Twentyman in the Huddle: Lions-Giants Week 12 Preview

On this episode of the Twentyman in the Huddle podcast presented by Copilot+ PC, Tim Twentyman is joined by Will Burchfield, Thomas Harper and Matthew Citak previewing the Detroit Lions' Week 12 matchup vs. the New York Giants.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Golf up under center, turns, takes the jimi or sets
in the pocket, throws in the middle, foot rights over, touchdown.
Detroit lyons. Welcome to Week twelve season. I am two
twenty man. This is the twenty podcast. A lot of
you guys know the man. Next time, Will Birchfield on

(00:22):
air personality for ninety seven point one does a pregame
show for Fox two. You you got your hands a
little bit of everything, Yeah, kind of all across the board.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, jack of all trades, master of nine.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Well, before we talk about the New York Giants in
this week's opponent, let's look back a little bit to
Week eleven. Uh, Philadelphia. We have to we hits this
thing we do here. I know, we gotta look at
you know, obviously you know sixty to nine loss. Detroit
wanted to play better in a lot of areas. What's
the biggest concern for Will Birchfield coming out of Week

(00:56):
eleven in that game?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
I think it's been the same concern for for me
for most of this season, which is the offensive line.
And I know we all knew, including this regime, that
it wouldn't be the same bullying, maulleying, unit that it
had been in years past. When you lose Frank Ragnow
and you lose Kevin Zeitler, and you plug in essentially
two rookies in Mahogany and Tate Ratledge, and you shift

(01:18):
Graham to center. But now, with Mahogany down, and with
Taylor Decker obviously battered, and with Graham hurting in his
own ways, as you and I both know just from
talking to him in the.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Locker room a little bit, it just hasn't been a strength.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
And for me that's a concern because the identity of
this team, the backbone of this team has been the
offensive line, the ability to dominate teams in the trenches.
And when you see them against the two best defensive
fronts they face this year, Green Bay and Philadelphia, the
kind of fronts they might have to face in the
playoffs to make a run, you get a sense of

(01:55):
where they are versus where they were last year. So, look,
there's time that unit to still improve. I do think
that Miles Fraser could wind up being a boost for
this team come December. You know, I look at what
Mahogany did last year in very similar circumstances. He missed
all of training camp, had not practiced until the October,
gets activated right around now and had to step in

(02:16):
for injury. Glasgow in week fourteen played really well and
then played even better for Zeitler in a spot playoff start.
So there's reason to believe that Fraser could follow that
same trajectory. But to me, something has to happen for
that unit, for this team to get to where it.

Speaker 4 (02:32):
Wants to go.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
No, I agree with you one hundred percent, and particularly
the interior of that line. And like you had some
of the statistics of you know, when they play some
of these dominant units, just how they haven't performed to
the level that we've seen in years past. Will In
their six wins, they've allowed eight sacks and they've rushed

(02:54):
on average about one hundred and sixty nine yards per game.
In their four losses, twelve sacks three a game, and
the average per game rushing goes down to seventy Yeah,
you know that to me is is the huge difference.
This is a football team that's built on running the football.
Everything they do on offense is predicated, you know, and

(03:14):
if they can't do it and can't do it consistently,
as we've seen in some of these losses, it's just
a whole different operation.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
Offensively one one hundred percent.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
And you know, I think from the moment that Dan
got here back in twenty twenty one, he has always
highlighted the offensive line as kind of their signature strength.
And to me, it was a little telling this week
that when he was asked on the radio in ninety
seven to one during his weekly interview to name in
his mind this team's strength ten games into the year.

Speaker 3 (03:42):
He listed a lot of things.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
He listed their explosive skill players, he listed their quarterback,
he listed every aspect of quote, their freaking defense, even
listed some of their special teams coverage units. But he
did not list the offensive line. And that was kind
of an unstated way of saying that that's no law
Younger really an obvious asset for this team.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
And I think it was just glaring.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
At times on Sunday Night against the Eagles, especially in
some of those short yardage situations. You know, I go
back to a drive early in the second quarter, they
run the ball four times and on third and one
Gibbs get stuffed.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
I think going to the right by.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Jalen Phillips and Jalen Carter, and then on fourth and
one they try running again up the gut and they
run behind Graham Glasgow, Tristan Cologne, and Kyote Awaska, which
is not Frank ragnow, Kevin Zeitler and Graham Glasgow, and
you know, probably not a surprise that Jalen Carter and Ojora,
who's a breakout defensive tackle, kind of collapse the line

(04:43):
and get home, get home for the stuff. And then
on fourth and goal from from the three in the
third quarter, you know, a similar scenario plays out where yeah,
it's a surprise to see Penney Sewell get beat off
the right edge by Phillips, But at the same time,
I think it was Awaseika who got beat cleanly by
Jordan Davis another missmas. Because of that Jared couldn't quite
step up in the pocket. He would have had a

(05:04):
wide open Brock right over the middle for a walk
in touchdown had he had maybe a quarter second or
a half second longer to survey the field. Didn't have
that time, forces an incomplete throw to a completely covered
Saint Brown on the back.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
Of the end zone.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
And just in those critical game deciding moments, you get
a sense of how the offensive line isn't the beast
that it once was.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
They knew they were gonna miss they knew they knew
they knew they were going to miss him, but I
don't know if they were realized they were going to
miss him this much. I mean, when you don't have
the best center in the game, it changes everything all
the way from the inside. It just changes the whole operation,
And that to me is the biggest loss. I just

(05:46):
I don't think they've they've recovered one hundred percent from
losing him yet, and they might not until they kind
of figure out the next piece in the center of
that offense.

Speaker 2 (05:54):
Amazing, and how frequently he would take on not one,
but two blocks on a given play, Like he would
win his first block at the line and then go
pick off a linebacker in the second level. And that's
how so many of those two or three yard runs
became ten or twelve or sixty yard runs.

Speaker 3 (06:08):
And he had Zeitler next to him doing the same thing.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
So that just cleanness and dominance of blockinge and hasn't
quite been there this year.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
You mentioned what Dan said about the defense in every level.
How impressed have you been always Shepherd and what he's
been able to do. What's been most impressive.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
To you, Oh my gosh, I mean I all of it. Seriously.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
It's and you know what they're doing this right now
without their number one corner, without their all pro safety,
without at times their number two corner, without maybe their
number two and three defensive ends, and Marcus Davenport and
Josh Pascal.

