NY Giants beat writer and host of Bleav Network's Talkin Ball, Pat Leonard, joins Leigh Mayock on the Bleav in Eagles podcast to discuss Saquon Barkley's long anticipated return to the Meadowlands as the Eagles face his former Giants team in NFL Week 7. Leigh and Pat converse about the similarities surrounding both teams' head coaches and dive deep into Pat's game-day tunnel fashion choices.
Talkin' Ball with Pat Leonard
Saquon Barkley's Return to Meadowlands and Tunnel Fits with Giants insider Pat Leonard
At your job, do you ever have to deal with a nose roller? How about a snub pulley? Well, if you're installing a new conveyor belt system, dealing with the different components can sound like you're speaking a foreign language. Luckily, you've got a team ready to help. Granger's technical product specialists are fluent in maintenance, repair, and operations. So whenever you want to talk shop, just reach out. Call clickgranger.com or just stop by. Granger, for the ones who get it done. Expressing your love can look many different ways. And with the right jewelry gift from Blue Nile, it can truly sparkle. Blue Nile's collection of classic diamond jewelry makes for the kind of gift that speaks volumes without saying a single word. Or switch things up with a sapphire piece sure to spark conversation. Either way, Blue Nile's diamond guarantee ensures you get the highest quality at the best price. Express yourself with Blue Nile and get up to 30% off at Blue Nile.com. That's Blue Nile.com. Hey guys, welcome back to Believe in Eagles. I'm your host, Lee Mayock. And today's episode is brought to you by Bet Online. Bet Online is the world's most trusted betting platform and your number one source for everything sports betting. Head to the website today to get in on the action with America's most trusted site for online betting. Personally, me, it's Thursday. I'm doing a big Thursday night football ballet. I will put that on my Instagram at L. Mayock. It's Broncos and Saints, so that should be fun, but just head over to Bet Online.com and do some gambling with me. Good times. But, focuses today. It's NFL week seven and the Eagles are taking on the Giants at MetLife on Sunday. And we have got the New York Daily News. It's a long time Giants beat writer here with us, Pat Leonard. Welcome to the show. You might know them from Talking Ball with Pat Leonard on Believe Network. You might know them from the Giants beat, but mainly most people I think, Pat. I think they know you from your tunnel fits. (laughing) I appreciate that, Lee. That's my favorite part of Sundays. I mean, they are getting pretty popular. (laughing) You know what's so funny? I was in Cleveland in week three, I think it was. And we were videoing the player arrivals. And I see a Cleveland Browns reporter off in a hallway to my left doing their walk and having somebody video them. And then not liking the first version, walking back and doing it again. I'm like, I think this is catching on here. Not, they, they made someone do a retake. Yep, yep. Well, they do it. They get it themselves. I have, I've done two different versions before. Actually, interesting thing is this week, I'm still trot pretending like I'm an athlete. I play men's basketball, hurt my calf this week. So I may be limping through it this week. It could create a little bit of a wrinkle, you know? Does that affect the shoes that you'll wear? That's, that's a really good question. See, these are all the details that nobody thinks about. All they see is the final product, you know? No, and honestly, guys, if you don't know what we're talking about, which would be crazy because Pat's videos are really taking over the internet, we have something to show you. This is a surprise to Pat. Let me see if I can get this working correctly. But these are his tunnel fits. Let's see if you can see this on your screen. I can, I can. Here we go. Here we go. This is an up, you're a fan of the point and clap. We love to see it. Oh, we have a jacket on here. Where was this? The purple lavenders are a color on you. Thank you. Thank you. Clap and point, point and clap. Here we go. Are you pointing at somebody? Yeah, I'm, I'm just, I'm pointing at the fans. I'm pointing at NFL Sunday. This is, this is the vibes. It's the energy, right? It started actually with, it's good FaceTime standing outside the locker room as the players are coming in pregame players and coaches. It's just another way to kind of interact, see people. And it's a different element. So the players like being videoed themselves. They have their fits. And so Sal Loretta's is a men's fashion place out here in Northern New Jersey that outfits me. And so the running joke is no one cares about me. Everybody wants to see Malik neighbors and Isaiah Simmons and Deontay Banks and Dexter Lawrence and Daniel Jones. So I make sure that I do my own walk and I put myself front and center. So that's. I mean, I would have to disagree because at this