May 5th, 2026 | Big Blue Kickoff Live | New York Giants

0:00 Hello again everybody and welcome to Tuesday's edition of Big Blue Kickoff.

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0:47 U some news this morning.

0:48 Good news.

0:49 Lawrence Taylor's agent says LT has been

0:52 released from the hospital after stomach related concerns.

0:56 Uh Lawrence is 67 years old if you can believe that Matt.

0:59 I don't know how in the world time just passes by.

1:02 It seems like yesterday when he was dominating everybody in the NFL,

1:06 but great news for LT and glad to see he's on his way to recovery.

1:10 Don't have any details as to what happened.

1:12 That's not relevant.

1:13 It was a stomach related issue and he's doing better.

1:16 Yes.

1:16 It's good to see that he's out of the hospital and going home.

1:20 Now, uh, today's question for you guys,

1:23 and there's a lot of ways to answer this.

1:26 I'm going to phrase it this way to make it as generic as possible.

1:30 Um, who do you think or who are you most anxious

1:33 to see have a bounceback season on the Giants roster in 2026?

1:39 Now, bounceback season could mean anything.

1:41 It could be a guy like Malik Neighbors who was

1:44 injured and comes back to health and plays 17 games,

1:49 16 games, 15 games and puts up another thousandy year.

1:54 That could be considered a bounce back.

1:55 That's why I'm not going to use comeback or even step up.

1:58 I'm going to use bounceback in the question because it really does open

2:03 it up to a lot of different possibilities and allows you guys I mean

2:07 even Cam Scataboo could be technically

2:08 a bounceback because he broke his ankle midway

2:11 through the season and did not have the opportunity to play a full year.

2:14 So even he could be a possibility.

2:16 I'm doing that on purpose just so we could

2:19 open up the field to a lot of different answers.

2:23 You want to marinate on that for a bit and take a couple

2:25 of phone calls and then we'll we'll get back to what we think.

2:27 I already have my answers, but if you want to take calls first.

2:31 What do you think?

2:31 Well, what do you want to do?

2:33 Let's just dive right into it.

2:34 Ask the question.

2:35 I'm ready.

2:35 Go.

2:36 What do you got?

2:37 So, I decided to interpret this in terms of more like breakout.

2:43 More like someone who Well, breakout would not be bounce back cuz

2:47 bounceback technically means he has to have done said before we got

2:51 I'm not doing what he said.

2:52 I'm doing what I said.

2:53 Why are you changing it?

2:54 It's a bounce back.

2:55 We talked about it till 5 minutes ago.

2:57 Yeah, but he was he was going off the board.

2:59 I told him earlier what we were going to do

3:01 and then he changed it when you came in.

3:03 It's bounce back.

3:04 I'd like to hear the breakout, too.

3:07 Fine.

3:07 Change the question.

3:09 Change the question.

3:10 It's okay.

3:11 I'm going to do both.

3:13 Okay.

3:13 Because I was preparing for what Pearson told me right

3:15 before we came on air and then you asked something.

3:17 Okay.

3:17 Go ahead.

3:18 So, breakout.

3:19 someone whose numbers that I think are going to be

3:21 pretty significantly better this year compared to last year.

3:25 And I'm not going to include Malik

3:26 Neighbors and Cam Scataboo because as you mentioned,

3:30 I think if they are healthy and on the field week one, which

3:34 for Scataboo, it seems like he will be,

3:37 you know, back on the practice field well before then.

3:40 Yes.

3:40 For Malik, it seems like it's a little bit more cloudy,

3:43 but there's certainly a potential and the hope is that he's back for week one.

3:47 I'm not going to include those guys, though.

3:48 Fair enough.

3:50 So, I chose one guy from each side of the ball.

3:53 Okay.

3:53 On defense, this one was pretty easy for me because I've

3:56 been saying for was it May 5th for four months now,

3:59 literally since the day after the season ended,

4:01 that I think this guy is going to have a huge breakout season in 2026.

4:06 And that is Abdul Carter.

4:08 Mhm.

4:08 I know that's not really going on a big stretch because

4:11 this guy was the number three pick just a year ago,

4:13 but I would say looking at his rookie stats,

4:17 his performance wasn't quite probably what all of us were expecting.

4:21 I think when you get drafted number three as an edge rusher,

4:25 I know he didn't play 100% of the snaps there,

4:27 but or 100% of snaps all season, but you know,

4:30 number three pick in a position like that, you expect him to have a big impact.

4:34 Sort of like the conversation we were having yesterday.

4:36 Okay.

4:38 But his numbers tell two very different tales when

4:42 you look at I would say the first call

4:45 it 12 games of the season and then or 11 and then the final five or six games.

4:50 Oh yeah.

4:51 He was so significantly better and it seemed like the light

4:54 bulb kind of went off in his head of how he needs

4:57 to I guess compose himself as an NFL player in order

5:00 to turn what he does throughout the week into success on Sundays.

5:04 And that really seemed to, you know,

5:06 the light bulbs really seemed to go off that second half

5:08 of the season or the the last third of the season, let's say.

5:12 And even with the first 10 plus games,

5:15 him not having the performance that we were all expecting,

5:19 he still was getting after the quarterback quite often,

5:21 and I know I've spoken about this before,

5:23 but he led the league in quick pressures,

5:25 which is getting to the quarterback in under 2.5 seconds.

5:28 He also, I believe, finished,

5:30 I want to say he was either sixth or seventh overall in just regular pressures.

5:36 And he was not that far behind Miles Garrett,

5:39 who I think had was number one, or if not number one, was right up there.

5:43 Nonetheless, I think he was six or seven shy of Miles Garrett.

5:47 So, I think heading into year two with clearly

5:50 understanding what it means to be an NFL player now.

5:53 I think he as we saw towards the end of the season,

5:56 he's he understands that part now,

5:58 which I don't know if he fully understood it the first chunk of the season.

6:02 that plus this new coaching staff,

6:05 especially John Harbaugh who's going to hold

6:07 his players responsible for their actions.

6:10 I don't think, you know,

6:12 whatever the disciplinary things that we saw last year with Abdullah,

6:15 I don't think that's going to be an issue with John Harbaugh running

6:17 the show cuz I don't think he's going to stand for anything like that.

6:20 And I think Dinard Wilson is also going to just put him

6:22 in better positions to succeed than maybe the coaching staff did this last year.

6:27 So for me, I think it's easy.

6:30 Defensive breakout player will be Abdul Carter.

6:34 Fair enough.

6:35 He also happens to be the only choice on the board.

6:37 So that's why it's easy.

6:39 There's nobody else.

6:41 Kavon.

6:41 No, he's the bounceback player.

6:42 He had 11 and a half sacks a couple of years ago.

6:45 He's a bounceback player.

6:46 He's not a breakout player.

6:48 Okay.

6:48 Different question.

6:49 Tyler Nuban.

6:50 Drew Phillips.

6:52 Drew Phillips had a really good rookie season.

6:54 New had a really good rookie season.

6:55 and they would not be considered.

6:56 No, they had solid rookie seasons.

6:58 I wouldn't consider it extremely good.

7:00 If they had a great a Pro Bowl season now, they would be considered a

7:03 We're getting into semantics, folks.

7:05 I don't I I don't I don't want to go down this rabbit hole.

7:07 Let's go to the phones.

7:08 2011 9394, by the way.

7:11 There you go.

7:12 All right.

7:13 Dominic in Maryland, you're first on the program.

7:15 Hello.

7:18 Hi, guys.

7:19 Um, I'm a first time caller, longtime listener,

7:23 but a huge fan of you guys and all of your guys work.

7:26 I actually had a two-part question, so yeah, I'll try to be quick.

7:30 Um, the first one was really just about you guys, like the whole cast.

