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OPPOSITION TERRITORY: Eagles vs. Giants, Week 18 Pregame Preview · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everybody? Hope you are doing well and hope
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: you are having a very happy New Year. It is Friday,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: January third, twenty twenty five. By the time you hear this,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: some things may have changed year there, but we hope
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: you enjoy the show. What's Up everybody? You are listening
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: to Opposition Territory here at the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show in the world,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: that's right over eleven and a half years strong. We've
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: got Week eighteen of this NFL season in the Philadelphia
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Eagles twenty twenty four twenty twenty five season coming up
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: this week as they take on the New York Giants
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: in the final home game at the link of this
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: regular season before we start looking to the playoffs. We
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: got a great guest to talk about this game. Not
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: necessarily going to be the format that we have been
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: doing throughout the course of this Eagles season for our
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Opposition Territory shows here, but we got a great guest,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: so very much appreciate her taking the time to jump
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: on Opposition Territory here. Let's get to the discussion about
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: the Eagles and Giants this coming weekend. Joining us to
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: get into this upcoming matchup and really to talk about
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: where the New York Giants are going to be going,
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: where the Philadelphia Eagles are also potentially going to be
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: going as we know they are heading to the playoffs.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: She is the writer and publisher for the New York
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Giants over at SI. You can also hear her on
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: the Locked On Giants podcast subscribe on YouTube. She is
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: a great, great, a plethora of knowledge when it comes
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: to the New York Giants. We've got Patricia Train and Patricia,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: how are you.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: I'm good, Happy New Year.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Happy New Year to you. Thanks so much as always
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: for being so great taking the time to jump on
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: the PSD podcast show here with us as we are
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: heading into week eighteen, the end of this nflc and
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: for both the teams that we follow and cover. Man,
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: it's been a rough year for the New York Giants,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: hasn't it.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: Man, That's an understatement.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Yes, sure that is well as we look to Week
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: eighteen here, Patricia. Saquon Barkley really was the storyline heading
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: into this week's game, and some within Eagles Nation really
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: wanted him to break the single season rushing record against
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: his old team. The New York Giants this weekend, and
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: we now know that he won't be playing. As the
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Eagles coaching staff, they basically care more about the playoffs
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: than the rushing record, rightfully, so, we've seen a lot
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: of discourse on social media sites about this. But I'm wondering, Patricia,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: as we start off the conversation here, I'm wondering, as
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: we're heading into the final game of this regular season,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: what has been the general reaction from Giants Nation with
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: regard to Saquon Barkley in terms of what he has
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: done with the Eagles this season? Is it? Is it
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: mostly maybe animosity towards the Giants' front office, Josh possibly
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: for not you know, keeping him or building the offense
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: around him when they had a chance to over several years.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: I mean, what's the general feeling there within Giants Nation
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: as it pretends to Saquon Barkley.
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: I think it's split. I think most people will tell
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: you that they agree with the decision not to overpay
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: him given the state of the team. That being said,
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: what Saquon brought in addition to his skill set, which,
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: by the way, had he re signed with the Giants,
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: there is absolutely no way he would have done what
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: he's done with the Philadelphia Eagles. I mean, you're talking
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: night and day as far as offensive lines go. Eagles,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: they have clearly the best offensive line in my opinion
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: in football. The Giants. You know, did they improve a
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: little bit at the start of the season before the
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: injuries happened. Yes, was it a top ten line? I
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: wouldn't go that far.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: That being said, what I think people are missing from Saquon,
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: and you can ask some of the players because they
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: will say the same thing, is the intangibles that he
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: brought to the locker room, the leadership, that voice of reason,
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: that voice of calm. You know, sometimes when you pay players,
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: it's you know, a lot of GMS. They'll pay them
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: based on, you know, their skill set, what they bring
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: to the table, YadA, YadA, YadA. Sometimes you got to
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: look at the intangibles too, And I think that's maybe
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: where the Giants might have underestimated the value of Saquon
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: Barkley when they were you know, figuring out, Okay, what
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: is he worth to us? You know, do we want
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: to go over this amount of money?
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Now?
