00:00It's Wednesday, September 17th, and barring any setback, it looks like all things are
00:07going to be a go for Andrew Thomas.
00:10Brian Dable just spoke to the media, or I guess us, and he said that he is going to
00:15be ramping up the reps in team period, and he also said he's encouraged as to where he
00:20is right now.
00:21Serby, how big would that be to get that Pro Bowl left tackle back?
00:26Well, you don't have to worry about Andrew Thomas committing four penalties on the opening
00:31drive, a la James Hudson.
00:33It was three.
00:34Brian Dable said one of them weren't on him, or wasn't called on him, it was three.
00:38Well, you get the point.
00:39I mean, he only lasted that one series, mercifully, before Marcus Bowe came in and did a hell of
00:45a job.
00:46A very poised rookie.
00:47But yeah, look, Andrew Thomas last week couldn't do three consecutive days of practice.
00:54This week, they're hoping that he will, and nothing would be better for Brian Dable and
01:01Russell Wilson if he gets his blindside tackle back for the home opener, 0-2 start again.
01:08They started 0-2 last year.
01:11Do you know how many, the percentage of teams since the 1970 NFL merger that have made the
01:17playoffs after an 0-2 start, 10%, 10.1%.
01:22And they can't afford to go 0-3.
01:26They should never have lost that game in Dallas.
01:29I still can't believe what I saw.
01:31But here we are.
01:33Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Giants home opener.
01:38Giants can win this game.
01:39Yeah, and we're talking about a Chiefs team that is not used to being 0-2 as well.
01:43There's going to be a sense of urgency.
01:46I'm staring at MetLife Stadium right now on Sunday night.
01:49And when we're talking about the Chiefs, if you're going to beat the Kansas City Chiefs,
01:53you have to be able to play as much as penalty-free football as you can.
01:59The Giants absolutely shot themselves in the foot down in Dallas.
02:03But we'll look ahead here.
02:04Where do you think that the Giants have the most favorable matchup going into Sunday night?
02:10Well, the Chiefs are depleted at wide receiver.
02:15Whether Xavier Worthy comes back or not, they're still missing Rasheed Rice.
02:23Travis Kelsey is a year older.
02:24Sorry about that, Ms. Swift.
02:28But these are not the same explosive Chiefs that we remember from the Tyreek Hill, etc. era.
02:36Juju Smith-Schuster, Hollywood Brown.
02:41You know, the Giants, as of right this moment, after what we saw in Dallas, have the more explosive unit.
02:47With Russell Wilson throwing that moon ball to Malik Nabors.
02:52And look at Wandale Robinson all of a sudden, right?
02:57Wandale's yards per reception is 14.1 this season after two games.
03:03His yards per reception a year ago, 7.5.
03:08And his career is 8-point-something.
03:11So, that's just what Malik Nabors needs to even be more explosive and more dominant.
03:21It's a guy on the opposite side who can do some damage vertically like Wandale Robinson.
03:26And luckily, Andrew Thomas will be back in that lineup.
03:29We'll see how much 100% he'll be in terms of being back to his own old self.
03:35But you're talking about the moon ball coming alive down in Dallas.
03:39That's now going to put Steve Spagnuolo and that defense in a too-high shell.
03:43One thing that the Giants have not been able to do consistently these last two games,
03:48or the first two games, is run the football.
03:50Cam Scadaboo kind of came in.
03:52And it looks like he's trending towards maybe being the RB1, the starting running back.
03:57Who knows how that dynamic is going to go.
03:59But they haven't been able to rush or haven't been able to fire off explosive plays in the run game.
04:06And I feel as though because of the front seven that the Chiefs have, they'll be able to kind of have the same approach as a Washington Commanders.
04:15And that's rush four, drop seven, play two high safeties over the top and try and take away.
04:20Yeah, I know a little something.
04:22You know, I know a little something about football.
04:24But going to have to be able to run the football and hit explosive plays if you want to beat this Chiefs defense in this team.
04:30Yeah, that's what makes what Russell Wilson did in Dallas all the more incredible.
04:35He didn't have a running game, so he aired it out.
04:38Now, he's not going to throw for 450 yards against Steve Spagnuolo.
04:42We know that.
04:43But with Trent McDuffie on Malik Neighbors, Wandale has Jalen Watson on him.
04:52And Wandale now, with his confidence sky high, can do some more damage in this game.
04:57And look, the Giants defense has a chance to redeem itself a little bit.
05:05Mahomes is still Mahomes, but they don't have a running game.
05:09Mahomes basically has been the Chiefs' running game.
05:12So I look for a bounce back for this defense, which should be embarrassed after being humiliated the way they were in Dallas and blowing the game.
05:24Do you think that was more, and this is, you know, for you watching the game, do you think it was more players or was it kind of an X's and O's in terms of defense coordinator Shane Bowen?
05:36Well, it was both.
05:38I mean, you can't absolve the players.
05:42They're the ones that have to execute it.
05:44And they're the ones that have to communicate on the field.
05:46And Shane Bowen is the one who has to remind them.
05:50Now, what went on, we don't know specifically, but we can safely say that you've got to play situational football.
05:59Under a Bill Parcells team or a Tom Coughlin team, you rarely would see something like that happen.
06:06So Shane Bowen has to get it communicated.
06:10He's the coordinator for a defense.
06:12But the guys on the field also have to coordinate, communicate among themselves.
06:18So they blame everybody.
06:20You fired off the stat earlier about the 0-2 teams and how it's 10% chance of making it into the playoffs.
06:2710.1% chance.
06:29Since 1970.
06:30Since 1970.
06:32Serby, which team would you say is coming into this game in more of a must-win situation?
06:37Both.
06:38Now, three teams last year started 0-2 and made the playoffs.
06:44But the Chiefs are playing in a very tough division.
06:49The Giants, look, the pressure's on Brian D'Abel.
06:52It's on Shane Bowen.
06:53It's their home opener.
06:55The fans don't want to go through 3-14 again.
06:58So the pressure's on both.
07:00The Chiefs have not started 0-3 since 2011.
07:05Did my homework, too.
07:06So the pressure's on both.
07:09But I would say the pressure's more on the Giants because of 3-14 a year ago and the fans being up in arms over what they saw in Dallas.
07:24A winnable game that was lost.
07:26Yeah, the 0-2 Chiefs are looking around like I hate it here.
07:29They don't know how to navigate this space.
07:31We got a primetime matchup on Sunday night.
07:33Serbia should be a great one.
07:35But thanks for watching your Blue Rush, I guess, mid-practice report now since they're out there on the practice field.
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