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00:00No Jackson Dart in a banged-up secondary with Brian Dable and some really familiar faces coming to town on
00:06Sunday.
00:07Can Jameis and the Giants defense get the vibes back on track with a much-needed win?
00:12All that and more in this episode of Blue Rush.
00:21What's going on, everybody? Welcome to your Blue Rush preview show.
00:25Week 3 is already here, and it's time that we put everything to bed that happened week 2.
00:31It's time to look ahead to the winless Titans.
00:34Giants beat writer for the post. You see him there smiling with the cheekbones.
00:37Paul Schwartz joins me, and we're going to talk about Dable's return.
00:42Then we're going to break down the matchup from the Tennessee side of things with ESPN Titans beat reporter Teron
00:48Davenport for some know-your-enemy.
00:52Paul, appreciate you hopping on with us.
00:54I think, you know, I think the people want to know.
00:56I think we should start with the injury report first on if there's any updates you have for anybody who's
01:02potentially leaning to being out or to potentially playing this Sunday.
01:10Well, you know, if anyone was looking for a bright side of things, knowing that Jackson Dart's out for the
01:15year, they're not going to get a lot of brightness this weekend, I don't think.
01:20Brian Burns has a sprained ankle. He's not going to play this week.
01:23You know, he might be out multiple weeks. It's a low ankle sprain, but it is an ankle sprain.
01:27He was in a boot. So he's played, let's see, 17 and 17 is 34 in two games this year,
01:3336 consecutive games for the Giants.
01:36He has never missed a game for the Giants, but looks like he's going to miss one this weekend.
01:40And, you know, Andrew Thomas came out that last drive in L.A.
01:45He came out. It looked like he had a groin issue. That's what it was, a ductor groin type thing.
01:51He was on the field for the walkthrough stuff on Wednesday, and that was encouraging, but he was not on
01:57the field on Thursday.
01:58So, you know, I would say it's not. Look, you have a groin issue. It's hard to play through that.
02:03So I think their Giants, you know, best offensive lineman left tackle is likely not to play this weekend.
02:09That means it'll be Marcus Bowe, I assume. So the sky isn't completely falling.
02:15You know, he's been a serviceable backup, but you want Andrew Thomas on the field, he won't be.
02:20And Deontay Banks, maybe he can return. He was doing some individual stuff on Thursday, missed last week with a
02:26calf.
02:27As we know, you got to be tricky. You got to be careful with calves. They're tricky.
02:30So you can't rush them back and you can't have a cornerback with any kind of, you know, leg issue
02:36because you'll just get torched and that will be a problem.
02:39So we'll see about that one.
02:40No Brian Burns, no potential. No, no potentially Andrew Thomas.
02:45When it rains, it pours and it's supposed to be a Nor'easter on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
02:52Who does that help? Who does that help?
02:54You know, I mean, usually it helps the weaker team, I would think, right?
02:59You kind of, but I don't know if that's true. What do you think?
03:02What do you think if it is a, it is a heavy rain, wind, just a miserable day? Who does
03:07that help?
03:07It's going to help the team whose identity is based around running the football and this Giants run game.
03:16Tyrone Tracy Jr., Najee Davenport, Motor Singletary, Cam Scatterboo.
03:20Get your Wheaties, your Gator lights, your Electro lights, your Pedial lights, all the lights in the world because it's
03:27going to be a heavy workload, I'm thinking, for this backfield, especially as we try to figure out or the
03:33Giants try and figure out what version of Jameis Winston they're going to get on Sunday.
03:38You feel as though this game, in terms of the offense, the success and the Giants winning this game falls
03:45on that running back room?
03:47I mean, you know, before this injury, Jackson Dart, I think we can both agree, Jackson Dart could win you
03:56football games.
03:57I mean, obviously not by yourself, but he could win you football games.
04:00He was fantastic against the Cowboys.
04:02So can Jameis Winston win you a football game?
04:06Probably not.
04:07Now, you know, he was unbelievable.
04:09He threw for what, 350, 360 yards last season against the Lions.
04:14It wasn't his fault they lost.
04:15Heck, he caught a touchdown pass, didn't he?
04:17It was the defense's fault.
04:18You know, but I don't think that's Jameis Winston you're going to see on a day-in and day-out
04:22basis.
04:22So there's no question that the Giants – now, you can't just say, okay, we're going to a wing tee.
04:27We're going to run the ball.
