Big Blue Kickoff Live 10/26 I A Big Win in Houston

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.

0:10 On Giants.com.

0:10 You know what I saw? New York Giant pride. And the Giants mobile app. 17-14 is the final.

0:17 One touchdown, we are world champions.

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0:23 Let's go out there like a bunch of crazy dogs.

0:25 Have some fun.

0:27 Welcome to Monday's edition of Big Blue Kickoff Live here on Giants.com, YouTube, and the mobile app. He's Paul Dettino. I'm Lance Meadow with you for the next 60 minutes. It is presented by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle of the New York Giants. Multiple ways to interact with us here on the program. You give us a ring, 201-825-7000.

0:42 939-4513.

0:43 He is at GiantsWFAN on Twitter. I'm at Lance Meadow. One word, last name, M-E-D-O-W. We are coming to you from the Giants podcast studio presented by Hackensack Meridian Health. And a big win for the Giants on the road heading into the bye. They went to overtime for the second time in three weeks and they outlasted the Texans 27-21.

1:04 Devin Singletary with a walk-off 30-yard scramble into the end zone. That came after a huge 40-plus yard run from Cam Scadaboo. Let's start with the running game because, Paul, if you recall, last week, John Harbaugh basically challenged the entire room, right? And he said... Is one of these players going to step up and take the job and run with it?

1:27 And of course, I'm paraphrasing. And isn't it interesting that each one of them, I would even point out before Tyrone Tracy went down with a hamstring injury, they all put their imprint on yesterday's victory in terms of taking advantage of their carries. But this wasn't just hard running. This was explosive running that ultimately guided them to three for three in the red zone and a very incredible finish under tight circumstances.

1:50 When you say explosive, you're referring to the fact that Cam Scadaboo was clocked at 20-plus miles an hour, which is the fastest of his career. Pretty good, right? Absolutely. Even more importantly, and I really want to stress this, folks, because it wasn't just John Hobart challenging the running backs on the offensive line. It was also Denard Wilson challenging the entire defense for things that he saw the previous week against the New Orleans Saints that made him very angry.

2:21 Very angry.

2:22 In terms of hustling to the ball and so forth.

2:24 Yes. And I've seen teams that played sloppy, that played with a little bit of a laissez-faire attitude at times, and didn't appreciate the fact that you missed out on an opportunity to win a game, which is what the Giants did against the Saints. That's a game they should have won. And they missed out on an opportunity. It was costly. this coaching staff felt the hurt and felt anger over it. They made sure the players felt the same thing. That says a lot to me, not only about these players, that they shared the anger and the disgust, but that they respected these coaches and this staff enough to allow them to transmit that frustration onto them. And they said, you know what, we're going to make sure

3:18 that these coaches aren't disappointed in us again. I thought that this response by the Giants team, every level of the team, offense, defense, and special teams, I thought the response that we saw is a true piece of evidence that shows you how different this locker room is. I don't use that word culture. I will not use that word culture. I will say the attitude of this team the respect that this team has for its staff and for each other drove them to be angry, frustrated, disgusted, and put forth the kind of performance that we saw yesterday.

4:00 Because let's make no mistake about it. The Giants are missing a lot of pieces, Lance.

4:04 Yeah.

4:05 And they were heavy underdogs in that game. And whether it was J.J. McCarthy, who looked like a 10-year veteran, The running backs who ran with explosiveness, power, force. The line that won the line of scrimmage. The defense that refused to let an explosive passing attack do any damage to them, really. I mean, when you consider Stroud did not have a great game. This Giants secondary was incredible.

4:36 How about Michael McFadden stepping up for Tremaine Edmonds? Across the board. To me, this is a very, very significant win. Not just the little W in the standings. This is a very meaningful win for the fabric of this football team.

4:53 I'll add Jameis Winston into the mix too, right? He loses his starting job.

4:57 I love the fact that he got to be a participant scoring a touchdown and being part of the whole short yardage package. I love that.

5:06 Help continue drives, to your point, finish a drive.

5:09 Yeah.

5:10 Still stays invested in the team accomplishments, the game itself. And same thing with respect to a few of the other guys that you mentioned. Micah McFadden, he gets hurt last season. He loses his starting job. Now all of a sudden his number is called and he leads the team in tackles. Devin Singletary is a healthy scratch for several weeks. He seems to be in no man's land.

5:30 Najee Harris gets cut. He now all of a sudden is active and he gets a few carries here or there, including what turned out to be the game winner. So when you talk about attitude, what I saw across the board, whether it's just in the eye of the individual or maybe it is the case that it is spread across the team, it was the hunger of individuals wanting to get back out there and regroup but also taking advantage of opportunities the low-hanging fruit right that was right in front of them you know players that seem to have been counted out or were looked at as depth pieces in the event somebody gets hurt maybe you'll have some extra playing time and they all carved out key critical roles and came through and even a guy like J.J.

6:17 McCarthy who you brought up There really wasn't anything sexy about his performance yesterday, Paul. He was really good. He wasn't flashy, but he was efficient.

6:25 He was really good.

6:26 He made good decisions. He didn't try to do too much. They pounded the football for the most part. They averaged five and a half yards per carry. They ran the ball 34 times. He just... he, in the moment, I think adapted to what they needed to do. I mean, even taking the sack late in the game, I would argue, was a good decision, right? You could have tried to scramble.

6:46 You could have tried to do something above and beyond, throw the ball, heave it down the field, leads to a takeaway. And just simply by going down, living to see another down, another possession, things like that, I think are really good signs and good omens for at least his outlook moving forward.

7:02 You know, Coach Harbaugh called it their best game of the season. I thought the Dallas game Opening night was right there.

7:09 The run game in Houston resembled the run game against the Cowboys, I would argue.

7:13 Those two games, to me, are on a different shelf. And, you know, Zavada missing the two field goals. I mean, imagine this. I know we could talk about woulda, shoulda, coulda, all that stuff. I don't know. If he makes both of those field goals, does the game play out differently? Is Houston more aggressive offensively? Does it make a difference?

7:31 Do the Giants have to go to overtime to win the game? I don't know the answer to that. But outside of Zavada's missed field goals, which, again, they got to figure out exactly what's going on with him. I mean, what was there not to like about the game? And by the way, folks, anybody, anybody who still wants to question Taye Banks, please just put it away. Just put it away. I mean, Nico Collins... You guys know from when he came out.

8:01 He had two catches for six yards.

8:02 I was a huge Nico Collins guy. Always have been. He is a legit, legit force in this league. He was erased. Erased.

8:12 The passing game overall was essentially erased.