point, I really am looking for your look. I think you're right up there with them. Um, I mean, how do you, did the point and clap just come naturally to you? Or is that how do you, how do you think of your little walk, your catwalk? Yeah. So, well, so as I started doing that, some of the other reporters have joined me, Charlotte Carroll from the athletic, Connor Hughes from SNY, Jordan Rana from ESPN's been down there the whole time too. And you kind of work through it. You work through what works for you. Some people like to do the no look, right? Pretending the camera's not there. Almost like you're on the catwalk. Like Tyrod Taylor, who was on the Giants the last two seasons and is now is on the Jets. He's the gold standard. He's the like fashion week in his future. I think, I think he's already honestly walked in fashion week. He's like the Joe Burrow. Exactly. But I'm not that cool. You know what I mean? So I have to figure out something that works. So I've tried the no look. I've tried overly strutting. I've tried, you know, there's all these things that they're just not me. But I think like the vibes and the just natural kind of excitement for NFL game day works. Little cheesy, but you still look good enough that no one's focused on you being corny. You know what I mean? No, it's not cheesy. And your alphas are so on point, very sharp. And now, I mean, I'm just a little bit worried about the cap injury, what you're going to do with that. But we will all be tuned in and we can't wait. Thank you. Yes. I'm a little concerned, too. But I'm sitting out tonight's game. So I'll be ready for Sunday. So that's-- Oh, there you go. That's so smart of you. What is it, Rice? Rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Just work on that. Compression, elevation, ice, exactly. Yeah, I might keep the clock at the game tonight, but I'm not playing. There we go. That's very smart of you. It'll probably be hard, though. Oh, it's going to be very-- I'm a competitor, you know, on NFL Sunday mornings doing these walks. Do you guys-- do you guys-- do you have-- do you know the team you're against tonight? Like, is that going to be hard without you? Are they going to struggle without you? It's going to be tough. I mean, listen, I'm the vibe's energy guy, you know? You're the personality hire? Yeah, I go in. And for three minutes, I bite at the ankles and I make life a living hell for the person I'm guarding. And maybe throw in, like, an Eric Snow type bucket, if anybody-- OK, Eric Snow, yes. No. That sounds like you're from Philadelphia. Oh, 100% from Northeast Philadelphia, Fox Chase, across from Berholm Park, Copman and Central. That's 12 digs, yep. Love that. So you're one of us, which actually brings me-- I was talking to my dad, and he told me that you had interviewed him a bunch of times. There's a bunch of connections all around. And I asked him he had any tea, but he only had nice things to say about you. So it's really not an interesting conversation. But he reminded me that the Giants, just two years ago, won a wild card game in Minnesota versus the Vikings. And that blew my mind just because just the fall off, I guess, last year. And then bringing you guys into the off season where the big conversation was, obviously, Saquon and hard knocks. So my dad, when he was with the Vikings, they had the regular season of hard knocks, which was like a beast of its own. Just a lot goes into it. And he was a new GM with a relatively new head coach. It was just a lot. I couldn't imagine what hard knocks was like in the off season with all that going on in the Giants building. Were you there? Well, their cameras were around more when we were not in the building as immediate. It was more-- Now, they were around NFL Combine. But again, they kind of got into these rooms that we weren't privy to. So that's what's so interesting about that is we're working so hard to get usually year in and year out. You're getting that information kind of trickling out a leak here, a conversation there, a rumor here. But we had cameras on Brian Dabel interviewing Jayden Daniels. And you could see how much they like certain prospect. I revere your father, by the way. I revere his ability and his work ethic, especially. I think when he was on television and also during his time working in football, I think one thing that he always demonstrated is the amount of work that you do and then how that informs the decision you make. You can tell when someone is making a decision that is based on a philosophy and information and hard work and when it's based on a seat of your pants feeling. And now, listen, sometimes the second one can work out. But I thought watching the Giants, like you alluded to, how did they fall from that play up in Minnesota? I thought watching hard knocks, there were conversations that occurred in those rooms that I'm sure, and we talked to them a little bit, there were some of those, they didn't one out there. They