04:29We're going to pound it down your throats because defenses are going to be, you know, seeing what is happening.
04:34They'll load the box, and you won't be able to run very effectively.
04:37So – but, you know, this offense under Jackson Dart was developing into more of a play-action, under-center
04:43attack, and that's what they're going to have to be for Jameis Winston.
04:46He does not pose the running threat at all that Jackson Dart did.
04:50But, yeah, I mean, you're right.
04:51If it is bad weather and you don't want to throw the ball and you have a quarterback in Jameis
04:57Winston who's played fast and loose with the football for most of his career, right, 114 career interceptions, you don't
05:03want to start throwing it all over the place.
05:05You don't want to get behind by a couple of scores, all that kind of stuff, you know, all the
05:09basic tenets of football.
05:11But if it's really bad weather, you've got to get a lead, you've got to run the ball, you've got
05:15to play run defense, and you've got to try to just manage the game, manage the weather, manage the clock,
05:20manage your offense.
05:21And, yeah, I mean, they ran the ball well, quite well against the Cowboys.
05:27Not crazy well.
05:27Don't forget, Jackson Dart was their second-leading ball carry.
05:30He's not there anymore.
05:31But they ran it well.
05:32They need to run it effectively, certainly, against the Titans.
05:35Yeah, I mean, you're talking about a Titans run defense that's allowed 120 and a half yards per game.
05:43He's giving up three rushing touchdowns.
05:45They're ranked 21st right now.
05:47And I know it's still early.
05:48It's only two games in the season.
05:49But a tape for people to go back and watch if they want to see how Matt Nagy, Brian Callahan,
05:56or Greg Roman, who is the run game guru,
05:58how they can attack this Titans' front seven.
06:02Look at that Jets game.
06:04Brees Hall, Braylon Allen, those guys were able to hit holes.
06:08They were able to crease some holes against Jeffrey Simmons, who's one of the top D tackles in the league,
06:13John Franklin Myers.
06:15Everyone knows his name from his time with the Jets and Salah.
06:17So I think when you look at it, it's like that meme with Alonzo Mourning, where everybody uses it,
06:23where he's got that face when he's like, oh, all right, it's going to rain.
06:26You're going to be with James Winston, no Jackson Dart.
06:29But you're going up against a run defense that you can have some success with.
06:33And this is the identity of this offense.
06:37So it's going to be very interesting to see if this Giants' run game will be a big factor against
06:47this Titans' front seven,
06:48especially with the rain.
06:50But let's flip it, Paul, because we're talking, all right, Brian Burns may not play here.
06:55The Titans, they'll run the football as well.
06:59Maybe, I mean, I guess these two teams are kind of even when it comes to yardage
07:04and how successful they've been with the run game.
07:08Now would you say this is the biggest game for the Giants' defense in terms of stopping the run?
07:16I don't know who's running the ball for the Titans.
07:19Pollard and Spears have both not practiced this week.
07:22You know, I don't know what they're doing on Thursday and Friday.
07:24But, you know, are they going to play?
07:26Are they not going to play?
07:27We'll see about that.
07:29Obviously, the Giants know Tony Pollard well from his days with the Cowboys.
07:32You know what?
07:34It's getting to be a broken record already.
07:36I'm almost tired of talking about the run defense because it was horrible last year.
07:40It was horrible last week against the Rams.
07:43It was better.
07:45Certainly it was, you know, the numbers say it was great against the Cowboys.
07:48But you and I both know that that Cowboy game was an aberration because the Cowboys never had the ball.
07:55When they had the ball in the second half twice, they scored touchdown.
07:58So the Giants didn't stone cold stop the Cowboys.
08:01They played keep away from the Cowboys.
08:03So I don't know in an even game if these, you know, if the Titans are getting four possessions in
08:09the first half and four possessions in the second half.
08:11I quite frankly have not seen a lot from Denard Wilson's defense right now.
08:15I just haven't seen that much.
08:17I mean, you know, they have one sack in two games.
08:20Okay, okay.
08:20Everyone's going to tell me sacks are overrated.
08:23You're just a media guy talking about sacks.
08:25Have there been a lot of pressures?
08:27Matt Stafford was, Matthew Stafford was hit, what, twice last week?
08:32He's not the most mobile guy in the world.
08:34So they didn't stop the run at all last week.
08:37Not a lot of tackles for loss.
08:39So I'm still waiting.
