Big Blue Kickoff Live 10/14 I Turning the Page to the Saints

0:04 It's time for a big blue kickoff live.

0:06 Nobody can ever tell you that you couldn't do it because you didn't.

0:09 On Giants.com. You know what I saw?

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0:15 17-14 is the final. One touchdown, we are world champions. Believe it, and it will happen.

0:21 Part of the Giants podcast network. Let's go out there like a bunch of crazy dogs and have some fun.

0:26 Yeah, let's have some fun. It certainly is.

0:28 Welcome to today's episode of Big Blue Kickoff Live, presented by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle of the New York Giants. I'm Mark Malousis, joined by Super Bowl champion Sean O'Hara, coming to you live from the Giants podcast studio.

0:39 How we doing, Moose? I'm doing all right.

0:40 Presented by the Hackensack Meridian Health Center. Keep getting better. The phone number to call, of course, 201-939-4513.

0:46 201-939-4513. Good to see you, Sean. How you doing? I'm doing fantastic. I could be doing better. I think in the words of John Harbaugh, was it a win?

1:01 No.

1:02 Was it a loss?

1:03 Not quite.

1:03 It was a tie.

1:05 It was a great line. I'm still trying.

1:07 To wrap my head around how in the wide world of sports did that even happen? We won the game three times. We lost the game three times. It was very befuddling right down to the wire. I'm doing the post-game show with Michelle.

1:20 Yes.

1:21 And we're like, all right, hey, we're going to win this. This is going to be great. And they were like, no. It was the ambrosia of emotions.

1:27 Yes.

1:28 I know roller coasters are not like, you know, everybody's scared right now with what's going on. But, like, it was an emotional roller coaster. And, you know, there's blame to go around, you know, for all the players take the blame. You know, hey, we should have done this. Coaches as well. I mean, Dan Quinn and his coaching staff are taking it on the chin.

1:44 No doubt.

1:44 But I also, like, there's one other person that I feel like I should blame more.

1:48 Who's that?

1:49 That should take accountability for this tie. And that is you. Me?

1:55 You.

1:55 I blame you, Moose. Because last week, we were talking.

1:59 About the cookies. The victory cookies. The victory cookies.

2:02 And the weeks before, you ate two. And last week, you got selfish. I did not.

2:07 And only ate one.

2:08 You had one job. Yes. You had one job. To eat the same amount of cookies as the weeks with which we won. And you blew it. You're right. And honestly, I will not fail you again.

2:19 I will find a way, hopefully victorious Sunday against the Saints, and I will follow suit and make sure I eat the right number of cookies.

2:27 But you're right, I failed. You've got to follow up. It's a team sport. I don't coach the team. I'm not watching film. I don't play. If I did, I'd get hurt immediately.

2:36 I had one job, just fill your face with cookies on a Tuesday after the show.

2:41 Stuff your face. That's it. You have many jobs. But the most important job is to do your part, stuff your face, eat two cookies. So I don't know what happens with a tie. There's no cookies. Oh, boo. See, you know what? That feels like a loss. Yeah, there's no tie. Maybe it's not an L in the win-loss column, but that feels like a loss, the fact that there's no cookies. You know what?

3:07 Yesterday, I just grabbed some snacking pickles and a water. I didn't even look for the cookies because But I asked John, he's like, no, no, we tied. There was no cookies because you didn't win.

3:19 Yeah, we didn't win. All right, well, the chef staff here at the Giants facility at Quest Diagnostic Center, led by Angelo, he's phenomenal. He does a great job. And every week he tailors the menu towards something that is derived from the city you're playing against. So Philadelphia, you'll have cheese sticks. So you may have a chance to redeem yourself New Orleans is well known for their beignets.

3:44 Yes.

3:44 I'm sure you have participated in a beignet fest.

3:47 Yes, I've had a beignet.

3:48 Very good. So maybe you have a chance to kind of jump all in. So how many beignets would I have to eat? I mean, I think the magic number here is two.

3:56 Two.

3:56 Utah.

3:57 So, okay.

3:59 Give me two. I think that was working until you decided to downshift to one. So one was clearly not enough.

4:08 All right. Are there beignets in there now? I went to the cafeteria to get a coffee.

4:14 I didn't look. If there's beignets today, I will have two. Okay, have one for me too.

4:18 I will.

4:18 I know you're on a strict... You're on like a three-day cleanse. I'm on a three-day soup reset. Soup reset. Compliments of my wife. How would most men take that if your wife was like, you're doing a three-day soup reset.

4:31 Like, I think, honestly, she cares about you, you know, and you guys do it together. It shows great partnership between the O'Haras. I'm a good teammate. You are.

4:41 I'm a good teammate. You're right in there with her.

4:43 I mean, it's not like you're sitting there, she's doing the soup cleanse, and you're eating a Philly cheesesteak for dinner.

4:48 Right, 100%. You can't do that.

4:49 Right.

4:49 And I learned that, like, right from the first time my wife.

4:52 Ran this soup reset.

4:54 She was like, all right, I'm doing this. This is great. It was like 2021. It was like kind of coming out of COVID. And she was like, oh, by the way, you're doing it with me.

5:02 And I was like, huh?

5:03 She's like, well, I'm not going to have you eating a cheeseburger and I'm, you know, muscling down lentil soup.

5:08 Right. Can I get some gravy with those fries, please?

5:11 Yeah.

5:11 I call it the wife grenade. So I had to like jump on the wife grenade. No doubt. Happy wife, happy life. You know that.

5:16 I mean, any married man understands that. I mean, any partner, you got to make sure that you're there through thick and thin. You're a foxhole guy, Sean. I am. I am.

5:24 You're right there. I'm a wingman. So what's the soup of the day today? What do you have? So, well, the one that's staring at me right now.

5:30 Yeah.

5:30 What do you got? You have four soups a day.

5:32 Quinoa.

5:33 Yeah. It's a quinoa minestrone soup. That's this one. The morning one is called the green goddess. Okay. And it's like, it's spinach. Um, and it's got some, some like onion in it. It's, it's actually really good. That's turned out to be one of my favorite ones.

5:46 Okay.

5:46 And then there's a lentil soup and then there's a butternut squash soup.

5:49 Oh, at the end for a little sweetness for dessert.

5:51 That tastes like pumpkin pie. Yeah.

5:53 That's great.

5:54 So yeah, that's, that's all good stuff. But I tell you, if, if Angelo's delivering on the New Orleans cuisine. Now, there's shrimp and grits has got to be, right? There's got to be a shrimp or grits this week. Yes. There's got to be some creole. How about po' boys? Some gumbo, some po' boys.

6:10 Yeah, 100%. I mean, the shrimp po' boys. Oh, my God. With the New Orleans bread, light and airy.

