Episode 231
Inside the Giants: Frustration and the Future
The latest episode of Sports Talk New York dives deep into the struggles of the New York Giants, highlighting the team's disappointing performance and the growing frustrations among players and fans alike. Host Mike Guidone, along with co-host Chris Caputo and special guest Connor Clark, engage in a candid discussion about the Giants' lack of effort and direction, with insider A.J. Rovner providing valuable insights from his experiences at MetLife Stadium. The conversation touches on the impact of coaching changes, the need for a new quarterback, and the uncertain future of Daniel Jones as he faces potential release. Additionally, the episode explores the broader landscape of college football, featuring insights on top teams and players as the season heats up. As the hosts reflect on the upcoming Thanksgiving games, they express hope for improvement and the possibility of better days ahead for both the Giants and the Mets.
Takeaways:
- The New York Giants are facing significant challenges, including a lack of effort from players and dissatisfaction with coaching decisions.
- Tommy DeVito's debut as quarterback reflects the team's struggles and desperation for a spark.
- Connor Clark provided insights on college football, emphasizing Notre Dame's potential despite a weak schedule.
- A.J. Rovner expressed disappointment in the Giants' performance, highlighting the need for a fresh start.
- The podcast discussed the impact of injuries on the Islanders and their current performance in the NHL.
- The upcoming holiday season was noted as a time for reflection on the sports landscape.
Transcript
The views expressed in the following program do not necessarily represent those of the.
Chris Caputo:Staff, management or owners of wgbv.
Connor Clark:Live from the WGB studios in Merritt, New York, this is Sports Talk New York.
Mike Guidone: this is Sports Talk New York,: Mike Guidone:This is your host, Mike Guidone, joined as always by my co host Chris Caputo, the man we call Cappy.
Mike Guidone:Chris, good to have you back, bud.
Connor Clark:Hey, how are you?
Connor Clark:Good to see you again too.
Connor Clark:I've been in the studio in about a month, but this is, this is fun stuff.
Mike Guidone:It's been a while.
Mike Guidone:I'm all hyped up and ready to go.
Mike Guidone:You know, there's a lot to talk about.
Mike Guidone:We're getting into the holiday season here, you know, Thanksgiving this week and got football, hot stove, baseball, little hockey talk.
Mike Guidone:But this evening we're going to be joined by two guests focused on a little bit of football.
Mike Guidone:We have our college football insider, Connor Clark, he's going to join us at 8:10.
Mike Guidone:And our Giants insider, A.J.
Mike Guidone:rovner.
Mike Guidone:He's going to talk about.
Mike Guidone:Well, I don't know what he's going to talk about.
Mike Guidone:I don't know what to say really.
Mike Guidone:It's pretty tough.
Mike Guidone:And the one thing that we will, I'll just say we're not going to talk Jets.
Mike Guidone:But Cap, I think you would probably agree with me.
Mike Guidone:I think not that, you know, the GM slash coaching combo and New York Jet Land should have stayed, but I think the giant combo of GM and coach is on the way.
Mike Guidone:I think that's the one that really needed to go for sure.
Connor Clark:Yeah, they got too loose of a string there.
Connor Clark:But it's, I think if you tried to take the best players from the Giants and Jets and put them together and make one team, would that even.
Mike Guidone:Be a playoff team?
Connor Clark:Mike, I just don't see it.
Connor Clark:There's not, it's so much, so many guys that are just unhappy and not playing well and you can put it on whatever.
Connor Clark:But we'll talk about that a little bit later.
Connor Clark:What have you been up to, Mike?
Connor Clark:You know, starting the basketball season.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, basketball, first week of practice this week in the books.
Mike Guidone:Lots of fun, you know, with the My Locust Valley varsity girls team.
Mike Guidone:Looking forward to that.
Mike Guidone:And you know, anytime you can start a basketball season, it's always great.
Mike Guidone:Spent the night last night out at UBS arena watching my New York Islanders.
Mike Guidone:I'll tell you what?
Mike Guidone:Very interesting evening.
Mike Guidone:Game itself was a good.
Mike Guidone:Was a good hockey game.
Connor Clark:Right.
Connor Clark:Three to one, win, empty netter.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, empty netter.
Mike Guidone:But.
Mike Guidone:And there was a really, really nice crowd there.
Connor Clark:Yep.
Mike Guidone:But, man, you.
Mike Guidone:It was.
Mike Guidone:It had all the intensity in the.
Mike Guidone:In the stands of, like, a practice.
Mike Guidone:It was really quiet.
Mike Guidone:They had a bunch of younger kids up top.
Mike Guidone:I think they had, like, scouts and all sorts of stuff that, you know, filled.
Mike Guidone:Fill some seats and.
A.J. Rovner:Sure.
Mike Guidone:One of my co workers, she brought her son who's a scout.
Mike Guidone:Anyway, so.
Mike Guidone:Place was, you know, pretty packed, but, man, it.
Connor Clark:Was.
Mike Guidone:It quiet.
Mike Guidone:I don't know if it's just that the.
Mike Guidone:The product on the ice isn't exciting.
Mike Guidone:You know, they're missing a lot of their.
Mike Guidone:Their.
Mike Guidone:Their top level guys.
Mike Guidone:It was a good hockey game, but, you know, if you.
Mike Guidone:If you didn't want.
Mike Guidone:Well, if you wanted to get out of your seat.
Connor Clark:Okay.
Mike Guidone:And go buy something, you.
Mike Guidone:You better have, you know, saved a few hundred.
Mike Guidone:Hundred beans.
Mike Guidone:I know.
Mike Guidone:You know, we talked about this before, but the prices, I mean, come on.
Connor Clark:Insane.
Connor Clark:And it's all grab and go, too.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Mike Guidone:Like, you know, it was $7.25.
