November 21, 2025 • 34 mins
On this episode of the Giants Huddle podcast, John Schmeelk sits down with Giants wide receiver, Isaiah Hodgins, to talk about readjusting to the Giants offensive scheme, John chats with writer for Lions.com, Tim Twentyman, about the matchup with Detroit, and Bob Papa has his weekly sit down with Giants interim Head Coach, Mike Kafka.
:00 - Isaiah Hodgins
9:45 - Tim Twentyman
25:55 - Mike Kafka
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to another edition of the Giants Little Podcast, brought
to you by Citizens, the official bank of the Giants.
I am John Schmelt. Thanks so much for being with
us today our standard Friday Fair. We have Bob Papa
with hey coach of the Giants, Mike Kafka. We're going
to be joined by Tim twenty many covers Detroit Lions
Fordetroit Lions dot Com to give us a little scatting
report on the Giants opponent this week. But first we
(00:21):
are going to lead off with our Giants Spotlight interview.
And in this week's interview, we're going to talk to
a new member of the Giants that is an older
member of the Giants. I'll explain. Here's Isaiah Hodgins. We
welcome back to the Giants family wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins. Hey,
it's good to see man.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
How are you. Yeah, I'm good man. I'm excited to
be back.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
So.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I know you've told the story before, maybe some of
the fans listening and watching haven't heard it. How did
this go down for you last week? Take us to
the play by play?
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Yeah, so it was wednesday. I just got done with
practice with the Steelers. I was in my receiver meet
and heard my phone kind of vibrating and buzzing, and
I just did a quick peek to see who was
and it was my agent, which is either a good
thing or a bathroom, you know. So I didn't really
know what to expect, but obviously I couldn't answer or
do anything. And then after I saw that he had
(01:08):
text me and he was like, hey, between me and you,
I think the giants are going to bring you over
to the active And I was like, oh, like, you
know that Dan was crazy, and I called him just
to kind of relign of everything, and then he was like, yeah,
they should be in contact with you. Soon I started
getting the phone calls and you know, they talked to
me and they were like, hey, like we're gonna try
to get you out on the flight tonight, but there
was no flights at night, and then so I had
(01:31):
to wake up at like four am to make sure
I caught like my five something flight, you know, like
in the morning, hopped straight over like packed my bags
real quick, and then got straight rolling to practice on Thursday,
and they kind of let me know like, oh, yeah,
you're gonna play. So I was trying to prep myself
to play, but I was thinking it was kind of
going to be like like twenty to thirty plays maybe,
(01:52):
and then yeah, the longer the week went on and
started being like, okay, I'm kind of in a lot
of personnels and stuff, and ended up being whatever, almost
sixty plays.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So yeah, that was kind of crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
What was the emotions like from you knowing that it
was the Giants, right, because you here for a while,
you played a very prominent role, and then your last
year you didn't play quite a prominent role, and I'm
sure that was frustrating for you. You didn't come back,
you tried somewhere else, it didn't work out, and then
you came back. What was kind of like that emotional
roller coaster with you reuniting.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
Yeah, I honestly was excited. You know, I always wanted
to come back, but you know, it kind of had
to work out business wise and roster wise and everything.
But like I said before, like I love it here.
You know, I think at this place as my home.
My family does too. My wife loves it, my sons
in love with New York City and football and loves
going to the game. So you know, we were all
super excited for it.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
So how quickly did you feel like, all right, I
know this playbook, I'm back, this is normal. Or was
it very different from what you would last see when
you were here.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, it was definitely different from when I last seen.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
There was obviously some stuff that overlaid that was like, Okay,
I remember this formation or this call, but you know,
this is obviously my third offense being a part of
this year. So I feel like I put so much
effort in the off season trying to unforget this offense,
because you know, when I was in San Francisco, it
was like, oh, like there's some of the same words
that overlap, but they mean different things. So I had
to like try to forget the old and put in
the new. Then I went to Pittsburgh and there was
(03:12):
like a whole new thing, and now I'm coming back here,
and I was like, okay, I still remember some stuff,
but then there was some different stuff that you know,
I had to like try to my best and memorize.
But the coaches and players did a real good job
of kind of helping me out and everyone you know,
rallying around me.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Now fans could tell he's right off the field, a
little out of breath because he was doing a bunch
of extra routes and throwing with the quarterbacks. Yeah, you know,
this wasn't the quarterback that was here when you left,
so whole new set of quarterbacks that they used to
catch them from. So what was that process like And
it's kind of still continuing.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Right, Yeah, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
It was kind of really different obviously, just knowing how
different quarterbacks you know, put the zip on the ball,
and as we were talking about earlier, you know, Jamis's
very like time and quarterback rhythm quarterback, and like he
has some zip behind every throw. So it was you know,
kind of being adjusting to that and you know, being
ready for that and getting those extra and obviously you know,
got to throw a little bit with dirt too. And
(04:02):
he's like a great quarterback and he's mobile and he's
able to extend plays and do that. So you know,
I've been able to see a little bit of both.
So it's been fun out there.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
What has it been like working with Jackson this week
as he tries to return for this concussion and did
you go back and watch some of his stuff to
kind of have a feel for him and how he plays.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Yeah, I mean, I've been watching him really all year,
you know, I'm always tuning into the Giants game and stuff,
so I've been able to see just how he can
extend to play, like how he can sit here and
be looking at one to read, get back to his
last read, or you know, make some crazy like out
of the pocket plays. I think his pocket presence is awesome.
So it's really, you know, fun for a receiver because
you can be on a whole different route and then
(04:40):
it's a scrambled drill. Now you're running a go ball
or a different comeback or something like that, and you
know he's extending that play. So it's an awesome opportunity
for receivers.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I think you talk about scramble rules, but are they
really rules or is there a feel to it? Like
how specific are the rules.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
It's kind of both, you know, like there's definitely like
some I guess you could say standard rules that like
every team would be like, hey, the quarterback rolls this way,
this person does this that, you know whatever. But at
the end of the day, as you said, like it's
kind of a feel too, and you got to base
it off of, oh, the corner was here, or I
didn't feel anybody over here.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
So it's it's a mixture of both.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
So when you talk about the offense being different having
to relearn it, was it just a matter of you
reclicking the right language, or were a lot of the
different types of plays and schematics different Because of the
changes to quarterbacks, you know Daves before now Mike Kafka,
they're very focused on trying to specify the offense of
the quarterback. Is that where you think a lot of
the differences came in?
Speaker 4 (05:34):
There definitely was some differences there. There was also some
differences for the words obviously, and like when I was here,
you know, we called certain concepts or whatever something different.
So kind of trying to memorize that of being in
the game and hearing this word and understanding okay, and
now I'm mean something different. You know, that's another hunt
that I had to get over. But you know, I'm
continuing to do that. And again it's all credit to
(05:54):
the coaches and the players for helping me out during that.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
When you will look back and I had had a
game to go where you're happy. Fact, I think you've
had to play so many snaps right away and you
were obviously very productive.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah, you know, it was a blessing, man, I was.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
I was so just excited to be out there, you know,
to think that I was literally not playing any snaps
to go into play almost sixty snaps, you know, was
you know, I was so thankful to be out there
and have that fun, to be able to make some
catches and make an impact on the game.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And I'm hoping to do it again.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Obviously, you're very familiar with Mike Kafka. He was YOURROC
when you're here, you get back and you're kind of
in the middle of a lot of change here right
when you show up and Mike Kafka's first game as
head coach, what was it like kind of thing him
is in the big chair for the first time.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
You know, I liked it, and I liked it when
he was Ocie obviously when I was here. You know,
I think he has a good feel for the game,
for the offense and knowing, you know, how to put
certain players in a certain position to succeed. I obviously
have good chemistry with him, and I respect him a
live as a man and as a coach. So I
think he does a good job of bringing energy staying
on top of the details and holding people accountable.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
So you know, I really liked that out of him.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
How about Tim Kelly was like working with him as.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
He's awesome, man, He's smart, Like I've always thought that
of him, you know, even when he do see obviously,
but you know when he gets up in those meetings
and he's detailing certain stuff. You know, he could be
talking about something random like some screens or some block
and stuff, but like he's so detailed and has a
lot of like logic behind what he's talking about. So
it's always interesting, like learning from those coaches.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Two things I want to ask you about As a receiver,
John's US a lot more twelve personnel now than when
you left. How does that change things for you if
you're one of two wide receivers instead of one three
wide receivers, which you guys were mostly in eleven when
you were here.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Yeah, I mean just understanding what the offense is trying
to do and how we could sit there and do that.
