Welcome back to the Buffalo Bread Podcast. I'm
your host, Dan Roberts, here for the continuing
offseason tradition, a tradition unlike any other,
Friends of the Pod, not Friends of the Bills,
NFC East Edition. We are here with Logan DeLutis,
one of our newest co -hosts here, to talk about
the New York Giants, their turbulent, yet productive
offseason, and to chat a little bit about where
he thinks the GMAT are going to head this season
in the wake of the firing of Brian Dayball last
year. So we have brought Logan on for a for a
covert operation. For those of you that listen
to this pod, you know that JJ is very pro football,
very anti baseball. Logan happens to be a massive
baseball fan and a Yankees fan, something him
and I share in common. So in reality, we're going
to blow through some football talk so we can
get to the meat of the matter, which is why the
Yankees should fire Aaron Boone at the end of
the spot. Logan, welcome back to the pod. How
are you doing today, sir? I'm doing great. Thanks
for having me back. It's a pleasure to be back.
I think this is our third rendition now. Yes.
Three time co hosts. So we don't have anything
as extravagant as SNL for a five time co host.
But just know that three is like rarefied air
means you're regular and we'll have you back
anytime. Glad to be in and rare company. I'm
excited to talk giants. I'm excited to talk Yankees.
So I mean, that's the real reason that you're
here. JJ is probably going to be listening to
this as skin crawling, but no. First time ever,
history being made on buffalo bread. We are talking
ball as in baseball at the end of the spot. Dude,
cannot wait. All right. So Logan, just real quick,
reintroduce yourself to the fans at home, right?
So you are a Giants fan, but you also have a
Ravens fan in the family in the form of your
brother. Is that correct? That is correct. Yes.
So you've got some interesting synergies here
in the off season with the Harbaugh move, all
your free agency moves. Tell us a little bit
about your Giants fandom. And then is there tension
with you and your brother right now over what's
gone down between your two teams? Yeah. So I've,
I've been a Giants fan for years. Um, I was a
Giants fan when Eli Manning, you know, killed
Tom Brady. So I was a Giants fan when Old Al
Beckham took the world by storm with his miraculous
one -headed catch. So I've been a Giants fan
for years. I've seen the highs and the lows and
everything in between. Yeah, as far as tension
goes between my brother and I, yeah, there was
a few choice words shot back and forth to each
other over the past few months between John Harbaugh
coming to the Giants and then him bringing about
half his roster with him. No kidding. which I
know we'll get into further, but yeah. He kind
of, my brother kind of knew it was coming with
him. He knew Harbaugh's reign was coming to an
end in Baltimore. Was he thrilled that it happened?
Not really. Was he thrilled he lost half his
roster? Definitely not, but yeah, it's been an
interesting ride for the past couple of months.
I've been picking on him, so hopefully I can
rub it in his face a little more this year. There
you go. There you go. It'll have the sibling
rivalry will have a little extra juice to it
this year, right? Well, it's on the line. But
low key Baltimore landed, I think probably my
favorite head coach candidate and Jesse mentor.
And also, man, they got a real one and Anthony
Weaver with the DC. Maybe I should have your
brother on to talk Ravens at some point because
like I, I don't I don't love their roster positioning
right now. Thanks to thanks to your guy Harbaugh.
But Raven's low key could could do some things
in the draft that'll make them interesting. So
but that's not what we're here to talk about.
We are here to talk about your G men, sir. So
let's quick recap 2025. And then we're going
to dive right into it. I'll give you the floor.
So I think the most notable thing that happened.
Well, two things really, you had the emergence
of Jackson Dart, flyer at the end of the first
round of the draft last year, ends up getting
real starting time real reps, and you see immediately
kind of the talent. More importantly, I think
the energy, leadership, and juice that he brought
to the clubhouse as a rookie. Dayball, who had
hitched his wagon to dart, fired mid -year, which
I think we can all agree was the right move,
even us Bills fans. Dayball will never pay for
a beer in Buffalo for what he did for Josh Allen.
But by the same token, Dayball was ill befitting
of a head coach job. Shane was interesting. A
lot of people criticize the move to get rid of
day ball, but not to get rid of Shane Mara keep
Shane, but it's really clear. And we'll get into
this later that with the arrival of John Harbaugh,
Shane has in fact been retained, but in reality,
he has been demoted to basically head scout at
this point. So all of that turbulence, all of
that change here we are before we get into 2026
Logan. Listen, we always like to start on a positive
note with the pod. So Even though it was not
the season you guys hoped for, win -loss wise,
some good stuff happened, right? So why don't
you quick give us your highlights from the 2025
season for your New York Giants. Yeah, I think
as far as highlights go, we'll start with Jackson
Dart because I know you mentioned him. You know,
Jackson Dart, I think, proved to the league that
he's a franchise guy. He's our franchise quarterback.
He is the guy we drafted him for a reason. He
is... proven himself and the opportunities that
he's gotten now. A lot of people might criticize
it hasn't shown record wise, but he put up good
numbers. He made a lot of plays. He put a team
that didn't expect to win in a lot of winning
positions. So that's one big highlight is getting
your franchise quarterback that we've been longing
to have. I think a second highlight for us from
from last year. and it kind of played into Jackson
Dirt's success was offensive line improvement.