6:17 You know, it's like, all right, everybody up here in New York has, hey, you want the best slice? And you want the best meatball sub? You got to go like, I think there is like a place, and I can't think of it off the top of my head, but I remember the Super Bowl was down in New Orleans a couple years ago. Commander's Palace? Yes. That does sound familiar.

6:33 That's a great restaurant.

6:34 But I was talking with Eli, and he was like, you got to go to this place to get the shrimp po' boy. They were like, that's the notorious spot. Oh, really? I'm like, I kind of got to take his word for it. Yeah, no doubt. He kind of knows New Orleans a little bit. Yeah. So, yeah, that'll definitely be on the menu.

6:52 Now, what would get you to break your three-day soup cleanse?

6:56 You want me to break it? Yeah.

6:58 Is there anything that Angelo would roll out here? Like if he walked through the door right now.

7:03 No. And brought in anything.

7:05 I don't break.

7:06 There'd be nothing.

7:07 No.

7:07 Like what about. Like the only thing that I will eat like while I'm doing this that's like, you know, maybe not part of that whole thing is some almonds. Oh, almonds. Like just for the chewing factor.

7:19 Yes.

7:20 Because like when you're eating, when it's soup. Like you basically, I drink it. I mean, sometimes you can use a spoon, but it's like the act of chewing is what satiates the appetite.

7:29 Yes.

7:30 So almonds, you have to chew a lot. It's like chewing on rocks.

7:35 You know what flavor almonds I love, Sean?

7:39 The wasabi flavored almonds. Yeah, those are good. Because I don't know what it does cleanse the palate.

7:44 Also when I'm like, if I'm dieting and you know, I'm back on my one meal a day thing. So I eat just once a day.

7:50 Okay. So I haven't eaten yet today. Okay. What time is the meal?

7:53 6.30, 7 o'clock at night.

7:55 Oh, wow. That's a long day. So I go all day without eating.

7:58 And you know, I've drink some coffee i'll water i drink water throughout the course of the day but if after the meal if i'm hungry like i'll get some olive almonds and i'll have like 20 of them 20 or 25 Right. You're constantly shuffling me off.

8:13 It's like I go like a handful feels like one serving.

8:16 Yes.

8:16 Like a little handful. But you can't throw them all in the mouth at the same time.

8:20 No, you got to individually do it.

8:22 And you got to chew slowly. See, what hurts me is that I'm a quick eater too. My dad was in the army. Right. So like we'd sit at the table. It'd be like quick meal.

8:31 My dad would be wolfing down the food this and that like we were a very quick eater that's bad because if you eat quick you don't realize you're full until it's too late then you're stuffed.

8:42 Yeah yeah your body kind of equates the amount of food with the time yeah so it has no idea that you just shoved the entire cheeseburger in your mouth in 60 seconds like if you spread it out over 10 minutes it feels like a 48 ounce steak um yeah but almonds great they're a great little snack um But no, when I do them, honestly, it's just mind over matter. I like a good challenge. Yeah. So I won't break on it. And the key with it is I did.

9:08 It a bunch.

9:08 There was a bunch of guys that I was friends with whose wives were doing it in town the first couple of times. By the second and a half day, they were texting pictures of pizza to each other and like, Meatball sub. They were like, this is what I can't wait. I'm eating this on the next day. I'm like, that's not the way to come out of it. Like you can't go on a three-day cleanse and then like eat, you know, a chicken parm sandwich, you know, with extra cheese like that. It negates everything that you just did.

9:32 It's going to wreck your stomach. It just did everything. It negated everything that you just did.

9:36 Yeah.

9:37 Or you could hop on social media and just watch people making food over and over and over.

9:40 Yeah. No, but it's funny when you're probably experiencing this right now as well with your one meal a day. It's like, it's amazing how many food ads there are. Like you're watching a show. It's like a commercial about food. It's, you know, restaurants, you're driving down the road and it's like, you're seeing all the billboards. You're like, everything is about food right now. Yeah, you don't pick up on it when you're eating normally.

9:59 But then when you're trying to lose weight or diet or cut, whatever it might be, then it's all over the place.

10:04 Then you can't get away from it. It's crazy.

10:07 It's crazy.

10:07 But I'll accept blame for the tie. That's fair.

10:09 I didn't follow suit last week.

10:11 But I learned my lesson. I learned my lesson.

10:14 I hope. Sean, it was a strange game. I mean, you were doing postgame on TV. You look at it. Giants, here's where a couple positive, well, a number of positives you take away from it for me is the way Jameis played in the second half. Yeah.

10:30 The continued fight of this team.

10:32 And you've seen it, whether it be the goal line stand against Tennessee, the goal line stand that they had against Arizona, to come back from two touchdowns down under 10 minutes to go in regulation Sunday down in Maryland. Like, it just feels different, right? It's a different vibe. They're not giving up. And I give them a ton of credit there. You can look at the way that Drew Phillips played on defense, the way that Arvel Reese, Tremaine Edmonds played on defense as well. and to go along with Abdul Carter. There are things to work on. You want to get the ground game going a little bit more consistently. Clearly, you don't want to fall behind by two scores. A game that they never led. I love

11:11 the way that they went up-tempo. And Winston, Sean, when he found a rhythm, I mean, he worked it to likely. He worked it to neighbors. And Washington and Dan Quinn had no answers for that giant passing game in the fourth quarter.

11:26 Yeah, it was really two totally different games, wasn't it?

11:28 Yeah.

11:28 The first half, the offense was abysmal. And I think they had 77 total yards. In the first half, they had 26 yards rushing. It was like 2.2 yards per carry. And it just looked like, man, this is going to be a hot mess in the second half. And they came out, the opening drive of the second half, they marched right down the field. Bing, bang, boom. Like Jameis, it was like something clicked. And then they kicked a field goal. And as you mentioned, like all of a sudden, it seemed like Jameis, like the game started to slow down for him a little bit. I thought in the first half, they did not pick up the blitz very well.

12:01 And one of the things Washington is known for, Dan Quinn, him and his defensive staff, like they put it out there, they like to blitz. They like to bring what's called a blitz zero. And when you hear someone say blitz zero, what that means is there's nobody in the middle of the field. So it's blitz zero. There's no safety in the middle of the field. It's man coverage. And you'll see like three guys with depth, like at 10 to 15 yard depth, and they're covering receivers and everybody else is at the line. So that blitz zero, they're basically bringing one more blitzer than you have blocker. because the quarterback represents the extra guy on offense. So they're going to have an unblocked blitzer, and you've got to decipher,

12:36 you've got to break down the Da Vinci code. Who's coming, who's dropping, or, you know, who can we block, who can we not block? So they'll drop one guy back in covers that you think is rushing, and then they'll blitz, you know, two other guys that you don't think.

