Big Blue Kickoff Live 3/31 | Joe Schoen Speaks at Owners Meetings

Paul Dottino and Matt Citak talk to Eric Hansen about Notre Dame prospects and Wes Mitchell about South Carolina prospects. Dan Salomone, from Giants.com, calls in to discuss Joe Schoen’s presser at the NFL Annual Meetings, and the guys take calls from fans.

:00 - Eric Hansen on Notre Dame prospects

15:00 - Joe Schoen speaks at Owners Meetings

23:00 - Calls on NFL Draft

30:00 - Wes Mitchell on South Carolina prospects

45:00 - More calls

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's time for a Big Blue Kickoff line.

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Nobody can ever tell you that you couldn't.

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Do it because you're on Giants dot Com.

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Do you know what I saw to York Giant Crack.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
And the Giants mobiles seventeen.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Fourteen the Riinals one tuckdown?

Speaker 3 (00:15):
We are We're off tampick what they didn't well.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Happ out of the Giants podcast network.

Speaker 4 (00:20):
Let's go on, hells Craze Dogs hasn't.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
N Welcome to Monday's edition of Big Blue Kickoff Live,
presented by Cadillac, the official luxury vehicle of the New
York Football Giants. So glad you're joined us for the
next hour on Poulatino, He's Matt Sidetech. We're gonna preview
Noted Dame's draft prospects right off the top. A little
bit later on, we're gonna hear from Dan Salomon from
Giants dot Com who is at the owners meetings and

(00:45):
spoke with general manager Joe Shane. Then we will also
do a preview on South Carolina's football prospects, and then
we'll try to take some of your phone calls. But
first up we go to the Fighting Irish and Eric
Hanson of Inside Ndsports dot com. He is the co
publisher and he joins us this morning. Eric, thank you
so much.

Speaker 5 (01:03):
For your time, Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Well, I think we should probably start right up top
with the two defensive backs, Xavier Watson Benjamin Morrison. Morrison
of course had some injury history, but these two guys
are going to excite a lot of players. I will
tell you, Since the combine, I seem to see a
little bit of a range though in terms of how
high these might go. Is it beauty in the eye

(01:27):
of the beholder with these guys or is there just
been some legitimate debate as to how good they're going
to be.

Speaker 5 (01:35):
I think some of it's legitimate for two different reasons.
For Morrison, it's more about his health. You know, he
was a guy that threw a sophomore year at Notre Dame,
really projected as a first round draft choice and maybe
even in the upper part of the first round, and
then he had the hip injury in October and missed

(01:56):
the rest of the season. Now he hasn't run the forty.
He said he's going to do that at a private workout.
He said that at Pro Day last Thursday, and we'll
see if and when that happens. So I think again,
the concern with him isn't his film. I mean, you
look at the receivers that he covered in college and

(02:16):
the stats that he put up in his two healthy
years and half of a healthy year and twenty twenty four,
and he's really good. Xavier Watts is a guy that
came to Notre Dame as a wide receiver and kind
of moved over to defense because Notre Dame was desperate
for linebackers. And then Kyle Hamilton gets hurt and they

(02:38):
move him to safety and the light bulb comes on
and he turns out to be a two time All American.
Where I think there's concerns about Xavier is he's not
Kyle Hamilton's size and length, but he certainly has the production.
I mean, you look at his numbers. He's really good.

(03:00):
He ran I think a four five six forty, which
isn't blazing. But a lot of other Notre Dames safeties
have been kind of in that neighborhood that have done
really well in the NFL. In fact, I think that
was Kyle Hamilton's speed and Harrison's with the Vikings as well.
Harrison Smith was in that neighborhood. So I think there's

(03:23):
some debate on if Xavier Wats is as good as
he's ever going to get and you're not going to
get a better player with some football ahead of him.
But I would pick him in a heartbeat. His instincts
are amazing.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (03:39):
So moving over to the other side of the ball
real quick. Mitchell Evans, you know, it seems to be
considered a very you know, reliable blocker, and it seems
like reports are saying that, you know, when he gets
into the NFL, the blocking he'll be able to pick
up pretty quickly. But my question is how much do
you think of a ceiling there is to his receiving

(04:00):
the receiving part to his game.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
Now he's got injuries too, though he's coming off of that.

Speaker 5 (04:05):
Yeah, he came off an ACL tear. He was notre
Name's leading receiver by far when he tore his ACL
in October of twenty twenty three, and he came back
earlier than some guys would. He was in the lineup early.
I don't know that we ever saw the best version
of Mitchell Evans this year through the grind of sixteen

(04:27):
games for college kids that's a lot, and he was
a much better receiver last year than he was this year.
I think he's going to get back to that. He's
a high school quarterback that adapted well to a position
change in college. He was recruited as a tight end,
and I just think the healthy version of Mitchell Evans

(04:49):
is going to be a surprise or at least a
productive receiver as well as a good blocker. I think
he's good all around.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
Like toughness. He seems like a very rugged player to me. Eric,
I mean, I don't think this is a kid who's
afraid to get his hands dirty.

Speaker 5 (05:08):
He's not afraid to get his hands dirty. He's not
afraid to do a lot of things, including when Sam
Martin was the quarterback at Notre Dame a couple of
seasons ago. You know, they sometimes called it a Mitch
of Palooza. They'd bring him in as the quarterback to
get those third that third and one and fourth and
one first down. So he's not afraid to mix it

(05:30):
up in the middle of the middle of a pile.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
I'm going to skip over a couple of defensive guys
only because I don't know how short we're going to
be on time, and I just want to go to
two guys who have Giants pedigree, Howard Cross the third
and rj Oben, both sons of guys who played here
with the Giants. I know that at different points during
the season they've had different guys who were really supportive

(05:53):
of their NFL prospects and other people who see them
more as role players. I've got to ask you about them,
if only because of the Giants connection.

Speaker 5 (06:02):
Let me start with Howard. I mean, Howard was an
All American in twenty twenty three when he was fully healthy,
played through a really chronic ankle injury, but super productive guy.
I think there are teams that will be scared off
by his size. You know, he's six foot one, he's
under three hundred pounds, and yet super productive, really good burst,

(06:25):
plays with his hands very well. I like Howard Cross
a lot. R j Open, I'd say most of the
people that covered him this year would turn him as
a disappointment. He had a really big sacic in the
Georgia game with the one play that's memorable from his time.
I think he was steady, but the thought was that
he was going to be a dominant player with Notre

(06:48):
Dame and he just never was. He was a guy
that was assignment, correct. I think he you know, if
he's got more in the tank, he needs to start
showing it. But he was not a particularly impressive player
at Notre Dame.

Speaker 4 (07:02):
Yeah, so final question for me, I got to ask about,
of course Riley Leonard. You know, after three seasons that
Duke transfers Toto, the Notre Dame puts together his best
season and really established himself as a dual threat quarterback.
He had one year at Duke where he had a
lot of success on the ground, but nothing that compared
to what he did for Notre Dame this past season.

Speaker 6 (07:22):
And he's got the size as well.

Speaker 4 (07:25):
So what I guess what aspect of his game does
he need to improve on to sort of establish himself
as an NFL quarterback.

