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00:00It's Jackson Dart's first time playing in the city of brotherly love.
00:03Will he get the double bird like Eli did?
00:06Saquon's numbers are down this season, but will the Eagles try and run the Giants defense
00:10out of Philly?
00:12And former Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara joins the show to talk about what he's seen
00:17from the Giants secondary.
00:19It's all here in this week's episode of Blue Rush.
00:26What's up, Big Blue?
00:27Brandon London here alongside our Giants beat writer for the post, Paul Schwartz.
00:31Big show for you guys going into week eight.
00:34We got Giants Eagles down at the link.
00:37Later in the show, I'm going to go into the locker room.
00:38We're going to talk to tight end Daniel Bellinger.
00:41Belly still thinks that this team can make the playoffs, so make sure you guys stay with
00:46us.
00:46Stay locked in for that interview.
00:48But we got a guest on today's show, former Giants first round pick, the 19th pick of that
00:54draft, cornerback Prince Amukamara.
00:57Prince, what's going on, my man?
00:59What up?
01:00What up?
01:00What up, man?
01:01Thank you for that intro.
01:02Dang, I was going to throw in that.
01:04Just fresh off the pickleball court, Prince Amukamara.
01:08How's that pickleball game, though?
01:11It's good, man.
01:12It's good.
01:12The person I need to play against is License Plate Joe, LPG.
01:17He's one of the best.
01:19He's good at ping pong also.
01:20But I'm not going to be pro anytime soon, but I'm ascending.
01:25All right.
01:26Paul, Prince.
01:27Paul, you wrote some cool articles about Prince during his heyday here in New York.
01:34I guess, Paul, get us started, man.
01:36Get us started with this.
01:37Well, I'm not sure what your definition of cool articles is, and I'm sure Prince would
01:43would, you know, may differ with what cool means, but yes, so it's nice to see Prince.
01:49Prince, be careful with pickleball, okay?
01:51You know, I know someone who tours Achilles playing pickleball, and you know what he said
01:59his surgeon said to him, he said, I got a boat, and I'm going to, the next boat I name
02:05is going to be named pickleball, because of how much money he's made from guys who tore
02:12there who got hurt playing pickleball.
02:15So just, you know what?
02:17I mean, error on the side of not diving for that ball, okay?
02:20A lot of speed up and going, yes.
02:24So are you saying I need to stay healthy because the Giants are going to be signing me soon?
02:29Is that what you're saying, or what are we saying here?
02:30Are you breaking news?
02:32Well, I'm not sure what, I'm sure they could sign you for something, Prince, but look, this
02:41is a good week to have you on because there's going to be a lot of defensive backtalk in
02:45this podcast, and who better than you then to, you know, break it down for us?
02:51Before we get into the DBs, obviously, we got to talk about Jackson Dart.
02:54His first game down at the link, Prince.
02:57You got any stories for us, your first game down at Lincoln Financial Field, and what
03:03advice would you give to Jackson Dart going into this game, second time playing against
03:09the Eagles in, what, less than 14 days?
03:11So what advice would you give him in his first start down at the link?
03:15I mean, to stay cool, calm, and collective.
03:18I mean, he's so poised, nothing shakes him.
03:21He's made for the moment, and yeah, just to continue to do what he's doing.
03:26I remember playing against, I think the quarterback at the time was Matt Barkley at the time, and
03:32we won there.
03:33But that environment is so hostile.
03:36You drive in there, the kids are flipping you off.
03:40They're, it's just, it's just nasty, even just going through the tunnels.
03:44You're hearing any curse word imaginable, and that's how it's supposed to be.
03:50They don't want you to feel comfortable in their home stadium, and it's, games like that
03:56is always going to be a dogfight.
03:57Yeah, it's, you know, Jackson, you know, we asked Jackson, you know, look, the guy played
04:07in the SEC, right?
04:07So we know he's played in tough road environments, and I asked him, you know, what are some of
04:11the most, what's the most hostile place you've played in?
04:13And he went, well, yeah, LSU's really tough.
04:16Then he goes, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, and he looks up and he says, you want me to go on?
04:23So it's like, that was his way of saying, look, I've been in these situations, but Philly's
04:29different.
04:29As Prince said, Philly is different.
04:31I think it's different than Dallas.
04:32I think it's different than Washington.
04:34So, but, but I think Jackson Dart loves it.
04:38You know, he said, I love that intensity.
04:39He said, it's better than playing in front of no one, you know?