Speaker 3 (06:40):
All of whom are nearing returns.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
So as good as his defense has been, it's poised
to only get better down the stretch. And you know,
the numbers over the season are obviously impressive now fifth
in the NFL and yards allowed, but especially over the
last four games.

Speaker 3 (06:55):
Some numbers for you allowed an average.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
Of two hundred and sixty seven point four yards over
the court of this season that would rank second bash
in the NFL, and just four point three six yards
per play, which would rank first. And you know they've
they've played some some pretty impressive offenses, at least on
paper during that stretch, including the one they faced Sunday night.

Speaker 3 (07:14):
And just a way that is it has withstood.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
Injuries and kept the standard high has been extremely impressive.

Speaker 1 (07:21):
Top ten overall, top ten scoring, top ten in the
red zone, top ten rushing, top ten you know what
I mean, going that'll do it. That's impressed me the
most is Kelvin identifying strengths and weakness, yes, and playing
to them. I think he identified very early on that
his linebackers and the depth that he has at linebackers

(07:41):
are strength along with their versatility. And so what does
he do? A lot of teams are playing nickel defense.
What's sixty percent of the time now Detroit's playing at
thirty seven fast? I checked the percentage because it's hard
to identify where the blitz is coming, if it's coming
with your linebackers, who's dropping into coverage, who's coming, and
how to identify, you know, pre snap those looks and

(08:03):
where guys are going to be and just realizing that
tailoring his defense to make that, you know, the centerpiece
of it, and then just getting great play from guys
that just step in. Yeah, you know, Thomas Harper, Whiteside,
Arthur More, you know, I mean guys we'd never heard of,
what was the legion of whom they nicknamed him, and
to still get quality play and you talked about it.

(08:25):
They're going to get DJ read back probably this week.
It sounds like it's trending that way. Malcolm Rodriguez, you
can do some packages with him, adds to that linebacker depth.
Marcus Davenport's on the way, Pascal's on the way. So
to me, this is a championship level defense and we
haven't been able to say that in Detroit for for
quite a while.

Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, this is almost an inverse right now of how
the seasons have typically gone under Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes,
for the offense has been leading the way, but this
year it feels like by the end of the season,
the defense will be this.

Speaker 3 (08:56):
Team's calling card.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
And you know, if the offense to operate at a
top ten level instead of maybe top three or top
two as they've been in the past, with this defense,
you know that might be good enough. And I love
your point about the linebackers because this is a throwback defense.
You don't see NFL teams, really football teams of any
kind these days, down to Pop Warner even deploying three

(09:19):
linebackers on almost every single snap, But Angeloni, Campbell, and
Barnes have all played at least ninety.

Speaker 3 (09:25):
Percent of the snaps this year.

Speaker 2 (09:26):
They're the only team in the NFL that has three
linebackers who have played at least five hundred defensive snaps
and no one else comes even close. And to me,
that's the biggest reason why they've been so stout against
the run. They can stay in base defense, largely because
of Derek Barnes's versatility, but also Brian Branch's versatility, his
ability to come down.

Speaker 3 (09:46):
And cover guys in the slot when he needs to.

Speaker 2 (09:49):
But that has made them a really difficult team to
run the ball against, and it allows them to make
offenses most of the time.

Speaker 5 (09:55):
One dimension and al is a pretty good Yeah. I
can do it too, And I think Campbell's improved. He
still got some way to go. He wasn't asked to
do that a lot at Iowa. That's something he's kind
of developing and he's getting better at it. So I
just love the versatility of that unit.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
Hey, one more for you before I forget just about
the run defense. Yeah, I think the three best running
backs they face this year Josh Jacobs, Derek Henry, Saquon Barkley.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
If that agree is fair enough.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yeah, those three guys against this defense fifty seven carries
for two hundred.

Speaker 3 (10:22):
And nine yards a three point seven average. I mean,
they're they're making all pro all world running backs look average.
That's a hard thing to do.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
Very hard thing to do offensively. They seem to have
locked something here, Yeah in Jmo. Yeah, and we've seen
it now a couple of weeks in a row with
these crossers. You know, we're so used to the down
the field threat with him, and obviously that's still going
to be a big part of it, but getting him
more involved in the short and intermedia, just getting the
ball in his hands. It seems like once Dan Campbell

(10:50):
took over play calling, that seemed to be a bigger emphasis.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
I think we were.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
All expecting and excited to see that this year based
on the way they talked about Jamo and training camp,
some on the way they used him in camp, and
for whatever reason, that version of him kind of disappeared
over the first two months of this season, and it's
been really invigorating to see it come back, because if
you can get him the ball, as you said in stride,
he is a threat to score from anywhere on the field,

(11:17):
and a lot of times those five yard ten yard
crossing routes are as dangerous, if not more than, you know,
the sixty yard post route. And I think it was
something that Ben Johnson did a really good job of
last year when JMO broke through for the first time
a thousand yard season. You know, he was running a wider,
more diverse route tree, as the coaches like to call it.

(11:37):
And if you look at his average depth of target
in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three, his first
two seasons, when he was mostly just a vertical threat
or a decoy, it was really high, one of the
highest in the NFL. Well, last year under Ben Johnson,
it came down to about league average, right around eleven
point six, so middle of the pack, and that allowed
him to break through. You know, he housed a couple

(11:58):
plays where he was just running simple crossers or slants,
and with Johnny Mo calling plays over the first eight games,
that spiked back up to I think sixteen yards average
depth of target, which was one of the highest marks
in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (12:11):
Under Dan Campbell, this is crazy.

Speaker 2 (12:13):
It has come down to literally eleven point six where
it was last year in two games, and voila, there's
the explosive playmaker all across the.

Speaker 1 (12:22):
Field, and now you get the running game rolling a
little bit more consistently. I think what we saw with
Goff and Saint Brown is a one off. You know
they're not going to be yet like that that extreme
tells us that's not And now when you get Jamo involved,
and I just think that unlocks something. But again, it
all starts with getting that consistent play up front, which

(12:43):
they got to do. All right, we'll look into New York.
What jumps out what maybe concerned you about the New
York Giants is maybe what we've been talking about with
the offensive line defensive mind.

Speaker 3 (12:55):
Yet no, I think that's where I am.