Speaker 5 (07:33):
He needs to evolve as a passer, you know, and
that's why he came to Notre Dame and he got
better over the year. You know, it hurt him that
he had a miss spring practice with a second ankle surgery.
I mean, but the guy could pick a third and
fourth and one, you know. I mean, he's a he's
a prolific runner, great leader, great in the locker room,

(07:55):
everything you want in the next door neighbor. But he
needs to become a more accurate, more consistent passer, and
he has the athletic ability to do it. And so
it'll be interesting to see who takes a chance on him,
and then, you know, let him incubate a little bit
as a as a backup, and see how much he
picks up a great attitude. You know he's he's worth.

(08:17):
I think a gamble, all right, I want.

Speaker 2 (08:20):
To go back to defense for one other player. Riley
Mills intrigues me a bit because his measurables are very
exciting the production, not necessarily. I know he had the
knee injury. I know he's not much of a pass rusher,
at least he doesn't project to be much. How do
you see his potential role if he were to carve
out a part time situation in the NFL?

Speaker 5 (08:44):
Well, I think you know, he ended up leading Notre
Dame in sacks, but they were very even across the board.
When he and Howard were healthy at the same time,
they were really good. The problem was they weren't help
beat at the same time very much.

Speaker 7 (09:01):
This year.

Speaker 5 (09:02):
But I think this is a guy that's best football
is ahead of him. He had a much better year
this year than last year. Early in his career he
bounced back and forth between the edge and the defensive tackle.
Once he settled into defensive tackle, you started to see
some growth with him. So I really like where Riley
Mills is headed.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
If I can go back just a second, I want
to go back to Benjamin Morrison because we kind of
left this on the table. The Giants used to play
a lot more man then last year they played a
lot more zone. As you see his fit in the
National Football League, what do you think he's going to
be better at because some of these guys are very

(09:43):
scheme specific.

Speaker 5 (09:46):
Oh, I think he could do both. Notre Dame played
a lot of man, and he can play I know
in the NFL it's a little bit different in college.
The hash marks are different, so boundary and field means
a lot doesn't mean as much on the NFL level
that he could play either side. He's got the speed
and he's also has the physicality to handle a big

(10:07):
receiver into the boundary. That would not be my concern
with Benjamin Morrison. My only concern is that this hit
heals otherwise. I mean, look at the Ohio State tape
from twenty twenty three with him on Marvin Harrison Junior
and see how.

Speaker 7 (10:23):
Good he is.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
What do we know right now in terms of as
we sit here this morning, what is the latest information
on his physical condition.

Speaker 5 (10:33):
I mean, he says that he's healed quite a bit
and he feels good enough that he's going to run
a forty before the draft.

Speaker 2 (10:43):
That's good.

Speaker 5 (10:44):
Not run the forty at Pro Day Thursday, but he
wants to do it in a private workout. I guess
control the conditions a little bit more.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
If he does. What do you expect his time to be?
Are there estimates? Do the coaches that they have an
idea of what they think run?

Speaker 5 (11:01):
I think he would run under four or five. I
don't know much below that. But again, it's not just
this speed. It's his instincts, it's his blank it's his physicality.
He's got a lot of the things. Got one for
him that and he's got the tape. I mean, he's
played against elite receivers and has big numbers, big interception numbers,

(11:25):
big pass breakup numbers. He's a tackler in the run game,
he's really good.

Speaker 2 (11:34):
Well, I appreciate your time, Eric Hansen so much. Give
information here about Notre Dame and it is inside ndsports
dot com. He is the co publisher covering Notre Dame
football and we certainly are going to keep an eye
out on the guys that we just talked to you about. Eric.
Thanks so much. You will talk to you again down
the road. Thank you, Eric, Thank you, take care great stuff.

(11:57):
You know, it's funny we we keep talking about the
Giants improvements on defense, and you know they still need
help on the defensive line. I mean, there's no question
in my mind, Matt, They're gonna have to get some
more bodies up there. And I'm not sure if it'll
wind up being one of these guys. I don't know,

(12:18):
because there are so many guys available in this draft.
But this defense is not done yet, No, definitely not.

Speaker 4 (12:24):
And you know we've spoken about it a lot the
last couple of weeks that I would think that especially
defensive tackle, the interior defensive line, and potentially the edge
as well, could be areas that the Giants choose to
address in the draft, and sooner rather than later, I will.

Speaker 6 (12:39):
Say, in terms of the interior defensive line.

Speaker 4 (12:42):
Me personally, I've got my eye, my eyes more set
on a guy from one of the school we'll be
talking about later, South Carolina. I know that I'm not
gonna spoil it for a little bit later. I would hope,
you know, I would hope that of these Notre Dame prospects,
you know, the defense tackles are a little further down
draft boards. I would hope that the Giants address the

(13:04):
position earlier than you know where those guys are.

Speaker 6 (13:07):
But we'll see.

Speaker 4 (13:08):
We're a few weeks out, so we know they'll be
adding somebodies to that room one way or the.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
Other, that is for sure. Let's go down to Florida
in the NFL league meetings where Dan Salamone from Giants
dot Com is standing by. Dan, come on, now, tell
me the truth. Are you hanging out by the pool
right now?

Speaker 8 (13:25):
Not the pool?

Speaker 9 (13:26):
We are at Pearson and I are about to tee
off in the fourth hole. So you got a little
bit of time right now. Wow, now we are we
are locked in a hotel room writing right now. It's nothing.

Speaker 6 (13:35):
We finally got you on BBK.

Speaker 9 (13:37):
Dan, there we go. I know it's bizarro world. I'm
down here with Pierson smelks on the phones.

Speaker 2 (13:43):
Well, just make sure Peerson aboards the alligator's okay, because
I'm a little afraid about his escapability out of the pocket.
Yeah yeah, Hey, So, so Joe Shane had a one
on one interview with you, which is currently on giants
dot com. The transcription is up there now as it stands.
But you also met with the media this morning and
had a session with them as well. So before we

(14:04):
ask you any questions at all, why don't we say
to you what was maybe the one thing that's stuck
out above all else during those two conversations.

Speaker 9 (14:15):
Well, aside from hearing we haven't heard you know, just
I'm talking about Russell Wilson yet and stuff. But I
think the biggest takeaway is, I like the way you
put it, just he wants to go into the draft
being able to play a game that day, and he
feels like they're at a position there and now you're
not backed into a corner at number three and you
can go any which way now at number three.

Speaker 4 (14:38):
Yeah, So, talking about you know, Russell Wilson and Jamis Winston,
what did Joe mentioned, if you mentioned at all about
you know what attracted him or the team to those
two guys in particular.

Speaker 9 (14:51):
Yeah, I think with Russell, there's skin on the wall
is what he used to say. What he kept saying.
You know, he's he's a ten time pro bowler, won
a Super Bowl, a lot of productions in which she
hadn't seen since ELI and that's what's drawn him there.
And obviously the whole leadership aspect there, and Russell obviously
talked about that in his introductory press conference, is there

(15:11):
you want to leave the team throughout the process, so
that was obviously a draw. And then you know Jamis
is there too. I mean an upfront. Giants have played
seven quarterbacks in the past two years, so they've needed
somebody back there. And jamis the same thing. He's got
hit a bunch of in a couple of three hundred
yard seasons last year. It's still productive, so that's always
an option there too.