I think our offensive line took a big step forward,
especially from the start of the year. We saw
at the start of the year Russell was struggling
to get the ball out, didn't have a lot of time,
and it seemed towards the end of the year as
our offensive line got healthier, we really found
that group on the line that kind of clicked and
worked well together. and was able to mesh and
protect the quarterback and allow our quarterback
to make plays as well as our running backs as
well. We saw Camp Scadaboo and Tyrone Tracy run
for a lot of yards. Camp Scadaboo had some huge
games. Tyrone Tracy had some huge games when
Scat went down later in the year. So taking that
big step on the offensive line side that struggled
for how many years now was really nice to see.
I think Wondell Robinson's career year at receiver
was another positive note. It kind of makes you
wonder what's in store for Malik neighbors when
he's fully healthy. Now having that guy to throw
him the ball and make plays with them, what's
in store for him. And as I kind of touched on
before, that run game with Scadaboo and Tracy
kind of gives you some reminders of Jacobs and
the Bradshaw era. from back during the Super
Bowl, those two guys that aren't afraid to take
hits and have some contact and run through people
and be a physical backfield that teams are scared
of. So I think those were a few of the major
highlights in my eyes. Although the record didn't
show, it was an exciting year for me. I think
there's a lot of positives to take forward into
this year, into this new era, and hopefully build
on that and become more successful. And I think
a lot of the success that you mentioned from
2025, again, even though it didn't show up in
the win loss record, I think it's got a lot of
people picking you guys as like this year's Patriots
and Harbaugh's this year's variable, you know
what I mean? And we'll talk a little bit about
that. But I mean, honestly, the the way that
things have played out for you guys in free agency,
you've shored up a lot of holes, right? You've
got an great opportunity in the draft for the
top five pick to to further solidify that young
defensive core the chains built out over the
past few years. You guys have some opportunity
before we get to any of that. Let's talk from
a big picture organizational view is literally
a new world order not just with Harbaugh, but
with some of the changes that you guys have with
ownership. So Logan, I want to start here. The
stitches are transferring their ownership stake
to a trust. as a result of Steve Tish's appearance
here in the Epstein files. So for Bill's fans
that are unfamiliar with the role that Tish's
play versus the Mara's play, because we all know
we all know the Mara family is the ones that
really run the show there. But Steve Tish has
had an executive position with the Giants for
some time now. Yeah. Give us a little bit about
us. Bill's fans a little bit of a primer is what
if anything changes with the changing role of
Steve Tish in this organization? Yeah. So I think
truly that the move is more of a planning for
the future than anything. Kind of the stuff I've
read has been more of stuff will continue as
usual, jobs will continue as usual. It'll be
kind of the status quo around the organization.
The Tish's never really held a big presence on
the football side of things. That was more of
the Mara family and John Mara making those real
executive decisions on the football side. Although
that Tisha's did have some say and what kind
of happened. They played a role in who we hired
as head coach and bringing in John Harbaugh.
They do have a presence there, but they're more
of the corporate side. And of course, the transitioning
over of that stake in the team to that fund was
obviously not a great time as Steve Tisha's name
was brought up in the Epstein files and that
whole situation unfolded. Um, that dark cloud
has seemed to blown over, blown over for the
time being. Um, but again, I think it'll be the
status quo as normal for the New York giants.
I think jobs and responsibilities from, from
that side of things will continue as normal.
Um, I don't think we should see much of a change
overall. All right, cool. No, I, we appreciate
those insights for sure. Um, and a lot of Bill's
fans. living in upstate New York, we have giants,
we have family that are giants fans, like there
are even some bills fans that are like, Oh, my
second team in the NFC is the giant. So there
is definitely a core of bills mafia that is interested
in this kind of stuff. They are also interested
in your new head coach. So we've alluded to it.
Let's talk directly about it. Harbaugh arguably
the top head coaching candidate in this year
cycle cycle that's our record amount of coaching
vacancies and very much so at least the most
decorated right so you have now gone from a first
time head coach and brian day ball someone who
i think we both agree his temperament was not
yet made or mature and mature enough to be a
head coach to. a wealth of experience in Harbaugh.
Give us the ceiling year one. Is this Vrabel
-esque? Do you guys make this amazing run that
no one is predicting? Are the playoffs on the
docket or is there something kind of in between
that you are expecting this season? Where did
the GMN go into Harbaugh in 2026? Logan? Yeah,
I think, you know, to start, I think the hire
was phenomenal. Me personally, truly wasn't expecting
it. to be John Harbaugh as much as I wanted it
to be when I saw he was available. So I'm thrilled.
I'm excited to have a guy with such a wealth
of knowledge and a winning culture. He's brought
to Baltimore. I'm excited to have that brought
to New York. As far as where we go in 2026, I
do think we have the talent and Harbaugh's knowledge
and what he's bringing to the team to be that
Patriot -esque kind of team where we go from
worst to first. Where I personally see us in
the coming year is kind of the middle of the
road. I do not think we're going to be where
we were last year in 2025. I think we're sitting
more middle of the road, winning record, of course,
competing with a lot of these good teams that
I think teams and fans would normally think we
would get smoked by week in and week out. I think
Harbaugh is really going to bring a change of
culture to this team. I think it's going to be
a real culture shock to a lot of people. But
I think it's going to be a pleasant shock in
the end when we're winning games. We don't have
to worry about losing by 21 or more every week.