Mike Guidone:For a water.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Mike Guidone:For the smallest water you can get.
Connor Clark:Sure.
Mike Guidone:I mean, mon.
Mike Guidone:Own.
Mike Guidone:Now, facts are, my wife had.
Mike Guidone:She ate.
Mike Guidone:And food was good.
Mike Guidone:I didn't eat because I'm trying to wait and slim down for the.
Mike Guidone:For the basketball season, but, you know, I don't.
Mike Guidone:I think everybody will tell you the quality there.
Mike Guidone:Quality food, quality drink is really good.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Mike Guidone:But, I mean, come on.
Connor Clark:It's just not worth it.
Mike Guidone:No.
Mike Guidone:I mean, it's insane.
Mike Guidone:We also got.
Mike Guidone:We got a free $20 food and drink voucher from Long Island Railroad.
Connor Clark:Really?
Mike Guidone:Yeah.
Mike Guidone:I don't know.
Mike Guidone:We signed up for it.
Connor Clark:Oh, you signed up for something.
Connor Clark:Maybe you got on and they handed you.
Mike Guidone:No, no, we signed up for it.
Mike Guidone:It was like this random thing.
Mike Guidone:I don't know how random it was, but.
Mike Guidone:But we got it and it was great, and we were all excited.
Mike Guidone:You know, I think that.
Connor Clark:That as soon as you walked in.
Mike Guidone:Two orders in a box of M and Ms, I think that that's.
Mike Guidone:That.
Mike Guidone:That was it done.
Connor Clark:Well, Mike, I had the luxury today.
Connor Clark:I went out to go watch Villanova and Maryland out in.
Connor Clark:In Newark and.
Mike Guidone:How's that arena?
Mike Guidone:I've never been beautiful.
Mike Guidone:Is it.
Connor Clark:You know, if you're going for a game like that, beautiful.
Connor Clark:I love it.
Connor Clark:You know, in the area, whatever.
Connor Clark:You just park your car and you go in.
Connor Clark:But yeah, great arena.
Connor Clark:I'VE seen some, some games there for basketball, gone to a couple concerts there.
Connor Clark:It's nice.
Connor Clark:The sweet, sweet hall plays there too, right there.
Connor Clark:And they've all like, they keep promoting game after game.
Connor Clark:They're going to have hundreds of games there.
Connor Clark:So got these like free tickets.
Connor Clark:Shout out to Verizon.
Connor Clark:They give out free stuff.
Connor Clark:Check your phone if you have it.
Connor Clark:And we got free food and soft drink for the entire game.
Connor Clark:Sat in these like loft level suites.
Connor Clark:Just unbelievable.
Mike Guidone:Wow.
Connor Clark:And the game was pretty good.
Connor Clark:Villanova winds up blowing a 12 point halftime lead and losing by one.
Connor Clark:But just nice to get out there and it really wasn't bad.
Connor Clark:I'd say about an hour or 10 to get there, hour 40 to get home, you know, but if you're going to a Giant game, you're going to be stuck for hours upon hours.
Connor Clark:So I was actually excited, made the trip.
Connor Clark:It kind of gives me something to look forward to and I'm real excited.
Connor Clark:I know we're not going to talk too much of that here, but we had Joe Jones on last week and I'm really excited about college basketball.
Connor Clark:There's a lot of big games coming up and you know, that season starts earlier and earlier and the big matchups earlier and earlier and it seems like.
Mike Guidone:The quality of play early in the season is pretty decent.
Connor Clark:Yeah, I mean, you know, if I go watch a high school game on November 30, it's not going to be very good, you know.
Mike Guidone:Well, interesting you say that because my team has a game on November 30th, our opener.
Mike Guidone:I'm hoping it's good.
Mike Guidone:But I'll tell you what, you know, for high school this year, I mean, we literally had one week of practice.
Mike Guidone:Then we're into scrimmages this week and games.
Mike Guidone:I know it started much later because of the calendar.
Mike Guidone:It's not helping anybody.
Connor Clark:Yeah, it's tough to watch some of those games, but I love the college game and, you know, you can watch games now.
Connor Clark:You got the Maui Invitational coming up.
Connor Clark:Christmas time, you got games and then usually right after that you're starting all the conferences.
Connor Clark:My only problem is I can't follow any of the conferences anymore.
Mike Guidone:Who's in?
Mike Guidone:What?
Mike Guidone:I mean, yeah, who's in the.
Mike Guidone:Is there a PAC 10 anymore?
Connor Clark:No, there's two teams that stayed behind.
Connor Clark:I think it was Washington State and somebody else.
Connor Clark:But yeah, I mean, you got everybody that's in the ACC is now from the PAC 10.
Mike Guidone:Right.
Mike Guidone:And the big, big 10 also.
Connor Clark:Yeah, they brought in all these teams so you got people flying cross country for basketball games.
Connor Clark:Field hockey, forget it.
Connor Clark:It's insane.
Connor Clark:But I do love the games and, you know, I'll travel, I'll try and find some good ones.
Connor Clark:NCAA tournament this year, second, third and fourth round will be in Jersey.
Connor Clark:So that's nice.
Connor Clark:You go there for that.
Connor Clark:First and second round may go up to Providence.
Connor Clark:We'll see.
Connor Clark:But always some good games.
Connor Clark:And that brings us kind of to our.
Connor Clark:When we have our color on, we're going to be talking some college football, which, again, is heating up.
Connor Clark:And if you wanted to, there's even some games in the area.
Connor Clark:You can go to Yankee Stadium, you can go to.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, absolutely.
Connor Clark:You know, the Meadowlands or wherever they have games.
Connor Clark:You know, even army plays at home and they get good games.
Connor Clark:So they're gonna.
