September 3, 2025 • 28 mins
On this episode of the Giants Huddle podcast, John Schmeelk is joined by show the lead play-by-play announcer for NFL on Fox, Kevin Burkhardt. Kevin will announce the Giants vs Commanders game on Sunday and talks about the key matchups, as well as the outlook of the NFC East.
:00 - Giants vs Commanders
7:35 - Giants offense
11:35 - Giants defense
13:25 - Commanders roster
22:00 - NFC East chat
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time to get inside the Giants. Let's go. Let's
go Giants, Get out on the Giants. Mobul give me
some job. Part of the Giants Podcast Network. Let's row.
Welcome to another edition of the Giants Little Podcast, brought
to you by Citizens, the official bank of the Giants,
coming to you from our podcast studio, presented by Hackensack
Maridine Health Keep getting Better. Joining us today is the
(00:20):
lead play by play man for Fox NFL. You can
also find them as a big part of Fox's baseball
coverage as well well. Ask one question about that at
the end. An old friend of mine, Jersey native Kevin
Barkark KB.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
What's going on, man, Belkie Baby, good to see you.
I'm excited. We're talking football. We're back. Life is good,
my man.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yeah, and we're very excited because you are on the
call for the opener for the Giants at the Commanders
coming up this Sunday at one o'clock on Fox. And look,
you grew up in the NFC East KB. I know
you must be excited to have Giants Commanders as your
Week one matchup.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah. Listen, you know me. I love I love the
old NFC matchups and I think like you know, growing
up in North Jersey, Like you know, I never get
to see family and friends because we haven't had too
many Giants games, right, So I'm dying for them to
get some wins and for us to go back and
do some games. I just love the feel of these games,
you know, you know, Giants' commanders, whoever it is like
(01:18):
in that division. To me, it has a special place
in my heart, and I just it's kind a good
vibe to this one, it does, you know, with Washington
reaching the championship game for the first time in thirty
plus years last year, and it just feels to me,
even though I haven't been there a day from the
opposite coast, it just feels like there's a lot of
good vibes with the Giants, you know, going back to
their playoff here in twenty twenty two, Like it feels
(01:40):
like the worm is turning a little bit in week one. Obviously,
everybody's optimistic.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah, look, if you can't be optimistic, back your team
on August twenty eighth. You know, I think you got problems.
I think this is the optimism time for everybody. But look,
kayb I'm with you. I mean, as we sit here.
I have not seen the many positive vibes heading into
a Giant season, probably since the year after their twenty
(02:05):
twenty two playoff run, and even then it was muted
a little bit. Do you even get the sens being
out there on the West coast now that there is
more optimism surrounding the Giants and and kind of where
they're heading right now?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, yeah, you know, I do. You know? And again
I have a family and friends all throughout Jerseys, so
I get I get the reports from them, and they're
fired up. But I think just the moves that they made, right,
I mean, obviously last year was a disaster, but in reality,
since their playoff win in the game that Daniel Jones
had the best game of his life, you know, with
injuries and not playing well on other things that that occurred,
(02:38):
you know, it was just the worst case scenario, right,
So what would they do? They loaded up their quarterback
room with guys who can play and guys who are
veterans like Russell Wilson. You know what you're going to get.
I'm not saying he's Russell Wilson of twenty three years old,
but he's going to be a leader. He's going to
be a professional. He is going to be a solid
you know, he's the guy who you want leading your team,
especially when you're a young team and trying to kind
(02:59):
of find your way through the forest. I think it's
a perfect sign. And then you go draft the quarterback
you think could be your guy for the next fifteen years.
So there's that vibe. And then the reality is they're young,
you know, and they were young last year, So how
did those guys jump to the second year and see
how they do? But they added a couple like really
good veterans besides Russ, you know the I mean I
(03:20):
love what they did on defense, bringing over at Debo
and Holland. I mean, that's so much better and so
much stability. And I think leadership, you know, Holland's he's
a leader, So I think that's also part of it
is finding you know, I'm not trying to take shots
at the previous team, but it's like finding like the
leaders that could shepherd the young guys to success. I
(03:40):
think that's what Joe Shane tried to do. It's pretty
evident with the roster building, and so now we'll see
talent wise how it lays out to the rest of
the league.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, and look, Joe Shane said that he said a
big goal was to bring in leaders and Brian Dables
said that he wants a player driven leadership model where
you're relying on your players. And look, you mentioned Russell Wilson,
and you mentioned that the young team when Russell Wilson
was going to going to and winning super Bowls. A
lot of the guys in this roster world in high school.
So they get here, they see a guy that they
(04:09):
watched on TV with a Super Bowl and I think
there's an automatic level of respecting confidence for him, where
they're willing to listen, they're willing to learn, and I
think to your point, with a young team, that really
does go a long way.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, and he's a good player. Yeah, again, he's not
running around like he used to be in Seattle. But look,
I know the ending last year in Pittsburgh was not good.
They lost their last five games at a couple tough losses,
and then they you know, they lose in the playoffs.
So I know people that's the first thing they're going
to point to. But the reality is he brought stability
to their offense and to their team last year. It
(04:44):
just was a bad finish. So I think he is
perfect for what the Giants are trying to do right now.
Obviously they want to win as many games as possible,
but in doing that and trying to be a playoff
team and also set it up where you could have Jackson,
you know, learn and come in and by the way,
I I don't think if he sits out the entire
year it's a bad thing, you know. I know we're
in this role now where every guy gets drafted and
(05:06):
they play. It's not necessarily the best thing in the world,
you know. I mean, you know, the only person you
have to look to is Patrick Mahomes who sat for
a year, and no one seems to remember that Alex
Smith was the chief starter. I think that is a
good thing for him to sit and watch and learn
and just to absorb a little bit that. I know
as a fan, you of course want the kid to
(05:27):
start week one. That's always the way it is. But
I think it's a perfect situation. I really do.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Yeah, just look at the guy that won the Super
Bowl last year, Jalen hurstdon't start right away either.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Oh, There's been a lot of guys that have had
success doing that, right, Jordan Love in Green Bay sat
for three years, right, and you know, obviously they had
Aaron there who was great. But you know this, and
I get it, this mode where you draft kid and
guy's jobs are on the line, you throw him in there.
It's not always the best thing. Jane Daniels was an anomaly, right.
There are not too many rookies that come in and
(05:57):
do what he did. He was freaking awesome and he's
a star. But that just doesn't happen every day. So
I like the situation that the Giants are in this year,
I really do.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
And we will get to the commander certainly, and Kevin
you were you know, you know what's going on down
here in New York, and you know, the offensive line
has been a really big question for a long time.
This is airing on Wednesday. Were recording the week prior,
so we're not sure about Andrew Thomas yet. You know,
by the time this airs, we might not even have
an official injury report yet on whether or not he's
going to play. He's on schedule, the intention is for
(06:27):
him to play. But I got to imagine that's going
to be a big thing. You guys are going to
be talking about in the booth is his presence and
whether or not this offensive line can protect Russell Wilson
to throw those moon balls, to run those deep play
action passes, right, because he's so much better when he's
clean back there rather than running for his life.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, I mean he's Look, that has been a humongous
question with the Giants for years now. And Andrew Thomas
one of the best. That Liz frank injury is no joke.
