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00:05I hope you guys are ready for some football, folks.
00:08The Giants rookies have reported, and that can only mean one thing.
00:12We are six days away from the first training camp practice at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West
00:20Virginia.
00:20So in today's Blue Rush, we're going to go over the top starting and roster battles that we're going to
00:27see at Camp Paul Schwartz.
00:30Our Giants beat writer for the post has his sunscreen, his notepad, his recorder, and his hat all ready for
00:37camp, and he joins us now.
00:38So we're going to talk about the training camp battles that are heating up, and we're going to start with
00:43the starting battles.
00:44We're going to start with the starters because right now at RB1, there's Tyrone Tracy Jr., and there's Cam Scadaboo.
00:52It's going to be a two-back system, so in my eyes, they're both starters pretty much, Paul.
00:57But when you're in that hotel room the night before a game, or not the hotel room, like the meeting
01:05room area, and you go through that walkthrough, and some of the guys are in socks, some guys are eating
01:10sunflower seeds, and they say one's out.
01:13So that starter will be who, Tyrone Tracy or Cam Scadaboo?
01:18Because I feel like Matt Nagy, I feel like it's going to be Tracy because he can give Matt Nagy
01:23a little bit more versatility out of that backfield.
01:26But Cam Scadaboo has looked good, not only last year, but in OTAs.
01:32Who do you think comes out of this one victorious?
01:37I mean, I think it'll be Cam, but I think it'll be Scadaboo, assuming he's healthy, which I think he'll
01:44be pretty much raring to go for the start of training camp now.
01:47Are they going to put him in every single drill?
01:49No, he is coming off a dislocated ankle, but I think he will not be on pup.
01:53I think he'll be ready to roll.
01:55Look, of all the battles we're going to talk about, this is probably, and you mentioned it, it's going to
01:59be a two-back system.
02:01This is like the least important.
02:03Now, I know as a player, you're like, yes, RB1, you get, you know, if they announce the offense for
02:09a home game, you run out on the field.
02:11It's important.
02:12It's important to start.
02:13It's really more important at the end of the day, at the end of the game, what does the carries
02:17look like?
02:17What do the rushing attempts look like?
02:19What does the snap count look like?
02:21I mean, I think, I mean, I think Tyrone Tracy is sort of being undervalued in some degrees here.
02:30You know, Cam Scadaboo was the rage last year.
02:32Tyrone was excellent as a rookie two years ago.
02:35Not as good last year.
02:37Just didn't get off to the same start.
02:39And then Cam Scadaboo came in and kind of supplanted him, not kind of, supplanted him as the starter.
02:44But if you look at the numbers, I mean, Cam Scadaboo was at 4.1 yards per carry.
02:50Tyrone Tracy was at 4.2.
02:52Not, you know, significantly, not a significant difference.
02:56I think, you know, Tracy is bigger.
02:58They both offer value as a receiver.
03:01Maybe Cam Scadaboo a little more.
03:04So, I think who starts week one is not so relevant.
03:08It's important to the player.
03:10They'll both play.
03:11I'm very anxious to see both of them in training camp to see how they look, especially Cam coming off
03:15that major injury.
03:17Yeah, I think they're going to go with the hot hand.
03:19I feel like there's going to be a chance where, or there are going to be times where the guy
03:24who is the starter may not get as many carries or yards or have as much production as the guy
03:31who's coming off of the bench.
03:33So, they've got the ability to have that two-back system, which John Harbaugh loves, which Matt Nagy has seen
03:39in prior, you know, with the Kansas City Chiefs.
03:42It's all about how you use them and which mismatches you can get with both of them on the field
03:48or with what the two guys just come, just rotating.
03:51One thing I loved about Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Brashaw, they used to talk about how Jacobs would be like,
03:56he doesn't care.
03:57He didn't care what down it was, what play call it was or anything.
04:01If he was tired, he would just tap his head and those two guys would just switch out.
04:05You'll hope to see it this year because this is going to be the room that carries this offense for
04:13the foreseeable future until the offense really finds their identity.
04:17And that goes and takes us into the next battle.
04:20And I know when we were texting back and forth, we were kind of saying like, okay, wide receiver two.
04:25But until Malik Nabors gets back, it's wide receiver one slash two, Darius Slayton, Darnell Mooney, Malakai Fields.
04:35I feel like week one, the starters is going to be Mooney and Fields, and that's nothing against Darius Slayton.
04:43He'd come off the bench, be that third wide receiver.
04:45I just think we're going to see something different this year when it comes to the Giants passing game because
04:51this is Harbaugh's Giants.
04:53Who do you feel is going to be that one and two to start week one?
04:57First of all, you didn't mention Calvin Austin, did you?
05:00You did not mention him.
05:02I think I – first of all, look, you're a receiver.
05:07You value young receivers.
05:09I don't think Malakai Fields is going to start.
05:11Now, I could be wrong.
05:12He could be great in training camp.
05:13But, you know, I don't think he was unbelievably awesome in the spring.
05:17That's not a knock.