So I think it'll be an exciting year. I'm looking
forward to it. I'm looking forward to turning
things around. And I'm hopefully looking forward
to making the playoffs and making a run at another
Super Bowl. Nice. I mean, I do think playoffs
are on the docket for you guys. And he has already
started to shift the culture and the way that
he has reorganized. So for those folks listening
that aren't familiar with the internal workings
of the New York Giants, Harbaugh is now reporting
to Mara. as is Shane, right? Yes. This is the
setup for Bill's fans at home that McDermott
and Bean had until Brady was hired. And now everything
rolls up in the org chart through Bean, and Bean
is the only one reporting directly to Pugula.
So bit of a shake up there. And it's really clear
that Joe Shane has a much different role than
he did when Dave Ball was head coach. Harbaugh's
brought in his own senior VP of football operations.
He has made all these moves to remake the roster.
We joked he brought half of Baltimore with him,
but he really kind of did. So it's clear that
optimism reigns supreme in New York, but it's
also clear that Harbaugh has a lot of say in
personnel decisions and Logan, the history of
head coaches. that have a huge load to bear on
the personnel side of things has not been great
for unfueled results. Add to that that I actually
think you were you were one of the bigger fans
of Shane and the way that he drafted. So overall,
how do you feel about Harbaugh asserting himself
into the personnel game? And how do you feel
about Shane's new role with the organization?
Yeah, I don't hate it overall. I think this this
new role with Harbaugh, I think it's partly him
kind of using. that history he has in the league
to his advantage. As far as his stature goes
in the organization, he's a guy that's obviously
been around the block for years and years. He
expects that kind of respect in an organization.
I think he wants that when it comes to rebuilding
a team. He hasn't had to do this in a while.
He's had a team in Baltimore that's been talented
year in and year out, although they didn't get
the results they wanted. And I'll pick on my
brother a little bit. They were a disappointment
when it really got down to it. He's had that
roster though to compete every year. I think
this is a first time in a long time where he's
kind of rebuilding the team and trying to get
them to that winning culture. With that being
said though, and talking about Joe Shane, I think
Joe Shane still brings a lot of value to this
organization. I've always said it that I've loved
the way he's drafted. I think he's brought a
lot of good young talent to the Giants that You
know, not everyone always works out, but I think
we've had a good group of guys in the time Joe
Shane's been our general manager that have been
very good products for this team and very good
NFL talents. So I think it's important for the
Giants to keep utilizing that. I really don't
want us to wash away our relationship with Joe
Shane. I'm kind of worried it's heading in that
direction. But I also think Joe Shane hasn't
made the best calls with personnel of the organization.
I think he's let the leash draw out a little
too long for guys. It resulted in some bad games
last year. I think it resulted in Dable being
kept around for a little longer than he should
have. So I think ultimately, you know, it got
to a point where even I think Mara was fed up
and he's like, listen, you're not making the
right calls at personnel of this organization.
We're going to change it up. We're still going
to use your value for scouting and drafting,
you know, rookies. Um, but we got to change something,
which I don't entirely disagree with. Um, we'll
see how it goes. We'll see how everything turns
out in this year. And, you know, next year, as
we really get into, to hardballs rain as head
coach and, you know, kind of how you stated,
you know, the CEO of the organization. Um, but
I'm excited. Uh, I hope Shane still is like really
committed to this organization. I hope he hasn't.
they know lost a lot for the organization because
of this. You know him very well. He kind of has
that edgy side to him where he's not really afraid
to give his opinion or like his own personal
opinion. Obviously don't want any friction between
anyone because that never turns out well for
anyone in the organization. But I'm excited.
I think, I think there's a lot of potential to
do good things here with the way we're setting
up the organization. So, um, again, really excited
to see where it goes. Yeah. I'm excited to see
how this plays out. I wonder if this is a one
and done experiment for Shane kind of in this
new, new role, right? Um, especially if things
it's always so interesting. We experienced this
as Bill's fans with McDermott's firing the PR
campaign that happens behind the scenes. Even
Brandon Bean in the course of the season, you
know, leaking to the media all the trades he
was in on but never made. Should should things
I'm rooting for you guys to be interesting and
successful this year, but things don't go well
this season. it'll be interesting to see, especially
with that New York media like cesspool that it's
going on down there, what the sniping looks like
between Harbaugh and Shane's camps. Should things
not go well this year? Should, should Isaiah
likely get injured or not perform? Well, you
know what I mean? Who bears the blame for that?
So yeah, so definitely some interesting things
to see. But I think I think hope should reign
supreme for you guys, mostly because it looks
like you got your quarterback, right? Yeah. And
it is so key to pair your QB with a good offensive
coordinator, particularly when you got a head
coach like Harbaugh, who is more that CEO style.
He cut his teeth in special teams, really doesn't
have a side of the primary side of the ball that
he favors. So his coordinator hires are always
interesting because these guys are going to have
free reign over their side of the ball. So he
brings in Matt Nagy, a guy who recently had a
stint with the Chiefs, you know, working with
Patchmore Homes before that. head coach for the
Chicago Bears has had a lot of up and downs in
his career. Isn't the most creative play caller,
but he's a guy that knows how to build offensive
infrastructure around a mobile QB. So talk to
me a little bit about how you feel about the
naggy hire. And if you think this is the right
move for darts overall development. Yeah. I think
at first I was a little iffy on it. You had mentioned
that Matt Nagy doesn't exactly run the most exciting
and shiny offensive scheme that we kind of see
a lot of nowadays in the NFL. But with that being
said, he has coached a Super Bowl winning team,
both as a QB coach and as an offensive coordinator.