04:42So he remembers in college, he said they would warm up right in front of the visiting team
04:47student section.
04:48And he, he, he, hear all kinds of stuff there.
04:50So, um, um, I think more than the fact that he's playing in Dallas is the fact that he
04:55played this team, you know, I think it'll be 17 days in between.
04:59So this is in, in a season of first for a rookie, this is his first rematch.
05:04So he knows them a little bit.
05:06They know him a little bit.
05:08And so, you know, I think that will be interesting to see, um, unfortunately for Jackson Dart,
05:13Jalen Carter will be playing in this game.
05:15He didn't play in the first one.
05:16It meant life stadium and Quinian Mitchell got hurt in that game.
05:19Uh, he is healthy and playing in this game.
05:22So, um, Jackson Dart was, you know, see the full array of the Eagles defense in this one,
05:27which he did not face the first time.
05:29And Prince as a DB, when you've played a rookie quarterback or just a quarterback offense in
05:35general, you're playing them again for the second time in 17 days.
05:41When you guys go into the game plan and you're putting the game plan together on how to attack
05:46this offense, what changes do you guys make on the defensive side?
05:52Yeah.
05:52And I mean, that's a great question.
05:54And especially knowing coach Vic Fangio spent some time with them, uh, at the Chicago bears.
05:59And one thing coach Fangio does is he pride himself.
06:03He pride himself on just pressuring quarterbacks, especially rookie quarterback.
06:08So, um, I think the first game, I probably didn't have enough film on him, but now having
06:14some, some games under the belt, he's able to evaluate him and just see the best way
06:18to attack him.
06:19And I'm sure it's going to be pressure.
06:23Paul.
06:25Yeah.
06:26Um, um, you know, you know, the, the, um, Eagles have had issues pressuring quarterback,
06:31you know, I mean, it's amazing last year they won the Superbowl and they put tremendous
06:34pressure, but they just don't have it.
06:35Uh, they lost some guys, uh, look, they just picked up Brandon Graham, who was in retirement.
06:40Um, will he be a big factor in this game?
06:42I don't think so.
06:44You know, I mean, you know, I mean, I know Justin Pugh went straight off the couch and
06:47played, uh, played offensive tackle.
06:49Right.
06:50But, um, I, you know, Brandon Graham hasn't played a game since February, you know, so
06:54he'll have a few practices.
06:55Will he get a few snaps?
06:57I don't know, but I don't think he'll be a big factor, but I just think that, um, you
07:03know, the Eagles were hurting from that game.
07:04You know, the, the Giants kind of got the Eagles.
07:06They were kind of in a state of disarray.
07:08They had not been playing well.
07:10Their offense, you know, we'll talk about, you know, Jalen Hurts, their passing game was
07:13all over the place.
07:14It got much better last week in Minnesota.
07:17So I, I think this is, you're going to get the best of the Eagles in this game.
07:21You know, I really think so.
07:22And, and, and the Giants pushed them around.
07:24I mean, the Giants pushed them around on both sides of the ball.
07:27The Giants defensive line and the Giants offensive line played much better than the Eagles offensive
07:34and defensive lines in that game at MetLife Stadium.
07:37And when is the last time we've said that about this?
07:41I mean, the Giants have lost 12 straight games at the link.
07:43Um, so that was really unexpected at MetLife Stadium.
07:48And, um, the Eagles will do everything they can to make sure that does not happen this
07:51time.
07:52So with that said, Prince, and then you add on Kayvon after the win with the whole bleep
07:57the Eagles comment, can you, you prepare, would you be preparing yourself for a dog fight
08:04going into Sunday if you're on the Giants still?
08:08100%.
08:09Yeah.
08:09I mean, I mean, I even made a video, uh, at, at Gil, everyone, everyone had some, had
08:15some fun with it, but 100%, especially.
08:17I know it's October and I know more meaningful games are played in November and December,
08:22but I think because the NFC is so competitive, I think the, the Eagles are aware of how important
08:28is, uh, this game is.
08:30I think, uh, they need to start getting on a win streak to kind of separate themselves
08:34and to kind of, um, insert themselves and try to fight for that number one seed.
08:39And so I think they know the meaning of, uh, of this game and the Giants, no matter what
08:45their record is, they're, they're going to play you tough and I'm sure they want to
08:49get, uh, the taste out of their mouth from what happened, uh, last week in, in Denver.
08:55Yeah.
08:56And it's, uh, it's, uh, trying to get that taste out of your mouth.
09:00They came out of that game, obviously the historic collapse, but the secondary in terms
09:05of the Giants is really banged up right now.