felt like more feeling conversations and preference conversations than grounded in the work conversations and opinions. And I think that that's what makes this game so interesting. And so much of, you know, I'm calling Sunday Judgment Day because the Saquon Barkley decision and the Eagles Giants hatred and rivalry, like it's all tied up into Brian Dable, Nick Siriani, Saquon Barkley and the trajectory of the two franchises and also that ultimate decision in the moment. You know what I'm talking about? The line of hard knocks when John Maris says, I'm gonna have a hard time sleeping the night. He has apparently has been having a hard time sleeping all season because that's how it's been. That is brutal. I couldn't, I mean, and I get what you're saying. So it's interesting, I feel like the big questions around both teams right now are around their head coaches. Yes, yes. And the decisions that they've been making, Philly talk news radio all week has been up in arms about making series actions with the fans and then bringing his kids to the presser to kind of avoid any hard type of conversation. What is the general feeling around the Giants head coach and the decisions that he's been making from the off season till now? Yeah, that's a great question. You're right, this game is a referendum on both of these coaches in large part and the season is as well. Dable, I think in year one, the tandem of him and Wink Martindale, the previous defensive coordinator, they every week were just crafting game plans to attack that week. And the offense was, they were essentially, Dable was coaching away from their weaknesses and into their strengths. So they were kind of either boring or run based and not pushing the ball, but they were doing what it took to win. Right. And they were able to kind of get them across the finish line. Last year, offensively, it all came down. It all caved in. The defense was actually tied for the league lead and turnovers forced with the Baltimore Ravens with 31, but it wasn't enough. And Dable's offense really and injuries as well undercut the whole operation. And so now here and now you're in a position where you re-signed Daniel Jones instead of moving off of him. And you like-- Made him some money, yep. Oh, they gave him a lot for four years, 160 million. And you and I also saw them try to, but fail to, go get the quarterback that they wanted to replace Daniel Jones in the off season. And so Dable's in a position where he is-- the pressure is all on him because he has taken play calling away full time now after yo-yoing it back and forth from Mike Kafka last year. He now has play calling on his play full time. He has Daniel Jones, who he's trying to validate for the Mara and Tish families in ownership that he is the guy that Joe Shane and Brian Dable gave $40 million a year. And he also has to prove that there is a developmental trajectory on a young team while also winning games. It's a very difficult situation for him to be in, but it's the life he's chosen, as I always say. And that's true. And I think ultimately, the view on the Giants from the fan base right now is that the quarterback's the problem, that's how the fans think. I believe that Dable is under, he's not under maybe as much pressure as Siriani is this week, but I do think he's under the same amount of pressure this season, if that makes sense. - Oh, it makes complete sense. And there are so many similarities, just in terms of the quarterback situations, play calling, head coach taking over, offensive coordinator here Goomer, what's going on, where's the actual problem, where's the disconnect? And the crazy part, the other thing I was thinking about too, I feel like it's been like a sneaky time for the Giants because they, the Jets have been taking over the news, the mainstream news now for weeks, right? So the Giants have just kind of been there. - They can't help themselves. - They cannot, they can't help themselves. But I was looking at the Giants record, they beat Seattle, and then they actually hung in it with the Bengals. And the NFC East is wide open because no, it's just a crapshoot right now. So they, and the games that they've lost have been pretty much like plus or minus a touchdown away. - Yeah, yeah. - So they haven't been that far off, and we're talking about a team that was, that won a playoff game two years ago. So to me, that actually looks kind of optimistic. - Yeah, their defense has been much better than expected with Martindale leaving Shane Bowen comes in from Tennessee. I will raise my hand and say I did not expect their defense to be this good, you know, to the point where they're holding Cincinnati to 17 points and really, that was with a late touchdown at the end. - Yeah. - And like you said, Seattle, that was impressive too. Yeah, I mean, that's why it's, they just really need a result here and in these next couple of weeks with the Eagles, Steelers, commanders and Panthers before their