I know some people, there's debate on how much
he really called the offense that year with Andy
Reid, but still. Nonetheless, he was the OC of
a Super Bowl winning team. And he also coached
a quarterback who is in the argument for greatest
of all time for multiple years. So, you know,
taking that all into consideration, I think it
can be really good for Jackson Dart. This is
a guy, again, with a wealth of knowledge in the
NFL. He's been around the block. He's had success.
He's had success with a guy who plays with a
somewhat similar play style as Jackson Dart.
a guy who likes to get out of the pocket, move
the ball downfield, move around the field himself
and run the ball, take risks, scramble. So I
think if Matt Nagy can channel that and channel
what he channeled with Patrick Mahomes, I think
there's endless success there between the two
of them. I'm very intrigued to see what this
offense will look like. I'm interested to see
if Harbaugh will kind of influence Matt Nagy
to add a little more spice to what he calls in
an offense and not be overly bland. Like, you
know, I kind of mentioned he's been in the past.
But again, I think Matt Nagy can be really good
for Jackson Dart. This is a guy who can develop
him, you know, help him understand the ropes
of the NFL and really set his feet in the league.
Because again Jackson Darts a guy who has wanted
to learn even from his his start of those rookie
year He always wanted to learn he's got two guys
there as veterans in the quarterback room. They
can help him learn as well It's nothing but an
endless wealth of knowledge for Jackson Dard
that I think can only help him. Yeah And I think
that is the benefit of bringing in a steady hand,
right? May not be like the splashy Mike McDaniel
hire that everyone that had an OC opening wanted
McDaniel this year. No one wanted the dude as
a head coach, but everyone wanted him as an OC,
right? May not have the splash in the creativity
of that, but Nagy is in fact a steady hand. And
when you've got a guy like Dart that plays at
a thousand miles an hour, you need someone like
that. to, I think, have a counterweight to that
personality type. And Dayball was not that. Dayball
was headbutting Dart on the sideline. Like, Dayball
didn't know how to teach a young QB in Dart how
to modulate his emotion on the field, right,
and make some of those more cerebral decisions.
And I think Nagy will have that calming influence
on Dart. I do think it's a smart move in that
regard. Ultimately, we'll see what the structure
of the offense looks like. You guys, you know,
improved online situation, Scadaboo comes back
healthy. You've got a decent run game. You got
to replace Robinson on wide receiver room, but
you know, Harbaugh has, as we have said, is at
a busy off season, right? Yeah. Going into that,
going away from like some of the coaching, organizational
moves. Let's talk about this roster and dudes
that'll actually play in between the sidelines
here. So give us your top three free agent moves,
Logan, that the Giants have made so far this
off season. Yeah. Obviously kind of like you
mentioned, Harbaugh has been busy. We've been
busy in all facets of free agency from getting
rid of guys to adding guys. So my top three guys
that we added. What's your ads want to resign
the first ad is tremendous linebacker coming
from chicago i hate this for you i hate this
for us love it for you yes i'm a team who obviously
made the playoffs last year and had a lot of
success under new head coach johnson. He i think
he's a phenomenal player i was surprised to see
chicago let him go i'm so happy that we got this
is the guy who. And every season of his NFL career
has a hundred plus tackles. He's a season post
season player. He's been in multiple postseason
games. So he has that under his belt. This is
also funny enough, a Joe Shane product and Buffalo.
Correct. He was drafted by Joe Shane out of Virginia
Tech into Buffalo. So it's kind of ironic and
interesting to see that reunion. So I think for
main admins will be is a great ad. It fills kind
of a hole we have at linebacker. I know this
isn't another one of my top ones, but we have
McFadden back. So pairing those two together,
I think can be really nice. So that's my first
one. My second one is Greg Newsome. And I know
I mentioned to you off the pod. I loved the signing.
Greg Newsome is obviously a proven corner. He's
proven himself with Cleveland. He was a corner
in the years where Cleveland was a top, top defense
in the league when they were shutting everyone
down in the past game. I think he is a great
ad to be opposite of Pulse and Adibo to help
us in the past game, which has over the past
few years been abysmal and our corners have just
been not good, haven't performed well. So I think
he's a very good ad. My third And this is the
re -sign that I loved is Jermaine Aluminor. Begged
for them to re -sign him. I mean, this is a guy
who, I think he was the glue guy for our offensive
line. He's a veteran. He's a proven veteran.
He's one of the best tackles in the league. Although
he's not Dart's blindside tackle, he still protects
Dart very well. He's one of the top win rate
guys in the league as far as tackle goes. Um,
and he's just a much needed veteran to keep on
kind of an overall young offensive line. Um,
we still have some guys who are trying to develop
into starters and, and proven offensive linemen
for us. I can hopefully help us like have a Neil.
And I think he's a good guy to have that can
hopefully help those guys develop and into players
that can help our team and, and be good linemen
for us. So, um, those are three, three of my.
Top sign -ins, I could probably have a few more
if I, if I really thought about them, but yeah,
those are my, those are my top guys so far for
free agency. And this is the interesting thing.
You very correctly point out, um, admins being
a Shane product, but Greg Newsome as well, he,
he, he was part of that weird COVID year draft,
right? And the bills ended up going, Greg Rousseau,
Boogie Basham and back to back rounds. Um, word
on the street was that they were in on Newsome.
had he been available to them when they picked.