7:33 Uh, you Paul, you Matt, uh, John, Lance, and even Pearson really.

7:38 Uh, I was just wondering like what you guys do um outside of the show

7:43 and what really determines like your guys schedule

7:46 for who gets casted uh for each days.

7:49 I was just wondering that

7:51 uh that's a front office decision.

7:53 They have a description for each one of uh

7:56 our assignments and what it is that we do.

7:58 Uh basically in a as far as Big Blue Kickoff Live is concerned, we all rotate.

8:02 I mean that's just the way it is.

8:04 We also have different assignments on game day.

8:07 uh different assignments depending upon the time of the offseason

8:10 and what's going on, whether there's a mini

8:12 camp going on, whether there's an offseason program going

8:14 on, whether there's a draft or a combine going on.

8:18 The assignments change all the time with the change of the NFL calendar.

8:23 So, I mean, I could be here for an hour and tell you what each one of us do,

8:26 but that's that's not going to help.

8:28 I appreciate the phone call.

8:29 Abdullah in Minneapolis, you're next on the show.

8:33 Oh, I'm sorry.

8:33 Dominic, you had something else?

8:35 Yeah, I did.

8:36 Sorry, I'll be I'll be quick.

8:37 I'll be quick.

8:38 So, um, going going back to your question

8:41 of the day about the breakout or the bounceback season.

8:44 Um, my answer would be Paul and Adbo,

8:48 but that goes into my question about the Giants roster in the secondary,

8:52 which is how do you guys feel about our secondary?

8:55 Um, I would probably say specifically our outside quarterback positions.

8:58 I mean, we got Debo who's having who needs to have a bounceback season

9:04 and um we're relying on Col Colton Hood

9:07 who I think is a good rookie, a good prospect.

9:12 Yes.

9:11 Um but as you guys know,

9:13 rook a rookie corner is pretty hard to just come in day one and

9:17 start.

9:18 So, how do you guys feel about our our quarterback position?

9:20 Well, the Giants have four corners right now

9:22 to compete because of the additions of Hood and Newsome.

9:27 Adbo and Banks are, you know,

9:29 even though they're the incumbents and they've been here, it doesn't matter.

9:32 There's competition and John Hobo's going to make sure there's competition.

9:35 But I will say this and and Matt, I I want you to kind of add on to this.

9:40 You know, uh, you mentioned Tibs, New Absolutely.

9:44 Banks would be another candidate for a bounceback

9:46 because these are guys who have done something

9:48 in this league before and then kind of went

9:51 south and now need to have a bounceback.

9:54 Adibbo is another excellent bounceback candidate for sure.

9:57 But the four corners that the Giants now have to compete on the boundary,

10:02 I can't remember the last time they had

10:05 four guys of this talent caliber in that competition.

10:10 Do you four?

10:14 I mean, no.

10:16 I I can't remember.

10:17 But at the same time, are we talking about like where they were like drafted?

10:22 No.

10:22 No.

10:23 Just in terms of skill set and talent ability,

10:25 all four of these guys clearly have NFL level talent.

10:30 There's no question about that.

10:31 I know Banks has had his head up his butt for two years,

10:34 but his ability is there.

10:35 He showed it as a rookie.

10:36 He's got like the physical tools.

10:37 Yes, for sure.

10:38 I don't think anyone would deny that.

10:40 But I mean, those can only take you so far.

10:42 He's got to really show something this year

10:45 if he, you know, wants to continue to have

10:47 a a starting caliber career in the NFL.

10:50 Oh, that's why it's competition.

10:52 But I feel like Newsome was sort of maybe to a lesser degree,

10:55 but in a similar boat these last couple seasons.

10:59 And I mean that's why he, you know,

11:01 a former first round pick signing a one-year deal.

11:04 He has shown the first, I would say what, two seasons of his career,

11:09 he showed that, you know, he's more than capable of being an NFL corner.

11:13 And then we've spoken about this since the Giants signed Greg Newsome.

11:16 were some factors that I I personally believe sort of played into his not

11:22 so great performance these last two

11:24 seasons getting traded halfway through last year being scheme change too

11:28 scheme change being a part of just a horrendous Browns team that I I

11:34 know like these guys obviously get get paid to play every single week but

11:38 it's it when your team is you know has one win going into week

11:42 11 sort of hard to be incredibly motivated to go out and give it,

11:47 you know, 110% each and every single play.

11:50 So regardless, I think factors played

11:53 into Newsome's performance these last couple years.

11:56 But yeah, I do think Adbo, I think everyone seems to forget that last year,

12:01 not an excuse, but it was his first season coming off a pretty major leg injury.

12:06 And a lot of time for corners, for wide receivers,

12:10 the season after suffering an injury like

12:12 that, the guy does not look like his normal self.

12:15 Fair enough.

12:16 So, I'm not saying he's going to 100% return to pre-injjury Pulson Adbo in 2026,

12:21 but I think there's a lot better chance of him looking like

12:24 his old self this upcoming season than he did this past year.

12:27 Well, I think that's why, you know, John Harbaugh and I think Joe Shane

12:32 in unison decided they needed to bring in competition.

12:35 I mean, because Banks is a question mark.

12:38 Adbo is a question mark.

12:39 You just don't know what you're going to get out of those guys in 26.

12:42 So, by drafting a hood and by signing a Newsome,

12:46 you're now at least saying, "Hey, we have a legitimate competition.

12:50 We have four guys now.

12:52 Let these fellas fight it out in a steel cage and see which

12:55 two guys come out as the starters." That That's why you do it, right?

12:59 Because the guys who win the the jobs are going

13:02 to be the guys who will help you the most.

13:04 That's the idea 100%.

13:06 you know, and I mean to the the caller's point, yes,

13:10 it is sometimes difficult for rookie quarterbacks to come in and, you know,

13:14 immediately become a a shut down corner.

13:16 We have seen it can be,

13:17 but it is it's hard as one of the positions that, you know,

13:20 have a little more difficulty trans transferring

13:23 from the college level to the pro level.

13:26 But many many draft analysts consider Colton Hood to be a first round pick.

13:30 I mean, I know we speak about, you know,

13:32 Daniel Jeremiah a lot on this show, especially in the leadup to the draft.

13:35 I believe he was Daniel Jeremiah's 20 number 21 prospect going into the draft.

13:41 21 and the Giants got him at 37.

13:43 So he they I would not be surprised at all

13:46 if he's the one that ends up winning this job.

13:48 Even if it's not week one pretty early on in the season.

13:52 Well, the other thing to remember is that he started

13:54 last year at Tennessee after not being a starter there.

13:57 He was elevated because of injuries and so when he got the chance, he excelled.

14:02 He grabbed the job by the throat.

14:05 moving to the outside.

14:06 Yes.

14:06 Because he did start Yeah.

14:08 I'm talking about as a boundary.

14:09 Yeah.

14:09 As a boundary on the inside.

14:10 He wasn't supposed to be there.

14:13 No.

14:12 And and so out of necessity, he got thrown out there and he's like,

14:16 "Okay, I'm going to make the best out of it." And he really helped himself.

14:19 He played extremely well playing in the toughest conference in college football.

14:23 Bingo.

14:24 And he did not really give up that many receptions.

14:27 I think it was one touchdown the whole season.

14:30 He claims it was zero.

14:31 He he claims he claims that the analytics people the services as we

14:36 say who charged him with a touchdown

14:39 catch against were inaccurate in that assessment.

14:42 He has said that he he knows for a fact

14:44 that that was not his guy he went over to try

14:47 to compensate for somebody else and since he was in the screen

14:50 the analytic service decided to charge him for the touchdown.

14:53 Well whether it was zero or one that's

14:55 still really really good playing in the SEC.