Connor Clark:I think they have a shot if they win their next game to be hosting their conference championship.
Connor Clark:So which would.
Mike Guidone:Which would be great because when.
Mike Guidone:When they're.
Mike Guidone:When they're really good, I mean, it just helps college football because of the tradition.
Mike Guidone:I mean, army football, you think back, it's Army, Notre Dame, those kinds of teams.
Mike Guidone:You know, right now you're talking about, and we're going to talk with Connor about this, but Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Tennessee U, Miami, smu, Indiana.
Mike Guidone:That's an.
Mike Guidone:I'm interested to see Connor's thoughts on Indiana because, yeah, they got hit pretty hard.
Mike Guidone:Yes, they did.
Mike Guidone:And their coach likes to talk.
Connor Clark:He did.
Mike Guidone:He likes to talk, man, I'll tell you.
Connor Clark:So let's get back to the Islanders.
Connor Clark:They're 500 now.
Connor Clark:Did you see anything from them that you think, you know, maybe they start to turn or.
Connor Clark:I think what the problem fans have is they're putting a mediocre.500 product on the ice and they're really not doing much to make that better.
Connor Clark:Yeah, I'm not sure it's tough, you.
Mike Guidone:Know, with injuries right now because, you know, Matt Barzal's out.
Mike Guidone:He's there.
Mike Guidone:He's really the spark plug.
Mike Guidone:What I'm really impressed with, though, is just that, you know, Brock Nelson, he's just.
Mike Guidone:He just brings it every game.
Mike Guidone:I mean, he's such a professional player.
Mike Guidone:I don't know how much they really could do at the moment to try, because they're getting these guys back.
Mike Guidone:Salary cap issues a little bit.
Mike Guidone:We'll have to have John Santamaria on in a couple weeks.
Mike Guidone:We'll have to talk to him as our Islander insider.
Mike Guidone:I think that they're just trying to Tread water.
Mike Guidone:And, you know, I mean, they are what they.
Mike Guidone:What they have out there right now is a 500 team.
Mike Guidone:But Ilya Sorokin, I'll tell you, he made a couple of huge stops last night.
Mike Guidone:And I was thinking to myself, you know, before I got to the game, I'm like, is he overrated or.
Mike Guidone:Because I hadn't seen anything live this year.
Mike Guidone:But, man, he is solid.
Mike Guidone:And without him, I think they'd be four games under.
Mike Guidone:He made some huge stops last night.
Mike Guidone:You know, they have enough to kind of tread water here for a little bit.
Mike Guidone:Are they going to make a move if Tzizikas doesn't.
Mike Guidone:I'm sorry.
Mike Guidone:If Barzal doesn't come back?
Mike Guidone:I don't know.
Mike Guidone:But kind of lends itself to my point.
Mike Guidone:What I was saying before is that the product on the ice, you know, it was a solid hockey game, but it was three to one.
Mike Guidone:You know, everybody wants eight goals.
Mike Guidone:I get it, because the people next to me are, you know, just ragging on the team.
Mike Guidone:I'm like, come on.
Connor Clark:But the Islanders might have had a lot of collapses.
Connor Clark:Yes.
Connor Clark:You see, I'll be looking at my phone, it says, Islanders are up one nothing with four minutes and 40 seconds to go.
Connor Clark:And then, boom, they lose two to one.
Mike Guidone:Yeah.
Mike Guidone:They have some kind of overtime losses.
Mike Guidone:Absolutely.
Mike Guidone:There's some kind of thing with them, and that's what I was worried about last night, that they were going to.
Mike Guidone:They were going to gag it away in the third period.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, that seems to be what constantly happens.
Mike Guidone:But they put it away.
Mike Guidone:The Blues, you know, not a great team, but very similar to the Islanders.
Mike Guidone:A couple of big guys, good goaltending, not far removed from the NHL Stanley Cup.
Mike Guidone:So, you know, a good.
Mike Guidone:A good game.
Mike Guidone:And I was happy to go.
Mike Guidone:I'm going to go next week against the Sabres.
Mike Guidone:We'll see.
Mike Guidone:You know, I'm sure.
Connor Clark:Again, I just don't know if they have to start doing gimmicks to get more.
Connor Clark:I mean, you said it was a decent crowd, but to get more people excited and in the crowd, and I know they have like the outside park and, you know, they've got the Christmas tree set up and.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, well, last night they had Winnie Cooper from the Wonder Years.
Connor Clark:Oh, danica.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, Danica McKellar and Candice Cameron Murray.
A.J. Rovner:Wow.
Mike Guidone:They were there, you know, for everything because they.
Mike Guidone:I don't know, they had.
Connor Clark:Doing something there.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, they had a meet and greet for Christmas.
Mike Guidone:So if you're not a hockey fan, you just want to kind of go see it look pretty cool.
Mike Guidone:But we digress.
Mike Guidone:And now it's time to talk a little college football.
Mike Guidone:We're going to talk with our College football insider, Mr.
Mike Guidone:Connor Clark.
Mike Guidone:Connor, great to have you on, bud.
Mike Guidone:How you doing?
Mike Guidone:Mike and Chris.
Chris Caputo:Hey, Mike.
Chris Caputo:Hey, Chris.
Chris Caputo:How are you guys doing?
Connor Clark:All right?
Mike Guidone:We're doing great.
Mike Guidone:We're excited for a couple things.
Mike Guidone:You know, it's a wonderful time for college football.
Mike Guidone:As you and I kind of talked off air about as you get to Thanksgiving and end of the season, where the bowl predictions here, I'm curious.
Mike Guidone:My first question for you is I know you saw Notre Dame in person yesterday, correct?
Connor Clark:Yes.
Mike Guidone:Okay.
Mike Guidone:Now, I know it was kind of an interesting matchup with Army.