And they really like Newsom because he is a he's
a zone corner, right? He's had varying levels
of success, but the the the game intelligence
is there that the football IQ is there. And he's
got enough ability to be a really serviceable
DB. So if you know, people have made all these
jokes about the Baltimore Giants and Harbaugh
putting a stamp on this thing, but you know,
your top two picks. These are guys that have
strong connections to Joe Shane as well. So I
do wonder if maybe there is a little bit more
synergy here behind the scenes between Harbaugh
and Shane than than anyone would would be led
to believe but I hate that you guys got Edmonds
the minute he was released. I was like, please
Brandon Bean go bring him back. You're gonna
love watching Tremaine Edmonds play football.
He is a mistake corrector at the second level.
He he will blot out the sun with his wingspan.
He will divert open passing lanes for opposing
QBs. He is an absolute Hoover in the run game
as well at the second level like linebackers
notoriously need to be kept clean by their defensive
lineman in order to be effective in the run game.
Tremaine Edmonds just doesn't that dude just
is gonna ball out no matter what he is a god.
He was like a red oak tree in the middle of that
defense. Now I hate that you guys got him. I'm
so mad. All right. All right. But You guys still
still have a little, few holes on the roster.
Wide receiver comes to mind, the loss of Robinson,
the, the lack of weird lack of clarity on where
neighbors is with his recovery. So like, where
does this roster to you still have some holes?
Yeah, go for it. So I know I kind of mentioned
a Luminor and being that glue guy for the line
and helping you guys develop. I think right guard
right now is a big hole for us still on that
line. Yes. Jay Kubis is not it. He's not the
answer. We've reportedly been in on some guys
like Elijah Vera Tucker for that guard position.
Unfortunately, we lost out on that. That was
a guy I really wanted. But then again, you know,
word on the street and kind of rumors that says
Evan Neil, that guy, he moved a guard. Is he
going to be that guy? Please come inside. Yes.
That's kind of the rumor. Is he really going
to get a shot this year to prove that he's that
guy on the inside and maybe take that spot and
earn that spot and prove himself? We'll see.
But we do need a guy on that right side of the
offensive line to fill that hole. So that's one
of them. A second need, and you kind of mentioned
it, is receiver. We've had a couple receiver
signings in Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin.
Not really what I was looking for at receiver
signing. I mean Darnell Mooney is a very good
receiver Kelvin Austin's a pretty good slot guy,
but I think we're still missing that real number
two To be next to neighbors We signed slate into
that big contract Slayton's not it either Unfortunately
as much as I hate to say it Slayton's not that
number two that we need Maybe Darnell Mooney
And a new environment can be that. I know he
had a down year with some injuries and, you know,
really wasn't going his way in Atlanta over the
last couple of years. Maybe this new environment
again can be something good for Darnell Mooney
and maybe he can develop into that number two.
But again, we need that number two receiver to
take some of that pressure off of neighbors as
our number one. And number three. Again, although
we signed Greg Newsom, I still think we need
help at corner. Paulson Adibo being hurt a lot
last year and also not really proving that he's
that star corner that everyone thought he was
after that year with the Saints. I think we still
need some help. Drew Phillips took a step back
after his rookie year in that slot corner position.
So it'll be interesting to see if we try to fill
one of those holes, maybe bump Adibo to a different
spot. true Phillips losses opportunity and we
try to fill that gap with another kind of inside
corner guy, but Corner still I think is is an
area on our defense that needs a lot of help
Yeah, I think you you have very correctly identified
where you guys are at interior offensive line
for sure wide receiver. Absolutely. Especially
because they're, Shane was really cagey about
neighbors injury and what his return timeline
looks like. And I got, I got the sense that,
that they found some stuff when they were in
there. Like he's still in a cast, isn't he here?
Like he was in the cast for a long time. I think
he was, he was in the, um, the non -mobile brace,
the straight light kind of brace for longer than
normally expected. I think the rumor going around
was there was potentially some meniscus. issues
in his knee. His swelling took a while to go
down. So obviously not stuff I want to hear as
a guy who is a very good, you know, he's on our
team. He's a very good receiver. So it'll be
interesting to see when we start getting into
OTAs and CAM, what's really going on. Maybe we'll
get a little more clarity, but no, I 100 % agree
with you that they really haven't shed a lot
of light in this injury and they've kind of been
holding back on telling people what's really
going on. Um, I don't really understand why it
just tell us. I mean, what's going to happen
is going to happen. He's either going to be ready
at the start of the year or he's not. Um, so.
Yeah, right now it feels like he's trending not,
but despite all that. And despite the holes that
you've mentioned, you guys have an opportunity,
not just in in post draft free agency wave, but
in the draft itself to address these needs. And
you guys are sitting with yet another premium
pick this year, Logan, you guys have the fifth
pick this year in the draft. Real quick, tell
us here, day one of the draft pick number five,
who are the giants selecting? Out of the Ohio
State University. Sunny styles. Yes. Yes. This
is who I wanted you to say. Yes. Okay. Go. We
did not plan this folks. Yes. Go. Sunny styles.
Of course we signed Tremaine admins at the linebacker
position. We have Michael McFadden coming back
from a year on the injury last year, but still
this linebacker core is an injury away from another
disastrous year. And sunny styles can help give
us some depth that we need at linebacker to round
out that defense. He's a versatile guy that can
rush the passer. He can play a little bit of
linebacker. He can cover. I think he's a perfect
guy for this defense who showed to be very well
running that kind of speed defense, getting after
the quarterback, getting after the offense. I
think he fits perfectly. I think he can be that
Tremaine Edmonds kind of guy where he's all over
the place. Coverage, run. Assisting the D line
that of course was among League worst if not
leave worst and run defense last year I think
he'd be a great pick for us. And that's what
I'm praying for when when pick five comes around
Absolutely, because you guys could use some help
on the interior defensive line and help may be
coming right? There's still guys available and
free agency and in the draft, but but I mean
to have the range of an Edmonds in a styles at
that second level would just be, it would be
madness. No one's ever getting past the five
yard line on you guys. You know what I mean?