08:40You know, I'm still waiting to see this defense.
08:42Okay, maybe no Brian Burns.
08:44You know what?
08:44I'm wondering about this.
08:45Is it possible that obviously Kayvon Thibodeau is going to be a big game for him if he moves into
08:50the starting lineup, you know, opposite Abdul Carter, right?
08:54Do you think they would put Arvel Reese up in an edge position sometimes now that Micah McFadden is back?
09:01You're going to have McFadden slip into Arvel Reese's role as an inside linebacker and give Arvel Reese 10 to
09:0812 snaps as an edge rusher?
09:09Because, you know, Ohio State used him as an edge rusher last season, and he had six sacks.
09:17I don't think you need to because they really like Chauncey Golston.
09:22They really are high on Chauncey Golston.
09:25You could see in the Rams game, I believe that he got more snaps than Kayvon.
09:29I'll have to go back and look that up.
09:32But they're really high on Chauncey Golston and what he's able to bring, not only being able to kick him
09:37in and play in the interior in the NASCAR package, but just how he plays the run.
09:42So I don't – I know you want to be creative going up against, you know, a Brian Dable offense.
09:49And we'll talk about the former, you know, coaches going up against their former teams and stuff.
09:54But I think you can keep Arvel Reese there.
09:57But I would like to see some creativity when it comes to using this kid's skill set, seeing him attack
10:05more than kind of dropping back and playing in coverage while he gets even more comfortable with that on an
10:12NFL level.
10:12But I think – so that goes into my next question, and we're waiting for ESPN Titans beat reporter Teron
10:20Davenport to finish up with media availabilities before he hops on with us.
10:25So my question to you is which former coach, now coordinator, has the most pressure to have the better day,
10:33Denard Wilson or Brian Dable?
10:36Because these two guys are going head-to-head right now.
10:40Look, Brian Dable was the head coach for four years with the Giants.
10:43You know what I mean?
10:43You know – I know Brian Dable.
10:45This is going to mean a tremendous amount to him to come back into MetLife Stadium.
10:49He's going to see all – you know, it's only last year.
10:52So it's the whole front office, you know, some members of his coaching staff, the equipment guys, everybody.
10:59He'll see all those people coming back.
11:00Obviously, Robert Sala will, too, from all his days with the Jets.
11:05You know, he will – but, you know, he'll know some MetLife Stadium personnel, but he won't know the Giants
11:10people.
11:10So I'm sure coming into that building is a big day for Robert Sala.
11:13But for Brian Dable, it's a big deal.
11:16Robert Sala knows the Giants defensive personnel, the guys who were here last year.
11:22Is that a big deal?
11:22Probably not.
11:23But I just – look, human nature is human nature.
11:27He's got, you know, Wondell Robinson, he's got Daniel Bellinger, you know, he's got Austin Schlottman, right, the center.
11:34You know, he's from the Giants.
11:36So it was clear they cherry-picked in free agency a bunch of Giants guys, and that was unquestionably with
11:43Brian Dable's certainly stamp of approval.
11:46He's not the general manager, but he's a guy who would certainly put in a good word for these guys,
11:51and he did, and they're with the Titans.
11:54Giants would have liked to keep Wondell Robinson, but not for the money that the Titans paid him.
11:58They just weren't going to do that for a five-foot-eight slot receiver.
12:02So, you know, I just think Brian Dable, knowing him, knowing his competitive fire, he's going to want to come
12:08in and play.
12:09You know, he's going to come in and want to put up some points on offense.
12:12And look, Brian Dable loved Jackson Dart, loved drafting him.
12:16Remember that scene?
12:17Yeah.
12:17That scene where he stood up and said, good job, Joseph.
12:21I've never heard anyone call Joe Shane Joseph, right?
12:23Good job, Joseph.
12:25I mean, he was so happy to get this kid.
12:27And after three games, he put him on the field as a starter, and their personalities were in sync.
12:33You know, he loved his moxie and his charisma, and, you know, and that's what Dable loves.
12:38And, you know, he got 12 games from him, and then he got fired.
12:42So I'm sure that was something eating at, you know, Brian Dable.
12:46Darn it, you know, I was in on the ground floor of this guy.
12:49I've only had, if I had a second year with him, but the Giants really liked Cam Ward.
12:53They would have drafted him if they had the chance last year, and now Dable's got the chance to work
12:57with Cam Ward.
