WEBVTT - Drive Time: Giants Perspective with John Schmeelk 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:05.120 Drive Time with Travis Wingfield begins. Now, let me check 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:06.480 your pulse if you're not far though. 0:00:07.960 --> 0:00:09.640 What is up? Dolphins? 0:00:09.720 --> 0:00:12.600 And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast, part of the 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:17.520 Miami Dolphins podcast network covering your team, your Miami Dolphins. 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:20.480 How's it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield. 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:22.919 And on today's show, we're gonna welcome in the Giants 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:26.759 Perspective from John Schmelk. He does radio and podcast for 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:29.800 the Giants podcast Network up there in New York. Plus 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:32.240 we'll hear from the assistant coaches and pick the week 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:34.879 five games in the National Football League. All of that 0:00:34.960 --> 0:00:37.560 and more from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:38.599 Health Training Complex. 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:42.160 This is the Draft Time Podcast. 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:46.560 Maggie Gaffie, Sir, as we do every single Thursday. Let's 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:49.280 kick off this episode with my guest, the Giants Perspective. 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:52.800 John Schmelk joining me today for our crossover from the 0:00:52.840 --> 0:00:55.640 Giants perspective for this week five game down here at 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:58.200 hard Rock Stadium. Is the host of an on the 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:00.920 Giants podcast Network. He does pre and post both radio 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:04.400 and podcasts with the New York Giants. He is John Schmelk. 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:06.840 Almost got It wrong there, John, John, thank you for 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:08.479 your time today. Appreciate you coming in here with us. 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:09.680 Grab is happy to do it. 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:09.880 Man. 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:10.920 How's it going down there? 0:01:11.040 --> 0:01:11.880 It's going pretty good. 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.680 I know that as the weather turns poor for most 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:16.520 places around the country this time of year, it starts 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:18.440 to get nicer for us in terms of not melting. 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:21.240 So that's always a very welcome site, although Sunday should 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:23.360 be a nice little sweat box down here for the 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:25.920 traveling Giants. And the Giants come into this game at 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:28.240 one to three. And on these podcasts, John, I always 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:30.800 start at the quarterback position because where else would you start. 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:34.640 And Daniel Jones was a pretty big storyline this offseason 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.760 getting the big contract extension, and like I know, it's 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:40.000 been tough going for the offense with the sacks piling 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.240 up the last couple of weeks. But coming off a 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:44.480 year last year where Jones played good enough ball to 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:46.959 earn that contract extension, what do you think that he 0:01:47.000 --> 0:01:50.040 can do to get back to that aside from the 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:51.840 surrounding circumstances, i e. 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:52.680 Pass protection. 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:57.120 Yeah, you know, I think at least last week, especially 0:01:57.160 --> 0:01:59.960 in the first half, I think you saw the mental 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:03.400 toll the hits he had taken in the first three 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:05.880 weeks of the season had kind of you know, put 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:08.960 on him because even in the first half against Seattle, 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:11.320 I thought going back and rewatching the all twenty two, 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:14.160 I thought the pass protection was was good enough. And 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:15.919 I just think there were times where he was a 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:18.239 little jittery back there, which by the way, is understandable 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:20.160 given how much he's He's taken a beating over the 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:22.640 first three weeks, and I just think he needs to 0:02:22.800 --> 0:02:24.640 make some better decisions. You know, a lot of his 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:27.320 interceptions have been bad luck in terms of you know, 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:30.160 passes hitting off of players and getting knocked in the 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:31.840 air and going to defensive back. So I think that 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:34.400 number is probably a little bit more inflated based on 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.280 his level of play. But you know, you just can't 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:40.120 make the type of decision and throw he made against 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:42.360 Seattle on the fourth quarter when they have it first 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:45.680 in goal at the five, and he probably throws it 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:47.399 to the wrong player on the play, and he also 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:49.720 throws it outside when he should have throw it inside, 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:52.760 and that turns into a pick six, and instead of 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:55.720 it being potentially fourteen to six or fourteen to ten, 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:58.000 