And I know he's trying to come back for play
week one, but obviously the Giants goals to make sure
he's good for the rest of the season. So that's
a big part it. But I think it's also John.
It's consistency. I mean it's I mean, they had a
rotating bunch of guys, like every week it was a
(07:06):
different starting combination for them last week. You cannot win
doing that. And part of it is obviously luck, but
it's it's being good. But part of being good is
having that consistency on the offensive line. And I agree
with you. Like Russell, Look, he could still move, but
he's not gonna scramble away and run for thirty yards
every time there's pressure in his face, right, he is
the best deep thrower in the game. I want to
(07:27):
see those deep balls to Neighbors and to Hiatt and
to Slayton and those guys. But you gotta have consistency there,
and so I think obviously when Thomas comes back, it's
that's the number one thing. But just overall, stay healthy,
let that group play together and see if they could
bond and actually be a decent O line. That's going
to be such a big key.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
You mentioned Neighbors, and he had a monster year last year,
but I think a lot of that was lost because frankly,
the Giants won three games and people weren't paying attention
to ton. I think if he comes out in this
big Week one game here, has a monster game against
the Commanders, this could be like a real coming out
party on the national stage former league Neighbors, because you
(08:06):
really didn't have that in a national game last year.
He could have an absolute monster year.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I agree. I mean, I think it's a really good point.
You know, it's one of those things because the Giants
didn't win in their offense was obviously you know, the
last in the league that didn't get the credit, and
you know, he was right behind Brock Bauers for the
rookie record. Ironic that both guys in the same class
are going for that record. So I will say this though,
I'm not worried about Neighbors, and you're right, I think
he could explode in that game. It'll be a fun
(08:33):
national story just for everyone to be like, whoa, you know,
this guy is really good for those who didn't watch
him in New York. But I'm wondering who else is
it going to be. I mean, his target share last
year was almost thirty percent.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Yeah, it was astronomical.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
It's astronomy, like he's great and it's amazing the season
he had with all the you know, dysfunction is not
the right word, but you know what I mean, with
all the stuff going on around him and changing quarterbacks,
and it's amazing he did what he did. But they
gotta have somebody else. There needs to be a two
and a three option here besides Neighbors for their offense
to really go. And I think that's what I'm looking
(09:10):
forward to seeing besides Neighbors. Neighbors is great and it'll
be cool for him to go off of for the
national audience to see. But I think for the Giants
maybe their biggest question is who's after him? Like who
else is going to catch passes? And really step up
on a third and seven that rusk will can get
the ball to him.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
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Huddle up, get in here. If you're lined up here,
you gotta go over them middle with it the score great?
How do we make that happen? I don't know, bud
Citizen does it makes sense of your money with Citizens
(10:09):
Official Bank of Eli Manning. Yeah, Look, bas Darius Laying
got paid this year, but look at the contract as
more of a number three wide receiver contract than a
number two wide receiver contract. Wanda Robinson has caught a
lot of passes, but a lot of short stuff not
down the field. Could it be theil Johnson, the second
year tight end out of Penn State, And then I
think you'll go at the running back room too. It's
really exciting, Kevin. I mean, Tyron Tracy, I think is
(10:30):
a really good player. People don't realize it yet. I
don't know how much camp Scatabu is going to have
a role early after missing a lot of time in camp,
but I think if they want to recreate a little
bit how Russell Wilson had success in Seattle, the run
game should be a big part of this. Where you're
not putting everything on the quarterback and you're providing him
that type of balance you can use play action if
you can get that running game going early.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yeah, I could not agree more. I really totally agree
with you there, John. Like you know, Tracy had, he
had a really good year behind As we talked about
that offensive line, which was a bit of a mess
last year, I mean a thousand total yards for him, Like,
that's solid rookie campaign. I think Skataboo is really fun
and we'll see how they use him. But he's like
a human bowling ball, you know, which you guys got
to see. And you know, I think they've got some
(11:15):
options there. We'll see how THEO does in his second year.
He showed some flashes and promise catching balls. I just think,
you know, before Wandal got hurt, before he blew his
knee out, you know, he showed some really good flashes.
And I think he can be like that slot guy,
that big third down guy, not just the dump off guy.
I think he could have a big year, especially early
(11:37):
on with Russell Wilson, you know, on those key downs,
like if it's not Neighbors. We know Neighbors is great,
but I'm curious for week one who else is going
to be.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Now, I'm with you, I think it'll be fun. All right,
let's jump over to the defensive side of the ball.
Very quickly. You mentioned it, this could be one of
the best pass rushes in the league. Now, can the
offense get them the leads the pass rush can and
do their thing. Can they stop the run so the
pass rush can do their thing. But if one or
two two of those things click, dex the Lawrence, Brian Burns,
Kevon Thibodeau, Abdul Carter, who knows where they're gonna line
(12:05):
him up every play. I mean, just looking at the talent,
this could be. You know, last year they had forty
five sacks. People will realize this were eight in the NFL.
With forty five sacks last year. You could pop over
fifty this year and be top three if everything goes right.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
The key phrase you mentioned there is having a lead.
I mean, they never led games last year. It wasn't
even that they didn't wing it. They didn't lead. I
think they had I forget the minutes total, but they
were leading the fewest amount of minutes in the league
last year, and so hard to peer to peel your
ears back and go after the quarterback when you're constantly behind,
when you have to really play both and play play action.
I agree with you. I think it's gonna be interesting.
(12:39):
You know, I'm fascinating we know sexy Dexi in what
he brings to the table. Obviously with Carter the one pick,
I'm really curious that you know Burns is so consistent,
you know you're gonna get from him. I'm just curious
to see what Thibodeau does, you know. I think it's
kind of a big year for him and see how
he performs, especially with the drafting of Carter and kind
of mixing him in and what kind of role he's
going to play. But I do think they're improved. And look,
(13:02):
they improved a lot last year. You know, they got
to basically the middle of the pack, you know, in
some categories, and I think that line I love Okara kay.
I think he's a consummate professional leader in the middle
of that day and a good tackler he got hurt
at the end of last year. And then the additions
of the secondary, there's no question they're better. And I
agree with you. If they get it, if they get
(13:23):
the chance, they could be, you know, the best pass
rushing unit in the league. But they got to have
the lead. They got to have some fourth quarters where
they're in front at least by a field going and
get a chance to really show what they can do.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
All right, let's jump over to the commanders, who the
Giants a get in Weak Number one obviously came out
of nowhere last year behind Jade and Daniels, who had
an unbelievable rookie year. You had him in the NFC
title Game against the Eagles in a game where they
scored plenty of points, they just couldn't get any stops.
Is that going to be a similar problem? Do you
think for them this year? Do you think they've done
enough on defense where they were able to clean up
(13:56):
that side of the ball a little bit?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Well? I did their game in Detroit too, when they
just gashed the Lions and that was so impressive. You know, look,
I think offensively they're good. You know, I think that
Jaymee Dan. You know, people were going to say, well,
you know, the league has a year to look in
him in the offseason. How they're going to respond to him?
And absolutely that is part of it. That's always the
case is how do they respond?
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Right?