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: Again, the Giants had a ton of needs. They used
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: the money basically that they would have normally paid to
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: him to upgrade the offensive line. They drafted Tyrone Tracy,
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: who if you look at the numbers, you know, based
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: on what Saquon Barkley did last year for the Giants
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: versus what the Giants did this year in the Russian game,
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: they're about equal in some cases better this year. But
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: you know, again it's a split scenario. Yeah, would like
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: Saquon back, yes, because he was the face of the franchise,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: but the decision was made they didn't go after him,
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: you know, full blast, And I think a lot of
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: that was because the year prior they couldn't get a
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: deal done. And I would not be shocked a Giants
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: she Am Joe Shane was a little jilted that nothing
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: was able to get done there.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, what you're basically talking about, Patricia's is comparing apples oranges.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: When you're talking about Saquon Barkley, what he did with
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: the Eagles this year, what he could have potentially done
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: with the Giants this year, it's an apples to orange
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: is comparison. Totally get that. I think that's very fair
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: here as well. But you know, as we're looking to
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: what this upcoming matchup Giants and Eagles are what it's
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: going to really like look like. I think football players
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: in general, they almost always want to win games. That's
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: why they're out on the field. They want to play,
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: they want to win. But these things can get tricky
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: for teams and organizations that have struggled all season, like
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: the Giants. So when we look at this upcoming game
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: here in Week eighteen, do the Giants really want to
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: win this game as they're looking to likely draft that
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: next quarterback of the future in the twenty twenty five
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: NFL Draft. I mean, they're currently number four in terms
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: of the overall pick. I'd imagine they'd like to maybe
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: have one or two to make things a little more
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: comfortable for them heading into the draft. And what are
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: your thoughts here. I'm not necessarily saying they're gonna tank intentionally,
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: but not the greatest group of talent necessarily. And the
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Eagles are gonna have They're not gonna be playing a
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: lot of their starters. So how are the Giants approaching
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: this as they know it's at stake in the upcoming draft.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: I think you have to separate the players from the
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: front office, all right. I think that's some take a
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: lot of people make. You know, would the front office
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: love to have the number one pick? I you know,
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: find me in front office who would like number one
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: pick right in the draft, you know, regardless of the record. Now,
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: the players, on the other hand, they're not taking I
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: have said this so many times. If the players and
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: the coaches were tanking, their jobs are on the line. Okay,
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Brian Dapele's job is on the line. I assure you
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: he is not tanking. These assistant coaches, they don't want
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: to be associated with a franchise that tank. Their jobs
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: are on the line. These players who maybe are going
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: to be free agents next year, or who aren't guaranteed
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: jobs next year. I don't want to tank, even the stars. Okay,
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Brian Burns, that guy's been playing hurt all year long.
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: He probably should have sat down weeks ago.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Completely understandable, Patricia, it really is because you know, like
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: you said, a lot of these guys, some of these
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: guys are going to be free agents. They want to
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: continue to have a career in football, and every snap
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: means the world to a lot of these players. Makes
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: complete sense. What you're saying. As we're moving along, I
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: have a two part question for you in terms of
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: what really the bright spots have been on this Giants
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: team during the course of this season and what they
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: may be for the team moving forward as well. So
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: we want to talk about the offense and the defense.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: On offense, I would have let's start with the offense first.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: Mylik Neighbors obviously the bright spot in terms of the offense.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Is there anybody else even besides Melik Neighbors that you
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: can say, okay from an offensive perspective, They're going to
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: be a real bright spot for the future for this
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Giants team, and we may may be able to see
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: them being showcased this week.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean Tyrone Tracy. I mentioned him before. They're
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: running back. Yep, there areb one. He's been a bright spot.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: He and Neighbors became the first rookie teammates since I
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: want to say two thousand and six when Reggie Bush
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: and Marcus Colston of the Saints did it. They each
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: recorded one thousand scrimmag yards, but you know, become the
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: first rookie teammates to do that since two thousand and six. Yeah,
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: Theo Johnson, they're young Titan who unfortunately is on ir
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: right now. He's been a bright spot. So if you
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: look in terms of of the skill position players other
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: than the quarterback situation, which you know needs to be
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: resolved one way or another, they have some talent there.
