Big Blue Kickoff Live 9/19 | Matchups vs 49ers

Madelyn Burke and Lance Medow give the latest news on Saquon Barkley's status, talk about getting quarterback pressure, and take calls from fans. SUBSCRIBE NOW **Apple** | **Spotify** | **Google** | **Pandora** | **iHeartRadio** :00 - Barkley updates 12:10 - Calls 22:25 - Edge rushers 37:35 - Offensive line 50:00 - Creating pressure

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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.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
It because you're on Giants dot Com.

Speaker 3 (00:11):
You know what I saw New York Giant Crime.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
And the Giants Mobile App.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Seventy one tundown.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
We all we're all tamping.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
It well happen part of the Giants podcast Network. Let's
go on with the bunch of Crais Dogs has a.

Speaker 4 (00:26):
Hot Welcome to Big Blue Kickoff Live, presented by Cadillac,
the official luxury vehicle of the New York Football Giants.
Thanks for being with us. Madeline Burke and Lance Meto
with you. The phone number here is two A one
nine three nine four five one three. Find us on
Twitter at hashtag Giants Chat. I'm at Madelein Burke. He's
at Lance Meadow, m E d O Wig And as

(00:47):
a reminder, you can find the archive of this show
and our entire podcast network on the Giants Mobile app,
podcast platforms Everywhere and Giants dot Com slash podcast. Lance.
I'm thrilled to be doing my first BBK with you.

Speaker 5 (00:58):
Absolutely yes, as mutual We'll see how this experiment and
what the callers bring to the table. But it's always
going to be an adventure here on Big Blue Kickoff Live.

Speaker 4 (01:06):
Always a good time, always a good time, getting the
callers involved in again to a one nine three nine
four five one three is the number. Listen. It's a
short week. The Giants are still out in Arizona. We're
shaking things up all across the board as we rework
the schedule because it's a short week. I mean Thursday
night football Giants had two Arizona and of course or
two say Francisco. Of course a big news Lands. We

(01:27):
saw Saquon Barkley dealing with that ankle injury in Sunday's game,
not likely or not expected to play, reports that he
could be out for a few weeks, and like a sprain,
ankle ain't nothing to play with. So what are your thoughts?

Speaker 5 (01:39):
Yeah, I mean you certainly don't want to mess with this.
You look at Saquan's history, Matteline. This is the third
time in five years that he's dealt with some type
of an ankle injury. In twenty nineteen he missed three games,
twenty twenty one, he missed four. So unfortunately this is
nothing new. But to your point, especially on a quick turnaround,
it goes without saying you never want to put a
player in a pit position where he's going to aggravate it,

(02:01):
and you don't want to bring him back too soon
because we've seen, whether it's ankle injuries, hamstring issues, calf issues,
you name it. You know, a player comes back, tries
to overdo it, and then what appears to be a
two to three week injury becomes a lingering seven to
eight week injury. God forbid, right, So this to me
is a no brainer. You sit him, you arrest him,

(02:23):
you let him take his time. I know you just
mentioned there are multiple reports, the team is not admitting
anything in terms of timeline, So you do the math.
Could he come back madeline for the Sunday night Bills
game if you go and look at the next three weeks. Possibly,
But you know, once again, every ankle injury is different,
and just because he missed three to four games the
last time doesn't mean that it's going to follow the
exact same game play.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
Right, And like you said, every ankle injury is different.
You look at an injury like this and there could
be a projected timeline, but you know the way it's handled,
the travel all that it comes into play. One An
interesting part about this schedule that the Giants have right
now is they've got a Thursday night game this week.
Their next game isn't until a Monday night, October twond
at home against the Seahawks. So when you have that

(03:04):
big of a stretch in between games two, whether or
not it helps take one, I think in general the
health of the team will be benefited by that long
gap between weeks three and four.

Speaker 5 (03:12):
Yeah, and that holds true for a bunch of the
other players like a Ben Brettison, who think can cushion protocol?
I mean, the chances of him playing Thursday, just my
personal opinion, I think are very slim because sure, normally
guys need about a full week to get through could
cushion protocol?

Speaker 2 (03:24):
So that'll help him.

Speaker 5 (03:25):
And then even a guy like Andrew Thomas, Yeah, but
he doesn't suit up on Thursday. Now you have an
extended week till the next game against the Seattle Seahawks.
So the schedule cooperates from that standpoint. But I think
as far as Saquon Barkley is concerned, you can imagine how.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
Frustrated he must be because the last.

Speaker 5 (03:41):
Thing you want to have to go through given a
the contractual situation, but putting that aside.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
To me, it's more of.

Speaker 5 (03:48):
He's been through this before and he understands, Okay, here
we go. What the rehab process is going to be. Like,
I know a lot of people are looking at he
took his helmet off and he threw it down.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
And everybody saw that image.

Speaker 5 (03:59):
I mean, to me, I think he was just coming
to the grips in the moment if this turns out
to be what I went through in the previous years.
He's sort of embracing mentally, Okay, there's going to be
a multi week thing, and this is the last thing
that I want to have to go through right out
of the gates in week two.

Speaker 6 (04:12):
Right.

Speaker 4 (04:12):
And of course, of course the frustration is completely relatable. Right,
you go through that, you feel it. You know, he
knew right away that he had something wrong. He was
slipping up and down the sideline. He saw I'm throwing
that helmet because he was frustrated the fact that he's
back on the field with his teammates. They agreed to
terms on a deal. They're out there and it's like, no,
I don't want to miss this. We're doing something special,
and this is of course, late in the fourth corner

(04:33):
amidst a comeback that this team was putting together. They
had not yet fully completed it yet too, So I
think he was experienced experiencing not just the frustration of
the coming weeks, but of the moment of look at this,
we're almost there, We're almost across the goal line and
getting this comeback done. It's relatable to say, oh, I
just want to be out there with my teammates and
helping them get this well.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Plus, he had one of the biggest runs down the stretch.

Speaker 5 (04:54):
He had a run where he made about seventy five
other guys miss and then go you know, was weaving
in and out of traffic. So we know what he's
capable of doing and how much of a game changer
he is. And I know a lot of people are
now wondering, Okay, moving forward, how do you fill the void? Well,
the good news is they have some depth. Matt Brida,
he's been in the system. He's been with Brian Dable
going back to their Buffalo days, and he actually is
a former San Francisco forty nine er right himself and

(05:17):
Eric Gray they just drafted and they have Gary brightwell,
so you're not pressed upon.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
An issue where it's a numbers game.

Speaker 5 (05:23):
I think you have three guys that bring something a
little bit different to the table. But I mean, let's
not be naive magdelin. Saquon brings an element to the
running game sure that none of those three other guys
can do. And from San Francisco's defensive standpoint, right, you're
preparing for the Giants on a quick turnaround, it's a
lot easier to digest the fact that you got to
deal with those three guys is opposed to trying to

(05:43):
chase down Saquon Barkley. It'd be the equivalent of if
you took Christian McCaffrey right, have the lineup for the
Niners right, and you started to turn into the backups.
The Giants is certainly not losing sleep over that. That's
a pleasant surprise to them. So it's the equivalency from
that standpoint. But I think of the Giant its offensive
line can piggyback off of what it did against Arizona.
There's no reason why they can't have a semblance of

(06:06):
a run game. It's because you're not going to have
maybe those same backbreaking plays that Saquon Barkley presents.

Speaker 4 (06:12):
Yeah, and just want to give a quick at tip
two to Matt Brita because Matt Brada coming into the
fourth quarter cold, right, He's cold off the bench and
getting that five yard run and making an impact right away.
I think this is a guy too, if given the rock,
if given opportunity. In San Francisco, the place he started
his career as an undrafted free agent in twenty seventeen,
he led the forty nine Ers in rushing in twenty eighteen.

