0:00This is the Lockdown Podcast Network celebrating 10 years of your team every day. The NFL season is finally here and Lockdown NFL is covering every second of it. You can find us breaking down all the action on Amazon Music every single day with bold takes and real analysis that matters. Opening day storylines, roster moves. If it's happening with your team, we're on it. No waiting, no fluff, subscribe on Amazon Music and never miss a snap. Welcome to another edition of the Lockdown Giants Podcast.

1:12I am your host Patricia Trayna and today's episode of Lockdown Giants is brought to you by Fandall. Get $350 in bonus bets guaranteed when you bet just $5 every day for seven days. Join in on all the action at fandall.com. All right, giant fans on today's episode. By the way, happy Friday to everybody. Today's episode, we're going to take a look at our usual blue notes, some miscellaneous stuff that came out during the course of the week. We're going to take a look at the Giants Cowboys regular season opener on Sunday. I'll give you my keys to the game, some stats and what I think the Giants need to do to pull off a victory, which by the way, I do think it's very possible they could do. If certain things fall into place. But first, will he play or won't he play? What is the story with Giants wide receiver of Malik neighbors? Now John Harball all week long has declined to say what his plans are and rightfully so

2:13why should he confirm one way or another of what Malik is going to do? Malik spoke to the media on Thursday and he basically has reiterated what he has said basically going back to the spring. When he feels ready and confident in the knee, he will make the decision and he will decide whether or not he plays. Now obviously the media wanted to know, okay, well, would you consider playing on a pitch count maybe? And Malik just wouldn't take the bait. So the question now becomes what is going to be the plan with Malik neighbors? Now to be fair to Malik, Malik is say look. It's a different ball game out there when you are playing live reps. It's faster. Guys can hit you unlike in practice where you're in that controlled environment and you're kind of protected even though you're still getting a degree of contact. So these are things he needs to take into consideration. He said I have a lot of football left to play, but the decision is basically going to be

3:18mine. And that's going to also apply to whether or not he is on a pitch count or if he just goes to distance, which I don't think he's going to go the distance if he plays. But let me just back up a little bit. So despite the fact that there is still some quote unquote uncertainty about Malik neighbors playing, I would be absolutely floored if he does not play. I think he will be out there. He will be active. I've been saying that now for quite some time, even if they put him out there as a decoy, he will be out there because his mere presence is going to necessitate the Dallas Cowboys and future opponents to have to account for him because you just never know when he's going to be ready, when he's going to be turned loose in the passing game. Now there are some hints that Malik is trending in the right direction and will probably play and will start off with the fact that all summer long, other than for the occasional

4:20day off, which was scheduled, Malik has not had any setbacks. He has been out there at practice. He has worked, worked himself up as far as taking team reps. First it was individuals, then it was seven on seven and whatnot, then it was team drills. And he has increased his workload. He lost the red jersey from his wardrobe. He has been taking some contact again in the controlled environment. No tackling to the ground is more or less thud and release. So even though you can't totally simulate the speed of a game, you can try to do it in practice. And look, if Malik is catching a pass and he's trying to run, get to the end zone, he's going to have the pivot and turn and stop and start and do all the things he would normally do in a game if he sees a defender coming, regardless of the fact that he's not being tackled to the ground.

5:22To date, Malik has not had any setbacks. He has not had to misappractice because he was sore. He has not had to sit out or reduce his workload. He's trending in the right direction. And there was another telltale sign in Thursday's practice. The giants during individual drills, they typically have, when it comes to the receivers going through their drills, they typically line it up according to the quote unquote, depth chart, which means that Malik, nine times at a 10 is going to be the first guy to go in the individual drills. Now Malik, the last few days in the part of practice that has been open to the media, we only get about half hour of that long to watch practice. And only the individual drills. Malik hasn't gone first. Today, Thursday, he's gone first in the drills. Another sign that he's trending in the right direction.

6:23So the signs are all there. Despite the fact that Malik said, look, I don't know, I've got to feel right. I'm going to talk to the doctors about it. But at the end of the day, it's my decision. And I'll tell them how I feel. Malik is also talking about how he misses the game, how he's looking forward to getting back out there. So all of that, I think, is pointing in the right direction for him. Now what would be the plan if he is in, which again, I believe will be the case, he's going to go on a pitch count. There is, I just don't see any way Malik neighbors is going to play a full game. And by a full game, what I mean by that is I don't see him taking 80% or more of his regular snouts. He's probably going to get, if I had to take a guess, I would say anywhere between maybe 20, 25. And that's a very generous guess on my part. You don't go from having really not played football in almost a year to now all the sudden

7:26you're going 100 miles an hour. Just doesn't make sense. Let him play, see how he does. And then next week when they play the Rams out in Los Angeles on Monday night, then you say, okay, you know what, now let's increase the workload, assuming that everything comes through okay. So yeah, I do think Malik neighbors is going to play. I think he wants to play deep down. Obviously though, he needs to feel comfortable and trusting in his knee. But there's just been too many signs that are pointing to him playing. And it would just be a major, major upset if he were among the active players come Sunday night. And you know, I'm kind of confident that he's going to play so much so that I actually have a pre-written an article for New York Giants on SI for that. So hopefully I won't have to change it. But all the signs are pointing to him playing. And I think if you especially look at the fact that, you know, he's been taking contact in practice, that he's got to, you know, stop, start, pivot, get away from defenders.