09:08We don't know what the status is going to be on Paulson Adebo, Javon Holland.
09:12You got some guys getting bumped up from the practice squad being signed from other guys,
09:17practice squads.
09:18So ask you like, what's what, what now, how does that change you as a corner to where a
09:24safety over the top could be a guy that you haven't practiced with that much, or you haven't
09:30been around that much.
09:31So how does Shane Bowen protect these guys on the back end?
09:35Because last week against the Vikings, I mean, uh, Devontae Smith and AJ Brown, both those
09:41guys combined for a little over 300 yards, uh, receiving in that game.
09:48So if, if this was like four weeks ago, I would have said I wouldn't be worried because
09:53Jalen wasn't, Jalen Hurts wasn't throwing the ball like that, but you know, there's been
09:59a lot of chatter and now he's been airing that thing out and he's been doing a great
10:02job of, he's been doing a great job at it.
10:05And so, um, one way to obviously protect the corners is you've got to play shell covers,
10:09meaning you've got to play, you've got to play cover T and so cover T protects the
10:14covers, but then that opens up for our fellow buddy, Saquon, by having only seven, seven in
10:21a box.
10:21So, um, it's, it's going to be tough or a great way you can do is you can show, you can
10:26show two and then have a safety come down, kind of disguise it.
10:30But, um, one thing I do know is that you're not going to be able to protect the corners
10:34for long in the game.
10:36There's going to be time where you have to play man, you have to play single high and
10:40you have to keep, um, you have to keep the quarterback honest.
10:44You have to, the quarterback has to know, okay, they're going to play man coverage at
10:48least a couple of times.
10:49They're not going to play two because then you become predictable.
10:51And then when you become predictable, it's not really chess anymore.
10:54So you kind of know what the other, uh, guy's thinking.
10:58Paul.
10:59Yeah.
10:59I, um, Prince, what I want to hear from you is, um, I want to go back to the game in
11:04Denver for a minute.
11:05Okay.
11:06I'm going to go back to that because, um, I, I need to hear a defensive backs point
11:09of view.
11:10Um, we all know what happened in, in, in Dallas, right.
11:14Where they just were in a bad coverage and, and, you know, the tight end just really ran
11:1818 yards turned.
11:19He was wide open, caught the ball.
11:20They kick a game winning, they kick a field goal to go in overtime and Dallas wins in
11:25overtime.
11:26Um, in this situation, first of all, let me ask you this more of a broad question.
11:30I'm sure there were plenty of times that you'll line up at cornerback, right?
11:33Where you get the call on defense and you think to yourself, okay, this call puts a lot
11:38of pressure on me.
11:39This is not an ideal call for me.
11:41Right.
11:42What do you do in that situation?
11:43I mean, I mean, it's, and I, I, that, that thought process has come into my mind.
11:53I mean, I'm more than once, but it's, it's quick.
11:56It's like, especially when you feel like, do you have a relationship with the DC and you
12:00know what should be called?
12:02And, and then they call the, it's like, Oh shoot.
12:05Like third and three and we're playing zero coverage and I can't give up a slam, but I
12:10also can't get beat deep.
12:11It's like, Oh, okay.
12:13Like you have, you have to kind of get inside the, the defensive coordinator's body and like,
12:18okay, what is he thinking right now?
12:19What is he expecting?
12:20And then next thing you know, it's a run.
12:22It's like, Oh, so he, that's why he called zero bliss is because he know, he know, he
12:26knows what's coming.
12:26But all in all, you, you just have to buckle down and, and, and play the call and play
12:31to play to the best of your ability.
12:33I think that's when all your preparation comes in and you just have to feel, um, confident
12:39in that way.
12:41Now, you know, you know, in, in, in, um, in that, that key sequence, right?
12:46Um, the giants are still, um, holding onto the lead and, and, um, they just, you know,
12:52with 37 seconds to go, they take the lead, uh, the kickoff, the, um, Broncos get the ball
12:57with 33 seconds to go on their own 23 yard line.
13:00Okay.
13:00The giants are in, they have two robbers on the field.
13:03All right.
13:03Now I'm going to say it and please, you explain it.
13:06It's, it's, it's rushing three and dropping eight.
13:10Okay.
13:11So, you know, okay.
13:13And, and, you know, as a defensive back, they're not going to get a lot of heat right away.
13:17Right.
13:17You know, you're going to have to cover.
13:18I mean, let's face it, dropping three, rushing three, maybe someone breaks three, probably
13:23not.