(06:32):
He was a part of the forty nine Ers team
that made it to the Super Bowl. In twenty nineteen,
it wasn't on the active roster for the game, but
they you know, the Niners loss to the Chiefs of
course that year. But this is a team that he's
got a lot of memories for, and there's always I
don't care what anybody says, if you're playing against a
team that you've spent significant time, you want to show
them what they're missing, right.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Absolutely, Yeah, I'm sure that's going to be on his mind.
It'll be now for him. It's a nice.

Speaker 5 (06:55):
Unexpected opportunity, right because I mean, the last thing you're
thinking about is a teammate like Saquon Barkley going down,
but Brida, Brightwell and Gray, I think they all have
different skill sets. So the positive is a there's not
a lot of film of Eric Gray exact, he's only
had two games into his career and he's mostly been
a special teamer. Then you look at Gary Brightwell, there's
also been some flashes. I actually thought Brightwell did a

(07:17):
nice job last season in some spot duty.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
If you look at the majority.

Speaker 5 (07:21):
Of his runs, I mean more often than not, he
was getting at least five yards per Carrie, So you
know that's more of the big bruiser element that he
brings into play. And then Matt bred as you mentioned,
he's the polished veteran. So if you have a key
third down and ball security is a concern, I'd say
you put Brida into the equation. He could also catch
the ball on the backfield. So from that standpoint, it's

(07:42):
going to be more of the equivalent of in baseball,
the bullpen by committee, running back by committee, I think
is how the Giants will approach moving forward in the
absence of Saquon Barkley. Also, Brightwell's a special teamer, Madeline
and Eric Gray is now involved in the returns, not
to say that you'd overdo it, but I think you
want to take in that to consideration, especially a young
guy like Eric Gray, you don't want to throw out

(08:04):
X amount of carries, especially on a Thursday night game
back quickly. So that's more of a reason why I
think it makes sense to try to tap into all
three backs, right.

Speaker 4 (08:11):
And you know Gray has been involved in the returns,
as you mentioned too, despite the fact that he did
it less than a dozen times in four years of
college between Oklahoma and Tennessee, Like this is something that's
still new for him, but he's been doing pretty well.
He did quite well with it last week. And he's
another guy who's known to catch the ball out of
the backfield and have those similar skill sets. It's just
what he's been asked to do so far. The fact
that there's not a lot of tape on him could

(08:32):
be a benefit for this team in general. But also
you mentioned the offensive line and the rework. What we
saw last week, he saw a Zudo getting the start
at left guard or left tackle. You saw McKeithen at
right guard. Essentially the rookie mckeithan because he's getting a
mulligan year. He was out all last year with the
ACL the Glowinski coming in at left guard despite the
fact that he's been working mostly on the right side,

(08:54):
you know, kind of figuring some things out early on,
but getting it done. And there were given Daniel Jones
time to throw the ball.

Speaker 5 (08:59):
Yeah, and that is the biggest difference, especially in the
second half Madeline, when they had a number of chunk
slash explosive plays right because unlike the Dallas.

Speaker 4 (09:07):
Game, Yeah, Daniel didn't getting touched.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yes, he had an opportunity to survey the field.

Speaker 5 (09:11):
Now, I will say this a positive development, but there's
a distinct difference between what Arizona presents on the defensive
side of the ball versus what San Francisco presents. At
San Francisco to me, is more in the range of Dallas.
So you take what is offered to.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
You based on the matchup. But it is a matchup
oriented league.

Speaker 5 (09:28):
So what I mean is just because you fared well
against Arizona does not necessarily mean it's going to be
duplicated against San Francisco. I think this is going to
be a really good test for this reworked offensive line
to determine. Okay, can they duplicate what we saw against Arizona,
or was it more of a product of the Cardinals
with Dennis Gardek being their best pass rusher. Is not
the same level of intensity that San Francisco brings to.

Speaker 4 (09:51):
The table, right, But coming off of that, you know
that comeback, that win, thirty one points in the second half,
the incredible performance offensively that they had in that second
half of the game, going into face this Niners defense,
which is exponentially harder to go against, I think that
confidence is going to be a little bit helpful in
that preparation week as well well.

Speaker 5 (10:08):
A completely different story than if you wind up losing
this last game and you don't score any points again,
and yet you can imagine mentally where the team would be.
But you know, we've also seen this Giants team, and
I go back to last season, Madeline, and I think
there's some weight put in this because it was the
same coaching staff. They only lost two games in a
row once, that was it. So this team has a

(10:28):
track record at least underdable small sample size of bouncing
back regardless of what the circumstances are. Daniel Jones also
has a very good track record based on his record run.
He was eight one in one entering the Sunday game,
so now nine one in one. So all of those
I think were positives even if God forbid.

Speaker 2 (10:45):
To your point, they didn't.

Speaker 5 (10:46):
Have that historical comeback and regroup against Arizona. I don't
know if I would be saying to myself, Oh, I'm
worried about how the team's going to react against San Francisco,
because once again, I think they've proven they don't let
one baggage one game carry over to.

Speaker 4 (11:00):
The next exactly exactly, and you know what, Fresh Slate
credit to the coaching staff for keeping them focused on that.
And Giants fans join us on Thursday, September twenty first
at BK Backyard in Brooklyn to watch the Giants take
on San Francisco for Thursday Night Football. Enjoy Modello drink specials,
meet a Giants legend, and enter a raffle to win
game tickets and more. Visit Giants dot com, slash barnetwork

(11:22):
to learn more b A R N E. Oh, bar Network.
There we go. I'm like, how does that? Yes, you
know what that Arizona State Education coming in handle. I'm like,
what does this say? Barn Network anyway, bar network.

Speaker 2 (11:38):
All right, that's a mouthful, you know what.

Speaker 4 (11:39):
That's okay. I can read y'all, And just make sure
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(12:02):
for all our Giants podcasts. Two one is the phone number.
The phone lines are filling up, starting with Tom and Stratford.
What's going on? Tom?

Speaker 3 (12:13):
Hi, Madeline, ty Lance, how you guys today?

Speaker 7 (12:16):
Thanks?

Speaker 3 (12:17):
The tenor of my call has changed three times. At
halftime on Sunday, I was ready to jump off my balcony,
and then at the end of the game, I was
happy again. And then after watching last night's game, I
just got stick to my stomach watching Chubb get hurt,
and I don't know. I'll call during the summer numerous times,

(12:42):
hopping on the players standing firm against an eighteen game season,
demanding better benefits more care after that playing career is over.
I mean, you look at Chubb. He's one of the
fastest guys on the planet and he's going to need
a walker when he's fifty years old now. And it
just breaks my heart. And and the NFL has so

(13:06):
much money they can easily cover taking care of their
their players after their careers are over. And but be
it as it may. I just want to say, also,
I thought the two other things. I thought the announcers
really stunk. I don't know what game they were watching,

(13:27):
but when they were questioning why Bretison was coming out,
I mean, if you look at the replay, you saw
them get smashed in the head by another player, and
then you saw them with you know, lights were on,
but no one was home. Why he's on the ground,
and they're like, oh, I think.

Speaker 5 (13:43):
It's his leg.

Speaker 3 (13:44):
No, it's not his leg anymore.

Speaker 7 (13:46):
It's obviously his head.

Speaker 3 (13:48):
So and then and then there was another play where
some see it came out and he was and Banks
was on him and it was in the flat and
he's like, oh, He's like, get away from me, you
little tiny cornerback. You gotta end up losing a yard
in a play, Banks beat him to the sidelines. So
and then finally did anyone. I don't know if you

(14:11):
guys notice this, but sometime in the first half, when
Danny scrambled and he ran out of bounds to the
sideline on Arizona, one of the players went up to
them and yelled at him, and Danny said something real
quick to him. But you know, the game is two
halves long. So I was wondering if anyone ever went
back to that player on Arizona, if you wanted to

(14:33):
laugh at Danny again.

