00:00The Giants, they closed out the season with back-to-back wins as they knocked off the Cowboys at a frigid MetLife Stadium today.
00:07So, it's a four-win season for the G-Men, but should big blue fans be excited for the future?
00:12That is the major question. We're going to discuss that.
00:14We're going to do it with a fantastic host for WFAN.
00:17The one and only Danielle McCartan joins me now.
00:19Danielle, happy new year. How are you doing?
00:22Yeah, good. It's the first time we get to talk after a win, so I'm excited. Let's do it.
00:26But, you know, I realize that it took us to the final game of the season for that to happen.
00:32Insane. But, here we are. We're talking about some good things after a win.
00:36So, in the final game, Danielle, of this season, Jackson Dart, we saw him complete 22 of 32 passes for 230 yards.
00:44He threw for two scores. He also rushed for 32 yards in this contest.
00:49When you look at what Dart has done this season, a couple of things.
00:53What's your evaluation of him? Do you think he should win Offensive Rookie of the Year?
00:59And do you also look at him as the Giants have found their quarterback of the future?
01:04Do they definitively have their starting quarterback going forward?
01:08Yeah, two things can be true.
01:10The Giants have found their quarterback of the future going forward.
01:12I'm sure we'll talk about that a little bit later.
01:14But, let's not get crazy here, Dexter.
01:17I mean, I think you've got an argument or a debate if it were just between Dart and Shuck.
01:23And their stats are pretty similar.
01:25I did the compare, you know, obviously Dart's a better runner.
01:28Shuck is a better thrower at this point in time.
01:31And their team situations are similar, too.
01:33I mean, two teams with minimal wins out of the playoffs.
01:37But it's not between the two of them, Dexter.
01:38There's a guy on the NFC South winning playoff bound Panthers who is going to run away with it.
01:44He's a wide receiver, last name McMillan, who is absolutely crushing it.
01:49And I think maybe Dart's case could have or would have been stronger
01:53in entering into this conversation of NFL Rookie of the Year
01:56if he were able or was able to keep himself on the field and out of the blue tent.
02:02And I hope that when he reflects upon this season, I hope he realizes that.
02:07Yeah, that could be huge for him when he reflects on this season.
02:10We'll see how it goes.
02:10But a good season for Jackson Dart.
02:1224 touchdowns.
02:13He got in 12 games, so a good season for him.
02:16And we'll get on, you know, what that looks like for him going forward.
02:18But for a team like the Giants that have had a very rough season this year,
02:22how much does winning the final two games of this season matter for this team
02:26as they look ahead to the 2026 season, Danielle?
02:29Does it matter that they've won the final two games of this year
02:31and probably have some good vibes going into the offseason?
02:35Yeah.
02:36I mean, look, it's always – we talked last week, Dexter, about perspective,
02:39all-the-time perspective.
02:41And, you know, for some people, they can't stand that the Giants draft position has suffered
02:46by the tune of, like, five spots because of these two wins or six spots.
02:50But I'm here to tell you, I'm not some people.
02:53I hate the tank.
02:53You know that.
02:54And I love the fact that the Giants laced them up and competed.
02:57And I love the fact that Jackson Dart was forced to run a two-minute drill
03:02in the first half of a competitive game.
03:04It was an 11-play, 96-yard touchdown drive.
03:07And that off-schedule throw, that flick, that shovel to Daniel Bellinger,
03:12I mean, woo!
03:13Like, Jackson Dart looked like my homie up in that one.
03:16That's exciting and that's growth.
03:18And speaking of, like, I finally got to see Jackson Dart learn the importance of sliding.
03:24So instead of the plus-two yards falling forward that he explained to Gruden
03:28as the reason why he takes those huge shots,
03:31he now sees and he now understands that a 15-yard penalty is better than that.
03:36And I think Dart turned the corner today, and I'm very happy to see it.
03:39All right, got Dart turning the corner, had some very impressive plays in this one for sure.