And forget about it in pure passing situations.
They're just going to erase like tight ends.
That situation with styles and Edmonds. Are you
a, are you a Marvel movie fan by any chance?
Ever watched Guardians of the Galaxy? I have
watched Guardians of the Galaxy. It's funny because
I, I made an Avengers reference for something
we're going to talk about, but. Nice. I was good.
Having Edmonds and styles is like having Groot
and rocket raccoon at the second level of your
defense, man. It's going to be, it's going to
be a match made in heaven. And I really hope
the giants go that way. My second pick for you
guys is Caleb downs because also out of the Ohio
state university, because he's like this. Yeah,
he's a safety, but he really is this positionless
chess piece a la Kyle Hamilton, that DC is absolutely
covet. And I think there's a real shot. He's
there to pick five for you. So I honestly there's
so just pick an Ohio State guy, Colonel Tate,
if you want to go the wide receiver, you know
what I mean? Yeah, just pick an Ohio State guy,
Joe Shane and Jim Harbaugh or john Harbaugh,
nothing's gonna go wrong. So yeah, I'll go back
to pick styles to styles to I mean, this is a
guy who blew everyone away at the combine. I
mean no one expected to put up the metrics that
he did at the combine which I mean only helps
him at the end of the day of course with his
raft stock but I mean it shows that he's a pure
athlete that I would love to have on our defense.
he's an athlete that knows how to play within
a defensive structure to like, I mean, Ohio State,
they run a real NFL defense out there. So he
there are advanced concepts. He's he comes in
day one, ready to fit into almost any NFL scheme.
Man, I would I would be so happy for you. If
you got to watch styles and Edmonds play football
together, this is just wild stuff. All right.
All right. Real quick. Let's wrap this up so
we can get to what we're really here for Logan,
which is to talk about the Yankees. All right.
Predictions for 2020 26 lightning round. Give
it to me quick. When lost record team, MVP, surprise
breakout star, and then do the giants make the
playoffs this year. All right. Record 10 and
seven. Is the record for this year. That's what
I'm going. I think we'll make the playoffs 10
and seven, uh, team MVP Malik neighbors comes
back from his gruesome knee injury. He's got
a real pass thrower, his real quarterback. He
puts up great numbers at receiver team MVP. Nice
surprise breakout star Tyler Nubin. Uh, I think
he takes a big step at safety. I think he's a
guy that Denard Wilson will like to have in his
defense. He's got good football IQ. He can move
all over the place. Fill the run, play the pass
a little bit. I think he is a surprise breakout
star for us. And do the Giants make the playoffs?
I mentioned it already. Yes, the Giants make
the playoffs. Watch out. I think we're coming.
We're coming. Very nice. Very nice. Yeah. Philly
just always seemed like is an every other year
situation. Washington. It all depends on if Daniels
is healthy. And then, uh, yeah, man, Dallas is
Dallas Dallas. I was just going to say, I was
like, who do I say about the Cowboys other than
that? They're just the Cowboys, right? So yeah,
man. So there is a real, real shot that 10 and
seven is attainable for you. I like the new been
picked too. I love that kid coming out of Minnesota.
I loved them when we drafted them. So dude, just
so We joke about this at work. Um, but so many
of the guys on your roster are guys. I have wanted
the bills to get in some way, shape or form.
You know what I mean? So Ted, it's going right
away in blue, just not exactly, exactly rocking
the blue home. It's not the whites. So yeah.
All right, man. Awesome giants talk as always.
Let's get to the reason everybody is here so
folks if you are not a baseball fan this is where
you want to tune out thank you for listening
is logan for those of you watching on youtube
hits his wardrobe chains giants jersey off yankees
t shirt on let's get into it and we're gonna
dive right and we're gonna get right into the
meat of it sir so garrick all carlos radon. They
both have a chance to come back healthy this
year. Jury is out and when they'll be back, some
say May for Rodone, June for Cole, vice versa.
We'll see. We also have a human tree and Carlos
LaCrange waiting in the wings with 101 mile an
hour stuff as a potential addition to either
as a spot starter, long reliever. All that being
said, the Yankees have a really solid rotation
before Cole and Rodone get back. Will the Yankees
have the best rotation slash bullpen situation
in the A .L. when fully healthy? Logan, go. Yes,
yes, I love this take. I think we do. No other
team in the American League or I will say in
the entire MLB has three aces in their starting
rotation. Rodin has been an ace, can still be
an ace for any team. I won't say any team, most
teams. Max Reed, same thing. He was our ace last
year. Proven guy, pitched extremely well last
year when we needed him too. And Garry Cole is
Garry Cole. I have no worries about Garry Cole
coming back. He may get that, you know, that
normal phenomenon with those kinds of surgeries
where he ticks up his VELO for a year. We'll
see. He's debuted in a new windup and has one
inning of work. He threw very well. And then
of course, You know, we have young guys, you
know, maybe Louis Hill. We see him this year.
You mentioned LaGrange. He's shown to have really
good stuff in spring training. Insane. His velocity
is insane. Although today wasn't a great outing
for him. But Schlitler obviously pitched very
well for us in the playoffs. Has nasty stuff.