Speaker 5 (14:35):
So all right, Tom, Well, I appreciate the that's not
a problem, appreciate the phone call. I was a full
broadcasting commentary in terms of the ins and the outs
of the broadcast. I don't personally read too much into
the war of words that occurs during the course of
a game. I think that's just the emotional flow of
a contest. So I mean, I wouldn't be looking to
that as a turning point as to that igniting the

(14:56):
Giants come back. I think they just executed a lot
better in the second half and goes back to what
we talked about earlier in the program. When the offensive
line gives your quarterback time and you got the playmakers,
you're going to see those results. Also, the defense stepped
up got three and outs on the last two possessions,
which was critical because remember in the second half, when
you're down by that much, it's the element of time

(15:18):
that you're fighting against. You're not just fighting the opponent,
you're fighting time. And if you go back and you
look at the five scoring drives, and I wrote about
this on Giants Cover four, it was fourteen plays of
ten or more yards in the second half. Matter they
only had three of that kind in the first half,
So that's fourteen first downs that we're talking about. I mean,
that's a huge volume, and you're getting these big chunk plays,

(15:40):
so you don't have to put together fifteen play ninety
yard drives. If the Giants had to do that, if
they were methodically moving up and down the field in
the second half, this comeback probably doesn't come to fruition
because they just don't have the luxury and the time.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
To do that.

Speaker 5 (15:53):
It was the fact that you had the big bomb
to Jalen Hyatt and then he had another thirty yard pass,
and you had Darius and Isaiah Hodgens and Wilder, but
chunks fifteen yards here, twenty yards here. That's what helped
mount the comeback. There was none of that whatsoever in
the first half.

Speaker 4 (16:11):
Well, and that's what this off season really has prioritized
building in this offense, right, is prioritize finding the tools
and finding the assets to build an offense that can
get you those chunk plays, something that the Giants struggled
with in years past. And it seemed almost as though
the Giants in the first half of the game against
Arizona were playing with a little PTSD off of Dallas, right.

(16:31):
They were playing expecting that same level of pressure, expecting
that same level of attack on the quarterback. And it
really took a while to realize, like, oh wait, no,
we do have a little bit of time here. We
do actually have the ability to give Daniel the time
to send these guys down the field and get those
chunk plays. And you saw that the very first drive
out of the half. You know that fifty eight yard
passed to high it then Daniel Jones runs it in.

(16:52):
It's like boom, boom, boom, You're on the scoreboard. But
the defense as well, they didn't really kind of find
their rhythm until late defense didn't forced punt until what
the fourth quarter? Yep, And they didn't have a three
and out until then as well, so it took a
while for things to come together. But offense leading to
defense leading to offense leading to defense. The momentum as
well is an important part to notice.

Speaker 5 (17:12):
And you look forward here and they're obviously are a
variety of things that need to change on both facets
of the team.

Speaker 2 (17:18):
But you brought up the defense.

Speaker 5 (17:20):
The alarming aspect to me through two games is the
fact that there's no sacks and no takeaways, and it's
very hard to survive madeline in this league when you
don't have you don't necessarily need five sacks a game,
but you need some disruptive form of play that is
going to either change field position or alleviate things to

(17:41):
your offense. And Arizona, once again, they were very fortunate
that the offense was able to overcome some of the
defensive shortcomings.

Speaker 2 (17:48):
You go up against a team.

Speaker 5 (17:49):
Like San Francisco where they're very elusive. They're to me,
the best way to describe the Niners, they're a slippery team.
Guys like Deebo, Samuel Christian McCaffrey. Just when you think
you have them down, they make a tour to make
a spin and then what should be a three yard
game turns into fifteen. So you look at James Connor
and what he was able to do. They can't repeat
that in terms of the mistackling. You got to bring

(18:11):
these guys down or else that's gonna come back to
bite you. And if you can't rely on sacks and
takeaways to do some damage control, you know that's where
all of a sudden it comes back.

Speaker 2 (18:19):
To bite you.

Speaker 4 (18:20):
Well, the other point too, is I mean you look
at Wings defense and you think of wing Martindale defense,
you think about blitz, right, I mean, this man calls
blitz in preseason. He loves the blitz. But yeah, despite
leading the league in calling off the blitz a thirty
nine point seven percent of the time last year, they've
only dialed up the blitz about fourteen point three percent
of the time this year. That's not a lot in comparison.
And you might say, well why you look at the

(18:41):
way that these games have panned out. First of all,
the Cowboys offense didn't even get on the field until
late in.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
The first quarter because of game flow.

Speaker 4 (18:47):
Because of game flow, and because of game flow. There
were less passing plays, there were less dropbacks, there were
less of those blitzable opportunities. So I do anticipate that
that will change based on game flow. And I mean
Zavier McKinney was talking about that earlier this week. He said, Hey,
we just got to be patient, not try to get
out of the framework of our defense. What Wink calls
stick to the plan. We know they'll come in bunches,

(19:07):
and that's kind of how they do right sacks takeaways.
They often come in bunches. And even though this defense
isn't a prior one that schematically seems to prioritize interceptions
and takeaways, you know a lot of the guys personally
are prioritizing it and are saying, hey, you know what,
we're going to get to the ball.

Speaker 5 (19:23):
Well, you look at last season, they had six interceptions.
That was tied for dead last with the Raiders in
the NFL. They were not a big opportunistic team from
that standpoint. As far as total takeaways, as I bring
up my chart from last season, they had nineteen.

Speaker 2 (19:35):
They did have thirteen.

Speaker 5 (19:36):
Fumble recoveries, but that's also a bit of a fluky
statistic because sometimes the ball has to bounce your way. Now,
you can knock the ball out, but Madeline, if you're
not in position.

Speaker 2 (19:43):
To recover it, if they recover it again, the opposition
could recover it.

Speaker 5 (19:46):
So you just you never know how that's going to
play out. And I think the reason why they're not
Winks defense is as opportunistic is if he plays a
lot of man and actually he has not played a
lot of that in the first two games, and I
think maybe that's a product of two young corners getting
their feet wet. Your corners are more concerned with playing
the man as opposed to playing the ball. Now, that's

(20:07):
not necessarily a bad thing, but that's just the nature
of the beast.

Speaker 4 (20:10):
Right. Even though Sunday Hawkins had his hands on it,
came down the ground, forced it out, but it was like, oh,
you know, you wanted that for the young guy too,
because this is a guy sixth round pick out of
Old Dominion getting the starting role and almost had a
great pick in that spot as well. But you know,
they come in the moments and it's about what you
do in that moment too, And if it's an almost
it doesn't show up on a statue.

Speaker 2 (20:30):
Yeah, it's just one of those close plays.

Speaker 5 (20:32):
And also we'll have to sit in your memory because
really there's no statistical category in the NFL that says
you had three close fumble recoveries, you.

Speaker 4 (20:39):
Got a hand on a kid.

Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah, I mean, you don't get any brownie points for that.

Speaker 5 (20:43):
Just like interceptions, they don't give you context to when
it goes off of individual's fingertips like in Daniel's case,
right went off of Saquon Barkley, and then the first
one against Dallas also.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
Was a deflection.

Speaker 5 (20:54):
All of that is important to tell the story, as
every turnover tells a completely different narrative and so forth.
But to me, it's maybe it's not so much the
takeaways here, it's about can you get the quarterback hits
and the sacks up?

Speaker 2 (21:06):
Can you do that?