Speaker 2 (12:57):
You know, on paper, this is one of the best
that are best looking defenses in the NFL. On the
field not so much, right, but you know, defensive line,
the names on it, four first round picks, including two
top five picks, and despite Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence
and Kevon Thibodeau and Abdul Carter, they've allowed I think

(13:18):
the fourth most points and fourth most yards in the
league and the most rushing yards per carry five and
a half.

Speaker 3 (13:24):
It's kind of hard to make sense of.

Speaker 2 (13:26):
And most of those guys have played in every game,
but it just hasn't come together. So what concerns me
is the possibility that Burns. You know can can have
a big day. He's having a huge year, thirteen sacks
in eleven games.

Speaker 3 (13:39):
Second most in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (13:40):
And then if he does what he's been doing and
one of those other three gets hot against a wounded
offensive line, that's where the Giants could pose some problems.
But I like this matchup for a defense that, as
we both agree, needs to run the ball.

Speaker 3 (13:54):
They should be able to run it against that defensive fret.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
Rather thirtieth along almost one hundred and fifty yards on
the ground per game. That's a lot of yards and
a lot of big plays. Now they're hurt on defense,
and I agree with you. I think that's the biggest
concern is those names up front along the defensive line.
But they're gonna get Jackson dartback this week, and I
think that's an interesting one to look at. A guy
who plays an aggressive style for a rookie. He'll take

(14:20):
some shots and he's not afraid of running the football
putting his head down. Now, he missed last week because
of a concussion, so he's got to be careful. Their
head coach talked about that this week, about showing him
some examples of some opportunities to slider, get out a
bouncer just to be smarter. But look, well he's got
over three hundred rushing yards, he's got seven touchdowns. I
think he's got a touchdown run in five straight games

(14:41):
that he's played. They're a much better football team when
he's on the field. And look, he can extend plays.
He's got some opportunities to, you know, make some plays
with his legs in the run game. And so look,
Detroit's ben good against quarterbacks like that. Yeah, you know,
we look at what they did against Hurts, what they
did vinst Lamar. Yeah, three. But still, I think that's

(15:01):
an interesting dynamic that you have to worry about a
little bit if you're Kevin Shepard.

Speaker 3 (15:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (15:05):
I bet when the Lions turn on the tape, the
coaches here, they've got a lot of respect for Jackson Dart.
I could see Dan Campbell watching this guy compete with
the moxie and fearlessness that he has and.

Speaker 3 (15:17):
Just saying like, man, I like that, dude.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
You know, I think we'll hear Campbell talk pretty highly
of Jackson Dart's competitiveness this week. And it's otherwise a
pretty ravaged offense. I mean, they're missing their their best
receiver in the league, neighbors who felt like he was
gonna be one of the best receivers in the league
this year. Obviously, camp Scataboo was a sensation. Pretty tough
to see him go down with a rather gruesome injury

(15:40):
as well, So you know, you feel like if you
can contain hurt they lacked the playmakers around him to
really or sorry, if you can contain Jackson dart yea,
you know, they lack the playmakers to really hurt you.
But he is a fun quarterback to watch, even if
from the stands or from the press box, you're gonna
have to be on your toes because plays that might

(16:00):
like they're destined to end in a sack or a
tackle for loss, All of a sudden, he breaks free
and he's lowering his shoulder and he's making a guy
miss and maybe it's a twelve yard game, so you
have to finish the play against a quarterback like him.

Speaker 1 (16:12):
Zero for five on fourth down. It was a big,
you know, storyline of that game. Obviously one of the
bigger reasons why they lost. You convert, Yeah, a couple
of those third downs that were three to thirteen and
obviously if you if you convert one of those fourth
down maybe that game in Philadelphia is a little different.
Will you expect after a game like that, you expect
Campbell to be a little bit more conservative going forward

(16:33):
mile because I know.

Speaker 2 (16:36):
If I were coaching, I would, But Dan is committed
to this this team's philosophy, and so I don't think
he would, and I don't think he should have to
against the defense like the Giants. Now, I think he
might moving forward against defenses like Phillies or like Green
Bays where there's a clear mismatch in the trenches or

(16:57):
the situation or the situation right sure your offense.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
Is struggling, maybe you start to play that field position
points game.

Speaker 2 (17:04):
No doubt, no doubt, And so I think in those
cases he might give it some more thought. I don't
think that he should or will have to against this defense.
But that was what I wrote yesterday. You know, we
do write you to sit here and talk on the
camera on the screen all day and into microphones. But
that was kind of my takeaway from Sunday night, is
that it might be time for Campbell to acknowledge the

(17:26):
shifting identity of this team and that this might be
a team, as we said, led by its defense from
here on now. And if that's the case, in tit
low scoring games, it might make more sense to to
kickfield goals and to to ac crew points that way
rather than chase touchdowns. I think over their first four
seasons year those fourth down attempts made sense so frequently

(17:48):
because they had one of the best offensive lines in
the NFL. And so if the NFL average on fourth
and short was closer to fifty percent, it was, it
was closer to two thirds in favor of the Lions.
Because of that advantage they had up front, they could
really move the line of scrimmage, and so it.

Speaker 3 (18:04):
Changed the calculus.

Speaker 2 (18:05):
But the calculus has changed again with a week weekend
wounded a line and with a really good defense, and
so maybe and some of these tighter, lower scoring games,
if they have those, ideally in the playoffs, that's where
you might see him take points or punt instead of
chase those extra first downs.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
I agree with you. I think he'll kind of re
evaluate week to week and game to game and an
opponent opponent and kind of just see where that game
is going and have a better idea, and that might
be a good thing. What happened last week is just
a reminder like, hey, okay, you know, maybe there's an
opportunity to punt this. I've got one of the best punters.
Put them back. Their offense wasn't rolling. Your defense is

(18:43):
playing so good. Let's play that kind of game. So
we'll see if that that's a difference going forward. Speaking
to that defense, DJ reads back this week, how big
of an addition is and is it a good problem? Now?
Will that? Look? Terry On could be back this week too,
and he was playing pretty good there before the concussion,
and Amik has stepped out and played really well filling
in for Reid. Is it a good thing? Now?

Speaker 3 (19:04):
You do with me? What do you do time?

Speaker 1 (19:05):
Now? Do you split time? Does a Meek just go
back to playing the nickel? You've got a bunch of
guys that can play now good good problem to have,
I think so.