bye week. - Yeah. - Because Lee, the turn here is so interesting. Like if they win this game to your point, the Eagles fall to three and three, the Giants improve the three and four, the Cowboys not only are three and three with a bye, but I mean, what frauds are they after that game they put on the field at AT&T Stadium against the Detroit Lions and now maybe you play Washington again, you can win that and hey, we can win the division if you're the Giants, that's how you can think. But if you lose this game, I know it's only one game, but listen to these stats, you lose this game, the Giants would fall to 0 and three in the division. They would fall to 0 and four at home this year. They would fall to 1, 10 and 0 against the Eagles and Cowboys head to head in Shane and Dable's three years. So. - Those are crazy stats, Pat. - Yeah, it's such an interesting league. This is why the NFL is so great and why it's hard to look away is because yes, it's only one game, but the swing in a win or a loss here for Dable and Shane is massive. It is the difference between what you said. Hey, this actually looks like it's not as bad as the record versus man, this team can't score any points and they're losing way too many games again. - And it seems like it's going to be a lot tougher now with Andrew Thomas up. So what's the plan there? What are they going to do? - Yeah, so again, a great kind of two-headed argument here on how Shane has done, let's say, as a general manager. On the one hand, after not some great draft picks on the offensive line in the first couple of years or some flat out bad ones, he goes out and spends Jermaine Aluminore, right tackle. Greg Van Rotten, right guard. John Runyon, Jr., a guy who works out in the off season with the Eagles Lane Johnson down in South Jersey. - But, yeah. - Right, so he's left guard. You got a center, John Michael Schmidt, a draft pick. Andrew Thomas was the franchise left tackle with him out. So with him there, they started those front five in the first six games, played 419 consecutive snaps together. They played 100% of the Giants offensive snaps through the first six games. That's the good news. The bad news is with Thomas out Lee, the Giants had in February, they had a well-documented, I remember talking to Brian Baldinger about this, they needed a swing tackle. They needed a guy who, if Thomas went down again, like last year, when he went down last season, the offense couldn't get going. And Daniel Jones, the whole process speeds up because he doesn't trust his protection. Now we're in the same spot again. And Lee, would you believe it if I told you that they have the same backups as the primary reserves to Andrew Thomas that they did last year? - Well, that's crazy. - Yeah, I mean, Josh Azudu is a guy who's a third round pick of 2022. He's the first man up. So unless they move a Luminor over from the right side, which Jermaine does not want, it looks like it's because of Josh Azudu. - Okay, so I like Luminor. He was with the Raiders when my family was there. I think he's a hard worker. I appreciate that there's, yeah, he works his butt off, but that's a tough situation to be in. - Oh, extremely tough. And, you know, the one potential, the thing that giants are hanging their hat on is that last year, so last year, Daniel Jones went in, when Josh Azudu was playing left tackle and I think it was a week five in Miami, that was the game that Josh got beat around the edge and Daniel Jones took a huge hit and hurt his neck for the second time in his career. And he missed three games. Now, the Giants are hanging their hat on the fact that last year, they started Josh Azudu where they had drafted him, which was at guard that two years ago, they were rotating and met guard in training camp. And then right at the start of the season, they moved them to tackle. And so they really didn't have a lot of developmental work at that position when they thrust him in there. So this year, they feel like they have a year under his belt. Now with a new offensive line coach, Carmen Brasillo, who came from the Raiders, they feel like that's the reason why Josh will take a step forward, but you know, time will tell. I mean- - Yeah, we don't know yet. - We don't know. - Yeah, because he's in the pudding. But just, and speaking of Daniel Jones again, because I wanted to get into this, I'm very curious. I know you said that the fans right now, the fan base think Daniel Jones is a problem. It's a quarterback issue. What are his stats saying though? What's the actual offense saying? - So his home and road splits are extremely concerning right now. That's what everyone's focusing on. And for good reason. I mean, he has six touchdown passes and no interceptions on the road, and zero touchdown passes and four interceptions at home. - Does someone, someone just needs to sage my life? I think that's all they need. I mean, after the Eagles game, but yeah. - Yeah, exactly. Well, here's the