12:49 Is going to rush.

12:51 And that they did not figure out very well in the first half, and even a couple times they still got home in the second half, but As Jameis started to see that more and more, I think the picture started to clear up. And he had an answer for it. A lot of times, if you have blood zero, you've got to have a hot receiver. And I don't think he had a good grasp on who his hot receiver was the first few times I ran it. And then when they hit him with it, he made some big plays and some big throws. But I thought he really elevated his play. I thought this team, you know, there was a saying, one of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid was G.I. Joe. Oh, I loved it.

13:23 Real American hero. loved G.I. Joe, and they would always kind of end it with, well, now you know, and knowing is half the battle. G.I.

13:31 Joe, yeah.

13:31 This team, it feels like they know how to win now. It's one thing, hey, we've got to win the game in the fourth quarter, we've got to play our best football. Okay, how do you do that? And we've talked a lot about Coach John Harbaugh and his staff and how they have instilled confidence in this team, how they've worked on situations and how aware they've made them.

13:50 Yep.

13:51 You know, this weekend of NFL football was a complete butcher of game situations all across the board. You know, three overtime games back-to-back-to-back. So I think this team, they know how to finish now. And the offense, hey, look, they went back-to-back drives, scored a touchdown. And the defense responded, too. Hey, offense just scored.

14:10 Boom.

14:10 Three and out. Drew Phillips gets a sack. Get the ball back. They go back and score. Then at the end of regulation, Arval Reese gets the sack on Jayden Daniels. And They force it into overtime. So I think that they are doing a great job of just kind of ratcheting up the intensity at the end of the game.

14:28 And Giants fans, I know they're probably still scarred from the previous years because it felt like for the last few years we would have the lead in the fourth quarter and then we would find a way to lose it. And it's like everybody would walk out, how did we lose that game? We were up 10, we were up 7, we were up 4. With four minutes to go, this team, they're understanding how to win games. Now they know how and they know how to just kind of crank it up another notch. on the intensity level. And that's what I saw in this game. Um, and you know, like overtime there, we could break that whole thing down, but they should have won an overtime too. I mean, Zavada misses a kick, Scadaboo fumbles. Um, those are things that,

15:03 you know, you can correct going forward. Um, But it was a wonky game, man. And at the end, I think everybody was stunned. No, I can't believe it.

15:13 And I don't even, I think it was Mike Tomlin on NBC said, you know, I don't even think we'll ever know really what was going on on those Washington sidelines about really the breakdown, what led to that. But, you know, it was inexcusable.

15:27 It's inexcusable because everybody understands these situations. And when you're in that Position and you get the ball back like everybody in the huddle should be talking. Hey, we don't have timeouts Like so get out of bounds when you can like we don't have any timeouts There's that should have been some sort of conversation. Somebody should have made sure jane daniels knew that And knew on that last play Like, hey, you've got to throw the ball out of bounds. He was trying to throw the ball to the tight end of the flat. And then he wasn't even rushing to get up. No, there was no urgency.

15:59 Some of the offensive linemen, I think Bates, the tight end, was basically trying to get everybody to the line of scrimmage, but... There seemed to be no sense of urgency at that point in time. It was like, well, what are they, like, you don't, like, what are they doing?

16:12 It was almost like they thought it was like just the end of that quarter and then there was going to be another period. Maybe that is the rationale. Like, oh, okay. Hey, it's just, you know, it's overtime period. Clock's going to go down. We're going to have another period. Like, maybe they didn't.

16:24 Yeah, remember we had McNabb years ago where he didn't realize the game.

16:28 He didn't realize the game.

16:29 He got torched.

16:31 Yeah, he got roasted for that.

16:33 But it was something, Sean, and we watch sports where you see things that you've never seen before. And I'm not telling you, but that self-inflicted wound for Washington.

16:43 Is something that.

16:44 you know, I've never seen before at the end of a game where a team handles that with the running clock, with the running clock like that. Let's talk about some things. What did you make of, let's talk about the Giants offensive line in the ground game. You know, it's something that John Harbaugh wants to emphasize. Matt Nagy wants to emphasize as the offensive coordinator running the football. They didn't run the football effectively enough. We, you know, Scadaboo obviously can't fumble the football. It's been an issue for the Giants here through the first five weeks of the season, but What about the play of the offensive line? Hudson back at center for the New York Giants as well.

17:17 And the Giants' inability to get that ground game going consistently.

17:21 Yeah, which I think we kind of talked about last week leading up to it. And I'm sure you talked about it on your pregame show on Sunday before the game. The Washington Commanders have a very good defensive front. Frank Louvu is a physical linebacker. That guy's a maniac. Their defensive line is very stout. So this was going to be a challenge going in. I didn't feel like they...

17:42 I didn't feel like they controlled the line of scrimmage. It wasn't like they had this big push, this big surge. They were efficient. I thought much more efficient in the second half. In the first half, it was tough sledding. Like I said, they had 26 yards rushing in the first half. It didn't seem like they were piercing the defense at all. Gotcha. They were getting stuffed at the line. Now, there were a lot of misses. There was a lot of movement up front. And I think one of the things that the Giants are seeing now too is– teams are kind of bringing that safety down in the box.

18:14 They're basically saying, you're going to have to beat us throwing the ball. We don't think you can beat us with Jameis. We don't think you can throw the ball over the top. So until the Giants prove that, they're going to have that eight-man box, and that makes it tough, tough sledding. I thought in the second half, I thought Cam Scadaboo ran more downhill. All of a sudden, he was hitting the A-gap, frontside A-gap, backside A-gap, and he was just hell or high water. He was getting four yards.

18:38 He wasn't trying to string the play out. It wasn't running outsides. There was a couple other plays. They ran a toss play to Tracy out the left side, and Malachi Fields misses the corner, and the corner knifes in and tackles him for either a loss or no gain. If Malachi Fields blocks that corner, Tyrone Tracy, he waltzes in because he's got, I'm trying to think who was out pulling in front of him. I don't know if it was Runyon or Andrew Thomas pulling out and leading the way. There was a couple other times where that happened, so I thought the run-blocking From a tight end blocking standpoint, from a receiver standpoint, and from an offensive line standpoint, it was very sloppy in that first half. They got

19:16 a little better in the second half. But we're still waiting for kind of that big game where they just all of a sudden have a pop. They have a big run, 20-yard run. I thought Brian Hudson, you mentioned Hudson, his second week at center, he looks good. He's not a road-grading center, but he does a great job. with his angles and when he's combo blocking, getting up to backers, he's got a good feel and a good sense for where he needs to go to get to those backers.

19:43 His block backs are excellent. When a guard pulls and he blocks back one-on-one against a defensive tackle, I think he's done a really nice job and his pass protection has been pretty solid. So, uh, I thought Washington threw a lot at them.