13:23So tell me what that defense is in your mind.
13:26There's two robbers out there.
13:28So you're protecting, right.
13:30You're protecting, you have guys in situations and is a 29 yard pass completed.
13:36Okay.
13:37What should be done differently?
13:40And what is that defense set up to stop?
13:46When you say, uh, that 20 yard yard pass that was completed, what, you remember what
13:52route it was?
13:52It was a seam dig, a seam dig concept.
13:56So two, number two ran the seam to run everybody.
13:59Number one, one, one, one ran the dig.
14:01Yep.
14:01Yeah.
14:02So, but then if there's a robber, that robber should have made the, the play then is what
14:06I'm, is what I'm assuming.
14:07But so I think it depends on timeouts.
14:10So usually, usually 33 seconds to drive it down.
14:14Um, I mean, they got to get a field goal, right?
14:17So, I mean, 33 seconds on their own 25, they probably need about 40, 40 to 40 yards or
14:24so.
14:24So I think, um, yeah, obviously you clock is the clock is your friend.
14:29You're trying to, you're trying to run the clock.
14:31But like you said, that robber coverage, I mean, that's a great call for that.
14:34Like if it, cause robbers corners are outside leverage.
14:38Usually everyone is outside leverage and you have help inside.
14:41You want to funnel inside and obviously you want to funnel inside because you want, you
14:45want to tackle them and keep the clock running.
14:47And if they have a timeout, um, you want them to use, to use the timeout.
14:51So I would say, um, that was probably a busted coverage and that's not a bad call because
14:56with robber, you're not playing loose coverage, robber, you have man on a man and you, so guys
15:02are in tight coverage.
15:04So that, that was, that was a great coverage.
15:05But however, and I don't want to play, um, Monday quarterback or whatever, but, um, um,
15:12in any situation like that, I'm, I'm erring on the side of pressure.
15:15I'm not making it easy for any quarterback to halftime, um, or whatever.
15:20I have to throw some type of pressure and then put, and then play zone in the back and
15:25make the quarterback throw, throw me the ball.
15:27Prince, you're going to be a politician one day.
15:30Cause on one side, you were like, I like the cost, the great coach.
15:34And then on the other side, however, and you're, you're playing both sides of the fence
15:40right there, but, uh, it is, it is, it is a great call because you said it was a robber
15:44and it's a dig.
15:45Whoever, whoever was playing robbers should have made, um, should have made the play.
15:49And so, um, but like you never, like, I remember, I remember, um, with Vic Fangio, even like
15:57our Hail Mary play, we're not dropping eight back.
16:00He's sending like five.
16:02He's sending, he's, he's, he's sending, he's still sending a lot of guys because he doesn't
16:06want the quarterback to feel comfortable.
16:08He wants the ball to come out now.
16:10And then our players in the back end will make the play.
16:13Paul, me and you are going to be able to talk a little bit more of that on the back end
16:17later in the show.
16:18But Prince, uh, I got to thank you for your time.
16:20I know you're a busy man.
16:21Thank you for coming on, talking some ball, uh, with us.
16:25See you in a couple of weeks when you come out, um, uh, for I believe the 49ers game.
16:30Absolutely, man.
16:31Looking forward to see you.
16:32Uh, let's hang out a little bit there, but real quick, I'm going to throw to London in
16:37the locker room.
16:37Cause I had a chance to hang out and talk with Daniel Bellinger about, I mean, just touchdowns,
16:43the, the, the, the opportunities and the targets and him stepping up and answering the call.
16:48And this week's London in the locker room.
16:52All right.
16:52Week eight giants Eagles.
16:54It's time for London in the locker room.
16:56You see this big stud right here.
16:58Daniel Bellinger.
16:59Had I known we were going to get you, man, I would have done some curls too, man.
17:03You ain't the only one out here flexing.
17:05So since we're here, man, I love to start these, uh, these interviews off asking guys
17:09to show us something in the locker that that's a must have.
17:13What's yours?
17:14Yeah, this right here.
17:16I want this in the off season.
17:17Uh, it really just shows all the off season hall work that we did, uh, but really kind
17:21of exemplifies who we are as a team, you know, where you put the work in, in an off season.
17:25Uh, so I would use this as a reminder every day to, you know, keep working and, uh, use
17:29what we did in the off season and keep grinding.
17:31Kind of looks like you too with the, with the muscles, with the biceps, you know, we
17:35getting there right now.
17:35We still got a little work to do, but we getting there.