8:31And he hasn't had any issues. That to me would be the biggest telling sign that Malik neighbors is going to be out there. Because if there were, if there was a problem, they would have held them back. And Malik on the injury report, if you remember, I have said to you, let's see what he's listed as on the injury report. He has been listed as a full participant for Wednesday and Thursday. I have no reason to think he will not be a full participant for Friday either. So that's another sign if you're looking for additional clues as to what the status is with Malik. So yeah, John Harboss not going to tell us Malik neighbors isn't going to tell us. Nobody with the Giants is going to tell us if he's definitely playing or not. I think all the signs are there. And, you know, let's just hope that when he does come back, that he makes it through, that he develops the confidence he needs when the game speed ratchets is up a little bit. And then he comes out of it, okay, because he's so important to that offense,

9:33especially given how, you know, the receiving core, still kind of a little bit of a question mark if he is not in that lineup. So that's my take on Malik neighbors. That's what I see happening for him. We'll find out Sunday, obviously. All right, coming up next, Giants Dallas Sunday. What are the keys to a Giants win? I'll break all that down for you right after this. Hey, Giants, running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems that were never designed to work together. And that's where Odo comes in. Odo is an all-in-one business management software that brings together every part of your business into one powerful platform, helping your team move faster, state, organized, and focus on growing the business instead of managing the software. The best organizations know that success just isn't just about talent. It's about having everyone work together towards the same goal. And that's true in sports, just like it is in business, which the New York Giants are aiming

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11:39Every week, check the Fandall app to see what's waiting for you. The New York Giants are still a tuna hit point underdog against Dallas this weekend, but might that change if Malik neighbors is announced as playing? I think it will. But anyway, we're going to obviously find out, but until then, go on and make this your most rewarding season ever with Fandall. Visit Fandall.com today to get started. All right, Giants fans, welcome back to the Lockdown Giants podcast. I am your host Patricia Trayna. Lockdown Giants is part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now, the number one sports podcast network in America. And I, of course, am a credential beat writer for the New York Giants for Lockdown, as well as for New York Giants on SI, which is where all of my written work can be found and big welcome to the Blue Crew, who was my everydayer club, to any newcomers and anybody in Beach everybody in between.

12:43Thank you for spending part of your day with us here on the Lockdown Giants Podcast. And if you're making us your first season of the day, appreciate that as well. And speaking of the Blue Crew, if you are interested in finding out more about joining the Blue Crew, you can do so by hitting up Lockdown and my Giants.Supercase.com. We offer a lot of great features, including AMA calls, which we're trying to do every Friday. I've been posting exclusives from the Lockroom one-on-one interviews that I do with players. I have statistical breakdowns. I've got a newsletter. There's the ability to text with me a whole lot of stuff that we offer to our everydayers, aka the Blue Crew. Again, you can find out more at Lockdown and my Giants.Supercase.com. All right, Giants, let's get back to today's episode. We're going to preview the keys to the game for a Giants week one victory over the Dallas Cowboys. And there are a few that I have here on the list. And the number one thing is, given the Giants' pass rush, which is definitely the strength of the

13:50defense, I anticipate the Cowboys will have Dak Prescott when he drops back the pass, he's going to do a lot of three-step drops. Get the bull out of the head, neutralize that pass rush. So the Cowboys are going to need to really lean on their offensive tackles to neutralize that pass rush. But the Giants, they're going to bring pressure from everywhere. So not just going to come from the outside linebackers, you're going to see it maybe come from the defensive line. You might see an exotic blitch. You might see all kinds of funky things. And I mean, Denard Wilson's a pretty creative defensive coordinator and he's got a lot of different tools, if you will, at his disposal. So I also think, when the Giants have the cover of the Cowboys in pass coverage, you're going to see a lot of cover four. All right. Now last year, Dak Prescott, according to NFL Plus, had a 39.3 dropback success rate against cover four, and he threw four interceptions, which tied with Geno Smith, then of the Las Vegas Raiders,

