00:05I told you guys about Malachi Fields. I told you guys Malachi Fields was going to make plays for
00:12Jackson Dart throughout the course of this season. What's up guys? Brandon London here
00:16live from Dusseldorf, Germany. Let's break down the Giants first preseason game. Don't care
00:23if it's a win or a loss. We need to evaluate what we need to evaluate in the first look
00:29of
00:30John Harbaugh's 2026 New York Giants. Let's get to what I didn't like at first. When I say I didn't
00:39like it's something that I'm going to keep an eye out on for the rest of training camp to make
00:43sure
00:44that it gets better and that first and foremost obviously the run defense. Run defense especially
00:50with the starting unit. A couple gash runs that you didn't want to see. Darius Alexander was a bright
00:57spot at times. Did show flashes but you wanted to see more. Obviously Shelby Harris, DJ Reader didn't
01:05play in those games. Two vets. They got a lot of mileage on their body. They've done work. So when
01:11we talk about the interior of that defensive line after losing Dexter Lawrence, we didn't really get
01:17a chance to see them make the plays and wreak the havoc that they've been making throughout the course
01:24of training camp in the interior of that defensive line and in the trenches. So you got to watch the
01:31run defense from this game. You kind of got to take everything with a gain of salt and I can
01:37guarantee
01:38you from everything I saw down in White Sofa Springs, West Virginia, being around the team, being
01:44around the coaches. Denard Wilson is going to clean that up if it comes to gap responsibility,
01:51guys not being in the right rush lanes. You heard the coaches throughout the course of team run and
01:58the competitive periods. When they coach, especially at Denard Wilson, when they coach after a play,
02:05they're telling guys to be in their gap. Don't get reached X, Y, Z. So that's something
02:10what I expect to get or expect, yes, and hope to get cleaned up. One, because DJ Reader, Shelby Harris,
02:18the vets, they weren't playing today too, because the coaching staff is very meticulous when it comes
02:25to detailing their work, especially on the defensive side of the ball and cleaning up the run game.
02:31So yeah, so I expect that to be better, especially going into next week when they go down, they have
02:38the joint practice against the Miami Dolphins and then they play that second game against the Miami
02:44Dolphins. Another thing that I kind of, I know when I'm watching here in Germany and I had to watch
02:52it on my phone, don't ask me how, but I found a little bootleg stream. Jackson Dart getting hit
02:59like that. Jackson Dart, I mean, this is a year where Jackson Dart's development going into his
03:06second year. It means everything for this team, for this franchise, for the youth. I'm out here at
03:13the IFAF World Flag Championships 2026 and all the Giants fans, especially young Giants fans,
03:22they're wearing a Jackson Dart jersey. So Jackson Dart has to take that step, not only for his personal
03:27development, for the offense to look good, for Matt Nagy, obviously, to look good and maybe get a
03:32head coaching opportunity or interview after this year because you can take a rookie quarterback
03:40and develop him. You don't want Jackson Dart taking those hits and going into this season.