8:15 The DBs were incredible.

8:16 They were very active. Look at the breakdown. And I was doing this earlier today. Just to further put things in perspective, Paul. Tank Dell had a 43-yard catch, but that was off a deflection. The pass was intended for a teammate. He was in the right place at the right time. So I don't necessarily think that's bad defense by the Giants. It's the Texans getting a fortuitous bounce.

8:37 And I'm not trying to take anything away from them. But even when they got their explosive plays, it was almost as if, you know, somebody was looking out for them as opposed to a well-executed run play where you would expect– I mean, the way Nico Collins has been performing overall, and of course he missed some time due to injury, but they could not even force feed him the football.

8:59 No.

8:59 Yesterday. I think that was pretty much one of the more surprising developments. And while CJ Stroud, you know, wasn't plagued by turnovers, and I don't think he was pressing, he threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns, but they only ran for 84 yards. They were expecting their passing game to change and flip the field, and that was not happening. Another number that I was crunching a little bit more, three for 12 on third down, Paul. They could not sustain drives, and penalties didn't do them any favor.

9:29 A lot of self-inflicted wounds, 10 for 80 yards. But here's the thing about the third downs. they actually, I would argue, faced a lot of manageable third downs. It wasn't as if the Giants were force-feeding them negative plays on first and second down. Of their 12 third downs, okay, seven were for six yards or less. They could not convert a pair of third and ones. They couldn't push the pile forward. They actually were forced to then make a decision on fourth and one and then if you remember, they were called for a full start on one of those fourth and ones and that wiped down an opportunity to leave their offense out in the field. They converted touchdowns on a third and six and a third and three,

10:12 but there were so many more favorable opportunities for them. And it speaks volumes of the Giants defense staying well disciplined enough to not. hand them gifts to give an offense a chance that was just trying to fight itself out of so much trouble yesterday. They did not give them any gifts whatsoever. And I think that should not be overlooked because there has been games where we've seen, whether it's this year or in the past, where you're sort of bailing out the opponent, Paul, and you're giving them and you're infusing them life. That didn't happen at all.

10:44 Well, the turnover battle was even. And that, as we all know, is such a big factor in so many of these games in the NFL today because they're as close as ever on the scoreboard. And look, the Giants clearly, clearly owned the day. I mean, they controlled the narrative. It was their game to win or lose. And unfortunately, because of The scoreboard, they had to go to overtime to do it. But who was the better team yesterday?

11:16 There wasn't much question that the Giants were the better team. They shouldn't have had to go to overtime. But they did. Okay, fine. You know, you take it and you get out of town.

11:26 You don't get style points, as we always say, in terms of how you go about getting a win. And they dominated time of possession. They had the ball for over 35 minutes. So, I mean, I think that speaks to your point about them pounding the ball, sustaining possessions a lot more effectively. Then the Giants and Houston answered with a late touchdown. And you're going over time. And in the wake of what, of course, transpired with the commanders, I'm sure, you know, the Giants are saying to themselves, all right, let's avoid putting ourselves in a similar position.

11:55 And this, again, goes back to what you and I were talking about earlier. The defense was challenged by Denard Wilson. They win the toss, they defer, which I don't disagree with. You want to see what you need to do on that second possession. I think most teams are following that trend. But Houston right now is in a position, if we go back in time, they're picking up some steam, right?

12:16 And then Michael McFadden's first down stop was huge. started the whole drive off and took the steam.

12:22 Out of the texans and then they get called for a hold on third down and the giants declined the penalty.

12:29 Did you count how many holding penalties there were by.

12:31 The way i did not get because total but i could go back it's had.

12:34 One sack which you'd love to have more right and i believe what was it three quarterback hits which was not a big number but they had pressure.

12:44 You're talking about the Texans' defense in terms of what they did against the Giants?

12:47 No, no, the Giants.

12:48 The Giants on Stroud.

12:51 They gave Stroud fits all day.

12:53 They did.

12:54 And there were a number of offensive line penalties. And I don't know how many there were exactly. But that is a testament to what the Giants were able to do to short circuit the Texans' offense. Because the secondary was blanket coverage. And the offensive line in Stroud had an awful lot of trouble trying to get these plays off downfield.

13:17 Well, I know for a fact, Abdul Carter had the better of Houston's left tackle. There were two that Carter forced in terms of a hold when he was coming off the edge. And that did, I agree with you, Paul, that disrupted the flow of the Texans' offense. Because, I mean, even on their opening drive, where they settled for three points...

13:39 They had an illegal formation penalty on a fresh set of downs that began. And then they had a chance on a third and five. And this was one that the Giants challenged, if you remember, the Hutchinson scoop attempt. And then ultimately they settled for the 58-yard field goal. And then on the next possession, they went three and out.

14:02 And once again, it just seemed to suck the life out of the Texans' offense. Look at their first half possessions. After the three and out that I just referenced, they went three and out again. Then a seven-play drive that ended with a field goal. And then the touchdown and the two-point conversion didn't come until the very tail end of the second quarter. Houston had... 10 possessions overall in the game, but they only had four in which they put points on the board. And based on the high that they were coming off of it, this again, not to get off topic, but it's another example why on this show, we always say, enjoy the wins, but the fact is they don't roll over automatically. Houston was coming

14:42 off a big win over Jacksonville in London the previous week.

14:45 Well, they had won two in a row.

14:46 Yeah, but specifically their most recent game.

14:49 Yes.

14:49 And, you know, they looked a lot better. on offense in terms of moving the football, whereas they were unrecognizable, I would say, based on the problems that the Giants' defense posed. So it's just, it's another example of, it's all about matchups, and it is the old cliche, it is a week-to-week league, because what Jacksonville presented to Houston is different than the way that the Giants went about their business, and the Giants were very effective giving Houston something to think about, because I think maybe this is what you were getting at, Paul, and I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I do think overall a number of the Houston penalties were self-inflicted, meaning some of them were procedural before the snap or just

15:30 an offensive lineman not playing well in terms of fundamentals. But on the flip side, you could argue the Giants contributed to maybe the second guessing in the mind games going through Houston's thinking in terms of how do we stop and slow down the Giants from continually putting some pressure on Stroud in that.

15:51 I don't think Houston expected the Giants to come into this game throwing a couple of left hooks and a right uppercut. I don't think so. I think they got a much more angry grizzly bear than they were expecting. Because, let's face it, after what the Giants had gone through the previous two weeks... Nobody knew 100% sure how they would respond to the coaching staff's frustration and anger. And that's why when I opened this show, I said it's very significant that we saw the Giants respond the way that they did. Because you did not know until that game was completed if the Giants were going to respond the way the coaches wanted them to. But the players took ownership. And they did exactly what they needed to do.