it's twenty one. To three and then all of a 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.760 sudden the wheels fall off in and that the game 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:04.000 just becomes a disaster. So, you know, just avoid those 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:06.160 type of mistakes, be a little try to be more 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:08.880 comfortable in the pocket if you can. You know, if 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:11.240 Andrew Thomas and John Michael Schmids aren't gonna play this week, 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:12.680 and I'm sure we'll get to that, that's gonna make 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:14.959 it probably difficult to feel comfortable in the pocket, to 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:17.280 be quite honest with you, But I think those are 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:18.799 the things he's gonna have to do because he's gonna 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:20.079 have to get the ball down feel a little bit. 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:23.640 Last week, the Giants just said two pass attempts, not 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:28.239 completions attempts Travis of ten plus air yards. I mean, 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:30.960 it is a really low number. It has to be 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.320 better than that moving forward if the Giants want to 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:34.560 become a more dynamic offense. 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:37.680 You sometimes see that for twenty plus airyard throws, right 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:39.800 those two high shells and sometimes three high shells to 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:42.480 prevent teams from taking the vertical shots they want to. 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:45.000 But yeah, nothing beyond ten yards besides those two passes 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:47.200 was pretty surprising for me to see on that next 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:49.280 gen chart and you kind of touched on two follow 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:51.760 ups I have here regarding that question and answer. 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:53.800 One of those is the availability the offensive line. 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:55.560 I'm gonna put that on the back burner because I 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:57.360 want to ask you about, you know, some of the 0:03:57.400 --> 0:04:00.560 scenes on the sidelines there with Dable and Daniel Jones, 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:03.280 some of the frustration boiling over because you know, last year, 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:06.200 first year there, dab All arrives and Daniel Jones has 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:08.200 his best year as a pro, and again going back 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:09.960 to the contract, he earns that and they put their 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:13.240 faith in the quarterback going forward. But when you're winning games, 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:16.039 not so much tests of adversity in terms of trying 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.080 to overcome that stuff. I just wanted to get your 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:20.719 perspective on what you saw play out there in terms 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:23.640 of that dialogue back and forth, the sideline shots, and 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:25.200 how you think maybe they can grow from that and 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:26.000 get better from here. 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:26.760 Yeah. 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:29.160 Look, I mean that's just I think both players, both 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:30.800 the player and coach being a little frustrated. 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:32.480 Brian Dabele thought. 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:33.920 He dialed up the right play and if you look 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:35.440 at it, you know there might have been an opportunity 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:37.120 to get the ball the waller going towards the back 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:39.280 of the end zone there, and I think he was 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:42.039 basically showing Daniel Jones what he thought he saw on 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:43.919 the tablet, and you know, I think he at that 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:47.320 point was just frustrated. You know, he basically, you know, 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.640 tossed the tablet into the lap of Sha Tyranny, the 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:53.920 quarterbacks coach. And look, Brian David was an emotional guy. 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:56.000 It's gonna happen. There isn't any issue at the relationship. 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:59.680 The guys trust each other. Dable and Jones get along 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:02.640 really well. I don't see that being an issue. I 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:05.000 think that's just the heat of the action, emotional game 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:08.320 type of sideline thing that probably within the team is 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:09.200 already forgotten. 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:11.240 Absolutely, I'm sure it's one of those things that kind 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:13.120 of makes you know better going forward. They can have 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:16.000 those honest conversations and come back and assess and correct 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:18.680 the following day. Now, you mentioned a couple of offensive 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:22.240 linemen and their potential availability, I should say Andrew Thomas, 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:24.640 John Michael Schmidt and also Shane Lemieux in there as well. 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.000 My first question is what do you think we'll see 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.320 on Sunday in terms of the lineup, And then number two, 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:32.600 as far as the pass protection goes. Is it as 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:36.120 simple as getting your franchise pro Bowl level left tackle back. 