05:18It's just I don't think he was.
05:21You know, Imani Toomer was the most prepared receiver I've ever seen, and he was, you know, close to a
05:27zero as a rookie.
05:28You know, it takes time for these guys, so I think that's putting a lot on Malakai Fields' plate to
05:33say that a guy they drafted up into the third round to get is going to start.
05:37Now, we have to see, is Darius Slayton all the way back from sports hernia surgery?
05:41We'll see.
05:41The Giants say he will be.
05:43Maybe they'll take it a little slowly with him.
05:45You know, no need to go crazy next week in the first or second practices with a guy like Darius
05:50Slayton.
05:51And one thing, you know, Darius Slayton has a lot of skins on the wall with the Giants, right?
05:57But none with Harbaugh and this offensive coaching staff.
06:00So he kind of has to be back on the team because of salary cap implications.
06:06You know, after this year, I think you can part ways with him if it's not working out and the
06:11money works.
06:12This year, it really didn't work.
06:14If the, you know, if the new Giants coaching staff just said, we'd like to move on from him, you
06:19really can't do that.
06:20So Darius Slayton, it's a prove-it year for him.
06:22He's coming off a poor year, one of his poorest years since he's been with the Giants.
06:26Now he's coming back from an injury.
06:27I would say, you know, Malik Nabors will not be, certainly will not be ready for the starter training camp.
06:34So I think Darnell Moody is certainly next in line there.
06:38I would put Calvin Austin.
06:39Calvin Austin looked really good in the preseason.
06:42And I think he is ahead of the rookie.
06:45I really do.
06:47Well, I'm just, so you have, so who's your top three?
06:51Like coming out of training camp, who's that top three that's going to line up against the Cowboys?
06:56And I mean, you can all, you can say, depending on if it's 11 personnel, those three receivers are your
07:02starters.
07:02So you have, you said Moody, Slayton, and Calvin Austin in the slot?
07:07If we're not, if it's not going to be neighbors, right?
07:10I mean, obviously neighbors if he's healthy, but let's move him to the side because we agree he might not
07:15be ready.
07:15I think Moody, I think Austin, and I would say Slayton based on his veteran, you know, experience and things
07:24like that.
07:25But I just think it's a lot for a rookie to break into the starting lineup week one.
07:30The only reason I say Malachi Fields is because I don't think they go as much 11 personnel as a
07:36Brian Dable went when it comes to it.
07:38So if you're going to have this whole run the ball system type first, Malachi Fields can kind of be
07:43that Z receiver that you can move around.
07:45And I'm not necessarily saying start the man because he can block, but he gives you something out there on
07:51the edge.
07:52And then if he's making these big boy 50-50 type catch, you know, to these catches throughout the course
07:59of training camp,
08:00I think that's something to where they look at it like, hmm, maybe not, you know, maybe not week one
08:04primetime game.
08:05They're asking a lot out of him to step in and really have a high level of production against the
08:11Dallas Cowboys.
08:11But I see a little plaques mixed with Imani Toomer in this kid.
08:16And I'm anxious to see, like, when the pads come on, how physical he gets and how he goes after
08:21these contested passes.
08:24Now, some of the corners that he's going to be going up against throughout the course of this training camp,
08:29and, again, it's another thing we were texting back and forth, we were saying CB2.
08:33But I have to put CB1 slash CB2 on this one.
08:38I see you shaking your head a little bit.
08:40We've got Paulson Adebo, Greg Newsom III, Colton Hood.
08:45Where are you going to go with this one?
08:46Who comes out or which two comes out as the starters in training camp?
08:51Well, I see Paulson Adebo as cornerback one and a starter.
08:55You know what I mean? I don't see his – there's any kind of, you know, fight for his job.
09:00He's not coming off a great year.
09:02But based on the money, based on his experience, based on his track record, I think he's a starter.
09:08So, I mean, as he has established as most cornerback – you know, starting cornerbacks in the league, maybe not
09:14so much.
09:15But he was a big-ticket free agent a year ago.
09:17So I think Paulson Adebo is your cornerback one.
09:20Now, two, I mean, I would think Greg Newsom has the upper hand.
09:24And, you know, they signed him to a one-year deal, $8 million.
09:27It's a make-good deal.
09:28He's a former first-round pick of the Browns.
09:31He has a pedigree in the NFL.
09:33He's hungry.
09:34He wants to prove it to the Giants or any other team.
09:37So, you know, one-year deal for a guy who's only – he's only 26 years old.
09:41Yeah.
09:41And he's really young.
09:42Yeah.
09:42So, you know, I would think he's – he is number two at this point.
09:48You know, and those two guys I would pencil in as starters, certainly going into camp.
09:53Now, they love Colton Hood.
09:55He's a rookie.
09:56If Colton Hood challenges for a starting job, that means either, you know, Greg Newsom doesn't look great or Colton
10:02Hood looks exceptionally great.
10:04And that's fine.
10:05You know, let them – the more the merrier.
10:06Let them battle for it.