Mike Guidone:Notre Dame blew that first game terribly.
Mike Guidone:And then, you know, now they're 10 and 1.
Mike Guidone:Is Notre Dame for real?
A.J. Rovner:Yeah.
Chris Caputo:You know, when I look at Notre Dame, I think that they are for real.
Chris Caputo:I think that in a lot of ways they're actually very similar to the team that's ranked one spot ahead of them in Penn State.
Chris Caputo:You know, I think that they have a better offensive line than Penn State.
Chris Caputo:I think their defensive role plays at a little bit higher of a level just from an athleticism standpoint and the scheme.
Chris Caputo:And I think overall, when I look at them, they're just so dominant with running the ball that I think they are for real.
Chris Caputo:Now, the only question is the schedule.
Chris Caputo:The schedule has not been great.
Chris Caputo:They're about 28th in strength of schedule.
Chris Caputo:And so, you know, you saw yesterday winning 49 to 14.
Chris Caputo:That had a lot more to do with style, points and anything else because they need to prove that they're that dominant team.
Chris Caputo:But I think from a height, weight, speed and coaching perspective, I think they absolutely belong.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Connor Clark: e Dame, you know, they lost a: Connor Clark:But then also they still have to beat usc.
Connor Clark:I think if they falter to usc, that puts a lot of doubt in people's minds.
Connor Clark:And the other thing with them is in this college football playoff, they can't finish any higher than fifth because the first four seeds go to the power conferences.
Connor Clark:So a slip up against usc, does that knock them out?
Chris Caputo:So I think before yesterday I would have said yes.
Chris Caputo:But after yesterday and what the FCC decided to put on, I would say no.
Chris Caputo:You know, you're looking at their sort of competition.
Chris Caputo:If they were to have lost, would have been to Alabama, who has that win against Georgia, of course, as well as Ole Miss, who also has a Win against Georgia.
Chris Caputo:Now Georgia's locked into the FCC championship.
Chris Caputo:So that win is pretty major.
Chris Caputo:But with both of those teams falling and two teams that are similar to, you know, usc, both Florida who beat Ole Miss and Oklahoma who beat Alabama actually became bowl eligible winning those games.
Chris Caputo:So those were five win teams.
Chris Caputo:And then also Texas A and M was in that mix, but Notre Dame had the head to head and then Texas A and M lost last night, of course to Auburn.
Chris Caputo:So these three lost teams are starting to pile up and for teams like Notre Dame, Penn State and Indiana, it's kind of giving that breathing room that they were hoping for.
Chris Caputo:So I think even with the loss, they should still be in now, obviously the odds are significantly lower, but I think that I would probably have them in.
Chris Caputo:I think the committee would as well.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, I think the committee.
Mike Guidone:Connor loves Notre Dame, you know, if they can get him in, they certainly will because they're just, you know, they're Notre Dame.
Mike Guidone:So it helps everything by having that national brand there.
Mike Guidone:Let's head out west to Oregon.
Mike Guidone:So they are, you know, of course they're the only undefeated team.
Mike Guidone:11:0 got all the first place votes.
Mike Guidone:So I don't want to say are they for real because they obviously are.
Mike Guidone:But are they worthy?
Mike Guidone:You know, at 11 and 0, is their schedule worthy of every first place vote and are they the true class of the country?
Chris Caputo:Yeah, I think so far this year they are.
Chris Caputo:When you talk about their schedule, it hasn't been crazy hard, but they do have a win over what the committee believes is the second best team in the country in Ohio State.
Chris Caputo:And so by having that victory, I think it's just a better win than anything else on anyone else's resume.
Chris Caputo:And on top of that, you're likely to finish undefeated for the regular season.
Chris Caputo:They're favored by about 19 over Washington next week and then they're going into the conference title where they should be favored against either Ohio State or Penn State, whoever they play.
Chris Caputo:I think when you look at that Ohio State game in particular, they were out there massive star defensive end Jordan Burch who did not play in that game.
Chris Caputo:And they actually lost when one of their receivers in Trachon Holden early to that game to an unsportsman like penalty where he had the unfortunate decision of spitting on Ohio State player which cost him about three and a half quarters.
Mike Guidone:So.
Chris Caputo:But yeah, but they won that game without those two key players.
Chris Caputo:So I think that, you know, you add those two in and it's probably a little bit more sizable than a one Point victory.
Chris Caputo:So yeah, I think they're absolutely the class of college football right now, but that gap is so small from one to about four.
Chris Caputo:So.
Chris Caputo:But they, you know, finishing undefeated, they should definitely be considered the class of the of college football.
Mike Guidone:12:40Am, WGB Sports Talk New York.
Mike Guidone:Mike Renault and Chris Caputo.
Mike Guidone:We're joined by Connor Clark, our college football insider.
Mike Guidone:And you know Connor, when you were just talking about Oregon and Ohio State, I had to kind of do a double take because you said a conference game and that, you know, I mean it just blows my mind that that's where we're at in college football.
Mike Guidone:I mean, I think it's probably great for Oregon, you know, Big Ten and that's there.
Mike Guidone:Not that the Big Ten was, I'm sorry that the PAC 10 was a terrible conference, but it's got to be wild to you, especially as someone who follows college football so diligently to have a conference game with Oregon.
Chris Caputo:Yeah, it's definitely, you like it for sure to play them in, to play them in October.
Chris Caputo:But I mean the craziest part about this whole conference realignment is the fact that there's no divisions anywhere anymore.
Mike Guidone:Right.
Chris Caputo:And so one of the crazier things right now is yeah, you have the FCC who only has a few teams still in it to be in the championship.
Chris Caputo:You have the big Tennessee, three teams, the Big 12 has nine teams.
Chris Caputo:And if you actually run through all the scenarios, there's over 250 outcomes and we have one week left.
