Big Blue Kickoff Live 10/27 I Giants at the Bye

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?

0:12 New York Giant pride. And the Giants mobile app. 17-14 is the final. One touchdown, we are world champions.

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

0:25 Have some fun. Hi, everybody. Happy Tuesday. Welcome to the last Big Blue Kickoff Live of the week. Heading into the bye. Brought to you by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle to Giants. John Schmelke, Mark Malousis with you. We'll take your calls at 201-939-4513. We'll let our production team get a few days off here as we gear up for the second part of the 2026 NFL regular season. Moose, good to see you, buddy.

0:48 Good to see you, John. Everything good?

0:50 Giants coming off a big win Sunday against the Texans. I missed cookie day, which was yesterday.

0:55 Which I was... which I was a little saddened to hear that they were out yesterday.

1:00 They will have the normal chocolate chip today if you still want a chocolate chip.

1:03 Do they have chocolate chip today?

1:04 Oh, yeah, sure. Oh, okay.

1:05 They're on that every day.

1:06 No, I understand, but they don't have the other cookies are just s'mores. Great. I missed it yesterday. You did. Yeah, which stinks.

1:14 Well, player schedule is a little bit different. John Harbaugh, as he spoke to the media yesterday, is.

1:18 It's not all about the cookies.

1:21 I understand.

1:22 Well, it is, but they arranged it based on the player schedule, not based on the Mark Malusa schedule.

1:28 I understand that, yes. I'm just speaking selfishly, that's all.

1:31 Well, of course. I mean, we all want cookies.

1:33 They're excellent. So he will release them after today, and then they'll be back on Monday, so they'll get five days off to rest. And Moose, given all the injuries on this roster right now, I think it'll be time well served getting some rest, given what the Giants had to fight through to beat the Texans. That's where I'll start.

1:51 Just a really impressive performance. A very clean game. Didn't put the ball on the ground. No turnovers. They won the way John Harbaugh wants to win. Running the ball, stopping the run. No procedural penalties. Just a very clean football game where I think the Giants look like a really put-together, smooth operation. Probably more so than we've seen them in any game this year.

2:12 Yeah, I thought it was great. You and I were texting a little bit off-air.

2:16 This is what we look in terms of what is, you know, culture or kind of changing the culture, the environment of an organization.

2:25 And I think, you.

2:26 Know, Giant fans, we're all seeing it in real time here with John Harbaugh and his staff. The way that it was buttoned up Sunday against the Houston Texans, the differentiation when you're looking at the coaching. Uh, the lessons that have been taught, the lessons that have been learned, uh, guys going out there and, uh, responding after those lessons being learned, like all of it, you know, and we'll get into JJ McCarthy, but they understand the challenge going into Houston, a Texans team that, you know, John, you and I, we talked about last week right here on big blue kickoff live, whether it was starting to find themselves big expectations in the AFC coming into this season.

3:01 Defense hasn't really been great. Stroud has been brilliant. Game plan was off the charts. And as John Harbaugh talked to the media on Sunday, talked to the media yesterday, you know, laid the challenge down. This team met the challenge and talked about the importance of that game. Significantly different going into the bye week at 4-2-1 as compared to 3-3-1.

3:21 Yeah, no question about it. And now the key moving forward here, Moose, and we'll dig into some of the particulars of the game.

3:27 Is you have to play like you did against Houston.

3:29 You can't revert and play like you did against the Saints, play like you did against the Commanders. Even the week before when you won that game against Arizona, when you had nine turnovers in three weeks, you had a bunch of procedural penalties, and things were a little bit sloppier. You have to continue now this high level of play because the two games after the bye... are going to be the games that dictate how the rest of your season goes. There are two NFC East games at Philly, home versus the Commanders. Commanders on a Thursday night. Philly is Sunday at 1. And with the schedule getting tougher after that, Dallas beating Philly last night. You're 1-0-1 in the division. You have to start stacking some of these

4:06 wins now in the division, so you're going to win tiebreakers down the road. So really, these next two games, if you play like you did against the Texans, you should beat these two teams, Philly and Washington, with the way they're playing, if you can continue to play the way you did against Houston.

4:21 Yeah, I would agree.

4:22 I mean, and listen, every week is a little bit of a different challenge. Every week's not going to look one and the same. But yeah, you know, you could look at coming out of that bye week now feeling good about yourself.

4:34 And I think once you've done it, once you've been able to play at that level... you think about the fact of, well, that's achievable, right?

4:42 And now you want to see, okay, well, what's repeatable in terms of what we have seen, right?

4:47 We look at, you know.

4:48 Not taking care of the football, not fumbling, right? You look at, and we'll get into the play of the quarterback and You look at J.J. McCarthy was brilliant throwing the football, especially, you know, and pushing the ball down the field against the Houston Texans. You know, the way that this defense plays, Abdul Carter, repeatable, you know, his burst off the line of scrimmage, being able to either get pressure on the quarterback and or be able to draw offensive holding penalties. So once you get there, John, the point being is that. They've tasted it. They've seen, you know, all the hard work go out there and pay off and with a victory. And then it gets guys to lean in even more. So that's what we've

5:27 seen here through the first seven weeks of the NFL season. Looking forward to seeing, you know, this giant team take the field in a couple weeks against Philadelphia.

5:33 Yeah, look, I want to start the defense because to your point, Denard Wilson really challenged that group last week.

5:38 No doubt.

5:38 With his traders comment, you saw guys run into the football all game. But really, Moose, to me, the difference here, especially with the injuries in the secondary, with Newsom being out, with Holland being out, this team, against a pretty good wide receiving core, we're going to have to put pressure on C.J.

5:53 Stroud.

5:54 And they did for the most part, and a lot with four men. They did over 50% pressure rate when they rushed only four in this game. They had about a 40% blitz rate. They got home to C.J. Stroud, and he just never seemed comfortable in this game. He did not look like the quarterback that... That has been so good since Nico Collins came back from that injury.

6:11 He looked more like the guy the last couple of years when he did struggle with pressure, struggled with the blitz. And I thought Denard Wilson really had him uncomfortable. Taye Banks did a great job covering Nico Collins. Again, mostly his own defense, but he was matched up with him on that side of the field for a decent portion of the game. And just overall, a very strong performance by the defense. Texans just had 237 yards of offense.

6:35 Giants outgamed the Texans by more than 200 yards. The game probably never should have went to overtime, to be honest with you, with the way the Giants outplayed.

6:41 The Texans in this game.

6:43 But I thought the defense... really was the spearhead and the tip of the spear in this game against the Texans offense to the point you made earlier had really looked good early on this year.

6:53 Well, they were great.

6:54 And listen, you go back to the numbers, the Stroud against the Jacksonville Jaguars over in London. He was nine to 13, 95 yards and a touchdown against the Blitz. And, you know, we had calls right here on Big Blue Kickoff Live. We had calls on Saturday morning for you and I talk a little giant football. Um, on WFAN where, well, you're just going to blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz. Well, I'll be careful what you wish for, especially with the way that Stroud was seeing defenses and Denard Wilson dialed it up.

7:19 I think you start with Taye.

7:21 Banks and the brilliance that he had in the, in the coverage of, of Nico Collins.

7:25 And.

7:26 You know, the old adage is, you know, you never give up on talent. And there's no doubt that Taye Banks is a talented cornerback. And we've seen the best version of Taye Banks this year for the New York Giants and Denard Wilson in that Giants defensive secondary. And then you mentioned in terms of being able to win individually up front.

7:42 They ran some games.

7:43 I mean, to where, you know, you had Abdul Carter coming off the middle and doing some twists and doing some stunts and did some of those things.

7:50 But what they did do was... they.

7:53 Made Stroud uncomfortable. And that was where he didn't know exactly where. A guy that was playing a really high level of quarterback, the Giants were able to scheme it up to where they made him think a little bit longer or had him under duress. And you saw that Texans, it took him a while to start to figure things out and took him by the part of three quarters before he started to figure things out. but that was an impressive defensive performance. To me, you look at it, and I know John Harbaugh after the game said he should have gotten the ball to game ball to Tay Banks.

8:27 Tay Banks was brilliant.

8:28 He really was.

8:29 So was Abdul Carter. I mean, the whole Giants defensive front, and they were challenged. They stopped the run. We talked about it. Two things you got to do. You want to be a winning team, be able to run the football, stop the run. Giants defensively stopped the run against a team that doesn't like to run the football, isn't a particularly good rush defense, or rush offense, I should say.

8:47 But the Giants defensively, John, to hammer home your point, great.