16:38 And that was get angry, put a chip on their shoulders and say, you know what? I don't care who we're playing today. We're going to go out there. We're going to execute. We're not going to be sloppy. We'll play great, sound, fundamental football. And we don't care about anybody else. We're going to take the game because this is ours to win. That's what they did. And one more thought about McCarthy, though, because we kind of buried it because this was such a great team victory. And I really believe it was a team victory. McCarthy operated yesterday with such smooth, calm, poise, leadership. It was something to see because he's 23 years old. He started for two years at Michigan. He started 10 games for the

17:29 Vikings last year. There was no way, in all honesty, There was no way to expect him to look like a 10-year veteran who'd been doing this like in his sleep. And that's what he looked like yesterday. He was so smooth, so calm, so poised. And I want to give the coaching staff credit for that. I want to give McCarthy credit for that. But I also want to give his teammates credit for that. Because you can't do what McCarthy did yesterday unless there's trust amongst all parties. Coaches for the players, the players for the coaches, the quarterback for his teammates, the teammates for the quarterback. Mutual trust around the entire building allowed J.J. McCarthy to perform at the level he performed at. That's my opinion. You don't have

18:20 to agree with me. That's what I see. That's what I'm breathing in this building right now. And I think that's very significant.

18:27 No, I think that's a very fair point. I will say, though, I think the coaching staff deserves a great deal of credit for getting McCarthy to this point. And let's not be naive, Paul. If you had a heart-to-heart with McCarthy as well as members of the coaching staff, they would likely acknowledge he is still digesting this scheme, okay? Oh, there's no question. He has not commanded everything in this system.

18:49 But they gave him the appropriate— Game plan.

18:53 Exactly. That's the key.

18:54 That allowed him to do what he needed to do. And I thought Nagy and Wilson were sensational yesterday. Sensational with their game plans and their play calling.

19:07 Because they put him in a position where he attempted 28 passes. He was sacked three times. So he dropped back 31 times in the game the other day. I don't think anyone wanted to put him in a position where it was going to be a pass-heavy attack. even if they felt they had some favorable matchups. Because in fairness, the Texans were down a pair of safeties in this game.

19:27 So I can understand if you come out and you say, hey, let's attack their secondary. Let's see whether or not they can make the necessary adjustments. But instead, they catered more towards the run game. It was effective. It allowed them to stay in some manageable situations where then McCarthy didn't have to make up for it. And once again, I don't think that they were holding him back, but, you know, outside of the pass to neighbors, it wasn't as if they were throwing bombs down the field. It was the short game. It was the efficient game. The sideline over the middle. I mean, the catch that Fedoni made, he was wide open. I mean, Houston pretty much, they gave him a free pathway up the field. You know why, right?

20:06 The formation. Yes, in terms of him blocking. Overload to the right side. Fedoni leaks out on the left. And nobody in the building is looking at Thomas Fedoni. It was a brilliant play call.

20:22 And that goes back again to the coaching staff and trying to utilize pieces that are now maybe getting opportunities because of the injuries that have piled up, whether it be on offense or defense. So that's across the board. It goes well beyond J.J. McCarthy in terms of who they prepared to contribute to the game the other day.

20:41 You know the Texans were going to try to take Likely out of the game. So what the Giants do, they use Likely as a decoy.

20:49 And they loaded up on Malachi Fields and neighbors. It's great. Well, because we went back to the Nico Collins stat line. And if anyone would have told you, he would have been limited to two catches, six yards. I think if anyone's being honest with themselves, they probably would have told you you're crazy. Not to say that he was going to have a monster game, but in terms of his efficiency of the season, that is impressive. Then on the Giants side. How about Malachi Fields being their second leading receiver and made a number of key third down conversions, especially the one up the right sideline. 47-yard catch and run, yeah.

21:22 Four for 83. So that's another example.

21:23 But I mean, look, they didn't even throw it likely. Likely was a decoy the whole day.

21:27 Yeah, he was targeted four times. He got two catches, yeah. Four targets.

21:31 He was basically a decoy. They decided that they were going to use him to throw off Houston, and it worked brilliantly. I can't say enough about the way this game came together. And one final thing. I know we want to get to the calls. One final thing. Jermaine Illuminor and Andrew Thomas. Thomas is really fighting that groin injury for a month now. He is so, so hurting.

21:59 And you're looking at Will Henderson. You're looking at Daniel Hunter. And you're like, wow, these two guys are about as good a duo as there is in the league right now. And what happened? Hunter got one.

22:12 Okay, he got one.

22:13 He came underneath on a swim move against Thomas. Okay, one.

22:18 But they didn't damage the game. No, they did not. That's the point.

22:21 No, they did not. Illuminati's got the calf thing going. They were terrific. Terrific. Fighting injury and two of the better pass rushers in the AFC. Just so many plaudits to go around.

22:37 So a 27-21 victory over the Texans in overtime. Giants now sitting... 4-2-1 entering the bye week. Before then, they will continue division play following the bye. All right, let's open up the phone lines as we move forward here. On Monday's edition of BBKL, it's presented by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle of the New York Giants. We're broadcasting from the Giants podcast studio presented by Hackensack Meridian Health.

23:03 And let's start off the festivities with Jay in Phoenix. He gets us going. What's happening, Jay? What do you got for us?

23:09 Yeah, just a lot of excitement from this game, and you touched on a lot of what I wanted to share, but I just want to comment again on the leadership of this coaching staff. Both of you were alluding to it, but just the challenging of the players and seeing their response, I think it was great. Paul, you mentioned it. They benched Jameis. yet engaged him. I love this version of, I hate the word, the play called the tush-push, but this short yardage. He was even wearing wishbone, which brought back memories from his football. But anyway, and then they handed it to Scadaboo and he took off. I just love that the Yeah. The creativity there. Hey, banks, we all thought he was done or was just not putting

23:53 forth the effort. They tapped into something. They have unlocked them and he looks fantastic. I love seeing this JJ McCarthy redemption story. If that, if anything, you know, maybe he didn't get the shake he deserved up there in Minnesota, but the pressure of a first round draft pick a top 10 pick is off his shoulders.

24:11 He's now.