Chris Caputo:So.
Mike Guidone:Wow.
Chris Caputo:This whole nine, you know, the whole non division component of conferences is now kind of up the ante for those final weeks.
Chris Caputo:And we're kind of seeing that bear out with, you know, games that hold significantly more meaning to them, albeit very bizarre in terms of games being played in conference.
Chris Caputo:But yeah, it's been fun so far.
Connor Clark:So with the teams that are out there, I mean things could change.
Connor Clark:But for the most part, would you think that pretty much the teams are set?
Connor Clark:And my second part of that question is is there a team that could possibly win or lose in their conference championship game that could knock them out of the 12 team playoff or put them in?
Chris Caputo:Yeah, so I think with regards to the first part, I would say pretty much everything is set with regards to the majority of teams.
Chris Caputo:The only two that are still kind of out there is the group of five at large right now it's Boise State led by Ashton Gentee who's going for Barry Sanders rushing yards record in the season they are currently slotted in.
Chris Caputo:But because the group of five at large is so delicate.
Chris Caputo:It could be, you know, they could slip up and open the door for other teams.
Chris Caputo:But with army losing yesterday the way that they did, that kind of erases one of their competitors.
Chris Caputo:The other one is the Big 12.
Chris Caputo:You know, right now Arizona State is the highest ranked team from the AP poll that came out today and they would be slotted in at that Big 12 championship spot if it were to end today.
Chris Caputo:However, like I said, there's nine teams, they might not even be in the Big 12 championship.
Chris Caputo:So those are the two spots, but the rest I would say are pretty much set in stone with regards to teams that might get knocked out if we look, I would say, you know, the Big 12, they're probably going to be a one bit week.
Chris Caputo:So whoever loses that game, whether it be the favorite in Arizona State, it could be, you know, a byu, it could be a Colorado, something like that, they would be knocked out of that game.
Chris Caputo:And then with regards to the SEC championship, I mean, you know, you could be looking at a potential where if Texas were to lose to Georgia, you know, their best win would probably be against a four loss Texas A and M team.
Connor Clark:Right.
Chris Caputo:And that's not exactly a great resume.
Chris Caputo:Now again with, you know, all these three loss teams, they likely would get in, sneak in at this point at maybe 12 or 11, but it's hard to say.
Chris Caputo:So that would be the one that I would be looking out for.
Chris Caputo:And we kind of, you know, we all saw how Georgia made pretty easy work of Texas the first time through.
Chris Caputo:So that, that's probably a scary one for the Longhorns.
Mike Guidone:So kind of my, my other question is, I know you're, you're a huge Ohio State guy.
Mike Guidone:They took out Indiana yesterday, was Indiana was very hyped.
Mike Guidone:You know, for Indiana football it's always been basketball there.
Mike Guidone:But you had to give them credit in being just, you know, a high riser this year.
Mike Guidone:I think going into the game they were in the five spot.
Mike Guidone:Were they a little overrated going in, do you think?
Mike Guidone:Or was it just a matter of that?
Mike Guidone:They were pretty much where they needed to be, but just ran into, you know, a much superior Ohio State team.
Chris Caputo:So before the game, if you know, I was watching some pregame stuff and Urban Meyer kind of said he was watching the teams warm up before the game and he noticed a bit of a body type difference.
Chris Caputo:And I think that comes into play a lot, especially when you have group of five teams going up against superior, higher level power four teams and so it was kind of, you have to remember that Kurt Cignetti came over and he brought a humongous amount of talent from James Madison.
Chris Caputo:But with that comes sort of that height, weight, speed component that isn't always there.
Chris Caputo:And so they were like their best Corner, for instance, DJ Pons, he's 5, 9.
Chris Caputo:And the average height of Ohio State receivers is about six, two.
Chris Caputo:So there's just, there's just things like that.
Chris Caputo:From a, from a fiscal perspective with regards to the way that they're coached, they're probably the best coach team I've seen in the country.
Chris Caputo:They just, they, Kirk Cignetti and his crew gets absolutely everything out of the talent from there.
Chris Caputo:I mean, you would watch Ohio State slip up and you see it with other teams that they played like Michigan as well, where if they are just out of techniques, for one instance, Indiana is going to capitalize.
Chris Caputo:So in terms of overrated, I would say not necessarily.
Chris Caputo:I still think that they're probably a top 10 team.
Chris Caputo:And you know, circling back to the SEC with all those losses, Indiana is probably going to stay in that top 20 field.
Chris Caputo:But I would say that if they have to run up against an Ohio State, a Georgia in Oregon, something like that, I think that we've seen the ceiling just because of that sort of Jimmy's and Joe's perspective.
Mike Guidone:Gotcha.
Mike Guidone:Once again, we're joined by Connor Clark.
Mike Guidone:And Connor, you mentioned Michigan.
Mike Guidone:What happened with them this year?
Mike Guidone:I mean, is it so much just that Jim Harbaugh was gone and the talent level drop so much or can you, can you kind of, Is it, is it real obvious from your perspective just how they dropped off the map so much?
Chris Caputo:So you can look at, they still have a high level of blue chip talent.
Chris Caputo:And by blue chip I mean guys that were coming out of high school that were four or five stars.
Chris Caputo:Okay, so usually, you know, top 200 level recruits, top 300, 400 level recruits.
Chris Caputo:And so they still have the talent.
Chris Caputo:The coaching is the biggest difference.
Chris Caputo:So if you want to take for instance, they had the number one defense last year in college football and guess who has the number one defense in the NFL this year?
Chris Caputo:It would be the Los Angeles Chargers.
Chris Caputo:And Jesse Minter is just a fantastic defensive coordinator and he took with him that scheme.