8:49 Yeah, look, this is a team effort in the pass rush to Moose. It wasn't just Abdul-Qadir. He did have three pressures in the game. He did draw that offensive holding. Kavion Thibodeau had three pressures. DJ Reeder, I thought, had his best pass rush game of the year against his former team. He had three pressures. Jason Pinnock had three pressures as a blitzer. Alvaro Ruiz had a couple pressures as a blitzer. They used Mikey McFadden as a blitzer over the course of this game. And you're right, I think their ability to get home with four So when the Texans thought they would have time, they didn't. I thought that was extremely helpful. And then to your point, just, you know, getting those linebackers up on the line of scrimmage.

9:23 Are they coming? Are they going?

9:24 How are they coming? They crossed on them a couple of times with those cross splits that they run. They used Carter, to your point, as a stand-up rusher. They used him as a looper on certain plays. They used Thibodeau as a looper on other plays. So just a large variety of methods of rushing the Panthers.

9:37 I'm with you.

9:38 Really interesting.

9:39 Gave the Texans issues, and it was the next-to-last drive of regulation. Texans had two separate opportunities to get the ball downfield, and guys were open. And pressure on Stroud made him miss Marvin Harrison on that crossing route, and then there was another deep pass where he overthrew the player as well because there was pressure. And we talked about that. having to be the key to this Giants defense at the start of the year. They lose Brian Burns.

10:05 But we see it, Moose, when this team can get pressure on the quarterback. They tend to play well on defense and win.

10:11 When they don't get pressure on the quarterback, they tend not to.

10:14 Well, right.

10:15 Yeah, for sure. And no doubt. And you see it across the National Football League.

10:19 You can see with the Giants, and especially when you're trying to close games out, there's nothing that determines the outcome of the games more than a fourth quarter pass rush and being able to close games out. If you're able to get it, you're going to be able to hold on to a lead. If you can't get it, then you're going to be vulnerable for giving up that lead or giving.

10:36 Up fourth quarter points.

10:37 So.

10:38 Yeah, it was great. And then you look at it and you say, well, look at all the guys that were out. You know, as you mentioned that, you know, the Giants are going to use this bye week to get a little bit healthier. You know, no Holland, no Newsome, no Tremaine Edmonds. You know, Brian Burns obviously has been lost to the season.

10:55 McFadden was great, by the way. McFadden was phenomenal.

10:58 No doubt. He was very, very good.

11:00 But you look at you're losing these guys that you say you're going to lean into. And Holland has been brilliant in the back end of that secondary, John. I know you and Tiki were talking about it on the radio side during the pregame show. And then you say, well, how is it going to look for this team? Give Washington a ton of credit. Give guys that stepped into those roles. And that's really what defines a team, given the fact that the Giants weren't completely 100% healthy. And they gave you that kind of defensive performance against an offense that has been really, really good this year throwing the football.

11:32 All right, let's jump to the offensive side of the ball here, Moose. And I think we should start. With the run game, I know people are excited about J.J. McCarthy, and rightfully so. He played very well in this game. But they don't win this game without the running backs. The running backs rushed 28 times for 180 yards, over 6.4 yards per carry. In the first half, they didn't get many explosives, but they were efficient. Over 50%, 55% success rate in the first half. Then they started popping those long runs at the end of this game. You know, the two long runs in the final drive. They absolutely did.

12:02 Cam Scadaboo, Devin Singletary. So it was efficient, efficient, pounded, pounded, pounded. Reminded me of the first game of the year where they went with the bigger people again. Over 50% of their snaps, they had Patrick Picard on the field as a fullback. Texans did not want to bring that second safety into the box. They pounded it. They pounded it. Efficient, efficient, efficient.

12:20 And then you saw, finally, end of this game, big run Scadaboo. Big run Scadaboo. Big run Singletary. Turns into points. They end up winning the football game.

12:29 Yeah, I mean, you.

12:30 Think about the 42-yard run, then the 30-yard touchdown run. Those are achieved because of the commitment to the run throughout the course of the game and wearing down the Houston Texans and being able to go into it with a game plan. And we talked about the impact of McCarthy where the threat where you had to pay respect to him of what he could.

12:51 Do with the legs. You saw it.

12:53 On the touchdown run, goal-to-go situation where you did a little RPO where Clowney couldn't, had to respect the quarterback, couldn't dive in on the running back and he got the touchdown run. So, yeah, love the game plan.

13:05 Love the nuance to the game plan as well.

13:08 I thought it was really creative. You know, you brought in Jameis for a couple of those tush pushes and.

13:14 He had a touchdown. So it was really, really good.

13:16 And that's kind of what John Harbaugh envisions with this team of what he wants to do, being committed to the run.

13:22 And the fact is the running backs also held on to the football. Singletary had his moment.

13:27 You saw something from obviously Tyrone Tracy and big time runs from Cam Scadaboo.

13:33 Only two 20 plus yard runs that Giants have had all year were those final two runs of the game.

13:37 Great.

13:38 They had four runs of 10 yards or more in this game. The running backs did. Before this game, Giant running backs only had six carries of 10 yards or more the whole year.

13:48 So you finally got some of those explosive runs. That's a good rush defense, too.

13:51 It is.

13:51 They were third in the league in terms of yards for play.

13:53 I mean, think about it. That is a good rush defense that you're going up against now. And the Giants were able to impose their will, get an Illuminor back. Obviously no Marcus Bowe, but Illuminor back as you're starting right tackle. You know, Thomas was off the injury report toward the tail end of the week going into that game against the Houston Texans.

14:09 So, John, a lot to like from what you saw.

14:12 Like that's kind of a, you know, as big of a win that the Giants have had you know, basically in four years.

14:18 It was the best win to me since their back-to-back wins against Green Bay and Baltimore in 2022.

14:22 Yeah, I mean, so it is, that's a statement win. You go in as a decided underdog. You know, you go in with a new starting quarterback in J.J.

14:31 McCarthy.

14:33 You go in coming off what was, you know, not a great home performance against the New Orleans Saints. and you didn't know exactly what you were going to get from a national perspective, and this team responded.

14:44 That's why coaching matters.

14:46 I mean, John, like we've seen it time and time again, like it is amazing what you look at, you know, what quality coaches with a game plan have an understanding of what your team can and cannot do, and kind of imposing what the accountability or what the expectations are, and you're seeing it here with the New York Giants.

15:04 It was as The good of a win as the Giants have had, as you mentioned, maybe four years and quite some time.

15:09 Yeah, and look, now it has to continue, right? Because anybody can do it for one game.

15:12 Yeah, sure.

15:12 And we see it in the NFL week-to-week league, no doubt.

15:15 If there's any week that reinforces a week-to-week league in this NFL, it was this week with all the crazy stuff that happened around the National Football League. The Giants don't have to sustain the great effort they put forward. And they'll be able to do it if J.J. McCarthy keeps playing this way, Moose, because he played an excellent game.

15:31 We talked about the Texans' proclivity for giving up explosive passes over the course of our shows last week, especially on the Saturday morning show.

15:39 And that was the case again.

15:40 J.J.

15:41 McCarthy got the ball downfield. They had six completions of 15 yards or more in this game. Malachi Fields, he worked the perimeter. I thought this entire game really well. It wasn't really the middle of the field where the Texans have had issues this season where he attacked. And I really think they had a good plan and it was really simple for J.J. where you didn't see him having to go from three to two to one and really moving his eyes all over the field. Look, the In some ways, I think playing this Texans defense helped them because the one thing the Texans don't do most, they don't disguise things. They just do what they do, right?

16:12 They'll run cover three. They'll run some quarters. And if their cornerbacks are in that off situation, you're going to be able to throw that out in front of them.

16:19 And I think we saw that.

16:21 A couple times to Fields, they got the one-on-one versus Stingley in the best pass of the game. McCarthy ends up hitting neighbors on that little flag corner route. Unfortunately, they didn't end up scoring on that because they missed a field goal. I thought that was the best pass of the game, but he was very decisive. He got the ball out quick to help neutralize the pass rush.

16:39 And he just made really accurate on-time passes, throwing these passes before the guys even get out of their breaks to Malachi Fields on those out routes. He showed some pretty good pocket presence, stepping up with that one play, hitting neighbors on the crosser across the middle. And look, I don't think you could have asked for a much better first performance out of J.J.

16:56 McCarthy. No, it was great.