10:07But I would say among those three – and now you have Drew Phillips as a nickel corner.
10:12But, you know, can Newsom play a little nickel corner?
10:16Perhaps.
10:16Hood says he can play a little nickel corner.
10:19So, you know, I think it's Adebo.
10:22I think it's – certainly I think it's – Hood will get playing time, and I think that Newsom will
10:28get playing time as well.
10:29So, you know, I think that's the way it will go with that group.
10:34And you're kind of hoping Greg Newsom.
10:37He kind of plays above his pay grade to where you don't have to start Colton Hood.
10:42Remember, let's go back to 2007.
10:44Aaron Ross wasn't a starter that year after being drafted in the first round.
10:48I don't think – he didn't really start playing.
10:51Remember, he had that pick six.
10:52I believe it was against the San Francisco 49ers.
10:55It was a home game.
10:56But he was kind of coming in throughout – as a rotational piece because Corey Webster was the guy that
11:04you could say that they drafted him to kind of take his job.
11:07I know Sam Madison was a little bit up there in age, but Sam Madison was still playing some really
11:12good football at that time.
11:14And then Kevin Dockery kind of had emerged as that guy that Spagnuolo loved being in the slot playing as
11:21that nickel.
11:21So Aaron Ross really didn't get the snaps and reps that we thought he was going to get getting drafted
11:28in that first round by that regime and that Steve Spagnuolo defense.
11:32It's a long – right.
11:33It's a long season.
11:35Yes, it is.
11:35It's a long season.
11:36You remember in 2007, Steve Smith was nothing.
11:40Yeah.
11:40He was an afterthought.
11:42He was not on the field.
11:43Broke his collarbone.
11:44He got on the field.
11:45Yep.
11:46He was a zero as a rookie, and he looked like he was going to be a zero rookie year.
11:50And then he starts playing a little bit down the stretch, and in the playoffs, they don't win the Super
11:54Bowl without him.
11:55So, you know, if Colton Hood doesn't have, you know, 40 snaps week one, I'm not going to worry.
12:01You know, and we've seen at times where they kind of push the high draft picks onto the field at
12:07cornerback, and it's a little too much too soon.
12:10So, you know, is this a great position of strength right now?
12:16I don't think so because we both have some questions about number one, about Paulson Adebo.
12:20So, they need a, you know, it would be nice if of that group, of Hood, of Adebo, of Drew
12:28Phillips, and of Newsom, that three of those four emerges guys you can trust on the field.
12:35Yeah.
12:35I'm with you.
12:36You got to go with the experience, especially in week one against the Dallas Cowboys where George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb,
12:42and then you go on the road to the Rams.
12:44You got Puka Nakua and Devontae Adams, so you have to kind of go, you're kind of hoping that Adebo
12:51and Greg Newsom with the experience can line up and be your starters in two primetime games against two deadly
13:00duos of wide receivers.
13:02But now that brings us to the roster, guys.
13:05And there's some familiar names on here that we've talked about for quite some time, but now what do they
13:11say?
13:12You got to put the pedal to the rubble or the pedal, the something to the rubble.
13:17Either way, you got to step up and make a, and get yourself a checker.
13:20Pedal to the metal.
13:21Pedal to the metal.
13:22Pedal to the metal, and then there's what?
13:23Rubber to the road is what I was thinking as well.
13:26Where the rubber meets the road.
13:27Okay, and here's a guy that really has got to put the rubber on the road right here, and that's
13:33Evan Neal.
13:34I don't know if you want me to ask you percentage or chances he makes it, but I'll ask you
13:40yes, no, and why does Evan Neal come out of this training camp as on the 53-man roster with
13:49the New York Football Giants?
13:52Right, that's the correct question.
13:53It's not, is he going to start, is he going to, you know, in the past with Evan Neal was,
13:57is he going to start, is he going to, you know, now it's survival, right?
14:01They re-sign him for a one-year deal for the veteran minimum, you know, and he's imminently cuttable, right?
14:07If they don't want to, you know, I figured when the new regime came in with John Harbaugh, they would
14:13just say, Evan Neal's a failed draft pick, we'll move on, let him go sign somewhere else.
14:17But they said, no, you know, Harbaugh said we like them coming out in Baltimore, we like them coming out
14:23in 2022, coaches want to work with them, let's sign them.
14:27And, you know, you got to bring, how many of them do you bring, 15, 16 of them to training
14:32camp?
14:32So you bring them in and you see what happens.
14:34So what's his competition?
14:36He's a guard, right?
14:37He's a guard strictly, he's no longer a tackle.
14:40So you have, and there's no starting job open, you know, John Runyon is penciled in as a starter and
14:47the rookie, CeCe Maui Noah, is penciled in as a starter.
14:50Things can change, but those are the starters right now, the two guard spots.
14:54So you have Aaron Stinney, who just keeps on showing up, right?
14:58It's a guy nobody thinks much of, he's got some skins on the wall in the league.
15:03He's a veteran guard who's on the team the last few years.
15:06Jake Kubas, does he make the team again?