Speaker 2 (14:17):
And for Washington fans, they're like, well, we saw this
with RG three, you know, how is our guy going
to respond? I think Jade Daniels is a star. I
think he's I think he's a superstar. He's smart, he's
he's he's got it all. He's obviously not a big guy,
So you worry about that when he runs. You know
they got They traded away Brian Robinson, which was their
lead back, but I think they've got enough versatility there.
(14:39):
They bring over Deebo Samuel. I just like what they
have to offer. They've got a good offensive line, so
that's offense. Defensively, you know it's going to be interesting.
They lost Dante Fowler, who was their leading sack guy,
and they replaced him with Von Miller, who's thirty six
years old. Vaughn's great, he's the all time active sack leader.
He's you know, Hall of Famer, But I don't know
(15:00):
what Vaughn is going to give at age thirty six.
I think defensively, their big weakness is I think there's
a couple questions. First of all, can they stop the
run because they couldn't do it last year and I
don't know that they're much better in that area this year.
And then the other thing is I think for them,
which is a big deal, they had a great draft
last year. Mikey sain Rastill was amazing, and I mean
(15:20):
he was so good in the secondary. And I like
their safeties that they've got good versatility. But I think
the key for them in going from a good defense
to a great defense. Is Marshawn Lattimore the guy that
he was three four years ago for New Orleans or
is he just okay and little injury prone right now?
I think, you know, they traded for him hoping he's
(15:41):
still the one guy, and injuries have been a big
reason why you haven't been able to see that. But
I think that is a humongous key for Washington.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
And look, Kevin, they've kind of gone all in here,
like they traded a bunch of draft picks in the offseason,
whether it was the Deebo Samuel trade you mentioned, the
Marshall Lattimore trade. They probably have one of the older
rosters in the league. I think they're trying to take
advantage of this window with Jayden Daniels on his rookie contract.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, you know what happened. They brought, you know, they
brought the new regime, and obviously it's been a total changeover,
right with Josh Harris the owner, and Adam Peters, who's
so great worked under John Lynch for all those years
in San Francisco, and then Dan Quinn who's an awesome coach,
and their initial thing was we're going to bring over
some good veterans kind of what we're talking about with
the Giants. Honestly, we're gonna bring up some good veteran
leadership and be a decent football team. Right, they won
(16:30):
four games two years ago. You know the Giants should
look to them and see like that's I think the
formula is kind of what they're trying to do, with
the exception of they didn't you know, with the exception
of Daniel's play right out of the gate and Jackson
dorrit is sitting. But they just wanted to go from
a bad football team to a competent football team and
build a culture with Dan Quinn. And it turned out
they had a lot of guys play really, really well,
(16:51):
and the rookies played great, and they weren't a good
football team, they were an excellent football team. So I think,
you know, yes, they're older, but you know, with what
happened last year, they're like, Okay, well we're good. We're
just going to add to that now and yeah, try
and win now. And now the key is going to
be down the road. They're going to have to turn
that over at some point. But I think right now
for the next year, or two who cares. You know,
you try and win. You got a quarterback who's not
(17:13):
making any money, and that's when you can spend on
the older veterans. That's what Seahawks did with Russell Wilson
when he was a kid. They spend all this money
on the Legion of Boom and all these guys, and
they didn't pay Russell or anything. And that's what they
won because they didn't have the money tied up in
the quarterback. So I think the Giants, ironically, you look
at the Commanders, I don't think the formula is that different.
I think a lot of what they did is what
(17:35):
Washington tried to do last year when they went from
four wins to twelve in a single year.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
And I got to give Adam Peter's credit. You know
you mentioned that second year for a rookie, progress is
not always linear, right. Look at CJ. Strad last year.
He had a similar rookie letter. Jayda Daniels last year
didn't look as good. Now. A lot of that deals
what was going on around CJ.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Shad.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
They couldn't protect them. The offense line was a mess,
and I got to give Adam Peter some credit. I
think he said to himself in order to avoid that
potential regression from Jaden Daniels, I'm loading up on offense
in the offseason. I'm bringing in a left tackle that
I know is awesome, and Laramie Tunsil. I'm bringing in
a guy that he can throw a two yard pass to,
and Deebo Samuel that can turn into a twenty yard game.
(18:15):
And I think he really said, I'm going to try
to build an infrastructure around this quarterback to make sure
we don't have what happened to CJ Stradd last year
in Houston.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah. I think that's a great point, I really do.
And I think the biggest difference is now. Look we'll
see and they've been a little banged up in camp,
so you know, Cosme's out to start the year, you know,
one of the really good linemen. But they've got a
better line than Houston did last year, at least on paper.
And they played that way, you know, last year, So
I think the protection. I think the fascinating thing for
me watching their offense is not only yes, how they
(18:48):
use Debo, who by all accounts kind of is looking
really really good. He had a pneumonia bout last year
and it really messed with him and it hurt him
a lot. But I think it's how much are they
still doing all the same things with Jayden that they
did last year, because you know how it goes, you know,
first year, you kind of throw it out there, he's
running for eight hundred yards. You let him go and
(19:08):
do his thing, and that's who he is. But then
the mindset is a little bit, well, got to keep
him healthy, right, So it's like you got to keep
him healthy, you know. So I think the play calling
and how Cliff Kingsbury handles it kind of a fascinating
thing in your two with Daniels, Like he's we know
how good he is, But how much of that stuff
do you do the same How much do you think, well,
got to protect our franchise guy. Now, maybe not call
(19:30):
some of those things as much.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Yeah, I think it'll be fun to say, all right,
do you think this could be a high scoring game, Kevin?
You know, the Giants generally do not play high scoring games.
They have not scored many points over the past you know,
three four years. But I think this could be a
really fun up and down ball getting thrown down the
field type of you know, not very typical Giants, you know,
commanders go back in the day eighties, Giants, Redskins types
(19:54):
of game.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Yeah. I could see that all day long, I really can.
I could see Russell Wilson throwing all the the deep balls,
you know, getting some time to throw the ball. I think, though, ironically,
for the Giants, I think their formula might be the opposite.
I think, you know what you said earlier in this podcast.
If I'm them, I want to keep James Daniels off
the field, So I want to get the run game going,
get the play action that Russell is so good at,
(20:15):
and I try to limit their possessions on offense. Now
that goes out the window. Washington scores, you know, two
touchdowns on the first two possessions. I could see them
air in and out. It could be a really, really
fun game. But I think for the Giants to win,
I think the formula is actually the other way around.
But I'm no coach. We'll see what Davis thinks, John,
you know, we'll see. But I could see there's a
lot of talent on that. I just it's a fun
(20:35):
matchup for a week one. It really is.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
If you want to know how to manage two minutes
of crunch time football. I'm your match. But if you're
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to Citizens. Hey, I can also talk long care. I'd
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could help makes sense of your money with Citizens. If
there is a matchup that you see in this game, Kevin,
where do you see one that could really kind of
(20:59):
be that full crow match that could tip the game
one way or the other that you think is very
important when you look at the two you know rosters
and how they match up. We know how much of
the off the the NFL is a is a matchup
league week to week.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's definitely gonna start with
the Giants pass rush against their O lion. But I'm
gonna let me let me think about that for just
a second and just think about this game. You know,
I do think I'm gonna go. I really am gonna
go with you know, Washington's run defense against the Giants
run game. You know, if we're gonna find out about
this Giants offensive line, whether Andrew Thomas plays or not,
(21:32):
Let's see if they could run the ball. Let's see
what Tracy can do and whoever else they throw in
there can do against what was their weakness last year.