19:55 Yeah.

19:56 Um, you know, there was, there was a couple of plays. I think everybody would like to have back from a, from a, a blitzing standpoint. Sometimes if you're not exactly sure who you have, you're kind of out of position. Um, I saw that a few times, but, um, But those are all things that are correctable. And teachable. And teachable. Also, I want to give a shout out to Marcus Bowe. Because, you know, Luminor goes down with a calf injury. And Marcus Bowe comes in. I think his first couple plays, he kind of had like a, you know, the guy kind of got on his edge. He played great. I thought he was very stout in the pass game. He looked really good at right tackle. So, credit to him for being ready to go. That's the hardest thing to do.

20:33 Guy goes down and you've got to just jump out there. Pop in. And you're in silent count on the road. It's raining.

20:38 It's muddy.

20:39 I thought Marcus Bowe played really well.

20:42 And he saw that a year ago with him as well where he's thrown into some opportunities where he's thrown right into the fire.

20:47 Yeah, he started as a rookie. I think he was a left tackle and right tackle his first year. And I think that kind of showed, you know what, this kid, he's pretty physical. He does a good job with his hands, keeping his hands inside. So I thought he was excellent.

20:59 You know, the other thing that hits you, Sean, is that you mentioned in terms of learning how to win, the adjustments by this coaching staff as the game does go along. And we hear about it, you know, time and time again, you know, as we're watching the game and you see it play out. You know, Denard Wilson's not a defensive coordinator that, you know, historically, he's not Brian Flores or Dan Quinn where he's bringing the pressure, right?

21:22 But You've seen it where when it calls for it and the four aren't getting home, that he's willing to dial up the pressure. You saw the Giants go up-tempo offensively to get Winston going, and he certainly did in that second half. So you've seen adjustments here by this Giant coaching staff as the game has gone along, and that's what you want to see as players, I would imagine, Sean.

21:44 And you can speak to that better than I can, where you're looking to your coaches, and I've heard former players talk about the fact that You want to make, you want to know as a player that the coaches have the answers and you're looking at this coaching staff kind of evolve and, and put together game plans. And if it's not working at the beginning, making adjustments as the game goes along.

22:04 Yeah. You know, I'm kind of remembering back a conversation I had with Antonio Pierce years ago, back when we played and, you know, everybody was kind of talking about spags about, you know, what makes him so great as a defensive coordinator and, and, AP told me, he was like, you know what everybody loves about Spags? Is he asks you what you like. He asks you, what are you seeing?

22:24 And so he's always asking for feedback because he's like, we're on the field. You know, he's looking at it, but he can't see what we're seeing. Yeah. So he was a great listener and he kind of let us have a say in some of the things that we wanted to do. And that trust came through, you know, through time. That was through years. That wasn't like something that just, you know, you pop in the microwave and it happens 60 seconds later. So I think we're seeing that.

22:47 I think in this game, what we saw too was Denard Wilson saw what was working. And what was working was the Giants were running some blitz zeros and they were blitzing Drew Phillips and he was getting home and he was unblocked and they didn't really have an answer for it. Washington didn't. So he kept dialing it up and then he kept packaging it in different ways. It was the same kind of blitz and it was just packaged in a little bit of a different front. So it looked different. But when something like that is working, okay, how do we get that blitz and how do we do it out of a different formation? I thought that was excellent. I think the one thing that was perplexing, and we actually talked about this last week leading into

23:23 this game, was, hey, Marcus Mario got hurt. Carla Kamakis. Yeah, Carla Kamakis. Carla Kamakis, yeah. He came in and filled in, but everybody was talking about Jane Daniels. They think he's going to play in this game.

23:36 Yeah.

23:36 And we talked a little bit about, I'm like, he's a dangerous runner. He is. You've got to keep him in the pocket. You've got to have a spy rusher. That was the one thing that I was scratching my head at during this game. And I'm like, after the first scramble, it was like a 38-yard run.

23:51 Yep.

23:51 I'm like, where's the spy rusher? Like, okay, from now on, like in third down, if you're going to rush three guys or four guys, somebody's got to be a spy rusher because this guy is too dangerous. And we even saw him pull away from Arvel Reese, who can run like the wind. So that, I thought, was something that was a little perplexing. Like, why would you not have a spy rusher? And a spy rusher is a guy that you designate He's not going to rush the quarterback on a pass play. He's going to hang around the line of scrimmage and just kind of shadow the quarterback so that he can't break one of those big runs off.

24:21 And if he starts to step up in the pocket and run, boom, you're right there, Johnny, on the spot to make the tackle. You can do that a couple different ways. You can rush three guys and drop a linebacker or drop a defensive end to be the spy rusher, or you rush four guys and you keep a linebacker in as the spy rusher. So that's something that I was surprised they didn't have as part of the game plan, knowing how athletic Jayden Daniels is. And then for it to keep happening, that was a little bit of a head scratcher. I think his way of solving that was we're going to blitz. I'm not going to let you just sit back there and step up in the pocket and have all this time. We're going to make you either throw the ball or you're going to.

24:55 Get a sack. And they were wasting downs. They were getting the ball out of his hands quickly. And here's what you love about John Harbaugh after the game. I think he was asked about that very question about not having a spy. And he said, well, we didn't. Was that a mistake? Well, maybe. We'll see. We'll look at the video. And that's where you look at the Giants head coach and the open, the honesty. It's not the cloak and dagger routine that you get across from other coaches across the National Football League, Sean, where he's willing to admit if there was a mistake or maybe they missed something when it comes to the game plan because but in the end, they did change it, what they were doing defensively, and they got the ball out of

25:36 his hands quickly, and there were at least three downs where Jayden Daniels got the ball and basically heaved the ball down the field or threw the ball out of bounds, and that's exactly what you want to see if you're Denard Wilson.

25:46 Yeah, 100%, and I think that was probably his answer to it, was, okay, I have two options here. I can keep a guy as spy, and then maybe he still outruns that guy or bring the heat, and I think his answer was, And kind of we're seeing his personality now as a defensive coordinator. He's learning too. This is his first time calling the shots. He's, you know what, I'm going to lean on the blitz. And I think that was the highest blitz percentage that the Giants have had all season. And really in the second half, it felt like they were bringing the heat every third down.

26:15 They were not going to let Jay Daniels sit back there and pick him apart from the pocket or run all over their man defense.

26:22 Yeah, and now the Giants have a game-and-a-half lead in the NFC East, 3-1-1 on the season, 2-0-1-9-3-9-4-5-1-3, 2-0-1-9-3-9-4-5-1-3. We are interactive on this Wednesday edition of Big Blue Kickoff Live. He's Sean O'Hara. I'm Mark Malousis, and thanks for being with us here on this Wednesday as we take you right up until 1 o'clock Eastern time. Sean, I think Malik Neighbors doesn't have to worry about targets after the game on Sunday because it was.