So you know, if they're in twelve personnel, and you know,
there might be certain packages where you know, we're more
run dominant, there might be certain packages where we're more
past dominant, you know, and just understanding what the offense
is asking of me, you know, and trying to do
a good job of helping offense out in any way,
shape or form.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Do you also notice that the quarterbacks seem to have
a little bit more time to throw now then maybe
when you were here previously.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Yeah, I mean, you know, when you're in twelve personnel,
I think you see that just across the league.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You know.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
I was able to be part of some offenses like
San Francisco and Pittsburgh where they do a lot of
the same, a lot of twelve personnel, and it's a
lot of move from the quarterback around and different rollout stuff,
different play action stuff. So you know, it's interesting to
see just how every offense kind of handles it a
little bit differently, but you know, it's it's definitely fun
seeing the different route concepts and seeing how, you know,
the offensive coordinators kind of scheme stuff up.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
It helps. In Pittsburgh you have a three hundred pound
tight end that can run like total watching. It's a
crazy weapon, all right, tal what the lines Defensively, they're
gonna press, They're gonna play a lot of man. What
does that mean for you as a receiver in the offense,
trying to defeat what they're good at.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Yeah, we gotta gotta be ready. You gotta be ready
to set that tone. Understand that they're gonna be at
home and they're going to want to set that tone.
You know, their physical group, physical defense, whole physical team,
just in general. We've had some joint practices against them
in the past, so you know, we know what to
expect them. We're going to be ready, you know, to
come ready for that challenge. So you know we know
what to expect.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Is that like extra work on releases and stuff like
that to make sure the timing stats.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Is right, releases, handwork.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
You know, I think there's always a vocal point in
the NFL as a receiver, but especially when you play
teams like this, you know you got to be ready
for that.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
And contest to catches too, right, because they aren't going
to give you a lot of space. There's no sitting
down and a d spaces in the so and like
when you catch the ball, there's going to be a
guy theyre probably chopping your arms to catch.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
And they do a real good job of ball searching
and trying to sit there and punch the ball out
at all times. And I was able to experience that
at both the teams I was at San Francisco and Pittsburgh.
You know, they're real good at literally emphasizing that all
the time at practicing games or whatever, of just punching
at that ball NonStop. So you know, I think I've
been prepped for it.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
So dude, it's good to have you back there.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Isaiah Hodgens John's Little Podcast brought to you by Citizens,
Official Bank of the Giants. Censure being with us. We'll
see you next time.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Uddle up, get in here.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
If you're lined up here, you gotta go over the
middle with at the score.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Great. How do we make that happen?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I don't know, but Citizens does.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
It makes sense of your money with Citizens, Official Bank
of Eli Manning.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Great stuff by Isaiah Hodgens. There, The Giants Little Podcast
is brought to you by Citizens, the Official Bank of
the Giants. From game day celebrations to your everyday financial needs,
Giant fans get the most out of every moment with Citizens.
Learn more Citizens dot com slash Giants. All right, let's
turn our attention to the opponent. This week. Tim twenty
men does a great job covering the Lions for Detroit
(10:08):
Lions dot Com, and now we turn our attention to
the Giants opponents this week, the Detroit Lions, and to
preview them from Detroit Lions dot com. He covers the
team for the team site Tim twenty men, Tim, what's
going on? Man? How are you good?
Speaker 5 (10:20):
John?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
How you doing man?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
It's good to talk to you all right, Lions have
a lot of guys in an injury report, and almost
those like one of those old Bill Belichick Patriots injury
reports from like twenty and thirteen. You got a million
guys that are limited. Who are the guys that Giant
fans to be keeping an eye out that might not
play that could really impact the game.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Yeah, it looks much worse than it actually is what
I figured. Yeah, a lot of those guys, you know,
you know how it is when you get into November,
late November, December. A lot of guys are dealing with
a lot of different things, but not all of them
are going to keep guys out Sunday.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
The two you have to worry about is Terry and Arnold.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
He hasn't cleared the concussion protocol yet he hasn't practiced
yet this week as of you know us talking Friday,
so he's probably out. And then Kirby Joseph, they're all
pro safety. He's missed four games. It looks like he's
probably gonna miss a fifth game with that knee injury.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
So those are the two of concern in Detroit.
Speaker 5 (11:17):
Everybody else on that list has a pretty good shot
of playing, so they should be relatively healthy from where
they've been over the last two three weeks.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Okay, so let's start there in the secondary. What does
that look like then? Without Joseph, without Arnold. I know
the Lions love to play press man. They like to
be very aggressive up there. Has that changed at all
with two of their best guys in the secondary not playing.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
Not at all? You know, they've had some guys really
step in and play well. There was a you know,
a kind of nickname going around a few weeks ago,
the Legion of Whom When you know, Detroit had all
four of their starters out against Tampa Bay and played
probably their best football of the entire year in that game,
at least in the secondary. So you know, mik Robertson
(12:03):
has has stepped in their slot, you know, corner, he's
stepped outside for Terrian. He's gonna continue to do that.
They got Rok Yassin out there too, who's played pretty well.
So they've weathered that storm of having dj Reid and
and Arran Arnold out their top two corners. But the
good news is it looks like the Lions are gonna
get dj Reid back. He hasn't played since Week four
(12:25):
in Cleveland when he heard a hamstring did an ir stint.
He's this is his second week back at practice and
the lines are pretty optimistic that he'll play, and then
Thomas Harper will probably step in for Kirby. Joseph he's
played the last four games for Kirby, has played pretty well.
So it's next man up mentality in Detroit. You know
how that goes. And and they've weathered that storm pretty
(12:48):
well and they're gonna continue to do so. And Calvin
Jeppard's done a great job. Look, he's gonna play press man.
They're gonna play base defense more than any other team
in the league. Play those three linebackers. They love that
look and how it helps them stop the run. And
you know, they can disguise some blitzes and disguise some
coverages with that. So they're going to continue to play
(13:08):
that way and just plug and play.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Yeah to two follow ups, I think you hit on
two things that I didn't want to ask you about.
One is Calvin Sheppard, former Giant linebacker. Great dude, loved
them when he was here. Look, whatever you change a coordinator,
and you guys did it on offense. On defense, you
worry about what the IMPACT's going to be. It really
doesn't seem like your defense has missed a beat with
Sheppard stepping in there. If anything, I think they might
even be better.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Yeah, I think it's the latter they're better.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
You look at this Lions defense and look, you know,
so much of the conversation has about been about this
Lion's offense and how explosive it is and well deserved,
you know, with all the weapons they have on that
side of the football. But you look at Detroit's defense,
their top ten and scoring defense, top ten and overall defense,
top ten against the run, top ten against the past,
top ten in the red zone, you know, top ten
(13:54):
and takeaways. So Calvin stepped in and done a really,
really nice job, and you know, I think he's one
of these up and coming coordinators that is going to
get some interviews and he's going to get some attention
with what he's done with this Detroit Lions defense. They're
playing some of their best football that I've seen in
the fourteen years that I've been with the team. And
(14:16):
that's a credit to Shep and certainly guys that have
stepped in and filled roles.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
And you brought up what are the unique aspects of
this Lion's defense, and that's the fact they play so
much base personnel. No one plays more base personnel with
a seven man front, three stand up linebackers in the
game than the Detroit Lions. How has that worked against
some of these high flying aerial attacks where a lot
of what offense are trying to do these days is
trying to get teams into base to take advantage of it.
(14:42):
How are these three linebackers surviving in past coverage playing
so much base.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
Yeah, versatility. You know, Derek Barnes is a guy that was,
you know, a defensive end at Purdue and you know
the Lions, you saw some versatility in his game, So
he can play on the ball, he can play off
Jack Campbell in the middle has done a really nice
job of improving his pass coverage. He wasn't asked to
do that at Iowa a lot, but a credit to him,
(15:09):
he's really kind of stepped up and and taken on
more of that role and it has really improved over
over the last three years. And then Alex Azeloni is
one of the most versatile linebackers in the game, probably
one of the best covered linebackers in the game. And
so the Lions love that base just because what teams
want to do, obviously in the past game is is
(15:30):
you know, get teams in base. But what they want
to do when they want to run the football, and
you guys know all about running the football, is they
want to get teams in the nickel so that you know,
you can have those advantages with that nickel cornback and
the five defensive backs. And so Detroit plays it the
other way. They say, look, we're going to stop your
run and we're going to make you pass against us.
(15:50):
We've got a lot of confidence in our secondary and
those guys, and we think we got linebackers that can
cover your tight ends, linebackers that can cover in the slot,
and your running backs. And so it's really love this
Detroit Lions team to be really good against the run,
and that's where it all starts with Calvin Shepard in
this defense, they think that if they can stop the run,
make teams have to throw on them. That's advantage Detroit
and it's been that way for most of the season.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
All Right, let's talk about the pass rush. A lot
of times guys need a year plus to look like
themselves after an acl well I get apparently not for
aid to Hutchinson, who just has been unbelievable this year.