14:58 So

14:59 indeed it is.

15:00 Nick in New Jersey on line two.

15:01 You're next on Big Blue Kickoff Live.

15:03 Hello.

15:04 What's up, guys?

15:06 Hey, Nick.

15:06 Hi.

15:07 Hey.

15:07 So, it's pretty coincidental what I wanted to call about.

15:10 Okay.

15:11 Um, today verse what you guys started with.

15:13 I wanted to I'm sure you guys have seen on social

15:16 media like winners and losers of of the off season and whatnot.

15:20 So, I wanted to get one guy on each side of the ball.

15:24 um a winner and loser based off of this.

15:28 Put taking everything into account with the the new coaching staff,

15:32 what the what schematics they're going to implement,

15:34 what we did in free agency, what they did in the draft.

15:37 Um and kind of figure out get get your guys opinion on one

15:45 winner and one loser on each side of the ball going into this season.

15:51 Okay.

15:53 Well, I have a

15:54 Okay, go ahead.

15:54 A winner on the offensive side of the ball for me is pretty easy,

15:57 and that would be Cam Scaboo

15:59 because obviously there were a lot of rumors and reports both in free

16:03 agency and the draft that the Giants were going to go after,

16:06 you know, the top level running backs available

16:09 in both of those stages of the offseason.

16:11 Obviously, the Giants have not made a single addition to the running

16:15 back room up to this point to in the offseason.

16:18 So that combined with some of the signings,

16:22 I mean Francis, the drafting of Francis Maui Noah,

16:25 uh the resigning of Germaine Aluminor, the signing of Pat Ricard,

16:29 even you know with the new coaching staff,

16:32 it seems like the there's a good chance

16:33 that the Giants are going to run more heavy personnel,

16:36 two tight end sets that should in, you know,

16:40 hopefully lead to even better results in the run

16:43 game than we saw this past season.

16:45 and with no, you know, top level competition, you know, competing with Scataboo.

16:51 I mean, with him and Tyrone Tracy,

16:53 I think it's going to be a 1A 1B

16:54 situation like we saw last year before Scat got hurt.

16:58 So, to me, he seems like the pretty

17:00 clear winner on the offensive side of the ball.

17:02 Yeah, for me it's a slam dunk.

17:04 It's Jackson Dart because of everything that he just mentioned.

17:07 I will pile on another pancake and say they signed Isaiah likely.

17:12 They side a couple of receivers who have accomplishments in this league.

17:16 They went out and they drafted Malachi Fields.

17:18 Um, you know, they added a fullback.

17:21 To me, it's a slam dunk.

17:22 It have to be Jackson Dart on offense.

17:24 Um, defensively, that one isn't quite as easy.

17:29 I would probably go Tyler Nuben because I'd

17:35 like to believe that he's going to show us more of what he showed us as a rookie

17:38 now that he has an extra year of experience.

17:40 They've tried to upgrade the corners.

17:43 Uh, and I believe that the new

17:45 schematics with Dinard Wilson will also provide Tyler

17:49 Nubin an opportunity to get back to what he was when he was a Minnesota golfer.

17:53 Yeah, I was going to say for the defensive side of the ball,

17:55 I was going to somewhat of a copout, but similar to Paul say either Tyler Nubin

18:00 or Javon Holland for basically the same exact reasons.

18:02 I think obviously also the fact that, you know,

18:05 the Giants did not go out and draft Caleb DS.

18:08 That's true, too.

18:08 would have at the very least been taken

18:11 some snaps away from one of those guys likely.

18:14 Uh those two are obviously, you know,

18:16 heading into the into off season otaas as the two starting safeties.

18:21 And you know, there were additions made to that room,

18:23 but the additions made seem more like depth pieces.

18:26 You know, Jason Pino or Darius Washington,

18:28 who I do think those guys can and will contribute,

18:31 but I don't know if those guys are going

18:32 to overtake Javon Holland or Tyler Nuben for the starting jobs.

18:37 And I think the biggest addition for those guys was Dinard Wilson.

18:40 I think he's going to help those two tremendously and we're going

18:43 to see a lot more production from the safeties because of coach Wilson.

18:46 Nick, did you have two guys in mind when you asked us that?

18:51 Um yeah, I would say Scataboo on the offensive side

18:54 of the ball with the uh drafting of Maui Noah.

18:57 Pat Ricard um bringing in Harbaugh, we know he likes to run the ball.

19:04 And then on the defensive side of the ball,

19:07 I think I I I wish there was five like another five games

19:11 at the end of the season to see what Abdul could have done because

19:13 he was really starting to break out and that around Thanksgiving time and if

19:17 he we if the week went through if the season went through January,

19:22 I think he would have only improved on that.

19:25 So those are my two guys.

19:27 Um, in terms of losers,

19:31 I can't really think of anyone on the defensive side of the ball with

19:35 Yeah, there there is one.

19:36 Micah McFaden is probably going to lose snaps now because Arl Reese was

19:40 drafted and Micah was scheduled to be the starter next to Tmaine Edmonds.

19:45 So, McFaten now becomes the third inside linebacker, so to speak.

19:50 I guess you could say he loses.

19:51 go slate on the off offensive side of the ball at Malachi Fields,

19:54 Mooney, and Austin is really the only one.

19:57 I think that's that's certainly a very logical assessment.

20:00 That would be fair.

20:02 Yeah.

20:02 Okay.

20:03 All right.

20:03 Thanks, Nick.

20:04 Thank you, Nick.

20:05 Let's go to Abdul in Minneapolis.

20:06 You're next on the show.

20:07 Hello.

20:08 Hey, guys.

20:08 How you guys doing?

20:09 What's going on?

20:10 Good.

20:10 How are you?

20:11 So, um I called I called about uh talking about the lack of using void years,

20:15 but I'll jump into your your questions.

20:17 Uh I think on the offense the person who's going

20:19 to surprise people uh is Fedoni the uh the forgotten tight end.

20:24 I think I think because of Bellinger's gone and the fact that they do play

20:29 um Harvard does play you know a lot of 12 you said 12 uh package

20:33 that they you know he's he's a big dude I think he could block.

20:35 I think he could move and I think I think

20:37 he kind of fits what Harour likes in tight ends.

20:41 So I could see him, you know, from going to like zero snaps last year

20:45 basically to having a larger impact on the offense.

20:49 You know, Abdul, here's the one problem.

20:51 They did sign Chris Manhurds for a reason,

20:53 and he is a bonafide blocking tight end and a big body,

20:57 and we know Harbaugh wants to play bully ball.

21:00 Now, what makes it complicated is that they did sign Ricard

21:04 as a fullback to add to the blocking part of the scheme.

21:10 It's unlikely that you're going to keep four tight ends after

21:14 you've signed that fullback because we know Ricard's on the 53.

21:18 There's not even a debate.

21:19 We're not We can't even discuss that.

21:21 He's on the 53 unless he gets hurt.

21:25 Okay.

21:24 So, so now how are you going to keep a fourth tight end?

21:29 That's going to be really really hard.

21:32 And and believe me, I think you know,

21:35 John John had first mentioned Fedoni to me before

21:37 the draft last year and then of course when

21:40 they got him and he had been hurt at Nebraska

21:42 and then he came back and got hurt again.

21:44 Then he came back again and when we finally got him

21:47 here and I watched him during the rookie camp it's like wow.

21:50 Yeah, this guy this guy's got some stuff now.

21:53 He's got some goods.

21:55 I'd hate to see him walk out of the building.

21:57 I'm just not sure how he gets on the 53 right now.

22:01 Unless the resigning of Manhurz was just

22:05 to make sure that they had enough healthy

22:07 bodies in here to compete and we know Harro wants competition at all the spots.

22:11 But I think they only keep three.