24:13 He can now build and become what he wants. And I love that he's finding his leadership voice. I watch all the post-game stuff and just to hear him speak to the team, it's wonderful. It's a great story and I hope it continues. And so, again, just really so glad we got Harbaugh. And, again, the other thing with this team that I really, really like is that they are showing these young players. They're creating this testament to adversity and empowering through adversity. We lost our starting quarterback, our best pass rusher, our leader in the middle of that defense in Edmonds. and the hits just keep coming, and guys step up. I mean, our secondary, you guys didn't talk about it, Javon Holland and, well, it wasn't

24:56 there yesterday, our best.

24:58 Defensive player probably didn't play.

25:01 It was amazing.

25:02 Well, I think what's helped that cause.

25:04 I'm really thrilled.

25:05 Absolutely, Jay, and I appreciate the phone call. I think what's helped the secondary maybe a little bit more, I would argue, than some of the other positions that were hit by injuries, there have been several... corners that have been in and out of the lineup. New been also to its safety. So my point is they've had to play a number of secondary players coming into this game.

25:27 And with a lot of them getting exposure and being mixed around, I think the Giants have benefited from that. You're never aiming right to shuffle in and out, but unlike other positions, Giants have been exposed to a lot of changes in the secondary and I think that was at least helpful in putting them in a position to help absorb two more injuries and two players that they were without.

25:49 To your point, and can we just take a second here to also thank Joe Shane for increasing the depth of this team? Because he's taken a lot of heat from a lot of fans over the last few years. And while I believe this coaching staff has done a marvelous job to this point, a marvelous job of bringing this team upwards, The roster is better. It's better in a number of places. And the Giants have depth at positions where they didn't have it before. And credit to Joe. And, of course, John Harbaugh himself as well because he collaborated with Joe in terms of, hey, these are the kinds of guys I want. See what you can do about getting these guys.

26:33 Like in our Darius Washington, for example, who was second on the team in tackles.

26:37 You know, taking a chance, bringing back Micah McFadden after the broken foot cost him 98% of his 2025 season. Coach Harbaugh said it in camp. He's like, I got three starting inside linebackers.

26:50 Really?

26:50 When's the last time the Giants had even two, you know, who were really that good? So, you know, I'm just saying, Joe Shane deserves a tip of the cap right now too, as the Giants are in progress going through this season, because they have sustained a ton of important injuries. And the depth has been better this year, and it has proven out to be true.

27:14 Let's head back to the lines. We've got Robbie and Yonkers joining us here on BBKL. What's happening, Robbie?

27:20 Good morning. Actually, good afternoon, guys. How are you guys doing?

27:23 Well, it's the morning somewhere, so you're not technically wrong. But go ahead.

27:29 I want to run up a bunch of quick stuff that I get off the air. It was actually funny watching Paul, but you were interviewing Cam Scatterball and Singletary.

27:38 And Cam Scatterball was like, I gotta go, I gotta.

27:40 Go, I gotta go. You know what's funny? Singletary had just tackled, moments earlier, he had tackled Coach Harbaugh on the field. OK, in celebration. So I get out there and I see Singletary running toward me. And so I figured, well, I got to stop him. I got to get him. He had the winning touchdown. I got to get him on the field. So I stop him. And as I stop him, Scadaboo comes running up from behind me. And I'm thinking to myself, I'm dead. I'm dead. Scadaboo is going to flatten me like a pancake.

28:14 Thank God he didn't.

28:15 So, Cam, thank you for not running me over. And then I tried to hold him up, and he goes, I got to go, I got to go, as you saw.

28:22 Yeah, I got to go.

28:23 Because they were taking him inside for the network folks. But Singletary was kind enough to stop, and I didn't have to tackle him.

28:31 Yep.

28:32 And you guys mentioned something about the penalties. We had 4-50, and Texans had 10-80.

28:36 Yep.

28:41 And a quick thing. So, J.J., quarterback with dynamite. Just like the show from back in the day. One thing, our kicker. We have our players. They take all their time marching downfield. Cam Scadable's on the sideline.

28:58 He's tired.

28:59 He's sweating. Dude, the kicker has one job. We should have never went to overtime. This is almost, if I'm correct, this is like three games where the kicker kind of cost us, not cost us, but put us in overtime predicament where we shouldn't have been there. One thing, loved that the running backs at the end of the game, they gave each other a hug. That was basically awesome.

29:23 And I have to apologize to Deontay Banks. Because if you guys remember, I called about two weeks before the season started.

29:31 Two weeks ago.

29:32 And I had a lot of complaints about Deontay Banks. A lot of complaints. My complaints are out the window. I'm happy now. Happy Victory Monday. And tomorrow, you guys enjoy those cookies. I wish us fans could come get some cookies. And I'll take it off the air. Thank you, guys.

29:49 We got Victory Pizza today.

29:51 How about that?

29:52 There you go. Well, you're really rubbing it into the fans now.

29:54 Oh, man. You know, folks, I love the Victory Cookies, but Victory Pizza... Oh, baby. I'm thinking that's even better.

30:03 I want to pick up on one of the points that the last caller brought up. You have to remember, and I remember talking about this in the offseason, and I'm curious your perspective too, Paul. John Harbaugh worked with a rookie kicker last year in Baltimore. Yes. Tyler Luke. And he went through growing pains. And remember, he missed what could have very well sent them to the postseason.

30:24 So And it was Heartbreak City at the tail end of the season. I do think Harbaugh has built up patience from his previous experiences. I don't think that that's crazy. Also, he spoke about Chris Horton and the role that the special teams coordinator did in scouting Zavada and looking into his tendencies and getting into his mind. I mean, it's not as if they just rolled out of bed one day and said, oh, let's give this rookie a chance.

30:50 I mean, they did a lot of homework because as most people know, kicking is a big mental game as much as it is in terms of fundamentals. And everybody talks about the plant leg and this and that. Mentally, you've got to have a short memory. You've got to be able to put things behind you. So I understand, you know, fans saying that, you know, this is the second game where there's been multiple missed field goals. But again, I think you can't dismiss how much time and investment they put in finding him, developing him. And again, Harbaugh's experience last year with a rookie kicker in Baltimore. So all of that, I just would not dismiss anymore. in terms of the approach they're taking with Zavada right now?

31:30 My suspicion is that he will continue to show patience with Zavada. I do think that it would not surprise me if maybe Ben Soles came back onto the practice squad and at least they had a second kicker on campus who they liked. Okay, they liked Soles. Look, he was perfect at the end of last season and Harbaugh knew that when they brought him back this spring. thought he had a good spring, thought he had a good summer, but Zavada won the job. Harbaugh had said when the Giants cut Saul's, he expected him to land somewhere. But he's available. I would not be surprised if he was back on the practice squad. And at least you protect yourself in case for whatever reason Zavada can't get himself straightened out. I think they'll work with him. I think

32:21 they will get him straightened out. But there's nothing wrong with having another kicker in the building, and let's face it, what do you get with the international exemption with the offensive linemen they have? You have 17 practice squad players. There's nothing wrong with using one of those spots for a kicker.