Chris Caputo:Now they hired Wink Martindale, who's sort of the grandfather of the scheme that Jesse Minter runs, but he just hasn't been finding the same success.
Chris Caputo:And then with regards to the biggest factor I think is that the Jim Harbaugh also also took Ben Herbert, their strength and conditioning coach with him to the Chargers.
Chris Caputo:And I think that that is playing a role.
Chris Caputo:Strength and conditioning coaches for college football are probably the most important position to fill and that includes head coach.
Chris Caputo:They are typically the tone setters for the team and they're around the team more than the coach, especially in the off season.
Chris Caputo:And so with regards to losing a guy like Ben Herbert, who's world renowned for his ability to kind of get the most out of everyone athletically and physically, he also just had a tough mentality and mindset that he kind of embedded in that program.
Chris Caputo:So I think there's that.
Chris Caputo:And you know, you also have to remember they lost a ton of talent and it's also a first time head coach in Schranmore.
Chris Caputo:I think he's going to get better as a head coach.
Chris Caputo:But to say he's made some questionable decisions decisions would be an understatement just in certain games, but you know, he can absolutely correct those.
Chris Caputo:And I think that finding the quarterback will be the key component because they JJ McCarthy left and that cupboard was as we've seen, is kind of bare.
Chris Caputo:So there will probably be a roster overhaul as well as some decision making on the coordinator positions after this season.
Connor Clark:Well, if you're looking for a matchup tonight, 8:15, you have John against Jim Harbaugh.
Connor Clark:The Ravens and the Chargers will be facing off against, against each other, which I always think is fun to see the family go against each other.
Connor Clark:And it should be a battle of defenses.
Connor Clark:One last one for you being Ohio State is one win away from facing Oregon again in the championship.
Connor Clark:But do you think there's a chance that those teams play three times this year?
Chris Caputo:I do.
Connor Clark:Which is crazy in college football.
Chris Caputo:Exactly.
Chris Caputo:It's very crazy.
Chris Caputo:And you know, we're saying they're a win away.
Chris Caputo:It's a big if for Ryan Day.
Chris Caputo:So I know that they opened up as 23 and a half point favorites.
Chris Caputo:It's gone down to 20 and a half.
Chris Caputo:But still that's a, that's a just win, hold your breath kind of feel from the fan base.
Chris Caputo:But let's just say they were to win that game.
Chris Caputo:Yes, they would play Oregon again.
Chris Caputo:I would assume Oregon would win that time and then Ohio State would likely end up with a fifth seed.
Chris Caputo:And so their path right now would be against, if it were based off the AP poll, it would be against Arizona State and then Boise State and then they would play Oregon again.
Chris Caputo:And I think that that is actually that, you know, trilogy is probable.
Chris Caputo:I would Say if, if Ohio State were to lose to Oregon or vice versa in the Big Ten championship.
Mike Guidone:So Connor, looking ahead, you know, I'm a huge Giant fan and obviously the Giants once again will be looking for a quarterback.
Mike Guidone:And you know, this is looking ahead to April, but who do you see could possibly come to New York?
Mike Guidone:Maybe somebody, you know, everybody is starting to say Shador Sanders and he's been on the radar for a little while, but you know, who would you think would be available for the Giants at that point or might kind of all of a sudden, once a combine comes, just shoot up the ranks here?
Chris Caputo:Yeah, so I think, you know, right now the Giants are projected to have the number two overall pick.
Chris Caputo:I think it's them in Jacksonville.
Chris Caputo:I think Jacksonville might end up getting out of the number one spot just by winning too many times because the Giants, I mean they lost 30 to 7 today.
Chris Caputo:It's just, it's just getting worse every week.
Chris Caputo:And so I think that they're likely to have the number one picks.
Chris Caputo:When you look at the quarterbacks, it's a very interesting class because, you know, you're looking for someone to stand out.
Chris Caputo:And I would say that this is the first year in a while that we don't have that top notch like number one prospect.
Chris Caputo:No doubt about it.
Chris Caputo:Which, let's just be real, it doesn't always pan out.
Chris Caputo:You know, you see Bryce Young, what he's been up to, and then you see a guy like Trevor Lawrence who's had his ups and downs.
Chris Caputo:So, but with regard, the two that I'm most intrigued by, I would say number one is Cam Ward from Miami.
Mike Guidone:Yeah.
Chris Caputo:So you know, he played it, I believe it was incarnate word, and then transferred to Washington State where he also had success.
Chris Caputo:And then he is now at Miami.
Chris Caputo:And if it weren't for Cam Ward, I'm not entirely sure that team isn't, you know, an 8 and 4 team, a 7 and 5 team.
Chris Caputo:He's really carrying them right now, especially with their defense.
Chris Caputo:He has the physical ability at about 6 to about 225 pounds, where he's built like an NFL quarterback.
Chris Caputo:And I think that he can make all the throws.
Chris Caputo:He's just a big play Hunter, very similar to Caleb Williams that way.
Chris Caputo:So that's something that, if you can work that out of him, I think he would be a, you know, a pretty good quarterback.
Chris Caputo:I think he would definitely he could develop into a, you know, a topic 10 quarterback in the league.
Chris Caputo:But the big if is the mental side and that's sort of the same with Shador.
Chris Caputo:She similarly built about 10 pounds lighter but a little bit faster.
Chris Caputo:And you know, I think that he's kind of in the same mold.
Chris Caputo:He's a big, he needs to see it open.
Chris Caputo:He can't really anticipate or throw someone open all too well.
Chris Caputo:And he's worked through two different offensive systems.
Chris Caputo:One was Sean Lewis who actually, you know, she door had problems with.
Chris Caputo:And so Sean Lewis was, you know, eventually fired and now he's under a familiar name to you, Mike in Pat Shermer as the OC and you know, he's had success.