03:46We were talking about, all right, Jackson Dart protecting himself, him not running recklessly,
03:51him not trying to take on linebackers or safeties after running or, you know, being mobile, scrambling,
03:57getting the first down and trying to lower the shoulder on somebody. But yeah, he took a pretty
04:02vicious hit and we saw him go to the, we saw him go to the tent on that opening drive
04:07and that's not
04:07something you wanted to see. It was great to see him come back into the football game, extend the play
04:15with his feet and then hit Malachi Fields in the red zone for that touchdown. So that goes to show
04:22everything that my colleague, Paul Schwartz, talked about and wrote about throughout the course
04:28of this offseason about he doesn't have to show his toughness. He doesn't have to prove to anyone
04:35that he's tough. The kid, the metal is there. The toughness is there. You just want to make sure
04:41that one, he protects himself to the offense line. The protection schemes within the offense are able
04:47to protect him as well. So huge scare there with him going to the medical tent. I understand the NFL
04:56has a job they have to do and player safety, but it was also great to see him bounce back,
05:03scramble, make that throw to Malachi Fields. I believe those are the two biggest things that
05:09kind of, I like leaving and watching this game because again, I don't care about who wins
05:16a preseason game. We saw the Giants pretty much run the table last year in the preseason in 2025
05:23and get off to the start that they had with the Washington Commanders and then obviously losing
05:27on the road to Dallas last year. So, I mean, you watch the preseason with a game of salt. When
05:33I
05:33watch, or a game of grain of salt, when I watch, I evaluate and for me to be around the
05:39team and see
05:41what they've been working on, see some of the details that Coach Harbaugh has been working on with
05:46this team. You wanted to see that be put in play and be executed in a game-like situation. I
05:53think
05:53we saw early pre-snap penalty on the offense as well. You can see all the beat writers that were
06:00down in White Sofa Springs. The Giants implementing a hard count, trying to be like, you know, an Aaron
06:05Rogers-based team to where you use the hard count to your advantage. At times, it got them in trouble
06:13down in the practices down in West Virginia. Then you saw that pre-snap penalty. They kind
06:19of cleaned it up throughout, you know, the rest of the game, throughout the course of the game.
06:22But that was something seeing with the ones, you're like, come on, come on, come on, come on. Can't
06:26have that this year. I think we saw a lot. I think at the beginning, we saw the old Giants
06:31before that
06:32touchdown kind of clicked and things got going. We saw, you know, obviously the run defense not be able
06:38to make stops. Defense was able to get off the field, force a field goal on that first opening
06:44drive with Kyler Murray and that Vikings offense. And then, you know, the offense kind of started
06:49off a little slow with the way that they were playing. But then that Malachi Fields touchdown,
06:54Jackson Dart to Malachi Fields. I've been telling everybody throughout the course of the spring,
07:02throughout the course of the summer. And again, I understand it's only one game. Malachi Fields,
07:08is going to be a threat within this offense. Malachi Fields is going to push, not only for targets,
07:16Malachi Fields is going to push for playing time and a substantial role within this offense.
07:24He is going to make plays within this offense because his ability to show throughout the course
07:30of the practices in the spring and training camp that he can attack the football and catch the
07:37football at its highest point. I don't care these DBs. They're 6'1", 6'2", in the NFL. This kid's
07:45taller than me. I'm 6'4", 6'5", bigger than me. He can go up and he plays where the
07:52Eagles play. Not the
07:53Philadelphia Eagles. I mean the Eagles, the actual animal. He plays up there in the sky. You cannot,
08:00when he extends his arms and he attacks the rock at the highest point of contact, there's nothing a defender
08:06can do.
08:08Unless you try and make a pass break up on the way down. There's nothing you can do. When he
08:14applies the proper skill
08:15and uses his skill set, he is almost unguardable, especially in the red zone. So it was good to see
08:22the scramble by Jackson Dart.
08:24It was good to see him throw it up there for Malachi Fields. He gets the preseason touchdown, gives something
08:29to the MetLife
08:30Stadium. It looked like the crowd got really hyped. It looked really cool to watch on my phone, the crowd
08:37getting hyped.
08:38Kind of got a little sense of FOMO because obviously I want to be the in-game MC there to
08:42hype up the crowd for the touchdowns.
08:44But I was needed here in Dusseldorf for the Giants and for the NFL. Another thing to kind of keep
08:50an eye out on,
08:51I think Motor Singletary continues to show that he's the third running back of this football team.
08:58He deserves a couple carries a game. It's going to be hard for a Turbo Miller or a Bankston to
09:05try and take that third
09:06running back position, especially with him taking the pay cut in the offseason and make 40-yard screen pass,
09:14taking the screen pass for 40 yards, making that big play to set up that touchdown from Jackson Dart
09:19to Malachi Fields. I think Colton Hood getting that start, he looked pretty good. He looked fluid.
09:27Tate Banks, one of those things where it's going to take more than just one preseason game for Tate Banks
09:34to get into the good graces of the fan base. Right now he's playing very well in camp,
09:40but he needs to continue to put games together, stack games, stack days together, not only his confidence,
09:48but the confidence just of everyone within the fan base. I'm not saying that as a bad thing.