Speaker 6 (19:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (19:13):
It raises the dilemma of playing so much based defense.
I know you want your best players in the field,
but if you're gonna stay in base defense, then I
guess a Meek has to come off the field. But
he adds so much spunk and feistiness and just ability
to this defense. He's played really well in coverage in
some tough matchups too, so that'll be a fun puzzle
for Kelvin Shepherd to kind of piece together.

Speaker 3 (19:33):
But I think the return of dj Reid is huge.
He was beginning to.

Speaker 2 (19:37):
Really find his stride before his injury. He was playing
like the lockdown number one corner they paid him to be.
You know, you go back to week three, he eliminated
Zay Flowers from that win over the Ravens. I mean
he was invisible for most of that night, and then
he was doing the same thing and maybe a slightly
easier matchup to Jerry Judy in week four. He really
was cementing himself, establishing himself as a clear corner who

(20:00):
can travel with the opposing team's top receiver.

Speaker 3 (20:02):
And having him back is huge.

Speaker 2 (20:05):
Looking forward, you know, there's some big matchups in the
NFC playoff race.

Speaker 3 (20:09):
This team has to has to to take.

Speaker 2 (20:10):
On Dallas, who's kind of back from the dead now
with with Dak and George Pickens and Ceedee Lamb has
all kinds of passing weapons and artillery. And then the
Rams with Stafford and obviously Nakua and Devanta Adams I
believe those are back to back games for this team,
and you're gonna want all of the cover guys you
can possibly have on the field for matchups like that.

(20:33):
So you know, the fact that reads back harry On's
hopefully back soon and you have them meet kind of
in the wings is a good thing at the right time.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
And to your point on on Dijerrian, just how well
he was playing fifty percent. That's opposing quarterbacks completing fifty
percent passes thrown his way with a forty four point
one passer race.

Speaker 3 (20:49):
That'll do it'll, that'll get the job done.

Speaker 1 (20:51):
That's shutdown, no doubt that shutdown. It's good to get
that guy back. The biggest matchup you're looking forward to.

Speaker 3 (20:56):
I really want to watch Burns versus Pine Sul.

Speaker 1 (20:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:59):
I think that, you know, kind of a clash of
the Titans. Tight matchup and and we've seen it a
couple of times this year against some of the elite
pass rushers. Always fun to watch sewell kind of lock
horns with those guys. I think that'll be a fun
one to watch all game. Burns does rush from both sides,
so it won't always be being able to be some
deck or two, But we'll see how how those two
ends can can handle him. And then I just think

(21:21):
I'll reiterate, I think the best matchup for the Lions
this week is just running the ball against this against
against this this defense that has been yielding leaking yards
all season, especially lately last four games or last five games,
Giants have allowed six yards per carry, one hundred and
seventy five yards rushing per game, like they've just been
leaking oil up front. So I think that you know,

(21:43):
when the tape comes on and the game plan comes
out this week, John Demo should be kind of, you know,
licking their chops wait waiting to get into this this defense.

Speaker 1 (21:52):
I don't want to have a little phone with something.
I know we're a little bit past mid season, but
we're kind of rating that that key stretch now going forward.
I'm curious offensively and defensively for this team offensive MVP
so far.

Speaker 2 (22:05):
So I thought about this one for a little bit
because you did fill me in on a couple of
topics ahead of time, and I was waffling between Jamier
and Jared, and I eventually settled on Jared. And I
know it's maybe not the right time to have that
take after he has like the worst the career of
percent against the Eagles on Sunday Night Football. Would have

(22:25):
been easier to make this case last week, but I
think the way he's played with a much different looking
and performing offensive line and with a different OC and
with a change up play caller really speaks to how
sharp he is and how in command he is of
this offense. You know, the numbers are clear, he's been
great all season. The passer rating is top five, the

(22:47):
complet percentage is top five, they're both top one and
two before last week. But I think what goes under
stated or underappreciated is how much he does before the snap,
in the huddle at the line of scrimmage to get
this offense operating the way it needs to. I go
back to the JMO touchdown against the Commanders when Dan
couldn't get that play call in before his communication with

(23:09):
Jared shut off in Jared's helmet, and I think he
only got out maybe half of it. And Jared is
such a good student of the game that he was
able to hear eating a couple of words and.

Speaker 3 (23:19):
Spit the rest of it out.

Speaker 2 (23:21):
Get the guys lined out, they snap it with one
second on the playcock he finds Jamo for a touchdown.
That to me was a great snapshot of how much
he does that goes unseen for this offense.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
For me, it's Jamier and it was close. I thought
about Jared too, and and Jared's had a great season.
I think defenses have been pretty scared the last two
weeks with what the Lions have shown. Obviously, Jah the
runner has been huge and explosiveness in the big place
he brings there. But we saw it in Washington with
that Texas route and then last week getting him in
space with over one hundred receiving yards. I think that

(23:51):
added element to his game that he's shown the last
two weeks. I think that's scary. Yeah, you know, especially
if you're gonna be without Sam Laporta for some time now,
that is gonna be huge. I think they're gonna need
a lot more in the passing game from Jah. In
the last two weeks, he's shown that he's capable of
doing that. I think it's huge. I think this is
a completely different offense without Jamiir Gibbs. I gave him

(24:12):
the MVP early on.

Speaker 2 (24:13):
Yeah, Jamier gabs on a Texas route might be the
most unstoppable or unguardable play in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (24:18):
Is that linebackers like, come on, what are we doing?

Speaker 1 (24:22):
I think even a safety would be yeah, yeah, you know, yeah,
I mean honestly, all right, defensively.

Speaker 2 (24:27):
So waffled year between Aiden and Jack Campbell, and I
went with Jock Campbell.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
I think, you know, I think Aiden is Casey made.

Speaker 2 (24:35):
He's yeah, I mean, one of the five or ten
best defensive ends in the NFL.

Speaker 3 (24:39):
Every team would kill to have a guy like that.

Speaker 2 (24:41):
I think the strides that Campbell has made across the
board this year have turned him into one of the
best linebackers in the NFL. This is the guy the
Lions drafted eighteenth overall a couple of years ago when
they said they viewed him as a defensive centerpiece.

Speaker 3 (24:56):
This is what they were talking about.

Speaker 2 (24:58):
And he was obviously dominant against the run from the
moment he showed up. But he's really evolved as a
pass rusher this year. Four sacks, a career high, I
think tied for the third most on the team. And
we talk about this run defense. He is their best
run defender, and he's maybe the best run defending linebacker
in the NFL has played almost every darn snap this year.