15:08I don't know, but he's, might be ahead of Evan Neal right now.
15:12And you have the new guy they signed, Daniel, how do you say it, Fiali?
15:18Fiali, Fiali, Fiali, Fiali, Fiali, Fiali, Fiali, Fiali, I think, yes.
15:22You know, massive guy, massive, you know, 340 something, plays guard, did not have a great year for the Ravens,
15:31but Harbaugh agreed to sign the guy.
15:33So, I mean, Harbaugh pushed to sign the guy, so he must like him somewhat, you know,
15:38he doesn't, you know, a lot of the fans in Baltimore said, why are the Giants signing this guy?
15:42So these are all guys in the mix, certainly.
15:44So Evan Neal is a guy in the mix.
15:46He's not a favorite.
15:47I talked to Mike Blumgren, the offensive line coach, in the spring, and he said about Evan, he said,
15:54I think we're seeing the best version of him in terms of how he's preparing.
15:58Now, Blumgren hasn't been around to see how he prepares before this.
16:03So that's kind of like coach speak, you know what I mean, for, you know, he's doing fine right now.
16:08I think the odds are stacked against Evan Neal.
16:11He's going to take reps with the twos and often with the threes.
16:15We'll see if he mixes in at all with the ones.
16:17We'll see if any of the starters, the penciled-in starters, Runyon and CeCe Maui know a falter a little
16:22bit.
16:23It's all about we'll see an opportunity and things like that.
16:26But I think Evan Neal, it's an uphill climb for him to make this roster.
16:30Two things.
16:31Fa Lele.
16:32Fa Lele is how you pronounce this.
16:35Shout out to Google AI for that one.
16:37And when you talk about, like, the coach's speech from Coach talking about Evan Neal, yeah, he hadn't seen him
16:44in the past, so he didn't know what that preparation was like.
16:47I take in that, like, when I heard that, I'm thinking, like, I'm hearing my dad speak and be like,
16:52okay, he probably spoke with the player and was asking the player, what do I need to do as a
16:58coach to make you better?
16:59And it's probably something where Evan kind of seemed to him, like, my preparation has to be better and whether
17:05I'm playing guard or tackle and where my eyes need to be and, like, you know, my footwork, that sort
17:11of thing.
17:11So I'm thinking he's saying that and then using that to try and give you something to write about and
17:17to give you something just outside of just that flat coaches speak that you hear coaches say sometimes.
17:23But I think that's a conversation that player and the coach had, and he's like, okay, this is how I
17:29can help as a coach by helping this guy and being on this guy when it comes to his preparation.
17:34But like you say, like my dad used to say when I was a kid, I'm like Missouri to show
17:38me state.
17:39He's going to have to show that he belongs on this 53, and this is the coaching staff that did
17:44it because they got to kind of gave him a reprieve of execution.
17:48Yeah, I wrote a story earlier in the offseason about Evan Neal working with LaCharles Bentley, you know, who's a
17:56renowned offensive line guy, you know, went out to Cleveland.
17:59LaCharles Bentley has places, I think, in Arizona and Cleveland.
18:03He went to Cleveland.
18:04Evan Neal picked up from Florida, drove cross-country to Cleveland, spent more than a week with him, working out,
18:10working out, working out, not posting a million videos and things like that.
18:13So that was a certain amount of dedication.
18:15And also, Evan Neal could have chosen to sign somewhere else.
18:20Somebody would have signed into a veteran minimum contract.
18:23He wanted to come back to the Giants.
18:25Would he have had a better shot somewhere else?
18:28Maybe.
18:28You know, I mean, don't forget with the Giants, when the Giants fans think of Evan Neal, he is a
18:33failed first-round draft pick.
18:35If he went to any other team, he would be a former first-round draft pick who has tremendous physical
18:41attributes who is getting another shot.
18:43So he's going right back into the lion's stand here.
18:46So it's either folly or it's smart and it's, you know, it's a courageous, quote-unquote, thing to do for
18:53Evan Neal to go right back to the belly of the beast to say, I want to succeed with the
18:58Giants.
18:59I want to spend my training camp with the Giants.
19:01I think I can make the Giants roster, even though a lot of people have very negative thoughts about him.
19:06Speaking of getting another shot, it's the story of the offseason 1-3.
19:13The battle of the 1-3s right now.
19:16Former 1-3, current 1-3.
19:19Two guys that are fighting to make the roster.
19:22Forget even cracking the starting lineup right now to make the roster.
19:25And then we'll see what happens.
19:27The former 1-3, OBJ, is back in time and in town.
19:32The current 1-3.
19:33You were right.
19:34You were right.
19:35Back in time.
19:36That was a slip that was right.
19:40Is OBJ back in time?
19:41You didn't mean to say that, but you're right.
19:43It's like the Miami Heat with the slip in the introductory press conference for LeBron James.
19:51You know, sometimes it happens.
19:52It's, you know, it's nature, but Hyatt, OBJ, who has the better chance of making the roster?
20:01And which of the two, if not both, do you see making the 53?