26:48 20 targets.

26:49 20 targets. I mean, that is like going back to his rookie year with Malik Neighbors. I understand he got hurt week four last year against the Los Angeles Chargers and tore his ACL, but... I think we can, if you're a Giant fan, you're smiling ear to ear because Malik Nabors is all the way back. He was explosive.

27:07 He was great. The ball was thrown his way. He took hits. Ability to gain separation. That throw by the touchdown throw from Jameis Winston was the thing of beauty where he gave his playmaker an opportunity to go out there and make a play on the football, and he did. He is going to be a big-time asset for this Giants offense moving forward.

27:27 Yeah, and I thought he could have had too many yards receiving.

27:30 Yeah, he was great.

27:31 That Jameis kind of threw up on one of those blitz zeros. And I thought if he had thrown the ball a little bit more towards the middle of the field, Malik probably would have caught it on the run and scored a touchdown. There was a play where he was kind of lobbying for a pass interference. There was a little contact, and it kind of just hit off his fingertips.

27:47 As you're looking at the screen, the bottom right, it was the bottom right side of the field. And then there was another blitz zero play where he ran like a post route, and Jameis threw the ball in the back of the end zone thinking he was just going to run a go route. So those are two plays that could have been huge plays. And I think those are things that they'll iron out. Keep in mind, Malik and Jameis probably didn't have any reps together in training camp.

28:12 Jameis was running with the twos, and Malik really didn't start practicing with the team until end of training camp. And we didn't know he was going to play in week one until game day. So they're still kind of ironing out that chemistry. But I think Malik, we talked about him last week too, he feels like he's got his groove back. He's kind of got that swagger. He's asking for the football. and he's making the catch, and it's like he's not looking to run out of bounds.

28:35 No.

28:35 He's looking to fight for yards. How do I break a tackle? How do I turn this great catch into a big play? And I think that's opening some things up for some other guys as well. Yeah, Isaiah Likely. I mean, he was– Likely's just been phenomenal. He's been awesome. His hands are so good. Everything– like the ball rarely gets to his body. Even that touchdown throw, I mean, Jameis– like when you talk about a game of inches, Jameis threw that ball. It was like smoke through a keyhole.

29:01 It was crazy. It was like when he threw it, I'm like, that's a dangerous throw. And somehow he fit it in there.

29:07 And he got more respect for the throw when you're watching in slow motion. Because when you see it in real time, you don't realize how close the hands of the defensive backs and linebackers are for the Washington Commanders. But he spun that. I mean, that was an absolute, I know it gets thrown around all, that was an absolute dime.

29:23 Yeah.

29:24 Yeah.

29:24 He, he, he, he thread the needle on that. Um, and, and likely made a great catch. Um, you know, but there was a, there was a number of throws to likely where it was a tight window Yes. And he put it right on the spot. You know, he also got away with a couple throws. You know, there was the throw down in the red zone. It was like a slant over the middle of the field, which I don't really like in the red zone. There's too many hands.

29:45 There's too many bodies. I think the ball hit Sonny Stiles, like glanced off his helmet. That very easily could have been a disastrous throw, could have been an interception. And he had the interception called back because of the penalty.

29:56 Because of pass interference, right. Yeah.

29:58 You, Jameis got lit up on that interception. Frank Louvu put his shoulder in his sternum. I was worried that Jameis wasn't going to get up. He body bagged him. Because Jameis also was going in for the tackle and Louvu came out of nowhere. Came out of nowhere. I mean, he just, same foot, same shoulder. He knocked Jameis into tomorrow.

30:19 That was probably the I got to talk to Jameis. That might have been one of the biggest hits he's probably ever had in his career.

30:25 And he bounced right back up. And here's the other thing that you see from Winston, and I understand there's another quarterback in the room, and we saw flashes of J.J. McCarthy on Sunday with the RPO and everything, but the leadership that Winston shows. And I know when you're watching from home, you're only getting snippets of it, but every time they're going to the sidelines, you see Jameis talking to his teammates. He was talking to Mooney. He was talking to Malik Nabors. He was talking to his offensive line.

30:56 He's talking to the defensive players when they're coming off the field. There's something to be said about that when you're looking in. I understand he's part of the leadership council, but there's something to be said about Winston at this stage where he's taking advantage of this. He was great in the second half, not particularly good in half number one, but the leadership that he shows for this team as well.

31:14 I think he's got a great relationship with his teammates because he is very vocal, but he's also very, you know, he's hard on himself. Yeah. He's never blaming other people. You know, we even saw him kind of in the broadcast. They showed him talking to Mooney. Yes. Mooney had that drop. And he was like, hey, man, I messed up too. Like, you know, like I got to be better. I got to make a better throw. If I get that ball down on your chest, you're going to catch the ball.

31:37 So it's on me too. It's not just on you. So I think that that's a big part of it. Like his accountability for his own play. I think it's something that he doesn't shy away from. And I think that the guys appreciate that.

31:48 You know, as you turn the page and the Giants get set to entertain the New Orleans Saints on Sunday here at MetLife Stadium, Giants looking to remain undefeated at home this.

31:58 Year, which would be, that would be big.

32:01 I mean, thing of beauty, you know, victory against the Cowboys, victory against the Arizona Cardinals. In between that, a victory against the Tennessee Titans. And obviously we saw the loss on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams. But A Saints team, Sean, that came into this season with expectations was Chuck and Alave and obviously Kellen Moore, year two, as their head coach down there in New Orleans. And a Saints team offensively, they can move it. Not a great rush offense. Even with a healthy Kamara, he's been up there in age. But we know how talented Alave is.

32:34 You know how good when Chuck can get into a rhythm can be. Defensively, though, has been an issue when you're looking at the New Orleans Saints so far this season. struggling, stopping the run. Giants should be able to run the football Sunday against New Orleans Saints. And it should be a really good atmosphere out at MetLife Stadium with the way that this team has played.

32:53 Yeah, I think the home field advantage has been huge. And I mean, it started with the Sunday night game against the Dallas Cowboys. The place was rocking. That was such a great scene. You know, it's been a little bit sloppy. The next game was, you know, I mean, it was pouring rain. That was not ideal. I think it's rained Like, every Sunday for the last four weeks here.

33:15 It's been crazy. The weather's been awful. Hopefully we get a dry day. Like, I don't think Jameis has played in a dry game yet. Like, I think the Monday night game against the Rams was the only dry game. Was the only one, right.

33:24 And he was just, in that game, he was not in the top spot.