22:14 So that means Fedoni would have to beat out manhur.

22:17 Yeah.

22:17 cuz I between likely Theo Johnson who I would assume

22:22 both of them are obviously making the the 53man roster

22:25 and then if you have Fedoni as your third tight end

22:28 over manhertz those are three tight ends whose strengths lean more

22:32 towards their abilities as a pass catcher as opposed

22:35 to the blocking and yes Ricard is obviously going to be

22:39 on the roster but I don't know if you want

22:41 to have no like actual blocking tight ends on the roster So,

22:47 Fedoni definitely has I I would think an uphill battle,

22:50 but as we see every year,

22:53 they're guys that just put on absolute show of performances

22:57 throughout OTAAS and then really once training camp starts.

22:59 If Fidoni balls out during training camp,

23:02 it's going to make the decision a whole lot tougher for coaching staff,

23:05 front office, everybody.

23:06 One thing we know about Fidoni is he is as tough as a junkyard dog.

23:11 He is a tough dude.

23:12 Now, he doesn't have the boxy or thicker kind of frame,

23:16 sturdy frame that Manner has.

23:18 So, no, he's not the accomplished blocker that Manhurz is,

23:22 but could for he come here and have it in his mind that you know what,

23:26 I don't care if I don't have his body.

23:28 I'm going to go out there and I'm going to take guys on and I'm

23:31 going to make the blocks that force them to keep me on the roster.

23:35 That could happen, but I think he's going to have to beat out manhurds.

23:39 I just don't see how they can keep four.

23:41 Yeah.

23:41 And I I do remember though that what you were talking

23:43 about with how he looked during rookie mini camp and even

23:45 like OT's I mean he looked like honestly like a gazelle

23:48 running up and down the field like he looked impressive really good.

23:53 He's going to have to do that you know and then some and then some.

23:56 Especially once the pads come on this summer.

23:59 Yeah I I forgot to add manners into the equation so I forgot about that.

24:02 So you guys could be right about that.

24:04 So, um, why I call this, uh,

24:06 I get I'm get I'm kind of confused and somewhat frustrated about how the how

24:10 the Giants are not using voiders like every other team in the NFL is doing.

24:14 It kind of reminds me of uh, because I I I guess I heard because uh,

24:18 John Mar is against it like ethically that that's why he doesn't like using it.

24:22 And that kind of remind

24:26 Yeah.

24:26 I don't just Bob Do before you go any further.

24:28 I I just I want to stop you because I don't know that that's true.

24:32 I've never heard John Marrick come out and say I don't

24:34 want to use void years and unless I hear him say that.

24:38 Um I'm sorry that's hearsay.

24:41 So I just want to push that to the side

24:43 committee like when when they have the uh the owners meetings

24:45 that he was he was trying to implement a rule

24:47 to to vote to stop those to stop the use of word.

24:50 I I I might have misread that if I heard that but that's what I've heard.

24:53 Um but it kind of reminds me of it's a tool that people are using now.

24:57 You know, it's it's the the the game has changed

25:00 and it the game changes and the Giants seem like the like

25:03 that coach back in the 30s who was against the forward pass

25:06 because equally changes the game and they're not using the forward pass.

25:09 You know what I mean?

25:10 And the board year is kind of like,

25:11 you know, the equivalent of the forward pass.

25:13 It it's changing the the the uh the metrics

25:16 or or changing the the equation of of the salary cap.

25:20 And you see all these teams using it and keeping these rosters and building

25:24 these really great rosters while the Giants

25:27 really don't have any long-term contracts, but they're still strapped.

25:30 They say they're strapped with their salary cap.

25:31 You know what I mean?

25:32 And it just seems like they're they're they're handcapping themselves.

25:35 Donna Ponte is the new VP of salary cap here.

25:38 This this organization has hired her away from the National Football League.

25:43 She is got to be based on her credentials probably

25:47 a better salary cab guru than anybody else on this planet.

25:51 So let me just say this to you.

25:53 She's only been here for a few months.

25:55 So I think you need to kind of hold your breath and let's

25:57 see what Donna Ponte does over the next year or two before you start,

26:01 you know, getting yourself all upset about what the Giants do or do not do.

26:05 This is 2026.

26:06 It's a new year and there's a new salary cap guru in charge.

26:09 Yeah.

26:09 My push back is like you mentioned, oh,

26:12 all the teams across the NFL are doing it.

26:14 Some teams for sure are doing it, but look at those teams that are doing it.

26:18 Those are teams that are going into the offseason already considered,

26:21 you know, Super Bowl or at the very least strong playoff contenders.

26:25 You don't really see teams that are somewhat

26:28 in a rebuild or fully rebuilding signing guys to contracts

26:32 with a lot of void years to it because

26:34 you're capping yourself further down the road when you hope

26:37 to actually be in contention versus at the time

26:39 when you're going through I guess you can call it

26:41 a bit of a rough patch and trying to rebuild

26:43 to get to that point where you're considered a contender.

26:46 Like you know the Eagles give void years all the time now,

26:49 the last couple of years at least.

26:50 Well, that's because they've been contending for Super Bowls every single year.

26:53 You don't see teams that the last couple of years have been at the very,

26:57 you know, bottom of the NFL handing out contracts with void years on them.

27:01 That's what you do when you're further along.

27:03 If the Giants take a huge step this season and, you know,

27:06 either make the playoffs, come close to the playoffs,

27:08 and it looks like going into 2027

27:10 that the Giants could be like very legitimate contenders.

27:15 There is a a decent chance that there would be a contract

27:17 signed with void years if it made sense for the organization,

27:20 if it made sense for the team.

27:21 They're not going to do it just to just to do it though.

27:24 Dawn will figure it out.

27:25 Whatever needs to be done, she'll get it done.

27:27 Abdul, have a good day.

27:29 Alberto from Abdul.

27:31 Alberto from Texas, you're next on Big Blue Kickoff Live.

27:34 Hello.

27:36 Yes, sir.

27:36 Hello.

27:36 Uh, appreciate you for taking my call.

27:40 Sure.

27:40 Yes, sir.

27:41 Uh, I believe we were talking about comeback players or bounceback players,

27:46 whatever you want.

27:47 You pick the category.

27:50 I want to say is I want to say it's more of both on this one

27:54 because with this player, he's been around the game,

27:57 but he hasn't really completed the seasons and he hasn't had much help.

28:02 And we need this guy to either bounce back or come back,

28:05 however you want to put it,

28:06 but we need this guy, but we need this guy to be back.

28:09 And his name is uh John Michael Smiths, the center.

28:12 Fair enough.

28:13 That guy, he he's been hurt.

28:15 He got hurt at the end of last season with his hand.

28:17 the past couple seasons before that, uh,

28:21 we weren't really competing, which I mean,

28:23 I don't blame him for getting hurt or whatever took

28:25 him out the past his first two seasons or three seasons.

28:28 But now that we got Francis and we got Luminor,

28:32 then we got Andrew Thomas coming back healthy,

28:35 I think everybody needs to put like really be thinking about John Michael Smith.

28:39 If that guy can come back or bounce back,

28:41 whichever one you want to pick, the Giants O line is going to be set.

28:45 And not only the O line gonna be set, but now you open up the run game

28:50 from the Wildats to the uh the the wild motions,

28:54 the the Z, whatever, the inside receiver motions.

28:58 You open up a whole bunch of things when when you got your O line complete.

29:01 And we need JMS to come back complete.

29:05 Fair enough.

29:05 John Michael Schmidz, who has gotten better in his time here,

29:10 still needs to go higher.

29:12 Yeah, I would say, oh yeah, you know,

29:13 his first from year one to year two and year two to year three, he did

29:18 take a step each of those years.

29:19 He did improve.