I'm trying to exploit that if I'm the Giants and
see if I get that run game going and using
you know, Russell Wilson is so good at the play pass.
I just think that's got big play potential written all
over it. So that's the matchup. I'm gonna look at
(21:52):
Tyrone Tracy run game. How does he do against that
Washington line which struggled against the run last year? And yes,
they've got a couple new pieces on that line, but
let's see if they can stop it.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
No, I like that. I think that's a really good
point all right around the league. Make the case, Kevin,
we haven't seen a repeat winner in the NFC since
I believe two thousand and four when Andy Reid and
Donovan McNabb did it for the foot off Fee Eagles.
Make the case, how do either the Cowboys, Giants or
Commanders knock the Eagles off that perch this year? Given
how talented that roster is.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, they're good. I mean, you know, it's always hard
to repeat. We know that, right, and a lot of
it is mental and it's the motivation and guys always
talk about I think from a talent perspective, their roster
is completely loaded. Now they're younger. They lost some guys,
some key guys from that defense last year. I would
say for Philly, the one thing is this depth. Right
(22:45):
They had depth with their young guys last year, and mean,
granted a lot of them ended up playing and being
key contributors. But now because they lost some of those
veterans on defense because they had to get paid and
they're trying to, you know, structure this window to win
for a while, they don't have as at least the
proven depth they don't have, So, you know, I think
for the Eagles, it's can they stay healthy? Number one?
(23:06):
I think there are They're gonna be what they're gonna be.
They're gonna run the ball down your throat and when
they need to throw it, Jalen Hurts is pretty damn
good with two of the best receivers in the league.
Their defense was so good last year. Will they have
any growing pains early, especially earlier in the year with
some of the new pieces, some of the younger guys.
But I think right now, with the way the roster
(23:26):
is On paper, they're good, there's no question about it.
It's how do they handle success? That's what it comes
down to. That's what Jimmy Johnson always used to talk
about with the Cowboys, like how do you handle success?
And that's gonna be fascinating to watch. And obviously their
schedule is tough, maybe not as tough as the Giants,
which I still don't understand how they've got like this
insanely heart so that doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever.
(23:48):
But look, man, it's NFC East. As you know, no
one seems to win the division ever back to back years.
It never happens, so john nothing would surprise me. And
I do think it's going to be a really good division.
I think it's going to be close. Like I think
the Eagles are really good. I don't know, just because
of repeating and because of younger guys, and because of
(24:08):
how tough their schedule is. I don't know. If they're
a fourteen win team, I think that might be asking
a lot. I still think they're a first place team,
but we'll see.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Yeah. Look, the NFC East has the NFC North and
the AFC West, two of the better divisions in football.
So I think it could very well kind of shrink
that margin, right in terms of how good the top
team is in the division.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah, and that's I think where it comes. Right, Let's
say you need ten wins to win the division instead
of four team that's a big difference. Yeah, that's a
big difference. And that's gettable if you get a couple
of big wins to win a couple of these close games,
which is something the Giants couldn't do last year either. Right,
So that's where I think the tie turns of your
fan of those other teams and how things can change
the AFC.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
We know it's going to be Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar
Jackson battling it out right. NFC's wide open, though, what
team do you think might emerge this year? Is that
the lines? Again? Is it somebody else that you think
could make a run in the NFC this year, which
I think is a little bit more wide open.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I think it's really good the NFC. You mentioned the
NFC North is so good. I think the Rams are fantastic.
If Stafford is healthy.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
You're like the fourth straight person to pick the Rams,
by the way, I think people are high on them.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Listen, so I'll give you. I'll give you the quick answer.
I think if Stafford's healthy, the Rams are exceptional. I
really do. I mean they were the best chance of
beating the Eagles last year. I'm talking the entire season,
let alone the playoffs, because they match up well with them.
I think Detroit's still going to be very good. They
lost two coordinators, so there's something to prove there. I'll
say this. I think the biggest question mark is JJ
(25:37):
McCarthy from Minnesota, right because he didn't throw the ball
that much of Michigan because it got hurt last year
in camp and he never saw him throw a pass.
But if he can play and if he's good, I
think Minnesota is a problem. Like they are. I love
what they did in the offseason their defense. To me,
they added they got Jonathan Allen, and they got Javon
Hargrave in the middle. They were so tough with Brian
(25:58):
Flores last year. They brought in and Mason from the
forty nine ers, who I think is a beast as
a runner. And now Aaron Jones can be kind of
like that guy who catches passes and other stuff. I
think I think the and Justin Jefferson was hurt last year.
I think the Vikings are really good and that's no Look,
they won fourteen games last year, right, But I think
everyone's just expecting them to fall off the table because
(26:19):
Darnold left. If McCarthy is good, I think their roster
is great. I think their coach is as good a
coach as there is in the NFL. I think they
could be a real problem. So that's my that's my
alter ego other than the Rams.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Don't I think the Vikings might have the second most
talented team in the in the conference other than the
Philadelphia I'm with.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
You Foster wise, they're good, and I agree we'll.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
See about the quarterback. Our final fun question, you know,
for people that I don't know, Kevin and I go back.
I produced these shows on I FAM like five oh six, oh.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Seven, the best producer ever.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Man, Oh please stop, But do you ever look around
at like Tom Brady, All right, well, there's Derek Jeter,
there's a Rod, there's David Ortis, and realize these were
all of like the most important people in s words
that I talked about every day and now I'm just
hanging out with these guys on like a daily basis
is it just like do you ever just like pinch
yourself and go, my gosh, what's going on here?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
It literally makes no sense. Yeah, every of course, Smoky
every day you know me, well right, like it's I
don't take it for granted. I love every second of it.
And it is just so cool to be able to
be around these guys. And the best part is they're
all such great teammates and fun to be around. You know,
you see sides of them that you didn't see when
you're covering athletes and now they're you know, they're regular guys,
(27:32):
you know, and it's so fun. Like you know, it's like,
you know, being on that desk with with Baseball Royalty
is unbelievable, and just watching baseball games and yelling at
the TV together is crazy, you know. And then I'm
in the booth with Tom and you know, I think
one of the coolest things about him, among many things,
is you know, we're in the booth and like there's
a big play and like, you know, we're like high
(27:54):
fiving because he's like he's such a football fan. He
loves the games so much, so he's like, oh god,
like here's the greatest player of all time, like screaming
because it's you know, a screen pass got executed well.
And he's like, like it's so cool, Like it's I
just think as a fan, and you and I are
the same. You know, we grew up on the couch,
you know, scream of the TV, and like that's what
we got into this industry to be next to the
(28:16):
greatest and great and they all are like us. That's
what I always tell like my friends, I think that's
the most fun part for me.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Make sure you shake out Kevin. All the great coverage
of baseball on Fox, and of course he has the
Call of Giants and Commanders on the first Sunday the
NFL season coming up. It can't wait for it. Kevin,
thanks for the time, man, We appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Hey, man, can't wait to see you down there. Let's
go Football's back.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Kevin Burkhart on the Johnsontle Podcast, brought to you by
a citizens Official Bank of the Giants and the Hackensack
Marine Hill The Podcast Vidio keep getting better. We'll see
you next time in the Johnson the Podcast
It's time to get inside the Giants. Let's go. Let's
go Giants, Get out on the Giants. Mobul give me
some job. Part of the Giants Podcast Network. Let's row.