Another flamethrower for us. Ryan Weathers. We'll
start as a starter this year. He's kind of an
X factor guy for us. So I think with all those
pieces together, I mean, you got, you know, how
many guys right there? Five to seven guys that
can really make up a rotation that I think truly
is the best in the American League, if not the
MLB. I totally agree. And I think what we just
talked about is probably the answer to this next
question I'm going to ask you. But Yankees had
a league best record coming out of the All -Star
break last year. Um, they of course fizzled in
the postseason, much to our chagrin, which has
been the case under Aaron Boone, like this team
has a really clear ceiling. What if anything
gets them over the postseason hump this year?
It's using that young depth. I mean, we, we've
always had a really strong farm system and failed
to use the young depth to our advantage. You
see these teams that go very far of a year. I'll
use last year, for example, the Blue Jays, the
Dodgers. These are all teams with deep benches
and depth that they use to their advantage. They
use them in games where these guys have good
splits against certain pitchers. They may run
better and they use them in certain scenarios.
They use their depth. That's where I think we've
fallen short on. I think we're very held back
on using certain people and tried forcing them
and forcing them until we're forced to not use
them anymore. It's using our young depth. I'd
like to see Lagrange get a chance this year in
some sort of role. I think Heal is still a good
pitcher. I'd love to see Dominguez get another
shot in the majors. So maybe we'll see Spencer
Jones this year if we have some injuries, who
knows. dude it's using that depth and i i think
it's getting away from kind of really relying
on that veteran presence that of course is great
to have but you know the game is speeding up
real fast and these veterans who have been around
for a while it's going to pass them right by
so um i think utilizing that can can certainly
give us get us over that hump 100%. And this
really dives perfectly into my next question
for you. It's about the offensive side of the
ball. You've already mentioned some names and
Dominguez and Jones that I would love to see
get a shot in this lineup. But dude, this is
this conversation about the lineup. has dominated
maybe the last two years of our Yankees conversations.
It's an imbalanced offense, right? It's a lot
of high exit below guys. It's a lot of home run
sluggers, a lot of bodybuilders throughout the
course of this. Even a guy like Jess Chisholm,
the minute he gets into Yankee Stadium, he's
swinging for that short portion of the field.
You know what I mean? So like, this is an offense
with a clear philosophy, but it is a one dimensional
philosophy. Is there a trade target that you
see still out there? Or is there someone like
you already mentioned in the farm system that
you could see come up and really bring some balance
and some some lethality to this offense? Yeah,
I think I don't think it's trade so much as it's
again, using these young guys we have in the
farm system. And we've talked about this before.
We're notorious for blocking out our our young
guys who have a chance to come and crack The
major league roster and provide a spark to our
kind of aging major league roster. And what the
offense, I think it's getting back to a kind
of slower pace and slower approach at the plate.
Meaning, you know, maybe capitalize on those
walks more. You see the Blue Jays capitalize
on walks. I mean, they're a phenomenal team at
taking what they get. Yes. Oh my God. Look how
far I got them last year. Um, you know, obviously
they use their guys and scenarios that can hit
home runs and Vlad E. And, you know, obviously
George Springer has some pop when Boba shot was
what that Boba shot has pop. Um, but they weren't
always trying to force the ball out of the park.
That's where I think, like you said, we hurt
ourselves or forcing the ball over the fence.
And again, I get, we play in a hitters ballpark,
but at the same time, You know, you wear these
teams down, you get walks, you get hits after
hits. You're going to get starters out in four
innings, five innings, because as we see now
in the game of Major League Baseball, nobody's
really racking up the pitches anymore. It's a
long season. And a lot of these teams, especially
these teams that have playoff hopes, they're
not pitching their guys very deep when they don't
need to. Um, so if you get on them quick, you
force those, you know, long at bats, those high
pitch count at bats, you're, you're going to
get those guys out of the game. You're going
to, you're going to get more runs, maybe develop
more hits, put guys in better scenarios to hit.
Um, that's what I think we haven't done. You
know, we're, we're going up there with nobody
on base. We're trying to get a spark to happen
and it doesn't, you know, so, um, and I think.
I had mentioned a minute ago using those young
guys. I think we have good depth. I think when
we talked about this, you know, in the past,
we have one of the deepest bunches we've had
in years. But using that bunch is a whole other
thing. You can have a deep punch, but you have
to use it. And it goes back to my previous point
to using it like these other teams to our advantage.
And I think guys like Dominguez, Jones can provide
a spark to this. this lineup that might be needed,
whether it's speed, Jones providing a little
power here and there, because as we all know,
Stan's elbows are turning to dust, as we speak.
So, maybe being that DH guy and taking over that
role for Stan. Yes, please. There's a lot of
different scenarios we could go, but I think
again, using those young guys can really help
us. Yeah, something that the Yankees have seen
seem so allergic to right over the past. I mean,
at least during Boone's tenure, and I don't know
if it's a Cashman thing. I don't know if it's
a Boone thing. The way they yo -yo these kids
from the farm system to the majors and then back.
So, I mean, Spencer Jones has nothing left to
prove in AAA, as far as I'm concerned, right?
There is no developmental benefit to him still
being there. Let's like Jason Dominguez, same
thing. Let's just get these guys up and let's
see what they do, right? if they end up being
busts, it is what it is. You're the Yankees.
You're not devoid of resources, trade or free
agency to be able to fill a hole if the farm
system if the farm system prospect doesn't pan
out. I just trust me nuts. Trust me nuts. It
just drives me crazy. Okay. I get more amped
up talking about the Yankees with you than I
ever get amped up talking about the Bills, right?