29:20 It's just,

29:21 you know, maybe not to the level that

29:23 all of us would were hoping to see when the Giants

29:26 drafted him in the second round a couple of years ago.

29:28 But

29:28 he certainly has gotten a little bit better.

29:31 this would be the year for him to, you know,

29:33 really make that jump though because

29:35 you obviously you have the two bookend tackles returning

29:39 that helped the offensive line have so much success last year.

29:42 You now have France Francis Maui Noah who you think could

29:46 be a very big upgrade at one of the guard spots.

29:50 Having those three will help both John Michael Schmidz and John Runan,

29:54 you would think perform even a little bit

29:56 better than they may have had last year.

29:59 Now you know.

29:59 Oh yes, very JMS is an undersized center and he was

30:03 from the moment he was drafted by the Giants.

30:06 And when they took him, the traits that were going to help him

30:10 succeed in this league were his incredible smarts.

30:12 We heard about that time and time again.

30:14 Very smart, poised, understands the game, you know,

30:19 just a very high level of football knowledge.

30:22 His demeanor, his professionalism, his work ethic,

30:26 these are all things that we heard that will help him.

30:29 The one thing that we also knew is

30:32 that he was also an undersized center for this league.

30:35 And John Hall wants to play bully ball.

30:38 You've heard me talk about this now for for a while.

30:42 He would probably prefer if he had his brothers a larger framed size center.

30:49 I'm sure he would.

30:50 I got

30:50 Now, Linda Bomb

30:52 was a bit undersized too,

30:54 but his power quotient was very high and he plays bigger than he is.

30:59 John Michael Schmidz has to get there.

31:01 He needs to be playing bigger than he is with an increased power quotient.

31:07 And he's going to have to learn how to tag team better with his guards

31:10 so that he can overcome whatever of those smaller deficiencies he has to combat.

31:17 That's the challenge this year.

31:19 And and I trust you.

31:20 I mean, I understand exactly where you're coming from.

31:23 It's about how you're built.

31:24 It's about what brought you up.

31:26 It's about what you learned when you was a kid.

31:28 It's about everything that you developed and worked on and built

31:32 upon from from the moments that led up to now.

31:35 Yes, sir.

31:35 I agree with you 1,000%.

31:38 But my thing is with with John Michael Smith is that he has the experience.

31:42 We really I mean if it would be great

31:44 if we could have a free agent that's experienced center,

31:49 but at the time when we got JMS, I believe it was Nick Gates.

31:53 somebody was at center that they have moved from that position to be at center.

31:57 Yeah, Nick Nick could have been around.

32:00 I would say JMS any day over than

32:04 somebody who shouldn't who shouldn't have been there.

32:07 Uh and the fact that he's got experience and everything.

32:10 That's why I'm uh that's why I was saying

32:12 hopefully he can have a bounceback breakout season this past

32:15 season cuz now that we got a healthy Thomas uh

32:18 Francis and Illuminor and we in the NFC beast baby, we got to we got to run

32:24 NFC beast.

32:25 I haven't heard that one.

32:26 That's a good one.

32:27 Thanks, Alberto.

32:28 Appreciate it.

32:29 Thank you.

32:30 Yes, sir.

32:30 Interesting thought, Matt.

32:32 Two things.

32:32 Number one, I do think Lucas Patrick,

32:35 who played a lot of center with the Saints,

32:37 has been brought here to push John Michael Schmidz.

32:40 I think at the very least push him.

32:42 Compete may be a strong word.

32:43 At least push him.

32:45 That's number one.

32:46 Number two, it ought to be very interesting

32:49 to see who wins the guard competitions for the Giants.

32:52 And I say competitions plural because I actually do

32:55 believe that both spots could could potentially be won.

33:01 I don't know 100%, but after Maui Noah was just drafted,

33:06 he's going to be the right guard unless something changes,

33:09 which means you got a log jam of people who

33:11 are going to try to fight for that left guard spot.

33:13 I think John Renan is going to have himself a challenge.

33:16 I don't think he's just going to be given that job.

33:18 I really don't.

33:19 No, I mean, the coaching staff has made it clear,

33:21 no one is just going to be handed a job.

33:23 Yeah.

33:23 The only one, as I've said many times, that I feel very confident in saying he

33:27 will be the starter is Jackson Dart at quarterback.

33:29 Well, Thomas and Luminor, I think we know that, too.

33:33 Okay.

33:33 But the three interior line spots, at the least,

33:37 guys are going to be pushed and maybe have

33:39 an outright fullblown competition at those three interior line spots.

33:44 Now, if two of the bigger guys win the guard spots,

33:50 that means JMS will have a big guy on his left

33:53 shoulder and a big guy on his right shoulder,

33:55 which quite frankly, he hasn't had.

33:58 He's had more techniqueoriented,

34:01 crafty veterans playing on each side of him during his last couple of seasons.

34:08 We have to see how that could potentially

34:10 help the situation if it works out that way.

34:14 Yeah.

34:14 But again, I I think it is the chances are at this time on May

34:18 5th that John Renan will be the left

34:21 guard and obviously after drafting Francis Madinoa,

34:24 I think he probably has the best chance at being the starting right guard.

34:28 And same with JMS at center.

34:30 I I don't think it's going to be

34:31 a full-blown necessar actual full-blown competition sort of what we

34:35 saw like last year with Deontay Banks and Cordell

34:38 Flat for the outside corner spot during training camp.

34:41 I think there will be guys that you know

34:43 will go into training camp probably considered the starters.

34:46 Now if they completely falter and have an awful summer then things could change.

34:50 But I don't know if it's necessarily going

34:52 to be like an actual full full-blown competition.

34:57 I think there's a the O line had a pretty good amount of success last year.

35:03 Mhm.

35:03 With four of those five guys returning and the one new guy the being the rookie

35:07 who should be even a bigger improvement over

35:10 the solid play we saw from Greg Van Rhoden.

35:12 I don't know if I even would want to go and shake things up completely in there.

35:16 I think there's a benefit for having some consistency from year in and year out.

35:21 I think that the wild card here is that there's a whole new

35:23 coaching staff and that's what makes things

35:26 a little bit more questionable for me.

35:28 I think at the very least those three

35:29 guys on the inside are going to get pushed.

35:31 I said that earlier and I'll say it again.

35:33 At the minimum they'll get pushed.

35:35 Maximum is there's a real competition.

35:37 And while it wasn't the greatest year from John Renion last year,

35:41 he was only credited with giving up two sacks all season.

35:43 It's not like he was pulling the entire line down.

35:48 I don't think he's a bad player.

35:51 I just wonder he doesn't fit the kind of ball.

35:56 It's like he's a doubles hitter.

35:58 He's not a home run hitter.

35:59 He doesn't fit in in in the kind of style of lineup that John Harbaugh wants.

36:04 But he does have experience playing with Jim Harbaugh.

36:07 So, he knows the Harbaugh way and what it is

36:09 to what it means to play under one of those.

36:12 That's why I I'm I'm kind of wrestling with it.

36:14 I think there's a gray area there.

36:16 I don't think I don't think it's in concrete yet.

36:18 I think there's it's a gray area.

36:19 Roberto in Florida, you're next on the show.

36:21 Hello.

36:23 Hey, Paulie.

36:24 Matt,

36:24 what's up?

36:25 What's going on, guys?

36:27 Listen real quick, right?

36:29 Cuz I got this guy in mind and you guys probably don't see what I see, right?

36:36 Right.

36:35 You remember the position uh Ricard started as wasn't a

36:40 He was a defensive lineman.

36:42 Offensive lineman.

36:43 No, he was a defensive lineman.

36:45 Ricard

36:46 defensive lineman.

36:47 Right.

36:47 What did they turn him into?