Speaker 5 (21:07):
And Brock Purdy is a mobile quarterback. He's a guy
that can move out of the pocket and he likes
to lean on his playmakers. So that's why you gotta
find that middle ground where you could disrupt him. But
you also you can't sacrifice being out of position mattling
because once again, if the Niners have an opening, you
go back to that Rams game on Sunday, you know
a lot of those plays. Deebo Samuel had a touchdown,

(21:28):
Purdy dumped it off to him in the left flat
and he's zigzagged in an out of traffic. There must
have been at least five or six missed tackles on
that play. That's why that has to be more of
the emphasis on a short week.

Speaker 2 (21:39):
You want to get the takeaways, you want to get
the sacks.

Speaker 5 (21:41):
But if there's any game where you got to get
back to the fundamentals and keep big play potential in check,
to me, it's Thursday Night against the Niners.

Speaker 4 (21:50):
Absolutely. Absolutely. Giants fans, take your fandom to the next
level with a season ticket membership. Stay connection to the
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are now available for the twenty twenty three season. To
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nine three nine four five one three. Joey from Florida

(22:12):
is on the line. Joey, how's it going?

Speaker 8 (22:15):
Hey, folks, how you doing today? How are you so?
My question, I'm good, thank you. My question is in
regards to our edge play. So, according to Pro Football Reference,
Last year, the Giants drank sixth and pressure rate, which
as was twenty four point three percent, but this season

(22:37):
they've fallen all the way to eighteenth. I'm I'm concerned
about disease UH and his injury history. You know, the
best ability UH for a person in the NFL is
their availability, yep, and you know that it's become evident
that he's not reliable in that aspect and caveon Thibodeau.

(23:01):
He played ninety four of the snaps on Sunday and
he only had one quarterback hit.

Speaker 5 (23:08):
Well overall, in fairness, overall, the entire team has not
had many quarterback hits. I mean, I understand you want
more production out of him, no disagreement, but to just
pinpoint one, I think is not necessarily telling the whole
story because the whole team needs to increase in that department.

Speaker 6 (23:23):
Great.

Speaker 8 (23:23):
Yeah, yeah, but I was going to say, I know
that is because he also dropped into coverage and that's
because of Wink Martindale's scheme. What do you need to
see from like Wink Martindale or just the edge group
overall in order to you know, get those get those takeaways,
get those sacks, and you know, when do we push

(23:45):
the panic button on a these specifically, you know, if
he just can't stay healthy and like, do you see
them going out and maybe trading for a veteran or
what do you think the solution is?

Speaker 2 (23:58):
Well, I don't know about it. Yeah, I don't know
about training for a veteran. Joey In.

Speaker 5 (24:01):
I appreciate the phone call because I think, once again,
you still need to develop the young guys on this roster,
and there's no guarantee that a team is going to
give up a premier edge rusher, considering once you get
them usually retain them. You give him the franchise tag
and you sign them. So I don't know how realistic
that is. As far as hitting the panic button, I
would agree with you. I said this before the season started.
Madeline is eas to me as the X factor this

(24:22):
year because if he could stay on the field, now
you have a complimentary piece to Keeveon Thibodau. Unfortunately, right
out of the gates, he's already dealing with the injury
and he was a limited participant in Monday's practice they
had to walk through.

Speaker 2 (24:35):
So this was a projection. But hamstring injuries are tricky.

Speaker 5 (24:38):
I mean we were talking about the ankle with Saquan
Hamstring's Andrew Thomas is dealing with one. You bring back
a guy too soon, he aggravates it and then all
of a sudden he's out another month. So I understand
if the Giants want to take a very practical approach
to not rush it because you want to the caller's point.

Speaker 2 (24:54):
You want him to get on the field sooner rather
than later. You want him to be a spectator.

Speaker 5 (24:58):
As far as moving forward, they have to do is
they have to disrupt the quarterback. The way you get
takeaways is you hit the quarterback's arm, the ball flies up,
defensive back is in the right place at the right time.
You hit the quarterback in the right spot, he loses
the ball. Look at the Brown Steelers game last night,
my goodness, it was a turnover fiesta left and right.

Speaker 2 (25:18):
There was one issue after another.

Speaker 5 (25:20):
Why because they were hitting Deshaun Watson the Steelers and
as a result they got two turnovers which resulted in touchdowns.
So the easy answer is you got to impact the quarterback.
And I bringing up the numbers, they barely got a
piece of dak. But as you brought up game flow
didn't allow him to get after dak Okay. Now, game flow,
I would argue Madeline against the Cardinals allowed for more opportunity.

(25:40):
True against Joshua Dobbs, especially in the second half when
the game is becoming more competitive.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
He did a nice job. Dobbs.

Speaker 5 (25:46):
I thought he looked much more comfortable than in Week
one against Washington. You could see he was on the
right page with his personnel. But you've got to make
him think twice about where he wants to go with
the ball. And they did have six quarterback hits, so
that was a step in the right direction. Yeah, no sacks,
but six quarterback hits. I think as the quarterback hits
go up, what tends to follow is the sacks will come.

(26:08):
So if I were to give you a volume number,
and I don't know how realistic this is, but if
you continue to get into that six to eight quarterback
hit territory the Giants, it's not going to be too
long before they start getting at least a sack or
two per game. But that's the number you want. You
can't have games where you have two, maybe three quarterback hits.
That has to be higher than five to make a

(26:29):
true impact here.

Speaker 4 (26:30):
Right in as caller mentioned, you know, eighteenth in the
league in pressure percentage nineteen point three percent. It's it's
not terrible, it's not terrible, but it's it's again game flow,
especially in week one, playing into that number. Week two, yes,
there were more opportunities they could have capitalized on. They
did get six hits, as you mentioned, six quarterback hits,
but it's building off of that. And it's all these
almost moments that we talk about that just don't show

(26:51):
up in the stat sheet. I mean, I remember Leonard
Williams first year here. He was like the king of
the almost moment. He'd get there, disrupt a play and
do something that would affect play, but wouldn't show up
on a stat sheet. And so if you're looking at
the stat shehe you like, where's Leonard Williams. But you're
watching the film, you're like, oh, okay. You know that
almost is the enemy of excellent right there. And you
know you talk about these hamstring injuries, you oh, go ahead,

(27:12):
you have some no, no, go ahead. You talk about these
hamstring injuries too, and they are, like you said, they
are the biggest not Achilles hill, they are the biggest
hamstring of athletes because you come back unintended. Right, You
come back from it and you feel like, Okay, I'm
ready to go. I can do it, I can run,
I can I can do everything I want to do.
But then you get in game speed and that's just
that next level, that twitch that is just not there.

(27:34):
They have these machines in the training room called a
nordboard that actually test how much strain and how much
ability your hamster, how much strength your hamstring has. Because
there's so much science that goes into just getting the hams,
you'll feel like, no, no, I don't know what you're talking about.
I'm fine, I'm one hundred percent, and it's like, no,
you're not. And so getting that one especially to be
right is important because if you come back too soon,

(27:55):
you'll tweak it and it'll be an extra few weeks.

Speaker 5 (27:58):
Well, I think it goes to what you're saying, there's
this thing difference and this applies to Saquon Barkley's ankle injury.

Speaker 2 (28:03):
You could feel good, but if you can't cut, if
you don't.

Speaker 5 (28:06):
Have that speed aspect, you're going into the game handicap.
The defense is zoned to eventually get a read on you.
No different than if you ask the elite pass rushers
in this league, Mattle and if Andrew Thomas were to.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
Play with a hamstring issue, and we saw it in
the Dallas game.

Speaker 5 (28:21):
I mean, he was trying to give it as all,
but you knew he wasn't anywhere close to maybe even
eighty five percent. The pass rushers lining up opposite you,
they sense that you know what they can then do
to get an edge on you. So sometimes a player,
he may be good enough to get into a game,
but he's not at the point where he could be
as effective from a football standpoint, and that's where you

(28:43):
have to draw the line.

