Big Blue Weekly: Previewing Week 15 vs. Commanders | New York Giants

Big Blue Weekly: Previewing Week 15 vs. Commanders | New York Giants

Welcome to another edition of Big Blue Weekly presented by Ford. I’m Bob Papa. On Sunday, the Giants are back home as they take on the Washington Commanders. Big show lined up for you. Carl Banks will go to the coaches tape and break it down in strategy. Shawn O’Hara goes one- on-one, plus coach Kafka. Carl, we’ll take a look at an above the X’s and O’s play and like to welcome in my co-host, two-time Super Bowl champion Carl Banks and the head coach of the New York Giants, Mike Cafkan. Uh, coach, did you get a chance to recharge a little bit during the by-week? Absolutely. Absolutely. I had some great time with the family, got to watch some some sports, and it was cool. It was good. During the by-week, obviously, it’s a large body of work now that you get to evaluate. Um, taking that time, does it give you a a better look instead of saying, “Okay, here I am interum and I just got to jump right in now.” Did you have a chance to really look at some of the things that you just didn’t have a chance to really zero in? Yeah. Yeah. And you’re you’re constantly learning, constantly growing, but you take some time over the buy, you eval the players, eval the scheme, and then have some projects that you want to do and look at to see how you can improve in those areas. And so spent a lot of time there with the coordinators doing that over the buy. Took some time off obviously to recharge. But yeah, absolutely. You look at it from the coaching side, you look at it from, you know, who’s in kind of my my um my area in terms of the support staff, how we can improve there, how how can I be an asset to them moving forward. So yeah, you look at all of it and try to get put together a good plan and and go execute on it. All right, so we’re in the home stretch here and, you know, four games to go in the season. That’s still a month. like there’s a lot of time left. Let’s talk about Washington coming in this week. It looks like Jaden Daniels got nicked up again. Z got hurt in the game on Sunday. A lot different looking team than the team that you played in week one. Um how much does a team change over that period of time? Yeah, it can change. It can change. It changes all the time. Um you know, injuries, personnel, different packages you want to use to get guys in the game. So each weeks is its own kind of season within itself. And that’s how kind of we’re approaching this. Everything’s all in for this week. So, we’ll go through the tape, study it, put together a great plan in all three phases and and go and attack it. Coach, we see a lot of different looks from Cliff Kingsbury. What makes this offense so unique? Coach Kingsbury does a great job just marrying up the run, the pass, you know, with some unique formations. They they play with tempo, but then they also have great players and great great skilled players to go kind of bring that that scheme to life. Debo Samuel had a rushing touchdown back in week one against you guys. um he’s a big threat. McLaren obviously when he plays gives them tremendous balance. Um can you just talk about the difficulties in defending guys like that? Yeah, they’re they’re they’re very unique. They have really cool skill sets to be able to play on the perimeter, break tackles, be a downfield threat. So, they really affect all different parts of the field and um and they do a good job of of of mixing and matching that especially, you know, the way their O line’s playing. So, they’re really built, you know, pretty um pretty well in terms of an offensive standpoint and being able to be explosive and productive defensively. Obviously, Bobby Wagner is a a seasoned vet and as smart as they come, but they do a lot of different things, too. Dan Quinn is he can show you a lot of pressure. What are some of the things that you have to prepare for there? Yeah, Bobby, a lot of respect for Bobby and Frankie Louvu and really the all three levels. They have veteran leadership there and they play fast. They play they play aggressive. So, you know, so you know, on on the front end of it, you look at it. Yeah, there’s pressures. Yes, there’s but there’s plenty of just fourman rush and then creating and generating pressure just the fourman rush and playing coverage. Um, so they’re they’re dynamic in that aspect. They’re not afraid to cover zeria. They’re not afraid to, you know, drop eight and play eight man in coverage or or rush four, rush five. So, they’re multiple in that aspect. So, we got a lot, you know, we’ll have to have a great challenge for us and make sure we’re we’re dialed in on it. How excited are you to see Jackson Dart deal with these last four games now as he’s going through the trials and tribulations of a rookie season? Yeah, I’m really excited for Jackson and really just this week, you know, after the buy having a great plan for him, for him, for the offense and um you know, just really tying everything together for us, but I’m I’m excited for Jackson. I’m excited to let him go out here and roll. Coach, my last question is when you have a group of tight ends like you have, how good is that to be able to do whatever you want within the scheme without having to really tip your hand personnel uh changes? Yeah, you know, tip of the cap to coach Kelly who’s in the tight end room, now the offensive coordinator. He does a great job with those guys just getting them prepared number one. But then the players Bellinger, you know, Man Herz, Dio, these guys coming up, stepping up, making plays and put in positions to make plays, but they have unique skill sets out of the back field, in line, off, off the ball, spread out, and in the receiver position. So, really cool skill sets for those guys, so we try to use them as much as we can. Coach, we appreciate a couple