

Speaker 5 (48:47):
Rob?

Speaker 8 (48:48):
How am I in ninety nine degrees in the shade?

Speaker 7 (48:51):
But okay?

Speaker 9 (48:55):
Well, but not the reason why I called? And you
know what, we don't care about nobody cares about my
problems anyway. So with the Giants, though, real quick, I.

Speaker 7 (49:06):
Have two points. One is the current point and then I, Paul,
I have a historic question for you. I really think
it doesn't get spoken about. The Giants are steel. Yeah,
we Evan Neil as an exactly. I guess you could
call him a pseudo bust at this point. I mean,
you're still on the team, We're still paying the place
to hear me for that Cadarius Tony pick. That that

(49:28):
is still like the gift that keeps on giving. And
you know, I I maybe it'll take another year for
that to go by the boards.

Speaker 8 (49:35):
But I don't know what you guys.

Speaker 7 (49:37):
Think about that.

Speaker 9 (49:37):
But that Cadarius Tony pick is still haunting us, I think,
and well.

Speaker 6 (49:42):
Just I don't know, real quick on the real quick
on that obviously, you know he did not play the
way anyone would have hoped when that pick was made
here and back in twenty twenty one. But the Giants
were able to trade him to the Chiefs, so obviously,
and then the pick, the pick that they got they
then flipped for Darren Waller, who was that exact pick,
which again, you know, looking back, no one had thought

(50:06):
that Darren Waller would be retiring just a year after
that trade. But I don't necessarily know if i'd say
that the Giants are, you know, still feeling the effects
of that swing and a miss pick of Tony. I mean,
that was that was the previous regime. That was the
previous regime. Like, no one really thinking about that much
yet anymore.

Speaker 2 (50:26):
I don't. I don't want to.

Speaker 3 (50:28):
Put too many hopes on Trey Hawkins, but they also
got the pick they used on Trey Hawkins in that deal.

Speaker 2 (50:35):
He's at least still here.

Speaker 3 (50:36):
I don't know if he's going to necessarily find his
way into the rotation. Obviously, he was a late day
three pick, and to this point, you know, there hasn't
been a whole lot of production there. But he does
have some skills and he's still on the team. So
let's just hold off until he is either not on
the team or we actually earned some reps before we

(50:59):
actually of him a final grade.

Speaker 8 (51:02):
Okay, Paul, you were on the sideline for I'm assuming
you were there for Jim Burt as well as Leonard
Marshall Waite hit do you think, I mean what hit you?

Speaker 7 (51:13):
Did you feel more because they were still they were
too devastating hits.

Speaker 3 (51:18):
I mean the play the playoff hits against Joe Montana
against San Francisco.

Speaker 2 (51:23):
The two hits.

Speaker 3 (51:24):
Yeah, one a Giants Stadium and one in Canas. Yes, yes,
I know what you mean. I still think that the
greatest is the Leonard Marshall one.

Speaker 2 (51:35):
That's that's the that's the one got the lond.

Speaker 3 (51:38):
The Leonard Marshall hit on Montana ended his career with
the forty nine ers. He never played another snap for them,
wound up signing with Kansas City as a free agent
because Steve Young inherited the job. That that ended the
Montana forty nine ers era. So and and really, when
you think about it, if you remember the play, Leonard

(51:58):
Marshall actually was out on the ground, he had made it,
he had made the pass rush from his end position
and actually had gotten knocked down and was crawling on
his hands and knees to get up as he chased
Montana in the pocket, got to his feet and then
absolutely blew him up.

Speaker 7 (52:19):
So I think, you know, the nineteen ninety Yearbook of
the New York Giants has like the best musical score
for the sack when Matard Marshall hit him.

Speaker 4 (52:30):
It was unbelievable.

Speaker 7 (52:31):
I still get shows when I see that musical score
and oh I know that, I get it.

Speaker 2 (52:36):
I get it.