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: The offensive line, they have some building blocks there. Andrew
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: Thomas is gonna, you know, obviously be a stalwart. Jermaine
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: a luminor, should be back next year. He's been solid
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: for them. John Runny and Junior will be back, obviously,
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: John Michael Schmidz, their center is a guy they're still
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: pretty high on. They just got to figure out, you know,
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: what are they going to do with Evan Neil? You know,
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: are they going to move him from tackle to guard,
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: which I think everybody including myself has been screaming for.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: Needs some work apped on that position. And like I said,
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: they need the quarterback. They need to resolve that because
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: without the quarterback, without the offensive line, the two most
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: important spots I think on the offense, it really doesn't matter.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: You can talk about all the bright spots you want,
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: it won't matter if the line can't protect the quarterback
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: or open up the holes for the running back and
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: what not to to do their thing.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: Absolutely well, what about on the flip side of the coin,
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: with the defense, what are some of the bright spots
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: on this defense that you have seen and witnessed this year?
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: Some potential growth and development from certain players, whether it's
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: on the defensive line, linebackers, or secondary. What are your
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: thoughts with bright spots on this defense moving forward? And
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: maybe some guys we should be looking out for a
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: week eighteen year.
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: Well, defensively, a lot of their guys are on IR
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: that are the bright spots. Yeah, you know, New've been
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: their young Uh's safety. He's been a bright spot. Drew Phillips,
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: their slot cornerback, has been a really really pleasant surprise.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Disclaimer, he was a guy when they made that draft pack,
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: I'm like, why are they taking this sky? It didn't
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: make sense to me. Well, I stand correct with folks,
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: Drew Phillips is a study. But I think you know,
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: and then of course you know you've got Dexter Lawrence.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: We can't forget about big decks. Dexy. He's on IR unfortunately.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: But I think something that nobody's really giving enough credits
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: credits to, And I wrote an article about this yesterday
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: on New York Giants on SI is the past rushing
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: duo of Cavon, Thibodeau and Brian Burns. Now, they might
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: not have the sexiest numbers. If you look at the
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: raw numbers, you say, ah, they're you know, middle of
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: the row, lower end. But if you look at their
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: past rush win rate since week twelve when Thibodeau came
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: back from ir with the broken wrists, they're actually I
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: think the fourth best duo since week twelve in terms
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: of past rush win rate, So that has been a positive.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: Brian Burns, like I said, he hasn't missed a snap
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: despite the fact that he probably should have sat down
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: weeks ago with the groin and the knee and the ankle,
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: all the issues he's got going on. So you know,
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: if they can just get you know, Thibodeau back up
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: to you know where he was last year and again
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: he missed five weeks because of the broken wrists. But
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: you know, there's a lot of promise there, I think,
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: and I think, you know, maybe if they add another
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: guide to that pass rushing duo. They have this Easojelary now,
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: but I don't think he comes back because he's a
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: free agent, and I think they'll have something really special there,
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: which is what they wanted to do with Shane Bowen's defense.
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: They wanted to be able to get pressure with the
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: front seven. I think they were able to do that
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: until the injuries started to really, you know, creep up.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: We saw the Giant lee the league in sacks through
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: the first part of the season, and then injuries started happening,
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: everything kind of dropped off.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but I think what's interesting what you said was
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: even though like cave On Thibodeau doesn't have all the
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: sacks in the world, I think he has what like
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: three and a half four sacks at this point in
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: the season. We're seeing with the Philadelphia Eagles in their
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: defense they don't have all the sacks in the world either,
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: but the pressure rate, how much pressure they are getting
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: on opposing quarterbacks, makes all the difference in the world
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: in terms of how the defense actually performed. So again,
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: another great point. And as we're moving along here, I
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: want to talk about some of the Giants players that
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: we're gonna need to watch in this upcoming game here
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: week eighteen, possibly players who may play more of a
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: role in this team even next season, perhaps in the
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: years to come as well. So I mean I think
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: we're going to be seeing Drew Locke at quarterback. Who
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: knows if he is going to be around. You mentioned
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: a lot of other players as well, but for this
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: particular week against the Philadelphia Eagles, who are going to
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: be playing a lot of their second string players, who
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: do you think we should from an offensive perspective keep
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: our eyes on. In terms of the New York Giants this.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: Week offensively, I think Daniel Bellinger the tight end eye on.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: You know, I mentioned Theo Johnson who kind of moved
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: ahead of Daniel Belinger on the depth chart, but he's
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: on IR. Bellinger's always been kind of underrated, and I'm
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: not really sure why he's been so underrated. It's always
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: seems like they've tried to draft over him. Yeah, trade
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: over him, as they did last year with Darren Waller.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: But he's not a bad tight end. He's not the
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: most athletic guy in the world, but you know, you
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: throw him the ball nine times out of ten, he's
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: going to catch it.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: Oh, you know that counts for something. I think In
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: terms of receiver, obviously, Wandale Robinson, who you know, he's
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: a tough little cookie. I like Wandale he's he's sneaky
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: good in certain situations. I think a guy like maybe
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: Jalen Hyatt, who's kind of been a mystery for the Giants.