03:44But now we talked about looking ahead, Danielle.
03:46What are the pieces that this team absolutely must add to the roster this offseason?
03:52What do the Giants have to do?
03:54They've got a lot of work to do when you only have four wins on the season.
03:57But what are the pieces that you feel they have to add to the roster this offseason?
04:01Yeah, and Dexter, you know, you've seen my draft homework,
04:04and I haven't done it in that deep dive just yet.
04:07I mean, the regular season literally just ended for the Giants.
04:09But in theory, without names, I need to see this Giants team,
04:14I need to see them come away from this offseason with,
04:17I think, maybe number one, a lockdown cornerback.
04:19I mean, it's something I've wanted for this team for a long time.
04:23An NFL-caliber safety would be nice.
04:26And another thing, too, I was thinking about this,
04:28I think the Giants have too many of these finesse-type wide receivers.
04:32And I'd like to see them go after, maybe in the later rounds,
04:35just a big guy, a bruiser-type with a wide catch radius
04:39that can out-muscle defenders for those 50-50 balls.
04:42Because I don't think that exists on the Giants roster at the moment.
04:45And also, I mean, you can't forget about how important a good kicker is, too.
04:50We've seen that this season.
04:51So maybe I'm in the minority, but I am actually confident that Joe Shane,
04:56after getting the quarterback right, can come away with the right pieces.
05:00All right, and he's got to get the right pieces to be around Jackson Dart.
05:03We'll see if he is able to do that.
05:05Now, you know the other thing that the Giants have to find here, Danielle?
05:08That is a head coach.
05:09So I'm going to ask you this.
05:10Who would you like to see as the next head coach of the New York Giants?
05:14Yeah, I know.
05:15I read the article Diana Rossini put out the other day
05:18that the Giants are set to get underway with interviews, like, this week,
05:21as in, like, tomorrow, Monday.
05:23And, you know, I think it's important to kind of step back.
05:26And before we get into any kind of specific names, Dexter,
05:29I think I need to see the Giants emphasizing three main principles in this search.
05:35I need the Giants looking for someone who's offensive-minded,
05:38which is obviously a continually offensive league, offensive-backed league.
05:42I need somebody with a history of or experience in developing a quarterback
05:47for obvious reasons.
05:50And I need somebody with NFL head coaching experience.
05:53I mean, it's time, I think, to stop the cycle of coordinators coming into this city
05:58since the Giants booted Tom Coughlin and just failing miserably as head coaches.
06:04I don't want any coordinators anymore.
06:05You know, only coordinators.
06:06If they were a head coach and then they're a coordinator, that's fine.
06:09That's a natural progression.
06:10But I need someone in there with head coaching experience.
06:12So that said, as far as the head coaches' potentials that are still in the league,
06:18my short list would be Cliff Kingsbury, Matt Nagy, who's a Jersey guy,
06:23and maybe Clint Kubiak because I would be interested to see what he's about
06:29even though he has no head coach experience.
06:32And as far as guys that are no longer in the NFL, that short list,
06:36I broke it down into two, I did like the work that John Gruden did with Jackson Dart
06:41in his series.
06:42And I know John Gruden comes with stuff, but I think their attitudes align.
06:48And if they can work out that stuff, I maybe would be interested in kicking the tires on Gruden.
06:52If not, I know Mike McCarthy worked with a young Brett Favre as his quarterback coach.
06:57I know Mike McCarthy won a Super Bowl with a young Aaron Rodgers.
07:00I'm worried his message would be a little stale to today's players,
07:04but I'd be interested in bringing him in, maybe kicking the tires on him too.
07:08All right, some interesting names there from you, Danielle.
07:11It's going to be a very interesting coaching search.
07:12Giants probably getting on that very quickly after they've played their final game of the season.
07:18So let's put a bow on this, Danielle, because the Giants,
07:21they've got a one-game improvement over last season, right, where they won three games.