14:55for the most in the NFL, when facing cover four. So cover four has kind of been in Achilles heel, if you will, for Dak Prescott and the Cowboys passing offense. So that being said, what did the Giants do last year? What did Denard Wilson do when he was with the Titans as far as the usage of cover four? Wilson, with the Titans, played cover four 24.3% of the dropbacks of the quarterbacks, which was the six most in the NFL. That again, with the Titans. The Giants last year only did cover four, 19.9% of the time, which was the ninth most in the league. So, you know, the bottom line is the Giants, you know, didn't do it as often as Wilson did it with the Titans. I expect we'll see a lot of cover four against Dak Prescott. It's a weakness for him. And by the way, they allowed the Giants allowed last year a passer rating of 79.8

15:57in again, when they ran cover four, which was the tenth lowest mark in the NFL. So you'll probably see, I would think a lot of our derriest Washington will figure into the game plan because he's really good in that quarter's coverage. You're going to see a lot of that. And then between that and trying to rush the passer, they're going to really get after Dak Prescott. If he's coming in thinking that he's going to cruise to another victory, good luck. I think this time they're going to really get after him. And, you know, I'm curious to see how they're going to counter that because I got to think that, you know, they recognize that that's a weakness of Dak's as well. And they'll probably come up with a way to counter that. But, you know, they can only do so much because they can't control what the Giants are going to do necessarily. Okay, next, item on the list, the run defense. Do I really have to go there? Yeah, I guess I should, right? We all know the Giants run defense hasn't been very good in years, even with Dexter Lawrence in the lineup. Now Dexter obviously not in the lineup this year. He's in Cincinnati. Good luck

17:01to him and the Bengals, you know, maybe we'll see in the Super Bowl someday. Who knows? But, anyway, last year the Giants ranked 31st against the run. Dallas is going to be without Tyler Smith, their left guard. He is probably their best run blocker. TJ Bass is going to take over for him. But, you know, Smith has the thumb injury had surgery on that. He's going to miss four games. But despite the fact that Tyler Smith is not in the lineup, Cowboys still have a strong interior offensive line. So, you know, just looking last year and again, I know different personnel and everything like that for the Giants, different defense coordinator. But just I wanted to see what the Giants did with him without Dexter in the lineup for run against the run. The Giants with Dexter Lawrence allowed 5.4 yards per rushing play without him 6.7. Both numbers are terrible. So, that just goes to underscore, if you will, that it didn't matter Dexter Lawrence was in

18:06there or not. The run defense was terrible. Now, what was the big difference? And what can we expect that might be a little different? I suspect that last year the defensive scheme called for penetrating a little bit more rather than holding their ground and taking up multiple blockers and keeping the linebackers clean. Because if guys are trying to penetrate, they're getting through the line of scrimmage and now the offense alignment are quick enough to get out to the second level pick off the linebackers and now all of a sudden the running backs have all kinds of space to work with. I think that's going to be one of the biggest changes we see with the Giants run defense under Denard Wilson. It's going to be hold your ground. You know, maybe they have fewer tackles for loss and that's not a bad thing. If it means that they can keep the linebackers clean, let the linebackers come up and get the running backs in within the box, all right? Within the, you know, like three or four yards if that much down the field. So that's what I think is going to be the

19:09biggest difference for the Giants run defense. Regardless, they got to play better. And I just want to also mention that the Cowboys, Javante Williams, who is their main running back, average 4.8 yards per carry, which was night in the NFL last year. So he's probably going to be the workhorse for them as they try to take advantage of what they probably think is a weak Giants defensive line and run defense. And by the way, Shelby Harris has been on the injury report that Giants within the injury. He's taking his full reps, but this goes back to what I was saying before, DJ Reader and Shelby Harris are not going to play every single snap. Will they just play exclusively run defense? Will they rotate? How's that? It's going to work. We'll find out, but I'm concerned about the depth of defense line behind Harris and Reader. All right, last key that I'm going to mention, the Giants have got to score in the red zone. Obvious, right? But here's the thing. Last year, and again, I know Dallas had a different defensive coordinator last

20:12year than they do this year. But Dallas was 29th in red zone defense. They allowed 66.67% of the red zone plays to turn into touchdowns. 29th, not good. The Cowboys also, by the way, and I'll mention this for third down, but they were dead last and third down defense. They allowed 47.26% of the third down attempts against them to be converted. So why am I mentioning both these stats? Because A, it's going to be important for the Giants to sustain drives. Don't shoot yourself in the foot. Just sustain drives and keep moving the chains. But more importantly, when you get down in that red zone, you better get into the end zone. Don't make it the dead zone. I don't want to have to utter the words red zone dead zone during the game on my Twitter account. I just don't want to have to do that. All right. So what might the Giants do to make sure that they get the Cowboys off to a bad start in the red zone? Pound it. Patrick Ricard,

21:17Cam Skatiboo, maybe you know, put an extra offensive line in. Be the Cowboys up in the red zone. You know, just I don't want to see Jackson Dart running down in the red zone. I really don't. I suspect there will be instances where he will. But if I'm the Giants, if I'm that naggy, I am running Ricard. I am running, you know, 22 personnel, 13 personnel. I'm putting my heavy packages out there in the red zone to make sure that I get in. And I think they should have success because look in the past, the Giants have been bullied in the trenches. We all can agree on that, right? I think that bullying stops starting on Sunday. So if the Giants can do that and the other couple of things that I mentioned, maybe just maybe we're all going to have a nice day on Monday when I recap the game and give you my takeaways. At least that's the whole. All right, giant pants coming up next. We have blue notes and quick takeaways from the day at the Giants.