Speaker 4 (28:44):
And speaking of injury, we've got some injury news right here.
Brian Dable reportedly interrupted a question about the widely reported
timeline on Saquon's return and says the running back has
not even been ruled out for Thursday's game. Tom Rock
tweeting that he spoke with Barkley this morning feeling better.
Quote considerable progress in the past day or so is
the phrase that Dable used. Ryan Dunleavy tweeting that Dable

(29:07):
says he's a quote quick healer expects to be a
game time decision Thursday against San Francisco. So major plot
twist right here? Is this?

Speaker 2 (29:18):
You know?

Speaker 4 (29:19):
Is this little gamesmanship? Is this just you know? Does
Saquon suddenly have wolverine healing abilities? Remains to be seen,
But wanted to keep you guys up to date because
of course, Brian Dable is addressing the Giant's media pool
right now, the press pool right now in Arizona.

Speaker 5 (29:34):
Well, I will say this, Brian Dable is the king
of plot twist when it comes to interacted with the media.

Speaker 4 (29:40):
So I love it.

Speaker 5 (29:40):
I can't say I'm surprised to hear him say that.
I mean, he wasn't even.

Speaker 2 (29:44):
Ruling out Andrew Thomas right getting up to the Arizona again.

Speaker 5 (29:47):
So keep in mind, Brian Dable is a product of
the Bill BELICHICKI in school of thought, as I like
to call it.

Speaker 2 (29:53):
He graduated from New England. He was up close in
personal with Bill.

Speaker 5 (29:56):
He knows all the tricks to the trade and listen
of no obligation to tell San Francisco what exactly they're
thinking or the well being of their players. So I
wouldn't expect anything different from Brian Dable. But there isn't
this think difference between what he knows deep down inside
versus what he is bringing to the table with respect
to the media. My personal opinion, and this is just

(30:18):
me speaking, I'd be very surprised if Zaquon Barkley plays Thursday.
I'd be very surprised that Ben Brettison plays on Thursday.
I'm not saying Dable's going to come out and already
rule them out a day or two before. But you
do the math, you put logic together. Highly unlikely those
guys are gonna be on there.

Speaker 4 (30:33):
Highly unlikely indeed. But I guarantee you we'll see a
few headlines about, oh, seg what Barkley could play Thursday,
and our callers and listeners are gonna be like, wait, what.

Speaker 5 (30:40):
We need to build it up to Thursday's game. You
know there is still a day between the dramas there exactly.

Speaker 4 (30:46):
It's the primetime matchup. The drama needs to be there.

Speaker 2 (30:49):
Let's add to it.

Speaker 4 (30:49):
Let's add to it. Hey, Giants fans run or walk
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October eighth, at nine am at MetLife Stadium. Net Proceeds
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(31:11):
live DJ. Register now at giants dot Com. Slash five K.
Five K is so much easier to read than.

Speaker 2 (31:17):
Bar network, bar network.

Speaker 4 (31:19):
Barn at work either way. Two oh one nine three
nine four five one three is the number Big Blue
Kickoff Live with Madeline and Lance. We've got Jim in
New York on the line.

Speaker 9 (31:31):
Jim, how's it going, Hey, how are you today?

Speaker 10 (31:33):
Good?

Speaker 4 (31:34):
Thanks?

Speaker 7 (31:34):
Right?

Speaker 9 (31:36):
A couple of quick questions. First of all, that some
games in the ship by Dave's obviously with this. If
he plays, I'll probably be his backup, So I don't
think it's going to happen. Uh, you know, truly a
strange is the previous regime passed on Mike and mcfad

(31:59):
are not Mike and mcfadd and excuse me Parsons And
that sort of set it back a couple of years
in my opinion. Didn't we pass on him in trade
down to.

Speaker 2 (32:12):
Get to that was the trade to move to Tony correct?

Speaker 9 (32:16):
Okay, probably probably one of the worst moves in the
history of football, but we have to. We have to
live with that because if we had Mike, if we
had Parsons, we wouldn't have had to draft Cavon Thibodeau,
which be perfectly honest with that. At this point, I
know it's only been you know, a season in two games,
but he's a total whiff. I haven't seen anything. I mean,

(32:39):
he he had a few good games last year. He
sacked a third string quarterback in Washington, recovered the fumble
and went into the end zone, and he had a
few decent games late. But if you look at him
this year, he's nowhere near the play. I know he
plays a lot of positions. He's a one trick pony.
When he rushes the past or he goes on the outside.

(33:00):
He never twists on the inside. I don't understand how
you can't teach somebody to twist. I just really completely
disappointed in him, and truthfully, I'd be very surprised that
in two years he's in the Giant uniform. I don't
see anything from him at all. I like your opinion
on that, Well.

Speaker 5 (33:21):
They need to be more disruptive. I don't dispute that.
I'd say the whole team. It clearly it starts with
your premier pass rusher. I think Kavon be the first
one to admit that the production needs the skyrocket. Zizo
Galari needs to get on the field, he needs to
stay healthy. I mean that is obviously the most prevalent
item that they need to address moving forward, because if
they don't disrupt the quarterback, you're not going to get

(33:42):
sacks and you're not going.

Speaker 2 (33:43):
To get takeaways.

Speaker 5 (33:43):
So I think it goes without saying as far as
the Micah Parsons point, and Micah is an absolute disruptor.
But in fairness, when we make the argument overall of
the KUDDA would have should have game, we don't know
if the Giants would have even taken Michaeh Parsons if
they didn't trade with the Bears. Let's not forget about that.
Rashaun Slater, by the way, was still on the board.
He went thirteen to the Chargers. Maybe they take Rashawn Slater.

(34:06):
So I don't know if it's a guarantee they take
Michael Parses. I know everybody wants to play that game,
but it's possible to Giants stay at eleven and they
take a different player.

Speaker 2 (34:14):
You have to at least take that into consideration.

Speaker 10 (34:17):
I do.

Speaker 9 (34:17):
I took it in consideration. The only thing, I mean,
the rumors were a few years ago that he was
a little bit of a head case, and that's one
of the reasons.

Speaker 2 (34:26):
Well there were some off the field questions too, of course.

Speaker 9 (34:28):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so they that's one of the reasons
why they. I think they traded down to get somebody else,
which turned out to be a terrible move. But now, truthfully,
it was the same thing about Kvon Timbeau. There are
questions about what is his conduct of being a player

(34:51):
is too. So you passed, you traded down the pass
and the guy that you thought they had some off
the field issues, he's like all world and then two
years later you take a guy with the exact same thing,
with half the talent.

Speaker 5 (35:07):
Well, I mean, once again, we could sit here and
play the should a game and I appreciate the phone call.
The other thing not to overlook is the fact that
you don't get Darren Waller and Trey Hawkins exactly used
in the Tony So you know there's a trade off here.
I understand Michael Parsons is probably going to go down
as a generational talent. Clearly he's showcasing that in a
very limited resume, but you don't get some of those

(35:30):
other pieces on the defense and in the offensive side
of the ball. So you got to look at it
from that standpoint as well.

Speaker 4 (35:35):
Right, hindsight is always twenty twenty. You can look back
and say, could it, would have, should have. But you're right,
if they had ended up with Michael Parsons, there are
so many domino effects that wouldn't have fallen the same way.
They would have had different draft picks in the subsequent years.
They wouldn't have had the Cadarius Tony trade, which, like
you said, the third rounder went to the Raiders for
Darren Waller, the sixth rounder went to drafting Trey Hawkins,

(35:55):
both impactful players on this current iteration of the Giants.
So butterfly effect, sliding doors, whatever you want to call it.
You know, you look back at it and it's just
it would so many things will be different.