12:58So, you know, it's not like he went from poverty to poorlessness, you know, from being poor.
13:03He, two top prospects out of the 2025 NFL draft, and he's got to work with both of them now.
13:11Before we bring in Teron Davenport of ESPN, Titans beat reporter for ESPN, Paul, you wanted to have a special
13:22tribute to former Giants GM Ernie Acorsi,
13:26who passed away on September 19th at the age of 84.
13:30You've been covering this team for a long time.
13:34What was Mr. Acorsi like, and what legacy does he leave, not only within Giants Nation, but in the NFL
13:41as well?
13:43Well, it's funny when you say that, Brandon.
13:45If you called him Mr. Acorsi, he would have looked you straight in the eye and said,
13:48Brandon, it's Ernie.
13:49He was Ernie.
13:50You know, he was Ernie.
13:51That's what he was.
13:52Yeah, I was here for his whole tenure, first as George Young's assistant general manager, then as the general manager.
13:59He was one of a kind.
14:00I mean, I try to put it into words in a column I wrote when I heard that Ernie Acorsi
14:04passed away at age 84.
14:06His funeral and his funeral mass is today, Thursday, in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
14:12That's where he was born and raised.
14:13That's where he passed away.
14:16He was just a great guy.
14:17He was a sports historian.
14:20Look, he was a former sports writer.
14:21He actually broke the story on Will Chamberlain being traded for the Philadelphia Inquirer, a news story that helped make
14:30his career.
14:31He morphed into PR with Penn State.
14:34He got into public relations.
14:37He got into working in front office with the Colts and the Browns and then the Giants.
14:43He became a consultant for many teams, helping hiring coaches and things after he retired from the Giants.
14:49Let's face it, Brandon.
14:50He put together the 2020, the 2007 Giants Super Bowl team, right?
14:56You know, he was technically not the GM then, but he got a Super Bowl ring after passing the reins
15:01to Jerry Reese, who was his protege.
15:04The first line in, you know, we always talk about in journalism and Ernie always talked about the first line
15:09in your obituary.
15:10The first line in Ernie, of course, his obituary somewhere should be that he brought Eli Manning to the Giants.
15:17He wanted to draft him.
15:18He couldn't do that.
15:19The Chargers drafted him.
15:21He worked incessantly to get that trade done.
15:24One, he believed in Eli Manning incredibly, forcefully, and he got that deal done.
15:31And we all know what I don't have to, you know, wax poetic about Eli Manning's legacy.
15:35That is Ernie, of course, he's legacy.
15:39Great baseball historian.
15:41You know, there were times, Brandon, that, you know, I'd be standing there talking to him at training camp up
15:45at the University of Albany.
15:46And, you know, he would talk to a lot of people, but I would be talking to him on the
15:49sideline.
15:49And I think other writers will be looking and saying, oh, what is Schwartz and Ernie?
15:54Ernie must be giving Schwartz all this good stuff about the Giants.
15:58And I'd be sitting there and I'd be nodding and listening.
16:00We'd be going together for 10, 12, 15 minutes talking.
16:03And I would always laugh when I say to Ernie, Ernie, they think you're spilling the beans on all the
16:07Giants stuff.
16:08And they don't know.
16:09We just discussed the Baltimore Orioles 1968 pitching staff.
16:15And you were telling me stories about Johnny Unitas.
16:17And you were telling me stories about the Miracle Mets.
16:20And we were talking about something else funny that was going on.
16:23He could, he could, he was the best.
16:25I mean, he was the absolute best.
16:27He'll be sorely missed.
16:29I miss him already.
16:30And I'll leave you with this, Brandon.
16:32Ernie, of course, he famously said, the most important player on your team is your starting quarterback.
16:38And the second most important player on your team is the backup quarterback.
16:43He firmly believed that.
16:45You could never have too many quarterbacks on your roster.
16:48You'll settle it out.
16:49You'll sort it out.
16:50You know, accumulate them.
16:52Put the best one on the field.
16:53Have the second best one ready to go.
16:55And boy, do the Giants need that wisdom right now and hope that that's true, that they have the second
17:02most important player on their team in Jameis Winston.
17:04Well, that's when you know you're a legend, when your advice and some of the things you say holds up
17:10in different eras.
17:11Now, not only just in the sport, but just in life as well.
17:14And, you know, rest in peace to a Giants and NFL legend.
17:19And, Paul, thank you.