interesting thing about this is, well, two things. Number one, the organization in my opinion, I know they paid Daniel, but now this year and this off season, they made very clear the Giants did, that even though they were going to run it back one more time with Daniel, that they were looking to find his replacement. And Daniel Jones himself is on the record saying, like I didn't exactly appreciate that. I didn't love watching the draft, thinking that there was a possibility they were going to draft the guy. So he has a chip on his shoulder. Also has an understanding though, that listen, my days here could be numbered, and the organization has kind of made that known. I think the fan base has taken a cue from the organization and kind of gone from being on the fence with Daniel to being out on him when things go wrong. Like Lee, he had a great game in Seattle. He comes home and the offense lays an egg in Cincinnati, and everyone's like, get this guy out of here, bench him, put Drew Lock in. And even I, who I'll be critical when it's warranted, but I'm sitting here on my podcast saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, like, didn't you guys just say, hey, this guy could be our quarterback next year or two because of the game in Seattle? Like, you can't, you can't waffle back and forth like that. Sickle hands. Yeah, like, I think, but I do think that they're taking their cue from the organization. Also, again, 22 points per game on the road for the offensive for the Giants, nine points per game at home. And I do think, so the Minnesota opener that they had here, Lee. Right. But also, I have to say, we did not know that Minnesota was the beast that Minnesota was when you had that game. So that's-- No, nobody knew that, right? Right. And I think, you know, it was, so this is what happened. Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify is there to help you grow. Shopify helps you sell everywhere from their all-in-one e-commerce platform to their in-person POS system. Shopify's got you covered. Shopify helps you turn browsers into buyers with the internet's best converting checkout. 36% better on average compared to other leading commerce platforms and sell more with less effort thanks to Shopify Magic, your AI-powered all-star. What I love about Shopify is how no matter how big you want to grow, Shopify gives you everything you need to take control and take your business to the next level. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S. And Shopify's the global force behind all birds, Rothy's, and Brooklynan, and millions of other entrepreneurs of every size across 175 countries. Plus, Shopify's award-winning help is there to support your success every step of the way. Because businesses that grow, grow with Shopify. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com/Westwood1. All lowercase, go to Shopify.com/Westwood1 now to grow your business. No matter what stage you're in, Shopify.com/Westwood1. (bell chimes) - Getting engaged can be stressful. Getting the right ring won't be at bluenile.com. The jewelers at bluenile.com have sparkled down to a science with beautiful lab-grown diamonds worthy of your most brilliant moments. Their lab-grown diamonds are independently graded and guaranteed identical to natural diamonds and ready to ship to your door. Get $50 off your purchase of $500 or more with CodePod at bluenile.com. That's bluenile.com/codepod for $50 off. - That's when a lot of losing happens year after year two. Last year, they lost 40 to nothing at home to the Cowboys in week one. This year, they come back. Even though the score wasn't as bad, it was essentially as bad of a game. And Lee, the important part here is that the fans in the stadium that day made very clear that they were almost like immediately out on the team and especially the quarterback was the feeling of the, like there were fans in a section near the press box chanting in the second quarter for Tommy DeVito in the first game. And- - Tommy Cutlets. - Right. Like it is a, it was alarming, but also unsurprising at the same time. But in other words, this is like the tense environment that the Giants and Daniel Jones specifically are walking into here. This is one element though of this game that interests me. I think that this could be the first home game of the season that Daniel Jones is not the player under the most pressure on the field. We know it's gonna be Saequan. - Right. - Like Saequan, Saequan is going to be the guy that everybody's focusing on. So maybe, maybe Daniel can breathe a little bit and the Giants and even Brian Dable can breathe a little bit and that actually helps them. - That's such a good point because clearly that the home game issue has to be a mental thing. Like there, I don't think there's any way around that for Daniel Jones at least it has to be mental. So maybe that Saequan will take the pressure off. I'm hoping that Saequan can handle it and wants to pop off