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:37.480 Is that going to be something that can get things 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:38.360 sworded from them up front? 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:39.640 Well? Help? 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:42.840 I mean it's been a he heard himself in a 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:46.760 week one. He hasn't played since, and the pass probe 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:48.360 has been disastrous. 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:51.040 So yeah, that would go a long way. 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:54.360 Given as of this recording, he has not practiced yet 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.640 this week, I would say it's not looking great. John 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:00.520 Michael Schmid's hurt a shoulder on a quarterback sneak attemp 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.279 last week. He did not practice on Wednesday. We'll see 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:06.680 if he practices on Thursday. But you know, Ben Brettison's 0:06:06.680 --> 0:06:08.719 a veteran, they'll move him from guard to center. If 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:11.800 Schmids can't go, You'll probably have josh Azudu, who they 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:14.120 drafted as a guard out at left tackle, which is 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.560 obviously not what you want. Veteran Mark Lewinski will play 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:21.599 left guard probably, and Marcus McKeithen, who's a second year player, 0:06:21.640 --> 0:06:23.520 will be a right guard with Evan Neil at right tackle. 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.320 And look, and I think even more so than the 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:28.240 Andrew Thomas thing, I think the right side of the 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:30.760 line just has to play better. Evan Neil's been very consistent. 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:34.120 Marcus McKeithen has been inconsistent at the start of his career. 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:36.320 So I think those two guys just have to be 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:38.720 better at keeping guys out of the backfield. 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:40.320 But yeah, of course. 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:42.600 Getting Andrew Thomas back and having John Michael Schmidz healthy, 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:44.480 because I do think Bretison is a better guard than 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:47.120 he is a center, would certainly go a long way too. 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:49.159 John, you live in a different world than us in 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:51.680 terms of the market and how things are covered up there. Obviously, 0:06:52.160 --> 0:06:54.560 the New York media can be pretty pretty harsh, and 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:58.360 you've i mean, whether it's winning or you know, headlines, 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:00.240 it seems to be like there's always something good for 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:04.720 the New York sports franchises this part of across all sports, 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:07.320 right football, baseball, basketball. It's been a rough go recently, 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:09.840 but you get the headlines this week, obviously the sideline 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.320 stuff with Jones and Dable, but the Evan Neil stuff. 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:14.040 You mentioned his name there, he's kind of been in 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:16.320 the limelight as well. I'm just curious if you think 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:19.520 all this stuff is will it reveal like character in 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.800 terms of how they respond. Do you think it could potentially, 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:23.720 you know, derail them. What do you make of all 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:25.320 the noise going on right now and how the Giants 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:26.680 potentially respond from all that. 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:29.600 Yeah, I would push the sideline stuff away, but I 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:32.440 do think, you know, I'm sure Brian Dabele has already 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:34.640 talked to Evian Neil about what he said. And I 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:36.880 don't think there's any problem with players saying I can't 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:38.320 concern myself with other people. 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:39.800 Think I just got to play my game. 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.400 You know, that's something that players all the time, but 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:44.640 you shouldn't, you know, take shots at the fan base 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.360 that pays a lot of money to go see you 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:50.880 play and is the reason you have a job, because 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.080 if fans don't go see games, you can't pay players 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.480 and just go right down the line. So I'm sure 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:58.080 Brian Dabill have Evanuil walk that back, and he should 0:07:58.160 --> 0:07:59.840 walk it back because it's something he should have said. 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:04.760 So you don't really know the character of a team 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:06.680 until they face a lot of adversity and how they 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.000 deal with it. And this is adversity right now. So 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:10.960 I think we're gonna see how this team pulls together. 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:13.320 I have faith in the players and the coaching staff 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:15.320 that they'll be able to do it. But I think 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.520 it's something that you know, we'll see how it develops. 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:21.320 Hopefully they'll get a win over the next couple of weeks. 