17:20Thank you for bringing that up, you know, on the rundown and wanting to pay him, you know, his respects
17:25and give him a tribute.
17:26So it's hard to kind of transition from that, you know, to get on and get back on Titans, Giants.
17:33But Ernie would want us to go to talk about some Giants football.
17:39So we have ESPN Titans beat reporter Teron Davenport on the line now, and he's going to join us for
17:47a little Know Your Enemy.
17:49It's all going down right now on Blue Rush.
17:54Live from Nashville, Tennessee, Teron Davenport of ESPN joins us now outside of the Titans practice facility.
18:02So that's how you guys know it's official here.
18:06Teron, man, I guess, first and foremost, thanks for hopping on with us.
18:10Any updates or news you feel like we need to know on this Thursday heading into Sunday's game?
18:17Yeah, a couple of updates.
18:19You have Cordell Flott, the former Giants cornerback.
18:22We got to talk to him today.
18:23He told me that he's trending in the right direction towards being able to play on Sunday.
18:28And we know that's important because that matchup with Malik Neighbors is going to be one to watch.
18:32So that's one.
18:33And you also look at James Williams, Sr., who is one of the special teams standout, an inside linebacker, a
18:40reserve guy.
18:41He has been full participant as well.
18:43Fernando Carmona, the right guard, rookie right guard, that is.
18:47He has a shoulder issue, but he's been full participant also.
18:51So you could expect those guys.
18:53Paul.
18:55Teron, thanks for hopping on with us.
18:58First of all, one beat writer, one reporter to another, bring an umbrella for this weekend, okay?
19:04Bring an umbrella and bring a rain poncho.
19:07We could have a Nor'easter here.
19:08So we're going to talk all about these matchups and things, and it could come out with just a monsoon
19:13slop fest.
19:14But knowing Brian Dable the way I do, okay, I'm sure he has been spilling his guts to you and
19:22telling you all these great things and great stories and anecdotes, right?
19:26Because Brian Dable is one of those guys who loves to share his feelings with the media about what he's
19:31thinking, right?
19:32Tell me that that's the truth.
19:35No, it's actually been the opposite.
19:36We actually just talked to him on Thursday, and he's like, hey, you know, every week is a one-week
19:44season, and that's how he's looking at it.
19:46His whole thing is keeping this like it's just another game, and he's like, man, I've faced former teams before,
19:53so this is nothing new.
19:55So at least on the outside, he's trying to make it as normal as possible.
19:59But look, man, we all know he's a human being is going against his former employer.
20:04You know, he wants to run it up and do his thing.
20:06So that's what it is.
20:08Have you kind of got he go ahead, go ahead, Paul, my bad.
20:11You know, you know, Brian Dable was heartbroken, obviously, when he was fired by the Giants.
20:16And one of the real reasons was he loved working with Jackson Dart.
20:19He loved working with this young quarterback.
20:21But the Giants would have taken Cam Ward if they could get him.
20:23They absolutely would have.
20:24I was at Cam Ward's pro day.
20:26They loved him.
20:27So what is your sense of Cam and Dable?
20:30You know, Dable loves that connection, head coach, quarterback, now offensive coordinator, quarterback.
20:35What is your sense of that connection?
20:37Is Cam buying into what Dable is selling?
20:40And because I know I know that Dable likes Cam.
20:43Yeah, absolutely.
20:44I asked Cam straight up, like, what is it that makes you like Brian Dable so much?
20:49Because every chance he gets, he raves about him.
20:51And Cam said the thing that really set things off the right way was the fact that he was so
20:55open to implementing the things that he likes right away.
20:59Like, as soon as he got here to the facility, that's one of the things that they worked on.
21:03And Dable, when I brought that back to him, he said that the whole thing for him was first to
21:09develop a relationship with Cam as a man, just as a person.
21:13But then, as that developed, began to see the game through the eyes of the quarterback.
21:18And conversely, Cam was like, well, I want to see the game through the eyes of the coordinator.
21:22So that's allowed them to get on the same page.
21:24A good example of that is last week against the Eagles, you saw a lot of under center, hard play
21:30action being implemented.
21:31And that was because that's something that Cam does really well.
21:34It helps him out as a quarterback.
21:35So that's an example.
21:37But even just watching their relationship during team stretch and also during individual period, you know, Dable, obviously, you know,
21:46he likes to work with the receivers, too.