Welcome to another edition of the Giants Little Podcast, brought
to you by Citizens, the official bank of the Giants,
coming to you from our podcast studio, presented by Hackensack
Maridine Health Keep getting Better. Joining us today is the
(00:20):
lead play by play man for Fox NFL. You can
also find them as a big part of Fox's baseball
coverage as well well. Ask one question about that at
the end. An old friend of mine, Jersey native Kevin
Barkark KB.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
What's going on, man, Belkie Baby, good to see you.
I'm excited. We're talking football. We're back. Life is good,
my man.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Yeah, and we're very excited because you are on the
call for the opener for the Giants at the Commanders
coming up this Sunday at one o'clock on Fox. And look,
you grew up in the NFC East KB. I know
you must be excited to have Giants Commanders as your
Week one matchup.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah. Listen, you know me. I love I love the
old NFC matchups and I think like you know, growing
up in North Jersey, Like you know, I never get
to see family and friends because we haven't had too
many Giants games, right, So I'm dying for them to
get some wins and for us to go back and
do some games. I just love the feel of these games,
you know, you know, Giants' commanders, whoever it is like
(01:18):
in that division. To me, it has a special place
in my heart, and I just it's kind a good
vibe to this one, it does, you know, with Washington
reaching the championship game for the first time in thirty
plus years last year, and it just feels to me,
even though I haven't been there a day from the
opposite coast, it just feels like there's a lot of
good vibes with the Giants, you know, going back to
their playoff here in twenty twenty two, Like it feels
(01:40):
like the worm is turning a little bit in week one. Obviously,
everybody's optimistic.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah, look, if you can't be optimistic, back your team
on August twenty eighth. You know, I think you got problems.
I think this is the optimism time for everybody. But look,
kayb I'm with you. I mean, as we sit here.
I have not seen the many positive vibes heading into
a Giant season, probably since the year after their twenty
(02:05):
twenty two playoff run, and even then it was muted
a little bit. Do you even get the sens being
out there on the West coast now that there is
more optimism surrounding the Giants and and kind of where
they're heading right now?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, yeah, you know, I do. You know? And again
I have a family and friends all throughout Jerseys, so
I get I get the reports from them, and they're
fired up. But I think just the moves that they made, right,
I mean, obviously last year was a disaster, but in reality,
since their playoff win in the game that Daniel Jones
had the best game of his life, you know, with
injuries and not playing well on other things that that occurred,
(02:38):
you know, it was just the worst case scenario, right,
So what would they do? They loaded up their quarterback
room with guys who can play and guys who are
veterans like Russell Wilson. You know what you're going to get.
I'm not saying he's Russell Wilson of twenty three years old,
but he's going to be a leader. He's going to
be a professional. He is going to be a solid
you know, he's the guy who you want leading your team,
especially when you're a young team and trying to kind
(02:59):
of find your way through the forest. I think it's
a perfect sign. And then you go draft the quarterback
you think could be your guy for the next fifteen years.
So there's that vibe. And then the reality is they're young,
you know, and they were young last year, So how
did those guys jump to the second year and see
how they do? But they added a couple like really
good veterans besides Russ, you know the I mean I
(03:20):
love what they did on defense, bringing over at Debo
and Holland. I mean, that's so much better and so
much stability. And I think leadership, you know, Holland's he's
a leader, So I think that's also part of it
is finding you know, I'm not trying to take shots
at the previous team, but it's like finding like the
leaders that could shepherd the young guys to success. I
(03:40):
think that's what Joe Shane tried to do. It's pretty
evident with the roster building, and so now we'll see
talent wise how it lays out to the rest of
the league.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, and look, Joe Shane said that he said a
big goal was to bring in leaders and Brian Dables
said that he wants a player driven leadership model where
you're relying on your players. And look, you mentioned Russell Wilson,
and you mentioned that the young team when Russell Wilson
was going to going to and winning super Bowls. A
lot of the guys in this roster world in high school.
So they get here, they see a guy that they
(04:09):
watched on TV with a Super Bowl and I think
there's an automatic level of respecting confidence for him, where
they're willing to listen, they're willing to learn, and I
think to your point, with a young team, that really
does go a long way.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, and he's a good player. Yeah, again, he's not
running around like he used to be in Seattle. But look,
I know the ending last year in Pittsburgh was not good.
They lost their last five games at a couple tough losses,
and then they you know, they lose in the playoffs.
So I know people that's the first thing they're going
to point to. But the reality is he brought stability
to their offense and to their team last year. It
(04:44):
just was a bad finish. So I think he is
perfect for what the Giants are trying to do right now.
Obviously they want to win as many games as possible,
but in doing that and trying to be a playoff
team and also set it up where you could have Jackson,
you know, learn and come in and by the way,
I I don't think if he sits out the entire
year it's a bad thing, you know. I know we're
in this role now where every guy gets drafted and
(05:06):
they play. It's not necessarily the best thing in the world,
you know. I mean, you know, the only person you
have to look to is Patrick Mahomes who sat for
a year, and no one seems to remember that Alex
Smith was the chief starter. I think that is a
good thing for him to sit and watch and learn
and just to absorb a little bit that. I know
as a fan, you of course want the kid to
(05:27):
start week one. That's always the way it is. But
I think it's a perfect situation. I really do.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Yeah, just look at the guy that won the Super
Bowl last year, Jalen hurstdon't start right away either.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Oh, There's been a lot of guys that have had
success doing that, right, Jordan Love in Green Bay sat
for three years, right, and you know, obviously they had
Aaron there who was great. But you know this, and
I get it, this mode where you draft kid and
guy's jobs are on the line, you throw him in there.
It's not always the best thing. Jane Daniels was an anomaly, right.
There are not too many rookies that come in and
(05:57):
do what he did. He was freaking awesome and he's
a star. But that just doesn't happen every day. So
I like the situation that the Giants are in this year,
I really do.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
And we will get to the commander certainly, and Kevin
you were you know, you know what's going on down
here in New York, and you know, the offensive line
has been a really big question for a long time.
This is airing on Wednesday. Were recording the week prior,
so we're not sure about Andrew Thomas yet. You know,
by the time this airs, we might not even have
an official injury report yet on whether or not he's
going to play. He's on schedule, the intention is for
(06:27):
him to play. But I got to imagine that's going
to be a big thing. You guys are going to
be talking about in the booth is his presence and
whether or not this offensive line can protect Russell Wilson
to throw those moon balls, to run those deep play
action passes, right, because he's so much better when he's
clean back there rather than running for his life.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yeah, I mean he's Look, that has been a humongous
question with the Giants for years now. And Andrew Thomas
one of the best. That Liz frank injury is no joke.
And I know he's trying to come back for play
week one, but obviously the Giants goals to make sure
he's good for the rest of the season. So that's
a big part it. But I think it's also John.