(25:18):
I just think if you removed him from this defense,
it would look a whole lot different. He really has become,
even in coverage, a little bit a do it all linebacker.

Speaker 1 (25:28):
I said before the season, I wouldn't be surprised at
all if he had one hundred and fifty tackles. This season.
He had one hundred and thirty. I think he's the fourth,
only the fourth line ever to have at least ninety
tackles through team's first ten games. Chris Bielman's on that
list a couple of times. Good company, good company, you know,
And so I'm with you. I think he's kind of
what makes that defense work. He's, you know, the green dot.

(25:50):
He gets everybody lined up. He is I don't think
he gets enough credit for. And you hear Calvin talk
about it, you hear's teammates talk about is his preparation.
I mean it's goth like from the defensive side. When
you've got a middle linebacker that plays like that, prepares
like that, is toughest nails. I wish I was in
that huddle when he had the hole and he was

(26:12):
like covering so he wouldn't spit blood on his teammates,
still making it like he's a throwback.

Speaker 3 (26:17):
I think one of them was like, are you good, dude,
He's just a.

Speaker 1 (26:21):
Throwback, like he fits everything Detroit and Dan Campbell wants
to be. I think he's gonna be a good linebacker
in this league for a long long time.

Speaker 2 (26:29):
Yeah, there might be a distant relations between Dan Campbell
and Jack Campbell. There might not surprise me. Maybe like
third cousins, twice remombers or something. They're cut from the
same cloth for sure.

Speaker 1 (26:38):
All right, let's finish on this one. Everybody does power
rankings real quick. I'm gonna give you my five power
top five in the NFC and tell me if you
agree or you know, tell me I'm I'm an idiot.
Number one for me, Rams, I just think that offense
is elite. That defensive line can get after you. They're

(26:59):
like Detroit in a lot of ways that they can
beat you offensively and defensively when they're on point Phillies.
Number two for me, Detroit's at three, Seattle is four.
Don't sleep on the forty nine ers. Now the brock
perdies back, I know they're dealing with some injuries. They've
lost some guys, but offensively they're starting to get a

(27:21):
few guys back. They're always gonna play good defense over there.
That's my five. So I got Rams, Eagles, Lions, Seahawks,
forty nine ers. What's your five?

Speaker 3 (27:31):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (27:31):
I would consider swapping in Tampa for thought for San
fran Yes, because they're kind of a battle tested team
under Todd Bowles, and even when they're down a bunch
of players, they'll find a way to make you fight them.
And Baker's a gamer, you know, I have a lot
of respect for it, for his style of play. They

(27:52):
seem to have found a new running back and this
Sean Tucker, I think it is, who is made the
absence of Bucky Irving kind of a moot point. I know, Oh,
they're all kinds of banged up, but that's a team
that that if and if and probably when they make
the playoffs, could still put a scare.

Speaker 3 (28:07):
Into into some of those big boys.

Speaker 2 (28:09):
As you know, we've we've seen firsthand here they've given
the Lions all they can handle, especially from from their
defensive side of things. So I think maybe that's that
would be the one swap that I would make but
I agree.

Speaker 3 (28:19):
That l A is scary man.

Speaker 2 (28:21):
And it's amazing how quickly they rebuilt themselves after going
all in with the FM picks philosophy to win that
first one under Stafford. They have emerged again as a
real threat and that young defensive line is a force
to be reckoned with. That's the next to me major
test for this Lions offense because they play a lot

(28:42):
like Philly and Green Bay do in that they don't
blitz all that much. Like obviously the vikings caused problems.
That was almost more scheme related than four as related
than just like Mono E Mono one run.

Speaker 1 (28:56):
There are other factors there.

Speaker 2 (28:58):
Though, Yeah, exactly ever changes everything and that's what Green
Bay can do, It's what Philly did last week, and
it's what LA can do. So I know that's further
on down the line, but that's looming as a major
test for this offensive line.

Speaker 1 (29:11):
Well, I know we went a little longer than I
normally go up. I enjoyed this. This was good stuff.
You can catch will obviously on X at.

Speaker 3 (29:20):
Birchie Underscore Kid. You can find me on there.

Speaker 2 (29:22):
You can find me on the ninety seven to one
airwaves Monday Nights, Lions Review New Fox two Sunday Morning
Sunday Nights.

Speaker 3 (29:30):
You can't really avoid me.

Speaker 1 (29:31):
You're everywhere. I like it, and we'll look. This team
hasn't lost back to back game since October of twenty twenty.
I think both of us expect a huge bounce, bagging
get right. Then you've got Green Bay on Thanksgiving on
a short week. We'll see where this team stands. And
then La and some of those are looming too. So
it's the stretch run, but it should be a fun one.

Speaker 2 (29:51):
I think they were in better shape than then. People
might feel after that Eagles game.

Speaker 3 (29:55):
Yeah, yeah, you would offer it.

Speaker 2 (29:56):
I think a lot of fans through ten games, six wins,
given they had played in the first ten games, a
lot of fans probably would have signed up for that.
I think six and four quickly becomes nine and four,
and I think the mood around this team will shift
pretty dramatically in the next few weeks.

Speaker 1 (30:12):
You control your own destiny. The one seed I think
will be a little tough with that loss to Philly,
but you control your destiny in the NFC North that's
home playoffs, that's coming through Detroit. So I think everything's
sitting in front of them. They're in a fine spot.

Speaker 3 (30:25):
Yeah, I'll be the one to say it.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
Thanks for always be right back. Welcome back to your
twenty podcast. We're happy to welcome and Thomas Harper, one
of those guys who has stepped in played a role
and then one of in my opinion, one of the
unheralded heroes on this football team. First off, let's let's

(30:48):
go back. Let's let's talk about how you got into football,
because I think it's an interesting story. You're a basketball
player growing up, you don't even start to play football
to your sophomore year in high school. What prompted you
and when did you first fall in love with football? Then?

Speaker 6 (31:01):
I would say I fell in love with it the
first season that I started playing the sophomore year. Yeah,
Like my first ever play of tackle football, like in
high school was a kickoff return and I ended up
scoring it.

Speaker 4 (31:14):
So it was like, oh, like, okay, this may be
my avenue.