20:07Well, I know you have a soft spot for Jalen Hyatt.
20:10I know you do.
20:11If Odell Beckham Jr. is battling Jalen Hyatt for a roster spot, then that's bad news for Odell Beckham Jr.
20:19Look, Jalen Hyatt is on the team.
20:20There's no reason not to have him on the team right now.
20:23I mean, if I said that Evan Neal is a long shot to make the roster, Jalen Hyatt is a
20:28long shot to make the practice squad.
20:29I mean, he has shown very little in his time with the Giants.
20:32And his, you know, his career has gone from not great as a rookie and steadily down.
20:37I mean, he wasn't even dressing last year.
20:39So, you know, I'd be shocked if he's still in the program at the end of this, barring a bunch
20:45of injuries.
20:46So, I think, you know, I'm putting him off to the side that he's a, he's a, he, right now,
20:50he's a training camp body that can run all day.
20:53You know what I mean?
20:53Which is, you need a lot of receivers.
20:55You know, you were one of those guys, right?
20:57Yeah.
20:57I was a camp body that can run all day.
20:59I was a camp body that can run all day.
21:02And you weren't drafted and they didn't mind running you into the ground, right?
21:06Yeah.
21:06Because they're not going to run Plaxico into the ground or Amani into the ground.
21:10They're going to run you into the ground.
21:11And so, I think Jalen Hyatt's a guy that as long as he can stay out there, they'll run him
21:15into the ground.
21:15And if he shows something great and if he doesn't, they'll just get cut at some point.
21:19Now, you know, I mean, don't forget that remarkable, really remarkable one day in free agency where they signed Braxton
21:27Berrios first, right?
21:28They signed Braxton Berrios first, right after Gunner Olszewski got hurt.
21:33So, okay, that's kind of a like for like, we said.
21:36Okay, that makes sense.
21:37Will they sign another receiver?
21:39Maybe.
21:39Then they signed Odell Beckham Jr.
21:41And I said, okay, now they got two receivers.
21:43And then they signed Juju Smith-Schuster.
21:45So, I don't think we can discount Juju Smith-Schuster here either.
21:49So, between Berrios, Odell, and Juju Smith-Schuster, three guys signed in one day, three veterans.
21:56Does one of them make the roster?
21:58Does Berrios, you know, take the punt return job?
22:01Does he make the roster?
22:02And then as a, you know, backup slot receiver, he's a special teamer, maybe.
22:07Juju Smith-Schuster had some juice in him, you know, but he's clearly not what he was.
22:12And Odell, you know, has really not been a vibrant player in the league for three or four years, let's
22:17face it.
22:18And he has no special teams value.
22:20He does not play special teams.
22:21So, does Odell make the team?
22:27At this point, I would probably bet no.
22:29I wouldn't bet against him because Harbaugh likes him.
22:33But I just, you know, if guys are healthy all around him, all the guys we mentioned who are battling
22:38for wide receiver one, two, and three spots, they're all ahead of him.
22:42And we didn't even mention they have Isaiah Likely and they have, you know, who's a new tight end, who's
22:47going to be a weapon in the passing game as well.
22:50So, maybe you can carry one less receiver.
22:53Odell has to stay healthy.
22:54He has to prove he can withstand the rigors of training camp.
22:57Then he has to show something.
22:58It's a lot.
22:59It's a lot, you know, for him to do that at age 33.
23:01And if he does that, Paul, and I know it's an if, but if he's able to stay healthy throughout
23:07the course of training camp, if he's able to show that he can handle the rigors of training camp at
23:1333 years old, I think they're going to find a spot for him on the football team.
23:17Because all throughout the course of the spring, what did we see?
23:20He was coming down with the catches.
23:22He was making catches.
23:23And I think that's one thing that I know we can see the speed in Darnell Moody, the speed in
23:28the Darius Slayton, and he kind of has to make the team because of the contract situation.
23:33But just year after year after year, the Giants receiver room has been plagued with drops.
23:39So, keeping a sure hand in there, whether it's that fourth receiver, and I get it, he doesn't add any
23:44special team value.
23:45He's not going to play gunner.
23:46He's not going to rush punts and try and block punts, hold a guy up as a pester on the
23:52punt return team.
23:53But I can see him.
23:56I can see them getting down to the nitty-gritty where they're making the case on why a guy should
24:01be cut, why a guy should stay.
24:03And Odell's going to have a couple catches that came from Jameis Winston throughout the course of one of these
24:08preseason games.
24:09And you're going to look at it and be like, all right, the 4-2, 4-3 still not there.
24:14He took a, you know, we had to give him a vet day here or there, but the boy still
24:20has mitts.
24:21The boy still has mitts.
24:22So, you know, I think, I don't know.
24:24I don't know.
24:25I'm with you.
24:26He's got to show it.
24:26I won't bet for it, but I won't bet against it as well.
24:30But it's going to be an interesting camp battle when it comes to which one of these receivers is going
24:35to be on the in and who's going to be on the out.