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:24.600 It's gonna be tough at Miami at Buffalo, but you know, 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:27.040 when it gets tough, that's when you learn about the 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:31.280 character and the chemistry and the togetherness of a group. 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:32.800 But I think we'll learn about that over the next 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:33.280 few weeks. 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:35.000 I think we'll get two hungry teams in this game 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.080 on Sunday as the Dolphins kind of facing their first 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.000 bit of adversity with a substantial loss up in Buffalo 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:42.040 in a big game against their rival up there, and 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:44.679 for the Giants, potentially the return of I mean, I 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:47.640 would say their best offensive player in Saquon Barkley. Saw 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.640 him getting some limited work in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:53.320 What do you think about his potential availability and what 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:55.199 kind of difference can he make if he returns to 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:55.760 the lineup. 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:57.920 Yeah, I think he is a real chance to play, 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:00.920 and look, it makes a huge difference, is one I 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:03.679 think we've seen. You know, one of the few weaknesses 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.640 of Miami's defense might be their rushing defense. You know, look, 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:08.680 at some of the numbers, they aren't quite up there 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:10.360 with a lot of the other you know, stats on 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.360 both sides of the ball. And he's the Giants' most 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:15.800 dynamic offensive player in terms of dietting the ball in 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:18.280 his hands. He can go make something happen. You know, 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:22.079 Darren wall is probably the second name on that list. So, yeah, 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:24.360 getting Saquon Barkley back would be a big deal. You 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:27.440 look at the numbers in terms of just offensive production, 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:32.040 even Daniel Jones's numbers, when Saquon is playing, they all 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:34.880 go up as opposed to when he's not. So it 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.600 would be a huge help. And I think, you know, 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:39.679 the Giants aren't an offense that would be able to 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:42.000 hang with Miami, you know if they get to where 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:44.040 they usually get in terms of points per game, which is, 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:46.720 you know, thirty seven and a half. So I think 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:48.800 the Giants would want to dirty this game a little bit, 0:09:49.240 --> 0:09:52.800 dirty it up, run the football, rely on Saquon Barkley 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:54.600 and and try to keep the game in the twenties 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:55.040 that they can. 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:56.400 Yeah, he's amazing man. 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:57.800 The ability to get back from the injury that was 0:09:57.800 --> 0:09:59.199 supposed to hold him out for I don't know, a 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:01.800 lot longer than that, how apparently, But these guys heel 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:03.880 so fast compared to you and I let's go ahead 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:05.240 and flip it over to the defensive side of the 0:10:05.280 --> 0:10:07.040 football here and talk about an area that the Giants 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:08.400 have been pretty productive this year. 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:09.280 Up front. 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:11.719 You know, Dexter, Lawrence cave On Thibodeau had a big 0:10:11.760 --> 0:10:12.960 game on Monday Night as well. 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:15.160 How have you seen teams kind of attack. 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:17.400 This defensive line, this pass rush front that wants to 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:19.400 send blitzer after blitzer after blitzer. 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:22.400 How have teams successfully handled that? And teams that have 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:25.080 not where have been kind of the shortcomings in that regard? 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:28.800 Yeah, I mean they have blitzed a lot. You're not wrong. 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:31.200 They're They're blitzer rate against the forty nine ers on 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.920 that Thursday night game, for example, was set an NFL 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:36.840 record only be broken by the Vikings on that following Sunday. 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.000 In terms of blitz rate, It's amazing how it goes. 