The Bills is more like a, the Bills is because
we've never won anything as Bills fans, right?
So it's like, oh man, shucks. It sure would be
nice. Here we are again. The Yankees, I have
been, I have been raised on excellence and I
haven't seen the excellence in a long time, Logan.
All right. Speaking of excellence. The Dodgers
exist. And we just have, we just had this great
conversation about, uh, how the Yankees can compete,
how they can get over the hump. Should the Yankees
make the world series? Is any of it going to
matter? Is anyone in the, is everyone in the
AL basically just paying to lose to the Dodgers
this year? I don't think so. And, and you know,
this is the reference I was talking about earlier.
I know everyone kind of looks at the Dodgers
like the Avengers and baseball uniforms. Um,
but it's a long season. Nobody knows what anyone's
going to look like at the end of the year. I
mean, we know that very well with the injuries
we see to our pitching rotation year in and year
out. It seems like for the past couple of years,
nobody knows what the Dodgers are going to look
like. And although they're a very good team on
paper, baseball is a crazy game. Anyone can win
on any given day. And the seven game series is
a very long series. So I don't. I entirely think
everyone's playing to lose to the Dodgers. Hell,
I'd love to see us get back in the World Series
against the Dodgers and get some redemption for
a couple of years ago and take the World Series
from them. I think it'll be an exciting year.
Again, I think anyone can win on any given day.
Of course, I hope it's our Yankees all the way
in October at the very end hosting that trophy.
Dude, you want all the smoke from LA. I really
appreciate that. Really appreciate that. I'm
not as confident as you, but I'm not gonna I'm
not gonna ruin the fierceness of your take with
my with my own anxiety about whether or not the
Yankees can beat the Dodgers. All right. Hopefully,
for those of you that are still with us, this
was a painless baseball conversation. We've got
one more question for you, Logan. Final record
prediction and where does the season end this
year for the Yankees? Final record prediction.
And I think you're going to be shocked by this.
103 and 59. What? Really? Okay. All right. I
from from the strength of the pitching, I totally
get that. But like, that's a 103 wins is significant
now. All right. But let's play that out. So still
a relatively unbalanced schedule. So we're going
to play a lot of the AL East and it. Boston improved,
but doesn't scare me. Baltimore probably taking
a step back. Toronto still legit competition.
And then Tampa Bay, you just, who knows from
year to year, right? With them. Like, yes. So
I could definitely see a positive record within
the division. 103, man. Okay. All right. I could
get on that. I was thinking you were going to
go more like You know, 98 wins, maybe 99, but
103 is a very strong take. Tell me what's behind
that, right? Why do you think they're going to
cross the century mark this year? I think again,
it goes back to, you know, although we have a
conversation about our offense and being kind
of one dimensional, I think again, having the
depth that we have this year and hoping that
Boone and whoever he's listening to in the back
end play their cards right. I think this offense
can be a problem. I'm hoping Boone kind of wakes
up a little bit with some of these combinations
I'm hearing. He's going with, you know, J .C.
Escara crack in the major league lineup and,
you know, things like that. Of course, you know,
raise some question marks for me. But then again,
I think we got the pieces to make lineups day
in and day out, depending on the pitching that
can excel. And I think they excelled last year.
And with the pitching. Don't know who competes
with our pitching fully healthy and it's gonna
get really quick It's not a it's not a all -star
break. We're waiting for to get fully healthy
I mean we're talking one one and a half months
and we're rolling with an insane pitching lineup
Yes, and you know Again, my biggest worry like
ever you with the Yankees because it seems to
be our our trend is when we hit that 20 game
You know skid of for five and 15 and 20 games.
It happens to every team. I hope it doesn't happen
to us, but that's my biggest worry. But I think
we can get there. I think, like you mentioned,
the Blue Jays are a talented team. But they don't
terrify me to where we can't compete with them.
For sure. We were competing with them for the
division last year. The Red Sox, I think they
did get better, of course. I think they filled
some holes they needed to. I don't think they
filled holes enough to really scare me and threaten
the Yankees for number two or number one in the
division. And then the Orioles don't scare me.
And the Rays might as well put them in AAA. Listen,
but those are the years the Rays are the most
dangerous. We both know this. Yeah. And you know,
I think the rest of the American League is talented.
The Tigers are always making a splash. The Royals
seem to regress after their run in the playoffs.
The Guardians are always there somehow in the
playoffs every year. So we'll see. But I think
this is our deepest lineup in a few years. And
I think if we play our cards right, game in and
game out, week in and week out, I think... we
can put up good numbers when it comes to the
record. And I think we can go deep in playoffs.
And as Ryan Cashman said it, I think we can run
it back. And I think this time we can win it.
Nice. Nice. The pitching, pitching for sure gives
me hope, man. Yeah. Love the takes. I love the
fact that we got football and baseball in here.
JJ, if you are still listening to this pod. Come
on, you got to tell me you didn't love that man.
We got to do that more often on the pod, JJ.
All right, listen, Logan, thank you for go go
on the extra mile, not just talking about football,
bringing a little baseball little Yankees chat
into it. We appreciate the versatility that you
brought. And of course, your strong clear takes
for both New York teams and the Giants and the
Yankees. We'll have you back on at some point
to revisit kind of where things are at with your
GMAT. But until then, for all of you listening
at home, like, share and subscribe wherever you
get your podcasts, YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and
as always go bills. you