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: He doesn't get on the field, it doesn't get as
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: much opportunity, and I'm really not sure why that is.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: I have theories, but I haven't been able to get
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: anybody to kind of tell me that, Yeah, you're headed
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: in the right direction with your theories. But he would
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: be a guy I would keep an eye on. I'm
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: just trying to think who else Eric Gray running back,
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: you know, should the Giants. And I don't think they'll
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: move on from Devin Singletary next year because Singletary's got
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: guaranteed money. But obviously, you know, he's a guy who's
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: playing for a job. And then you've got your offensive lineman.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: You know, you might see Joshua a Zudu back in
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: the lineup if Evan Neil can't play right. Oh, you know,
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: those are some of the guys I think that come
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: to mind.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: Okay, well, what about on the defensive side of the ball.
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: As we're looking to this coming game and again, perhaps
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: you know, years in the future, there are guys who
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: are going to want to leave their mark as the
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: end of this regular season is upon us. They want
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: the New York Giants front office to say, Hey, this
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: is what I did in the last season, or this
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: is what I did the last game of this you know,
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: regular season. Here, Who might you be looking at on
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: the defensive side of the ball this week or who
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: should we be looking at?
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: I think I would start up front with the defense line.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: That's been one of the problems, one of the areas
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: of weaknesses for the Giants. They have Dexter, Lawrence and
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: then everybody else. As I say, they have some young
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: guys that have actually been playing pretty well these last
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: few weeks. Elijah Garcia, Elijah Chapman, who was an undrafted
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: free agent I think the only undrafted free agent this
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: year who made the Giants roster Jordan Riley, who was
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: his seventh round pick for them a couple of years ago.
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: So those guys, obviously I would I would keep an
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: eye on, you know, because you know, I don't know
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: if they're going to bring back where Kem Nenez Roches,
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: who's the veteran was lining up alongside of Dexter, armand Watts.
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: They just lost again to iarn poor guy tore up
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: his knee last week, so I would start there, and
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: then in the linebacker group, Darius Moasso is a guy
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: to definitely keep an eye on. Darius Mawasso. I spoke
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: to him yesterday. Really cool guy. He's from Hawaii, so
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: which is one of my favorite spots in the Hawiie world.
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: But Darius Mawasso is actually wearing the green dot for
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: the Giants, which is interesting because you know, Michah McFadden
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: probably will not play for the second week in row.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: He's got that neck injury as a result of a burner.
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: Bobby Okarak is on IR so I don't expect to
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: see him. Obviously, Darius Molasso has done a pretty good
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: job calling, you know, being the quote unquote quarterback of
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: that defense. So he's somebody you definitely want to keep
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: an eye on. Good instincts, you know, takes pretty good angles.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: Still a few technique issues and rough spots in this game.
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: But he's a rookie and a guy who I think
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: a lot of people, including himself, they expected he would
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: just be like a special teams guy the first year
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: and then have that opportunity in his second year. But
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: he's really taken advantage of his snaps, and then in
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: the defensive secondary, which has also been a problem for
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: the Giants. I think the guy you have to take
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: a look at is Dave belt at the safety Now,
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: Dave Belton is starting because Tyler Neuban, whom he lost
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: the starting job to when Xavior McKinney left. Dame Belton
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: is getting that opportunity with Tyler Nuban on IR And
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: you know what, next year, or I should say this
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: off season, Jason Pinnock is going to be an unrestricted
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: free agent. I'm not sure that he returns. I think
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: this is a good opportunity for Dame Belton to say, hey, guys,
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: stop looking past me. I'm here. I could play the position.