21:48But he does spend a lot of time with Cam, and they're going over different things.
21:51So that relationship is there.
21:53And I'll give you one thing that really stood out to me.
21:56It was during training camp.
21:57And I happened to be able to stand behind Dable as he was calling the plays.
22:00And he told Cam exactly what was going to happen, and he said, you know, he said he's going to
22:07run it this way, and that's going to open up underneath, and you're going to go to tape, and it's
22:11going to be a touchdown.
22:12And look, that exactly is what happened, you know, in the play.
22:16So a good example of them being on the same page and just proof that, you know, the trust and
22:22everything is being built by actually playing and seeing the things carry out the way Dable has preached it.
22:29Well, Teron, you guys have our former head coach slash coordinator, Brian Dable, down there.
22:35We've got you guys' former defensive coordinator, Denard Wilson, up here.
22:40So there's familiarity across the board when we talk about these two teams playing on Sunday.
22:45Which one of these guys do you feel has the most pressure to have their unit play a hell of
22:53a football game on Sunday, Brian Dable in the Titans' offense or Denard Wilson in the Giants' defense?
23:01That's a great question.
23:02I think in this case, with all things being considered, the injury to Brian Burns, the injury to Jackson Dart,
23:09I'm going to go with Dable just because he was brought in here specifically to get Cam Ward on track
23:16towards being a franchise quarterback.
23:18Like, that's his signature.
23:19If that doesn't go right, it's not going to be a long term here for Dable.
23:24So that's, to me, more important and more pressure than Denard Wilson's situation.
23:30And I think offensively as a whole, a whole part of – because Robert Sala, as you know, you know,
23:35he's a defensive-minded coach.
23:36He doesn't completely leave the offense alone, but he allows Dable to pretty much be a head coach of the
23:44offense, so to speak.
23:45And he'll drop in every once in a while.
23:47But the offense is on Dable.
23:49So, to me, it's all the pressure is on Dable.
23:53And he's the one that used to work for the Giants.
23:55He's going back – and I get that Denard Wilson, you know, was a D.C. here.
24:00That's all fine and dandy.
24:02But, to me, you know, the head coach going back to face his former team is higher than a D
24:08.C.
24:09facing his former team.
24:10Well, we talk about Denard Wilson and the success he was able to have when he first stepped in as
24:17defensive coordinator
24:18of the Tennessee Titans.
24:19When you look at the success he had against the Cowboys that first game,
24:23and then defense kind of struggled against Matthew Stafford and Devontae Adams,
24:29where was it in Tennessee?
24:31Or what is it about Denard Wilson's defense can be most exposed?
24:36You feel like Brian Dable can go after, especially this week.
24:40Yeah.
24:41Well, I think you got to look at the back end, right?
24:43You mentioned Matthew Stafford and Devontae Adams.
24:46Look, man, Colton Hood had no business being one-on-one with Adams, you know,
24:50in that situation where Adams was able to catch the touchdown.
24:52But that's what Denard does.
24:54He likes to blitz and likes to attack and rely on his guys on the outside, no matter who it
24:59is.
24:59And I think you look at, you know, the injury to Banks, you know, Greg Newsom is a solid corner.
25:04He's not a top-flight one.
25:06And then there are other injuries that are going on, Paulson Adebo.
25:10So you've got guys that aren't normally in those situations being asked to do things that starters are normally asked
25:18to do.
25:18So I think when you look at Alec Ironman or you look at Cornell Tate,
25:21these are guys on the outside that I think we'll be able to attack.
25:25And we know Denard, he likes to blitz, right?
25:27And so that leaves guys in one-on-one coverage on the back end.
25:30And I think that's where the Titans could have an advantage.
25:34But at the same time, this is a team that has only attempted one pass of 20 yards or more.
25:40And we know this rain is going to be here.
25:42So we'll see how that works as far as being able to run the ball, establish the play action,
25:47and take those shots.
25:48It's always harder to do so in the ring.
25:50Paul.
25:52Taran, I want to ask you about two players.
25:55You know, I've been covering the Giants a long time.
25:57You know, guys leaving free agency.
25:59You know, okay, they leave.
26:00They're good guys.
26:01They're guys you liked, guys maybe you didn't like as much.
26:03But Wondale Robinson and Daniel Bellinger were two guys that for four years were just fantastic guys in the locker
26:10room.
26:10You could go up to them at any time and talk to them.