36:49 He became a fullback.

36:52 Yeah.

36:51 Yeah.

36:51 Okay.

36:52 That now I go to my point.

36:55 Okay.

36:57 Yeah.

36:57 You ever see that guy on the sideline where they do his fake talking?

37:01 Even when he's having a normal conversation, his eyes are normal.

37:06 He's vis.

37:10 Okay.

37:09 What is not to say?

37:10 What is he?

37:11 He's uh 62 6 close to 63 200 something pounds.

37:17 What is it that we cannot turn this guy or working him and prepare him?

37:22 Cuz Ricard going to last forever.

37:26 So we going to need a You remember when Jeremy Shaki first started,

37:31 quarterbacks was ducking for their lives cuz he was running right at them.

37:36 Yes.

37:36 So, I believe either this guy with more 10 pounds

37:41 or a little fatter muscles with his speed and his honey badger skills,

37:48 I believe this guy could either become a a a next

37:52 guy that would take pivotal position or turn him into a fullback.

37:58 Also, we keep talking about about Malachi fields, right?

38:03 Yeah.

38:03 Listen, when when um Oh my god.

38:09 Neighbors neighbors neighbors come back, right?

38:11 Neighbors is going to be uh nursery cuz that was a serious injury.

38:17 I believe one of the biggest impact in office this year

38:24 is going to be Malikai Field just simply because of that fact.

38:31 Okay.

38:29 Right.

38:30 Also, my man Tyan um Montgomery, he didn't get drafted.

38:34 He didn't get anything.

38:35 He's going to be undrafted.

38:37 I will put one of my fingers on a finger

38:40 cutter that he's going to be undrafted by Tennessee.

38:45 And with that, I let you go.

38:46 Give me some thoughts.

38:47 Give me some good positive thoughts about uh Kelly.

38:50 All right, guys.

38:51 Have a good Okay, Roberto.

38:52 Thank you, Roberto.

38:53 Well, Jack Kelly plays like his hair is on fire.

38:56 I mean, I think we all we all understand that.

38:59 I don't know that I'd be fussing around trying to change his position, though.

39:04 I'm with you.

39:04 I mean, he had a lot of success in college at BYU.

39:08 Granted, not the biggest conference, not the strongest of opponents,

39:11 but, you know, you play who you're going up against,

39:14 and he had a lot of success against the opponents that he did face.

39:17 Uh, I will say he had one of the better

39:21 performances in Indianapolis at the combine among linebackers.

39:26 Uh he had I forgot which I have to look it up

39:30 but he had the tied for the best score in in one

39:34 category with I want to say was Sunny Styles um and finished

39:39 among the best of at basically every category among the linebackers.

39:43 Granted, not every linebacker did every drill, but nonetheless,

39:47 NextGen Stats puts together what they call an athleticism score,

39:50 which is they they mix together the performances

39:53 from the combine with the guys uh measurables and stuff.

39:57 He had the third best athleticism score

40:00 among all the linebackers at this year's combine.

40:03 So, he's got the athletic tools.

40:07 Scored, as you pulled up, a 9.72 relative athletic score,

40:11 which ranked 99 out of nearly 3,500 linebackers going all the way back to 1987.

40:16 So, he's clearly athletic.

40:18 He's got the the physical tools,

40:20 and he's clearly got the mindset cuz as uh Roberto just mentioned,

40:25 as we've talked about, he's got a little a little crazy to him.

40:29 The good crazy.

40:31 Yes.

40:32 That's why I've said on the show before that to me,

40:34 he's sort of like the linebacker form of Cam Scataboo

40:37 in terms of personality and like mindset on the field,

40:40 which obviously we all love Scat and the way that he plays,

40:44 the physicality that he brings.

40:46 I can see Jack Kelly bringing that same sort

40:48 of physicality and mindset at first to special teams.

40:50 And it wouldn't shock me if he carves out some sort of role on defense.

40:54 I don't think it's going to be a extensive role just given,

40:58 you know, at the linebacker position, the guys in front of him,

41:02 but I think he he is capable of carving out some sort of contributing role,

41:08 I think, as a rookie.

41:09 I wouldn't say to expect it because as a sixth round rookie,

41:13 I wouldn't put such high expectations on a guy,

41:16 but I do think he's going to contribute right away on special teams.

41:18 And it wouldn't surprise me if he is one

41:20 of the Giants key contributors on special teams this year.

41:24 I mean, certainly he has the intangibles based on what we know.

41:27 I I have a conduit to the BYU coaching staff who I made a phone call

41:31 to and found out quite a bit about

41:33 Kelly who is universally loved on that coaching staff.

41:37 They really really like him a lot.

41:39 It's not a surprise at all.

41:40 And and one of the things that I was told is that, you know,

41:43 you could not watch a BYU game last

41:46 year without him showing up on film somewhere.

41:48 He just always showed up.

41:50 He was always in the picture.

41:51 He was always around and in a positive way.

41:54 Now, there were times that he was overzealous and of course

41:59 that resulted in some mistackles and some poor angles because again,

42:03 he flies around and when you fly around with that kind of gusto and vigor,

42:08 you're not always going to technically be as sound

42:10 as you need to be to make the play.

42:12 You know, you will take yourself out of some plays by being that way sometimes.

42:15 That's true.

42:16 But you can, as as as was said to me, oh, you can smooth that out.

42:20 you could work with that as opposed

42:22 to somebody who's just lethargic and doesn't make plays.

42:25 Yeah.

42:25 No, 100%.

42:26 Like look again, Jack Kelly was the last draft

42:30 pick for the Giants in this year's draft class.

42:33 What was it 193 overall in the sixth round?

42:36 The third of three six round picks.

42:40 Going back though, I looked back actually yesterday

42:43 at what John Harbaugh said at his introductory press conference,

42:47 which at this point was a little over three months ago.

42:50 And one of the things he said was in terms of the type

42:52 of players that they are looking to add and bring into this locker room,

42:57 one thing that he said was guys that just

43:00 attack the football that you turn on the film

43:03 and almost every single play a guy is just

43:06 at the ball wherever the ball is on the field.

43:08 And Jack Kelly fits that description perfectly.

43:12 Should should I remind people just for the heck of it,

43:14 Jesse Armstead was an eighth round pick.

43:17 That's true.

43:18 So, you know, you never know.

43:21 And there was something about Jesse Armstead that Dan Reeves,

43:24 who was the coach at the time back in 93

43:26 when when Armstead was drafted as a rookie out of Miami,

43:29 remember he had been hurt.

43:30 He had played with the Hurricanes and had been hurt and um you know,

43:36 his draft stock went down.

43:37 Dan Reeves saw him.

43:39 Giants wound up taking him in the eighth round and Dan decided, you know what?

43:43 Uh, we'll start him out as like a a subpackage player

43:47 and then all of a sudden it was like, "No, you know what?

43:50 He's going to be our starting weak sideline

43:51 backer." And I remember everybody thought Dan was crazy.

43:55 How's he going to hold up?

43:57 He's not strong enough.

43:58 He doesn't have the frame to be a weak sideline backer in this league,

44:00 especially against the run.

44:02 Ah, this this is this is a wild thought by Dan.

44:05 It's not going to work.

44:07 Five Pro Bowls later, safe to say it works.

44:12 Exactly.

44:13 So, I I don't want to disagree with you that Kelly might have a future here.

44:18 Why Why put a limit or a cap on the kid?

44:19 He just just got here.

44:21 But I I don't want to talk about a position switch that I don't want to do.

44:26 No.

44:25 Let him start contributing on special teams to start,

44:28 which is how a lot of these guys late

44:30 round picks have to first get on the field.