32:37 No, you could certainly afford to put a kicker. I mean, again, it does depend on the injury situation and other spots.

32:43 For two years. You know? Nothing wrong with that.

32:46 And remember, it's a young special teams unit. Your long snapper is also a first year, too. And I'm not saying that he's contributing to some of these Zavada misses, but They came into the season, I think, just based on who won the long-snapping job and who won the place-kicking job, with the point of emphasis being, we're developing these guys, we're going to grow with them, and to all of a sudden change that approach, I think it'd be surprising.

33:11 I agree.

33:12 That's all I'm saying. Let's head back to the lines. We've got Roberto in Florida with us here on BBKL. What's happening, Roberto?

33:19 Hey, Lance.

33:20 Hey, Paulie.

33:21 Paulie.

33:22 Hi.

33:22 Hey.

33:23 Check this out. I'm not all there, but I am doing some major acceptance and just letting God take everything from me that he needs to take to help me move on. But Mr. Excitement is almost back, and I'm glad Lance is there, right? But listen, the other day I took, what's his name, O'Hara to Memory Lane because I lived in New Brunswick for 40 years. And also...

33:53 Casilla went to school seven years after to Paul Robinson after my kid, and my kids went to New Brunswick High School where you used to read about him in the papers all the time.

34:04 Wow.

34:04 Like I said, I lived there for 40 years. But Lance, I'm glad you're here, right? Because you talk about you started the X Factor thing at the beginning of the season. And, of course, you're not going to remember, but my X Factor were banks and Thibodeau because they were at the end of their contracts.

34:22 Yeah.

34:23 But the way Banks is playing is above and beyond. Like, they gave up throwing to his side. They gave up on him. And the reason that touchdown was so easy, because he fell down on the right corner. Banks fell down, but he was on it. And how about 41, McFadden? He was covering 18, Harrison. But he was like a second behind making a play, right? But listen, this is where I'm at. Darius Alexander. Did anybody see him be in double team?

35:01 He had his best game of the season, Roberto.

35:03 Excuse me?

35:04 He had his best game of the season yesterday.

35:07 Oh, my God. I was always on him. You know, he's just a second year, whatever it may be. But, man, what a powerhouse. The whole, what a team effort. You know, J.J. threw that ball with complete authority.

35:21 Yes.

35:22 Yes.

35:23 Complete authority. There was no fear. There was double coverage. There was... How about that dart to Fields on the right side? Oh, my God. But listen, I'm going to say this and shut it down because I'm a... I'm a... I'm a.

35:40 I'm a.

35:42 Scalable fan. I even got his jersey.

35:44 But....

35:48 Scalable, right? Running back. Running back, run the ball, they get into the bunch, they hunker down, put their head down, and get ready to plow through, right? Plus you get a personal call on that one.

36:02 Well, he lowered his helmet. I mean, that's a rule. I don't think that that was that out of line. I mean, it's tough, listen, for players in that position because you're using it for leverage, but the rule is clear, cut, and dry. If the offensive player lowers his helmet to initiate contact, that's a penalty.

36:19 Meh.

36:19 All right.

36:20 Well, you know.

36:21 The hard part of that one, Roberto, I'm going to push back a little bit on Lance here. The hard part about that is you lower your upper torso because he leads shoulder first. That's the way he runs. Sure. And so I get it.

36:34 I mean, the head went down. I get it. I mean, I don't think there's anything to dispute there.

36:37 That's the thing that bothered a lot of people who were there watching the game in the box and on the sideline. is that there was no helmet-to-helmet contact.

36:45 No.

36:45 It was helmet-to-shoulder.

36:47 But, of course, you don't need the helmet-to-helmet contact.

36:49 I know you don't.

36:50 I understand you don't.

36:51 But usually the helmet-to-shoulder doesn't get called. Usually.

36:58 Listen, I hear you, but that's going to vary.

37:00 Well, you want consistency, as we all know.

37:02 Which is very hard to come by on a call like that and on a play like that.

37:05 Yeah.

37:06 Real quickly, Roberto, what else you got?

37:08 Drew, Drew, Drew. Drew Phillips, man, he played his heart out. Those calls were bang, bang. I mean, that's all I have. Listen, my thoughts and prayer goes to everybody, especially Hurts and Philly. It doesn't matter who wins tonight because it's going to be a loss. in the division column.

37:29 God bless you.

37:30 Well, unless it's a tie, though, keep in mind that and appreciate the phone call. Remember, the Giants played the Commanders earlier this season and they tied. So you can't make the assumption that somebody's going to win and somebody's going to lose tonight. It is possible that we could have the other element in play, and that is a tie.

37:46 But I think the point is well taken that the Giants are going to be sitting in first place regardless of the outcome of tonight's Monday night football game, which is what he was referring to, Cowboys and Giants. Let's head back to lines. We got James in Georgia with us here on BBKL. What's happening, James?

38:00 Hey, what's going on, guys? We have great calls so far this show. Everybody's hit on a lot of great points. I got just a couple myself.

38:11 Um.

38:14 I know the last couple of weeks I've called about Scott, and I'm going to call about Scott today and say, when you make comparisons, Scott is the young Marshawn Lynch. The way he breaks tackles and runs. Do you all know an older competitor? Who was Marshawn Lynch before Marshawn Lynch? Because he ran, Marshawn Lynch runs very hard, runs real different.

38:41 And the way Scataboo runs is different. Like, the way he runs, breaks tackles, is, you know, very violent, all that, right? Y'all touched on the response to the coaches. I loved it. They took a very positive approach. They stepped up to the plate. They stepped up to the challenge. You know, sometimes moves like that can– go the other way, and you don't want the players to feel like they're being lost for voicing their opinion. In Najee Harris' case, I think he was the last person in, but he was the first person out. That kind of happens in any business, Walmart, anything.

39:27 I called last week about Kayvon. too, and he's still MIA. He's getting pressures. I know, Paul, you were saying he's getting pressures. Abdul's pressures and Tibbs' pressures are totally different. The one slip he had, he had a couple of slips yesterday. the one that led to the late touchdown for 21 points, you know, that got him into 21.

39:54 I need more production out of him. Pressures are not production.

39:59 Tibbs had a good game yesterday. No, no, I'm going to have to stop you there. Tibbs had a good game yesterday. I know he dropped the interception in overtime, but he played well yesterday.