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24:36They always have great deals and including some last-minute savings to closer gets to kick off. So go on, get your crew together, get your tickets and tell them it's Game Time, down on the Game Time app, create an account and use the promo code, lock down to get $20 off your first purchase, all right, Jay, fans, in this segment, a couple of blue notes, some miscellaneous things that popped up. What I like to do is I like to just kind of little take a ways from the day at camp. It's not camp anymore, but the day of practice, if you will. All right, so the first thing I want to mention, Matt Nagy has decided that he is going to call plays from the press box. Now, Matt Nagy experimented with working up in the booth. He experimented with working down on the field. And he decided, you know, having done both. He's going to work up in the booth. He's going to sit next to Greg Rolman.

25:41The run game coordinator. The two of them are going to be able to communicate, get a bird's eye view. And Brian Callahan, the quarterbacks coach, is going to be down on the field with Jackson Dart. Now, I mentioned that because some people have a school thought that the offensive coordinator should be down there on the field with the quarterbacks, so that the communications a little bit more stable. It's, you know, face to face and whatnot. They're going to do it a little bit differently. And I'm curious to see how it works out. I mean, it kind of worked out pretty good. I think when they did it in the preseason. So that was the decision they came to. And that's what I guess what they're going to do for the foreseeable future. As far as I know, I think the Nard Wilson is going to be down on the field. I don't think he's going to be up in the box. And Chris Horton, I think, will be also down on the field, the special teams coordinator. So really, it's just negated. It's going to be upstairs and I'm cool with that. I mean, you know, I can see the argument for him to be down on the field.

26:44But the giants have enough experienced coaches to where they can probably get by without having Matt nagging down on the field. Okay, one last thing I'll mention really quick. The giants, you know, and you've heard me say this before on the program. They got to get off to a fast start. Now, here's an interesting stat from last year regarding the Dallas Cowboys. In the first quarter, the Dallas Cowboys were outscored by their opponents, 132 to 80. All right, that's a huge, huge gap. The giants, yeah, they were outscored in the first quarter to by their opponents, 84 to 77. So that's not as big of a gap as what the Cowboys have had. Now, it's the giants basically, they got to get off to a fast start. Score first, score often, build up a lead, and then just kind of protected because look, if you have to always play from behind, now you become one dimensional.

27:54And we have seen that too many times with the giants in the past where they've got a pass, pass, pass, pass, pass. Lean on the run game. You want to be able to lean on the run game if you're the giants. You don't want to have to play from behind where you've got Jackson Dart. Basically, having to throw the ball every other down or every other play. So it is vital that the giants get off to that fast start. It's certainly feasible. Unlike the Cowboys defense, which has a new coordinator, the Cowboys offense, pretty much still the same. So, you know, as far as the play callers, the scheme and everything like that. So it's possible. It's certainly possible. The giants, I think, are better equipped to deal with the Cowboys who have basically owned them. Let's call it for what it is. They have owned the giants over the last several meetings. And I think this year, the luck is going to swing back over to the giant side.

29:01And when it be nice when in the wee hours of the morning, on Monday morning after the game is over and I'm doing this show, we're talking about a win. And let's hope it's a big win because the giants are long overdue. They've got to get the John Harbour era off to a good start. I'm feeling good about it. Hopefully you guys are too. So, I think that's a great time for you guys to be here. I'm going to say goodbye. We're going to send you over to our 24 seven lockdown NFL YouTube channel for our 2026 NFL season preview. All three episodes are running right now until Sunday at 1 o'clock Eastern. You can find it on the lock on NFL feed wherever you get your podcast. Again, thank you so much for tuning in. Have a great weekend. And I will see you in the week hours of the morning on Monday morning after the game with takeaways and much more from the Giants week one game against the Dallas Cowboys. Take care everybody.

30:15Hey, NFL fans. I'm Brian Peacock and that is Matt Williamson hosts of the NFL six pack part of the lockdown podcast network. Your team every day NFL six pack brings you the latest NFL news and analysis and breaks down all of the weekly action. A six pack of takes daily on the playoff pushed in the 2025 season or if your teams in draft mode. Yeah, we'll hit that too. All right here every day on the locked on podcast network. The NFL six pack subscribe on YouTube or everywhere you get your podcasts.