44:33 And then if he excels there,

44:34 which I think there is a chance he can excel in that aspect of

44:38 then maybe he's able to work himself into some

44:40 defensive snaps and then from there figure out,

44:43 you know, exactly where he fits best.

44:45 First thing, make the 53, right?

44:47 That's the first thing.

44:48 Well, yes.

44:48 Michael Finkelstein 3405 says, "Good morning." Uh,

44:51 he says, "Holland for bounce pack player.

44:54 He had too much breakdown on the outside and weak inside linebackers on the run.

44:59 He will look real good this year if he can focus on playing safety.

45:02 Well, he was more of a playmaker in Miami.

45:04 We do know that.

45:05 And and I think I've heard him himself grade himself poorly for last season.

45:12 Yeah.

45:12 And with the players that were brought in this off season,

45:15 he's going to be able to focus on playing safety.

45:17 That's for sure.

45:18 11 Emani says Ricard is coming coming in isn't being talked about enough.

45:24 I think we did talk about him actually.

45:26 We've spoken about it a lot.

45:27 That's for sure.

45:28 Can't wait to see him bust open lanes for scat.

45:31 Maybe not outside media,

45:33 but we've definitely talked about it a good we are so excited.

45:36 And by the way, uh Jordan Schultz,

45:38 formerly of Fox Sports and the Bleacher Report some years ago,

45:41 he now has a a pod on his own called the the Schultz Report.

45:46 He just did, did you see it?

45:47 He just did a a one-on-one with with uh Ricard

45:51 and that that went up I think over sometime over the last week.

45:55 Um it's it's hard not to be impressed with that guy.

46:00 Yeah.

46:00 And what he's done in his career, you know.

46:02 Yeah.

46:02 I mean, look, the you fans, you've only got to hear him speak once really.

46:06 He didn't even Did he even have an intro?

46:08 Oh, he did have an introductory press conference, but it wasn't much.

46:10 It was like 5 minutes, you know.

46:12 It wasn't much.

46:12 You guys haven't really gotten a full opportunity to see him, hear him talk,

46:18 which there will be more to come obviously as players

46:20 start to meet with the media a little bit more.

46:22 You guys are going to love him though.

46:24 Abs.

46:24 I have no doubt about it.

46:25 He's going to be one of the fan favorites on this roster in 2026.

46:29 Well, you know what's interesting?

46:30 There was a lot of speculation in Baltimore when uh the talk was that, you know,

46:34 the Giants were going after Harball, then they finally nailed him.

46:37 There was a lot of talk in Baltimore, okay,

46:39 which guys might leave, which Ravens might follow Harbaugh up the turn pike.

46:46 and Ricard was like on the verge

46:48 of everybody's speech when they talked about which three,

46:51 four, five guys might move up from Baltimore.

46:55 Everybody unanimously was like, "Well,

46:57 Ricard's going to be one of those guys." Cuz

46:58 they knew not only how much Harbaugh loved him.

47:01 And of course, Greg Roman is here, too.

47:03 We remember that.

47:04 Greg Roman from who used to coach for Harbaugh down in Baltimore for a while,

47:08 who was a running game specialist.

47:10 He also joined the Giant staff.

47:12 So, you had Harbaugh and Roman.

47:13 And then on top of that, the people in Baltimore

47:16 would always tell you how Ricard loved playing for Harbaugh.

47:22 So, the odds were probably really really good that he was going to come up here.

47:27 So, yes, I I think the affection that both uh guys have shown

47:32 for each other during their time together

47:33 with the Ravens was not only apparent there,

47:36 but I think it's going to be very apparent here with the Giants,

47:39 and he's going to be a big focal point of what they're trying to do.

47:42 100%.

47:42 I was trying to find it, but I can't at this exact moment, but

47:47 go those at home, look up because I know

47:49 this was a big storyline over the uh during free agency.

47:54 Look at Derrick Henry's splits last year

47:56 with on runs where Ricard was on the field

47:59 blocking for him and on runs that he was not on the field blocking for him.

48:02 They are Wasn't it over two yards a carry?

48:04 Yeah, they are sub it is a substantial difference in the amount

48:08 of success Derrick Henry had with and without Ricard on the field.

48:12 And that is Derrick Henry who right up there with Brandon Jacobs

48:15 is the biggest running backs to ever have success in the NFL.

48:19 And his numbers took a big dip when Ricard was not blocking for him.

48:24 So I think Scott and Tyrone Tracy, Devin Singleary,

48:27 whoever is back there is going to benefit

48:29 greatly when Pat Ricard is leading blocking for him.

48:33 And and for any of you folks who remember the Giants four Super Bowls,

48:36 you'll recall that every one of those Super

48:38 Bowl championship teams had a fullback.

48:41 Yeah.

48:41 Every one of them had a fullback.

48:43 Yep.

48:42 And every one of those halfbacks will

48:44 tell you how much they loved those fullbacks.

48:48 So, in any event, JCNY 718 says, "Harb's about to instill a better work ethic.

48:54 When those wins start coming, it'll click for Banks." Well,

48:59 Banks is not the only guy it's got to click for.

49:01 Okay.

49:02 First of all, there are several players on this team that did

49:05 not perform up to the back of their football cards last year.

49:08 So, he's not the only one.

49:10 And may I also say this phrase here,

49:12 when the wins start coming, it better happen before that.

49:16 Okay,

49:17 the clicking is going to have to come first and then that leads to more wins.

49:21 And that goes for everyone, not just Banks.

49:24 every single player who was here in this offseason program.

49:27 And by the way, you know,

49:29 it we we understand that the attendance has been terrific.

49:32 Okay, the attendance has been terrific.

49:34 We're not naming names or anything, but the attendance has been terrific.

49:37 These guys, from everything that that we can ascertain,

49:42 seem to be very much into the buying phase right now.

49:45 They're all about what Hardware wants to do,

49:48 and they understand that winning is fun.

49:52 And that's the whole point.

49:54 That's what Haw keeps preaching.

49:56 The attention, it's the whole Coughlin thing, the attention to detail.

50:00 Practice as you play.

50:01 Uh good practice habits will lead to good playing habits.

50:05 And after you win, then you enjoy the fun of winning.

50:10 You see, it doesn't go the other way around.

50:12 There's a lot of coaches, and and I'm not trying to put anybody down,

50:16 but there are a lot of coaches who say,

50:18 "Well, you have to have fun to play this game." Well,

50:21 John Hall has had a lot of success going the other way.

50:24 And that is you win to have fun.

50:27 Fun comes as a consequence of winning, not the other way around.

50:33 Yeah.

50:34 Nothing to add 100%.

50:35 I mean, he said it on day one that he wants guys that eat,

50:39 breathe, sleep football.

50:41 The guys that just love football, love the game itself.

50:46 And when you have someone a full a room,

50:49 a locker room full of guys like that that have bought into the culture

50:55 and the identity that the new head coach is trying to instill.

50:59 That's going to lead to success.

51:02 May not be overnight,

51:02 but it's going to lead to success and it's going to lead to, you know,

51:05 the phrase that we've been I feel

51:07 like we've been chasing for years, sustained success.

51:11 Not just a one-year blimp, a one-year outlier successful season,

51:16 year in and year out success.

51:17 That is how you build it.

51:19 Got a few couple of dates here I just want to make sure we share

51:22 with you because I don't think we've actually

51:23 paid enough of attention to the Giants offseason schedule.

51:26 U if you want to get in, we do have open lines.

51:29 2011939-4513# Giants chat.

51:33 again.

51:33 Also on the New York Giants uh YouTube page if

51:37 you have a question or comment to leave for us.

51:39 Coming up here May 8th to the 10th is the rookie mini camp.

51:43 Okay.

51:43 And that's a really good thing because the guys actually get to be not just

51:48 here in the building for a visit which we all know they've had a visit.