40:15 Well, what else did you have? You said you had one more point, James.

40:17 Okay, well, okay, my last two, my last two.

40:21 Well, you said you had one. Now we're speaking of two. Okay.

40:24 Go ahead.

40:25 Go ahead.

40:27 Well, I had a whole story about how I was in L.A. for the Jay-Z concert to even watch the game, but, you know, running short on time, I'll cut my trip to my weekend in L.A.

40:37 Short.

40:38 Excellent Jay-Z show, by the way, out there on the West Coast.

40:42 Okay.

40:43 But my last thing, I guess, with us being on the buy list, get healthy, with the trade deadline coming up, do you go for a stud starter and a maybe not so needed position because, you know, where do you think that we're, you know, lacking heavily or we need to improve if we're giving guys a chance? Or do you bring in two A or B range players depth pieces to, you know, compliment the team. I'm not a big name.

41:16 Well, we'll let you go on that note. It's a fair question in terms of the Giants' approach moving forward. Remember, the deadline was pushed back in years past to give teams a little bit more of an opportunity to evaluate their roster. So that they could see whether or not it's worthy of giving something up. And I think it depends on Paul. And interestingly, you and I were having a little bit of this conversation off the air before the show in terms of, you know, what the thinking is like now that they're four, two and one entering the buy in. It comes down to, of course, what the asking price for some of these players are. Because especially if you're going to go after a player that is a half a year rental, meaning he's a free

41:56 agent next season and he's not going to have a year or two on his contract, you have to ask yourself, is that worth whatever the other team wants, even if it is a fifth-round pick or a sixth-round pick? Because the Giants, remember, have made some transactions already where they've sacrificed money. some future assets. So all of that has to be taken into consideration. I think position wise, if they were looking to maybe make a splash or an upgrade, up front on the defensive line, pass rusher. I mean, that to me is the position. Because I think you feel good about McFadden helping to cause it linebacker. We talked about they have a lot of options in the secondary, and Deontay Banks is playing very well. So of needs,

42:42 if you were to rank them, I'd go up front. pass rush defensive line before I would look at any other area of the defense.

42:51 Yeah, I wouldn't, I would not poo-poo a potential defensive lineman, but more of a run stopper than I would a pass rusher. Now, that's fine if you can get a pass rusher, but those guys are very hard to come by.

43:04 Well, I think maybe you'd want a little combo of both. A guy from the interior that has the ability to collapse the pocket.

43:10 That'd be fine. The Giants know. DJ Reader, by the way, what a great acquisition was he. Oh, my goodness. Without him, I don't even want to think about what the defensive line would be. You know, Shelby Harris has done okay, but DJ Reader has really, really played well. problem is you can't play him 70 snaps a game. You just can't do it. I would love to see them, perhaps, if they had the ability to add some more strength and power along the defensive tackle spot. That's where I would probably target if I were to do something. The trade deadline, for those of you who don't know, is November 10th, by the way. It was pushed back a couple of weeks. That would be right after the Philadelphia game,

43:53 which is on the 8th. That's Sunday the 8th. Tuesday the 10th is the trade deadline at 4 p.m. Eastern time. And then the Giants, by the way, have two games that week because they come right back after the Sunday game against Philadelphia. They've got a Thursday night game against Washington here in the Meadowlands.

44:12 And keep in mind, your divisional foes are going to be playing while you're on by two. So, you know, you have some things that you can at least evaluate. Not to say that that should be the end-all, be-all deciding factor, but I don't think we're at the point yet where anyone in the division, regardless of the struggles, is thinking... somebody is going to run away with the NFC East. I don't think there's a juggernaut in the mix here of all four teams. So they all are probably thinking the same thing, that we have at least a legitimate shot, assuming that there's enough games left for us to make a little bit of an indent here.

44:47 I would say this, though, Lance. If the Giants feel really good about their positioning today, this would be the time to be having those phone calls. Because you've got the divisional game tonight between Dallas and Philly. Washington's off on the bye. But you've got that extra time to acclimate a potential newcomer into your system. And I don't know that you would make a deal or a trade for a fringe player. I think if you're making a trade, you're making a deal for a guy who at least is going to be part of your regular rotation.

45:26 Absolutely.

45:26 Fringe players don't make sense. Yeah.

45:28 Well, plus remember, they just claimed a player off the Colts practice squad too. So if they wanted a fringe player, they can grab somebody off a practice squad. It doesn't make sense.

45:35 You don't have to make a trade for that. So if you're going to make a deal, it's going to be someone who will see some significant snaps.

45:41 Yeah.

45:41 And at this point, you've got a two loss lead in the division. You've got the bye week and then you have back-to-back games within the NFC East. I would love, if it were me, I would love to get that, that, contribution out of the veteran who you're going to deal for in those two division games that are coming up over the course of the next two weeks. I would strongly want that because even John Harbaugh said yesterday after the game, these next two games are going to determine the direction of our season.

46:17 Let's head back to the phone lines as we move along here on BBKL. Let's check in with Jersey Mo. Jersey Mo, what's happening?

46:26 Yo, yo, what's going on, fellas? How you doing, man?

46:28 Hi, doing all right. What's on your mind?

46:31 Yeah, beautiful game. It started with the head coach showing the tough love and then the leadership after the game. Everything starts with faith, family, and football, man. And if you go in that order, you're going to be successful, and sometimes you won't. But things happen for a reason. I'm going to tell you about the J.J. McCarthy thing.

46:59 Minnesota is not doing that great over there offensively. So we've got to look at the bigger picture. Probably wasn't J.J.

47:08 's fault.

47:09 You know, they gave up on that kid too soon. Thank God we got him. He did plays over there because they're talking about him everywhere. He did plays over... Yesterday, he didn't do it in Minnesota. So... And he still left.

47:25 A lot out.

47:26 And you know what that means? That means he's still got a lot of potential in him. In 26 days only that he's been here. Man... And I'm just happy we had that win. And I hate these people call always with the negative.

47:44 Man, we won.

47:45 He's trying. It's hard to win football.

47:48 Games, man. Calm down, man.

47:50 Thank God, man, we won. We're going into the bye. God bless you guys.

47:55 And I'm going to shut up, man.

47:56 All right, Jersey Mel, appreciate the call.