09:52If you've seen him, the boys, the kids have been making plays, kids have been making plays.
09:58Let's see, Jameis goes eight for nine. Obviously, having a backup quarterback like Jameis Winston,
10:03that's always going to be great because you can evaluate an offense, especially with the wide receivers.
10:10Odell with two catches for six yards, nothing crazy. And that's why we need to, when we watch,
10:15we need to manage our expectations when we talk about Odell Beckham Jr.
10:19not only making this team, but carving out a role for himself as well on this offense.
10:25Man's expectation because the ball is going to go to other guys.
10:28Obviously Malik Nabors, Isaiah Likely, now Malachi Fields, a guy you traded up into the third round to go get.
10:35He's playing very well, so he's going to get his targets as well.
10:39But Odell just making the catches. You heard the crowd. You heard the crowd.
10:43No, it's only a matter of time until he gets his big opportunity to show what he has and if
10:49he still has it.
10:51Isaiah Likely, who's been the highlight of the offense throughout the course of the spring and the summer.
10:56You don't want him doing too much. It was good for him to catch a pass early from Jackson Dart.
11:02If you got fantasy, go grab him because he's, I believe he's going to be a 60-70 catch,
11:0970-plus, 60-plus, 70-plus catch guy as we wait to see what goes on with Malik Nabors.
11:16If he's able to be out there week one, which Malik has to look good, you want to see if
11:21they ramp him up in this second week of the preseason.
11:26Maybe in practice, maybe the joint practice. Who knows? Who knows what they do?
11:31But all in all, I don't know. I'm not here to grade out the Giants' first preseason game.
11:39I just, again, after watching this team, seeing what John Harbaugh, Matt Nagy, Denard Willison, all these coaches,
11:47seeing what they're working on within the details, trying to get this team ready for week one against the Dallas
11:53Cowboys.
11:54I guess I'll sum it up by saying we saw, at the beginning, we saw the same old Giants until
12:02they were able to settle down and become the new Giants
12:07or take a step to becoming John Harbaugh's Giants. You know, so that's what I say.
12:13I mean, on to next week. Again, they got the joint practice with Miami. That's going to be some extra
12:19work going up against another team.
12:21Joint practices are a lot faster than the games sometimes because, I mean, guys are, you know, really trying to
12:27make a name for themselves on the practice field.
12:29And then, you know, obviously you have the preseason game. We'll see how much John Harbaugh plays his starters in
12:35that second preseason game.
12:36You got a young football team. They need their reps. You got Jackson Dart and a new offense.
12:41Same thing schematically on the defense. New defense. So, you know, young guys need reps.
12:47You got to be able to be confident before you step out on primetime football against the Dallas Cowboys.
12:53But, I mean, we saw what we saw. John Harbaugh, these coaches, they're going to hit the tape.
12:58These guys are going to get in, get the tape, clean a lot of that up.
13:02Obviously, veteran guys coming back in and being able to execute a scheme a lot better than a younger guy
13:08trying to make a team
13:09or a younger guy that maybe trying to, not saying the lights are too bright for the young guy or
13:18whatnot,
13:18but just it's a lot of emotion going on in a preseason game.
13:22You're trying to make a team and no excuses or anything, but we still haven't been able to see this
13:28team, but as a whole,
13:29but we're seeing this team. They took a step today.
13:32Special teams-wise, Saul's really good with the kicking.
13:37I guess we'll see what that kicking battle looks like.
13:40And then, obviously, Jordan Stout is as advertised.
13:43Braxton Berrios with the nice punt returns.
13:46Taye Banks had the nice kick returns.
13:49I mean, kick return as well with the 27-yarder.
13:52You're trying to make a team, which it looks like he's already made this team.
13:56We always say the more you can do, he adds a special team's value to him as well with the
14:02kick return game, but all right, on to the next.
14:05Watch the tape, break it down, clean up what you need to clean up, and it's on to Miami.
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