and wants to show off and that'll be that. But it could easily go the other way, you know, when you have so much to prove. Again, it's more of a mental thing than anything else. - Yeah. I know how Saequan's thinking about this game, by the way, 'cause I know they're very, very well. - So when he got hurt in Chicago early in his career, he has told this story many times. He played the season opener against the Steelers at home and it was one of his worst games. The Giants lost and Saequan had, I don't remember the exact total. I don't know if it was 16 carries for five yards. It's something ridiculous. - Okay. - And he was so frustrated about that game and so determined to play better the next week. And that was actually a week that Tiki Barber in this market came out on Talk Radio and criticized Saequan for not past protecting well enough. So Saequan went into Chicago like I'm gonna show the world that I'm, you know, and he ended up hurting his knee. And he has said several times to us directly on the record that in hindsight, he felt like he put himself in a bad position by letting this intangible thing change the way that he approached the game. And so I know him. I know the way he's approaching this is he's trying his hardest not to be the bull like snorting, right? - Yeah. - With the red eyes. Like I'm gonna run for 500 yards, you know? That's what he wants to do. - 100%. - He's trying very hard to keep it even until he walks out onto the field because in the past he feels like he gets himself out of himself when he thinks otherwise. - So do you think that that is a sign of like his growth and maturity overall? Like do you see a different player in him with the Eagles than the Giants so far? - Well, just like we were just talking about how, hey, if the pressure gets taken off of Daniel Jones by Saequan, maybe you can just see his shoulders go like this and take a breath. I mean, you know, I know this is a several weeks ago now, but watching that game in Brazil, I mean, holy cow, that looked like a different person. I mean, Saequan, the way that he was conducting himself the way he was walking around, the way he was strutting, the way he was producing, that was not a different person, but somebody who was relieved to be where he is now, like where his feet are. I do think that the adversity that they are facing, the Eagles are facing in Philadelphia is facing right now. It's interesting because it's kind of similar to the adversity that Saequan has dealt with in New York in recent years. So I think that he's probably eager to get the team and himself out of that mental space and back into the space they were riding high coming back from Sao Paulo. - Yeah. - Yeah, yeah, exactly. But I, you know, I see a guy and a person who is happy. And I think, you know, I talked to Dexter Lawrence about this yesterday. Dexter said that, you know, selfishly, he's like, I didn't want him to leave, but he said, I'm happy for him if he's happy and I know he's happy. - And that's a part that I feel like people don't understand is that when you work with a team or you work closely with these guys, when they leave, your relationship doesn't end with them. You're still rooting for them, maybe not against your team, but you're still, it's, you know, I'm sure you were happy to see him do well. - Oh, 100% and he could have been, if he went to the Texans instead or Chicago, whatever. Yes, I was very happy for him, especially because I felt like, and this is, this is tied up into all the storylines that are coming out of here, especially. Like, Saquan's negotiations with the Giants became emotional. There was disrespect involved. There was, he was on the record complained about the Giants front office leaking misleading details about his contract back in the summer of 2023. So there was a lot of like animosity and nastiness and it became personal, like on both sides. - Okay, so what we were seeing was real, like what the outside was seeing was pretty real, in terms of, okay, the drama. - That's what I meant too, about the kind of seed of your pants emotional decisions, like, you know, Chris Rosetti in the Giants front office, I thought came out very even keeled and level headed. And he was the one telling Joe Shane in some of those scenes, like, if you don't think this guy's market's gonna be big, like you're, you don't understand exactly, like what type of player he is viewed as. And he was saying, and then Tim McDonald says, what is our offense gonna be without him? I think Joe Shane in the end just didn't want him on the team. And, you know, and frankly, on the other end, I think Saquan wanted to be on another team at that point 'cause he didn't like how it was be handled. So by the end, yes, what we saw is what was happening. There was more to it, yes. - Honestly, you can't ask for better reality TV than that. And that's coming from, I'm a real housewives watcher, so I know all the drama and this was up there. Up