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:41.920 And you guys are well familiar with blitzing. Given the 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:44.480 defensive courting you guys used to have up there, you know, 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:47.520 they have not been able to get home on the 0:10:47.600 --> 0:10:50.439 quarterback as much as they would like. You know, teams 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:53.319 have gotten the ball out relatively quickly, and I think 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.240 you know, the pass rush and the coverage always works 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:00.000 hand in hand. And the Giants came out this year 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.040 and I'm sure you'll get to the corners started two 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:05.439 rookie corners with Trey Hawkins and Deontay Banks. They moved 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:08.240 the veteran of Dory Jackson inside. They've now put Cordell 0:11:08.280 --> 0:11:11.920 Flat inside and put a Dory Jackson back outside. Trey 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:15.640 Hawkins did not play a defensive snap last week, so 0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:17.640 IM my guess is that they'll probably go with that 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:21.080 again this week. Dexter Lawrence has been getting his normal pressures, 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:24.200 even Leonard Williams. They just haven't forced quarterbacks to hold 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:26.439 the ball long enough for them to get home. And 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:29.200 the edge rushers. Azol Jalari has been hurt, but once 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:32.319 he got back last week, he got pressures. Keevon Thibodau 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:35.360 had his best game of the year, so that should 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.240 be the strength of this defense. They just haven't been 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:42.040 able to put enough production up there and create enough 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:45.360 negative plays up front, whether it's tackled for losses or sacks, 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:47.839 to really set opposing offenses back. 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:50.920 John Shmilk my guest here on the Draft Time podcast. 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:53.520 You can find him on the Giants Podcast network as 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:55.720 well pre and post game on radio also up there 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:57.640 in the New York area. And you know, we talk 0:11:57.679 --> 0:12:00.319 about how this Dolphins how to attack this Dolphins offense. 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:02.120 You just mentioned the pass rush, and that's obviously a 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:04.760 key to get to uncomfortable and off of his spot. 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:06.920 But I think the most important thing we've seen from 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:09.319 teams that have had success against the Dolphins offense the 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.040 last two years is that second level of the defense 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.320 and those off ball linebackers and their ability to both 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:16.680 play the run and get the depth on those drops 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:19.160 take away some of that deep, middle of past, middle 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:21.240 of the field passing and the Dolphins love to excel with. 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:25.080 How has Bobby Okareki and Isaiah Simmons fit into the folder. 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:27.240 I know Michael McFadden plays a lot there, but I 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:29.920 look at Okareki and Simmons is two very athletic and 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:31.520 long players that can do a little bit of that 0:12:31.559 --> 0:12:33.840 front and back stuff. How have you seen them impact 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:34.600 the game so far? 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:37.600 Yes, Simmons has been more of a part time player 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:39.280 since they brought him in. They brought him in at 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.600 the end of August or beginning of September, maybe even 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:45.560 as a for seventh round draft pick, as someone to 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:47.640 help out the linebacker cord. They were trying to find 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:52.400 that player to put next to Okaa Ke at middle linebacker. 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:55.480 You know, like, for example, last week, I'm looking at 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:59.480 the snap counts right now, Isaiah Simmons played eighteen snaps 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:03.480 and that he's probably the most he's playing on defense 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:06.560 so far this year. But it's like thirty five percent 0:13:06.559 --> 0:13:08.760 of the snaps. That's kind of where he's been. He's 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:11.640 been a situational pass rusher things like that. So I 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:13.880 don't think they've really found the perfect role for him 0:13:13.960 --> 0:13:18.160 quite yet. But oh Kara Kay has been big for them, 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:20.680 you know, the Giants defense. When issue they've had this 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:24.000 year is tackling has been inconsistent. They had one play 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:27.080 against Seattle even when Noah Fank got down the sideline 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:29.080 broke a couple of tackles ended up getting the ball 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.319 down to the one. But other than that play, I 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:35.559 thought the tackling was better against Seattle after being frankly 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:39.400 poor against San Francisco, Arizona and Dallas. So that that's 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:41.000 gonna have to get a little bit better as they 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:42.520 move forward here, and I think oka Ka is a 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:44.440 big part of that. He's the guy in the middle 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:47.079 that leads the defense. He has sidelined the sideline speed, 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:50.280 he can run, he's smart. He'd a handful of tackles 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:54.000 for loss in the run game against Seattle last Monday night. 