17:37I thought you would have had like some 50 pound dumbbells in there that you had just
17:41to do curls before interviews, maybe buys and tries like this, man.
17:44All right.
17:45Um, Denver, obviously let's revisit that.
17:47I know you guys have already flushed it, had yourself a heck of a game, best game of the
17:52season so far.
17:53Uh, I mean, what's that been like, man?
17:55Like, you know, ever since, um, Slayton goes down, neighbors goes down, the tight ends have
17:59been more, uh, involved within this offense.
18:02First, what was that, that first conversation like that you guys were going to be used more
18:07on the offense?
18:07And two, just talk to us about the touchdown and just your game as a whole, man, you bought
18:12out.
18:12Yeah.
18:13I appreciate that.
18:13Uh, well, you know, when guys go down, the guys got to step up.
18:16Um, and so me and Theo and other guys in the tight end room, we knew we got to step up and
18:19make some plays.
18:20Um, you know, last few weeks, I feel like we did that.
18:23Um, you know, it was, it was a, it was a fun game for the tight ends.
18:25Then we didn't get the result we wanted, but you know, we had a good game plan going in,
18:29uh, mix it up, running pass.
18:30And, you know, for my touchdown, they just, they dropped me.
18:33They, they, they dropped the white tight end in the, in the flat and, uh, it worked out.
18:36So, you know, it was a fun game and, uh, we'll keep going on it.
18:39You are a guy that's considered a fan favorite within the fan base.
18:44Like I'm, I'm, you know, I'm, you know what I do with the fans and stuff.
18:47Talk to them all the time.
18:47Um, they're always saying, why do they use belly, belly more?
18:50They, why do they need to use belly more?
18:52How did you kind of keep yourself ready mentally, physically for your opportunity?
18:58Yeah.
18:58I mean, like you said it perfectly, you just got to stay locked into the key details and
19:02you never know when that opportunity is going to come, whether it's week seven, whether
19:05it's week five or whether it's, you know, week 12, you never know when it's going to
19:08come.
19:09Um, so just staying ready, staying focused, staying locked in and the guys in the locker room
19:13do a good job of keeping everybody accountable and holding money together.
19:16So when moments like that happen, everybody's ready to go.
19:18You've been here for a couple of years and you've been a part of Giants offenses that
19:23have struggled to put up points.
19:24You guys are putting up points.
19:25Like it's nothing now.
19:27Um, that's like the new norm around here.
19:29One, what would you say is kind of the difference?
19:32And two, I guess, what does that feel like to be like a strength unit on the team now?
19:39Yeah.
19:40I mean, like you said, we, we've struggled in the past and I think this team specifically,
19:43we've done a really good job of staying together, um, and playing complimentary football.
19:47You know, when the defense isn't doing so well, it's okay guys, let's go.
19:51Let's get some things going.
19:52Let's figure it out.
19:52Um, and vice versa.
19:53When we're not doing so well, the defense has our back.
19:55And when you know the other side of the ball has your back, you can play more free, you
19:59can play more fun.
20:00Um, and really we've been playing with a lot more energy, which is, you know, credit to
20:03Jackson and Scott and these guys that have come in and, you know, kind of re-energized
20:07our offense.
20:08After a loss like that to, to Denver, are you worried about any sort of first half hangover
20:13going down to Philly?
20:15No, no.
20:16You know, I think we do a good job of kind of flushing the last week.
20:18Um, obviously this one's going to sting, um, but we're doing a great job of kind of just
20:22flushing it, moving on to the next game and making sure we're ready to go for a Philly.
20:26Lastly, I asked Slayton this just now, you still feel like this is a playoff team.
20:30Oh yeah.
20:31Yeah.
20:31Yeah.
20:31I mean, we, we got a lot of work to do and we got a long way to go, but we still, we still
20:35feel confident in ourselves.
20:35My guy, we're going to go to a couple more sets on the bicep curl, but, uh, appreciate
20:40you, uh, hopping on with this, man.
20:42Sure, sure.
20:44Paul, I know the Giants just signed Ray Ray McLeod to the practice squad, but with the
20:50way that Belly and Theo Johnson's been playing these dudes, they taking over all the, all
20:55the, all the, all the catches, they taking all the catches from the wild receivers.
21:00You know, I was going to come on and talk about how, look, Wandale had six catches in
21:04Denver, right?
21:05And none of the other receivers had any catches.
21:07None.
21:08Hyatt, zero.
21:09Um, little Jordan Humphrey, zero.