What does this pass rush look like? Do they blitz
a lot to supplement? Do they try to get home
with four? What's your give? Fans be keeping an eye
up in terms of that front four.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
Yeah, that was a broken leg with Aiden, so it's
a little bit yeah, yeah, a little bit different with Aiden,
so you're not dealing with ligaments and stuff like that.
You know, he's got a rod in there, and he
says that the leg is stronger than it was, and
so he's got Superman leg in there is how is
how he describes it. But he's played like Superman certainly.
You know, he's right up there again with in the
conversation for defensive player in the year. You know, he's
(16:52):
a guy that you have to account for. You've got
a chip he sees double teams and chips among the
top five of defensive ends. And then they get mcneilback
and they think they've got some really good depth in
the middle, and so, you know, the worst pressure quarterback
can feel is right up the middle. You guys got
a great one in Dexter Lawrence that can do that too,
(17:12):
and then it allows those edge guys just more room
to operate more direct lines to the quarterback when he
can't step up. And so that's been the recipe for
success for this Detroit Lions run game. And look, Calvin
will be aggressive, they'll blitz. Jack Campbell has a career
high four sacks, so they'll they'll get after it. Alex
Angeloni is a great blitzer. And then you've got Brian
(17:34):
Branch who's really one of the most versatile safeties around.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
You know, he can come in.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
He's a great blitzer too, And like we talked about earlier,
when they're playing that bass, it's really hard for an
office to identify where that blitz is coming from because
you can play it both ways. And so that's why
they love that versatility at the linebacker spot. The versatility
they got some safety spots is they can bring that
blitz from a lot of different areas. It's hard to identify,
(18:00):
and so look, they'll bring it and New York's got
to be really good about identifying it pre snap and
getting it blocked up.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
All right, let's jump over to the offensive side of
the ball. How have things look different since Dan Campbell
has taken over his play caller.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
You know, they've gotten Jamo Jamison Williams involved a lot more.
You know, that's kind of unlocked the big play of
this offense. But really, John, when you look at this offense,
it comes down to the offensive line. You know, they
lost Frank Ragnow and you know he wasn't just one
of the best centers in the league.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
He was one of the best.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Players in the league. And when you lose that centerpiece
to your offensive line, it's just gonna be a little
bit different. And here's the crazy stat with Detroit. In
theirs six wins, they've allowed just eight sacks and they've
rushed on average for about one hundred and sixty nine
yards on the ground. In their four losses, they've allowed
twelve sacks, and they've rushed for only seventy yards per
(18:57):
game on average. So it's a huge difference. If they
can protect Jared Goff and they can run the football,
this is as explosive of an offense that we've seen
in years, especially now with what Jamison Williams is doing.
He's not just that deep threat anymore that can take
the top off the defense. They're using him in the
short and intermediate those crossers. Yeah, I can you know,
(19:18):
maybe put on one hand the guys in this league
that are as fast as Jamison Williams, and they've done
a great job of getting him the football. I think
they're still trying to adjust to Sam Laporta being out.
You know, he's not gonna play in this game. He's
on ir This will be the second game he's missed,
and they missed him in Philadelphia. You know him and
him and Jared, you know, really have a comfort level.
(19:39):
He's been really key on third down and that's been
one of the big issues for this offense, one of
the big differences this year versus last Last year, they
were fourth in the league in third down conversions just
about fifty percent. This year they're at thirty six percent.
They're ranked twenty seventh in the NFL, and a lot
of those issues have been kind of up front when
(20:00):
they can't block it up right, and so it's a
little bit different offense. You still have all the explosive elements,
but they just haven't been as strong up front. And
this has been one of the best offensive lines in
football for so many years now, and they haven't played
to that level consistently. We've seen it in games, but
that's going to be the thing they try to really
(20:20):
figure out going down the stretches that if they can
get more consistency from those guys up front.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
You mentioned the loss of the Porta and the result
was that I didn't I think there was the highest
percentage of plays in eleven personnel the Lions had all year.
Last year they're up around eighty percent. They're usually a
heavy twelve personnel team. How did that affect what they do?
Was it Raymond? Was it Tesla? Was it love It?
How'd they kind of work in that third wide receiver
and how did that change kind of the character and
(20:47):
nature of the offense not going as heavy with those
two tight ends.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Yeah, you know, it affects the run game certainly, because
that's one of the things Sam Laport has really done
a nice job with is improving his blocking. You know
those Iowa tight ends the pride and that, you know,
and he's one of them, and then he's really good
at it. And so you know last week they weren't
able to run the ball as effectively. They like to
(21:11):
do that out of the twelve personnel, like you talked about.
And so look when you put that extra receiver in there.
And now, look, Detroit's wide receivers are really good blockers
and they they have the want to and that's not
always the case, as you know in this league with
wide receiver position, and so Tesla and Isaac Isaac Tesla
and Khalif Raymond fit into that mix too. And look,
(21:32):
they're gonna have to get one of those guys to
step up. You know what you're gonna get with Jamison Williams.
You obviously know what you're gonna get with i'man Ross
Saint Brown. I think last week was was kind of
a one off with that when they threw him twelve times,
he only caught two. I've never seen something like that,
and they weren't worried about it. In Allen Park this week.
But they they certainly know that they need an Isaac Tesla,
(21:54):
a brock right that the second tight end, a Khalif Raymond.
They need somebody to step up and kind to fill
that third role because they last week they certainly missed
Sam Laporta.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Look, we don't know the lines want to run the ball,
but they're also one of the best play action teams
in the league. So are we going to see a
lot of play action on early downs. We're going to
see them giving the Giants struggles stopping the run this year.
A lot of straight ahead down there, let's try to
you know, get in the second and third or reasonable here,
and a lot of runs on early downs.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
Yeah, you're going to see a lot of run. You know,
that's what the Lions want to get back to doing that.
This week you mentioned the struggles the Giants have had.
I think it's about on average one hundred and fifty
a game. And look, when you allow the Lions to
run the football with David Montgomery and Jamier Gibbs arguably
the best running back duel in the NFL, now that
opens up the play action. Now you get Jamo going
(22:43):
deep doing crossers. You've got that connection with aman Ross
Saint Brown. It really unlocks this entire Lions offense, but
it starts with running the football. That's what they want
to do. They want Jared Goff under center, they want
that threat of the run. They want to push those
linebackers up, and Jared Goff is one of the best
kind of intermediate in route throwers. He's one of the
more accurate quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
In the league.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
And if they can get those linebackers to step up
just a little bit, they love to work that middle
of the field. And then when you got the safeties
trying to stop that, that's when you take that shot
to Jamo over the top, and that's when this Lion's
offense is really at its best. But they have to
establish that run first and foremost to kind of unlock
everything else. And that's certainly gonna be the game plan
(23:26):
going into Sunday.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
And you kind of answered this in final question on
my first question on the offense, But it seems to
me is Jared Goff has time, he's gonna play like
one of the best quarterbacks in the league. But when
you disturb him a little bit, you get his timing off,
you have him even start thinking about pressure. You know,
you saw that if on the second half against Philly
last week, where a lot of times they weren't even
getting pressure, but he thought they were gonna get pressure
(23:47):
and it kind of messed them up a little bit.
Is that really the only way you can slow down
this line's passing attack by making Gough uncomfortable in the pocket.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
Yeah, if you let GoF sit there, he'll he'll pick
you apart. You know, Look, this is his tenth There's
nothing a defense can do that's going to confuse Jared Golf.
There's not a coverage he hasn't seen. He's really good
pre snap but identifying you know what a defense is
trying to do. But you know, if you come after him,
if you pressure him, Look, Jared Golf's a pocket passer.
He's not like Jackson Dark. You know, He's not going
(24:18):
to get out of the pocket, extend plays, make plays
with his legs. That's not his game. He's very much
a timing and accuracy quarterback. And that's got to be
the goal for the Giants defenses is to disrupt that
a little bit, because if you don't, especially at home
on that fast track at Ford Field, when it's gonna
be quiet and he can operate everything pre snap. It's
(24:40):
really hard to stop this Lion's offense. So for the Giants,
it's really got to be about collapsing that pocket, pressuring
Jared Goff, you know, messing with his timing. When that's
happened this year, that's when this Detroit Lions offense has
struggled a little bit.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Tim awesome stuff. My friend, tell the folks when you
find the way you're great work and everything you have
going on this weekend.