26:13They were smart.
26:14They had perspective.
26:16They were funny.
26:17They had a lot of losing, right?
26:19There was a lot of losing other than 2022.
26:21And they stood up and took it like men.
26:23And, you know, I was sorry to see them go because I liked both those guys.
26:26Can you give me something about Wondale and Bellinger that, you know, would make maybe me feel good knowing that
26:33they're in good hands in Nashville?
26:36Well, you know, I guess the saying ain't nothing changed, but the change applies to them because they are the
26:41same.
26:42They just got bigger contracts now.
26:44Wondale has been a go-to for me just in stories I've done on Cam Ward and stories I've done
26:50on the past game improving.
26:53And I really like talking, even just off to the side, not even for a story, but just general conversation,
27:01just talking shop.
27:01He's been great.
27:02I actually talked to Bellinger for the first time on Wednesday, and he was really good as well.
27:08Very open about being, you know, pleased with his time there with the Giants.
27:14He made it clear that there's no hard feelings.
27:16He's looking forward to the game.
27:18And, you know, he's talked a little bit to me about, you know, the limited targets he's gotten and his
27:24role here.
27:25So, both of those guys are good is definitely a gift from the Giants, you know, having them in the
27:32locker room because they're always approachable.
27:34They talk at any point, and I really enjoy it.
27:37And, you know, being a guy that played a little receiver back in college, not a little, a lot of
27:41receiver in college, you know, I always like to talk shop with Wondale for sure.
27:45Oh, Wondale talk football, field talk receiver stuff.
27:49When you walked up to Wondale, when you woke up to Wondale for the first time, right, were you surprised
27:53how little he is, right?
27:54I mean, he's short, right?
27:57He's a short guy, you know?
27:58I was surprised how little he is.
28:01And the fact that I was a little bit bigger than him, you know, he has this nice Louis Vuitton
28:05chain.
28:06And, you know, I was like, hey, man, let me get there.
28:12Funny Wondale story.
28:13I just remember being out somewhere.
28:15I see this big Cybertruck pull up and randomly, I'm like, look at this big Cybertruck.
28:21And here he goes, opens the door and just hops out of the Cybertruck.
28:25And I'm just like, that's, that's awkward right there.
28:28Awkward.
28:28Yeah, how about for real two of those like this?
28:31Yeah.
28:32Great dude, man.
28:33I'm surprised that he's kind of gotten off to a slow start.
28:35You know, in this Brian Dable offense, but all, you know, as a former receiver, all it
28:40takes is one game to get us going.
28:42I want to flip and talk about Robert Salah and his defense because he kind of struggled
28:46a little bit against the Jets, specifically against the run against the Jets, but they
28:51managed to hold, to kind of neutralize the Eagles run game.
28:56But then the Eagles, Jalen Hurts, Devontae Adams had a field day in the air.
29:01What is this defense's identity under Salah?
29:06That's a good question.
29:08I don't know that they have an identity yet, but I'll say this, man.
29:11Watch 98.
29:12He's, he's playing at a different level.
29:14He has 19 pass rush wins.
29:15That's more than anyone else in the league.
29:18And you just watch him dominate on the interior and they even line them up on the outside.
29:22But to say they have an identity, I think that their identity is giving up too much time
29:28of possession.
29:29Right.
29:29And it's interesting because in the first game against the Jets, as you mentioned, they
29:33ran the football really well.
29:34The Jets did.
29:35And the Jets also did well on first and second down.
29:38So their third down numbers didn't really have a chance to be good because all the first
29:44downs were coming for the most part on first and second down.
29:47You know what I mean?
29:48And then they were able to shore that up against the Eagles.
29:51And then all of a sudden getting them in third and long, the Eagles were able to convert
29:55on that.
29:55They converted 11 out of 18 third down opportunities.
29:58That's, that's ridiculous.
29:59You know what I mean?
30:00So to me, that's the biggest issue.
30:03That Jets game, you know, they gave up a drive that was 11 minutes and 47 seconds.
30:08This team had the ball for three minutes in the second quarter.
30:12And you just, you can't win that way.
30:14And the defense has to do better as far as stopping those types of drives.
30:19Paul.
30:20Yeah, I got one more.
30:22First of all, two more.
30:23I lied.
30:23Who's playing running back this week?
30:25You got guys banged up, right?
30:28Yeah, good question.
30:29So you got Tajay Spears and Tony Pollard.