Speaker 1 (31:19):
So you're a receiver, you're a defensive back. Your junior year,
you become the first player ever at Carnes High School
in Knoxville to have a thousand yard season. Do it
again your senior year and then you get that that
opportunity to play in college. Now, you played at Oklahoma
State with Rodrigo right now, he started as a safety,

(31:42):
right yeah, he was Malcolm the safety like period.

Speaker 6 (31:45):
He was there before. He would play safety before I
got there. Okay, so I didn't get he.

Speaker 1 (31:49):
Had already made the switch to linebacker.

Speaker 4 (31:51):
But I heard he was good.

Speaker 6 (31:52):
I heard he was come down and really really yeah,
I heard he was nice.

Speaker 1 (31:56):
So you play at Oklahoma State, do a great job there.
You transferred to Notre Dame for your final season, you know,
start and play there. You go undrafted with the with
the Chargers, you get an opportunity in Las Vegas, and
how key was just getting that opportunity in the NFL
for you, and then you made the most of it.

Speaker 4 (32:18):
It was huge.

Speaker 6 (32:19):
I say, if you look at the numbers, it's not
a lot of people that end up making it to
the league.

Speaker 4 (32:24):
So it was huge.

Speaker 6 (32:25):
And then I think as far as me just taking
advantage of it, just always being ready and always having
that faith and knowing that my opportunity will come.

Speaker 1 (32:33):
Yeah, you sign in Detroit, Kirby has the injury, you
step in. Look, there was one game there where you
had four starters out in the secondary right the legion
of whom they called it or whatever it was, but
just what has allowed you to be able to step
in play these minutes, play key downs, make plays, and

(32:57):
been a big part of kind of keeping the standard
in the secondary.

Speaker 6 (33:02):
I think it all comes down to preparation kind of
like I mentioned, I think just knowing that it's an
opportunity and knowing that it could always come at any moment,
and just being ready to take advantage of it whenever
it happens. I think that's the biggest thing, because I
mean it's hard to be a backup no, you're not

(33:23):
really gonna play, but still be in the playbook like
you're gonna play. So I think that's the biggest thing,
is just having that faith that I'm gonna get my
opportunity and then being ready whenever it happens.

Speaker 1 (33:34):
It just seems like a great fit for your game,
your skill set. What was it about Detroit this defense
that just seems to fit you.

Speaker 6 (33:44):
I would say, just you gotta be versatile in this defense.
And I think versatility is something that I definitely have.
Like I played in college, I was a nickel in
the league. I played nickel in safety, mainly safety, So
I just think nickel in college really helped me with
my versatility and being able to be different pieces in

(34:05):
the puzzle.

Speaker 1 (34:06):
How is playing receiver and that's how you started, That's
how you kind of made your mark in the game.
How does playing receiver help you as a nickel a safety?

Speaker 6 (34:16):
I think I would say ball skills for sure. I
think knowing how to track the ball and stuff like that,
and then just route combinations.

Speaker 1 (34:26):
Defense is finally getting the credit it deserves here. Just
how fun is this defense to be a part of
your top ten in scoring overall defense, pass run, red
zone takeaways. I mean, you name the category, you guys
are top ten and that how fon of a group
is this to play with and just be part of
what Shepherd's building here?

Speaker 4 (34:48):
Man, It's really fun. I've never.

Speaker 6 (34:52):
This is probably one of the best defenses I've been on,
for sure, Like as far as just him trusting us
to God and executing then him call, and I mean
it's fun. It allows you to just play around, fly around,
have fun. And then I mean, most importantly, I think
it gives us opportunities to make plays.

Speaker 1 (35:12):
One of the things that both Dan Campbell and Shepherd
have always talked about is if you show us that
you can play, we'll give you an opportunity to play.
And it hasn't just been lip service with them. They've
run a lot of different guys in there. If you
show them in practice or if because of injury, you
get an opportunity to play and you play, they're gonna
play you and they're gonna stay with you. How much

(35:32):
is a player do you appreciate that they have that
kind of mindset? And as a player, does that make
you just stay on your p's and q's every day
and be ready for the opportunity because you guys should
know that if you get the opportunity, they're going to
keep running with you. How much do you appreciate that?

Speaker 4 (35:51):
Man?

Speaker 6 (35:51):
It's huge, It's honestly huge. It's hard to find that
in his league. I think it allows you to go
out there and be yourself. You don't have to you're
not trying to be perfect, you're not trying to It
just allows you to go out there and be yourself
and it's okay if you make a play or if
you make it if it's okay obviously if you make
a play, but It's okay if you miss a player,

(36:13):
miss a call, as long as you out there making plays,
being yourself, just knowing that they're gonna have trusting you,
it's huge.

Speaker 1 (36:18):
We talked a little bit about this on the way up.
It's just you guys have had to play so many
different guys. Can you see that as an advantage coming
down the stretch and maybe into the playoff push that
you guys have had to rely on so many different guys,
especially in the secondary. Maybe some other teams haven't, and
you guys have showed you you can you know you

(36:40):
can battle through that. How important is that for you
guys going down the stretch?

Speaker 4 (36:44):
Huge? Like we talked about coming up here, I think.

Speaker 6 (36:51):
A lot of times when it happens, it's like, oh,
it's too late.

Speaker 4 (36:54):
It's like, oh, we don't know if he can do this.
We don't know if he can do that.

Speaker 6 (36:57):
Everything with us getting injuries early on and having to
figure it out early on definitely will benefit us on
the back end of the season.

Speaker 1 (37:05):
What do you like most about playing for shop? What
do you like most about this defense, whether it's schematically,
anything else that happens during the week. What do you
like about being part of this defense in particular.

Speaker 4 (37:19):
I would say.

Speaker 6 (37:22):
I like the versatility, Like I've never been in a
defense where we could do any we can run any defense.

Speaker 4 (37:29):
We can run.

Speaker 1 (37:30):
You play bass more than anybody else right.

Speaker 6 (37:31):
Too, we can we can run man, we can run
zone like whatever. You know what I'm saying, whatever is
the kryptonite of the other of the offense that we're
playing like, It's just like you pick your poison and
we can do it. So I think that's I've never
been on the defense I was able to do that,
So I think that that's the most fun part.

Speaker 1 (37:50):
One word that describes Calvin Sheppard. We have to keep
it PG.