Speaker 5 (25:00):
Yeah, we got lots of stuff going on. The twenty
Uddle podcast is coming out. I've got one of your compatriots,
they're on the podcast this week. I got Toms Harper,
who we talked about, so we got that and then
we got all the pregame stuff on Sunday on Detroit
lines dot com. So it should be a fun matchup. Look,
I know the Giants are two and nine, but the
(25:22):
Detroit doesn't view them as representative of that record. They
know they've been in a lot of close games, They've
lost a lot of close games and leads against good teams.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
In the fourth quarter.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
So the Detroit Lions are expecting a good game Sunday,
and hopefully we get one.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Tim good stuff, my friend. I'll talk to you on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
All right, man, anytime, John.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
If you want to know how to manage two minutes
of crunch time football, I'm your match.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
But if you're wondering about a long term financial plan,
you should talk to Citizens.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Hey, I can also talk long care.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
I'd like to learn about a million routine.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Yes, I knew I could help make sense of your
money with Citizens. Awesome stuff from Tim, really good insight.
Should be a fun game against a very talent Detroit
Lions team on Sunday in Detroit. All right, Now we
head over to Mike Kafka. He will be a coaching
his second game for the New York Football Giants as
their head coach. Bob Papa talk to him.
Speaker 7 (26:12):
As always, We're joined by the head coach of the
New York Giants, Mike Kafka, and coach, you're going into
this game against the Lions. They're six and four on
the season. Let's talk a little bit about some of
the challenges of playing on the road in what will
be a hostile environment. They're three and one playing in
their buildings so far this year and they have this
(26:32):
fast break offense. What has been the messaging to your
team this week about this road game and having to
play one of the better teams in the NFC.
Speaker 6 (26:41):
Yeah, it's gonna be a great challenge and one that
we're looking forward to. You know, the emphasis has been
this week, you know, just making sure we're on the
same page in terms of communication, making sure we're getting
lined up, understanding where these players are. They have some
explosive players, just like you mentioned. You know, Jamison Williams
obviously the running back fourteen, He's all over the field
(27:03):
with Saint Brown. So it's a really really talented group.
So we got to be on the same page and
communicating it. Has been doing a great job this week.
Speaker 7 (27:11):
Coach Gibbs obviously is super explosive. He's got eight rushing
touchdowns this year. The combination with he and Montgomery just
talk about the ways that they try to get to
the run game, because sometimes it's not just traditionally handing
it off. They'll use a lot of motion and stuff,
won't They to kind of just get the defense for
(27:32):
a false step and then they just want to hit
you them with kind of a basic run.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
Absolutely, they use motions, shifts. They do a good job of,
you know, influencing the front and moving them and getting
them off their mark. And then they have some explosive
players that can get on the perimeter. So they have
a wide variety of run schemes. They have a wide
variety of I wouldn't call them gadgets, but they have
ability to kind of attack different parts of the field.
So you know, you've got to account for that, and
(27:57):
you've got to make sure that we're we're all disciplined
and see it through the same set of eyes.
Speaker 7 (28:01):
Coach, some of those outside runs this year have hurt
the team. You know, what's been the point of emphasis
to try to make sure that things get funneled to
where they need to be, where guys have help.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
It's understanding your leverage, playing your leverage, and then making
sure you're you're again that communication part is so key
because when teams start shifting and motioning, now all of
a sudden, there's different people that are in these run fits,
so it may be emotion and now all of a sudden,
you know, the nickels in the run fit or the
safety has to roll down to the run fit, and
so really just again the communication. Being on the same page.
(28:36):
That's super important. And that's one thing our coach have
been doing a great job this week of is just
communicating that, making sure we're on the same page, having
the right calls so that we can't have other people
and multiple people in on the play.
Speaker 7 (28:49):
Jared Gosspin in the league a long time. You've been
in the league a long time. What are some of
the things that as you watch him as he's matured
now in his tenth year, that really make him difficult
for defenses to deal with?
Speaker 6 (29:03):
I think, I mean, I remember, you know, playing him
when he was in in Los Angeles with the Rams
when they were doing the no huddle stuff, and just
watching him operate. Washington play on time, Washington play on rhythm. Obviously,
he does a great job with the ball handling aspect
of it. You can see him getting in and out
of alerts, making protection calls at the line of scrimmage.
So he's a well rounded quarterback, does it all, and
(29:27):
and I think he's gonna he he knows where where
to get the ball that is playmaker's hands, and he
knows how to get to him quickly and accurately.
Speaker 7 (29:33):
All right, let's go to the other side of the
ball where uh yeah, you gotta deal with Aiden Hutchinson
who's having a fantastic year seven and a half sacks,
the kid from New Jersey, don Bosco Muhammad, He's got
six sacks this season. And then you know between the
linebacking corps and then what they have on the back end.
This is a defense that's I mean, it's ranked fifth
(29:55):
in the league for a reason. When you look at them,
what are some of the things as you get ready
to play them in this game today that everybody has
to be on high alert for.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
These guys just play with their hair on fire. And
you know it starts. It starts with their their defensive coordinator,
Calvin Shepard. These guys are well coached. You know, they
have some multiple schemes in terms of their fronts, in
terms of their coverages. You know they're going to put
you in a bind that way on an offense, and
so you've got to have you know, your your second
and third elements of your scheme righty to roll, and
so really being prepared for our guys and making sure
(30:29):
that we're all on the same page. We're making sure
that we have our guys in the right spots and
you know, giving our guys a chance to make some
plays downfield, get some you know, catching runs underneath, and
then getting our run game going, and you know, being
efficient with the run game.
Speaker 7 (30:43):
Coach, we saw it in Chicago, and we saw it
again a little bit last week in the game against
the Packers, where you know, the run game seems a
little bit stagnant and then all of a sudden, it
feels like you guys start to get in a rhythm.
Is some of it probing and is some of it
just we got to get a little faster start with it.
Speaker 6 (31:04):
I just think that's the National Football League. You know,
you're not You don't just roll out of bed and
just go start getting six and sevens in the run game.
I think you got to stick with it and let
our guys get into the groove and then you you know,
you you adjust along the way, like sometimes you prepare
for a certain front or for a certain look and
you don't get it, or they they have their adjustments right,
because these these coaches they do a good job on
(31:25):
the other side of the ball too, and they're self scouting.
So I think it's just the adjustment part of it.
And making sure our guys are fitting it the right
way and communication it. But yeah, I mean, I think
that's just the National Football League. You know, you start off.
If you start off hot, good, you can stay with
it and continue to mix in your other runs. But
sometimes if it doesn't, if it doesn't start great early
in terms of the run game, you're sticking with it
(31:46):
and you're making sure you know it's eventually it'll it'll
come together for you, and you know you keep you
keep checking away at it.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Coach.
Speaker 7 (31:53):
Last week, James Winston got the start at home. Now
he starts on the road. Obviously, the guy has started
a lot of games in the National Football How important
is it to have that sort of veteran experience where
you're going to be dealing with a pretty revd up
crowd in a hostile environment.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
Yeah, James, James has certainly played in environments like this
in the past, and you know his conference confidence and
leadership that he brings to the huddle, to the room
is miss huge, is important, especially when you're going into
an environment like this. So you know, we'll bank on
his experience and his ability to continue to lead the
team and be aggressive downfield. I think Jamis do a
(32:27):
great job for us.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
Final question. We all know about Dan Campbell and his
ability or willingness to roll the dice. You were aggressive
last week in your own right. How do you manage
that as a as a head coach? I mean, you
did it last week and your first game as a
head coach. Understanding when and where right? I mean, do
(32:50):
you do you have to take in sort of the
profile of the game, like, hey, this is kind of
a slug fest. Maybe a punt's not the worst thing,
or if it's up and down, it's like, hey, we
got a score, so we're going for it all the time.
Speaker 6 (33:02):
Yeah, I think I think there's an element of understanding
the flow of the game, Understand where your players are at,
Understand what's going on across the field. And then there's
there's advantages that you can that you can use in
terms of win percentage with with within our analytics department,
our guys upstairs, you know, having having an aggressive mindset
on fourth down, or an opportunity for us to take
(33:23):
advantage of the game and take control of the game.
So all those things kind of come into play. We
talk about it throughout the week, we study it, we
prep for it, and then on game day it's just
really about pull the trigger and and making sure we
feel really confident about it and being convicted about the
decision we make.
Speaker 7 (33:39):
Coach, we appreciate a couple of minutes. We'll do it
again next week. Best of luck today against the Lions
in Detroit.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
We thank Bob Papa, We thank Mike Kafka, we think
thanked him twenty minute. And we thank Isaiah Hodgens for
joining us on this Friday edition of The Giants Little Podcast,
brought to you by Citizens, Official Bank of the Giants.
I am John Schmelk. Of course, we have big kick
Off Live coming away at seven am on WFA and
Mark Blousas on Saturday morning, and then we have our
pregame show at Tiki Barber from the Fan at eleven
(34:07):
am on Sunday afternoon. We thank everyone for joining us.