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: So those are the guys I would say keep an
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: eye on cornerback. You know, I think that position is
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: going to be kind of redone a little bit because
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: that's been a kind of an underwhelming position, especially on
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: the perimeter. Yeah, but those guys that I just mentioned
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: are the ones i'd watch.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: All Right again, folks, we're talking to Patricia Trainer, the
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: writer and publisher for New York Giants over on SI
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Locked on Giants podcast. You can watch on YouTube and
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: also getting your podcast feed as well. And as we're
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: heading out here, Patricia, you know, I'm wondering what the
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: feeling is in terms of where this Giants team and
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: organization really needs to go from here. As Giants Nation
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: is already looking past this game in a lot of ways,
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: and they're looking towards this offseason. Obviously, like we talked
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: about earlier, you know, the quarterback position and what the
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: future is going to be for the quarterback position has
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: to be the top priority for the front office. But
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: as you see things that you've talked to players, as
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: you've talked to folks perhaps in the front office, you know,
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: what is that feeling of where this organization really needs
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: to go from here.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: Well, the first thing they've got to decide is whether
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: they're going to keep the current head coach in GM.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: There you go, yeah, I think I.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: Think the GM Joe Shane will be back. I think
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: Brian Dabele will be back the head coach. But I'm
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: going to put an asterisk there. There's going to have
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: to be some changes with how he does things because
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: some of what he's been doing the last couple of
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: years has not worked and I don't know how many
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: more years you're going to need to be hit over
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: the head, but the fact that it's not working before
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: you open your eyes and say, oh gosh, I better
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: change it. Right, it's exactly so, you know, I think
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: Dabel will be back. But you know, to your point
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: about the quarterback, yes, that is a big, big thing
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: that the organization needs to resolve. But before they can
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: resolve that, they've got to figure out, Okay, are we
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: going to stay with Dabel and his philosophy? Are we
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: going to change it up, going a totally different direction,
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: bring in a new head coach. That's going to be
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: answered first, and I suspect that will be answered probably,
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: I would say within forty eight hours after the season ends,
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: if not sooner. I can't imagine them dragging it out
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: because as we you know, as we are seeing, the
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: Jets are already you know, interviewing candidate. It's right coaches,
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: they have Mike Vrabel coming in. I think they've spoken
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: to Ron Rivera already.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: Lewis Fredick for the possible GM spot.
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, right, exactly. So I don't think if you're the Giants,
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: if you are going to make a change, you want
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: to drag this out until say Thursday or Friday next week.
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: You want to make a decision, you know, give Gable
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: and Shane their opportunity to say, look, this is how
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: we planned to fix this problem that we've created. Right,
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: and then if your ownership you sit down and you say, okay,
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: can we live with this? Can we be patient or
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: do we need to tear the soul down and start
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: from scratch. I think they will be patient, But I'm
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: I think Dabel, and I've said this for weeks now,
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: I think he's on less solid ground than Shane is
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: at this point.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: Again, folks, Patricia Trana follow her on the Twitter slash
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: x at Patricia Underscore traina a great, great follow She
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: certainly knows her football, certainly has a great pulse on
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: the New York Giants also the Locked On Giants podcast
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: you can subscribe on YouTube and within your podcast feed
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: wherever you're listening to us. And also she's writer over
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: at New York Giants over on SI Patricia, it was
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: great talking to you, my friend. You are always so
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: very kind to jump on the podcast here and talk
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: New York Giants. I'd love to have you on at
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: some other point down the road my friend.
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: Of course, you know how to get me.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for us here on Opposition Territory
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: this week. Please share our podcast with your friends and
• 21:26
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• 21:29
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• 21:32
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• 21:36
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• 21:39
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• 21:42
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• 21:45
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• 21:49
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• 21:54
  Speaker 1: we will catch you next time.