21:11Um, Bo Collins, zero.
21:13Not a lot of attempts, not a lot of targets and not a lot of catches.
21:16And they scored 32 points.
21:18You know what I mean?
21:19And it was a legitimate 32 points.
21:20So I, I had one hand, I'm going to say this cannot continue and it can't continue.
21:24And I think Darius Slayton will be back for this game against the Eagles and that's a
21:28good thing.
21:29But, um, you know, you have to give, you know, Mike Kafka and Brian Dable credit because they
21:34are scoring points after neighbors went down, after Darius Slayton didn't play for two games.
21:41Yes.
21:41And kind of shifting the offense.
21:43They always want to get Theo Johnson involved.
21:45Certainly.
21:46Uh, Daniel Bellinger is just, you know, is, is playing some of the best ball of his career.
21:51You know, I talked to him, I know you talked to him in the locker room.
21:54I talked to him in the locker room and I said, you know, it's pretty, it's pretty good that
21:57you're doing this in your contract year.
21:59He laughed.
21:59He said, look, I'm not thinking of, look, personally for me.
22:02Yes, you're right.
22:03But that's not my focus right now.
22:05You don't worry about that after the season, but, um, he's catching passes down the field.
22:10You know, he was nine for nine on targets, not a lot of targets, but every time they threw
22:16the ball to Daniel Bellinger nine times, he made the catch.
22:19And then I think he had one.
22:20He didn't catch.
22:20I think he's nine for 10 this season in targets.
22:23That's pretty good.
22:24Maybe you need to target him a little more, but look, they need more from their wide receivers.
22:29They do.
22:30And, um, I don't expect, you know, a cavalry charge here.
22:32I don't expect a lot of big things at the trade deadline.
22:36You know, I just don't think there's a lot out there right now.
22:39Maybe Joe Shane surprises me.
22:40You know, if they won that game in Denver, which they should have, and they win this game
22:45in Philly, which is going to be a tall order, then maybe we think about, um, you know, the
22:50Giants fortifying their, their, their receiver stable because they're right in the thick of
22:55the division race right now.
22:57They're really not.
22:58Yeah.
22:58And when you gave props to Kafka and Dable, um, the Giants have averaged 25.3 points per
23:04game and Jackson darts four starts and the other 54 regular season games since the start
23:10of 2022, they averaged 17.7 points.
23:14That's a difference in 7.6 points.
23:17And again, I'm no mathematician.
23:19All I know is that is a touchdown, a game, and that can go a long way when it comes to
23:25applying pressure on a, on a different team.
23:28Now, if only when we talk complimentary football, the defense can close out some games.
23:34You're looking at a completely different football team record wise.
23:39And just in terms of narrative, but they do get Darius slate in back.
23:44This week, saints game didn't have his best performance.
23:49And since then, again, the tight ends have taken over since he's been out.
23:55How do you use them, Paul?
23:56Like, what is the return of Darius Slayton mean to you?
24:01Yeah.
24:01Use them as a, as a, as a perimeter wide receiver.
24:04You know, he's got good speed.
24:06Um, you know, it was not a good start to the season.
24:09As you mentioned that the saints game was a bad game.
24:11It was not a good start to the season for Darius Slayton.
24:13He kind of was, you know, we kind of thought maybe with, with, with Russell Wilson throwing
24:17the moon ball, that it would be a, you know, a good thing for Darius Slayton and really
24:21didn't develop into that.
24:22I think he caught one 55 yard pass or something, but not much, no touchdowns.
24:27So, um, you know, Darius Slayton's got to pick it up.
24:29Like, like a lot of people have to pick it up.
24:31He's got to pick it up.
24:32Wondale Robinson played terrifically in Denver.
24:35I mean, he was terrific.
24:35Um, he, he jumped higher than I thought he could on one catch, right?
24:39He's not a big guy.
24:40And that fourth and 19 was just outrageous.
24:43Um, I talked to him about it and it was a little bit like street ball, you know, a little
24:46bit like back in the playground, you know, the, the, the play broke down.
24:50Um, uh, Jackson is, is, is scrambling to his right.
24:53Wondale realized it.
24:54And he said, I was aware of where the sticks were and the defensive back was literally
24:59waiting there for me because the defensive backs, not an idiot.
25:02And he knows where the sticks are too.
25:04And it's fourth down.
25:05He'll let him catch it.
25:0616, 17, 18 yards, fine, but not 19.