07:25There's a lot, as we just mentioned, to see what happens with this team this offseason
07:28as an organization that's going to look for a new head coach.
07:31They're going to try to put the rice pieces around Jackson Dart.
07:35Do you look at this season, and do you think the Giants fans should be excited about the future
07:40after what they've witnessed this past year?
07:44Is there a reason for Giants fans to be excited about the future?
07:47Because just a few years ago when they made the playoffs,
07:49there was excitement about the future, and then seemed to be a couple steps back.
07:53So do you think Giants fans right now should be excited about this future with their team?
07:58Yeah, I know.
07:59And you can look at the win totals and all that,
08:02but you also have to realize the amount of obstacles or turmoil that this Giants team went through this year.
08:08A new head coach fired, neighbors injured, Scadaboo injured.
08:12I mean, that's a lot to have to overcome.
08:15So ultimately, I mean, wide angle, zoom out, take the feelings out of it.
08:18I think yes.
08:20I mean, you got Brian Burns, one of the NFL's sack leaders,
08:24who he will be back on that defensive line for years to come.
08:27You look at the nucleus, just talked about on offense, Dart and Scadaboo and neighbors.
08:31I mean, it's really a shame and a little saddening that we didn't get to see it all put together much this season.
08:38But these offensive guys are the new energy, the new generation of the Giants, and I believe in them.
08:44And I think the biggest thing, really, to put a bow on this,
08:47to be excited about moving into the offseason, Dexter, it's the quarterback.
08:51I mean, how many times have we seen, even here in New York City with our own eyes,
08:56a quarterback chosen high up in the draft that turns out to be a total bust here?
09:02And Dart's the opposite.
09:04I mean, I think if he can keep himself on the field, that's a key.
09:08He is the future of this Giants team.
09:10There isn't a scheduled or off-schedule throw that he can't make.
09:15He's got the moxie to make it here.
09:18And this isn't something he grew into, Dexter.
09:20You saw it on his limited snaps in the preseason, that he was going to be something special.
09:26It looked effortless, even in the preseason.
09:28So I just hope that Joe Shane could nail that next head coach
09:32and that that guy or person, woman, hey, you never know,
09:36can get the most out of Jackson Dart moving forward.
09:38But I think there is an excitement moving forward for this team
09:42based on a couple of the young pieces that they have on really both sides of the ball.
09:48Yeah.
09:48And when you have some excitement around the youth,
09:50particularly around the quarterback, like you just mentioned there,
09:52there should be reason for the fan base to be excited.
09:55But I also agree with you.
09:56So important that they nail the head coaching hiring to pair with Jackson Dart.
10:01Feels like they got their quarterback.
10:03Now they got to get their head coach and just some other pieces around this Giants team.
10:08And we'll see how that all pans out this offseason.
10:10That is Daniel McCartan.
10:11Check her out on WFAN.
10:13Always doing a great job there.
10:14Danielle, I know you are already going to be on it in a couple of days
10:18doing your draft scouting, looking at who the Giants should pick up,
10:21looking at the free agents that potentially may be out there for them.
10:24I know you're going to be on it this offseason.
10:26So the next time we talk, it won't be after a loss or a win.
10:29We did it two in a row.
10:30So we did get that at the end of the season.
10:32But we'll be doing some offseason talk for the Giants.
10:35So that should be fun.
10:36Yeah, you got it, Dexter.
10:37And I'll be watching those bowl games, too,
10:39seeing who elevates in the primetime games and who kind of fades.
10:43I think that's also very important to watch.
10:46So watch along with me and tune in along with me, Dexter.
10:48And I appreciate all the time and effort that you put into this series
10:51throughout the season.
10:53No, I appreciate it.
10:53Glad to have you on to talk some Giants football this season.
10:56And we'll talk again soon.
10:58You got it.
10:58You got it.
11:05You got it.
11:06You got it.
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