47:58 Hey, you know what item I do want to mention here, too, because you guys know one of my pet peeves is when the receivers and tight ends and running backs let down their quarterback. When he throws a pass and they don't make a play because they drop a play that should have been completed, a pass, I should say, that should have been completed. I think I had the Giants for one drop yesterday. Malik Nabors had an early drop across the middle, which, by the way, would not have been a first down had he caught it anyway. He would have been short of the sticks. But let's give a hand as well now to all those targets that who on several occasions this year have picked up their end of the bargain by making sure that those passes

48:38 were completed. The Giants have had an epidemic of dropped passes over the last half a dozen years. Not so far this year. They're doing much, much better with that.

48:48 Two things I wanted to add to the last caller's point about this is McCarthy really just scratching the surface of potential. I think that's a fair statement, mainly because, again, he is still digesting the system. So as he gets more and more comfortable, the coaching staff will, I'm sure, open things up a little bit more to enable him to take some chances down the field. That's number one.

49:11 Number two, and this goes back to what you were just talking about, guys coming through for the quarterback. Remember, he did not have a lot of practice reps with the Bulldogs. of the personnel on this team, Paul. Let's not dismiss that.

49:22 No, he did not.

49:23 So when you look at when he came in, Winston was still the number one starter. He gets the bulk of the practice reps. McCarthy has only been taking the number one reps for a very minute period of time. So you figure as that continues to grow and chemistry is going to increase there as well. So those are two things that bode well for the outlook of McCarthy.

49:45 But at the same time, okay, let's not fool ourselves. The Giants are still built around this run game, no matter who is under center, whether it's Dart, whether it's Winston, or whether it's McCarthy. And the way they ran the ball against Dallas and the Texans, I think, is the ideal formula that John Harbaugh subscribed to when he was the coach in Baltimore. And that's what they'd like to have more of moving forward. Now, as you know, Paul, game flow, game script doesn't always afford you the opportunity to pound it as much as they did. But when they're in a position to do that and they're playing from in front and the offensive line is playing bully ball, I don't think they're all of a sudden going to say,

50:24 you know what, let's have JJ start airing it out. That would be completely out of character for this team and this coaching staff.

50:31 Well, we saw what happened when they had to force James Winston to throw the ball a billion times. You're putting too much at risk. That's just not smart playing. It doesn't make sense.

50:44 Let's head back to lines. Gerald is in Florida with us here on BBKL. What's happening, Gerald?

50:49 Hi, Paul. Hi, Lance.

50:50 Hi.

50:51 How are we doing?

50:51 Just comment and then two questions.

50:53 Sure.

50:54 First comment, I've been watching the Giants since 1950. I haven't seen all the games they played, but I don't recall ever seeing unnecessary roughness called on an offensive running back. That's just my comment.

51:07 Now, my question.

51:09 Okay.

51:10 That's how you label it or put it. Okay.

51:13 I appreciate that. They might have had Jacobs at one point. I'm pretty sure I remember Brandon Jacobs getting a flag at one point, but that's okay.

51:21 I haven't seen every game, but that's okay.

51:24 I've never seen it.

51:25 Anyway, if J.J. McCarthy becomes a reliable quarterback on a par with Jackson Dort, will the Giants likely retain both of them, or will one of them likely be traded?

51:40 I think you're way ahead of yourself on that right now.

51:42 No, I said the premise is, if J.J. McCarthy becomes a hero, or Jackson Dart, because Jackson doesn't have a great history. He only has a few games.

51:53 That's a pretty wild hypothetical, but here's what I would say to you. I think the good news for the Giants is that they have two guys right now on the roster in Dart and McCarthy who do have similar play styles, who can use many of the same chapters in the playbook. And as many of the experts have talked about over the course of the last month since they made the deal for McCarthy, that was one of the primary reasons you made that deal is so you did not have two diametrically opposite quarterbacks. Because when that happens and then you have to go to the backup for whatever reason, you have to really start tailoring the offense to him instead of keeping it the way it was supposed to be. So I think it's great for

52:37 the Giants if McCarthy does really well because then they've got two really good QBs who have similar skill sets and they would be set up if they decide they wanted to keep both of them, they would be set up in a great position moving forward. If they decide that they want to move with one of those guys, well, then they should get a lot of value for either one of them if that's what they want to do.

53:01 But I think the hypothetical that you present is a problem that they would love to have next February after they win the Super Bowl.

53:09 And keep in mind, Gerald.

53:10 I'm joking. I'm joking. Don't take me seriously.

53:12 There's very little likelihood that they'll make it very far in the playoffs if they make it to the playoffs. Probably one and done. But anyway, my other question is, and since I don't get a lot of information down here in Florida about the scuttlebutt in New York, but I did hear... that Saquon Barkley might possibly be on the trade block by the Eagles back to the Giants.

53:35 And is this just a rumor or is there a grain of truth in this report?

53:38 Well, I think everything regarding guys, I mean, there's been tie-ins to Jonathan Taylor of the Colts and Indy May want to part ways with talent because of where they are mathematically and they just fired their general manager, Chris Ballard. I don't think anything has a tremendous amount of legs other than, to your point, some scuttlebutt. That is around the Internet. So I would not read too much into that, Gerald.

53:59 And we'll let you go on that note. Appreciate the phone call. I did want to, though, add to your point, Paul. about McCarthy in the future he was a 2024 first round pick so he's in year three of his contract so you know there still is keep in mind a year left on his deal it's not as if you know the Giants have to immediately decide on his future or hand him an extension or this and that they have the wiggle room that, and we're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves, as Paul said, but McCarthy is under contract to be on the roster next season. And they don't have to do anything with respect to that.

54:39 They don't have to give him a new deal. They don't have to entertain moving him. This could be a conversation that can wait till, after even 2027. So there's not a high level of urgency is what I wanted to get at. That's the appeal of acquiring somebody who is still on their rookie contract. You have at least some flexibility in that department. And I understand the point, you know, dart's still a small sample size, multiple injuries.

55:03 You do want to protect yourself in this league. Paul, look at how many quarterbacks have gone down.

55:07 Sure.

55:07 It's been a trend really over the last few years.

55:10 Quarterbacks have become more valuable. Yeah, they have.

55:14 So I would not be in a rush. My point is to think about, well, can you get an asset for him or whatever, or handing another contract? I would say status quo. We've got numbers for the time being. Let's see how things play out. And then when the numbers get to a point where you can't afford to keep everybody, then you think about it. But I don't think they're even entertaining that or in that ballpark.

55:35 I don't make light of this. And I'm sorry. I was, I was goofing with the caller just a little bit, but when Hostetler said, came in for Phil Simms back in the 1990 season, he was a totally different style of quarterback. He won down the stretch through the postseason, Giants win the Super Bowl, and now you come back the next year and you've got two starting quarterbacks and you've got to figure out what you're going to do with them. And of course, Ray Handley, at one point, he actually proposed to the two quarterbacks, I'd like to platoon you, which was not going to work. And Phil Simms knew that and Told him, no, you can't do that.