Speaker 3 (52:37):
I just watched the full replay of the nineteen eighty
one playoff game against the Eagles. Just watched it over
the weekend. I had to do it, had to do it,
and I had goosebumps all up and down my arm.
It was incredible watching Rob Carpenter do his business, and
you know, Wally Henry with the fumbles and lt with
all the pressure that he was putting on them, and

(52:57):
you know, it was you know, great moments in Giant's
history when you go back and you watch them again,
if you're watching them as not necessarily even a highlight,
but if you're actually watching the actual game tape itself. Man,
oh man, you know that stuff. That stuff it doesn't
get old. It just doesn't. I'm sorry it doesn't.

Speaker 7 (53:18):
Hey, do you think we have a potential of a
new big blue wrecking crew with the people of you know,
the good old days of like the linebackers that are.

Speaker 3 (53:26):
Well Pierson Butler, one of you know, Pierce of Butler,
who just walked back in the room one of our
producers on the program is trying to come up with
a name for the three pass rushing linebackers. So if
you'd like to make a suggestion where we're kicking a
few of them around, they're gonna have to do something
first though. We can't give them a nickname.

Speaker 6 (53:43):
Well, you got to include decks in the group. You
can't adjust the ads, you guys, it's the whole pass rush.

Speaker 3 (53:47):
Whatever it turns out to be. We're open to suggestions
on this program. And if after a month or so,
they're beating the stuffing out of people, we're gonna have
to give.

Speaker 2 (53:57):
Them a nickname.

Speaker 3 (53:57):
So we're open to suggestions, right, Yeah, I liked I
think you should call him Omaha Beach or.

Speaker 7 (54:05):
Something like that.

Speaker 8 (54:06):
And I think that would be a great like that's
like World War two history.

Speaker 3 (54:10):
Yeah, I don't know if we want to go military there,
that might be a little disrespectful because we have great respect.

Speaker 8 (54:15):
For the military, right Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right.

Speaker 7 (54:18):
My bad. I'm actually retired Navy too, So.

Speaker 2 (54:20):
Oh, thank you for your service. That's awesome. We appreciate it.

Speaker 7 (54:24):
Yeah, cheap petty officer retired. Okay, Well, hey, look I'll
let you guys go.

Speaker 2 (54:27):
Thanks, thank you, thanks for appreciate it. Two one nine,
three nine four five one three cool phone call. Yeah,
just to go back to the Darren Waller and then
we can close this. Yesh.

Speaker 6 (54:38):
Just want to say that the pick that the Raiders
ended up using that the Giants trader for Darren Waller
was used on Trey Tucker, who in two seasons has
eight hundred and seventy yards and five touchdowns total. Now,
I'm not not to say that the Giants would have
used that pick on him, obviously, but the pick that
the Giants did give up has not gotten the most production,

(54:58):
so I again, fair enough. I just don't think it's
fair to say that necessarily the Giants are still feeling
the effects of that.

Speaker 2 (55:06):
It was.

Speaker 6 (55:06):
It was not a good pick, and obviously there were
better options now looking back that the Giants could have used,
but again that was a previous regime, so.

Speaker 3 (55:14):
They get more value out of that pick than they
would have added Darren Waller CD.

Speaker 6 (55:19):
We can fully turn the page on that now. Yes,
we wanted to close that out. In terms of a nickname,
I mean the Fantastic four we've we've thrown around a
few Pierce soon have you? Did you keep track the
other day, especially with the new Fantastic Four movie coming
out this summer. I mean maybe with you know, Burns,
cave On, Abdual and Decks. Maybe, but I don't want

(55:42):
to exclude the other guys in the past rush because
there's there's.

Speaker 2 (55:46):
More than just those four said Rushmore.

Speaker 6 (55:50):
That's even I feel like that's taken Fantastic four to
another level.

Speaker 2 (55:54):
I thought not Rushmore was the best one so far.

Speaker 6 (55:56):
Oh but I mean talking about Mount Rushmore, you're talking
about the greatest of all time. That's just putting some
lofty expectations. I know, I know, if they go out
and have a record set a year.

Speaker 2 (56:07):
But see, that's not.

Speaker 3 (56:07):
How he means it.

Speaker 2 (56:09):
He means that. He means.

Speaker 3 (56:12):
He means Dexter Lawrence is the mountain, and Rushmore means
you're sending three guys.

Speaker 2 (56:17):
I get it. I know exactly how he came up with.
It's a nice little pun. But John did John didn't.