51:52 They've gotten a chance to meet the coaches

51:53 and stuff when they get that drafted.

51:56 But now it's a rookie mini camp.

51:57 They actually get to bite into something for a change and that's a big deal.

52:02 So, we're going to get a chance to see

52:03 the rookies coming up here from the 8th to the 10th.

52:06 Uh the offseason uh workout program, oh shoot, I just lost it for a second.

52:10 There we go.

52:11 Uh the OTAAS start on May the 19th and then

52:15 the mandatory mini camp is June 8th through June 10th.

52:18 Now, that mandatory mini camp, as we know,

52:21 it's different than the voluntary mini camp the Giants already had.

52:24 And that's because Harball is a first year head coach with the team.

52:27 You get the bonus mini camp, which is only a voluntary.

52:30 that mandatory mini camp.

52:33 That's the last chance that these coaches have

52:37 before the summer vacation for all these players

52:40 and then they go away for five or six

52:41 weeks and then they come back for training camp.

52:44 So that that mandatory mini camp is a really

52:48 really really big deal because as these coaches

52:50 are going through all these installs and obviously

52:52 with a brand new staff there's a lot to install.

52:55 Uh that's that's the final like, okay fellas,

52:59 let's just get in there as much as we possibly can because

53:01 you're going to go on summer vacation and when you come back,

53:04 you got to be ready to hit the ground running.

53:07 Yeah, there's a couple of things to add on.

53:08 I'll say obviously the offseason workout program has

53:11 been going on for the past about month.

53:14 We're currently in or the the team is currently

53:17 in phase two and that goes I believe through

53:20 the end of next week and when OTAAS begin which

53:24 is two weeks from today or two weeks from yesterday.

53:28 The 19th I think I said.

53:29 So two weeks from today that will be the beginning of phase three.

53:34 19th.

53:34 Okay.

53:34 So, two weeks from today is the start

53:36 of phase three of the offseason workout program

53:38 and that entails the three weeks of OTAAS

53:41 and then the mini camp at the very end.

53:44 Phase three, each phase is different.

53:47 You can there's an article on giants.com if

53:49 you want to get into all the nitty-gritty details,

53:51 but phase three obviously is the closest you are to training camp and it

53:56 the rules allow you to do the most of any of the three phases.

54:01 There's still no contact.

54:02 There's still no pads, but you're allowed to do a little bit more

54:04 in phase three than you are in phase two.

54:07 I think it's the first time you're allowed

54:08 to do actually some offense versus defense drills.

54:14 Yeah.

54:14 So, again, there's no contact,

54:15 so take everything with a little bit of a grain of salt,

54:18 but the first time you really get will really get to see

54:21 some of these guys kind of go up against each other.

54:24 Um, and then for rookie mini camp this week,

54:26 and just because I also see one of the comments asking about UDFAS,

54:31 well, rookie mini camp this weekend, a few things to look forward to.

54:35 First, you'll be getting some rookie numbers.

54:38 Now, these are not set in stone numbers.

54:41 Don't buy any jerseys yet.

54:43 Definitely do not.

54:44 Some of these, these are numbers at the very start

54:47 will just at the very least be for, you know, the next month or so.

54:52 Maybe they'll change from training camp for the season,

54:56 but you will get the initial rookie numbers.

54:59 You'll get the official UDFA announcement as we've

55:03 said since over the last 10 days or so.

55:05 We're not going to talk about any of the reported UDFA

55:08 signings until they are fully announced by the New York Giants,

55:11 which will be, you know,

55:13 sometime in the next couple of days before obviously players take the field.

55:17 Uh, anything else on top of that?

55:19 Oh, there will also obviously be guys here,

55:24 not rookies, not draft class invitees or UDFAS, invitees.

55:29 So, yeah, just a few things to look forward to coming up

55:32 at at the end of the week in just a couple of days.

55:35 Yeah, Friday, by the way, is the first day of the rookie mini camp.

55:38 Yeah, I believe they are in the building

55:40 Thursday and then Friday weigh-ins, I think,

55:42 I think is the Friday is the first day they actually take the field.

55:45 I think Thursdays might be weigh-ins and physicals,

55:47 so then Friday's the Friday's the actual reporting date, so to speak.

55:50 Yeah.

55:51 uh to actually do it to actually have the rookie mini camp.

55:54 And I wanted to say there was a media avail which we will be able to talk about.

56:00 Do we have that?

56:01 Um is that on the n is that on the 9th?

56:03 I believe there will be media I think Saturday.

56:07 In the years past, it's been Friday and Saturday because you

56:10 can't really have all seven draft picks talk the same day.

56:14 Oh, here we go.

56:15 Unless it's changed.

56:16 I don't remember exactly.

56:16 In years past, they've split the draft class up and had half speak on day one,

56:22 half speak on day two.

56:24 I'm looking here.

56:25 I want to say I believe there's a media day.

56:28 And I'm sorry folks for not having this handy.

56:31 I probably should have.

56:32 I just didn't think we'd get into this until I saw that uh until I

56:36 saw we had uh some open phone lines here at the end of the program.

56:39 I want to say that there's a media availability on the 9th on uh Saturday.

56:47 On Saturday, do you have that?

56:49 This is what was sent out at the end of March.

56:51 So, unless it's changed, which I don't think so.

56:54 Okay.

56:53 It says actually just Saturday.

56:56 That's what I thought.

56:57 That's what I thought.

56:58 Changed from years past, but Okay.

57:00 So, we'll get some draft picks probably speaking on Saturday.

57:04 Saturday the 9th.

57:05 Saturday.

57:05 Yes.

57:06 Yes.

57:06 Yes.

57:07 So, so that that's the media avail.

57:09 Now, we will not have a Big Blue Kickoff live show that day,

57:12 but obviously if you uh you know are on Giants.com,

57:15 I'm sure that a lot of the media avails will be posted.

57:18 Yes.

57:19 All the whoever speaks to the media in front

57:21 of you know the cameras will that'll get posted on Giants.com.

57:25 There'll be content, articles, photos, videos,

57:30 basically everything you can hope for without actually

57:33 being at practice itself will be up on Giants.com.

57:36 Ken Peters 8184 wants to know what does Paul do

57:39 during the long break is what I want to know.

57:40 No, you don't want to know.

57:42 It's a dark time for Paul.

57:43 You don't want to know.

57:44 It's very difficult.

57:45 A lot of us are like, you know what, obviously we love football.

57:47 That's why we have these jobs, but we like having a little bit of a break

57:50 because we don't really get an off season in the NFL.

57:53 You know, as soon as the season ended

57:56 that we've had stuff just about every single week.

57:58 There's really been no downtime whatsoever.

58:01 The one time we get a little bit of downtime is that one

58:03 break between the end the last mini camp and the start of training camp.

58:08 And a lot of us look forward to just a little time off.

58:11 But not Paul over here.

58:12 It's his least favorite time of the year.

58:15 It is the black hole on my calendar.

58:17 I do not like it at all.

58:20 But I will get to watch a lot of Yankee baseball during

58:22 watch Yankee baseball and just rest up for what

58:24 should be a a good and encouraging season.

58:28 Well, that that much is true.

58:30 Hey, at least we can ramp up our energies

58:32 because we do believe things are on the upswing here.

58:35 That is true.

58:36 Folks, that will do it for today's edition

58:38 of Big Blue Kickoff Live presented by Cadillac,

58:40 the official luxury vehicle of the New York Football Giants.

58:44 As always, we have come to you

58:45 from the Giants podcast studio presented by Hackinack Meridian Health.

58:49 Keep getting better.

58:50 Our number, as always, 201139-4513.

58:54 From outside, I'm Paul Dino.

58:55 We will see you next time.