Speaker 2 (15:30):
We'll stay with the quarterback topic for a second here, Dan,
because it was obvious during the media scrum that the
writers were doing everything they could to cram a number
three pick quarterback down his throat, and I thought it
was really interesting. Joe just flat out said, you know what,
you always want to get a franchise quarterback if you can.
But at the same time, if the guy doesn't fit

(15:50):
the slot, if the great doesn't match, if he doesn't
check all the boxes, you don't take him. He was
very clear about not forcing one just for the sake
of forcing one, and I thought, that's the first time
we've actually heard him be so definitive in that regard.

Speaker 9 (16:05):
Yeah, exactly, that's the worst thing you can do. And
that's what he feels like he's done in free agency
with Russell now and yeah, that they're not backed into
the corner doing that.

Speaker 10 (16:13):
Now.

Speaker 4 (16:15):
Now, moving to the other side of the ball, the
two you know, so far biggest or two of the
biggest offseason acquisitions obviously came in the secondary with cornerback
Paulson Adebo and safety Javon Holland. This is the first time,
you know, we've heard from Joe talking about those two acquisitions.
So what exactly did he say about, you know, why

(16:35):
they brought those two guys in particular in and I
guess how he sees them fitting in both on and
off the field.

Speaker 9 (16:42):
Yeah, right away, it's instincts and ball skills. I think
that was the two things that he said right away
for both of them, and that was, you know, taking
away the ball that was the thing the Giants struggled
with on defense last year.

Speaker 11 (16:53):
And he also loves.

Speaker 9 (16:54):
The experience they bring, you know, the young secondary last year,
and I was talking to him kind of they set
up kind of a buddy system with Banks and Drew
with the debo and then Nubin with Holland there in
the secondary. Now, that'll be a good thing. They can
grow together now and there's a cord there that's under
contract and you toss in Dex here and Burns, so

(17:14):
you're starting to see the continuity. I think that was
another main takeaway. You're starting to see the continuity there
on defense, that these guys can.

Speaker 5 (17:21):
All grow together.

Speaker 9 (17:23):
And I didn't know Shane had a good tidbit about Holland,
just kind of talking about kind of tying in the
draft process, about how you do these interviews and homework
and stuff. Even if you don't end up drafting them,
you still bank all that information for free agency coming up.
He knew Holland back to the days with the Bills
and that's kind of what led him there. He said,

(17:44):
even had a zoom conversation still on his phone of Holland,
so he was able to go back and you kind
of build that relationship there.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
Let me go back a second to something on offense.
I thought I heard this, and you have to clarify
for me, Dan, because you were there in person. But
I thought in reviewing the comments, he said something to
the effect that they've talked to the agent for Evan
Neil and have discussed with him the possibility of cross

(18:13):
training at guard. Did I catch that correctly.

Speaker 12 (18:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (18:18):
Basically that he's open to it. He'll do whatever whatever's
best to help the team was the main takeaway there,
and that he's open to it if it means playing
guard or tackle.

Speaker 13 (18:28):
Well.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
See, that's interesting because in the past the Giants have
had some offensive linemen and we don't have to name
names right here, it's not important, but we know they
were talked to about, Hey, would you be open to this,
and they said, no, I'm not changing position and I'm
not going to do that. So I think there is
something to be said for the fact that that communication
has happened and it's something that's on the table and

(18:50):
has been accepted as such.

Speaker 9 (18:52):
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And then that kind of ties into,
you know, the whole thing, getting Greg ben rotin back.
Now they have the five yeah, starting offense time from
last year. Then also it's important to get James Hudson
there as the swing tackle, which Shane was stressing there
just how important that is. You know, it's Andrew Thomas
going down the past couple of years, how important that is.
And then obviously now you have the five picks in

(19:14):
the top one oh five and wouldn't shock me if
that's a position they go to within you know, in
that range too, to help out the trenches there.

Speaker 4 (19:23):
Yeah, So a couple of minutes ago you mentioned continuity,
and now that we're talking about the offensive line, you
just brought up obviously the return of Greg van Roden.
The Giants now have all five starting offensive linemen from
the beginning of last season now returning, and you know,
assumption would be projected to start again in twenty twenty
five at least to start the year. And in your

(19:43):
one on one interview with Joe he sort of spoke
about the what Greg van Roden brings again both on
and potentially more importantly off the field, and I think
you mentioned this in the scrum with the media as well.

Speaker 6 (19:55):
That kind of mentioned GVR as a glue.

Speaker 9 (19:58):
Guy, right, he's the glue guy.

Speaker 5 (20:00):
Yeah, glue guy exactly.

Speaker 9 (20:02):
Yeah, and the one people don't see it, you know,
off the field. Yeah, the leadership that he has there,
and he's good for that room, a veteran presence for
John Michael Smith's and Kulis and you know, all that
is good there.

Speaker 2 (20:14):
You know. One other thing I thought Dan as he
was asked about potentially moving or doing something with his picks,
he was very clear in saying, they have not compiled
all the information yet, and I think people need to
understand that Joe himself does do firsthand stuff with this.
I mean he's going out the pro dage, he's going
out to scout stuff as well as his staff. He

(20:35):
is not sitting around the office. He's out there on
the front line.

Speaker 4 (20:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (20:39):
Oh, I know, I did that. I did that interview
with him when he was I think he was literally
walking out the field at all miss and I had
to pull over and yeah, I had to get him
in a parking lot by my son's daycare to get him. Yeah,
we're both we're both busy people. But but no, that's
a good point. Because that is that stood out to
me too.

Speaker 7 (20:55):
Over there.

Speaker 3 (20:56):
You kind of get in your head.

Speaker 9 (20:57):
That these things they're just set in stone, but they're not.
Even We're only we're on less than a month out,
a couple of weeks out, and it's still there's teams
are still in the gathering and the information gathering process.
And he was a he brought that up a couple
of times one when they're asking about moving up potential
moving up to one. It's just like these teams, you know,

(21:19):
there's still a lot of these top guys haven't even
had you know, the private workouts and stuff like that,
so there's still a lot Everything goes up right till
the wire.

Speaker 14 (21:27):
All right.

Speaker 2 (21:27):
At Stansalamon from giants dot com, He and Pearson Butler
are down there at the NFL League meetings in Florida,
hoping to stay safe away from those alligators and also
probably staying safe away from some of those rowdy parties
that people have down there very often. That's only funny
because you guys don't know these two guys, Dan and Pearson.

Speaker 6 (21:49):
I don't.

Speaker 2 (21:50):
I don't think they're the party animal types. Guys.

Speaker 6 (21:52):
We'll talk to you, thank you, all right, hy here
you guys.

Speaker 2 (21:58):
Ah, we will get back to those those guys when
they make it back here to New Jersey and get
some clean up stuff on all the different things that
they were there. We got a couple of minutes here
before we go to the South Carolina guest, So why
don't we get a quick phone call in Scott from Portland, Maine.
You are first on Big Blue Kickoff Live. Hello, Hey,

(22:18):
how you guys doing good to talk to you good.