16:58 And you ran through it. You know what hit me? The calm, cool, collected, and very confident. When you're watching J.J. McCarthy on the field, which is kind of like, you know, and I understand he had the impressive fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints, John. But I thought his demeanor on the field was really impressive for a guy starting his first game as a New York Giant, given the history with the Minnesota Vikings. And it showed you the confidence that he had in this game plan and the confidence that this coaching staff has shown in him.

17:30 And then to deliver on some of those throws.

17:32 I mean, that throw to neighbors at the end of the first half was as good of an anticipation throw and tight window throw as you've seen in the NFL this year.

17:47 Where it was, you know, some of the layered throws. He did it all.

17:51 And listen, Houston adjusted as the game went along. I don't think there's any question about it. But he pushed the ball down the field. And, you know, he took care of the football. And he put it where it needed to go. And he let his playmakers go out there. and make plays, whether it be neighbors, whether it be Malachi Fields with the big catch and run of the right sideline, and that was a pass that was a thing of beauty and put it exactly where he needed to go, and Fields turned up field for a big 47-yard gain.

18:18 So there was nothing not to like. It was really good.

18:24 And now you want to see more, and you want to see exactly him be able to build off that performance but because he was really, really impressive because I don't think really anybody, after watching him in Minnesota, was kind of a wait-and-see approach. Let's see exactly what he looks like against the Houston Texans on the road. And he was really, really good. And I don't even think that's doing it enough justice. At times, he was really brilliant throwing the football.

18:50 No, he really was, and he did it under pressure, too. The Texans had a 56% pressure rate in that game, so they were getting into the backfield. And I think we saw in the second half especially, the Texans did start blitzing a little bit more. I'm going to do a little self-scout in terms of what to look for for the Giants. They had a 34% blitz rate, the Texans.

19:11 That's almost 15% higher than usual last week. If you look at J.J. McCarthy's first year with the Vikings, he had a lot of issues with the Blitz. If you look at EPA per dropback, he was the worst quarterback in football last year in terms of dealing with the Blitz. It was better yesterday against the Blitz, 7 of 9, 71 yards. But he did get sacked three times on blitzes.

19:30 So I think as we move forward now and you play some other teams, you're going to see teams try to bring the pressure against him. And if he can make some more of those quick decisions like he did against the Texans last week, Moose, and uses athleticism a little bit to move around, that might mitigate some of those issues. But I think that's going to be the counter now as you see him in this offense. a little bit, teams will start bringing a little bit more heat to see how J.J.

19:53 McCarthy deals with it. Yeah, and a couple of those sacks were like, you know, kind of, he had no chance. uh, where it was, you know, you know, where it wasn't necessarily a coverage sack. It was just a case of the, the numbers that were coming out of them and, and rightfully just held onto the football and took the sack.

20:07 But yeah, you're right. I listen.

20:09 And now the tapes out there, you know, in a real game, not necessarily a fourth quarter against the new Orleans saints.

20:14 So.

20:14 Now you saw what the Giants were able to put on film, what McCarthy was successful at. You saw adjustments by the Houston Texans. And as we see, John, as you know better than anybody, you look at this league, it's such an adjustment league.

20:26 So the league will adjust.

20:27 And I'm sure, you know, the Philadelphia Eagles will do some work on what the Giants put on film against the Houston Texans and what J.J. McCarthy was really successful at and try and make him as uncomfortable as possible.

20:39 And we'll see what J.J.

20:40 Does and what the Nagy and company and Callahan and company do to adjust to that.

20:44 To continue to progress and move this offense forward.

20:47 No question about it.

20:48 All right, let's talk about the phones. 201-939-4513. 201-939-4513. Go check out the Johnsonville podcast. Our rapid reaction is up there from Sunday. My interview with Brian Baldinger is up there as well from yesterday. We break down everything Giants and Houston. You can find it on the Giants YouTube channel, Giants app, Giants.com slash podcast, or just go to your favorite podcast platform, search for Giants Huddle, search for Giants Podcast Network, and click that subscribe button. You can also hear the postgame show with me and Tiki from Sunday after the Giants beat the Texans. So a happy postgame show if you want to check that out as well.

21:22 Let's go to Coach Marvin in Delaware on Line 3. Johnny Mack, Coach Marvin, what's going on, pal?

21:26 How you doing, John?

21:28 I'm good.

21:28 How you doing?

21:29 What's going on, Coach?

21:31 Oh, had a little happy today. Good game these guys played. John, excellent interview with Brian Baldinga. I love Brian Baldinga.

21:42 He's great.

21:44 I had met him a couple of years ago at dinner, and we had a conversation about the Giants. So it was always good to see him. This team... It was great to see them respond. John, you brought this up a few minutes ago, how the coaches called them out. And sometimes that's what you have to do. And it was great to see them as a team respond to that call out.

22:10 Coach, you know this.

22:11 It's important to understand what your team needs in order to get them to play their best football. And the fact that I think Harbaugh read the room, Denard Wilson read the room correctly, and And these players are able to take that direct criticism in the same way Harbaugh challenged the running back room a couple weeks ago, right?

22:27 Challenged Cam Scadable on offense.

22:29 And the fact that they have the pulse of the team where they know what they can do to get the best out of this group, I think that's very impressive.

22:37 It is.

22:38 And that's the way you coach them because you coach in dealing with people. And everybody responds different. And so as you say in reading the room, you have to understand who you're talking to when you're talking. And the main thing is this team, because the way they respond, the one thing you have to have in your team as.

23:00 A coach is belief.

23:03 Do they believe in what you're saying?

23:05 Yes.

23:06 And if you can get them to believe in what you're saying, you can get them to do anything.

23:10 No doubt.

23:10 And the coach, I mean, but also the results have got to be there. So, you know, it has to lead to a positive result, right? And you've seen that early on here with the Giants.

23:21 That's what I mean, Moose.

23:22 And when I say anything, meaning any adjustments I'm making, they believe in what I'm saying.

23:27 Correct.

23:28 So, yeah, you're right.

23:30 But that's what the belief is.

23:32 There's times players, and I've seen them, where they really don't believe in what the coach is telling them. And they're not responding. And that's just people communicating.

23:43 Well with each other.

23:46 That means one talking and the other listening. And then they're doing what they're supposed to do. And I see that that's what's happening, and they do believe in the team. And when Harbaugh was hired, he came in with credentials. So he has their attention, which is why they're playing the way they're playing. The other thing is that J.J., I'm not going to say he proved me wrong, but I didn't see this in him. I just didn't see it.

24:19 Well, Coach, just remember, I'll just say one thing, and then you can finish.

24:23 Last year, do you know what player won NFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week.

24:26 1 of the NFL season in 2025? McCarthy. That would be J.J.

24:30 McCarthy.

24:31 Right.

24:32 But then it didn't continue, is my point.

24:34 So now we've got to see him build on this and.

24:36 Keep it going.

24:37 Right.

24:37 I'm talking consistency.

24:39 Exactly my point.

24:42 These are professional players, so if they play long enough... most of them are going to have a day that we weren't looking for. So he had his day. I mean, I wasn't killing him when he was in Minnesota, but he missed some shots, some short routes that he was throwing. And you're talking a guy went from the 10th pick to the third quarterback on his team. Carson Wentz beat him out. And I think that was confidence, obviously.

25:13 But I.

25:15 The guy, he caught my attention. Those throws were unbelievable. And I'm watching the game right now, and they just showed the play. I just read about the play, and that was because of Nagy, the Fedoni play.

25:31 That was a good call. It was a great call.

25:33 That was a beautiful call because no one knew Fedoni was there. And it was unbelievable. They played as coaches, and the players, they did an outstanding job. And Moose, I'm going to jump on your bandwagon here.

25:48 Yeah.

25:49 When you were saying that you want more, he has to do it again for me. I'm talking as a coach. I'm not talking for them. He has to do it again. And because the more you do it, the more hungry people get, and they're going to want more.

26:04 Oh, no doubt. Yeah, go ahead.

26:09 No, go ahead.

26:10 No, no, I was going to say, Coach, yeah, listen, you want to see more.

26:13 And listen, John, rightfully so, you know, Giants want to run the football. And, you know, it's not going to be a case of where you want J.J. McCarthy, you know, gripping and ripping 45, 50 times a game.

26:26 And that was one of the reasons I think he was successful most, because he didn't have to.

26:29 Right, correct.

26:30 So, like, that is, you know, we kicked off the conversation talking about the offense because– The ground game, which was something where the previous week against the New Orleans Saints, running backs had 14 carries for 34 yards. And John went through it where the running backs averaged over six yards a carry.

26:49 Against the Houston Texans.

26:50 Six and a half almost.

26:51 That's the bread and butter, right? I mean, that's what you want to do. They wore the Texans out.