Speaker 6 (37:59):
Yeah, I don't even know if I can say that.
I would say I think he I think he's a
wizard wizard. A wizard is what.

Speaker 1 (38:14):
Wizard is what I call a wizard that Lions fans.

Speaker 7 (38:17):
Are gonna because he is smart and he's been in
your position before he's played, and it just seems like
he can he can adapt to to what offenses.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
Do to you or try to do to you guys
every week, and there's not a lot of guys that
can do it. Some guys just have their system that's
what we play, That's what we do. We'll adapt a
little bit, but it looks like you guys change it up.

Speaker 4 (38:38):
I'm telling you, like.

Speaker 6 (38:41):
The bag of tricks that he has is crazy, and
they allow they have to trust in us to be
able to go from different defenses.

Speaker 4 (38:48):
So it's it's huge.

Speaker 1 (38:49):
Tell me about the Giants a little bit. Just what
you guys see this week. You get to get back
at home. You got a nice three game stretch here
at home. Starts off with New York Jackson darts guy
that can run around a little bit, slinging a little bit.
What have you seen from them on film? What's the
biggest challenge this week?

Speaker 6 (39:06):
I think it always comes down to stopping the run.
I think we need to be able to stop the
run and then get them to get them one sided
to where we know that they're going to throw the
ball and make them throw the ball, force them to
throw the ball because I think they're leading the league
in like rushing attempts or something like that, so they're
definitely going to try to run the ball.

Speaker 4 (39:25):
So stopping the run is key.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
Man.

Speaker 1 (39:27):
You've been You've been a huge part of what this
team has done. Defensively, you stepped right in for Kirby
and you haven't skipped the beat. And you're one of
those guys that that just kind of fits, and I
think one of those guys that have been important for
this defense to be what it is. Keep doing your
thing and good luck to you. Welcome back to the

(39:49):
Twin the Huddle podcast presented by Microsoft. Very happy to
welcome in. Matthew Stack does a great job as a
managing editor at giants dot Com. Matthew, thanks for taking
the time, appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for having me on.
All right, well, let's start right away. The quarterback situation
with Jackson Dart is kind of where's that trending? Is he?
Is there a possibility he plays Sunday? Or are we

(40:10):
gonna see Jameis Winston again?

Speaker 8 (40:11):
Yeah, So, as we speak at you know, twelve noon
on Wednesday, Jackson Dart is still in the concussion protocol.
Interim head coach Mike Kafka is going to speak to
the media in about thirty minutes, and I'm sure the
first question he will be asked is what's going on
with Jackson Dart. Now, he was spotted on the practice
field this past Friday, he was a DMP. He did

(40:32):
not participate, but he was out there, so that would
you know, be a positive sign. And hopefully he's cleared
in time for Sunday's game. If not, it'll be another
week of James Winston.

Speaker 1 (40:44):
How are the Giants different with with with Jackson? Obviously
the rushing ability over three hundred rushing yard, seven touchdowns,
but with this concussion stuff, is he going to be
the same kind of aggressive player? Just I guess, first off,
how are they different off with him without him? And
then if we do see him on Sunday, how might
he maybe be a little bit different just in terms

(41:06):
of trying to protect himself a little bit more.

Speaker 8 (41:08):
Yeah, well, you touched on the biggest difference is clearly
Jackson's rushing.

Speaker 4 (41:12):
Ability and just his mobility in general.

Speaker 8 (41:15):
And Jackson has fifty or more rushing yards and I
believe five of his seven starts he's got a rushing
touchdown and all but I think one of his one
of his seven starts. So he adds another dimension to
this offense that you know, the thirty something year old
Jameis Winston just does not.

Speaker 1 (41:31):
And in addition to just.

Speaker 8 (41:33):
The rushing, it's just his ability to move around and
extend plays that Jameis Winston at this point of his
career does not, you know, do quite as well. In
terms of what Jackson's rushing might look like for the
remainder of the season, we don't really know for sure,
but coach Mike Kafka did say that he doesn't really
want to take away Jackson's ability to create plays with

(41:55):
his legs.

Speaker 1 (41:55):
He doesn't want to take that part of his game away.

Speaker 3 (41:57):
Now.

Speaker 8 (41:58):
I think they're going to encourage him as have been,
to get down and sort of slide and not take.

Speaker 1 (42:03):
A young man slide.

Speaker 8 (42:05):
Yeah, not take quite as many hits, but you know,
it's tough to tell a twenty two year old that's
trying to fight for a first down or fight to
get across the goal line to dive down and you know,
not try to fight for that extra yardage when all
of his teammates are fighting for those extra yardage. So
it remains to be seen, but I do think that
the rushing is still going to be a very big
part of his game.

Speaker 1 (42:24):
You look at the Giants, obviously two wins on the season,
not what they had hoped or or probably expected, but
when you look at this team, Matthew, what are the
strengths of this Giants team coming on the road in Detroit,
you know, facing Alliance team that needs a bounce back
win at home on Sunday. Yeah.

Speaker 8 (42:41):
So the offense is, you know, based on how the
last couple of seasons have gone, it's all I guess
surprising to say, but the offense has been more of
a strength for the team this year than the defense.
And it's really started with Jackson Dart at quarterback. I mean,
he's really helped raise the floor of the entire offense.
It's help the past get going. THEO Johnson, our tight

(43:02):
end is having you know his I believe five or
six receiving touchdowns already, well more than he had last
year as a rookie.

Speaker 1 (43:09):
Jackson has been spreading the ball around.

Speaker 8 (43:11):
Obviously, Melik Nahbors suffered a torn acl all the way
back in Week four, Jackson's first start, and while it
was a tough blow to lose obviously one of the
more talented receivers in the NFL, it has sort of
forced Jackson to spread the ball around to every all
pass catches in the offense a little bit more so,
I would say definitely the offense, Jackson Dart and surprisingly

(43:32):
the offensive line. Our offensive line, which again has been
somewhat of an Achilles hill in previous years, they've been
playing really solid football. Obviously, they have a very tough
test this week going up against Aiden Hutchinson, that entire
Lions defensive front. But the old line really has done,
you know, better than expected, both in terms of pass
protection and the run game.

Speaker 1 (43:53):
Last week, Tyrone.

Speaker 8 (43:54):
Tracy kind of got going for the first time since
taken over for Camp Scataboo, who was lost back in
Week seven to a season ending injury. So offense overall,
I would say has been more of a strangth. The
defense has struggled, especially the last I would say a
month or so, and of course this week's games potentially

(44:14):
the toughest challenge all year for the.