Speaker 5 (36:07):
Well, the other thing that I want to add, Maddeline
is the last caller said that they moved down perhaps
or at least was alluding to it because maybe there were
questions about Micah Parsons and once Again, we don't know
the conversation that went on the draft room, but what
I would add is, I think a big part of
the reason why they moved down is to get the
additional first round pick, right, because they looked at the
roster and said, if we could gain an additional asset
the following year in twenty twenty two, which they did, yeah,

(36:29):
when they drafted Kavon and Evan Neil, that that would
be now adding one guy on each side of the ball,
as opposed to if you stay put you don't have
the additional first round pick. Now, it's a business result
oriented situation I would talk about here, meaning that if
you pick two guys in the first round and they
don't pan out, volume's great, But it's all about what
have you've done for me lately? I get that, But

(36:51):
I think part of the motivation was to get the
additional first round pick. Not necessarily you're worried about who
you may have considered selecting.

Speaker 4 (36:58):
There, and if you get the first round pickditional first
round pick, and a player that you have scouted and
you believe does have potential in this league, then it
works out. In that moment you're going into this not thinking, oh,
this guy's going to be a miss. You're going into
it thinking this is going to be a player that
can impact our roster as is, and then we also
have an additional asset down the way. You never know
in those moments that you're making the right call or

(37:18):
the wrong call. You just do your best with the
information that you've got. The twenty twenty three NFL schedule
is officially out. In single single game tickets are on
sale now. Don't miss the Giants at MetLife Stadium this season.
Visit Giants dot com slash tickets to secure your seat
two one nine, three nine four or five one three.
Dave in Cranford is on the line, Dave, you're on
with Madeline and Lance all right.

Speaker 10 (37:40):
LT was pick third, So whatever we could talk about
this whole day, crazy exactly whatever. I love how Da
bol handles the media. He treats them like mushrooms. Keep
the keeping in the dark and see them some other stuff.
So I love that. I think he's brilliant. I don't
think Barkley plays, but I I so, I guess I.
You know, I'm always big on the coaching, and I

(38:03):
really think that, you know, a Sunday's game was a
real reflection on the coaching and I really liked I
think the biggest thing coming out of Sunday was the
play of you know a Zudu and McKeithen, And not
only in that game. I thought they both played well,
but I think what those two could give to this

(38:26):
staff going forward, just a little bit of depth and
flexibility depending when other guys come back. I don't think
mckeithen's going to be moved out of right card anytime soon.
With the way he played, I think is Zudu showed
himself to be very flexible, and I think that was
was really really good and I think it was an
important change. And ironically, you know, they bench Glowinski and

(38:48):
next thing you know, he's in and played well at
a different position. So I thought that was a great
move by the coaching staff.

Speaker 5 (38:55):
Well, what it is a reflection of is it's a
reflection of, well, before the season starts, you prepare these
guys for those spots by having them take practice reps.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
That to me is what Sunday was a product of.

Speaker 5 (39:08):
You don't get that if josh A Zudu doesn't get
opportunities to line up at left tackle, leading up to
the last few games. You don't get that unless you
move Marcus mckeethen into guard. I mean they had mixing
and matching situations play out during the course of practice,
and that's why I don't think it was a rood awakening.
Not to mention those two guys at North Carolina moved

(39:29):
around a lot, and this goes back to the draft
and how you construct your roster. You can't draft offensive
lineman who only play one spot because you're not going
to get through the season with five guys playing all
seventeen games. So by the Giants going out and finding
players that assume guard and tackle spots, it gave them

(39:49):
a lot.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
More versatility to play with. But I think the practice.

Speaker 5 (39:52):
Reps those two guys got was huge to make them
feel comfortable on Sunday.

Speaker 4 (39:57):
I agree, And I mean as Zudu even at Carolina
didn'tet a lot of reps at tackle, but he did
get a lot of reps a tackle in the last
two years of training camps and Giants practices as well.

Speaker 10 (40:08):
Yeah, I agree, And I would just say about this
game coming up, guys, I think that I think you're
right both of you in terms of the running back depth.
I think that I think they can get production. I
actually think Lancey very good point. I think Brightwell is
a funny runner man. I think he he's a hard
he's you know, more of a he's a strong runner.

(40:30):
And I do think that he, you know, will will
have a role, you know, I think it will be limited.
I do think, you know, we'll see a lot of
our of our main backup. But I think the thing
that you lose with Barkley, which they know, meaning the
offensive staff knows, is the amount of attention he gets

(40:50):
on the amount of eyes that go on him. And
you know, whether it's in the RPO game or even
in the passing game. You saw the touchdown pass you
know to Hodgens. You know, there was a lot of
there was a double team on on Barkley to the
left side that really opened up the path light way
for Hodgens to catch that ball. So you're gonna lose that.

(41:11):
So I really think that this staff is going to
look at at Waller and Hyatt as the two other
players on the team that can draw that type of attention,
particularly highatt you know, you know, I think that you're
going to see his snap count on Sunday on Thursday night, increase.

(41:32):
Even even if his even if his catch count doesn't increase,
I think you'll see a snapcount increase just because you know,
they saw on tape, meaning the forty nine ers saw
on tape everything we saw, which is this guy can
absolutely take the top off of a defense. They're going
to be aware of that. I think that's the Giant's
best offensive, you know, ability to manipulate the defense to

(41:54):
open up other things underneath, whether it's for Slayton, whether
it's for Waller that I back to see them, you know.
And the one guy that scares me on on the
forty nine ers more than anybody else is is Fred Warner,
their middle linebacker. He's he's he's just a he's an
underrated you know in some ways but unknown you know,

(42:16):
he's not botha he's not Parsons or whatever. But he
is as good as it gets. And I think they
give them a lot of trouble. But but love this
coaching staff, love what they're doing. And I think the
last thing I'll leave you with is this, and that
is I think Daniel Jones is thrilled to get back
out there Thursday night and the reason I say that
is because I think he found himself in his own

(42:37):
on the second half. I think he was, you know,
really you know, dialed in, and I think he wants
to get back out there and that's that same energy,
and I think that's going to be the difference for us.

Speaker 2 (42:49):
So thanks guys, you got the phone call.

Speaker 4 (42:51):
And he's right. Fred Warner nine solo tackles to assists
in a sack in Week two game Wrecker, and not
even the most notable of the defensive players.

Speaker 5 (43:01):
Well that's because they got Javon Hargrave, they got big posts,
and they got Eric Armstead who play.

Speaker 2 (43:05):
In front of him so casual.

Speaker 5 (43:06):
He does a nice job of falling under the radar
but putting up numbers that don't go under the radar.
And yeah, he's a fundamentally sound linebacker. They'll apply pressure
with him. He's very good in terms of covering sideline
to sideline. He's an active guy. And when you don't
have to worry about Saquon Barkley, it does give the
defense a little bit more flexibility. Now, as far as

(43:27):
the point of Jalen Hyatt and Darren Waller being attention seekers, sure,
you just wonder do they have.

Speaker 2 (43:34):
The flexibility the Niners to double some of.

Speaker 5 (43:37):
Those guys because they're not worried about bringing an extra
guy into the box. See Arizona, they didn't have that
luxury because Arizona knew if we let Barkley go wild,
they're going to continue to get chunk plays. San Francisco
may say, let's see what Matt Breda and Gray and
bright Ball could do. Let's see if they get the
running game going before we adapt and adjust.

Speaker 4 (43:56):
But also, Lancer's a player he might be not thinking
of in that situation as well. In one Daniel Jones
and what does Daniel Jones do with his legs as well?
And that's also a threat that I think that whether
or not Saques there, they got to be mindful of
Daniel Jones taking off and running as well.

Speaker 5 (44:09):
No one point well taken. I just think though it's
a different combination, especially I'll go.