I'm Josh Schmolke. We'll see you next time on The
Johns Little Podcast, brought to you by Citizens
Welcome to another edition of the Giants Little Podcast, brought
to you by Citizens, the official bank of the Giants.
I am John Schmelt. Thanks so much for being with
us today our standard Friday Fair. We have Bob Papa
with hey coach of the Giants, Mike Kafka. We're going
to be joined by Tim twenty many covers Detroit Lions
Fordetroit Lions dot Com to give us a little scatting
report on the Giants opponent this week. But first we
(00:21):
are going to lead off with our Giants Spotlight interview.
And in this week's interview, we're going to talk to
a new member of the Giants that is an older
member of the Giants. I'll explain. Here's Isaiah Hodgins. We
welcome back to the Giants family wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins. Hey,
it's good to see man.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
How are you. Yeah, I'm good man. I'm excited to
be back.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
So.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I know you've told the story before, maybe some of
the fans listening and watching haven't heard it. How did
this go down for you last week? Take us to
the play by play?
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Yeah, so it was wednesday. I just got done with
practice with the Steelers. I was in my receiver meet
and heard my phone kind of vibrating and buzzing, and
I just did a quick peek to see who was
and it was my agent, which is either a good
thing or a bathroom, you know. So I didn't really
know what to expect, but obviously I couldn't answer or
do anything. And then after I saw that he had
(01:08):
text me and he was like, hey, between me and you,
I think the giants are going to bring you over
to the active And I was like, oh, like, you
know that Dan was crazy, and I called him just
to kind of relign of everything, and then he was like, yeah,
they should be in contact with you. Soon I started
getting the phone calls and you know, they talked to
me and they were like, hey, like we're gonna try
to get you out on the flight tonight, but there
was no flights at night, and then so I had
(01:31):
to wake up at like four am to make sure
I caught like my five something flight, you know, like
in the morning, hopped straight over like packed my bags
real quick, and then got straight rolling to practice on Thursday,
and they kind of let me know like, oh, yeah,
you're gonna play. So I was trying to prep myself
to play, but I was thinking it was kind of
going to be like like twenty to thirty plays maybe,
(01:52):
and then yeah, the longer the week went on and
started being like, okay, I'm kind of in a lot
of personnels and stuff, and ended up being whatever, almost
sixty plays.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So yeah, that was kind of crazy.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
What was the emotions like from you knowing that it
was the Giants, right, because you here for a while,
you played a very prominent role, and then your last
year you didn't play quite a prominent role, and I'm
sure that was frustrating for you. You didn't come back,
you tried somewhere else, it didn't work out, and then
you came back. What was kind of like that emotional
roller coaster with you reuniting.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
Yeah, I honestly was excited. You know, I always wanted
to come back, but you know, it kind of had
to work out business wise and roster wise and everything.
But like I said before, like I love it here.
You know, I think at this place as my home.
My family does too. My wife loves it, my sons
in love with New York City and football and loves
going to the game. So you know, we were all
super excited for it.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
So how quickly did you feel like, all right, I
know this playbook, I'm back, this is normal. Or was
it very different from what you would last see when
you were here.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, it was definitely different from when I last seen.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
There was obviously some stuff that overlaid that was like, Okay,
I remember this formation or this call, but you know,
this is obviously my third offense being a part of
this year. So I feel like I put so much
effort in the off season trying to unforget this offense,
because you know, when I was in San Francisco, it
was like, oh, like there's some of the same words
that overlap, but they mean different things. So I had
to like try to forget the old and put in
the new. Then I went to Pittsburgh and there was
(03:12):
like a whole new thing, and now I'm coming back here,
and I was like, okay, I still remember some stuff,
but then there was some different stuff that you know,
I had to like try to my best and memorize.
But the coaches and players did a real good job
of kind of helping me out and everyone you know,
rallying around me.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Now fans could tell he's right off the field, a
little out of breath because he was doing a bunch
of extra routes and throwing with the quarterbacks. Yeah, you know,
this wasn't the quarterback that was here when you left,
so whole new set of quarterbacks that they used to
catch them from. So what was that process like And
it's kind of still continuing.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Right, Yeah, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 4 (03:42):
It was kind of really different obviously, just knowing how
different quarterbacks you know, put the zip on the ball,
and as we were talking about earlier, you know, Jamis's
very like time and quarterback rhythm quarterback, and like he
has some zip behind every throw. So it was you know,
kind of being adjusting to that and you know, being
ready for that and getting those extra and obviously you know,
got to throw a little bit with dirt too. And
(04:02):
he's like a great quarterback and he's mobile and he's
able to extend plays and do that. So you know,
I've been able to see a little bit of both.
So it's been fun out there.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
What has it been like working with Jackson this week
as he tries to return for this concussion and did
you go back and watch some of his stuff to
kind of have a feel for him and how he plays.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Yeah, I mean, I've been watching him really all year,
you know, I'm always tuning into the Giants game and stuff,
so I've been able to see just how he can
extend to play, like how he can sit here and
be looking at one to read, get back to his
last read, or you know, make some crazy like out
of the pocket plays. I think his pocket presence is awesome.
So it's really, you know, fun for a receiver because
you can be on a whole different route and then
(04:40):
it's a scrambled drill. Now you're running a go ball
or a different comeback or something like that, and you
know he's extending that play. So it's an awesome opportunity
for receivers.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I think you talk about scramble rules, but are they
really rules or is there a feel to it? Like
how specific are the rules.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
It's kind of both, you know, like there's definitely like
some I guess you could say standard rules that like
every team would be like, hey, the quarterback rolls this way,
this person does this that, you know whatever. But at
the end of the day, as you said, like it's
kind of a feel too, and you got to base
it off of, oh, the corner was here, or I
didn't feel anybody over here.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
So it's it's a mixture of both.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
So when you talk about the offense being different having
to relearn it, was it just a matter of you
reclicking the right language, or were a lot of the
different types of plays and schematics different Because of the
changes to quarterbacks, you know Daves before now Mike Kafka,
they're very focused on trying to specify the offense of
the quarterback. Is that where you think a lot of
the differences came in?
Speaker 4 (05:34):
There definitely was some differences there. There was also some
differences for the words obviously, and like when I was here,
you know, we called certain concepts or whatever something different.
So kind of trying to memorize that of being in
the game and hearing this word and understanding okay, and
now I'm mean something different. You know, that's another hunt
that I had to get over. But you know, I'm
continuing to do that. And again it's all credit to
(05:54):
the coaches and the players for helping me out during that.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
When you will look back and I had had a
game to go where you're happy. Fact, I think you've
had to play so many snaps right away and you
were obviously very productive.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Yeah, you know, it was a blessing, man, I was.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
I was so just excited to be out there, you know,
to think that I was literally not playing any snaps
to go into play almost sixty snaps, you know, was
you know, I was so thankful to be out there
and have that fun, to be able to make some
catches and make an impact on the game.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And I'm hoping to do it again.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Obviously, you're very familiar with Mike Kafka. He was YOURROC
when you're here, you get back and you're kind of
in the middle of a lot of change here right
when you show up and Mike Kafka's first game as
head coach, what was it like kind of thing him
is in the big chair for the first time.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
You know, I liked it, and I liked it when
he was Ocie obviously when I was here. You know,
I think he has a good feel for the game,
for the offense and knowing, you know, how to put
certain players in a certain position to succeed. I obviously
have good chemistry with him, and I respect him a
live as a man and as a coach. So I
think he does a good job of bringing energy staying
on top of the details and holding people accountable.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
So you know, I really liked that out of him.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
How about Tim Kelly was like working with him as.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
He's awesome, man, He's smart, Like I've always thought that
of him, you know, even when he do see obviously,
but you know when he gets up in those meetings
and he's detailing certain stuff. You know, he could be
talking about something random like some screens or some block
and stuff, but like he's so detailed and has a
lot of like logic behind what he's talking about. So
it's always interesting, like learning from those coaches.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Two things I want to ask you about As a receiver,
John's US a lot more twelve personnel now than when
you left. How does that change things for you if
you're one of two wide receivers instead of one three
wide receivers, which you guys were mostly in eleven when
you were here.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Yeah, I mean just understanding what the offense is trying
to do and how we could sit there and do that.