minutes. Uh, we’re going to take a timeout. When we come back on the program, Coach and Carl, head to the auditorium for Above the X’s and O’s. All that and more here on Big Blue Weekly presented by Ford. Welcome back to Big Blue Weekly presented by Ford. On Sunday, it’s the Giants and the Commanders at Metife Stadium. Let’s go back over to Carl and Coach Kfka in the auditorium. Above the X’s and O’s. Coach, let’s get right into it. Above the X’s and O’s. This is a Darius Sllayton play. makes a basic catch, if you will, but he takes it the distance. Talk a little bit about the anatomy of this play. Yeah, so we start off here in empty formation and really trying to get, you know, we had like a little bit of a double move called across the board just to to see if they were going to be playing post high or any kind of split safety look. But New England comes up and they show cover zero. So, we got a good built-in alert to to get it max protected. Jackson does a nice job getting Theo in the protection scheme here. and getting that communicated across the board to get it protected. And then what he ends up doing subtly is really just making a route adjustment. So he had some double moves called if they were going to play coverage, but Jackson sees it’s cover zero. Alert alert, gives us a little hand signal and then kills those double moves. And now all of a sudden we have the opportunity now just to kind of get the ball of our hands quick with a quick throw versus allout blitz. Really good job. They dropped 17 on this one, you know, over the middle of the field. This is This probably scores as well, but great job here by Sllayton just staying on his route, kind of working through the traffic here with guys dropping out into his vision. Jackson does a great job just buying himself a little bit of time. There’s going to be one guy extra on Blitz Zero. This kind of just drifting back a little bit, getting his back foot in the ground, delivering the catch right here. Then everything after that was all slay. I mean, catch and run, the burst, the speed to get behind the defense, then the finish right here in the goal line. We stress about it all the time is not reaching the ball over the goal line. And you see it week after week, guys trying to reach it, it getting punched out and popped out of the back of the end zone. You know, we stress it all the time with our guys. And this is just a great job staying disciplined. He could easily have done that, but staying disciplined to it and he scores anyways just because he’s an aggressive player and staying downhill with his speed, his momentum carries him into the end zone. So coach, let’s go back to the pre- snap because you see cover zero. They’re showing a cover too, but he he gets his guys on the same page. That’s right. That’s right. When you’re looking at this, what makes it different than cover two is that all these guys are right about at eight yards. Mhm. So, we’re at eight yards, all on the same level. Like, that’s a huge indicator for us when we’re looking at the tape. You know, if they’re all at the same level, eight yards, we got mugged up linebackers in the line of scrimmage. And this is something they had done in their past and we know they had this kind of in their as a possibility which is why we tagged the alert to it to kind of get it blocked up. So this is just a really nice job by Jackson identifying it, getting it communicated across the board. You’re seeing the communication here with Theo. He sees the alert. He knows, hey, I got to get off the ball, get the running back on the ball. Just that small detail, you know, if we don’t get that executed, it’s a touchdown taken away for illegal formation. But just a great job of execution. The O line blocking it, blocking it up. Our guys staying on our route. Slay with the catch and then the catch and run after that. I mean, this is should be a six, seven yardd gain. And you know, we beat cover zero with it. But he turns into an explosive and a 30-yard touchdown. But I like the way our guys executed right here kind of in crunch time here when we needed a big play. Yeah, clearly everybody played above the X’s and those making the right adjustments. Quarterback getting them in the right play. Thanks a lot, coach. Thank you. We’re just getting started here on the program. When we come back, Sean O’Hara goes one-on-one. All that and more here on Big Blue Weekly presented by Ford. Welcome back to Big Blue Weekly. We are down on the field now and I am honored to be joined by Mr. Spider-Man himself, Brian Burns. Bernzie, thanks for taking the time. Good to see you, man. No problem. You’re having a a great season. Personally, obviously, I know it’s it’s tough uh from a team standpoint, but what do you attribute all the success you’ve had this season to? Um, I really just say like coming in in the spring, you know, I was focused uh came in with with different goals in mind and and just, you know, changing over my my my entire process and routine. I believe that small wins, you know, really can accumulate to uh, you know, the results that you want. You’ve been kind of playing some different positions for the Giants this year. you know, not just your hand in the dirt, not just off the edge, you’ve been playing a little bit off the ball. How has that made you a better player? Uh, it’s just a different skill set. It’s a different just a different whole world back there. And, you know, like not only am I am I already mastered the things that I can do on the edge, but, you know, being able to step off the ball and see everything as a a holistic view, you know, just I feel like it it it upgrades your IQ. So, let’s talk a little bit about physically. All right. You’ve been given this god-given long arm ability right here. M how does that how do you use that to your advantage? How do you use that length? Um I would say mainly