33:27 But the Giants fans, like, you know, look, they're very intelligent fans. They know good football when they see it. And I think they see this is Giants football. Like, we're a smash-mouth defense. We're going to be physical on offense. We're going to try to get big chunks in the play-action passing game. And I think they appreciate this is a smart team. This is a tough team. And they know when the game is on the line how to make a big play. So I think that that's been good.

33:53 I don't think the Giants fans wanted to come down to the final drive, the final play of every game like they did against Tennessee.

33:58 If you have heart issues, you certainly don't want to have that happen. Yeah.

34:02 But the Giants fans have been great. And hopefully they'll show up again for when the Saints come marching in. This Saints– offense is very up and down. Tyler Shuck has been, I think he's thrown nine touchdown passes and six interceptions.

34:17 Yep.

34:17 His interceptions have been really weird. He's gotten hit on a couple of them. The ball's gotten tipped. He's made a couple of really bonehead throws. So you get that, and then you get these magnificent throws. And nine touchdowns, I was just watching this morning, all of his touchdown passes, all nine of them are from the 21-yard line in.

34:38 So he's really good in the red zone. And that is usually where young quarterbacks struggle because the safety is a little bit tighter. You know, there's less space. He does a great job getting that ball out on time. And young quarterbacks, sometimes they're a little bit late. When you're late in the red zone, that's a pick. He's done a really good job with that. And they've got some really good schemes and concepts. Kellen Moore has done a good job finding ways to create space in the red zone. That's where he's kind of been at his best.

35:06 So yeah, Chris Olave, He's going to be a big challenge. You know, he's a stud receiver. Their tight end, Jawan Johnson. Very good. He's very good. He's very slippery. He's a lot likely in that he's got a really good wiggle tool.

35:18 Yep.

35:19 But he can uncover in a phone booth. So that's, I think, where this game is going to be won and lost for the Giants is in the red zone. Can they make them kick field goals? Can they keep them out? and not let Tyler Shuck throw any touchdowns in the red zone.

35:31 You know, when you look at it, do you learn that? We see in the National Football League, Sean, it can be such a copycat league. And the Saints are coming off a game against the Minnesota Vikings. And we know what Flores does, right? And Flores is going to blitz you when you step off the bus, right, defensively. And they do a lot of different things with their coverage in the back end. Like, it's not just the pressure. Like, he's a really good defensive coordinator, and that Minnesota team is defined by that defense. The Saints struggled defensively. against the Blitz on Sunday. And that is what Minnesota's bread and butter is defensively. My question is, do you think Denard Wilson does a lot of work on that to

36:10 where you see what the Minnesota Vikings were successful in doing and bring that to the table Sunday for the Giants?

36:16 Absolutely. I think that's part of whenever you're kind of scouting the previous team. Now we're far enough in the season where you always kind of go with the previous four games. What blitzes did they struggle with? Did they struggle with safety incorporated blitzes or is it adjacent linebacker blitzes that they really have a hard time picking up?

36:33 So you kind of go back and see those tendencies. What got home? I think Tyler Shuck has been sacked 14 times this season. So I think you're going to look at all those. Which ones did he see? Which ones does he not pick up very well? He'll have a good package for that. But Brian Flores, look, the Giants played them, Minnesota Vikings in the preseason week one.

36:53 He brought the house even in that preseason game. So I think he definitely is kind of on a different level when it comes to different pressure packages.

37:01 I mean, it is crazy what they're doing in Minnesota.

37:03 But I think Denar Wilson, I mean, he's not far behind. No, he's not.

37:07 No.

37:08 No, no question.

37:09 But, you know, here's the interesting thing is, like, you go in and there's no disguise. When you look at him, and listen, you can bring it different ways, you know, linebacker safety, whatever it might be. But you go into every game against the Minnesota Vikings knowing what they're going to do defensively and try and prepare for it and still– Like you saw, if you go back and watch that Viking Saints game, you know, Tyler Shuck thought there was pressure when.

37:31 There was no pressure.

37:32 Like you start to speed the quarterback up and some of the decisions that he made. And I think he threw an interception. John and I were talking about it yesterday a little bit, Sean. You go back, I think Murphy picked him off where there was no pressure. He thought there was pressure and it led to him to make an inerrant throw. And I guess, you know, that leads to speeding the quarterback up, which is something you want to go out there and do.

37:53 Yeah, no doubt about it. And a lot of times, you know, once you've shown the blitz and gotten home, then now they're a little bit, a little bit antsy. And now then you see it and then that's when you back off and then you're trying to get guys in the throwing lanes. So then now you kind of force them into that errant throw. So that sometimes pressure, you know, you can kind of get pressure from previous pressures, uh, without actually blitzing six guys. So I think that'll be a big component, um, to this game. You mentioned Alva Camara. Um, You know, he's dangerous as a receiver. He is. So I think, you know, anytime we would play a team that blitzed a lot, we were like, listen, screens are huge. Like,

38:32 you get a chance to run a screen against a blitz, and if the running back gets out clean and you can leak a couple of elephants out in front, you know, that's a home run. That's one of the good ways to kind of solve a blitz and put that fire out.

38:47 You know, Sean and Mark Malusa, Sean O'Hara with you. Wednesday edition of Big Blue Kickoff Live. 2-0-1-9-3-9-4-5-1-3. That is your number to call. You know, for the Giants offensively, they want to get back to running the football. How about taking care of the football? Which has been, you know, you mentioned and we talked about it yesterday, I'm sure.

39:06 Matt and Paul talked about it on Monday as well. The Scadaboo fumble. He seemed relieved when that game ended in a tie and rightfully so. And he said it's never going to happen again. The Giants have used weighted footballs. They've used balls filled with rocks, with sand, all these different things. What about taking care of the football when it starts to get into your mindset, or do you think this is something that's easily preventable?

39:30 Here moving forward? I think it's got to be a point of emphasis and, you know, there's different fumbles, right? There's fumbles that happen as you're going to the ground and now you're trying to brace yourself so the ball kind of gets away from the body. You know, we saw on Monday night the Bills-Rams game Like those weren't fumbles.

39:52 Like Landman, the linebacker for the Rams, was punching the ball out. So those are technically fumbles, but that's actually a takeaway. I think as a running back, you've got to become very aware, hyper aware of protecting that ball and holding it against your body. In Scadaboo's case, that's a situational awareness. Where are we on the field? What are we doing here? We're just running the ball to try to get maybe one or two yards a couple of times and kick the field goal. You've got to have two hands on the football, and you can't fight for yards in that moment. Scadaboo is a second-year player.

40:22 He's young.

40:23 He's still figuring all that out. You can run like the Tasmanian devil all you want during the game, but in that situation, you've got to protect the football. Everybody is trusting you to do the right thing. Hopefully that's a lesson learned for him. But that was crucial. And you mentioned it, like when the commanders messed up that sequence. Oh, he was relieved.