So you know, if they're in twelve personnel, and you know,
there might be certain packages where you know, we're more
run dominant, there might be certain packages where we're more
past dominant, you know, and just understanding what the offense
is asking of me, you know, and trying to do
a good job of helping offense out in any way,
shape or form.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Do you also notice that the quarterbacks seem to have
a little bit more time to throw now then maybe
when you were here previously.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Yeah, I mean, you know, when you're in twelve personnel,
I think you see that just across the league.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You know.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
I was able to be part of some offenses like
San Francisco and Pittsburgh where they do a lot of
the same, a lot of twelve personnel, and it's a
lot of move from the quarterback around and different rollout stuff,
different play action stuff. So you know, it's interesting to
see just how every offense kind of handles it a
little bit differently, but you know, it's it's definitely fun
seeing the different route concepts and seeing how, you know,
the offensive coordinators kind of scheme stuff up.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
It helps. In Pittsburgh you have a three hundred pound
tight end that can run like total watching. It's a
crazy weapon, all right, tal what the lines Defensively, they're
gonna press, They're gonna play a lot of man. What
does that mean for you as a receiver in the offense,
trying to defeat what they're good at.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Yeah, we gotta gotta be ready. You gotta be ready
to set that tone. Understand that they're gonna be at
home and they're going to want to set that tone.
You know, their physical group, physical defense, whole physical team,
just in general. We've had some joint practices against them
in the past, so you know, we know what to
expect them. We're going to be ready, you know, to
come ready for that challenge. So you know we know
what to expect.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Is that like extra work on releases and stuff like
that to make sure the timing stats.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Is right, releases, handwork.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
You know, I think there's always a vocal point in
the NFL as a receiver, but especially when you play
teams like this, you know you got to be ready
for that.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
And contest to catches too, right, because they aren't going
to give you a lot of space. There's no sitting
down and a d spaces in the so and like
when you catch the ball, there's going to be a
guy theyre probably chopping your arms to catch.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
And they do a real good job of ball searching
and trying to sit there and punch the ball out
at all times. And I was able to experience that
at both the teams I was at San Francisco and Pittsburgh.
You know, they're real good at literally emphasizing that all
the time at practicing games or whatever, of just punching
at that ball NonStop. So you know, I think I've
been prepped for it.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
So dude, it's good to have you back there.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
I appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Isaiah Hodgens John's Little Podcast brought to you by Citizens,
Official Bank of the Giants. Censure being with us. We'll
see you next time.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Uddle up, get in here.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
If you're lined up here, you gotta go over the
middle with at the score.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Great. How do we make that happen?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
I don't know, but Citizens does.
Speaker 6 (09:42):
It makes sense of your money with Citizens, Official Bank
of Eli Manning.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Great stuff by Isaiah Hodgens. There, The Giants Little Podcast
is brought to you by Citizens, the Official Bank of
the Giants. From game day celebrations to your everyday financial needs,
Giant fans get the most out of every moment with Citizens.
Learn more Citizens dot com slash Giants. All right, let's
turn our attention to the opponent. This week. Tim twenty
men does a great job covering the Lions for Detroit
(10:08):
Lions dot Com, and now we turn our attention to
the Giants opponents this week, the Detroit Lions, and to
preview them from Detroit Lions dot com. He covers the
team for the team site Tim twenty men, Tim, what's
going on? Man? How are you good?
Speaker 5 (10:20):
John?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
How you doing man?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
It's good to talk to you all right, Lions have
a lot of guys in an injury report, and almost
those like one of those old Bill Belichick Patriots injury
reports from like twenty and thirteen. You got a million
guys that are limited. Who are the guys that Giant
fans to be keeping an eye out that might not
play that could really impact the game.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Yeah, it looks much worse than it actually is what
I figured. Yeah, a lot of those guys, you know,
you know how it is when you get into November,
late November, December. A lot of guys are dealing with
a lot of different things, but not all of them
are going to keep guys out Sunday.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
The two you have to worry about is Terry and Arnold.
Speaker 5 (10:55):
He hasn't cleared the concussion protocol yet he hasn't practiced
yet this week as of you know us talking Friday,
so he's probably out. And then Kirby Joseph, they're all
pro safety. He's missed four games. It looks like he's
probably gonna miss a fifth game with that knee injury.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
So those are the two of concern in Detroit.
Speaker 5 (11:17):
Everybody else on that list has a pretty good shot
of playing, so they should be relatively healthy from where
they've been over the last two three weeks.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Okay, so let's start there in the secondary. What does
that look like then? Without Joseph, without Arnold. I know
the Lions love to play press man. They like to
be very aggressive up there. Has that changed at all
with two of their best guys in the secondary not playing.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
Not at all? You know, they've had some guys really
step in and play well. There was a you know,
a kind of nickname going around a few weeks ago,
the Legion of Whom When you know, Detroit had all
four of their starters out against Tampa Bay and played
probably their best football of the entire year in that game,
at least in the secondary. So you know, mik Robertson
(12:03):
has has stepped in their slot, you know, corner, he's
stepped outside for Terrian. He's gonna continue to do that.
They got Rok Yassin out there too, who's played pretty well.
So they've weathered that storm of having dj Reid and
and Arran Arnold out their top two corners. But the
good news is it looks like the Lions are gonna
get dj Reid back. He hasn't played since Week four
(12:25):
in Cleveland when he heard a hamstring did an ir stint.
He's this is his second week back at practice and
the lines are pretty optimistic that he'll play, and then
Thomas Harper will probably step in for Kirby. Joseph he's
played the last four games for Kirby, has played pretty well.
So it's next man up mentality in Detroit. You know
how that goes. And and they've weathered that storm pretty
(12:48):
well and they're gonna continue to do so. And Calvin
Jeppard's done a great job. Look, he's gonna play press man.
They're gonna play base defense more than any other team
in the league. Play those three linebackers. They love that
look and how it helps them stop the run. And
you know, they can disguise some blitzes and disguise some
coverages with that. So they're going to continue to play
(13:08):
that way and just plug and play.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Yeah to two follow ups, I think you hit on
two things that I didn't want to ask you about.
One is Calvin Sheppard, former Giant linebacker. Great dude, loved
them when he was here. Look, whatever you change a coordinator,
and you guys did it on offense. On defense, you
worry about what the IMPACT's going to be. It really
doesn't seem like your defense has missed a beat with
Sheppard stepping in there. If anything, I think they might
even be better.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Yeah, I think it's the latter they're better.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
You look at this Lions defense and look, you know,
so much of the conversation has about been about this
Lion's offense and how explosive it is and well deserved,
you know, with all the weapons they have on that
side of the football. But you look at Detroit's defense,
their top ten and scoring defense, top ten and overall defense,
top ten against the run, top ten against the past,
top ten in the red zone, you know, top ten
(13:54):
and takeaways. So Calvin stepped in and done a really,
really nice job, and you know, I think he's one
of these up and coming coordinators that is going to
get some interviews and he's going to get some attention
with what he's done with this Detroit Lions defense. They're
playing some of their best football that I've seen in
the fourteen years that I've been with the team. And
(14:16):
that's a credit to Shep and certainly guys that have
stepped in and filled roles.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
And you brought up what are the unique aspects of
this Lion's defense, and that's the fact they play so
much base personnel. No one plays more base personnel with
a seven man front, three stand up linebackers in the
game than the Detroit Lions. How has that worked against
some of these high flying aerial attacks where a lot
of what offense are trying to do these days is
trying to get teams into base to take advantage of it.
(14:42):
How are these three linebackers surviving in past coverage playing
so much base.
Speaker 5 (14:46):
Yeah, versatility. You know, Derek Barnes is a guy that was,
you know, a defensive end at Purdue and you know
the Lions, you saw some versatility in his game, So
he can play on the ball, he can play off
Jack Campbell in the middle has done a really nice
job of improving his pass coverage. He wasn't asked to
do that at Iowa a lot, but a credit to him,
(15:09):
he's really kind of stepped up and and taken on
more of that role and it has really improved over
over the last three years. And then Alex Azeloni is
one of the most versatile linebackers in the game, probably
one of the best covered linebackers in the game. And
so the Lions love that base just because what teams
want to do, obviously in the past game is is
(15:30):
you know, get teams in base. But what they want
to do when they want to run the football, and
you guys know all about running the football, is they
want to get teams in the nickel so that you know,
you can have those advantages with that nickel cornback and
the five defensive backs. And so Detroit plays it the
other way. They say, look, we're going to stop your
run and we're going to make you pass against us.
(15:50):
We've got a lot of confidence in our secondary and
those guys, and we think we got linebackers that can
cover your tight ends, linebackers that can cover in the slot,
and your running backs. And so it's really love this
Detroit Lions team to be really good against the run,
and that's where it all starts with Calvin Shepard in
this defense, they think that if they can stop the run,
make teams have to throw on them. That's advantage Detroit
and it's been that way for most of the season.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
All Right, let's talk about the pass rush. A lot
of times guys need a year plus to look like
themselves after an acl well I get apparently not for
aid to Hutchinson, who just has been unbelievable this year.
What does this pass rush look like? Do they blitz
a lot to supplement? Do they try to get home
with four? What's your give? Fans be keeping an eye
up in terms of that front four.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
Yeah, that was a broken leg with Aiden, so it's
a little bit yeah, yeah, a little bit different with Aiden,
so you're not dealing with ligaments and stuff like that.