It's consistency. I mean it's I mean, they had a
rotating bunch of guys, like every week it was a
(07:06):
different starting combination for them last week. You cannot win
doing that. And part of it is obviously luck, but
it's it's being good. But part of being good is
having that consistency on the offensive line. And I agree
with you. Like Russell, Look, he could still move, but
he's not gonna scramble away and run for thirty yards
every time there's pressure in his face, right, he is
the best deep thrower in the game. I want to
(07:27):
see those deep balls to Neighbors and to Hiatt and
to Slayton and those guys. But you gotta have consistency there,
and so I think obviously when Thomas comes back, it's
that's the number one thing. But just overall, stay healthy,
let that group play together and see if they could
bond and actually be a decent O line. That's going
to be such a big key.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
You mentioned Neighbors, and he had a monster year last year,
but I think a lot of that was lost because frankly,
the Giants won three games and people weren't paying attention
to ton. I think if he comes out in this
big Week one game here, has a monster game against
the Commanders, this could be like a real coming out
party on the national stage former league Neighbors, because you
(08:06):
really didn't have that in a national game last year.
He could have an absolute monster year.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
I agree. I mean, I think it's a really good point.
You know, it's one of those things because the Giants
didn't win in their offense was obviously you know, the
last in the league that didn't get the credit, and
you know, he was right behind Brock Bauers for the
rookie record. Ironic that both guys in the same class
are going for that record. So I will say this though,
I'm not worried about Neighbors, and you're right, I think
he could explode in that game. It'll be a fun
(08:33):
national story just for everyone to be like, whoa, you know,
this guy is really good for those who didn't watch
him in New York. But I'm wondering who else is
it going to be. I mean, his target share last
year was almost thirty percent.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Yeah, it was astronomical.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
It's astronomy, like he's great and it's amazing the season
he had with all the you know, dysfunction is not
the right word, but you know what I mean, with
all the stuff going on around him and changing quarterbacks,
and it's amazing he did what he did. But they
gotta have somebody else. There needs to be a two
and a three option here besides Neighbors for their offense
to really go. And I think that's what I'm looking
(09:10):
forward to seeing besides Neighbors. Neighbors is great and it'll
be cool for him to go off of for the
national audience to see. But I think for the Giants
maybe their biggest question is who's after him? Like who
else is going to catch passes? And really step up
on a third and seven that rusk will can get
the ball to him.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
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Huddle up, get in here. If you're lined up here,
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How do we make that happen? I don't know, bud
Citizen does it makes sense of your money with Citizens
(10:09):
Official Bank of Eli Manning. Yeah, Look, bas Darius Laying
got paid this year, but look at the contract as
more of a number three wide receiver contract than a
number two wide receiver contract. Wanda Robinson has caught a
lot of passes, but a lot of short stuff not
down the field. Could it be theil Johnson, the second
year tight end out of Penn State, And then I
think you'll go at the running back room too. It's
really exciting, Kevin. I mean, Tyron Tracy, I think is
(10:30):
a really good player. People don't realize it yet. I
don't know how much camp Scatabu is going to have
a role early after missing a lot of time in camp,
but I think if they want to recreate a little
bit how Russell Wilson had success in Seattle, the run
game should be a big part of this. Where you're
not putting everything on the quarterback and you're providing him
that type of balance you can use play action if
you can get that running game going early.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yeah, I could not agree more. I really totally agree
with you there, John. Like you know, Tracy had, he
had a really good year behind As we talked about
that offensive line, which was a bit of a mess
last year, I mean a thousand total yards for him, Like,
that's solid rookie campaign. I think Skataboo is really fun
and we'll see how they use him. But he's like
a human bowling ball, you know, which you guys got
to see. And you know, I think they've got some
(11:15):
options there. We'll see how THEO does in his second year.
He showed some flashes and promise catching balls. I just think,
you know, before Wandal got hurt, before he blew his
knee out, you know, he showed some really good flashes.
And I think he can be like that slot guy,
that big third down guy, not just the dump off guy.
I think he could have a big year, especially early
(11:37):
on with Russell Wilson, you know, on those key downs,
like if it's not Neighbors. We know Neighbors is great,
but I'm curious for week one who else is going
to be.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
Now, I'm with you, I think it'll be fun. All right,
let's jump over to the defensive side of the ball.
Very quickly. You mentioned it, this could be one of
the best pass rushes in the league. Now, can the
offense get them the leads the pass rush can and
do their thing. Can they stop the run so the
pass rush can do their thing. But if one or
two two of those things click, dex the Lawrence, Brian Burns,
Kevon Thibodeau, Abdul Carter, who knows where they're gonna line
(12:05):
him up every play. I mean, just looking at the talent,
this could be. You know, last year they had forty
five sacks. People will realize this were eight in the NFL.
With forty five sacks last year. You could pop over
fifty this year and be top three if everything goes right.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
The key phrase you mentioned there is having a lead.
I mean, they never led games last year. It wasn't
even that they didn't wing it. They didn't lead. I
think they had I forget the minutes total, but they
were leading the fewest amount of minutes in the league
last year, and so hard to peer to peel your
ears back and go after the quarterback when you're constantly behind,
when you have to really play both and play play action.
I agree with you. I think it's gonna be interesting.
(12:39):
You know, I'm fascinating we know sexy Dexi in what
he brings to the table. Obviously with Carter the one pick,
I'm really curious that you know Burns is so consistent,
you know you're gonna get from him. I'm just curious
to see what Thibodeau does, you know. I think it's
kind of a big year for him and see how
he performs, especially with the drafting of Carter and kind
of mixing him in and what kind of role he's
going to play. But I do think they're improved. And look,
(13:02):
they improved a lot last year. You know, they got
to basically the middle of the pack, you know, in
some categories, and I think that line I love Okara kay.
I think he's a consummate professional leader in the middle
of that day and a good tackler he got hurt
at the end of last year. And then the additions
of the secondary, there's no question they're better. And I
agree with you. If they get it, if they get
(13:23):
the chance, they could be, you know, the best pass
rushing unit in the league. But they got to have
the lead. They got to have some fourth quarters where
they're in front at least by a field going and
get a chance to really show what they can do.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
All right, let's jump over to the commanders, who the
Giants a get in Weak Number one obviously came out
of nowhere last year behind Jade and Daniels, who had
an unbelievable rookie year. You had him in the NFC
title Game against the Eagles in a game where they
scored plenty of points, they just couldn't get any stops.
Is that going to be a similar problem? Do you
think for them this year? Do you think they've done
enough on defense where they were able to clean up
(13:56):
that side of the ball a little bit?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Well? I did their game in Detroit too, when they
just gashed the Lions and that was so impressive. You know, look,
I think offensively they're good. You know, I think that
Jaymee Dan. You know, people were going to say, well,
you know, the league has a year to look in
him in the offseason. How they're going to respond to him?
And absolutely that is part of it. That's always the
case is how do they respond?
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Right?
Speaker 2 (14:17):
And for Washington fans, they're like, well, we saw this
with RG three, you know, how is our guy going
to respond? I think Jade Daniels is a star. I
think he's I think he's a superstar. He's smart, he's
he's he's got it all. He's obviously not a big guy,
So you worry about that when he runs. You know
they got They traded away Brian Robinson, which was their
lead back, but I think they've got enough versatility there.