there, I was like, this can't be all real. Like, are they really, what? - And it was like, all those guys, like Tim McDonald's and the guys, I feel like every time they spoke to, every time they were speaking about it, they were like, they wanted to scream it. They had to say it politely, but they had, in their heads, they were screaming, like, do you not see the writing on the wall? - That was right. Well, it was also, so on the one hand, it was impressive how transparent they were about everything that was shown. But on the other hand, you know, there were a lot of things that got out that they're, it's fun and amazing and riveting television for you and me, but if you work for the Giants, you're like, I don't know if I wanted that out there. - No, that is crazy. I wonder, I wonder if they'll, do you know if they've been given another team for next season in the off season yet? I haven't heard anything. - Oh, I haven't heard that either. I'm not sure. - You're like, it's not the Giants, so we're good. - Right, though I said, I actually wrote this for the Daily News for tomorrow's paper. If, especially, if the Eagles, if Saquon runs wild and the Eagles win this, I think we need a bonus episode of Giants Hard Knocks. (laughs) - We need to run it bad. - I think, I think we need John Marra. I think we need a camera following John Marra at the Joe Shane's office in London. - That is amazing, you're so right. I hope they listened to you. Wait, I forget, what else? Oh, there's another thing I wanted to ask you. Malik Neighbors, he was, he practiced with a no help, a no contact red helmet yesterday, correct? - Red jersey, yep. - So that's, what do we, do we know how he's doing? - I'm on the verge of reporting to the second practice of the week today. And essentially where this stands is, as you and I sit here now, I put this at, you know, 60 he plays, 40 he doesn't. Why I say that is that it really just depends on, if he woke up today here, Thursday, October 17th, if he wakes up on Thursday, October 17th, and the exertion that he had on the practice field yesterday, if he responds well to that physically, they will progress him in the protocol. And then eventually he'll have to put in a full practice and then hopefully he gets cleared. But, if he does not progress, they're not gonna rush him, they can't rush him. - Yeah, yeah. - And this was, you know, and this was something I heard right at the beginning of this process. Listen, every concussion's different. This guy, this was a serious situation. I do believe he was knocked out when he hit the turf against the Cowboys. Not that that indicates even necessarily the severity of the concussion, but he was unconscious on the field, I believe there. And then also, the week after, so it was a Thursday night game. By the time we got to Wednesday, so six days following that, he was still having symptoms. And so, after that, the symptoms started to subside. He started to show some progress, but this has been kind of a gradual trajectory. And so, there's a chance he plays in this game. Brian Dable did say, he was strong enough to say, "I'm optimistic," but it all just hinges on how he responds Thursday, Friday. - It depends. Yeah, those are so scary. I don't know why more people aren't wearing the Guardian helmets, but that's a whole nother conversation. I know you have things to do, but my biggest question is, you know your color palette for your outfit on Sunday. (laughs) - I know I can't wear my green jacket. That's what I know. - No, you can't wear my green jacket. - Green is so in right now, and I can't wear it this weekend. - It is, I know, you wanna wear this color, I know. I like you in pops of like the pastels. I like you in the lavender, I like the pink ties. - Thank you. - That's just my opinion. But, you've been looking great, and we're all looking forward to seeing your outfit. - Yeah, the short answer is I have not picked it yet. (laughs) I actually-- - Why do you usually pick? - So, if I'm organized enough, which is not as often as it should be, I'm organized enough, I'm picking it on Saturday, or Saturday evening, but I can be a game time decision guy. I don't mind doing that, and even like, when I go travel, let's say, when I go on the road-- - Right. - I like to, let's say, I have a certain outfit, I might bring two or three ties, and in the moment, I'll lay them all out, and in the moment, that's when I know which one I wanna wear, you know? I like doing that, it's just how I feel in that moment. I don't wanna go to Pittsburgh for Monday Night Football, only bring one tie, and then look at it four hours before the game and say this isn't it, you know? - No, I think you need to bring us with you in that process, like maybe an outfit of the day, tunnel remix, maybe show us the ties, let us pick the tie. - I like that, I also, yeah, hey, I'm all for it. I also, you know, I really love, I could talk about this forever, I love it. - I also love the, so