Chris Caputo:So, you know, both are probably the two up there that are going to go early on.
Chris Caputo:I like Cam Ward over Shedeur and I think a part of that too is, you know, the Dion factor and you know, if you're willing to kind of dive into those waters off the field.
Chris Caputo:But I think that either do have the capability of being a top end quarterback in the league.
Chris Caputo:It's just I think the leap is going to be a little bit harder than let's just say last year's cross.
Mike Guidone:Gotcha.
Mike Guidone:Connor, great stuff as always.
Mike Guidone:We really appreciate you joining us.
Mike Guidone:Love to have you back on before the new year to kind of break down, you know, all the bowls and everything else.
Mike Guidone:Just great insight.
Mike Guidone:Also on you gave me a great education tonight on the importance of a strength and conditioning coach because I knew that before.
Mike Guidone:No, honestly, I'm not being flip.
Mike Guidone:I knew that before.
Mike Guidone:But man, you made such a great point and I really appreciate it.
Mike Guidone:All the best to you.
Mike Guidone:Enjoy the games coming up.
Mike Guidone:Happy Thanksgiving and we'll talk to you soon.
Chris Caputo:Yeah, Chris, Take care, guys.
Mike Guidone:All right, Connor Clark, once again, our college football insider.
Mike Guidone:We're going to take a quick break and then we're going to come back and talk the New York Giants here on Sports Talk New York Foreign you.
A.J. Rovner:Are listening to Sports Talk New York.
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A.J. Rovner: FM and: Connor Clark:At wgbbradio.com stay connected to sports Talk New York on WGBB by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @WGB sports talk.
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A.J. Rovner:On Long Island's wgpb.
Connor Clark:And now back to the show.
Mike Guidone: Sports Talk New York here on: Mike Guidone:And we are very Very happy to welcome in today an insider, if you could say, someone who has literally inside knowledge of what goes on in MetLife Stadium and the sort.
Mike Guidone:Mr.
Mike Guidone:A.J.
Mike Guidone:rovener.
Mike Guidone:A.J.
Mike Guidone:welcome to the program.
Connor Clark:Yep.
A.J. Rovner:Thank you again for having me.
A.J. Rovner:I had a blast last time, so looking forward to answering any questions you guys might have.
Mike Guidone:Definitely.
Mike Guidone:So during the break, Chris and I were talking about getting a little insight from you.
Mike Guidone:Your role is you work with a lot of Giants alumni and kind of bring them around the stadium and meet people.
Mike Guidone:How was the mood today during that game?
A.J. Rovner:I think that it was a mix.
A.J. Rovner:It was definitely a change of scenery for sure.
A.J. Rovner:It was the first time ever since I began working with the team, it's my fourth season that I didn't see number eight on the sidelines.
A.J. Rovner:So I think it took time for people to get used to it.
A.J. Rovner:DeVito is a jersey kid.
A.J. Rovner:He grew up right around the corner.
A.J. Rovner:So when he got announced as a starting quarterback, that's what the PA guy does.
A.J. Rovner:Whenever the starting QB comes out, they'll say, now a quarterback for the Giants, Tommy DeVito.
A.J. Rovner:Crowd gave a really nice ovation, but at the end of the day, the team has been playing extremely poor and it just was lifeless from start to finish.
A.J. Rovner:Down 30, nothing coming out of a bye week and any type of spark was just not there.
A.J. Rovner:So definitely a frustrating day at MetLife Stadium.
Connor Clark:All right, we'll get into some of the crazier stuff in a second.
Connor Clark:But then halftime, I believe there was a decent amount of booze from the crowd as they're down big at the half.
Connor Clark:What was that?
Connor Clark:What was it going on at halftime?
Connor Clark:Was it that place starting to empty out?
Connor Clark:Was it just total frustration?
A.J. Rovner:I think it was definitely frustration.
A.J. Rovner:You have to remember that the Giants are one of the most net worth wise a top five organization, professional sports and people put a lot of money into seeing a good product on the field.
A.J. Rovner:And to be.06 at home is, you know, a lot of fans are taking their kids and taking their Sundays to go to MetLife Stadium and watch their favorite team.
A.J. Rovner:And yes, I think it's important for them to get out and spend time with their families.
A.J. Rovner:You also want to see a good product.
A.J. Rovner:And to be owing 6 to once again not score double digits at home and just to get blasted again, it has to be frustrating.
A.J. Rovner:And it's just a recurring theme this entire season.
Connor Clark:So the Giants had two and nine.
Connor Clark:After the game though, there was some reporters asking questions and straight through, the Giants ripped, ripped their own team.
Connor Clark:And I'm sure, at this point.
Connor Clark:AJ You've seen some of those quotes, I imagine.
A.J. Rovner:Yeah, for sure.
A.J. Rovner:The first one that really comes to mind is the Malik Neighbors quote.
A.J. Rovner:He's getting asked in the presser how frustrating it is that he hasn't really been receiving the ball in the first half.
Connor Clark:Yeah, we'll keep that one G rated.
A.J. Rovner:Yeah.
A.J. Rovner:Basically what happened there was, got frustrated and he's like, I'm starting at the ball when I'm down 30 nothing.
A.J. Rovner:And then was once again asked about maybe the scheme of the play calling and he literally took a shot as head coach.
A.J. Rovner:He said, why don't you go ask Abel about that one?
A.J. Rovner:So a lot of turmoil, a lot of guys saying they weren't playing their hardest.
A.J. Rovner:And yes, you have to realize that these guys, professional athletes and they want to win, but win or lose, these guys are still getting the same paycheck.
A.J. Rovner:And it seems that some of those guys are just playing for that right now.
Connor Clark:But AJ it's not one player.
Connor Clark:We're talking about Dexter Lawrence calling him soft.