26:57 I mean, just look at the Cowboy Eagle game last night.

26:59 The Cowboys just ran it right down their throats.

27:01 Right down their.

27:02 So that's what John Harbaugh wants to do. That's what Nagy wants to do. And then to be able to, when you have to bring somebody an extra... an extra body into the box to be able to respect the run or be able to stop the run, it's going to be a lot easier for your quarterback to be able to attack down the field that softened up defense. So, you know, and so that's true, you know, and, and listen, I don't, I don't think, you know, the, I don't think JJ, I don't think there's ever a vision where it's going to be a case of, well, you know, let's spread the defense out and, and, and, and cut JJ loose. I think it's a case of, There is a pathway here in order for him to be successful, to be able to push the ball down the field.

27:40 He's got the arm to be able to do that, but the bread and butter of this offense is going to be able to run the football. And the biggest thing is, you saw that line, and you saw Scataboo, and you saw Singletary, and you saw Tyrone Tracy. They all responded in a big time.

27:54 And by the way, Ricard, Manhurts, and Malachi Fields, all those guys contributed as blockers.

28:00 No doubt, 100%.

28:02 Right. And I agree with that. You're talking to old school, so running the ball is my thing. But I'm on John's, going back to John now. John, I just watched that interview. John came up with a point that I started looking at. When I watched that game and I watched the Cowboys game, they both did the same thing. They didn't consistently put enough people in the box. What you saw was what you're going to get.

28:28 So.

28:30 We're going to have to see. The running game is also included in what I'm saying. I have to see it again.

28:36 Of course. Yeah, no doubt.

28:37 So that I can feel confident in what they're doing. But there is going to be a game where McCarthy is going to have to do what he has to do. And what you're trying to say is 110% correct. I'm a person that's always looking down the road of what if.

28:56 Yes.

28:57 What if I can't?

28:59 That's what I got to worry about. I work on what I do, and running the ball is what I do. But what if I can't? I have to concentrate on it.

29:08 That's true. Thank you, Coach.

29:09 Appreciate the call, my friend.

29:11 Always great talking to you. Enjoy the bye week.

29:13 And look, I think, and I always say this, Moose, and maybe it's a bit of a cliche, these players are all talented in all these leagues, and I think of the NBA specifically.

29:23 Anyone can go out there and score 30 points in one game.

29:25 You've seen it. I remember the Alonzo Trier, like, run he had for, like, a week for the Knicks, like, six weeks ago.

29:31 Yes.

29:31 He was scoring, like, 25 a game for, like, a week and a half. Next year, he's out of the league.

29:36 I didn't have that one on my bingo card, but you're right. That's bringing back that memory, yes.

29:39 Anyone.

29:40 Can do any of these pro athletes because they're unbelievable athletes. They all are.

29:44 No doubt.

29:45 Can do something for a short period of time for one game. They can have a moment and that's great. The great ones are the ones that can sustain it. So now that's where we're at. And the other thing I want to bring up on the run game that Coach brought up, and I did think the run game was very similar against Dallas versus the Texans. And the other part of it, they got back to the big people. And, you know, we took calls about this on Saturday morning last week. And a lot of fans, oh, you got to get back to Ricard. You got to get to Ricard.

30:08 That's the whole key. When Ricard was on the field in this game, they had 19 carries. This is 22 personnel. So two tight ends in the fullback. 19 carries, 157 yards. Now, 73 of those came on the last two carries. Those are both out of 22 personnel.

30:24 Yeah.

30:24 But you were able to stick with that because you were having success with it.

30:29 Yes.

30:29 Even before those two explosive carries, you're averaging four yards a pop, you know, running that way. And the problem you had the last few weeks when they were going with those bigger people, they were not having success running the football.

30:40 Yeah.

30:40 I think in an ideal world, this is what they want it to look like. They don't want to have to go spread like they did against the Saints last week. They want to be able to put big people on the field, run it. Control the game that way. And it wasn't even all under center stuff. We saw more pistol than we've seen all year with the power pistol with Ricard offset and then the running back behind. So it's almost like an eye formation, but at a shotgun.

31:04 What do they know?

31:05 They use it a lot with Derrick Henry when John Harbaugh was in Baltimore. But I think this is what they would like it to look like if they can run the ball successfully with the big people. every week like they did this week i think this is what they would like the offense to look like if they can pull.

31:20 It off right and and i think that's fair uh you know and i think that's where you get to the identity of the team um and you know this is kind of you look at this texans game you look at the cowboys game and say well this is what the identity wants to what you want to look like right and what you envisioned with jackson dart before he went out with injury and now you've got After Jameis Winston, you've got now J.J. McCarthy in at the quarterback position. But there's a reason why Ricard was brought in.

31:47 You want to run, right? You don't watch what people say. You watch what they do, right? Watch the actions. And so the Giants want to be able to impose their will. They want to be able to run the football. And you needed somebody. And, you know, you get to the Scataboo conversation where You know what I thought about when you're watching Scataboo run up and down the field?

32:06 I'm going to give a baseball example, right?

32:09 You and I are both Yankee fans, right? And there are a lot of Yankee fans out there. When Anthony Volpe got sent down, right, by the Yankees toward the tail end of the season and George Lombard was the starting shortstop, right? And they talked to the Yankee manager at the time and he said, listen, I've been sent down in my career, right? And I've been benched or whatever.

32:26 It's a matter of what do you learn from that lesson, right? And how do you respond as a player? Do you work on the things that are being asked of you to work on?

32:35 And do you be.

32:35 Able to get, and I understand baseball and football are not comparable, but the point being is, do you sit there and sulk or do you respond?

32:44 And you saw Volpe respond, right? He got called up late in the season. He responded.

32:47 And you saw Scadaboo respond on Sunday against the Houston Texans.

32:51 Which I think is exactly what you want.

32:53 And that's why you saw the jubilant hug from John Harbaugh to Scadaboo on the sideline is because a player responded. and, you know, understood why everything transpired the week before.

33:06 And you know what?

33:07 Went out there and ran his rear end off against Houston.

33:10 Let's go to Tim in Charleston. Tim, haven't heard from you in a while, pal. What's going on, man?

33:15 How you doing, John? It's been a long time. I've only called him once since I started my new job in June, which is going great, by the way.

33:23 That's awesome.

33:23 Good. I want to email.

33:24 You about that because you ought to come down with the wife and kitties. We've got a great resort down here on Keough Island, and you'd love it. It'd be a nice getaway in the offseason. But anyhow, to the game, I've got a couple of comments, and then I've got a couple of questions that I want to drop on you, and then I'll listen to your responses off air. First of all, obviously, great game. The offense has shown it can put up points, and the defense responded to the challenge. Micah, Abdul, and Tay all played great games. And I wanted to toss out a couple of nicknames that came to me during the game because they played so well. Abdul Carter is like a berserker. I don't know if you're familiar

34:04 with the legends of the Vikings, but the Berserkers, if you look it up, he's like, because you never know where he's coming from, how fast he's going to get there. He just creates havoc. He's like mayhem, you know. And Kay Banks is like glue. And Reese is like the force. So I just wanted to throw those out there.

34:25 That's not bad. That's not bad, Tim.

34:27 I like that.

34:29 And, you know, I think, I mean, obviously, we've always had our troubles at the link, but like you say, it's not who you play, it's when you play them. And if we best really hit the link, I can see us going 5-0-1 in the division, and that wins us the division. So going on to my questions. The first one is just something that I spotted because I listened to the game at work, Bob and Carl, while I was working. In between calls, I was listening, and...

34:55 And then I watched it when I got home. And after Likely got hit sideways, and boy, that looked like it could have been something bad. He came back a couple of plays later. On the first play after that, he got dinged up a little again on a tackle. And it looked to me like maybe it wasn't intentional. But I was wondering if you saw that. Didn't that look kind of like a hip-drop tackle? So I wanted to ask you that.

35:17 Yeah, you know, I saw it too. Tiki and I talked about that off the air while we were watching the game together. I don't think it technically was a hit drop with the way he tackled him, but the effect of it was similar because he did kind of fall on the back of his legs when he hit the ground.

35:30 He started high, but then he slipped down.

35:34 He dropped his hips.

35:38 Now we agree with you.

35:40 And the next question.

35:42 And I'll take this off the air, is do you think, given the level of play he's at, Do you think that we should rush, or at least maybe not rush, but we should definitely, so maybe they're doing it behind the scenes, is start to negotiate an extension with banks?

35:57 And thanks, guys. Great talking to you, John.