40:44 He was relieved.

40:45 It was like, man, because I think he felt like he was going to have to walk home.

40:48 Yes.

40:49 Well, listen, and you can understand, emotional guy, all he wants to do is win, and you have that kind of a fumble when you're setting up for the game-winning field goal attempt by Zavada and just trying to get a little bit closer.

41:01 Yeah, and Cam's coughed the ball up a couple times. I think that was his first lost fumble on the season, but he's dropped the ball a couple times, and he's recovered himself or somebody else has recovered. So it's one of those things when you're a physical running back like that and the first guy comes up, And he's trying to tackle you and you're running through it. The second guy that comes up is trying to knock the ball out.

41:21 And I'm sure.

41:22 You know, where it goes around the league, like you see it, you know, Kyron Williams with the Rams, where if you have a penchant for putting the ball on the ground, teams are well aware of that going into the game, correct?

41:35 They're circling.

41:37 The dorsal fins are showing up. And they're like, all right.

41:40 Chum in the water. Yeah, there's no doubt.

41:42 Let's hit the YouTube comments. EricaNV23456, a little cookie motivation.

41:49 Let's see.

41:49 AbuDhabi9403, how about protein bars for ties?

41:55 Protein bars. Do you like protein bars?

41:58 I dabble.

41:59 I dabble in the protein bar. You know, it's funny because... There are a lot of protein bars out there that claim they're protein bars. They're candy bars.

42:06 Yeah.

42:07 You got to be careful. There's 20 grams of sugar in that.

42:10 No.

42:10 Give me the simple ingredients.

42:12 You need it clean.

42:13 I'll have a protein bar if I'm on the go and I need something to carry me over to my next full meal. But I'm very selective with what type of protein bar. I like the protein shakes.

42:25 Give me a protein powder.

42:27 Same thing. You got to just be careful. Yeah, you can't be loaded up with all kinds of other shenanigans. You got to read the ingredients. Yeah, it's got to be water or almond milk. I like to put some greens in there too, some spinach. Spinach is always good. But yeah, protein shake is. That's acceptable.

42:46 McInornell2551, I think he or she meant lentil soup. Lentil soup is good, by the way. It said lentil.

42:53 It is good. Yeah, there you go. Also, New Orleans soul food, 100%. Yeah.

42:58 New Orleans, you know, did you get, when Eli suggested it for the po' boy, did you get down there for it?

43:04 I did not get to the location. You did not? No, we ended up doing an event and they had some, po' boy's there so i i took the bread off it but i and i but you ate i tried it yeah did.

43:15 You enjoy it po' boy has like the lettuce the mayo the tomatoes everything it's like loaded up it's.

43:21 Like a it's basically like a sub you know it's like it's like a hoagie kind of sub kind of thing so there's a lot of bread on there but um yeah i i went for the shrimp and grits like that that was That was kind of my go-to.

43:32 Yeah, shrimp and grits are solid. JCNY718, red beans and rice with some Tabasco sauce. I'm a big hot sauce guy. I like hot sauce on the eggs in the morning.

43:41 100%. Tabasco all the way.

43:42 No doubt. JCNY718, once again, should eat some smaller meals, Moose, to jumpstart your metabolism. Is that true?

43:51 Everybody's body is different.

43:52 Yeah.

43:52 That's what I've come to find out.

43:53 Well, my body was a disaster, Sean, so I'm trying to get back to some sort of relevancy.

43:57 Yeah. I say to everybody, try everything and see what works for you.

44:03 Yeah.

44:04 That's kind of, you know, there's no cookie cutter ways to do stuff because everybody's metabolism is different. Everybody's body processes food and nutrients differently.

44:14 Yeah.

44:14 So I went to the, I've lost 55 pounds on the one meal a day. Wow.

44:18 Yeah. That's phenomenal.

44:19 Which is great.

44:20 Yeah.

44:20 I mean, but it was the first two weeks were very hard. Yeah.

44:24 You were a little hangry.

44:25 Oh my. Oh, very like.

44:27 Very, very cranky. Hangry is the worst version of ourselves. It really is. That's when you know what kind of person you are when you get hangry, how you respond.

44:39 Or when you'd be sleeping, I'd be dreaming about pizza.

44:42 Like, I'm not I'm not dreaming about winning the lottery. I'm not dreaming about anything.

44:48 Like, I just want a slice of pizza. And then you wake up and you're like, oh, it was just a dream. Your mind's playing tricks on you.

44:54 That's it. DeepThoughts. 0000.

44:57 Can't believe you can't believe that we can't believe that we now believe in Jameis.

45:02 Okay. Yeah, I guess so.

45:04 I mean, listen, I never thought, I thought the, you know, everybody writing Jameis Winston off. After what we saw against the Los Angeles Rams.

45:13 I mean, Sean, we talked about it that week. I thought it was ill-conceived.

45:18 I mean, Jameis has had a lot of success in the National Football League. We know that taking care of the football, not throwing interceptions, has altered his career course. I think that's– and ball security and taking care of the football is priority number one for an NFL quarterback. But the idea that Jameis can't throw it or that he doesn't have the arm, I think what you saw against the Rams on that night– and we've seen him in this offense– get better week in, week out. And he's played in inclement conditions, in rain, in wind, against Tennessee, against Arizona, Sunday against Washington, hopefully this Sunday against New Orleans.

45:53 It's a beautiful fall day out at MetLife Stadium. But Winston has gotten better week in and week out in this offense as well.

45:59 Yeah, I feel like, like I said before, the game is finally kind of slowing down for him a little bit. I think when he first came in for Jackson Dart, he was just like all revved up. And you could see he was missing the easy throws. And now he's making some really fantastic throws. So I don't think it's not a belief system. You know, the Giants believe in Jameis Winston. They just extended his contract. So they believe in him. It's can we trust him? And I think that goes back to the interceptions. Can you take care of the football? Can we trust you to make the easy throws too? Like we know you can put the cape on and make these phenomenal throws. You know, we just saw it. But again, the NFL is, it's a

46:37 one week at a time, one game at a time. league. Like you're not what you did last week. You're what you did this week. So now can he follow it up?

46:45 Right.

46:45 So he, so he, he played great in the second half. Now can he play two great halves? Like you can't, you can't have a clunker and then show up and then the next week have a great half and then have a clunker. Like you can't be up and down. So I think that's just where, you know, he's got to be more consistent. You know, I think Giants fans, I think they were kind of waffling on him at that first half at halftime. Believe me, there were Giants fans that were saying, we want JJ. Like everybody could hear the chatter. Like, like, you know, be careful what you wish for.

47:16 Yeah.