You know, he's got a rod in there, and he
says that the leg is stronger than it was, and
so he's got Superman leg in there is how is
how he describes it. But he's played like Superman certainly.
You know, he's right up there again with in the
conversation for defensive player in the year. You know, he's
(16:52):
a guy that you have to account for. You've got
a chip he sees double teams and chips among the
top five of defensive ends. And then they get mcneilback
and they think they've got some really good depth in
the middle, and so, you know, the worst pressure quarterback
can feel is right up the middle. You guys got
a great one in Dexter Lawrence that can do that too,
(17:12):
and then it allows those edge guys just more room
to operate more direct lines to the quarterback when he
can't step up. And so that's been the recipe for
success for this Detroit Lions run game. And look, Calvin
will be aggressive, they'll blitz. Jack Campbell has a career
high four sacks, so they'll they'll get after it. Alex
Angeloni is a great blitzer. And then you've got Brian
(17:34):
Branch who's really one of the most versatile safeties around.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
You know, he can come in.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
He's a great blitzer too, And like we talked about earlier,
when they're playing that bass, it's really hard for an
office to identify where that blitz is coming from because
you can play it both ways. And so that's why
they love that versatility at the linebacker spot. The versatility
they got some safety spots is they can bring that
blitz from a lot of different areas. It's hard to identify,
(18:00):
and so look, they'll bring it and New York's got
to be really good about identifying it pre snap and
getting it blocked up.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
All right, let's jump over to the offensive side of
the ball. How have things look different since Dan Campbell
has taken over his play caller.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
You know, they've gotten Jamo Jamison Williams involved a lot more.
You know, that's kind of unlocked the big play of
this offense. But really, John, when you look at this offense,
it comes down to the offensive line. You know, they
lost Frank Ragnow and you know he wasn't just one
of the best centers in the league.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
He was one of the best.
Speaker 5 (18:34):
Players in the league. And when you lose that centerpiece
to your offensive line, it's just gonna be a little
bit different. And here's the crazy stat with Detroit. In
theirs six wins, they've allowed just eight sacks and they've
rushed on average for about one hundred and sixty nine
yards on the ground. In their four losses, they've allowed
twelve sacks, and they've rushed for only seventy yards per
(18:57):
game on average. So it's a huge difference. If they
can protect Jared Goff and they can run the football,
this is as explosive of an offense that we've seen
in years, especially now with what Jamison Williams is doing.
He's not just that deep threat anymore that can take
the top off the defense. They're using him in the
short and intermediate those crossers. Yeah, I can you know,
(19:18):
maybe put on one hand the guys in this league
that are as fast as Jamison Williams, and they've done
a great job of getting him the football. I think
they're still trying to adjust to Sam Laporta being out.
You know, he's not gonna play in this game. He's
on ir This will be the second game he's missed,
and they missed him in Philadelphia. You know him and
him and Jared, you know, really have a comfort level.
(19:39):
He's been really key on third down and that's been
one of the big issues for this offense, one of
the big differences this year versus last Last year, they
were fourth in the league in third down conversions just
about fifty percent. This year they're at thirty six percent.
They're ranked twenty seventh in the NFL, and a lot
of those issues have been kind of up front when
(20:00):
they can't block it up right, and so it's a
little bit different offense. You still have all the explosive elements,
but they just haven't been as strong up front. And
this has been one of the best offensive lines in
football for so many years now, and they haven't played
to that level consistently. We've seen it in games, but
that's going to be the thing they try to really
(20:20):
figure out going down the stretches that if they can
get more consistency from those guys up front.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
You mentioned the loss of the Porta and the result
was that I didn't I think there was the highest
percentage of plays in eleven personnel the Lions had all year.
Last year they're up around eighty percent. They're usually a
heavy twelve personnel team. How did that affect what they do?
Was it Raymond? Was it Tesla? Was it love It?
How'd they kind of work in that third wide receiver
and how did that change kind of the character and
(20:47):
nature of the offense not going as heavy with those
two tight ends.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
Yeah, you know, it affects the run game certainly, because
that's one of the things Sam Laport has really done
a nice job with is improving his blocking. You know
those Iowa tight ends the pride and that, you know,
and he's one of them, and then he's really good
at it. And so you know last week they weren't
able to run the ball as effectively. They like to
(21:11):
do that out of the twelve personnel, like you talked about.
And so look when you put that extra receiver in there.
And now, look, Detroit's wide receivers are really good blockers
and they they have the want to and that's not
always the case, as you know in this league with
wide receiver position, and so Tesla and Isaac Isaac Tesla
and Khalif Raymond fit into that mix too. And look,
(21:32):
they're gonna have to get one of those guys to
step up. You know what you're gonna get with Jamison Williams.
You obviously know what you're gonna get with i'man Ross
Saint Brown. I think last week was was kind of
a one off with that when they threw him twelve times,
he only caught two. I've never seen something like that,
and they weren't worried about it. In Allen Park this week.
But they they certainly know that they need an Isaac Tesla,
(21:54):
a brock right that the second tight end, a Khalif Raymond.
They need somebody to step up and kind to fill
that third role because they last week they certainly missed
Sam Laporta.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Look, we don't know the lines want to run the ball,
but they're also one of the best play action teams
in the league. So are we going to see a
lot of play action on early downs. We're going to
see them giving the Giants struggles stopping the run this year.
A lot of straight ahead down there, let's try to
you know, get in the second and third or reasonable here,
and a lot of runs on early downs.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
Yeah, you're going to see a lot of run. You know,
that's what the Lions want to get back to doing that.
This week you mentioned the struggles the Giants have had.
I think it's about on average one hundred and fifty
a game. And look, when you allow the Lions to
run the football with David Montgomery and Jamier Gibbs arguably
the best running back duel in the NFL, now that
opens up the play action. Now you get Jamo going
(22:43):
deep doing crossers. You've got that connection with aman Ross
Saint Brown. It really unlocks this entire Lions offense, but
it starts with running the football. That's what they want
to do. They want Jared Goff under center, they want
that threat of the run. They want to push those
linebackers up, and Jared Goff is one of the best
kind of intermediate in route throwers. He's one of the
more accurate quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
In the league.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
And if they can get those linebackers to step up
just a little bit, they love to work that middle
of the field. And then when you got the safeties
trying to stop that, that's when you take that shot
to Jamo over the top, and that's when this Lion's
offense is really at its best. But they have to
establish that run first and foremost to kind of unlock
everything else. And that's certainly gonna be the game plan
(23:26):
going into Sunday.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
And you kind of answered this in final question on
my first question on the offense, But it seems to
me is Jared Goff has time, he's gonna play like
one of the best quarterbacks in the league. But when
you disturb him a little bit, you get his timing off,
you have him even start thinking about pressure. You know,
you saw that if on the second half against Philly
last week, where a lot of times they weren't even
getting pressure, but he thought they were gonna get pressure
(23:47):
and it kind of messed them up a little bit.
Is that really the only way you can slow down
this line's passing attack by making Gough uncomfortable in the pocket.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
Yeah, if you let GoF sit there, he'll he'll pick
you apart. You know, Look, this is his tenth There's
nothing a defense can do that's going to confuse Jared Golf.
There's not a coverage he hasn't seen. He's really good
pre snap but identifying you know what a defense is
trying to do. But you know, if you come after him,
if you pressure him, Look, Jared Golf's a pocket passer.
He's not like Jackson Dark. You know, He's not going
(24:18):
to get out of the pocket, extend plays, make plays
with his legs. That's not his game. He's very much
a timing and accuracy quarterback. And that's got to be
the goal for the Giants defenses is to disrupt that
a little bit, because if you don't, especially at home
on that fast track at Ford Field, when it's gonna
be quiet and he can operate everything pre snap. It's
(24:40):
really hard to stop this Lion's offense. So for the Giants,
it's really got to be about collapsing that pocket, pressuring
Jared Goff, you know, messing with his timing. When that's
happened this year, that's when this Detroit Lions offense has
struggled a little bit.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
Tim awesome stuff. My friend, tell the folks when you
find the way you're great work and everything you have
going on this weekend.
Speaker 5 (25:00):
Yeah, we got lots of stuff going on. The twenty
Uddle podcast is coming out. I've got one of your compatriots,
they're on the podcast this week. I got Toms Harper,
who we talked about, so we got that and then
we got all the pregame stuff on Sunday on Detroit
lines dot com. So it should be a fun matchup. Look,
I know the Giants are two and nine, but the
(25:22):
Detroit doesn't view them as representative of that record. They
know they've been in a lot of close games, They've
lost a lot of close games and leads against good teams.