(14:39):
They bring over Deebo Samuel. I just like what they
have to offer. They've got a good offensive line, so
that's offense. Defensively, you know it's going to be interesting.
They lost Dante Fowler, who was their leading sack guy,
and they replaced him with Von Miller, who's thirty six
years old. Vaughn's great, he's the all time active sack leader.
He's you know, Hall of Famer, But I don't know
(15:00):
what Vaughn is going to give at age thirty six.
I think defensively, their big weakness is I think there's
a couple questions. First of all, can they stop the
run because they couldn't do it last year and I
don't know that they're much better in that area this year.
And then the other thing is I think for them,
which is a big deal, they had a great draft
last year. Mikey sain Rastill was amazing, and I mean
(15:20):
he was so good in the secondary. And I like
their safeties that they've got good versatility. But I think
the key for them in going from a good defense
to a great defense. Is Marshawn Lattimore the guy that
he was three four years ago for New Orleans or
is he just okay and little injury prone right now?
I think, you know, they traded for him hoping he's
(15:41):
still the one guy, and injuries have been a big
reason why you haven't been able to see that. But
I think that is a humongous key for Washington.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
And look, Kevin, they've kind of gone all in here,
like they traded a bunch of draft picks in the offseason,
whether it was the Deebo Samuel trade you mentioned, the
Marshall Lattimore trade. They probably have one of the older
rosters in the league. I think they're trying to take
advantage of this window with Jayden Daniels on his rookie contract.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, you know what happened. They brought, you know, they
brought the new regime, and obviously it's been a total changeover,
right with Josh Harris the owner, and Adam Peters, who's
so great worked under John Lynch for all those years
in San Francisco, and then Dan Quinn who's an awesome coach,
and their initial thing was we're going to bring over
some good veterans kind of what we're talking about with
the Giants. Honestly, we're gonna bring up some good veteran
leadership and be a decent football team. Right, they won
(16:30):
four games two years ago. You know the Giants should
look to them and see like that's I think the
formula is kind of what they're trying to do, with
the exception of they didn't you know, with the exception
of Daniel's play right out of the gate and Jackson
dorrit is sitting. But they just wanted to go from
a bad football team to a competent football team and
build a culture with Dan Quinn. And it turned out
they had a lot of guys play really, really well,
(16:51):
and the rookies played great, and they weren't a good
football team, they were an excellent football team. So I think,
you know, yes, they're older, but you know, with what
happened last year, they're like, Okay, well we're good. We're
just going to add to that now and yeah, try
and win now. And now the key is going to
be down the road. They're going to have to turn
that over at some point. But I think right now
for the next year, or two who cares. You know,
you try and win. You got a quarterback who's not
(17:13):
making any money, and that's when you can spend on
the older veterans. That's what Seahawks did with Russell Wilson
when he was a kid. They spend all this money
on the Legion of Boom and all these guys, and
they didn't pay Russell or anything. And that's what they
won because they didn't have the money tied up in
the quarterback. So I think the Giants, ironically, you look
at the Commanders, I don't think the formula is that different.
I think a lot of what they did is what
(17:35):
Washington tried to do last year when they went from
four wins to twelve in a single year.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
And I got to give Adam Peter's credit. You know
you mentioned that second year for a rookie, progress is
not always linear, right. Look at CJ. Strad last year.
He had a similar rookie letter. Jayda Daniels last year
didn't look as good. Now. A lot of that deals
what was going on around CJ.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Shad.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
They couldn't protect them. The offense line was a mess,
and I got to give Adam Peter some credit. I
think he said to himself in order to avoid that
potential regression from Jaden Daniels, I'm loading up on offense
in the offseason. I'm bringing in a left tackle that
I know is awesome, and Laramie Tunsil. I'm bringing in
a guy that he can throw a two yard pass to,
and Deebo Samuel that can turn into a twenty yard game.
(18:15):
And I think he really said, I'm going to try
to build an infrastructure around this quarterback to make sure
we don't have what happened to CJ Stradd last year
in Houston.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Yeah. I think that's a great point, I really do.
And I think the biggest difference is now. Look we'll
see and they've been a little banged up in camp,
so you know, Cosme's out to start the year, you know,
one of the really good linemen. But they've got a
better line than Houston did last year, at least on paper.
And they played that way, you know, last year, So
I think the protection. I think the fascinating thing for
me watching their offense is not only yes, how they
(18:48):
use Debo, who by all accounts kind of is looking
really really good. He had a pneumonia bout last year
and it really messed with him and it hurt him
a lot. But I think it's how much are they
still doing all the same things with Jayden that they
did last year, because you know how it goes, you know,
first year, you kind of throw it out there, he's
running for eight hundred yards. You let him go and
(19:08):
do his thing, and that's who he is. But then
the mindset is a little bit, well, got to keep
him healthy, right, So it's like you got to keep
him healthy, you know. So I think the play calling
and how Cliff Kingsbury handles it kind of a fascinating
thing in your two with Daniels, Like he's we know
how good he is, But how much of that stuff
do you do the same How much do you think, well,
got to protect our franchise guy. Now, maybe not call
(19:30):
some of those things as much.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Yeah, I think it'll be fun to say, all right,
do you think this could be a high scoring game, Kevin?
You know, the Giants generally do not play high scoring games.
They have not scored many points over the past you know,
three four years. But I think this could be a
really fun up and down ball getting thrown down the
field type of you know, not very typical Giants, you know,
commanders go back in the day eighties, Giants, Redskins types
(19:54):
of game.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Yeah. I could see that all day long, I really can.
I could see Russell Wilson throwing all the the deep balls,
you know, getting some time to throw the ball. I think, though, ironically,
for the Giants, I think their formula might be the opposite.
I think, you know what you said earlier in this podcast.
If I'm them, I want to keep James Daniels off
the field, So I want to get the run game going,
get the play action that Russell is so good at,
(20:15):
and I try to limit their possessions on offense. Now
that goes out the window. Washington scores, you know, two
touchdowns on the first two possessions. I could see them
air in and out. It could be a really, really
fun game. But I think for the Giants to win,
I think the formula is actually the other way around.
But I'm no coach. We'll see what Davis thinks, John,
you know, we'll see. But I could see there's a
lot of talent on that. I just it's a fun
(20:35):
matchup for a week one. It really is.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
If you want to know how to manage two minutes
of crunch time football. I'm your match. But if you're
wondering about a long term financial plan, you should talk
to Citizens. Hey, I can also talk long care. I'd
like to learn about Amulli routine. Yes, I knew I
could help makes sense of your money with Citizens. If
there is a matchup that you see in this game, Kevin,
where do you see one that could really kind of
(20:59):
be that full crow match that could tip the game
one way or the other that you think is very
important when you look at the two you know rosters
and how they match up. We know how much of
the off the the NFL is a is a matchup
league week to week.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's definitely gonna start with
the Giants pass rush against their O lion. But I'm
gonna let me let me think about that for just
a second and just think about this game. You know,
I do think I'm gonna go. I really am gonna
go with you know, Washington's run defense against the Giants
run game. You know, if we're gonna find out about
this Giants offensive line, whether Andrew Thomas plays or not,
(21:32):
Let's see if they could run the ball. Let's see
what Tracy can do and whoever else they throw in
there can do against what was their weakness last year.