24:39We talked about the starting battle for CB1, CB2, and you mentioned not wanting to throw a rookie out there
24:49in year one in a Colton Hood.
24:52Here's a rookie that was thrown out there in a Wink Martindale defense and gave us some hope, but we
25:00haven't seen that hope since.
25:03Does Taye Banks make this roster, Paul?
25:07I think it's all up to him.
25:09You know, I think talent-wise, he makes the roster.
25:12There's no question about it.
25:14Is he a changed man?
25:16Is he got the extreme work ethic that he has not shown?
25:19Can he put back-to-back-to-back good practices together?
25:23Now, he did show himself as a pretty capable kick returner last season.
25:28So, you know, your starting cornerback is not going to be returning kicks for the most part, unless it's Deion
25:36Sanders.
25:37You know what I mean?
25:38Okay, he's not Deion Sanders.
25:40But can your fourth or fifth cornerback return kicks?
25:44Certainly.
25:45So, that is a role that he could fill.
25:47It's not a joke.
25:48It's a role he could fill.
25:50Physically, big, strong, fast.
25:53You know, he's got everything in that regard.
25:55Is his work ethic and his attention to detail, can he be technical?
26:00If they put him in more press man coverage, which is what he, I wouldn't say excelled in,
26:06but he certainly was capable of doing that as a rookie under Wink Martindale.
26:10I think they're going to get back to a little more of that this year under Denard Wilson.
26:15That will help Deontay Banks.
26:17He's also, what is he, 25 years old?
26:19Is he even 26 yet?
26:21He's a young guy.
26:22He's healthy.
26:23So, now, he's a guy, as opposed to Evan Neal or even Odell, I would say there's a definite pathway
26:29for him to make the roster.
26:31As long as his head is in the right place and he stays healthy, the talent is there.
26:35You know, I talked to some guys on the Giants staff and they said, we can see the new staff,
26:40the guys who haven't worked with him yet, or just starting to work with him.
26:44They said, we can see why he was a first-round pick.
26:46You know, coming off the bus, he's a guy who you want on your team.
26:49And as Giants fans and former coaches learned, he was also a guy you didn't want on your team
26:54because he just gave up on plays and just didn't seem to have the consummate professional attitude you need.
27:01If he is indeed a changed man and can show that in the locker room and on the practice field,
27:07there's a place for him on the roster.
27:09Yeah, I was always a bubble guy throughout the course of my NFL career, and I think he makes the
27:14roster because of what you said.
27:16There's something that we always say, like, whether it's a special teams coach or your receiver coach,
27:22or maybe in his situation, your corner's coach, and they're going to be on the board, in the meeting, in
27:28front of everybody,
27:29and they're going to be talking about what you're going to have to do to make this roster.
27:33Colton Hood, you're on this roster.
27:35Paulson Adebo, you're on this roster.
27:37Greg Newsome, more than likely, you're on this roster.
27:40But when he talks about maybe the fourth, fifth, sixth corner, we always say, the more you can do.
27:49Brandon London didn't excel on special teams, but Taye Banks can excel on special teams, maybe even more as a
27:57kick returner, pump returner.
27:59He's been now, he's put himself in position, or, you know, not to put no blame on him,
28:04he's now in the position where you have to show more than what they drafted you to be able to
28:10do.
28:10So he's done that with the two huge kick returns we saw.
28:14Like you said, put speed on tape.
28:16Now you're going to have to not only do that, but you may also have to play a little pester.
28:21You may even have to line up as a gunner here or there.
28:24Like you're going to have to try and make this roster, and I think this will be good for him
28:28in a sense
28:29because you have no, you can't act like a first-rounder anymore.
28:33When they call special teams, you can't just be hanging off to the side, sitting on your helmet,
28:39talking to Brian Burns and those guys.
28:41You're not in that position anymore.
28:43You got to go over there.
28:44You may have to dive and tackle a donut or something.
28:48You're in that position.
28:49So we're going to see, and we're going to see early, Paul, what that work ethic is going to be
28:55like
28:56because now, like we say, you're in the hood now.
28:58You're in the ghetto in terms of, like, the practice squad guys,
29:01like that little room they had for us back in the day when we were at Giant Stadium,
29:05when the facility, they called that the hood because it was the low-level, low-rent,
29:11not making too much money guys that had to dog it, that had to dog fight day in, day out.
29:17He's now in that bubble.
29:19He's in that community now.
29:20So we're going to see, we are going to see if he has champagne taste with beer money
29:25or if he's able to kind of knock back an MD 2020 and then go out there and show guys
29:33that,
29:33hey, I belong with the champagne and the douce.
29:38Let's, whatever, so now we'll move on.
29:40We'll talk about just overall training camp, Paul.
29:43I think what's the one, maybe like the one position or maybe, you know,
29:46one side of the ball that you are excited to watch the most and you need to see the most
29:54from?
29:59I would say there's a couple.
30:01I'll give you a couple, okay?
30:03Look, the offensive line, four of the five are the same guys.
30:05You know what I mean?