Speaker 8 (22:22):
Thanks, been listening for many many years. First I'm calling in.

Speaker 6 (22:25):
Well, thank you.

Speaker 8 (22:27):
I just want to talk about the quarterback situation and
potentially a little bit about the draft if I could
go ahead. I was kind of on the same bandwagon
as Paul was when I heard Russell Sorry, Jamis Winston
was a potential. I kind of want to treated him
like the Grinch and didn't want to touch him with
a thirty nine and a half a pole.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
Well, he's only here to be the backup, So I
think it's okay.

Speaker 7 (22:52):
I want to we signed Roth.

Speaker 8 (22:55):
The situation was Jamis because that's a backup. That's that's
I think that that makes a lot of sense for
the money and everything. Sure, Then the draft, I'm hoping
Abdul Carter is there at number three as long as
all the medical checks out. I know he's got a

(23:15):
shoulder and an ankle thing going on, but I would
like Abdul because they think cave On is a nice player,
but he's not like what Paul calls him, a headache player.
Teams aren't really having a game plan against double teaming Caveon.
Thibodeau and I grew up rooting for Giants defenses back

(23:36):
in you know, the early two thousands, where we had
straight and talk and human hoora and these great path rushers,
and I would just love to get another one of
those guys in there.

Speaker 2 (23:46):
Nothing wrong with extra pass rushers, I'll tell you that,
but you do have to have a plan B in mind,
just in case the medicals are not too happy with
what they found out. Scott, we got to run real
quick because we're almost up against it. I'd like to
try to sneak in Ben from Forum Park before we
go to our South Carolina guest. Ben, You're next on
Big Blue Kickoff Live.

Speaker 6 (24:05):
Hello.

Speaker 11 (24:07):
I thanks, I'll try to be sistant, but one of
the things that I'll just take an observation in question
the thing that bothers me about Shane is the lack
of a overarching, multi year strategy. It seems that he
is reactionary. And I do get that every GM wants
to be reactionary based on your year, but we're one

(24:29):
of the worst teams in the league. You have to
have a multi year strategy, and it seems like it's
whipsawing back and forth. Case in point, they don't sign
David m kinney. His commentary was, well, you don't.

Speaker 3 (24:42):
You can't really.

Speaker 11 (24:43):
Spend top dollars safety. Yeah, over the year they spent
about a million and a half dollars per year less
to resign a hollow is a very Safety's not as
good as safety as David McKinney. Such as kind of
this whip saw back and forth, it seems like we're
reaction there.

Speaker 12 (25:00):
We made a multi.

Speaker 11 (25:02):
Year plan to bring us back up into into relevant,
slow and competitive NFC piece Crown.

Speaker 4 (25:10):
Well, one thing I just wanted to just jump in
real quick and say is that there were reports leading
into this year's free agency from some of the beat
writers for the Giants that you know explicitly said that
the Giants made an effort to bring Xavier McKinney back
last year, but he ended up getting you know, record
setting safety numbers and just get the Giants sort of

(25:31):
got priced out of his reign. So they're definitely, you know,
believe those reports. There were efforts made to retain Xavier.
He just got a crazy deal from the Packers, which
obviously after one year, looks like it was worth it
because he obviously had.

Speaker 6 (25:46):
An amazing season. But I wouldn't, you know, think that
I wouldn't.

Speaker 4 (25:51):
I don't think it's fair to say that in that
sense that like, you know, the front office didn't have
a long term plan or sites thinking about it, because
they clearly took Tyler Nuban in the second round last
year as one way to address the safety position and
did go out and sign the top safety available in
this year's free agent market.

Speaker 6 (26:09):
And Javon Holland and I know you mentioned one point five.

Speaker 4 (26:12):
Million dollars less, but it's also you know, the salary
cap went up third was thirty thirty five million, So
Holland is now here on a deal somewhat significantly lower
percentage of the cap than what Xavier McKinney signed one
year ago.

Speaker 2 (26:26):
And call her pleased. There's one other thing that you
have to keep in mind, and most people don't when
you sign a player with X number of dollars attached
to that contract, it's not just the stuff that's on tape.
If you've heard Joe Shane talk at all about Holland,
and I know you know you don't have that ability
because you won't down in Florida, but he talked a

(26:46):
lot about his leadership skills and his locker room character.
That stuff does count for some of the value of
the contract, So please do keep.

Speaker 6 (26:56):
Out in mind.

Speaker 4 (26:57):
And he also Javon Holland just turned twenty five a
couple of weeks ago. He's in that age range where
he can grow with this nucleus of defensive backs that
the Giants have acquired over the last couple of off seasons.

Speaker 2 (27:08):
Anyway, okay, and.

Speaker 3 (27:11):
Just yeah, it's just a quick question.

Speaker 11 (27:13):
Do we get a compensatory pick for Squon? I know
we got a three for Kenny Good, is there another
one coming for Saquon? And then real quick, I know
you're up against it given all the signings, would you
re rank our needs in the draft in which GP
isn't number one? And thanks for your time, Thank.

Speaker 4 (27:32):
You, well, to start, know, the Giants are not getting
a compensatory pick for Saquon. The one pick that they
got at the end of the third round is the
only compensatory pick they are getting this offseason or this
year and this year's draft. Uh, just with who they
signed last year and who signed elsewhere, it lined up
where they're getting the one compet story pick for Xavier

(27:54):
McKinney and it's one of the top compets story picks.
So kind of worked out. And Joe in the one
on one interview with Dan Salomon, Joe kind of spoke
about how they, you know, were looking last offseason at
the compensatory pick in this year's draft, and that was
sort of a reasoning for why they you know, may
have signed or not signed certain players.

Speaker 2 (28:13):
Yeah, that's pick number ninety nine by the way, yes,
overall ninety nine and.

Speaker 4 (28:17):
End of day two, end of Day two. And then
that's a valuable pick, oh yeah, very valuable pick. And
then just in terms of addressing needs, you know in
the draft now, I don't think for twenty twenty five,
obviously that quarterback is now the number one need like
it was, you know two weeks ago.

Speaker 6 (28:33):
It certainly is not, in my opinion, the number one
for this year.

Speaker 4 (28:37):
But as Joe spoke about, as we've spoken about a lot,
when it comes to the quarterback position, you need long
term stability as well.

Speaker 6 (28:45):
So I do think it is still up there as one.

Speaker 4 (28:48):
Of the highest priorities because you still want to try
to find that long term answer. But I don't know
necessarily if it would be number one on my rankings.

Speaker 2 (28:56):
Now, all right, so we go to a Prospect preview
number two onto the show, and we talked to Wes Mitchell,
host of the game Cock Takeover on one oh seven
point five the game in Colombia, South Carolina. Wes, thanks
for taking the time to speak with us today.

Speaker 13 (29:13):
Hey, how are we doing, guys?

Speaker 2 (29:14):
Real well? And I got to tell you something when
when when you look at Nick imanuare uh he is
a freak of an athlete four three eight in his
forty six to three two hundred and twenty pounds. Obviously
he's going to be a what mid first round pick,
I would think, who knows, maybe he goes even a
little bit higher. But physically the tools on this guy

(29:35):
that's going to make everybody smile.