Speaker 3 (56:21):
Say to him, but Mount Rushmore indicates the greats of
the greats on the mountain and that doesn't really work,
not yet at least.

Speaker 6 (56:28):
Well, I hope, I hope you're from now we're looking
back and talking about this year, this season's pass rush
as the mount rushmore and Giants think about.

Speaker 3 (56:36):
Think about like the four pass rushers they could put
on the field during the poor sales are at one
point they are George Martin, Leonard Marshall, Carl Banks, and
Lawrence Taylor.

Speaker 2 (56:47):
I mean, really, good luck to every quarterback who played
against those guys.

Speaker 3 (56:54):
Anyway, folks, we got a couple of quick promos to
remind you, hey, peerceon, you might as well get back
over here.

Speaker 2 (56:59):
We got to hear about the huddle.

Speaker 3 (57:01):
What do you guys got up there on the on
the on the sit today Right now, we have.

Speaker 10 (57:04):
The running back group up that we did interviews at
media day for okay, and the quarterbacks are up too,
So all those position position group interviews will be going
up this week and next week.

Speaker 6 (57:15):
And yeah, yeah, Johnning back one was posted also to
giants dot com. So the video is up and it's
Devin Singletary, camp Skataboo and Turbo Miller right those three.

Speaker 10 (57:27):
And we'll have a standalone with Tracy going up tomorrow
as well.

Speaker 6 (57:30):
There you go, so you'll hear from the top four
plenty of the top running backs on the Giants roster
between today and tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (57:37):
Plenty available.

Speaker 3 (57:38):
And if that's not enough and you missed the beginning
of our program, go back and listen to Matt Derek
of Chiefs Digest as we previewed the Giants in Kansas
City Chiefs scheme, which will be Week three of the
regular season right here at MetLife Stadium in prime time,
and that is already predicting the Giants win.

Speaker 6 (57:55):
No I said, I'm predicting av Carter to show out
on Sunday Night football.

Speaker 2 (58:00):
I specifically said, I'm not predicting wins or losses. He's not.
He's not. I'm just giving it.

Speaker 6 (58:05):
But also just the huddle that Pearson mentioned that went
up on Friday, the Giants quarterbacks John sat down with
Jackson Dart and Jamis Winston, which you know, the first
round pick, and Jameis Winston mister bubbly personality, mister Foster funt.
So that that is also up highly recommend giving that

(58:25):
given that a watch.

Speaker 3 (58:26):
Also, Giant season tickets for the twenty twenty five season
are available. If you want to hang out at metlif
Stadium with the ball club this fall with a membership,
you stay connected to the team all year round, not
just on game days, with exclusive member access and benefits.
To learn more about a New York Giants season ticket membership,
visit Giants dot com, slash tickets, and of course, as always,

(58:50):
The Giants TV is a free mobile app download that
onto your phone, doesn't cost a thing, and you get
access to all kinds of fun stuff, highlights, jokes, goofy questions,
and you get to see some of the off the
field personality that some of these guys have, including Jamis Wednesday.

Speaker 2 (59:07):
He certainly has personality.

Speaker 3 (59:09):
Sure he is a character, there is no doubt about that.
We thank Matt Derek, the publisher, lead editor and lead
writer for Chiefs Digest, for joining us today. If you
go back to the archive again, first twenty five minutes
or so, we previewed the Kansas City Chiefs, the Giants
week three opponent. That will do it for this edition

(59:31):
of Big Blue Kickoff Live. We are back with another
live program tomorrow at twelve thirty pm Eastern time. Do
you know who the team is for the preview?

Speaker 2 (59:41):
Look real quick, I do not remember, but Chargers. Chargers.

Speaker 6 (59:46):
It's the schedule that was sent out a couple of
weeks ago. Is to believe are Chargers.

Speaker 2 (59:50):
Well was sticking with the AFC right now? You and
Lance tomorrow? Okay, it's oh I thought I was off tomorrow.
How about that. I guess I'll be back.

Speaker 3 (01:00:00):
I'll do it for this edition of Big Blue Kickoff
Live for Matt's sidetek on pol Totino. We'll see you
again next time here on giants dot com. So long, everybody,