I'm trying to exploit that if I'm the Giants and
see if I get that run game going and using
you know, Russell Wilson is so good at the play pass.
I just think that's got big play potential written all
over it. So that's the matchup. I'm gonna look at
(21:52):
Tyrone Tracy run game. How does he do against that
Washington line which struggled against the run last year? And yes,
they've got a couple new pieces on that line, but
let's see if they can stop it.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
No, I like that. I think that's a really good
point all right around the league. Make the case, Kevin,
we haven't seen a repeat winner in the NFC since
I believe two thousand and four when Andy Reid and
Donovan McNabb did it for the foot off Fee Eagles.
Make the case, how do either the Cowboys, Giants or
Commanders knock the Eagles off that perch this year? Given
how talented that roster is.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, they're good. I mean, you know, it's always hard
to repeat. We know that, right, and a lot of
it is mental and it's the motivation and guys always
talk about I think from a talent perspective, their roster
is completely loaded. Now they're younger. They lost some guys,
some key guys from that defense last year. I would
say for Philly, the one thing is this depth. Right
(22:45):
They had depth with their young guys last year, and mean,
granted a lot of them ended up playing and being
key contributors. But now because they lost some of those
veterans on defense because they had to get paid and
they're trying to, you know, structure this window to win
for a while, they don't have as at least the
proven depth they don't have, So, you know, I think
for the Eagles, it's can they stay healthy? Number one?
(23:06):
I think there are They're gonna be what they're gonna be.
They're gonna run the ball down your throat and when
they need to throw it, Jalen Hurts is pretty damn
good with two of the best receivers in the league.
Their defense was so good last year. Will they have
any growing pains early, especially earlier in the year with
some of the new pieces, some of the younger guys.
But I think right now, with the way the roster
(23:26):
is On paper, they're good, there's no question about it.
It's how do they handle success? That's what it comes
down to. That's what Jimmy Johnson always used to talk
about with the Cowboys, like how do you handle success?
And that's gonna be fascinating to watch. And obviously their
schedule is tough, maybe not as tough as the Giants,
which I still don't understand how they've got like this
insanely heart so that doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever.
(23:48):
But look, man, it's NFC East. As you know, no
one seems to win the division ever back to back years.
It never happens, so john nothing would surprise me. And
I do think it's going to be a really good division.
I think it's going to be close. Like I think
the Eagles are really good. I don't know, just because
of repeating and because of younger guys, and because of
(24:08):
how tough their schedule is. I don't know. If they're
a fourteen win team, I think that might be asking
a lot. I still think they're a first place team,
but we'll see.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Yeah. Look, the NFC East has the NFC North and
the AFC West, two of the better divisions in football.
So I think it could very well kind of shrink
that margin, right in terms of how good the top
team is in the division.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Yeah, and that's I think where it comes. Right, Let's
say you need ten wins to win the division instead
of four team that's a big difference. Yeah, that's a
big difference. And that's gettable if you get a couple
of big wins to win a couple of these close games,
which is something the Giants couldn't do last year either. Right,
So that's where I think the tie turns of your
fan of those other teams and how things can change
the AFC.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
We know it's going to be Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar
Jackson battling it out right. NFC's wide open, though, what
team do you think might emerge this year? Is that
the lines? Again? Is it somebody else that you think
could make a run in the NFC this year, which
I think is a little bit more wide open.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
I think it's really good the NFC. You mentioned the
NFC North is so good. I think the Rams are fantastic.
If Stafford is healthy.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
You're like the fourth straight person to pick the Rams,
by the way, I think people are high on them.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Listen, so I'll give you. I'll give you the quick answer.
I think if Stafford's healthy, the Rams are exceptional. I
really do. I mean they were the best chance of
beating the Eagles last year. I'm talking the entire season,
let alone the playoffs, because they match up well with them.
I think Detroit's still going to be very good. They
lost two coordinators, so there's something to prove there. I'll
say this. I think the biggest question mark is JJ
(25:37):
McCarthy from Minnesota, right because he didn't throw the ball
that much of Michigan because it got hurt last year
in camp and he never saw him throw a pass.
But if he can play and if he's good, I
think Minnesota is a problem. Like they are. I love
what they did in the offseason their defense. To me,
they added they got Jonathan Allen, and they got Javon
Hargrave in the middle. They were so tough with Brian
(25:58):
Flores last year. They brought in and Mason from the
forty nine ers, who I think is a beast as
a runner. And now Aaron Jones can be kind of
like that guy who catches passes and other stuff. I
think I think the and Justin Jefferson was hurt last year.
I think the Vikings are really good and that's no Look,
they won fourteen games last year, right, But I think
everyone's just expecting them to fall off the table because
(26:19):
Darnold left. If McCarthy is good, I think their roster
is great. I think their coach is as good a
coach as there is in the NFL. I think they
could be a real problem. So that's my that's my
alter ego other than the Rams.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Don't I think the Vikings might have the second most
talented team in the in the conference other than the
Philadelphia I'm with.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
You Foster wise, they're good, and I agree we'll.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
See about the quarterback. Our final fun question, you know,
for people that I don't know, Kevin and I go back.
I produced these shows on I FAM like five oh six, oh.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Seven, the best producer ever.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Man, Oh please stop, But do you ever look around
at like Tom Brady, All right, well, there's Derek Jeter,
there's a Rod, there's David Ortis, and realize these were
all of like the most important people in s words
that I talked about every day and now I'm just
hanging out with these guys on like a daily basis
is it just like do you ever just like pinch
yourself and go, my gosh, what's going on here?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
It literally makes no sense. Yeah, every of course, Smoky
every day you know me, well right, like it's I
don't take it for granted. I love every second of it.
And it is just so cool to be able to
be around these guys. And the best part is they're
all such great teammates and fun to be around. You know,
you see sides of them that you didn't see when
you're covering athletes and now they're you know, they're regular guys,
(27:32):
you know, and it's so fun. Like you know, it's like,
you know, being on that desk with with Baseball Royalty
is unbelievable, and just watching baseball games and yelling at
the TV together is crazy, you know. And then I'm
in the booth with Tom and you know, I think
one of the coolest things about him, among many things,
is you know, we're in the booth and like there's
a big play and like, you know, we're like high
(27:54):
fiving because he's like he's such a football fan. He
loves the games so much, so he's like, oh god,
like here's the greatest player of all time, like screaming
because it's you know, a screen pass got executed well.
And he's like, like it's so cool, Like it's I
just think as a fan, and you and I are
the same. You know, we grew up on the couch,
you know, scream of the TV, and like that's what
we got into this industry to be next to the
(28:16):
greatest and great and they all are like us. That's
what I always tell like my friends, I think that's
the most fun part for me.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Make sure you shake out Kevin. All the great coverage
of baseball on Fox, and of course he has the
Call of Giants and Commanders on the first Sunday the
NFL season coming up. It can't wait for it. Kevin,
thanks for the time, man, We appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
Hey, man, can't wait to see you down there. Let's
go Football's back.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Kevin Burkhart on the Johnsontle Podcast, brought to you by
a citizens Official Bank of the Giants and the Hackensack
Marine Hill The Podcast Vidio keep getting better. We'll see
you next time in the Johnson the Podcast
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