Speaker 13 (29:39):
Yeah, he's a guy that I think we were all
pretty aware of hearing Columbia, and you look at what
he did at the combine. The national word has starting
to get out about who Nick is and what he's
all about, just athletically, and then I think the thing
about him wants the media, and of course the coaches
and the scout started to dive into the film. What

(30:00):
they would see with Nick is that, you know, the
film and the production honestly matches his athletic ability as well.
You know, you obviously see guys come out sometimes that
are only going to get drafted based on their potential,
or you know, there might be a workout warrior, might
be a you know, have elite speed. But the thing
with Nick, he he literally entered the field about seven

(30:24):
to eight snaps into his freshman year. The guy that
was a senior ahead of him got injured. He stepped
into the starting lineup on the first drive of that
series and or of that game, and then has started
literally went healthy every game since. So you've got three
full years worth of productivity from Nick.

Speaker 5 (30:43):
Emn worry.

Speaker 13 (30:46):
He entered the off season more I think is maybe
an early second, late first round projection, but then after
what he did to that combine. From what we've heard,
I would say more mid you know, mid to kind
of the twenties, potentially at the latest in the first round.

Speaker 6 (31:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (31:05):
So looking at South Carolina, as you know, top prospects
in this year's drafts, it's really dominated by the defensive
side of the ball. So I'm gonna stick with the defense.
And I kind of teased this earlier that there is
a defensive lineman from South Carolina that is one of
my you know, sort of ideal picks for the Giants
on Day two of the draft, and it's been a

(31:25):
popular Day two pick for the Giants and a lot
of mock drafts as well.

Speaker 6 (31:28):
Of course, we're talking about TJ. Sanders.

Speaker 4 (31:30):
He had a lot of you know, solid production the
last two seasons for South Carolina. Would say maybe a
little bit undersized for an interior defensive lineman, you know,
coming in at two hundred and ninety pounds. So other
than maybe like beefing up a little bit, putting on
a little bit more weight, what areas do you think
Sanders needs to just improve his game a little bit
in order to really establish himself as like a starting

(31:53):
defensive tackle in the NFL.

Speaker 13 (31:55):
Yeah, and I'll try to pull the numbers real quick,
but I think he was up He was up to
above three hundred at pro day. I think it was
about three h four, three oh five something like that.
So I imagine what you're talking about has probably been, you know,
an emphasis on what teams are telling him going into
the draft is, hey, we need.

Speaker 5 (32:15):
You to bulk up a little bit.

Speaker 13 (32:17):
I think for him too, guys, it's probably just you know,
showing a little bit more consistency on film, like you
look at when you look at the flash plays, though,
like when you look at what he is capable of,
had to have been one of the more just naturally
talented guys that South Carolina had on defense, and then
this was a super talented defense all the way around,

(32:39):
and he really still found a way at times to
stand out and flash. And you know, they had really
three interior defensive linemen that were really good, really talented,
and so they kind of had three co starters for
two spots, which let those guys up maybe not play
as many snaps as they would have had to and
just do a lot of rotating. And you know, I

(33:00):
think he benefited from that. And I think the thing
with TJ gives you a little bit of position versatility.
At some parts in his career, when Carolina was more
in a three man front, they would play him out
as kind of a defensive end, and then of course
he played inside in a four man front. And I
think the thing about him too is just the the
ability when you get in past rush situations to to

(33:23):
close on the quarterback, to use his feet to create
separation and finish plays off. You know, Like I said that,
the consistency is something that scouts will want a little
bit more of from him, I think. But when you
start talking about upside and just kind of pass rush
ability from that inside spot, maybe as a three technique,
I would imagine I would level. Yeah, he's got a

(33:47):
lot of just I mean, there's there's only so many
guys that can move like he can at his size.

Speaker 2 (33:54):
Yeah, Yeah, totally agree. Kyle Kennard four years at Georgia
Tech gets to South Carolina six four to mid two fifties,
okay for to seven all right, maybe you'd like it
to be a little bit faster. That's why he's not
going to be a first round pick, right But nonetheless,
he's got a heck of a motor, he's got length,

(34:14):
he's got a repertoire of moves to try to beat guys.
To me, he's one of those value pass rushers that
you might be able to get late on the second
day or I don't know, if he drops to the
fourth round, probably not. I would think late second day.
Your thoughts in terms of him being a rotational pass
rushing guy off the edge.

Speaker 13 (34:34):
Yeah, incredibly productive for soft Drona this year. I think
that's partially to credit Kyle Kannard for that himself. Partially
credit Sterling Lucas, who is South Carolina's kind of edges
defensive ends coach and has quickly become a fast riser
in this industry just in terms of being known for

(34:55):
development of guys. And so Gunnard came in and one
thing they really looked at for what he did at
Georgia Tech was they looked at this film and they said, man,
you're in position to make a lot of plays and
just didn't quite finish him off. And you know, I
think they looked at his sack total at Georgia Tech
and said that was part of the recruiting pitch was, hey,

(35:15):
we can help you double this and lo and behold
that ends up happening at South Carolina. Like I said,
this is a talented South Carolina front, So I do
think to an extent they all benefited from each other.
South Carolina has Dylan Stewart on the other side as well,
arguably the best freshman pass rusher in the country. He's
certainly one of the top two or three in that category.

(35:37):
So all those guys did benefit each other. You would
have liked to have seen, like you said, the forty
maybe get you know, a split second faster he ran
at the combine. I think was hoping the pro day
would flash a little bit quicker, but I think he
was in the four sevens again, So I agree that
that's probably what some of the NFL teams will maybe

(36:00):
check as a reason for waiting a little bit longer.
But when you look at the production, especially this past season,
it's there. And also he's a locker room guy too,
just being around him for a year here, great leader,
a team first guy, smart kid. You know, I think
that's one kind of check mark. A lot of these

(36:22):
Carolina defenders that we've talked about have as you know,
you've got just good guys that are going to be
locker room leaders potentially as well. So for Canard, I
think it's also just about finding that proper fit. I mean,
I think in NFL terms, he's not going to be
quite the biggest or fastest guy out there, but he

(36:42):
is productive and we'll hold up against the run as
well as willing to set the edge all those things.
And probably is I think you said a value pick.
I think that's a good way to put it. Somebody
is probably gonna be pretty happy with what they get
out of Kyle Knard.

Speaker 4 (36:57):
Yeah, movie sticking on the defense, another guy, Demetrius Knight. Honestly,
when when looking at you know, the tape stats and
the scouting reports, it's it's really hard to find too
many faults in his game. You know, good and run defense,
solid pass rusher, getting coverage. So I guess my question
is do you think that the only real knock on

(37:20):
him going into the draft is just the fact that
he is going to be one of the oldest prospects
in this draft, because it really seems like he's one
of those guys that can step.

Speaker 6 (37:28):
In on Day one and immediately contribute.

