00:04The Giants just wrapped up OTA practice number six, and if you think that what went down over the weekend
00:11between Jackson Dart, Abdul Carter, and President Trump was going to affect practice, then you are drastically wrong.
00:19But John Harbaugh, Jackson Dart, and Abdul Carter all addressed the tweets, the incident, and of course the team meeting
00:27that happened this past Wednesday.
00:28It was a great opportunity. It was really a good opportunity for us as a football team to have these
00:34kind of conversations around a real life incident.
00:38You know, it's something that comes up. It's one thing to talk about it in theory. You know, this is
00:43how we want to handle this, that, or the other, and we do.
00:45But when you have something that happens that's like real, because things are going to happen that are real, you
00:50get a chance to talk about them practically.
00:53And that was the best part about it. We had a chance to talk to the guys a little bit
00:57through the weekend, and then we got in first thing Tuesday because that was our first chance back together.
01:02We didn't want to let it sit. The veterans came in, and we had a really good conversation with those
01:07guys.
01:08We went into a team meeting, and really the important thing to understand is that, you know, what we are
01:16is a collection of all of us together.
01:18And so we need to understand really how we want to approach these things going forward.
01:23And you don't want to stand up there and just try to dictate some terms, you know, as a coach.
01:29You want to find out what the players think, you know, how the coaches and players feel about it, and
01:33really mainly the players because, as I told them, it's your team, you know,
01:37and what you want the focus to be on and what you want to be about going forward and the
01:42way we're going to treat one another going forward.
01:45Is it going to be centered around respect and those kind of things?
01:47That's really up to you guys as a team, and you guys need to decide, and let's talk about it
01:52and let's decide what we're going to do.
01:54And we had a good little meeting.
01:56It wasn't real long, but it was to the point, and the players established amongst themselves how they wanted to
02:02approach these kind of things, you know,
02:05that are part of the dialogue in our society.
02:07And they did a great job.
02:09I was proud of them.
02:09I was impressed by them.
02:11Couldn't have asked for anything better.
02:13And so we're in a good place now, and we're moving forward.
02:16Yeah, I'm just going to address this one time because we all want to move past this and get over
02:20this like everybody do.
02:21So first off, I want to say that some things are bigger than football, and this is one of those
02:26things.
02:26Jackson is one of our leaders.
02:28He's the face of our franchise.
02:29He not only represents himself and what he does, but he represents all of us, and that goes for anybody
02:34who wears a Giants uniform.
02:36But if he chooses to align himself with a man like President Trump, it's my responsibility based on what I
02:42believe and what I stand on to not only show my teammates that I'm against that, but to show the
02:48world.
02:48And that doesn't mean that we have to spread hate.
02:51It doesn't mean that me and Jackson hate each other or we have beef.
02:54I sit next to Jackson every day, every team meeting, we close, we talk.
02:58You know, we just, as long as we make sure we've got the same goal as a team and our
03:02goals aligned, which they do, and I feel like that's all that matters.
03:05So I just want to move past this, and yeah, that's it.
03:07You know, obviously this was a unique opportunity, you know, being asked and given the opportunity to introduce the President
03:18of the United States.
03:20You know, my thinking was pretty simple in the fact of, you know, I've always loved this country.
03:29I have extended family members who have fought in wars.
03:33I have two uncles who have retired from the Air Force Academy and served themselves.
03:40And I even have a great-grandfather who served as Secretary of Treasury at some point.
03:45So the President position has always been a position that I've well respected, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of political
03:59party.
04:00And, you know, my intentions were just that.
04:07I also understand in this world, politics can be a sensitive matter, a sensitive topic.
04:14I also understand that I am the quarterback of the New York Giants, and that involves a lot of responsibility.
04:22It's under a limelight, under a microscope, and there's a lot that comes with that, and it's been something that
04:28I've embraced.
04:28I've loved being here.
04:30I've loved the city of New York.
04:31I love the city of New Jersey.
04:33The people that I've met here, it's just been a really amazing experience, and there's not another place that I'd
04:39rather be.
04:41You know, most importantly, the people in this organization, my teammates, the staff, coaches, everybody that has a hand, Jose,
04:53you name it.
04:54You know, I've loved making relationships with them and growing connections, and that's the kind of person that I am.
05:02I'm a connector.
05:02I love making relationships with people.
05:04I love hearing everybody's stories and being somebody who, you know, people can rely on to be there for them.
05:15And most importantly, I can honestly say that I love every single one of my brothers, my teammates on this
05:21team, regardless of politics, regardless of religious beliefs, regardless of anything that may be different between us.
05:32It's like I love them, and they know exactly what kind of person that I am, who comes into the
05:38facility every day, and, you know, who lays, you know, I lay my body on the line for my guys
05:43each and every week.
05:44And, you know, it's from the connections that we build, the love that we have for each other.
05:50And, you know, I've been somebody who's always respected, you know, the different perspectives that people may have, the backgrounds
05:58that they come from.
05:58I understand that, you know, we have such a cool opportunity as people, you know, to be in a locker
06:04room where it's a melting pot of people from everywhere, and we get to be together.
06:10And, you know, I think that the connections that we build are special because, you know, we're able to have
06:16vulnerable conversations.
06:17We're able to learn from each other, to support each other, irrespective of the color of our skin.
06:25And, you know, we have a real brotherhood.
06:29We've had a lot of honest conversations with each other as a team, and I like to keep those things
06:36private between me and my teammates and just everything that's been said.
06:43But, you know, I love these guys, and going forward, I can't wait for what more we have to grow,
06:49you know, the culture of this team, our brotherhood.
06:52And, obviously, we understand the biggest goal is to be the best team that we can be, to put ourselves
06:59in the best position to succeed, to chase a championship,
07:03to be the best players for Coach Harbs and all the coaches here.
07:07And, you know, that's our focus going forward each and every day, and can't wait to continue to do that.
07:13All right.
07:14Now we can put that to bed.
07:15We can talk about what we got to see on the field because a lot of good football happened today,
07:20people.
07:21And we'll start with the tight ends.
07:23The tight ends ate, and they all ate.
07:25Chris Manhurts, Isaiah Likely, and Theo Johnson all scored touchdowns in the Red Zone period today.
07:32Theo Johnson had three touchdowns on the day, beat Arvell Reese on a nice corner route on one,
07:39and then he showed his hand strength on two other touchdowns when the defender was there but wasn't able to
07:44lodge the ball out.
07:46Isaiah Likely looks like this team's TE1 and looks like he's primed to have a breakout year with Jackson Dart.
07:53They did a lot in terms of working the back of the end zone, and you can see how fluid
07:59he is with his routes,
08:01and plus his catch radius as well.
08:04Chris Manhurts, the third tight end on this team, had a nice touchdown, caught a ball from Brandon Allen as
08:10well.
08:11Defense did a lot of good things.
08:12Drew Phillips had a couple pass breakups and was there in a lot of the coverage,
08:16and we saw a lot in terms of how this team, led by Denard Wilson, who's the defensive coordinator,
08:24is going to call his defense in terms of stopping the run.
08:27Now, on a bad note, Gunnar Osheski, long-time punt return, kick returner, and sub-wide receiver,
08:34went down today in a non-contact injury.
08:37It looked like it could be an Achilles, but he went down, was helped off the field,
08:42and then carted off the field.
08:43You can see he was in visible pain and frustration, and a lot of the guys on the team,
08:48almost the entire team, 90 guys that were out there practicing, took a knee.
08:53Again, the Giants take steps in the right direction as they get ready for another week of OTAs
08:59and, of course, minicamp on June 8th, 9th, and 10th.
09:04Let's go!
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