Speaker 4 (44:15):
Giants defense going up against that line's offense.

Speaker 1 (44:18):
No, it's a good point on the offensive line, because
you know, the Packers are pretty good. Run defense I
think was over one hundred and forty yards and three
rushing touchdowns against the Packers. I think the Packers, Detroit
and six other teams. There's only eight teams that hold
opponents on average to less than one hundred rushing yards
per game. Green Bay was won. They'll Detroit's another one
that they'll face, you know, this week. We'll see if
they can keep that rolling. But they have run the

(44:40):
ball better and that obviously, you know, helps a young
quarterback too. Look, you mentioned it a little bit there
when you talk about the offense, When you look at
this Giants roster, especially defensively upfront, with some of the
names that they have, Abdua, Carter, Burns, Thibodeau, why hasn't
it kind of, you know, been more effective defensive You

(45:00):
look at them, they're twenty ninth in points, twenty ninth
in total defense. But they've got some guys up front
that you know, are really good. Burns leads the NFC
in sacks with thirteen. Why hasn't it just come together
more as a collective unit for that Giants defense.

Speaker 8 (45:13):
Yeah, So coming into the season, you know, we all
expected that defense in front to really be the biggest
strength of the entire team on both sides of the ball,
and quite frankly, that just has not been the case
so far. Brian Burns, as you mentioned, he's having a
phenomenal season, a career year, but the guys around him
have just not quite stepped up. You know, Dexter Lawrence,
He's coming off a season ending elbow injury from last year.

(45:36):
Maybe that's hindering his you know, playmaking ability a little bit.
He's also still facing in a league high double team
rate that you know, last year he was able to
fight through that and still be a force in the
in the pass rush. It hasn't quite happened the same
this year. Kevon Thibodeau started off the season really strong.
I believe it was four and a half sacks in

(45:57):
the first month, but has not really done much sin
and then Abdul Carter is getting pressures. It's just he
has not been able to translate the pressures into sacks
quite yet. He only has half a sack. But I
believe Leeds still leads all rookies in pressure, so he
is getting after the quarterback. He just hasn't been able
to translate them into sacks quite yet. And then in

(46:18):
terms of the rest of the defense, Giants lost Micah McFadden,
one of their starting middle linebackers all the way back
in Week one, and then that second spot next to
Bobby o'carake in the middle of the defense has sort
of been a bit of a revolving door.

Speaker 1 (46:32):
Between just guys getting hurt.

Speaker 8 (46:34):
This past week, Demetrius Flannagan Fowls was starting next to
Bobby Ocarake, and the Giants signed him originally to primarily
be a special teams guy, and now he's actually stepped
up and played pretty well these last couple of weeks
and is looking at an extended opportunity because Darius Muissaw,
who first filled in for Mike McFadden, he's now on
the injured reserve, so Flannagan Fowls will have an opportunity

(46:55):
to keep this going. But the Giants have also just
been decimated with injuries in the secondary. I mean, I
know the Lions have as well, know how that goes.
Giants have been without Pulse and Adbo for about a
month now. They just got Javon Holland back. The starting
safety Cordell Flott missed the game, which has led to
Deontay Banks getting extended action. So there's just been a

(47:16):
lot of injuries outside of the defensive front, which has
not helped. But yeah, that foursome upfront, which was supposed
to be the biggest strength outside of Brian Burns has
just not quite lived up to expectations yet so far
the season.

Speaker 1 (47:31):
You know, Lions haven't lost back to back football games
since October of twenty twenty two. That's a long time,
obviously longest stretch in the league. So, Matthew, how did
the Giants go on the road and upset a Detroit
team that doesn't lose back to back games? You know,
what's the recipe there? What has to happen for the
Giants to accomplish that.

Speaker 8 (47:51):
Look, I'm not gonna lie. When I was watching Sunday
Night football this past week, I was not happy to see.

Speaker 1 (47:56):
The Eagles win that game and the.

Speaker 8 (47:58):
Detroit offense kind of struggle because obviously, you guys have
had one of the top five offenses in the NFL
for the last three and a half season. So the
fact that you guys are held to, you know, just
nine total points, that scared me because I was expecting
or now expect, you know, Dan Campbell and the whole
offense to look for a real big bounce back and

(48:20):
for us, the Giants, to prevent that from happening. I
think it starts first and foremost with doing the best
to slow down the run game. Because obviously everyone knows
Detroit wants to run the football. You have probably the
best running back duo with Jami or Gibbs and David Montgomery,
you know, and the Giants run defense has been they

(48:40):
struggled this year to say the least, you know, especially
this last.

Speaker 3 (48:44):
Month or so.

Speaker 8 (48:44):
Emmanuel Wilson filled in for Josh Jacobs last week. Wasn't
the most efficient, but he did enough, you know, got
into the end zone, did enough to cause some damage.
Josh Jacobs before the injury, it was averaging over five
and a half yards per carry against the Giants. So
if the Giant can slow down David Montgomery and Jamior Gibbs,
and I expect both of those running backs to be

(49:05):
fed a lot of carries in this game, that would
go a long way and helping the Giants have a
chance to keep up with this high powered Detroit offense.

Speaker 1 (49:13):
What's a key matchup you're looking forward to watching?

Speaker 8 (49:16):
Ooh, I mean probably Andrew Thomas whenever he's matched up
against Aiden Hutchinson, because that's best on best. Aiden Hutchinson
obviously one of the best defenders in the NFL. I
have so much respect for him. I think he's should
be in the running for Defensive Player of the Year.
And Andrew Thomas. Since coming back from the foot injury
that suffered last year in Week three, he's been I

(49:40):
think one of the best left tackles in the NFL.
Has really done great in pass protection. So that matchup
is definitely gonna be you know, get your popcorn ready.

Speaker 1 (49:48):
Matthew, I know you've got some availability to run to it.
Thank you so much for taking the time. I appreciate it.
Safe travels up here, and it's two teams looking for
a kind of a big bounce back win after losses
last week. A big test for New York coming into
Ford Field against an angry Lions team that field like
they didn't play very well, and we'll see if the

(50:09):
Giants can hang around and maybe have the upset. Safe travels,
good luck to you

Speaker 4 (50:14):
Thank you, thanks for having me on