47:16 Like JJ does not know the offense as well as Jameis. So you're going to be handcuffed with what you can and can't do. Uh, but I think Jameis, I think he felt that too. And, um, you know, I think he, he showed everybody what he's capable of and how good of a quarterback he can be when he's out there dealing. And, um, I think he'll back it up again on Sunday.

47:35 At SciGuy Bri, has this become the Food Network? No, it's Big Blue Kickoff Live. It's Mark Malousis and Sean O'Hara. We're just very diverse. We like to cover all the bases.

47:45 No doubt about it. And I didn't do my job a week ago. I didn't eat the two cookies.

47:48 That's what led to the tie for the Giants and the Commanders on Sunday, which was pointed out by Sean earlier in the show.

47:53 Lunchtime. Like food, football, family. Yeah, that's it. It all goes together.

48:02 At ScottyYoung1669, it would be a great thing if Winston could play well for four quarters, something you just hinted upon, Chuck. 100%.

48:08 All right.

48:09 JasonBenjamin7754, we also need to attack Shuck as well on Sunday. And he also added, I'll give Zavada the kicker grace due to the bad weather elements on Sunday down in Maryland. Yeah.

48:23 You know, look, with respect to Zavada, his first miss– you know, I think he, I think he hit it pretty good. Um, he just kind of pushed it a little bit, you know, and when he kicks his normal kicks, when he hits a good ball, when it's a good strike, it has a natural little push to it. Um, so that one, I think he just didn't start left enough and it just faded.

48:44 Right.

48:44 So then I think the next kick he was compensating overcompensated and yanked it left. Um, none of those misses were because he doesn't have the leg, you know, and, and look, those are not optimal conditions to kick in. Um, I think he feels like he could have made those kicks. I'm really not worried about Zavada. The fact that he had the distance on all those kicks, I think has to give him confidence that, look, he's got the leg.

49:10 It's just a matter of just hitting it flush.

49:12 Yeah, it's ridiculous the legs that most NFL kickers have now as compared to where it was.

49:16 Yeah, no doubt about it. Let's head out to New York. It's Tommy. It's Big Blue.

49:20 Kickoff Live.

49:20 What's going on, Tommy?

49:23 Hey, sir. Hey, Dart is ready and healthy for the playoffs. If Jameis gets up there, who's going to start? Dart or Jameis? Okay, so, and Tommy, thanks a lot for the call. If you get to the playoffs and Jameis leads the way, And then Dart is healthy and ready to play. Sean, who would you have as your starting quarterback?

49:43 I just want to let it be known that it was October 14th at 1255 p.m. that the first Giants fan said the word playoffs.

49:51 Yes.

49:53 I can't remember the last time in October that Giants fans were talking about playoffs. So this is a good thing. Let's not put the car before the horse. But I don't expect that to be a situation that the Giants are going to be in. Is it possible? Maybe. I don't think anybody has any grasp right now on where Jackson Dart is in his recovery. I would say this, for his long-term health, I don't want to see him. Yeah, you don't want to rush him back.

50:29 I don't want him.

50:30 Rushing back, coming back to play in the playoffs after that kind of an injury and that kind of a surgery. I don't know. I mean, I would have a real hard time with that because he can't practice. You know, he's on IR, so he wouldn't even be able to practice until the regular season ended. unless you could bring him back on the active roster before that and then he could practice with the team for a couple times.

50:56 If that situation presented itself, you'll deal with it at that time. But, I mean, if Jameis is playing really well at the position and the Giants are in the playoffs... Yeah, you've got to roll.

51:05 You've got to roll with them.

51:06 You've got to roll with the guy that kind of led you there. And as you mentioned, you want to make sure that you protect the asset when you're looking at Jackson Dart. And by the way, we tape the Hangout every week. Russell Alsberg, myself, Matt Sytack, John Casillas is on it, Brandon's on it, right? And Salzburg, before the year, I put him on the spot. And I said, if the Giants, because he's predicted Giants playoffs. I said, if the Giants make the playoffs, a pool party during the spring and summer at the Salzburgs. And he said, sure. So, I mean, if the Giants make the playoffs, we're all heading to Russ's.

51:39 All right, deal.

51:40 Bring your speedos. I'm not wearing a Speedo. I need a, I need a lot of soup for that.

51:46 Uh, Sean, give me keys. Uh, give me keys Sunday against the saints. Well, we talked about ball security. Uh, that's, that's paramount. Um, but I think the running game has got to get going. You know, you can't wait till the second half to start pounding the rock. Um, you know, I, I'll be curious to see if Najee Harris gets some more carries. Um, You know, I feel like I like the way he runs the ball in between the tackles. Man, he attacks.

52:08 He gets downhill. He puts his foot in the ground. He makes a decisive decision, and then he's gone.

52:13 Yeah.

52:14 I think red zone offense is key here, too. I mentioned the touchdowns that Tyler Shuck has thrown. So, you know, they've got to be money in the red zone, 100%.

52:22 Yeah, so, and listen, I think the Giant fan is going to be in a really good spirits for this game. And hopefully weather is not a factor. You've got the Saints coming to town. You know what they want to do offensively. Create pressure by Denard Wilson on Tyler Shuck. You know you have to handle Chris Alave as well.

52:40 But take care of the football and listen, give yourself an opportunity. And here's the one thing, Sean, we hit upon it earlier in the show is this team knows how to finish and find ways at the end of games. And that is important once you start to kind of. You know, you get a sense and a vibe about it shifting here. And I think we can all feel it watching this team this year. It just feels a little bit different with what we witnessed here through the first four or five weeks.

53:03 Yeah, it feels like they're able to crank up the intensity with the game on the line. And I think that's a sign of a good team.

53:09 All right, archive of this show and our entire podcast network on the Giants mobile app, podcast platforms everywhere, the Giants YouTube channel, and also at Giants.com slash podcast. We remind everybody, secure your 2026 season tickets and be there for every New York Giants home game at Midlife Stadium.

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53:36 Sean, that does it for us. And Johnny Mac, he was out yesterday, leg injury. He was day to day. Way to battle. And he's back in the fold today. Good job, Johnny Mac. That's it.

53:45 Sean, great stuff as always. You got it as well. Thanks for listening to today's episode of Big Blue Kickoff Live presented by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle of the New York Giants coming to you from the Giants podcast studio presented by Hackensack Meridian Health.

53:56 Keep getting better.

53:57 This show, which is part of the Giants platforms elsewhere, everywhere, the Giants YouTube channel and Giants.com slash podcast. That does it for us. For Johnny Mac for Sean O'Hara, the great Sean O'Hara. I'm Mark Malousis.

54:09 Thanks for watching. Thanks for listening, everybody.

54:11 We'll see you tomorrow at noon.