Speaker 13 (37:31):
Yeah, and I think Carolina has South Ground has a
couple of guys that are like that. This is a
very veteran defense. Several players that did stick around in
college and just kept trying to develop their game, and
the teams will look back and they'll see, well, hey,
why did this not happen before? And so he started
his career at Georgia Tech. But the thing about him,

(37:52):
he was a quarterback in high school. He was kind
of a quarterback slash safety. You know, was a smaller
guy at the time, and just as he got to college,
what they were trying to figure out the best position
for him. He goes to Charlotte for a year, bulks
up into a linebacker, has a phenomenal year there. South
Carolina loses several linebackers, is looking for help in the

(38:13):
portal finds D. Knight, that's what they call him here,
finds D. Knight, And you know, it just ended up
being a perfect fit. I mean probably in one year,
if you pulled the coaches in secret, they would probably
tell you one of their favorite players they've ever had here,
just in terms of being a leader, and just very quickly,

(38:35):
even coming in as that transfer as a one year guy.
You know, he comes in and just instantly became someone
that the locker room looked up to which in the
transfer portal.

Speaker 5 (38:47):
Era is not.

Speaker 13 (38:48):
Era is not always easy to do, I think, so
I think on top of what y'a are seeing on film,
just I mean, a phenomenal human being. Like he's married too,
so he's already an adult, Like he's mature. I mean,
I know I've said good things about all the guys,
but I mean, if you said, hey, I gotta bet

(39:14):
my future on a guy, I'd put it on d
night just because he's just so well rounded as a
human and a player.

Speaker 2 (39:23):
Well, so I know we're kind of running out of
time with you, so I'm gonna kind of put two
guys together on offense, Joshua Simon the tight end, Rocket Sanders,
the running back. Sanders, of course, has an injury history.
Both of these guys came to the program later on
out of the transfer reportal Simon a receiving tight end.
Sanders a guy who seems to have some all aroundability.

Speaker 13 (39:45):
Yeah, Rocket Sanders. Honestly, if he was a little bit
younger and didn't quite have to wear that he has
to this point, probably would be way higher on the
boards in my opinion, just based on talent. I mean,
big bodied guy can run between the ten, but also
has for his size, I think, really.

Speaker 5 (40:03):
Good breakaway speed.

Speaker 13 (40:05):
Also, one thing we saw South Toronto used him was
in the passing game quite a bit. Whether that was
sometimes designing things for him, but a lot of times
just being that check down. And you know, Southcona had
a young quarterback this year, Leonora's Sellers, And as the
year went on, he got more and more comfortable just
checking the ball down to Rockett and just knowing, hey,
he's gonna make plays. He's going to make the first

(40:25):
guy miss. So I'm very curious to see what the
combination of all the things we just talked about in
terms of the injuries, longevity, but also just the baseline talent,
what that means for Rocket and then Josh Simon. I
was very happy for Josh that he put down the
time he did at the Combine. I thought that was

(40:46):
a great forty for him because he's pretty productive on film.
Like I just wondered if he was going to have
the measurables that the NFL teams were looking for. Went
to Indy ran a great time. This is a this
is a tough nosed country kid, grew up in a
small town here in South Carolina, has really developed at

(41:08):
the college level, gotten bigger, but always has just had
kind of that that tough nosed mindset. And you know,
I think Josh will probably be someone that wouldn't be
a flashy pick for anyone, But I also wouldn't be
shocked if, like we blinked and he was one of
those dudes that we were like, well, it's been six years,
Josh Simon still still in the league, just doing his thing.

(41:32):
And while as you said, he is a pass catcher,
he's at least a willing blocker, Like he's willing to
put his face in the fan, so to speak. He's
willing to get in there and do the dirty work
that you have to do at that position, so you
know he'll go catch the football for you. But as
you know, this is a South Caron team that had
question marks at wide receivers. So for a good portion

(41:53):
of the year they were just saying, look, our most
consistent receiver right now is actually at the tide in
position in Josh Simon. So he took on a major
role for them in the passing game and really played
well and is willing to go over the middle. Is
willing to just show that toughness that you need. So yeah,
both those guys'll be fascinating to see where they end

(42:16):
up because I think they're kind of in that category
where it wouldn't surprise you if a team takes a
chance on either of those guys, but it also wouldn't
surprise you if it's a little bit later.

Speaker 4 (42:25):
Yeah, So last one, real quick, I want to ask
about one of the guys alongside TJ. Sanders on the
defensive line in Tanka. Hemingway. Very athletic, did well at
the combine, but measured in at six foot three, two
hundred and eighty four pounds, which is obviously on the
lighter side for defensive tackle. So do you think, I
don't know, if he's beefed up, you know at the

(42:45):
pro day, if he waited and more, But do you
see him lining up as an interior defensive linean in
the NFL or do you think you'll have to make
some sort of move maybe to the outside.

Speaker 13 (42:55):
Yeah, it's a valid question. Watching him throughout his career,
they did play him both, you know, sometimes on the
edge sometimes inside. He moves like you like more of
an interior guy. Honestly, you know, we'll see if he
can hold up at that size or if teams will say, look,
we just need you to bulk up and and be
more of a true interior guy. That was always, honestly,

(43:18):
frankly kind of the question in South Carolina was, Hey,
do we just bulk him all the way up? Or
do we do we say, dude, do you got to
drop about twenty LB's and and just be all in
on playing the edge?

Speaker 3 (43:32):
Yeah?

Speaker 13 (43:32):
I know, right, I know, and so so ultimately it
ended up being inside. Now he's another guy that he
can help you on special teams. Actually ran some trick
plays for him on special teams. On p a t
he like, he like has caught a couple of two
point conversions in his career. Was a standout when they
go back to high school standout basketball and baseball players.

(43:53):
So good balance, good footwork, really really is a good,
you know, above average for sure athlete at that side.
So I think he's another one that it would be
fascinating to see what the teams in the league think
about him when it really comes down to those big decisions, folks.

Speaker 2 (44:09):
That's Mitchell, host of the game Cock Takeover one oh
seven point five The game in Columbia, South Carolina. Wes,
thanks so much for all the information on the prospects.
We're looking forward to seeing them in the draft. Stay well,
thanks for us all right, guys, have a go one
great stuff. That's a lot of prospects we got through,
oh yeah, in the last forty five minutes. And of course,

(44:30):
no question about Dan Solomon. He's not a prospect. That
guy's a foni fied first round pick. Oh yeah, we
gotta throw him in there too. During the first forty
five minutes of the program.

Speaker 4 (44:40):
That were up to him, we would just take all
Ohio State players, and he has said that to me
several times in the last.

Speaker 6 (44:46):
Couple of weeks.

Speaker 2 (44:47):
To be frank, they went pretty far they did.

Speaker 6 (44:49):
It wouldn't be the worst strategy.

Speaker 2 (44:52):
It's not like they don't have some legitimate players, that
is for sure. I think one of the interesting parts
that we talked about with both of these guys. And
we'll get back to the calls in just a second,
I just want to say this. We've talked about Abdul
Carter in the injury situation. Well even today. We just
talked to South Carolina and Notre Dame experts who told

(45:15):
us that they had some bonafide prospects who have some
lingering injury history as well. The medical staffs are and
they always are critical, don't get me wrong. I mean
that's why they do the combine. It's all about the
medical checks. But it does seem as though, as I've
been going through my research, and I don't know if
you've done the same, and John's done the same too,

(45:35):
it seemed to be a lot more guys who have
some type of injury background than I remember in recent years.