25:09So Wondale caught it at like 18 and a half and knew he had to just get his shoulder in
25:16the ball over there to get, to get over that 19 yard to, to get the first down.
25:21You know, there was no, there was no next chance there.
25:23So that was a terrific play by Dart and a really terrific play by Wondale, but, uh, they
25:29need more.
25:29Look, they need everything.
25:30I think they're going to have to score a bunch of points in this game.
25:33They scored 34 in the first game.
25:35Right.
25:36Um, you know, uh, with some help from a Cordell Flott at the end.
25:40Right.
25:40But, uh, they scored 34.
25:42Um, I think they may need that much to beat the Eagles this time around.
25:45I really do.
25:46And, um, you know, Slayton's one of their top players.
25:49He's got to play like that.
25:50He has not played like that yet.
25:53Prince mentioned, because I I'm with you.
25:56I think this has to, this is going to be a shootout.
25:58I think this is going to be a game where Philly is going to attack the, the perimeter attack,
26:03the secondary that's weak.
26:05But Prince mentioned to, to, to kind of protect the secondary, you may have to go on that too
26:10high shell, which means that that can open things up for Saquon.
26:14Saquon struggled throughout the course of this season.
26:17So far after that 2000 plus, uh, a yard, a season that he had a year ago.
26:25What do you, what, uh, I guess like, what would you do if you're Shane Bowen?
26:30What would you try and take away?
26:32Uh, the, the receivers or Saquon?
26:36Well, you cannot sleep on Saquon.
26:38You just can't.
26:38You know what I mean?
26:39I mean, you, you can't do it.
26:40I mean, they, they want to run the ball.
26:42You know what I mean?
26:42I think if you get the Eagles to throw it 40 times, that's usually not what they want
26:47to do.
26:47So you have to almost like, you know, pick your poison and, and deal with that.
26:52Um, you know, Saquon last week, okay.
26:55In, in Minnesota, they won the game.
26:58He was 18 for 44, 2.9 yards a carry.
27:02His long was nine yards.
27:04Hey, that's incredible.
27:05Um, you know, we saw what he did against the Giants, right?
27:0731 yards on his first two carries and 29 on his next nine carries.
27:12He is averaging 3.3 yards per carry this year.
27:17That is the lowest of his career.
27:19Other than that first, you know, that second year, remember when he got hurt, um, after
27:24like two games, he was averaging like 1.8 yards.
27:26It was a couple of games.
27:27He got hurt.
27:28I believe in Chicago towards ACL.
27:30So that was, that wasn't a real season.
27:32So this is the, really the, in an extended period of time, this is the, the, the least
27:36productive Saquon has been.
27:38He's on pace for less than 900 yards total this season.
27:42Um, you know what this tells me, Brandon?
27:45What's that?
27:45It tells me the offensive line matters, right?
27:49I mean, this looks like Saquon circa 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.
27:55I mean, 18, he had his best year for the Giants and his last year with the Giants 2022, you
28:00know, and, and, and, and he, well, 2023 was his last year.
28:04He had a good year in 2022, but when the Giants offensive line was not good, Saquon was not
28:10a great looking player, even though we knew he could be great last year behind the best
28:14offensive line he's ever played with in the NFL.
28:17The Eagles were monsters offensive line wise.
28:20He had 2,005 yards and carry that over right into the playoffs.
28:24This year, the offensive line is not as good.
28:27Um, they just, they did tackles, uh, you know, my lot of, and, and, and Lane Johnson, Blaine
28:32Johnson is going to be in the hall of fame, have not played as well.
28:35They've had issues at center.
28:36Um, the first time they played, um, Landon Dickerson did not play, right?
28:41He's going to play this week.
28:43Cam Juergens might not play.
28:44Uh, he's injured, you know, so they might have to move Dickerson over to, um, to a center.
28:49You know, I don't know what they're going to do there, but the Eagles offensive line has
28:52not been great.
28:53And as a result, a great running back, which Saquon Barkley is, has not looked great.
28:58So that is the crux of it.
29:00You know, you, you can, you can, um, Saquon, maybe nobody in the league other than Jonathan
29:05Taylor would have had 2000 yards last year, but a lot of running backs would have had 13,
29:1114 and 15, or maybe even 1600 yards with that offensive line.
29:15This year, offensive line is not as good.
29:17And you can see what's happening with Saquon Barkley.
29:20And because of that, I believe that the, they are either going to one, try and force feed
29:25it as a get right game or two, throw the giant, like throw the giant, try and throw the giants
29:32out of Philly, run the score up, get a comfortable lead, and then get a heavy dose of Saquon so
29:38he can get his stats.