just keeping guys off of me you know uh I never want to get here with the guy because you know once we get locked in here lobster claw so I kind of want to just keep my separation and I can just be able to work however I want to work from from this point and so it all starts with a stab. It starts with a stab from from from a power or a combative rush stand. Now you’re st you’re stabbed with your right hand which means I’m a right tackle. Right. If you were if if I was a left tackle, you got that that hand right there. Right. So, you go with the stab first and then now I go to hit right here. And now you’re trying to control my wrist. Yeah. My hand immediately comes here. Okay. It’s either coming here or it’s coming down. It’s either one. When you go against a tackle that does not throw his outside hand and he he goes initially with this one. All right. So now all of a sudden, if I’m in this position right here and I’m not throwing this hand, what are you doing with that hand? So if you’re not going to throw this hand, usually I just keep powering until you give me this hand. And if you don’t, then I can always come inside. But that’s why you keep this extension off of me cuz if he wants to be an inside hand shooter, he wants to guide me with this hand. He’s weak on the outside. So I keep this pin and then I’ll just fall inside, you know, off of off of the uh the stab. So if I’m a tackle and I know you love that stab, I’m I’m thinking chopping it. So now when I chop and you flip the hips, what do you do when I chop? If you chop, I run my feet faster because I understand if my feet don’t travel with my hand, I’m gonna fall into the dirt. But most guys that chop, they back up as they chop. You understand? So they try to back up and catch you as they chop. So if you chop my hand and I keep my feet running, I naturally go into a rip, right? And I just keep running leverage. Yeah. So you’re kind So it kind of almost turns you into a like the bull rush and it kind of gives you a little momentum to go by. Yes. And it kind of just helps. So but you have to kind of anticipate that guy. So if you watching film study and you see a guy that likes to chop the the stab, you want to either get to a rip down or go back to power. Gotcha. Knowing that he’s going to do that. All right. So this week, obviously, Washington Commanders, Laramie Tonsel is their left tackle. He’s been an elite left tackle for a long time. What do you study when you watch film on him and how do you want to attack him? Uh, I just look for any of his weaknesses. Um, anything that guys have won, you know, throughout the duration of the season, uh, whether it’s inside moves, outside moves, whatever it may be, it’s pretty much those things, but I’m just looking for any weaknesses I can I can pinpoint and exploit. Do you think that he has arachnophobia? No, I do not think he is scared of spiders, but he might be scared of Spider-Man. I knew you would get that one. Yeah, we got to get a Spidey one in there. What’s your favorite Spider-Man movie and why? Three. Um, the the original three with Toby. Um, I just like the change up that they had with the black suit and the the the venom that touched him and he turned his turned his whole persona something different. He was a whole new dude in and out of the suit. All right, Burns, thanks for the time. Don’t go anywhere. We’ve got a lot more to come right here on Big Blue Weekly. Yeah. Welcome back to Big Blue Weekly presented by Ford. Sunday, it’s the Giants and the Commanders at Metife Stadium. Time to head to the locker room where Bruce Beck had a chance to catch up with Germaine Aluminor. Germaine Elmanor second year with the Giants. Do you see a big difference with this offensive line in terms of growth, in terms of improvement? Yeah, I think that we have a lot of guys that returned. But I mean basically we return to every single starter and that’s not a common thing in the NFL. And so for us being able to play next to the guys we play next to for two years now has been huge for us. But then also having the same old line coach being in the same system and schematically it’s really been the same too. You know there’s been little things that we’ve had to learn but really it’s been the same and that’s been huge for us. The rushing game has had some flashes of brilliance. How do you do that on a consistent level? I think just the work you put in throughout the week and making sure we know our x’s and o’s and making sure when we go out there we’re confident enough to do what we need to do. What’s it been like to see the growth of Jackson Dart? A kid comes in here and he just has a poise and a presence. He looks a lot older than he is. Yeah. I mean, I was saying that about him when I first saw him. You know, he acted he didn’t act like a rookie and even now he acts like a five, six year vet and I think that puts him ahead of his peers in the same position because he has that maturity about him. But then also he has he just has that dog in him too where he wants to go out there and win the game more than anyone and that that’s what makes him him. What’s his command like in the huddle Germaine? It’s gotten a lot better. You know at first you know he wasn’t really good with cadence and so his cadence was um a work in progress but now you know he obviously he has come out of everything. It’s his team. It’s his franchise and you know we’re lucky to have him. What’s your message to this team? because you’ve been around this league for 9 years and in terms of continuing the fight, continuing to focus even when things are not going well and losses mount. Yeah, I think that this is one of the first years of my career where we’ve been in every game and I think that it’s just little things that we need to tweak in order to start winning them. And you know, you want to win as bad as you want to breathe and I think that’s