Speaker 4 (45:41):
Yeah, I think, especially you know, some guys that are
projected and supposed to be first round picks, and some
early first round picks. Obviously Abdul Carter is top three
or four pick. Yeah, he obviously has some potential medical concerns.

Speaker 6 (45:54):
But yeah, I mean that's just as you said.

Speaker 4 (45:56):
It emphasizes just how important getting these guys into your
bill and having your medical staff sort of check them
out as much as they can.

Speaker 2 (46:03):
You got to trust those guys visits because they need
to make that right call for sure.

Speaker 4 (46:07):
And I know that people in this building trust the
medical Yeah, you know very much.

Speaker 6 (46:12):
So there's no doubt about that.

Speaker 4 (46:13):
There's a lot of trust in the medical staff in
determining whether or not some of these guys do potentially
have long term injury concerns or if it's something that
you know, they'll get over pretty quickly and be able
ready to go.

Speaker 6 (46:24):
For a training camp in day one.

Speaker 2 (46:26):
All right, we've got about fifteen minutes or so left
in the program. I know, we'd love to get back
to the calls. Let's see, it looks like Arnold from
Buffalo is up next on the program. You're on Big
Blue Kickoff Live.

Speaker 12 (46:37):
Hello, Hey, good afternoon off.

Speaker 2 (46:43):
Nice to talk to you.

Speaker 12 (46:46):
What I want to say is I think people aren't
giving Joe Shane enough credit. You know, he doesn't have
a crystal ball, you know he I think he's doing
a good job. Nobody would have ever got rid of
Daniel Jones when he when he won a playoff game.

(47:11):
You know, we had to pay him. You know, I
think people are and then say Kwan Left, I think
people aren't giving him enough credit for trying.

Speaker 7 (47:21):
You know, really, what do you think?

Speaker 2 (47:23):
Well, I'll say this in terms of the mention the
comment you made about Jones, I have not gone back
and looked, let's say, over the last ten fifteen to
twenty years, how many times a team allowed a quarterback
coming off of a playoff victory to go to another team.
I don't think it's happened very.

Speaker 6 (47:43):
Often, especially the team themselves drafted.

Speaker 7 (47:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
I don't have the stats on that, but I would
say push comes to shove. A great majority of your
GMS would not allow that guy.

Speaker 4 (47:56):
To leave, especially coming off what was his best overall
season in the NFL and the heck of.

Speaker 2 (48:01):
A playoff game too. Yeah, the Minnesota playoff game. He
was dynamite. So you know, I'm with you. I think
all you can do when you look at somebody who's
got to make these kinds of decisions time and time
and time again, is say, okay, at the time of
the decision, what were his options, what possibilities were the

(48:22):
most logical, and did he take a reasonable path. That's
the only way you can create a guy, because too
many people just want to use hindsight, and as I
always say, hindsight is always perfect, it's always twenty twenty.
It's easy just to talk about the results. But when
you create a guy in that chair, intent and rationale

(48:44):
and logic and his plan his progression, that stuff is
incredibly important. When you're making a decision as to the
man's ability to do the job.

Speaker 6 (48:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (48:56):
Not only that, but everyone seems to like forget or
just ignore the fact that the Giants made a strong
effort to try to move up in last year's draft
to get one of those top three quarterbacks.

Speaker 2 (49:07):
By the way, they also tried to get Matt Stafford
this year.

Speaker 4 (49:09):
Yeah, but like going back to everyone's like, oh, well,
why hasn't you know Joe Shane drafted his own quarterback. Well,
he very much tried last year, but we all saw
hard knocks where the negotiations with the Patriots were front
and center. The commanders of the number two pick were
never going to trade that number two pick to the
Giants so they could go take.

Speaker 6 (49:28):
Jane and Daniels.

Speaker 4 (49:28):
I mean, I see everyone be like, oh, Joe Shane's son,
you know he Why didn't.

Speaker 6 (49:34):
He just listen to his right?

Speaker 4 (49:35):
You don't think that if Joe Shane had an opportunity
to move up to number two for Jane Dais, he
wouldn't have taken it.

Speaker 6 (49:40):
And move it to she would have.

Speaker 2 (49:41):
Moved to this year. What if the Tennessee Titans just
sitting there saying there's no way we're trading that number
one pick, we're taking cam Ward and we're not making
a deal. How is that Joe Shane's fault?

Speaker 6 (49:51):
Exactly?

Speaker 3 (49:55):
I agree with you guys. And then the same thing
with Barkley he did. I mean, I love Barkley, you know,
I got his jersey. Everybody does, you know, But he
didn't want to stay. If he would have stayed, it
would have been different. He made it, not won the.

Speaker 7 (50:13):
Super Bowl, but you know, I think things would have
been different. You know, people like to complain about what
he did. I don't think it's right.

Speaker 2 (50:24):
Well, I know, I'll just say this about Barkley. We're
gonna let you go. Appreciate the phone call. Please call again,
sa kuon Barkley, if he had run for twelve hundred
or thirteen hundred yards this year, for this past season
for the Giants, that would have been a really good season.
He was not going to rush for two thousand yards
behind this line.

Speaker 4 (50:42):
No, not, especially when the offense line started getting hit
by all those injuries Week six and on.

Speaker 6 (50:48):
Yet there was no chance.

Speaker 4 (50:49):
And again, we don't have to harp on this because
we've done it many times. But let's not forget there.

Speaker 6 (50:53):
Were for a very long time. There were strong.

Speaker 4 (50:56):
Efforts also made to try to retain Sakuon Barkley at
least four and this was when there were three. This
was when the running back market, you know, was quote
unquote at its you know, low low point.

Speaker 6 (51:07):
There were efforts made to try to bring him back.

Speaker 4 (51:09):
He was holding out for a Bear contract that led
to the franchise tag in twenty twenty three, and you know,
the rest is history. But to go back and like say, oh,
the Giants just let him go without trying to keep him,
that's just revisionist history.

Speaker 2 (51:21):
No question. Line two has Elliott in Puerto Rico. How
about that? We got a call from across the border.

Speaker 10 (51:29):
How are you hi, guys?

Speaker 12 (51:32):
Can you hear me?

Speaker 2 (51:32):
Yes, we can.

Speaker 6 (51:33):
What's up? Elliott?

Speaker 12 (51:35):
Hi?

Speaker 10 (51:35):
Paul him?

Speaker 12 (51:36):
Long time?

Speaker 10 (51:37):
No no calling?

Speaker 2 (51:39):
Well thanks for calling back then, thank you.

Speaker 10 (51:43):
I know you have a question. This year will be
my four year year of fandom, okay, and I have
a very little knowledge about the schedule, and my belief
was that the schedule of the teams that finish last

(52:05):
will be easier the next year, just to keep a
balance in the league. And for the love of God,
our schedule is very.

Speaker 6 (52:16):
So I got you.

Speaker 10 (52:19):
I don't understand what happened there, So if you can,
you know, bring some light. Yeah, so I'll be wonderful.