the button downs that now have like the accented buttons, you know? You buy those, you can wear that same shirt with a different outfit, or the same outfit with no tie, and it looks like a completely different outfit, so you can rotate, you can wear something in August that you then run back with a tie in December, and it's a completely different outfit, you accented a little bit with the handkerchief, you know? - Well, look at you, the versatility of this argue, so should we plan to see you at the Met Gala? (laughing) - Hey. - So it'll be Hugh Tyrrell, Taylor, and Joe Burrow with Anna Winter at the steps of the Met. - As long as I'm not walking behind Tyrod, because if I, like, he shows everybody up, I'm telling you, when he signed with the Jets, there were two primary takeaways for people on the Giants beat. One was the Giants just lost a really strong backup quarterback, the other was the top fits for every week are now gone. We need somebody else to rise to the top for the Giants. - Come on, they're in this state, but they're gone from you guys, yeah, that's, that's. Well, now, that's, honestly, that's your cue, you gotta pick it up. - Yeah, yeah, it's, I like that behind the scenes idea, the video behind the scenes, I like that. - I think we all would like that, it's so fun, we wanna be part of this process. It's, it's my favorite stuff, my favorite stuff. - You know what, here's my idea right now, I'm gonna find, I'm gonna hire one, so Pierre is one of the photographers, he's the one who took the one you, the photo you just showed first of me walking down with the great lighting, that is like a professional shot. - That was wild. - I'm gonna bring one of those guys with me, we're gonna go to Salorette as for men in Midland Park, New Jersey, we're gonna show up me and, and all the guys there, Ralph and all the guys there picking out the outfit, and we're gonna have you pick the tie, and then, and then I'm gonna go out there on Sunday and strut my stuff, how about that? - Yeah, we are, we'll all be waiting to see how it looks, I'm obsessed with it, that's a great idea, great, love it. Pat, thank you so much for being with us, you guys can catch Pat on the Giants beat or talk 'em ball of Pat on the Believe Network, good luck this weekend, can't wait to see your outfit. - Thank you so much, thank you, I appreciate being on. - At your job, do you ever have to deal with a nose roller? How about a snub bully? Well, if you're installing a new conveyor belt system, dealing with the different components can sound like you're speaking a foreign language. Luckily, you've got a team ready to help, Granger's technical product specialists are fluent in maintenance, repair, and operations, so whenever you wanna talk shop, just reach out. Call, clickgranger.com, or just stop buying. Granger, for the ones who get it done. - This is a mini meditation guided by Bombas. Repeat after me, I'm comfy, comfy, I'm cozy, cozy. I have zero blisters on my toes, blisters, and that's 'cause I wear Bombas, the softest socks, underwear, and t-shirts that give back. One purchased equals one donated. Now go to bombas.com/listen and use code listen for 20% off your first purchase. That's B-O-M-B-A-S.com/listen and use code listen at checkout. - At Sprouts Farmers Market, we're all about fresh, healthy, and delicious. Step into our bulk department to scoop up as much as you like from hundreds of bins filled with wholesome grains and limited time goodies. Visit your neighborhood Sprouts Farmers Market today where flavor fills every scoop. - Bingo. - All right, Phil, we're recording now, so it's live. Go ahead, pick on me the way that you want to. - Did I say that? I would say that to my son, man, I mean, come on, man. - Just go. - This isn't CBS. - All right, be quiet for a few seconds. Why would people want to listen to the Sims Complete Podcast? Well, a couple of things. One, if you like to see sons pick on their father, this might be the place. If you want to see a place where the father just kicks the (beep) out of his son, this would be the place. What do you like about it, Matt? - Ditto. Father's son, Dynamic Duo, talking about the game of football that we love and share and appreciate together. And, hey, it's an extension of what we did, right? Growing up, I was able to watch my father play football, then obviously watch him as a broadcaster, and then he taught me the game of football and share the wisdom that he learned throughout his playing career. And, you know, hey, sometimes we're a full of it, and sometimes we actually know a thing or two. - Well, we do do a lot of research. - Well, at least I do. You're a little spotty, but you hang in there. It's fun. I love doing this, and it's been awesome. - Sims Complete, check us out. Wherever your podcasts are available on the Believe Network, appreciate it. See ya. - If you liked the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening. (audience cheering) [ Silence ]