35:59 I'm going to send you an email because I want to tell you about where I'm working. I don't want to do it on air because I want you to spread the word a little bit because it's one of the best golf resorts in the country. And I know there's a lot of golf fanatics up there, and I could be the point man for them all.

36:12 No problem.

36:12 So I will send that to you offline, and you can let me know and spread the word.

36:17 Send them my way, Tim. I appreciate it. Good to hear from you, and I'm happy everything's going well at the new job. But yeah, Isaiah liked it a couple times. Lump it around a little bit, but it looks like he's going to be okay.

36:27 Yeah, and there was another, was it the previous week against New Orleans? Listen, he's... You thought maybe that was going to be more severe, but I think he missed one or two plays and he was back on the field right after that tackle.

36:41 I think that was it.

36:42 As far as Banks goes, the final question Tim asked was, you know, a contract extension. I mean, there are a number of giants here. That'll be all worked out in due time. I mean, the fact is, is that he's playing unbelievable football at this stage.

36:55 He really is. And the performance Sunday was the chef's kiss against Nico Collins.

37:01 Yeah, 100%. Look, and now the trick's going to be, all right, Wally was great for one year. How much do you want to invest? How much does he want? And then that's something they'll have to all figure out when they get after the year.

37:09 But they've unlocked something. They did. They have.

37:11 I mean, there's no doubt because the conversation around Taye Banks is completely different in terms of him as a football player in that defensive backfield this year as compared to where it was last year.

37:22 For the years gone by, specifically last year, John.

37:25 Yeah, no question about it. I'm with you, Moose.

37:29 201-939-4513.

37:29 Jason's in New Haven. Jason, what's happening, pal?

37:32 Hey, John and Moose. What's going on, fellas?

37:34 What's up, man? What's up, Jason?

37:35 Good, man, good.

37:37 Great show so far, fellas. Thank you for everything. John, thank you for the ball, the update. Love that episode. Thank you guys for always keeping us updated. You're welcome. What do you got? Yeah, I'll just try to make it quick. I know there's a lot of callers excited, and I can be long-winded at times.

37:56 I appreciate that.

37:59 Yeah, man, what a great win. I just want to say, and John, you made the great point. You kind of stole my thunder, but it's all right. Man, how this game was eerily similar to that Dallas game. Ball control, a quarterback that could move, capability, a.

38:18 Lot of RP.

38:19 He didn't do a lot of RPOs, but he had that one RPO to Tyrone Tracy. Fullback, heavy personnel, man. And it was ball control. I think we dominated time possession, too, if I'm not mistaken.

38:32 Yeah, 35 minutes.

38:33 Yeah, 35 minutes.

38:33 Yeah.

38:35 Yeah, so what an eerily similar game. And I think this is kind of what Harbaugh and Nagy and the brain trust with the offensive coordinators kind of wanted before Dart went down was this kind of, go get a lead, run the ball, make some plays with your legs, try to hit some deep throws. And you could tell Houston, they had to honor the past because Neighbors was kind of going off again. Malachi had that big catch and run down the sideline. So, you know, I think going forward, these defenses are going to have to pick their poison.

39:08 You know, are we okay with letting our corners play neighbors one-on-one with no safety out? Do we put a safety in the box to stop the run? So it was just great to see. J.J., man, what an arm he has.

39:22 It just, it's amazing.

39:26 I don't want to say amazing. I don't want to go too crazy with the analysis. But like I said, when I was at the Saints game two weeks ago, watching him, his arm is so light, man. And those throws, that throw he made to neighbors before the half was amazing. I mean, that was just an incredible throw. I don't know if you can name 10, 11 quarterbacks in the NFL that can make that throw. That was a quintessential big league, big NFL throw. And, man, it was just an amazing game. Deontay Banks.

40:00 What I liked about, because like you said, John, Stroud never looked comfortable. And part of that was, of course, the pass rush. But I think part of it was the pass coverage on the back end, right? A lot of different looks. But that was possible because, I'm going to say it, Banks shut down Nico Collins. That's just how I look at it. He shut him down. He made it difficult for Nico to get open. He didn't give him free access. And he was on top of all those routes Nico wanted to run. and it was great to see that we could leave a corner on an island, which we haven't had in a long time, and say, all right, you take care of this receiver, and we'll take care of the rest. And that's what Deontay did. So I'm not going to hold you guys up.

40:47 I wanted to say that I'm with the last caller, man. To me, outside of quarterback– tackle, to me, finding a corner in the NFL nowadays is such a hard position to get because of the rules of this offensive-based NFL we're in. And, man, you know, I'm not going to say they need to resign him now. I'm not going to get into that. It's still a long season. But, man, when you have a young ascending corner still having even reached his prime with that kind of athleticism, it's going to be hard if he's continuing this ascension to let him walk out the door, and then Cam Scadable, when I get off the phone, what a tone setter he is, man. Like, I don't care about that flag, which is a BS call to me. I'm just going to say that's just

41:39 my opinion. The way he steamrolled that safety, you could just feel like the team just got a boost of energy when he did that. And what a tone setter he is. And when he's right, he's right. And I read a stat where in games where he's averaged just 60 yards, We've won every one of those games. And I know it's a small sample size because he was hurt last year. But, man, what a weapon he is.

42:03 What a runner. What an old-school 1970s, 80s, early 90s runner he is. We're in a league where everything is so based off of speed. So, listen, great game all around. I thank you guys for giving me a few moments of your time. And I'll get off line. Thank you.

42:18 Thank you, Jason.

42:19 Appreciate the call.

42:20 Scott, it was great. And he ran the ball better. He was a little bit more patient, I think, in how he ran the ball. He broke tackles. He didn't put it on the ground, Moose, as you spoke about before. And look, I think that's what you need. You need a running back that, for this offense to function, to set the tone, to get the yards that are there, occasionally break a long one. And at least for the one game, that's what Skadaboo gave you.

42:40 Yeah, he did.

42:41 And he runs with a physicality. He is a little bit of an old school running back. And I think you saw those two big runs, John, as we both kind of hammered it home to kick off the program on this Tuesday, is that that was the result of the commitment to the run throughout the course of the game. To be able to have that 40-plus yard run backed up by the 30-plus yard run to walk it off from motor, which was awesome to see.

43:07 Yeah, no question about it.

43:08 201-939-4513.

43:08 Let's go to Al in Minnesota.

43:12 He's up next.

43:12 Al, what's happening, pal?

43:14 Yeah, hi, guys. Well, great game last Sunday. Everybody responded to the challenge, played good. A couple points. First, I want to disagree with Paul yesterday. He said that likely was the decoy. I think he was not targeted a lot partially because.

43:32 He was injured.

43:33 I think the decoy actually was JJ McCarthy himself because the Texan defense was expecting him to play like Jackson Dart.

43:44 Running some snaps.

43:46 And he did not. Yes, he did have a great game after all.

44:05 And he didn't keep it on one of those the whole game. He didn't scramble once the whole game. But I do think his, I think you make a great point. His presence in the run game was felt, especially in the first half.

44:14 Yeah, we talked about Saturday morning.

44:16 I mean, we talked about the, you know, the idea that, you know, McCarthy.

44:20 In and just the threat of him.

44:23 The fact that as a defense, you have to respect the fact that he does have the athleticism to use his legs effectively.

44:29 Is something that you have to.

44:30 Account for as compared to a quarterback that there is literally no threat of him running the football. And I'm not knocking Jameis Winston because there were times this year that he had scrambles.

44:39 Which is not who he is.

44:41 It's just a different variable when you're looking at the quarterback position. But you saw the impact, and I think the ability to push the ball down the field and the idea of trying to get this ground game going were a couple of reasons why You know, the Giants decided to make the move and go with J.J.

44:56 McCarthy as the quarterback on Sunday.

44:58 And, John, you hit upon it earlier on, listen, and we'll let Al continue here, is that the Giants were by far the better football team.

45:04 Like, they walked off the field like they deserved to win that game.

45:08 You know, and you can easily make the argument game probably should not have gotten to overtime because they were the better team.

45:15 Like, they did not do this with smoke and mirrors.

45:17 No, they outgated by more than 200 yards. I mean, it was statistically, analytically, however, eyeball test. The Giants on Sunday were the better football team.

45:25 Go ahead, Al.

45:26 Yeah.

45:27 And that, you know, basically improved their running game. That's one of the reasons why their running game was improved. However, hats off to all the running backs.

45:35 They played very good.