30:06And they're just putting in a rookie in.
30:07So we're going into this summer, more stable, the offensive line,
30:11and they've been in a decade.
30:12So hopefully that's a good thing.
30:14I'm very excited to see the outside linebackers.
30:19No question about it.
30:20Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeau.
30:23And here's something.
30:24Is Kayvon Thibodeau capable of challenging to supplant Abdul Carter as a starter?
30:30What did we hear during the spring?
30:32Kayvon Thibodeau was the hardest worker of everybody in that room.
30:36Charlie Bullen, the outside linebacker coach, told me that.
30:39And Brian Burns admitted it.
30:41When is the last time a player says, yeah, he outworked me this spring?
30:45And Brian Burns was the hardest worker, you know, on the team last spring.
30:50So Burns said, yeah, Kayvon has worked harder than me this spring, and I'm proud of him.
30:56So that's a little battle we can see.
30:58They're both going to play.
30:59Look, Carter and Thibodeau are both going to play a lot, but does Thibodeau going into
31:05likely his last year with the Giants, playing on the fifth-year option, does he kind of say,
31:10you know what, I'm not letting this second-year guy beat me out.
31:14I should be the starter alongside Burns.
31:17So I think that's a battle.
31:19And I'm very anxious and I'm interested in seeing the two new inside linebackers.
31:23They both look like outside linebackers.
31:26You know, Tremaine Edmonds looks like Matthias Kiwanuka, basically.
31:32I mean, he just looks like a big, long-rangey, Spider-Man-type outside linebacker.
31:36And the rookie, Arvel Reese, is every bit 6'4", and looks like a prototype edge rusher.
31:44And he can rush the edge, and he had a, you know, he was a ascending edge rusher at Ohio
31:50State, but he is an inside linebacker.
31:53So, you know, this looks a lot different than Micah McFadden and Darius Mewisau and Bobby
31:59O'Karake.
31:59It looks a lot different.
32:00They look like they don't belong in the same room, those guys.
32:03You know, and obviously, Micah McFadden's back.
32:06That's great.
32:06I think he makes the team as kind of like a jack-of-all-trades guy.
32:10But clearly, John Harbaugh's vision and Denard Wilson's vision for this defense is to have
32:15big, big, long, you know, kind of like, you know, basketball-type players playing inside
32:23linebacker.
32:24And he got them both.
32:25And one position battle we didn't talk about, which I think I have to talk about, at least
32:30briefly, is one that is very near and dear to John Harbaugh's heart, because he's a special
32:34teams guy at heart.
32:35Place kicker.
32:36You know, this is a derby.
32:38You know, the past years, it was Graham Gonneau.
32:40Graham Gonneau was the starter, and they had some younger guy in, and he was kind of taking
32:45the kicks away, and we'll see what happens.
32:46But as long as Graham was healthy, he was the starter.
32:49Graham Gonneau's not on the team anymore.
32:51You have Dominic Zavada, the rookie from Michigan, undrafted.
32:54And you have Ben Sauls, who was undrafted out of the pit, came, you know, to the team late
32:59last year, went 8-for-8 on field goals.
33:01He's a lefty kicker, so that's a little bit of a different look.
33:04He was not great.
33:05You know, don't forget, they signed Chase and Saunders, right?
33:08And they cut him.
33:09You know, he was a veteran, and I think if you ask both of us when they signed him, will
33:13he be the kicker?
33:13We'd say, yeah, probably.
33:14He's been a good kicker in the league.
33:16And they cut him.
33:17They said they could bring him back, but he's cut.
33:20So, and he's with the Jets signed him, didn't he?
33:22Didn't the Jets sign him?
33:23Yeah.
33:25So, place kicker.
33:26I mean, I think it's more than likely that the Giants place kicker to start the season
33:32in Dallas is not yet on the roster.
33:34It's someone who is out there, going to kick for somebody else who's going to get cut, and
33:38the Giants will sign him.
33:39So, and I would say if you ask me one, two right now, I would say Zavada has the upper
33:44hand on Saul's, because Zavada was better in the spring, but he's a rookie, and we'll
33:49see how it goes.
33:50But look, you can say, yeah, place kicker.
33:53Not a big deal.
33:54I'm not excited.
33:54But if it's a close game, that Sunday, what is it, September 13th against the Cowboys,
34:00we know the Cowboys kicker's going to make the field goal.
34:02Will the Giants kicker make the field goal?
34:05We don't know who the kicker is.
34:06We don't know if we'll make it, so it'll be pretty important to be continued.
34:10One, real quick, when you talk about Tremaine Edmonds, I just did a shoot with left tackle
34:14for the Buffalo Bills, Deion Dawkins, and he had nothing but great things to say about
34:21Tremaine Edmonds at the time they spent together in Buffalo, and he was saying, like, trust
34:26me, he still got it.
34:27That dude's going to be an anchor in the middle of that linebacking core.
34:30So that was really cool to hear him talk about it.
34:33And then, two, you were talking about special teams.
34:35I got to shout out Jordan Stout.