Speaker 2 (44:14):
Back to the shoals.

Speaker 5 (44:14):
Sure, Jalen Hurts, Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott. This
was last year you had to account for on any
given play, right he can take off. Now that you
remove Saquon, I think you're worried about Daniel taking off.

Speaker 2 (44:28):
But the question is, are you worried about what some
of those other running backs do.

Speaker 5 (44:32):
I think that's why this is a game where if
the Giants could establish the run early, you know, that's
a game changer because that now gives San Francisco something
to think about, because you have to account for Daniel
and the rest of the backs. If the Niners could
shut down the run game, I think that gives them
a little bit more freedom on the back end.

Speaker 4 (44:48):
I agree. I agree to a one nine three, nine
four or five one three. Speaking of the run game,
Hugo in New Jersey is online too, Hugo, how's it going?
You're on with Madeline and Lance?

Speaker 6 (44:57):
Yeah, so I did. I didn't want to talk about
the run game. But I'm just going back to one
of my off season predictions. I predicted that by the
end of the year, Mark Lewinsky would be riding the time.
Now John Schmelk adamantly disagreed. But here we are, third
game of the season and it's clear that Mark Lewinsky

(45:19):
will be on the bench and will be a backup.

Speaker 2 (45:22):
Oh, we don't know that.

Speaker 5 (45:22):
If Brettison's out, which he probably will, then he could
very well be at left guard. Yeah, you go, so
I will jump the gun so quickly.

Speaker 6 (45:29):
Yeah, but I'm saying that's a temporary plug plug in player.
I mean, when Thomas comes back, I think it's pretty
clear that Azudo will be playing next to Thomas. And
I think I made that prediction that those two guys
have really good feet. So it gives the very athletic
left side of the line, and then a big, powerful

(45:50):
right side of the line with Neil and McKeithen, and
then you know John Michael Schmidt's anchoring. I think that's
probably the rest the best combinations. He's a backup player
for injury reasons. He might play this game, but I
just don't see that as the solution. It's either going
to be Brettison or Zuda let guard going forward. So anyhow,
that was my prediction.

Speaker 2 (46:11):
Now, so is this a panel?

Speaker 5 (46:13):
The back phone call is that you must have said
like three hundred times that this was the prediction you've made.
I think you're on the record.

Speaker 2 (46:21):
You were.

Speaker 5 (46:21):
Actually we're documenting in our computer screen to make sure
in case you call up, we're gonna have some theme
music the next time, to make.

Speaker 7 (46:28):
Sure that there's a sweep of Philly this year was
that you hugo.

Speaker 6 (46:33):
It was, well, we'll get to that.

Speaker 2 (46:35):
Yeahant he doesn't.

Speaker 6 (46:39):
Forget I have the ice pack out.

Speaker 2 (46:43):
Well we could tell anyhow.

Speaker 6 (46:45):
Anyhow, I wholeheartedly disagree with you. I think the most
alarming thing on defense is the fact that offenses have
been able to control the line of scrimmage and run
the ball on the Giants, despite a very significant focus
on stopping the run and the resources that were allocated

(47:07):
towards that in the off season. And that has some
feedback loop to the fact that you know, it prevents
offenses from being consistently in high pressure situations that then
lead to sacks and turnover. So I think it's a
little bit of both things, right, But I think stopping

(47:30):
the run is potentially one thing we can fix.

Speaker 4 (47:35):
Uh and tough one against Christian McCaffrey this week.

Speaker 5 (47:37):
Yeah, well James Conner had nearly five yards of carries
so and Dallas, I pointed out, had a high volume
of carries, but they only had four negative runs or
no gain.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
So yeah, the run.

Speaker 5 (47:48):
Defense needs to approve. But I think the really good teams,
you go, they could stop the run in route to
the quarterback and that's what separates the really good defenses.

Speaker 4 (47:56):
And teams have been running on the giants at a
volume fifty one point three percent of the time against giants.
Only three teams have been run on more than the
giants have been, So seams are definitely exploiting that.

Speaker 6 (48:07):
So I think our friend lenn from Columbia, Maryland was
onto something. He says he wants if you want to
put speed on the field, he was essentially suggesting, take
out a linebacker, take out the second linebacker, and keep
the big guys in the mix up front with a
five man front to set up tickets, fence and protect

(48:30):
those linebackers. So you take out a linebacker, you put
a lighter guy in there, maybe your best guy who
fills gaps. I don't know if that's Fimmins or Pinknock
or Belfon or whoever right, but I would go even further.
I say, put thirteen hundred pounds up there. I would
move Leonard Williams to end in the and then three

(48:53):
big guys in the middle and Kivoto at the end
of the line and going forward. Honestly, because o Ja
Laurie does not set a good edge, I would make
him a situational pass rusher and maybe that keeps his
reps down and keeps him more healthy. But I think
for this game, priory should be stop the run, put
party in passing situations, and then try to take your

(49:16):
shots and blitz and do whatever you need to do.
But priory should be stop the run.

Speaker 2 (49:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (49:22):
Well, but once again it goes beyond that to the
standpoint of the tackling has to improve and appreciate the
phone call you go because if you go to the
Arizona game, there are a lot of mistackles. James Connor
would turn what could have been a three yard run
into a ten yard run.

Speaker 4 (49:35):
He was carrying miss tackles twelve.

Speaker 2 (49:38):
That's too high of a volume.

Speaker 5 (49:39):
And San Francisco's great at forcing miss tackles because it's
not just McCaffrey, it's Deebo Samuel and a lot of
their run plays are also by just pitching out into
the flag, so you know, they don't just need to
hand off. They'll toss it to Deebo Samuel and then
they'll allow him to have some yardage after the catch.

Speaker 2 (49:56):
So it's tackling.

Speaker 5 (49:58):
That's why I'm not as consumed with making sure the
big boys are up front, and in fairness, they have
taken Dexter Lawrence off the field, maybe more so than
we've seen in the past. Now you have to do
that over the course of a season. You can't have
one guy playing ninety five percent to the snaps. And
I think most people said to themselves, well, if you're
bringing in Nashan Robbinson a Nacho, you have a reason
to take Dexter Lawrence off.

Speaker 2 (50:18):
The field because you're not worried.

Speaker 5 (50:19):
Last season, when they would take Decks off the field,
teams would pinpoint who would come in and they would
run the ball exactly at that guy. I think with
better depth you figured, okay, that wouldn't happen. So they're
still in the experimental phase from that standpoint. But it's
not to me just having the big guys, because most defenses,
you're going to have situations where the running back gets
to the second level and those linebackers have to bring

(50:40):
those players down. That did not happen very often against Arizona.
That has to change against San.

Speaker 4 (50:45):
Francisco, especially against the San Francisco team that you lance
have called slippery. It is the perfect adjective for this
group and if they are a slippery team going against
a team that's missing tackles against the Cardinals, you got
to clean that up. You got to execute. I mean
so often you see players just kind of looking at
this and thinking, oh, let me close it out and
thinking about the next play. No, no, finish this one. First,
finish this one. Get the guy of the ground. The
Giants official connected TV streaming app, Giants TV brings original

(51:09):
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.
Two o one nine three nine four five one three.
Anthony in Phoenix is on the line. Anthony, You're on
with Lance and Madeline.

Speaker 7 (51:26):
Good afternoon, guys.

Speaker 2 (51:27):
How are you doing right?

Speaker 8 (51:29):
Well?

Speaker 7 (51:29):
How are you wonderful? Especially after that the way we
played in the second half, Your guy, love it. It's
your shows. Just what we're capable of.

Speaker 4 (51:38):
Absolutely, and I can imagine especially for you out there
surrounded by Cardinals fans in Phoenix.

Speaker 7 (51:43):
Well, we've got a band out here. Don't don't think
that everybody came from out of town.