30:33Those guys were out on Wednesday.
30:35Pollard came back to practice on Thursday.
30:38I didn't see Spears.
30:40He may have come out because, you know, we only get up to after individual period.
30:44And then we're, we're shuffled back into the building.
30:47So I don't know if Spears will come out later, but that is an issue.
30:52Spears is a big time player for them as far as like, you know, in the past game as well
30:56as running the ball.
30:57But Nick Singleton, he's another guy who actually got some carries last week for the
31:02first time.
31:02He'll be in the mix.
31:04They just still have to get him to be more trustworthy on third down, specifically pass pro.
31:09You know, you got to be able to protect that asset in Cam Ward, your franchise quarterback.
31:13And he had some issues in the preseason with that.
31:16So he'll have to work his way into there.
31:18I got one more.
31:20What has the feeling been?
31:22You know, you guys are coming into week three.
31:23Okay, we're going to play Jackson Dart.
31:25You know, you know, you guys probably saw him Sunday night.
31:28Look so great against the Cowboys.
31:29No Jackson Dart.
31:30So what was the feeling in there now knowing no Jackson Dart, Jameis Winston?
31:35Everyone knows Jameis Winston, right?
31:36Everyone's got a Jameis Winston story.
31:38Everyone knows the guy, right?
31:40You know, he's not, you know, everyone knows him.
31:4212 years.
31:42What is the, what is your feeling and what are your senses from the locker room?
31:47What is the feeling?
31:48Is it a sigh of relief?
31:49It is, you know, we got this guy or is it like Jameis, you know, Jameis has got a big
31:53arm.
31:54We got to be careful.
31:55There it is.
31:56There's no sigh of relief.
31:58These guys understand.
31:59I actually had a couple of guys, you know, say, hey, like Jeffrey Simmons.
32:02He's like, man, this dude was a number one draft pick.
32:04Like there's talent there, you know, and talking to Wondell Robinson, actually, he has said
32:10that he expects the Giants to rally around Jameis Winston the same way they did at times
32:16when he was there.
32:16So it isn't a matter of, hey, this is a week where, where you get a break.
32:22Because quite frankly, when you're a team that's won six games in two years, there are
32:27no breaks.
32:28You know what I mean?
32:29There are no breaks.
32:30Every game you have to look at it like this is, this is a intense matchup, you know?
32:35So they have that mindset.
32:36And I think that's a good thing.
32:38One thing that they have talked about a bit is less RPOs, right?
32:43With Jameis, he's more of a true pocket, a drop back pocket passer as opposed to the RPO
32:48game.
32:49So that is something that, that, you know, they expect to be a little bit different.
32:54All right.
32:55Well, that's going to wrap up this episode.
32:57Teron, man, we appreciate you coming on with us live and outside of the Titans facility,
33:03giving our viewers, we got a little VIP access around here on Blue Rush.
33:09This, this is what we do, man.
33:11And as a guy born in Jamaica, Queens, lived there for, for 10 years, my Mets fandom is
33:18still there.
33:19I know they're terrible, but I'm going to end this with a, let's go Mets.
33:23Let's go Mets.
33:24I like this guy.
33:26Let's go.
33:26We should have brought up Pete Alonzo.
33:28We should have talked about Pete Alonzo, but I don't want to bring up, I don't want to
33:31make, I don't want to make.
33:32You know what?
33:33I was enjoying this interview until, until you brought that up.
33:37Okay.
33:37You know, I was just up there on Tuesday, last Tuesday for, for the Orioles and, and, and
33:43Mets game when he hit the home run to tie it up in the ninth inning.
33:47Thanks.
33:47Thanks for the bad feeling.
33:49I'm a, I'm a Mets fan too.
33:51I have those.
33:51I kept on saying, you know, I can be a fan, right?
33:55I sign the guy, sign the guy.
33:57And oh, by the way, 40 home runs and a hundred runs batted in later, sign the guy, right?
34:03Sign the guy.
34:03Well, on a good note, Andy Green is the manager.
34:06So let's, let's, let's end it on a good note.
34:09End it on a good note.
34:10We'll see you guys Sunday at 1 PM for a little Giants and Titans.
34:14We talk about everything on Blue Rush, Giants, Titans, and the Mets.
34:18Thank you guys for watching another episode of Blue Rush from the New York Post Sports.
34:26Blue Rush from the New York Post.
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