34:37Like, this is a guy, like, I forget who said it, but you know that thing where someone
34:41was like, I wasn't familiar with your game until this dude showed up at OTAs and he was
34:48booming them.
34:48And it got to the point, Paul, where instead of watching Braxton Berrios kind of just only
34:53catch the punt, I had my phone on the punter because I wanted to see not only the punt,
35:00but the trajectory and how it was landing and how he was making guys back up and run
35:06forward, I think this dude is going to be, he is going to be the most underrated signing
35:12the Giants have this offseason.
35:15So keep Jordan Stout as healthy as possible throughout the course of training camp at
35:21all costs.
35:22Paul, let's wrap this up because we're almost pushing 40 minutes right now.
35:28Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
35:35What can the fans expect?
35:37Shoot, what can me and you expect?
35:40You know, I've never been there.
35:42I've heard a lot about it and I've talked to people in the NFL who have had training
35:45camps there.
35:47Look, it's a luxury resort.
35:49It's hosted 28 presidents.
35:51I looked all this stuff up.
35:5328 presidents have stayed there.
35:54They like to call it America's Resort.
35:57It was opened in 1778.
35:59The Ryder Cup was there in 1979, I believe.
36:04So I heard it's a little dated.
36:06You know, it's a little bit of a dated facility, but it has training camps.
36:10The Browns were there two years ago.
36:11The Saints were there several years ago.
36:13So, you know, it's used to, you know, and I know, you know, college teams go there.
36:19Sometimes NFL teams, when they're staying, when they have like a week to stay on the East
36:24Coast, they'll go there for a few days and practice.
36:27So this is not like unfamiliar territory for this resort.
36:31They do house NFL teams.
36:33So that'll be interesting.
36:34This was not John Harbaugh saying, I'm going to take the team away.
36:38We're going to get out of, you know, we're going to get out of Dodge.
36:40We're going to go to some isolated location and bond and hunker down.
36:44The Giants couldn't practice their own facility this year.
36:46That was whether John Harbaugh was the coach or, you know, Brandon London was the coach.
36:51They couldn't practice there.
36:52So because the facilities get all kinds of upgrades and renovations.
36:57So this is where they picked.
36:59Little known fact that there is a bunker.
37:02Did you hear about this, Brandon?
37:04There's a bunker underneath the facility that was built in the 1950s in the Cold War.
37:11It was built there in secret.
37:14The government built a bunker there in secret that if there was a nuclear attack, the entire
37:20Congress could be brought to this bunker.
37:23It's big enough for the entire Congress could go to this bunker and stay there.
37:27And it was a secret for 30 years until obviously that we felt the Cold War was no longer, you
37:33know, first and foremost in our fears and in our minds.
37:36And now you can go there.
37:37I'm going to tour it.
37:38You can tour it down there so we can tour it together.
37:41We better make sure we don't get locked into the bunker, right?
37:44Because I don't think banging on the doors, people will hear us.
37:47And so, you know, it's going to be different.
37:49It's going to be different.
37:50I spent 16 or 17 years at the University of Albany in training camp.
37:54That was a college campus.
37:56This is a resort.
37:57It's different.
37:58You were at Albany.
37:59You know the lay of the land there.
38:00You liked it there.
38:01You know, that's where your NFL foundation was laid, right?
38:07You know, I'm sure you have some good and strange and, you know, weird memories of being at Albany, probably
38:14many of which we can't repeat.
38:18But this will be different.
38:19You know, this will be this is a luxury resort.
38:21But look, once I get on the field now, the altitude is 1800 feet above sea level.
38:27You know, I think East Rutherford is like 12 feet above sea level or something.
38:33So I think it's going to be a little cooler.
38:34Maybe the air will be a little crisper.
38:36I'll still be wearing my hat that we talked about, but it's going to be different.
38:40And I think the players will probably enjoy bonding and being together.
38:45You know, but like I said, 10 practices in 11 days.
38:48Not going to be a time for a whole heck of a lot other than practicing and resting and, you
38:52know, getting some good meals in, hopefully.
38:54Yeah, I'm a dad now, Paul, and I'm responsible.
38:56So I'm going to keep those Albany stories to myself.
38:59I'm going to bury them in the bunker down in White Sulphur Springs at the Green Bar Resort.
39:05That's another episode of Blue Rush, our final episode until training camp, ladies and gentlemen.
39:11The Giants have six open practices down there for the fans.
39:16So come on down.
39:17August 1st is going to be the back together weekend.
39:19That's Saturday.
39:20Of course, I'm going to be hyping the crowd up.
39:22Got some stuff to do at NFL Network or ESPN, whoever's covering the Giants practice that day.
39:27But come on down.
39:29Take pictures.
39:29Paul's coming out.
39:30Take pictures with Paul in the hat.
39:32Repost.
39:32We love it.
39:33Paul, appreciate you hopping on today.
39:36And I will see you down in White Sulphur Springs next week, my friend.
39:40Yes, sir.
39:41First for both of us.
39:42You
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