Speaker 3 (25:33):
In the fourth quarter.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
So the Detroit Lions are expecting a good game Sunday,
and hopefully we get one.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Tim good stuff, my friend. I'll talk to you on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
All right, man, anytime, John.
Speaker 2 (25:40):
If you want to know how to manage two minutes
of crunch time football, I'm your match.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
But if you're wondering about a long term financial plan,
you should talk to Citizens.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Hey, I can also talk long care.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
I'd like to learn about a million routine.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Yes, I knew I could help make sense of your
money with Citizens. Awesome stuff from Tim, really good insight.
Should be a fun game against a very talent Detroit
Lions team on Sunday in Detroit. All right, Now we
head over to Mike Kafka. He will be a coaching
his second game for the New York Football Giants as
their head coach. Bob Papa talk to him.
Speaker 7 (26:12):
As always, We're joined by the head coach of the
New York Giants, Mike Kafka, and coach, you're going into
this game against the Lions. They're six and four on
the season. Let's talk a little bit about some of
the challenges of playing on the road in what will
be a hostile environment. They're three and one playing in
their buildings so far this year and they have this
(26:32):
fast break offense. What has been the messaging to your
team this week about this road game and having to
play one of the better teams in the NFC.
Speaker 6 (26:41):
Yeah, it's gonna be a great challenge and one that
we're looking forward to. You know, the emphasis has been
this week, you know, just making sure we're on the
same page in terms of communication, making sure we're getting
lined up, understanding where these players are. They have some
explosive players, just like you mentioned. You know, Jamison Williams
obviously the running back fourteen, He's all over the field
(27:03):
with Saint Brown. So it's a really really talented group.
So we got to be on the same page and
communicating it. Has been doing a great job this week.
Speaker 7 (27:11):
Coach Gibbs obviously is super explosive. He's got eight rushing
touchdowns this year. The combination with he and Montgomery just
talk about the ways that they try to get to
the run game, because sometimes it's not just traditionally handing
it off. They'll use a lot of motion and stuff,
won't They to kind of just get the defense for
(27:32):
a false step and then they just want to hit
you them with kind of a basic run.
Speaker 6 (27:37):
Absolutely, they use motions, shifts. They do a good job of,
you know, influencing the front and moving them and getting
them off their mark. And then they have some explosive
players that can get on the perimeter. So they have
a wide variety of run schemes. They have a wide
variety of I wouldn't call them gadgets, but they have
ability to kind of attack different parts of the field.
So you know, you've got to account for that, and
(27:57):
you've got to make sure that we're we're all disciplined
and see it through the same set of eyes.
Speaker 7 (28:01):
Coach, some of those outside runs this year have hurt
the team. You know, what's been the point of emphasis
to try to make sure that things get funneled to
where they need to be, where guys have help.
Speaker 6 (28:13):
It's understanding your leverage, playing your leverage, and then making
sure you're you're again that communication part is so key
because when teams start shifting and motioning, now all of
a sudden, there's different people that are in these run fits,
so it may be emotion and now all of a sudden,
you know, the nickels in the run fit or the
safety has to roll down to the run fit, and
so really just again the communication. Being on the same page.
(28:36):
That's super important. And that's one thing our coach have
been doing a great job this week of is just
communicating that, making sure we're on the same page, having
the right calls so that we can't have other people
and multiple people in on the play.
Speaker 7 (28:49):
Jared Gosspin in the league a long time. You've been
in the league a long time. What are some of
the things that as you watch him as he's matured
now in his tenth year, that really make him difficult
for defenses to deal with?
Speaker 6 (29:03):
I think, I mean, I remember, you know, playing him
when he was in in Los Angeles with the Rams
when they were doing the no huddle stuff, and just
watching him operate. Washington play on time, Washington play on rhythm. Obviously,
he does a great job with the ball handling aspect
of it. You can see him getting in and out
of alerts, making protection calls at the line of scrimmage.
So he's a well rounded quarterback, does it all, and
(29:27):
and I think he's gonna he he knows where where
to get the ball that is playmaker's hands, and he
knows how to get to him quickly and accurately.
Speaker 7 (29:33):
All right, let's go to the other side of the
ball where uh yeah, you gotta deal with Aiden Hutchinson
who's having a fantastic year seven and a half sacks,
the kid from New Jersey, don Bosco Muhammad, He's got
six sacks this season. And then you know between the
linebacking corps and then what they have on the back end.
This is a defense that's I mean, it's ranked fifth
(29:55):
in the league for a reason. When you look at them,
what are some of the things as you get ready
to play them in this game today that everybody has
to be on high alert for.
Speaker 6 (30:07):
These guys just play with their hair on fire. And
you know it starts. It starts with their their defensive coordinator,
Calvin Shepard. These guys are well coached. You know, they
have some multiple schemes in terms of their fronts, in
terms of their coverages. You know they're going to put
you in a bind that way on an offense, and
so you've got to have you know, your your second
and third elements of your scheme righty to roll, and
so really being prepared for our guys and making sure
(30:29):
that we're all on the same page. We're making sure
that we have our guys in the right spots and
you know, giving our guys a chance to make some
plays downfield, get some you know, catching runs underneath, and
then getting our run game going, and you know, being
efficient with the run game.
Speaker 7 (30:43):
Coach, we saw it in Chicago, and we saw it
again a little bit last week in the game against
the Packers, where you know, the run game seems a
little bit stagnant and then all of a sudden, it
feels like you guys start to get in a rhythm.
Is some of it probing and is some of it
just we got to get a little faster start with it.
Speaker 6 (31:04):
I just think that's the National Football League. You know,
you're not You don't just roll out of bed and
just go start getting six and sevens in the run game.
I think you got to stick with it and let
our guys get into the groove and then you you know,
you you adjust along the way, like sometimes you prepare
for a certain front or for a certain look and
you don't get it, or they they have their adjustments right,
because these these coaches they do a good job on
(31:25):
the other side of the ball too, and they're self scouting.
So I think it's just the adjustment part of it.
And making sure our guys are fitting it the right
way and communication it. But yeah, I mean, I think
that's just the National Football League. You know, you start off.
If you start off hot, good, you can stay with
it and continue to mix in your other runs. But
sometimes if it doesn't, if it doesn't start great early
in terms of the run game, you're sticking with it
(31:46):
and you're making sure you know it's eventually it'll it'll
come together for you, and you know you keep you
keep checking away at it.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
Coach.
Speaker 7 (31:53):
Last week, James Winston got the start at home. Now
he starts on the road. Obviously, the guy has started
a lot of games in the National Football How important
is it to have that sort of veteran experience where
you're going to be dealing with a pretty revd up
crowd in a hostile environment.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
Yeah, James, James has certainly played in environments like this
in the past, and you know his conference confidence and
leadership that he brings to the huddle, to the room
is miss huge, is important, especially when you're going into
an environment like this. So you know, we'll bank on
his experience and his ability to continue to lead the
team and be aggressive downfield. I think Jamis do a
(32:27):
great job for us.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
Final question. We all know about Dan Campbell and his
ability or willingness to roll the dice. You were aggressive
last week in your own right. How do you manage
that as a as a head coach? I mean, you
did it last week and your first game as a
head coach. Understanding when and where right? I mean, do
(32:50):
you do you have to take in sort of the
profile of the game, like, hey, this is kind of
a slug fest. Maybe a punt's not the worst thing,
or if it's up and down, it's like, hey, we
got a score, so we're going for it all the time.
Speaker 6 (33:02):
Yeah, I think I think there's an element of understanding
the flow of the game, Understand where your players are at,
Understand what's going on across the field. And then there's
there's advantages that you can that you can use in
terms of win percentage with with within our analytics department,
our guys upstairs, you know, having having an aggressive mindset
on fourth down, or an opportunity for us to take
(33:23):
advantage of the game and take control of the game.
So all those things kind of come into play. We
talk about it throughout the week, we study it, we
prep for it, and then on game day it's just
really about pull the trigger and and making sure we
feel really confident about it and being convicted about the
decision we make.
Speaker 7 (33:39):
Coach, we appreciate a couple of minutes. We'll do it
again next week. Best of luck today against the Lions
in Detroit.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
Awesome.
Speaker 3 (33:45):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
We thank Bob Papa, We thank Mike Kafka, we think
thanked him twenty minute. And we thank Isaiah Hodgens for
joining us on this Friday edition of The Giants Little Podcast,
brought to you by Citizens, Official Bank of the Giants.
I am John Schmelk. Of course, we have big kick
Off Live coming away at seven am on WFA and
Mark Blousas on Saturday morning, and then we have our
pregame show at Tiki Barber from the Fan at eleven
(34:07):
am on Sunday afternoon. We thank everyone for joining us.
I'm Josh Schmolke. We'll see you next time on The
Johns Little Podcast, brought to you by Citizens
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