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:56.440 So he's been a huge part of the defense for sure. 0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:58.680 So you touched on the defensive backs there a little 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:00.680 bit because I was looking at the youth in that 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.720 defensive backfield, Banks and Trey Hawkins, and obviously Cordell flowed 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:05.840 up there as well. Do you like you talked about 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:06.839 a little bit, but I just want to kind of 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:08.280 get some more in terms of what you expect to 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:10.839 see with rotation and also how the safeties kind of 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:13.800 impact this game, because the one of the players I 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:15.520 spoke to back when he was coming out the same 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:18.120 year as Tua was Xavier McKinney, and he talked a 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.840 little bit about their battles and practice back at Alabama 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:22.600 in terms of two of trying to look him off 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:25.120 and him trying to bait Tua into throws. Just curious 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:27.400 to see how he kind of, you know, drives that 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:29.920 defensive backfield maybe helps those young guys up front. 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:33.520 Yeah, I mean McKinney's probably their best defensive back at 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:36.000 this point. He hasn't made a ton of plays on 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:38.440 the ball in his NFL career so far, but he's 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:41.120 always in the right spot. He anticipates well, and I 0:14:41.120 --> 0:14:43.320 think that will be a battle between him and Two 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:45.680 throughout the game, where Two is trying to find that 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:47.320 space in the middle of the field that the Dolphins 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:50.200 are still good of exploiting and McKinney trying to help 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:54.440 shut that down. He's tried to help. But look, rookie Corners, 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:56.800 you know, you know how this works, Travis, Rookie Corners. 0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:59.200 Even if you're good, it's rare you're good in your 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.360 first year. It's just it's very difficult. Not everyone saw 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:05.640 us Gardner, right. So DeAnda Banks has been solid. You know, 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:07.880 he does really good bump and run. Sometimes he gets 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:10.200 a little bit too physical deeper down the field. He's 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:13.640 had a couple like legal contact penalties. He doesn't get 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:15.880 his head around necessarily as well as you might like 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:18.040 at the catch point. We saw that for that with 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:21.560 that DK Metcalf touchdown pass on Monday Night Football where 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:24.440 Metcalf kind of loalled them to sleep and Banks did 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:27.600 not anticipate the pass coming that turned into a touchdown. 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:32.320 You know, not playing Trey Hawkins last week was a surprise. 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:34.920 There wasn't any sign of that the week prior in 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.320 terms of what the coaches were talking about. But I 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:40.040 would assume given the defense probably played their best game 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:41.840 of the year. In Week four, we will see the 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:46.880 similar setup in the secondary. So you'll have Banks on 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:50.080 one corner, you'll have a Doorga Jackson on the other, 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:52.520 and then when they go to nickel, Cordell Flatt will 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:55.720 come in and play inside, and I imagine the Dolphins 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:59.360 will probably be you know, yeah in eleven most of 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:01.440 the time, or least have three wide receivers out there. Look, 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:03.320 you guys do use the pull back too, so we'll 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:06.240 see how that works. But I imagine that's gonna be the setup. 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:08.720 So Jackson and Banks to start, and then Flatt will 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:10.360 be the nickel, will move into the slot when he 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:10.800 comes in. 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:11.680 That's perfect. 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:14.720 I always love to look up the opposing defensive backs 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:16.920 forty times and three cone times and how they move, 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:18.840 because obviously the two guys we have on the perimeter 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:22.720 down here move pretty well. But yeah, thanks gosh, his 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.080 workout numbers were thin. He blew me away. When I 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:28.120 looked those up. He was like almost a perfect almost 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:29.920 one of the top dbs of all time in terms 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:31.960 of the way they measure, you know, the physical traits 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:33.880 that he brings to the table. So good stuff there. 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.640 I end these episodes the same way every time, John. 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:39.080 The Giants will win this game if and then you 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:39.840 fill in the blank. 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:41.680 They muddy it up. 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:45.320 Saquon Barkley runs for a lot of yards, they keep 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:49.200 the Dolphins under thirty points. Saquon breaks a couple of 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:51.360 long ones. The Giants do not have to take away 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:53.720