what everyone wants on this team and you know, I think the winds will come real soon. He’s been in the league almost a decade, Bob. And you can see the professionalism. Does that make you feel old? Yeah. I mean, next year I’m hitting double digits. I’ll hit 10 next year. So, you know, but the cool thing is I feel like I’m getting better every single year. Thanks so much, Bruce. Now, it’s time for this week’s edition of Strategy presented by Microsoft Co-Pilot. And Carl, we’re going to take a look at the Washington Commanders. And Marcus Mariota has done a really nice job for them uh with Jaden Daniels being injured. Yeah. And it’s Marcus Mariotaa. And you some people say, well, he’s a game manager. He can put up big numbers, but they have an offensive scheme where it puts you in a lot of conflict. So, you’ll take a look at this group here. They’ve got two, but it’s always something coming from the other side that really catches the backside defender by surprise here. Okay, so you’re locked up here. these guys got this one and you think it’s nothing, but by the time this guy turns away from his coverage responsibility, I’ll bring it back just a little bit. So, he’s now got this vice. It’s all covered. But he doesn’t see anything coming back and he runs right by him. But that is what Cliff Kingsbury does. He gives you a lot of things to worry about on the what you think is the play side of the offense, right? All the action is here. Everybody’s faced this way and here’s a guy that just comes and he just runs right through your your defense. So, you have to be alert and know exactly what your responsibilities are. All right, let’s take a look at Washington as far as running the ball. So, they have Chris Rodriguez and they have Kroski Merritt. Merritt hurt the Giants in their first meeting. But first, we’re going to look at Rodriguez because he’s actually here. Yeah, Rodriguez is a power back. He’s in a pistol right now, but it’s just good blocking up front, but he’s a good strong runner, inside runner. Now, here’s where the Giants have to be very disciplined and very committed. This is a stunt. This guy’s supposed to go here, but this guy’s got to be in this gap, right? You cannot be hesitant. And you just take a look at the linebacker here. He knows he has a stunt, but he takes two steps and then he hesitates and gets himself blocked. If he’s if he’s in this gap, it’s probably a tackle for loss. So, you have to be committed to whatever the defense is called because they’re going to execute it. They’re blocking as good as they can. And so, you as a defense have to know your assignment and play good, sound assignment football. Yeah. And you saw Rodriguez finish the run. He’s physical. Now, Carl, this is something we’ve seen time and time again this year. Yeah. Well, the Giants have struggled with the run to the inside and they’ve also struggled with the run to the outside. And here Washington has what I would consider an overloaded set. It’s three tight ends. And chances are if they put that much this much manpower on that side of the football, it’s not to run it this way. So linebackers have to be alert. Force guy has to be alert. Watch what happens. They run it to the outside. It’s a toss. It’s pretty clear, right? If you’re the outside edge defender, where are your eyes when the ball is tossed to you? Where was he going? He turns and runs away. You’ve got to go up. You’ve got to set the edge and give your defense a chance. So, gap responsibilities are important. They overload you. That’s a tendency. You want to make sure that you set the edge and let the other side of the defense play that side of the defense. Let’s go to the other side of the ball where uh they do like to bring pressure. And Carl, this is a welldesigned blitz because two guys are coming, not one. Two guys are coming, but let’s do the math, right? That’s one, two, three, four, five, maybe six, right? You’ve got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. So, you just have to do the math. The tight end chips. He could be here, he could be here. This guy has no work. You’ve got to be able to slide your defense where the numbers are. You just have to play the math, Bob. And this is where communication is very important. Your Turner guy are loose because they put two guys on the back, right? Two guys here and here are coming on the back and you’ve got two guys for one guy there. If they just slide that, then the numbers and the math adds up. So, there is an art to blitzing. It’s not just running through a a gap and thinking you’re going to get the quarterback. You have to know what your leverage is. All right, that’s a look at Washington. In this week’s edition of Strategy presented by Microsoft Co-Pilot Carl, some final thoughts as the Giants take on the Commanders. They’re coming off a buy. I mean, the buy came very late for them. Uh, it’s a late buy to have. What about the rejuvenation for this football team here going into this home stretch? Sure. I think the mental rejuvenation more so than the physical at this point. I think offensively continuing to retool, continuing to refine some of the things that you’re doing, you’re seeing progress from this quarterback on a weekly basis. The more he sees, the more comfortable he is with making adjustments. And I think from a defensive standpoint, it’s okay. When can we be aggressive? When we c when can’t we, but what are the fundamentals that we can get better at? This week’s game presented by Quest between the Giants and Commanders, proud partner in health of the New York Giants. So for Carl Banks, Coach Kfka, Sean O’Hara, Bruce Beck, and our entire crew, I’m Bob Pa. Thanks for joining us for Big Blue Weekly presented by Ford.

Interim head coach Mike Kafka joins Bob Papa and Carl Banks to preview Week 15 vs. Washington Commanders

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