45:36 They responded to the challenge. I don't know if any of them got injured. I mean, Tracy, I don't know. I don't know if they have sustained a long-term injury. Now, I think that Giants are likely to be in the playoff this season with the way the division stands. However, with the current roster... I doubt that they can go far in the playoffs unless they acquire some super talented players.

46:03 I think Taylor, in my opinion, hats off to all the running backs they played on Sunday, but I think Taylor will be a great addition to the team if they want to go far in the playoffs. Thank you, guys, and I'll.

46:15 Get your response.

46:16 I'll be there.

46:17 Thank you, Al. Look, there's a couple weeks to the trade deadline. Giants will have a lot of different directions they could explore. We can't talk about names of players on other teams and how to trade targets because we work for the Giants. That could literally be considered tampering, and the Giants could get fine draft picks for that, so we're not going to do that. So, look, there are options they could look to improve the team. That's always the push, push, and pull, right? How much of a difference can one player make what is it worth giving up in terms of future draft capital to acquire that player? And will that player make a big enough of a difference in this one season? Look, you never

46:49 know what's going to happen beyond the season. Um, to make it worth trading away that draft capital. Some of the Giants have already done it. They've already traded a couple picks away in next year's draft. So that's always the push and pull when you're deciding whether or not you can make some of these trades.

47:02 Yeah, the old cost-benefit analysis when you look at a trade.

47:06 And so we'll see what— I think the one thing is you've seen with— Joe Shane and John Harbaugh is that they're going to explore options. We'll see and look at every option that that is in front of them. So we'll see exactly what the Giants do before the NFL trade deadline and see exactly what opens up and what doesn't.

47:28 Yeah.

47:28 And look, I think generally speaking, I think running backs can be a very explosive additive.

47:35 Right.

47:36 You know, I don't think you can build a team around a running back. I think you build a good team, you put the running back in, and then that makes us explode, right? We saw that. When the Giants tried to build a team around Saquon Barkley, how'd that go?

47:48 No, it didn't.

47:49 But when you have a really good team at Philadelphia and you add Saquon Barkley.

47:53 In front of a great offensive line. Then it looks awesome. Then it looks awesome. Right?

47:57 So I think.

47:58 Was the offensive player of the year that year. Yes. Yes.

48:00 And by the way, once the offensive line got hurt, it wasn't as good.

48:03 It wasn't as good.

48:04 Right.

48:04 It hasn't looked great because the offensive line is not particularly good.

48:07 Exactly right. So I do think the Giants are getting closer to a place where if you add that explosive back... it can make more of a difference than maybe it did when they, you know, the year they drafted Saquon, for example.

48:24 I would probably, I would probably agree with you, but then it comes down to what do you, what do you like, just like everything else, like how, how uncomfortable you willing to get as an organization from a draft capital standpoint. I mean, that's, that's the other aspect too, with any player, you know, when you look at it, because that's, that's really what it comes down to.

48:42 I mean, yeah.

48:43 I saw the Schefter report this morning.

48:46 The Indianapolis Colts have already made a trade today.

48:48 Oh, who'd they trade? I missed it.

48:49 Quentin Nelson.

48:50 Oh, who'd they trade Nelson to?

48:51 To the Seahawks.

48:53 Wow.

48:54 That's a good trade. A third and a fifth. That's a good deal.

48:58 That's a good deal for Seattle.

49:00 I think a third in 2027 and a fifth in 2028.

49:03 I love that trade for the Seahawks because they've struggled running the ball and their offensive line has been a little shaky this year.

49:08 Love that trade for Seattle.

49:09 Yeah, so the Indianapolis Colts, who let go of their general manager last week in Chris Ballard, have a new guy taking over. Their season exactly hasn't gone to, and people were saying, Quentin Nelson an impending free agent after this season.

49:22 Is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

49:23 And I think Jonathan Taylor has one more year left on his deal after this one.

49:26 He's a free agent in 2028.

49:28 So that's something to keep an eye on too.

49:30 Because if you make a trade like that, a lot of times the players want a new contract.

49:33 And that becomes, and again, not talking about Taylor specifically, but in general, you trade for a player in an expiring deal.

49:39 What's the next conversation?

49:40 Where's my contract extension?

49:42 Well, everyone, who doesn't like money?

49:44 Exactly right. So a lot of times when you're talking about these trades, it's not just about making the trade.

49:49 It's then talking about, all right, well.

49:51 In a salary cap world.

49:53 Can we work out a contract extension? And if we can't, are we okay trading the draft capital we are and then losing the player after a year?

50:00 Correct.

50:00 Correct. Yeah.

50:01 And that, those, that, that's the kind of the, that therein lies the rub.

50:04 Like Dallas is that with Joey Porter Jr., for example, he's a free agent after the year.

50:07 Yeah.

50:07 He's a free agent after the season. And they decided to make that move.

50:10 And defensively, we'll see what kind of impact that has the rest of the season.

50:15 He's played well for them, but the defense has still been terrible. It wasn't much better last night either. Oh, let's go to Jeff. I haven't heard from Jeff in a while either. Jeff, what's happening, man?

50:25 Hey, Johnny, how you doing?

50:27 We're good, man.

50:28 I'm doing good, too.

50:29 And I'm quite happy that my football season isn't over before Halloween this year.

50:36 Hey, Jeff, that was one of the first goals that we kind of had over the summer, you know, still being relevant after Halloween. And you're in first place in the NFC, my friend. That box has been checked.

50:47 Yeah, well, that's a good thing. I was wondering, I haven't heard anything about the Dada Burns with their post-surgery rehab or anything. Any idea how they're coming along?

50:58 I think it's way too early to know. I mean, you know, I'm not even sure exactly what dates those guys had the surgeries. I'd have to look up what the reporting has said. But usually this early in the process, you're still not even like doing rehab yet. You're still kind of letting the thing heal. So I don't think you're in any position to know what the timetable is or anything. No.

51:17 I would assume that the surgeries went well, but the rehab process is yet to begin, the significant rehab process.

51:24 Oh, yeah, yeah.

51:26 I mean, I would just say this, Jeff. When's the last time most of you heard somebody have a surgery and they're like, man, that surgery did not go well? Yeah, no, no, true.

51:34 No, no, you're right. No, for sure. I mean, but, you know, sometimes you've... Yeah, no, that's a good point. That was.

51:40 Sergei came out and said, I really whiffed on that one, guys. I think we got to do it again. What were you operating on?

51:46 Yeah, exactly. Right knee or left knee?

51:48 Yeah.

51:48 Hello?

51:49 It's like spies like us. Doctor, doctor. Doctor, doctor.

51:52 You know, I....

51:55 I had a new hip put in March, beginning of March, and it came out really well, so.

51:59 I'll do that.

52:01 Another thing... I really love that fake tush-push play.

52:05 Yes.

52:09 Yeah, Jeff, I can tell you at the Greenbrier, they had one day, it might have been the day it rained, actually. They had a whole section of practice where all they did was practice like fourth and ones and fourths and twos. And that was one of the plays they broke out, where basically they started tush, push, sneak, and then some of the alternate stuff.

52:28 And they have some other ones.

52:28 In their bags, too, that I remember them running during that period of practice that day. So they do have, all right, if you're going to really play the sneak and play the tush push and, you know, stack everyone inside that, you know, five-man box, well, we have some stuff where maybe we can challenge you on the perimeter a little bit.

52:43 Yeah, I thought that was an excellent play. The only thing is, at the end of the run, Scatterbrook, at the end of the run, he leaned into the guy that was tackling him. I would have thought he would have given him a straight arm and tried to go further downfield.

52:59 Oh, at the end of that run? I didn't really miss. I thought he finished off the run pretty strong.

53:03 Yeah, I mean, I think he felt a little something in the hand, and he went down, too.

53:07 Yes.

53:07 Yes, that's true.

53:08 Okay.

53:09 All right, Jeff.

53:10 Have a good afternoon, guys.

53:12 Go Giants.

53:12 Enjoy Halloween.

53:14 Enjoy Halloween.

53:14 Hey, Johnny, we can take one more if you want real quick.

53:18 Somebody brought up that scatter run that he got flagged on in the first half earlier, and we didn't have a chance to comment on it. By the letter of the law, that's a penalty.

53:26 Yes.

53:26 I read the rule on the post-game show. They put that rule in like five or six years ago.

53:33 Here's the problem.

53:34 You see a run like that in every single game, probably more than once in the National Football League every week.

53:41 It's never flagged.

53:42 No, it's not.

53:43 It's just a rule that's not enforced.

53:45 I'm curious if it's something....

53:48 Because you see coaches do this in the NBA a lot, if it was something that was brought to the attention of the officials on the field.