Speaker 4 (51:47):
Oh I saw on the games.

Speaker 7 (51:48):
Out here for twenty four years and every time the
Giants are here. We get good support here. It's just
pretty good. Love it on to the fruiting Niners. I
just want to show us a couple of office and
office and defense an offense. I'd like us to take
the ball. If we get the flip and we have
the option of taking or giving the ball. Most teams

(52:09):
are giving the ball away. I'd like to take the
ball and let's go play fast and lose. Okay, let's
just don't play tentative against this team. Come out and
go after them. The other thing on defense, Look, we
just need to play better. We've got to We've got
to put pressure on them. Williams has really got to

(52:29):
show up. I mean, Dexter was was double team most
of the game. Williams has got to show up. And
Robinson's got to show up. You know we was, we
was nachos. You know, these guys got to show up.

Speaker 2 (52:45):
What do we do.

Speaker 7 (52:46):
I've got a question for what do we do with McCaffrey.
I'd like to put pinnock on him. I don't know
if that's possible because he's a safety, but you know what,
we got to bring him up where all they I
want him to shadow him where every he goes, turn
up goes with him. I think he's he's he is
fast enough, he's big enough, and the way he's playing,

(53:10):
it's just you gotta love that. The way he played
on Sunday. Sure, So I was listening to what you
guys got to say. We got to give kudos a Zudo.
I love what the other guy's mentioned earlier. Zudo played
his hard out and put it to Sertim McKinney. I mean,
he was all over the field. But you're right, we've
got to tackle. We gotta wrap up. If we're not
wrapping up, they're gonna have a big field day with us.

(53:32):
We've got two big problems there with Samuel and McCaffrey,
but we really gotta we can We're not gonna stop McCaffrey.

Speaker 2 (53:39):
But no, but you can limit the big plays.

Speaker 5 (53:42):
I think that's what you're getting and Anthony and I
appreciate the phone call. You're never going to completely shut
down a player, and I don't think any coaching staff
goes in thinking that that's going to be accomplished. But
you can limit McCaffrey to three or four yard runs
as opposed to seven or eight yard runs. And the
reason why that adds up is it goes back to
you want opportunities to get after the quarterback. You got

(54:04):
to put the Niners in third and longs, third and sevens,
third and eight if you keep giving them.

Speaker 2 (54:08):
Third and threes and third and fours.

Speaker 5 (54:11):
And it also gives brock Purty that much more flexibility
in what he can run and Kyle Shanahan, I mean,
they could still very well run the ball on a
third and three.

Speaker 2 (54:20):
They can use.

Speaker 5 (54:20):
Kyle used check their full back to do something crafty.
They get Deebo Samuel out in open space. Whereas now,
if you're telling brock Purty it's a third and eight, okay,
he doesn't have the ability in the luxury.

Speaker 2 (54:31):
To do that.

Speaker 5 (54:32):
So that's what, to me is the biggest thing. It's
the tackling, and that was my biggest takeaway from the
Arizona game. As much as we can focus on sacks
and quarterback hits, if you miss the tackles and you
allow James Connor to get rolling, then it's going to
be a long day and a long afternoon. And that's
exactly what transpired against the Cardinals. You want to hit

(54:55):
Christian McCaffrey at the point of attack and you want
to bring him down because he's a bouncy guy. You know,
you hit him initially, and then all of a sudden
he finds a crevice or a crack and it becomes
in explosive play. The Niners, they thrive on situations like that, Matten.
They thrive on situations where it looks like they're going
to get two yards and then the blink of an
eye it turns into sometimes a twenty yard game. We've

(55:16):
seen that already against the Steelers, and we saw it
against the Rams as well well.

Speaker 4 (55:19):
And that's kind of bringing it back to the point
that you made earlier, is that this week, this week
of walkthroughs leading up to this Thursday night game, is
really about getting back to the fundamentals, getting back to
the basics of the game, getting back to executing and
not trying to do anything fancy and not trying to
get on a highlight reel, just executing your position doing
you know, to use the Belichick phrase, do your job
and do it well. And that's what this team needs

(55:40):
to really get down to, and that is how they
will find their way into takeaways, into sacks in bunches
into execution. If they just execute and do their assignment
against this team, not easy to do, but it's something
that that's the challenge at hand.

Speaker 2 (55:54):
Well.

Speaker 5 (55:54):
And the other thing I think that you're looking at
if you're the Giants is and this goes back to
the last cooler's point. I don't know if it comes
down to needing the football first, but you don't want
to dig yourself in the last two holes.

Speaker 4 (56:05):
Sure right.

Speaker 5 (56:05):
I mean they fell big down against the Cowboys, and
then the same thing happened against Arizona. And while it
was fun to watch that comeback for all Giants fans, right,
you don't want to have to put yourself in that
position all over again, because, like I said, San Francisco
is cut from a very different cloth than Arizona. It's
one thing to do that against the Cardinals team that

(56:26):
I think needed to rely on some of those explosive
plays down the stretch and really didn't have anybody that
they could turn to. The Niners they can turn to
a playmaker who can flip the script and flip the
field position, so you can't go down ten fifteen, nothing
like that. And it doesn't even have to come as
a result of a turnover, Madam Line. I'm just talking

(56:46):
about fundamentally, you're not playing good defense. The Niners march
up and down the field, they score a touchdown, in
a field goal, whatever it may be, and now you've
got it all of a sudden, try to climb out
of that. You don't want to put yourself in that
position against a team like San Francisco.

Speaker 4 (56:59):
And you just don't want to put yourself in a
position to have to climb out of a hole in
back to back weeks two because that takes a lot,
That takes a lot.

Speaker 8 (57:05):
Three.

Speaker 4 (57:06):
Yeah, well, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (57:07):
I think it's two.

Speaker 4 (57:07):
That first tree. They didn't do any climbing like they
were they were there. But you know what, you don't
want to be in that deficit in the in this
point against a team like San Francisco. You want to
be in the fight. Ideally, you want to be playing
from ahead if you can get some offense or some
productivity going early. But the more you can do early,
the more you're you're in this fight.

Speaker 5 (57:26):
And it will also be interesting to see whether or
not they look to push the football down the field
earlier in the game.

Speaker 4 (57:34):
If it's right, Yeah, do they take that out of
the toolbox earlier or do they kind of wait until
the necessity Do they come out swinging? Yeah, because you're
if you're Brian Abele, if you're Mike Kafka, if you're
this coaching staff, do you say, all right, first play
the game? You know, six year od bomb to Jalen Huyan.

Speaker 5 (57:48):
It doesn't hurt to try and catch the Niners defense
off guard or give them something to think about, especially
since Saquan is not on the field, because once again,
if you choose the methodical method, yeah, if you're not
getting what you need on the ground and you're facing
the third and eighths and third and nine is that
I talked about Madeline? To me, you're playing right into
the hands of the Niners.

Speaker 4 (58:08):
And also just if Saquon is not on the field,
because as Brian Dable said and his plot twist today,
they're taking it all the way up to Thursday night,
it's gonna be a game time decision for Saquon Barkley.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas and Linebackerrosizo Jalario also coming down
to game time decisions Thursday against the Niners. Those hamstrings
are tricky ones, but we'll see how it all goes down.

(58:28):
Thursday night, Primetime. There's a night football, A short week
for the Giants. That's our show today. Thanks for listening
to today's episode of Big Blue Kickoff Live with Madeline
Burke and Lance Metow. Let us know what you thought
hashtag Giants Chat at Madelin Burke, at Lance Meadow, m E.
D Ow. Big Blue Kickoff Live part of the Giants
Platform podcast Platforms Everywhere and Giants dot Com slash podcast.

(58:49):
Thanks for tuning in today. We'll see you next time.