Speaker 4 (52:26):
I'll tell you this, Elliott, you are right that you
know in theory, when a team comes in fourth place
in the division, that you would think that the next
year their schedule would be at least a little bit lighter.

Speaker 6 (52:38):
But where you finish in.

Speaker 4 (52:39):
The division, that only impacts three of the games on
your schedule the next season. All the other opponents are
already predetermined. There's a big rotation that you cycle through
different opponents every couple of years, depending on you know
the division and you know all that. So the only
three games that finishing in fourth place in the East

(53:00):
impacted were I believe it was the.

Speaker 6 (53:04):
Forty nine ers.

Speaker 4 (53:05):
Obviously, the one year that the forty nine ers happened
to finish last is when we finished last as well,
so now we line up with them. Then it's New England,
and then who's the NFC North?

Speaker 6 (53:20):
I believe was it the Bears? I think it was
the Bears. Then who obviously are you know, an up
and coming team.

Speaker 4 (53:27):
I think that was I might be mistaken, but not sure.
But yeah, I just the way that this that the
way that the all the other teams finished in their divisions,
the Giants didn't really get help from their opponents, you know,
in terms of the same place finish in the division opponents.
So in theory, yes, finishing fourth place, you would think

(53:49):
the schedule should be a little bit easier. But you know,
sometimes you get hit with a little bit of bad luck,
and you know, having to face the forty nine Ers
coming off their one down year in the last however
many years, that's just kind of unfortunately.

Speaker 2 (54:03):
The division rotation can hurt you or help you. But
then the other problem is the teams within your division,
and Washington and Philly are now coming off terrific seasons,
and that just increases the difficulty for your schedule. To
give you a little bit of a heads up, Elliott,
in twenty twenty six, because of the rotation, we already

(54:23):
know most of the Giants' opponents, Okay, so we know
they're playing the NFC East home and away. They're also
going to have home games against the Cardinals, the forty
nine Ers, the Jaguars, and the Titans. Okay, on the road,
there's be the division games plus the Texans, the Colts,

(54:44):
the Rams, the Seahawks, and then there's going to be
three wild card games. One is going to be based
on what position they finish in the standings. There's going
to be a team from the NFC South and a
team from the NFC North that are also going on
to be flexible based on how the final standings end
up this season. So we could already tell you the

(55:08):
bulk of the schedule for the next three years if
we wanted to sit here and take the time to
do it. It's because of the rotation and the way
that it's set up. I just think that this year
they got quite a mountain to climb. That's just the
luck of the draw.

Speaker 4 (55:21):
There is one opponent, yes, that is the complete wildcard
tea the same place ANFC yes division, Yes, which rotates
every four years.

Speaker 10 (55:32):
It is too early to us meeting with the people
that made the schedule just to ask for a refund.

Speaker 2 (55:39):
No, you can't ask for a refunds. As every GM
tells you, and every coach will say, your God will
play what they throw in front of you. And this
this rotation of the schedule was based on trying to
form some type of equitable situation across the league. So
appreciate the time, Elliott. Thanks for the call. Take care,
please call us back again. Yeah, I mean, I get it.

(56:01):
I get it. They finally decided to adapt this thing
several years ago. It goes back a ways, and it
was just like, well, we want to give the fans
a chance with a rotation to be able to see
the different opponents every few years. You want to see home,
you want to see away, you know. And then sometimes,
like with the Giants, it seemed that though like for
a few years we were constantly playing in San Francisco,

(56:24):
we're constantly playing Seattle. Sometimes it just works out that
way because of the slot in that wild card situation
where you have the tvds. Sometimes it just works out
that way.

Speaker 13 (56:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (56:33):
By the way, it was the Saints that was the
third opponent. Saints, Patriots and forty nine Ers. Those are
the three same place finish the opponents.

Speaker 2 (56:44):
Yes, Juhn.

Speaker 14 (56:45):
Can we work on geography with you, Paul, Well.

Speaker 2 (56:48):
Technically, Puerto Rico is not part of the borders. It's
outside the border.

Speaker 14 (56:52):
No, Puerto Rico is he part of the United States
of America. It is a territory of the United States.
You do not need passport to go to Puerto Rico.

Speaker 2 (57:01):
And it's not part of the continental United State.

Speaker 14 (57:03):
Okay, well that's time. But that's not the border, then
is it. If you're crossing. If you're crossing a border,
you must provide your passport upon re entry. So if
you're returning from Puerto Rico, you do not require a passport.

Speaker 2 (57:14):
So technically you got me.

Speaker 14 (57:15):
Yes, I did.

Speaker 3 (57:19):
Know that.

Speaker 2 (57:19):
I've never gone.

Speaker 8 (57:20):
No.

Speaker 14 (57:21):
That is the least surprising part of this conversation.

Speaker 2 (57:24):
Hey, what what what do you got up on the
huddle this week? John, Just let everybody know.

Speaker 14 (57:28):
Working on it today, we might have a surprise guest.
We'll see who that ends up being on the huddle,
So we'll keep an eye on that. That'll be later
on this afternoon. We'll see about that, and then later
on this week working on Mike Redder, who does profile.
He's now with the CBS Sports used to be a
Pro football focus. He'll be up Matt Manicharian, who runs

(57:49):
Sports Info Jesis their status. He's a former NFL scout
with the Ravens. He's coming on and I'm working on
a couple of other things for for next sequence. Next
week as well, and draft season coming up tomorrow, Tony
Paulie and I will do our top ten on offense
at each position group, so that'll be position every position,
So well, a little debate.

Speaker 4 (58:05):
There, and real quick, just as we were on air,
we announced the Giants announced that re signed linebacker Ty.

Speaker 2 (58:11):
Summers, a special teamer who got here in the middle
of last season and did a pretty good job in coverage.

Speaker 14 (58:17):
Yeah, that was not the surprise guest that was referencing.
Just for the record, he.

Speaker 6 (58:20):
Ended up playing.

Speaker 2 (58:22):
He doesn't want to talk to you.

Speaker 14 (58:23):
No, he doesn't. I asked, he said, schmelk, Not no chance.

Speaker 4 (58:26):
But yeah, Ty Summers played sixteen games with the Giants
last year, started two games primarily on special teams, but
did get as you mentioned, did get some action at
linebacker and you know, had one of his more productive
seasons in the NFL. You know, he's primarily been a
special teams guy, but you know, giving a chance to
play a little defense last year, he really stepped up.
So good to bring in, at the very least another

(58:48):
reliable special teams player back and we'll see if he
contributes on defense.

Speaker 2 (58:52):
And can't stress it enough when you were a team
trying to raise the boat. If you know every Sunday
that you can win on special teams, that's the game
you don't have to worry about.

Speaker 4 (59:01):
Yeah, and just more death at the linebacker position. As
we mentioned, you can never get enough death at all
of these positions because injuries are gonna happen.

Speaker 6 (59:08):
You want guys you can rely on.

Speaker 2 (59:09):
All right, folks, don't forget Big Blue. Kickoff Live returns
live tomorrow on Tuesday, twelve thirty pm Eastern Time for
another hour of Giants football. As always, it's presented by Cadillac,
the official luxury vehicle of the New York Football Giants.
From f sidetach on Paul Tatino, We'll see you next time.