53:56 Before the game.

53:57 I said that to Tiki on the postgame, too.

53:58 Given the nature of Skadaboo's running style, where he does lower his head.

54:03 That would not surprise me.

54:05 That was my first thought, too, just because they called it and you never see that call.

54:09 You never see that call.

54:10 So it's kind of the old, you know, we're a long time. It's kind of the old Pat Riley, what he used to do when he was coaching, where you bring the attention to certain things before the game. and you hopefully get the benefit of it during the game. So maybe, I don't know that answer, but you're not wrong.

54:27 Like, I was stunned to see it called.

54:29 Because I've never seen that called, and I've seen Skadaboo do that in a year and a half when he's been healthy, like every week.

54:38 Yeah, absolutely.

54:40 100%. And it's not just him. All the running backs do it. Yeah, yeah.

54:44 I'm not just calling out him.

54:45 No, of course.

54:46 But the point being is that's where it was stunning.

54:48 But the other reason why I think maybe it was pointed out is because Alshayer was all over it.

54:55 Yeah.

54:55 When the flag came out, you saw him. If you watch the replay, he's like this. You can't do that.

55:01 I'm with you.

55:02 That's my suspicion as well. And we had talked about it.

55:06 No, we hadn't talked about that.

55:07 So me and you are very much on the same page on that. All right, let's go to Len in Columbia, Maryland. Len, what's going on, pal?

55:12 Hey, guys.

55:13 How you doing?

55:13 We're good.

55:15 Well, it's good to see that four in the win column. That was a nice win the other day. Yep. And, you know, like you suggested, John, keeps us in it, you know, for quite a while. Look, I thought we played with confidence. I think we played with focus.

55:34 I think the.

55:34 Conditioning from training camp is making a difference in some of these games. I just continue to be amazed by their second-half performance. It's just amazing. I mean, they just play well in the second half, and they're holding it through the end of the game. I think conditioning has made a.

55:55 Great point.

55:55 I think it's made a good difference.

55:57 I think it's made a really big difference. Hey, a couple things that I want you to comment on. I'm not terribly disappointed that we didn't get Quinton Nelson. I mean, he's a good player. I mean, let's not shy away from that. He's a very good player.

56:12 I think if we're.

56:13 Going to add anybody, we really need a kind of guy who... can be a backup at the outside linebacker position. I think we're going to be a little short. Ten games to go. That's a long way. One more injury. You know, losing Burns and Golsan, I think, has been tough on us. I'd like to see us try to add somebody there. I'm not sure Trace Ford is really the answer.

56:37 And, Len, I think also with the Golsan loss, I think you could talk about a defensive lineman, too, to help stop the run up front.

56:43 Yeah, but you know what? One of the things I was going to comment on, I'm glad you said that, Sean, because one of the things I wanted to comment on is, you know, that rookie sixth-round pick from Auburn, we might have something there. I think just get this guy on the field. Let him play. Let him learn. You know, for the rest of the year, maybe he's that 12-14 guy 16-play guy that the Tino keeps talking about, the backup reader, who had a really good game on Sunday, obviously.

57:16 But I think he's got a future. I liked him in the preseason, and I liked what I saw out of him on Sunday.

57:27 Hey, look, Glenn, I think they gave him some more run the last two weeks.

57:30 I think that's a possibility that they might lean into that more as that backup knows.

57:34 What else do you got?

57:35 Yeah, yeah, oh, definitely.

57:36 You know, he's definitely nothing more than a zero technique. I mean, he's not going to– but, man, he can tie things up in the middle. He's a big boy. I think he's going to be a good one. I think we got something there. All right, a couple of players– I've got some concern about, and the only reason I have concern about them is because I'm going to set up a hypothetical here. We're 7-7-1 two days after Christmas.

58:02 We beat Detroit. We're 7-7-1. We've got two division games left. In other words, we're in it. We're really in it until the end. McFadden, I like the player. I'm not knocking him. I'm glad he's on the team. I don't know about a 10-game replacement. I just am a little concerned. I know there's a lot of tackles there. But, you know, three, four, five weeks from now, we're going to see a big number of missed tackles, too.

58:34 I don't think you're going to find a better player than him to step in and play linebacker.

58:39 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

58:39 Okay, okay.

58:40 You know, I agree. I mean, I'm not trying to replace him. I'm just saying I've got a little concern about him. And also in the pass defense, teams are going to start picking on him.

58:51 Fair enough.

58:52 Yeah, you know, I mean, we're going to miss Edmunds' length down the field. There were a couple of two just fingertips away from Micah, and I just thought to myself, Edmunds would have tipped those balls. All right, the other player is Thibodeau. Nice game. on Sunday. We are going to need for him to be more consistent. I still believe that talent is there, that he shouldn't be throwing goose eggs at the box score. This guy has got to be solid for us in these last 10 weeks if we're going to be 7-7-1 coming out of Detroit.

59:30 I just don't understand the up and down in his play. I mean, the guy, okay, he's not an all-pro. Maybe he didn't live up to what we thought he was going to be, but he's got to be more consistent. If we're going to, particularly since we're short at linebacker, if we're going to be in it right at the end, FIBS has got to be more consistent. Hey, thanks for taking my call. Go Giants.

59:54 Go Giants. There you go.

59:55 And, Luce, I know the numbers haven't been, to Len's point, the box score hasn't been off the charts for Thibodeau the last few weeks. I think he has played better. I think his run defense has been better. He's gotten pressure on the quarterback. And I think he's been much, I think we've seen the play got a lot better the last three weeks, even though we haven't seen a pump up in the box score as much.

1:00:15 Yeah.

1:00:15 And you saw, you know, setting the edge he's being asked to do. And I think there was one play, I think Carl brought it out on social media or somebody sent it to Carl and he retweeted it to where he was taking on two or three blockers, which set up Abdul Carter on one of those stunts as well.

1:00:31 To get pressure right in the face of C.J. Stroud. So, you know, I don't disagree with you.

1:00:37 I think he has improved the past couple weeks, and you hope that that continued improvement. You know, obviously that he is on the ascent the rest of the way.

1:00:44 All right, Tron in Maryland will finish us off today.

1:00:49 Tron, what's going on?

1:00:50 Fellas, how you doing, man? Thanks for taking my call.

1:00:53 Thanks for calling, man. What do you got, bro?

1:00:55 It's funny, I'm following Len. I'm going to bump into him one of these days in Columbia. I'm in Columbia, Maryland as well.

1:01:00 Oh, nice.

1:01:01 There you go.

1:01:02 Yeah.

1:01:03 But I went to the game.

1:01:05 Man.

1:01:07 Nice.

1:01:07 We took over that stadium, man. I swear. We were behind the, we was in the 131 section and that whole visit aside, it was just us. It was such a beautiful experience, man. I loved it.

1:01:23 You know what, though? You could hear it too, Tron. You guys did, all the Giant fans that went to that game. Let's go Giants fans going on. You guys did a great job. And this is how you know, Tron, because when you're watching, when you're listening to the game on the radio, because the way we do it at FAN when we're doing the postgame, the radio is well ahead of the TV, right?

1:01:41 Yeah.

1:01:41 So we hear the radio call first.

1:01:43 So when the guy's kicking a field goal, and Bob's like, all right, snap is down, it's set, kick is up. And we're not seeing it. So you always wait to hear the crowd reaction as to whether or not it's good or not when you're listening to the radio call. And you couldn't tell because there were so many Giant fans reacting to the kicks along with the Texan fans.

1:02:03 You couldn't tell if the kick was good or not until Bob actually said it. So that's how I knew the Giant fans were doing a good job.

1:02:09 I'm going to tell you after the game, we stormed the corridor.

1:02:14 And it was hundreds of us.

1:02:17 Go Big Blue. Go Big Blue.

1:02:19 Y'all, you guys got to know what the next chant was, right? Eagle Stink?

1:02:26 Cowboy Steak?

1:02:27 Nixon 5.

1:02:28 Oh, Nixon.

1:02:28 Oh, because you're in Texas.

1:02:32 Makes sense. You're in Texas. I love it. Nixon 5. I love it.

1:02:36 People are looking around. We're Rocket fans.

1:02:38 Yeah, right. Right. The Texas fans.

1:02:41 And they probably should have Rockets and Senate in 1994.

1:02:43 Hakeem.

1:02:43 Vernon Maxwell.

1:02:44 Let's go.

1:02:51 The Texas fans were coming down the ramp. They looked like they wanted to peel their skin off. They were so irritated, man.