29:40That's the thing about playing in the offense like that, Paul, there's so many stars and
29:44weapons.
29:45You got to feed this guy.
29:46You got to feed this guy, that game.
29:48You got to keep a lot of Eagles happy.
29:50But at the end of the day, if you think about Devonta Smith, AJ Brown, Dallas Goddard, the
29:56weapons, who would I, who would I keep or who would I try and keep happy for longevity?
30:01I'm going to try and keep Saquon happy because he's going to be there longer than those other
30:05guys.
30:06So it's going to be one of those games, it's going, I would love to think of it as a defensive
30:11game, but I think it's going to be a high scoring type football game for the Giants to
30:15be able to kind of come out of there with their first sweep of the Eagles since back
30:20in 2007.
30:21Time to pass it to Paul.
30:23Final thought, Paul, two and five Giants, five and two Eagles, a lot riding on this game
30:29for both teams.
30:30A lot riding on this game for both teams and certainly the Giants coaching staff.
30:35Shane Bowen was under the hot seat here for his defense allowing 33 points in the fourth
30:42quarter.
30:42He's got to step it up.
30:44He's got to call better games.
30:45He blamed himself on Thursday for not having Dexter Lawrence in the game on that last sequence
30:50on that first play.
30:52Get him in the game.
30:53Get him in the game.
30:54As we've said before with the Giants.
30:57Now, with Jackson Dart, they have a little more margin for error because they're not scoring
31:0117, 18 points.
31:02They're scoring a lot more.
31:04They're scoring enough points to win games.
31:07So they have to, you know, but there's going to be a game.
31:10It's coming.
31:11You know, Jackson Dart threw a bad interception in Denver, but he played really well.
31:16There's going to be a game where the defense just takes it away.
31:19They take Cam Scatterboo away.
31:21They take, the Broncos did a really good job limiting Jackson Dart scrambling.
31:26The Eagles are certainly capable of doing that.
31:29So there's going to be a game where it's gritty, where it's dirty, where it's, you know, first
31:34to 20 or 23 wins.
31:36And let's see if the Giants can survive a game like that.
31:39If that happens, we'll see.
31:41Look, the Eagles are in no mood to lose to the Giants twice in 17 days.
31:46You know that, you know, that I already, you know, I've already read quotes out of Philly
31:49that they are like, okay, that was not who we are and we have to show who we are.
31:54And they got sort of a get right game in Minnesota.
31:57The Giants had a get right game for three and a half quarters in Denver.
32:01They were tremendous.
32:02They were tremendous.
32:03And so I think it's going to be really difficult to figure out what kind of Giants team takes
32:08the field.
32:09Are they going to be confident?
32:10Are they going to be still shell-shocked from what happened in Denver?
32:14I think it's a very difficult game for the Giants for all those reasons.
32:17Very difficult.
32:17Yeah, I think that first quarter is going to tell you a lot about if they're possibly
32:22still feeling the effects from that loss in Denver.
32:25Can't come out at the link with the first quarter hangover and allow the Eagles to kind
32:31of jump in front.
32:32This is not the game to play from behind, especially when we're talking about them wanting to get
32:37right with Saquon and maybe trying to pound the football.
32:40So we're going to see the vibes in the locker room.
32:43We were both there yesterday.
32:44Guys are still in the pool.
32:46Guys are still on the ping pong, playing a little card game here and there.
32:50Still a little bit upbeat.
32:51Gary Slayton and Daniel Bellinger still feel like this is a playoff team.
32:55So it's going to be a lot.
32:57This is going to be a telling game, especially with that first quarter, to see how Brian Dable
33:02has gotten these guys prepared to, one, flush that type of loss and then go into a
33:07divisional rival's house and see if you can stomp them out in their own house.
33:13But this was fun, Paul.
33:15Appreciate Prince for coming on, speaking from the DB, DB's side of things and way to talk
33:22him out of playing pickleball.
33:23I don't think he plays another game with pickleball after that one.
33:27But we appreciate you guys watching this week eight Blue Rush preview show.
33:32Make sure you hang around with us after the game for the post game live with myself and
33:39Jared Schwartz.
33:40And we want to thank you guys because we got over, what, 20, 25,000 viewers in the live,
33:45the post game live after the Broncos game.
33:47So we appreciate you guys hanging out with us.
33:49For Paul Schwartz, I'm Brandon London.
33:52Thanks for watching another episode of Blue Rush.
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