56:12 You're going to have to pick one. And Hanley picked Hostetler. Now, those were two totally different guys. And today, it's even more of a problem when you have your starter and your backup as different styles. Now, the Giants, to their credit, when they looked around, you know, previous to last year, and they were trying to get themselves a backup, they signed Winston. They signed him to a deal and said, hey, you know what? We're in a little bit of a different situation. We don't know what we're going to do in the draft. We don't. So they brought him in.

56:50 As it turned out, they drafted a guy who's totally different. He's a runner. He's not a pocket passer. So now you have that kind of difficult, if you will. I don't know, difficult. Maybe that's not the right word. But you have that dynamic now of having an A and a B instead of two A's. So by getting McCarthy, they now at least have some symmetry between the backup and the starter, which really is kind of the way you want to do it in today's game.

57:21 I bring this up all the time. Is that fair? No, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I have said this example, I believe, on this show previously. I'll mention it again. The Ravens, and this is a John Harbaugh experience, okay? They had Tyler Huntley, who is still starting because Lamar got hurt again. And you can at least run similar things that you do with Lamar when Huntley comes in.

57:42 When you had Joe Flacco... They were on opposite ends of the spectrum.

57:46 Totally different.

57:46 Yeah.

57:46 Totally different.

57:47 I always am a fan, Paul, of finding a quarterback who can then step in and you don't have to now all of a sudden reinvent yourself. Well, that's why when the.

57:57 Giants picked up Tyrod Taylor. Right? Tyrod Taylor had some legs, which Daniel Jones had some legs. And that was the reasoning.

58:04 Correct. You can continue to run the same type of plays. And Matt Nagy was the first one to acknowledge about how a percentage of the plays are no longer available. And now they're sort of tapping back into them with McCarthy at the quarterback position. It's always, I would say, a good problem to have when you have depth, though, under center. Because with the injury rate now that we're seeing across the league, not just with the Giants, you never know how many quarterbacks you're going to have to play.

58:33 And this is the fourth time in the last five years that the Giants have had to play three quarterbacks for, of course, a variety of different reasons. I'm not saying they're all the same, but injuries has been at the center of it.

58:44 And you know what's really funny? I'm sorry, but I have to laugh. We're talking about the Symmetry and skill sets between your backup and your starter. And JJ McCarthy did have one rush yesterday. Only one.

58:58 Well, again. So guess what?

59:00 He didn't wind up using any of Dart's running plays in the game yesterday at all.

59:06 Well, in fairness, though, Paul, this was his first start, though.

59:09 I know.

59:10 Know, but— I'll defend you.

59:12 You're trying to throw yourself into the defense here. No, you know, because there'll be somebody out there who's going to say, what are you talking about? McCarthy had one running play. I just want to bring that to light. When I try to hide that, he had one running play. I must confess, as I was watching the game yesterday, I was saying to myself, I'm not seeing too many of Dart's running plays here yet today.

59:32 Well, again.

59:33 He never showed up.

59:34 Because we're looking at things from more of a big picture perspective than an isolated game. And that goes back to what we were talking about with other callers. You can't learn to make fun of yourself, Lance. No, I'm not disputing that. I just, I didn't expect you to, you know, bring back the counter arguments here.

59:48 It's okay.

59:50 Balance reporting and balance discussion for Paul Dettino today. So kudos to you. But no, the big picture again theme is you do want to have somebody with a similar skill set.

1:00:01 Yes.

1:00:01 And I think the Giants are now in a position to embrace that based on what McCarthy can present. And it only, once again, gets stronger for them to potentially run him a little bit more as he gets more and more comfortable with this game. So the Giants now enter the bye week at 4-2-1, and this is a nice midway point essentially to the season. Byes don't always come at this point. I think this timing-wise works out very well for the Giants, and it will give them a chance to rest up some of the guys that have had some nagging injuries. Though at this point to the season, everybody's pretty much beat up. at some point.

1:00:35 And I think the other reason why, before we wrap up the show, the timing is great. You talked about if you were to acquire somebody at the trade deadline, you'd have ample time. But think about how beneficial this week is going to be for McCarthy. to sit with the coaching staff, sit with some of the offensive personnel that hangs around, to just continue to be a sponge so that entering the Philadelphia game, there's now an extra layer of comfort that you would expect to build up here week in and week out.

1:01:01 Even more so critical because they are back-to-back games in the division and they come within the same week because Washington is a Thursday-nighter coming right after the Sunday-nighter. So, you know, I expect McCarthy to be sucking everything in like a vacuum. right now.

1:01:18 Yeah, it's going to be a quick turnaround. The good news is they'll be home, unlike when those short weeks come when you're on the road, which makes things a little bit more challenging. All right, that is going to wrap up Monday's edition of Big Blue Kickoff Live. It is presented by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle of the New York Giants, broadcasting from the Giants podcast studio, presented by Hackensack Marine Health. Keep getting better. And a reminder, the archive of this show, our entire podcast network on the Giants mobile app, podcast platforms everywhere, The Giants YouTube channel and at Giants.com slash podcast.

1:01:47 We need to tell people about the foundation run because that's coming up during the weekend of the Philadelphia game.

1:01:53 There you go.

1:01:54 Didn't want to forget that.

1:01:55 No, that's fair. As we are entering the bye week, a reminder, the Giants Foundation, they're going to host that 5K race that Paul just referred to, and Kids Run. It's presented by Quest, and it'll be on Sunday, November 8th, 9 a.m. at MetLife Stadium. Net proceeds will benefit the Giants Foundation, and all participants are going to receive a commemorative T-shirt after the race. You can stay for a post-race festival with appearances by Giants legends and a live DJ.

1:02:19 You can register now, Giants.com slash 5K. Giants Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation. All right. I think that's everything on the agenda, Paul. Is there anything else to try to squeeze in before we wrap up shop?

1:02:32 No, let's thank the weatherman. We actually have some beautiful weather for a change. After how many weekends in a row of rain? There you go. It seemed like it was about eight or nine.

1:02:39 Yeah.

1:02:39 It's horrible.

1:02:40 It's still flirting with the early 70s, believe it or not, in late October.

1:02:43 Love it.

1:02:43 So we will welcome that.

1:02:44 All right.

1:02:45 For Paul Dettino, I'm Lance Meadows. Stay locked to Giants.com for all the latest. We'll speak to you on Tuesday right here. on Big Blue Kickoff Live. Have a good one.