1:02:58 That's a bad loss for them, man. You know, they'd won two in a row. They're trying to win the AFC South. That's a bad loss for Houston.

1:03:03 How about the fact they're winless at home this year? I know. I mean, that is crazy when you're looking at a Houston team.

1:03:08 They got great fans, though. Great fans.

1:03:10 John, did you have any good barbecue? Did you have any good barbecue down there?

1:03:18 A lot of Angus beef.

1:03:19 Oh, there you go.

1:03:20 Yes.

1:03:20 Very nice.

1:03:21 Yeah.

1:03:21 I love it.

1:03:23 I ate like a king.

1:03:24 Oh, yeah, I do.

1:03:25 Tron, good stuff, man. I'm happy you called in. I'm happy you had a good time with the game, man.

1:03:29 Thanks, guys.

1:03:30 All right, take it easy. Giant fans travel, man.

1:03:32 They do, especially when you're feeling good about where your team is.

1:03:38 Yeah.

1:03:39 I mean, that's the other aspect, too, because you want– You know, you're connected. You feel good. You feel the vibes. They're playing well. And, you know, Houston's a fun city to go out there and visit. There's no question about it.

1:03:51 We have some bangers on the YouTube chat. Oh, that's here. JCNY718, Cookie Tuesday. C is for cookie and it's good enough for me. Add Big Mush.

1:04:01 Cookie.

1:04:02 Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.

1:04:04 This is a lot of Cookie Monster stuff here.

1:04:07 This is great.

1:04:08 Fantastic.

1:04:10 Now, Cookie Monster is my son's favorite. So I'm doing the Cookie Monster voice a lot.

1:04:15 Oh, I love that.

1:04:16 Well, see, now, like, I asked the question about the cookies because I didn't look. And because I've got... Cookie Tuesday.

1:04:22 Yes, yes, yes.

1:04:23 O'Hara, I've got to now eat two cookies because the Giants won on Tuesday because I did not eat a cookie, two cookies, after, before the Washington game.

1:04:33 Only two cookies.

1:04:33 Why only two?

1:04:34 More than two. Well, because I'm up to two. And then if the Giants then... Right. So I got to eat two cookies.

1:04:41 Maybe I'll take two of those chocolate chip cookies. So that's why I was asking about the cookies, whether they're here today. Because O'Hara and I, the cookie Tuesday, unfortunately, was cookie Monday this week.

1:04:50 Well, I think on a cookie monster, every time they win, you have to eat one more cookie.

1:04:54 So that means like if the Giants get to 10 wins, I'm eating 10 cookies that week?

1:04:58 Well, maybe you could break some of the hold and give them to your sons.

1:05:01 Yeah, that would be. I'd gain a tremendous amount of weight. I'd gain a tremendous amount of weight.

1:05:08 For a playoff run, wouldn't it be worth it?

1:05:11 Yeah, that's right. Sometimes you can only do what you can do. I'm not on the field. I'm not coaching. I'm not doing anything.

1:05:16 Sometimes you have to take one for the team.

1:05:18 That's true. You're right about that. How much do you love the Giants? Eat those cookies.

1:05:23 And then we could do like a postseason video feature of you working the cookie weight off in the summer.

1:05:28 That is true.

1:05:29 It would be like the Moose Spring Workout video.

1:05:31 That's right.

1:05:32 Oh, Harry yelling at me. You're yelling at me.

1:05:34 Dips.

1:05:35 Dips.

1:05:36 Move it. Push the sled.

1:05:38 Yeah, exactly right. All right.

1:05:41 Eric in Virginia. Victory Tuesday, a much-needed bye week. Absolutely. Cyguy Bree. Let's heal up, G-Man, and then go out and win two division games.

1:05:49 Absolutely.

1:05:50 Greg, we didn't blitz him and got pressure with four most of the game, which was a pleasant surprise. About a 39% blitz rate, which is about league average. That's about where you're going to be. A little higher than league average, actually. But again, over 50% pressure rate when you only rushed four. So I think that was really a big difference in the game. New York Giants won. J.J.

1:06:07 Looked confident.

1:06:08 He did. Very decisive with the football in this game. Sci guy again. The Fedoni siding. I loved it. If the pass wasn't late, he would have cruised into the end zone. And again, the caller brought up, I forget which one. Really good design on that. Little play action roll to the right. Throw back to the left on the little rail route.

1:06:23 It was great.

1:06:24 And then Jan Bogacki, 6-1-3-4, everybody showed up. It really was a team win, Moose, and I think that's what ties everyone most excited about.

1:06:30 It was awesome.

1:06:31 I mean, it was awesome.

1:06:32 And this is what you want to do.

1:06:33 You want to kind of enjoy those moments of going into a bye week on an absolute high, and a guy is going to get a well-deserved off. Hopefully everyone comes back healthy, ready, set to go, and Giant fans are smiling.

1:06:44 Ear to ear as a first-place team in the NFC East. But that is a statement win.

1:06:48 All right, that's Big Blue Kickoff Live, folks. We're going to be quiet here on this show, at least, for the next three days. Johnny Mac and Pearson have some extravagant vacations they've had planned for a while. Where are they going? Part's unknown.

1:07:00 Johnny Mac, are you going up to Massachusetts?

1:07:03 No, he's not traveling anymore.

1:07:03 Oh, he's not traveling.

1:07:04 No, I just made it up.

1:07:05 Pearson? Pearson's got golf.

1:07:07 Well, I'm sure Pearson's going back to Massachusetts for the bye week, I would bet. And I imagine there's some golf. I don't know if there's going to be a Canada trip involved with him or not.

1:07:15 Oh.

1:07:15 Because he is part Canadian.

1:07:16 I didn't realize.

1:07:17 Is he really?

1:07:18 I think, is he a Canadian citizen, Johnny Mac?

1:07:21 I think he is, right?

1:07:22 Or are their parents Canadian citizens?

1:07:24 What are the others?

1:07:24 Oh, nice.

1:07:25 Yes.

1:07:25 I didn't know that.

1:07:26 Look at that.

1:07:26 You learn something new every day.

1:07:28 Yes.

1:07:29 Good for Pearson. That's cool.

1:07:30 Very Canadian, that Pearson butler. But I'm sure he will do some golf.

1:07:37 How would you define very Canadian?

1:07:38 I have no idea.

1:07:39 I'm just kidding. No idea.

1:07:41 Mountie? Maple Leaf sweatshirts or something?

1:07:46 Does he say hey after everything he says?

1:07:48 Eats a lot of syrup in the morning.

1:07:49 He loves the maple syrup. That's it. That's exactly right.

1:07:52 But yeah, Pearson will have a lot of golf and a lot of raves at night over the course of.

1:07:56 The next five days. Are you dressing up as Cookie Monster for Halloween?

1:07:58 I don't really dress up for Hollywood.

1:08:00 Oh, okay.

1:08:00 Yeah.

1:08:01 All right.

1:08:01 I was just curious.

1:08:02 Nah, I'm just not a big guy. I've never been a big Halloween guy.

1:08:05 Yeah, no. Well, I'm not. I got Rutgers Michigan Saturday.

1:08:10 I was going to make a joke, but I decided not to.

1:08:12 Please don't.

1:08:12 1230.

1:08:12 Yes.

1:08:13 Check it out.

1:08:17 That was not a great performance against Northwestern.

1:08:19 It was not. No, it was not.

1:08:20 But Northwestern might be better than Michigan, though, to be honest with you.

1:08:23 I think Northwestern is. They can really run it.

1:08:24 No, they're a good team.

1:08:26 They're a really good team.

1:08:26 Well coached.

1:08:27 And that stadium. Did you see that new stadium? It's beautiful, right? It's unbelievable. It is gorgeous.

1:08:33 Their temporary stadium was nicer than half of the regular stadiums around there.

1:08:36 You're right about that.

1:08:37 Northwestern has no shortage of money.

1:08:39 No, they have money. That's true. Very wealthy.

1:08:41 Plenty of cash. A lot of successful doters to that program.

1:08:45 All right.

1:08:46 That's it, folks. Have a great weekend. Hope you enjoyed the bye. Enjoy some non-Giants football. Nothing to stress about. For Mark Malousis, I'm John Schmelke. That's Big Blue Kickoff Live. And again, we'll have a bunch of stuff on the Giants podcast that we're going to the next few days. Check that out.

1:08:58 And we'll be back on Monday at noon for another episode.

1:09:00 Right here on the Giants app, Giants YouTube channel, and all your favorite podcast platforms. For Mark Malousis, I'm John Schmelke. Enjoy your bye week, everybody.