Connor Clark:Malik Neighbors soft with some other words.
Connor Clark:Jermaine Illumina.
Connor Clark:Basically, he's talking about people not giving 100%.
Connor Clark:Brian Burns saying that the effort and being down 30 nothing is, you know, another rough statement that they made.
Connor Clark:I mean, this goes, this goes on and on and on.
Connor Clark:And this team has to come out in four days and play another game on Thanksgiving.
Connor Clark:What is this saying?
Connor Clark:This softness and the team's not playing hard and guys aren't out there.
Connor Clark:Obviously it's not the quarterback.
Connor Clark:What did some of these statements mean?
A.J. Rovner:It's just total dysfunction.
A.J. Rovner:I don't think there's any sort of direction.
A.J. Rovner:I don't think there's any sort of hope.
A.J. Rovner:It's just a ton of guys voicing their frustration in different ways.
A.J. Rovner:Guys not giving effort, guys not getting the ball, guys are playing soft.
A.J. Rovner:And it just seems like there's no camaraderie.
A.J. Rovner:I think Brian Dabel has completely lost the locker room and guys are just frustrated.
A.J. Rovner:Tommy DeVito goes to the presser and says, we don't practice.
A.J. Rovner:Like we're a 2 and 19.
A.J. Rovner:What does that really mean?
A.J. Rovner:Like, you know, I watch drafters sometimes in the facility.
A.J. Rovner:There's no pads on, they're not hitting.
A.J. Rovner:You're not really allowed to hit anymore during practice.
A.J. Rovner:You kind of just do a walk through and run scout teams.
A.J. Rovner:So I guess it really means you're just dysfunction and you got to find a way to just find hope.
A.J. Rovner:Score 20 points, score 25 points, four touchdowns.
A.J. Rovner:It's hard enough.
A.J. Rovner:Like you see people tweeting or beat reporters like, are we going to see The Giants score 30 points once this year?
A.J. Rovner:It's just unbelievable.
A.J. Rovner:From my childhood to right now, just the downward arrow this organization has taken, it's at rock bottom right now.
Mike Guidone:So AJ I wanted to ask you along that point, I think there were some rumors this week and as it always is, that John Marrow was kind of reluctant this year at the even at the end of the season to clean house because he just didn't want to go through the process again.
Mike Guidone:And you know, it just seems to be this revolving door of coaches and general managers.
Mike Guidone:Do you think today and for probably what we're going to see for the rest of the season that there's just going to be no choice and he's going to have to start over?
A.J. Rovner:I personally think that he is going to have to start over.
A.J. Rovner:I don't think that might be the popular opinion for some, but the opinion I don't understand from a fan or any sort of perspective is that he needs time to develop his own quarterback.
A.J. Rovner:Whether you gave Jones the contract or not, you said 10 plus draft picks to pick his guy and groom him.
A.J. Rovner:And just because he's had two bad seasons now, excuse me, he's actually had three drafts basically, right?
Connor Clark:Yeah.
A.J. Rovner:This is able third year, so three drafts to really try and figure this thing out and maybe take a quarterback.
A.J. Rovner: Daniel Jones ever since that: A.J. Rovner:Like why didn't you find a way to maybe take a guy in the later round?
A.J. Rovner:So I think there's no choice but to start over.
A.J. Rovner:It's another double digit loss season and I honestly, I think it's going to be tough for us to win another game.
Mike Guidone:Well, I would kind of agree with you on that.
Mike Guidone:Other question that I had was so obviously they're cutting ties with Daniel Jones and he was what he was.
Mike Guidone:Then you go instead of going to Drew Lock, you go to Tommy Cutlets.
Mike Guidone:And was that more about trying to get some juice in the stadium or why go to the number three guy?
Mike Guidone:If you've had the number two guy all year and you're trying to win.
A.J. Rovner:Football games, it personally makes no sense with the depth chart and how it's placed.
A.J. Rovner:When you have a guy that's number two, he's the guy that's taking at least some of the reps behind Jones.
A.J. Rovner:The third string guy is now in the NFL.
A.J. Rovner:It's called the emergency quarterback.
A.J. Rovner:So they're actually inactive unless the first quarterback is ruled out and usually they're playing scout team and I don't know if you guys saw Sweet, but Daniel Jones was actually playing safety in his final practice as a giant weekend.
A.J. Rovner:That's usually what the scout team quarterback does.
A.J. Rovner:So you know, usually when you're at the back of the depth trail, you're really not picking up a football to throw much and now you're throwing DeVito right into the fire.
A.J. Rovner:Davison is pressure this week.
A.J. Rovner:He was trying to bring some sort of juice back into the stadium like you said and trying to get fans excited as much as I guess you can for a two and a football team.
A.J. Rovner:But I think people forget that this time around.
A.J. Rovner:DeVito doesn't have an all pro running back and Saquon Barkley that he relies so heavily on and he doesn't have a world class tackle and Andrew Thomas and that totally changes the way that he's able to play.
A.J. Rovner:Look at how quickly he was pressured.
A.J. Rovner:Tyrone Tracy fumble today.
A.J. Rovner:As promising as he's locked the total different offense and I can't blame the Beale for today.
A.J. Rovner:No matter who you put back there, they were going to struggle.
A.J. Rovner:They were in a space all day.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Connor Clark:And the defense did not play well today.
Connor Clark:They gave up long drives 70, 80, 90 yards.
Connor Clark:So you can't just say it was the offense turning the ball over and the defense not doing their job in a short field.
Connor Clark:But they didn't play well either.
Connor Clark:But you know, I think at some point the Giants just need to sit there and say in order for us to get back to championship status we have to get ourselves a quarterback.
Connor Clark:And if you're going to play around with Tommy DeVito because you think he has a shot, fine.
Connor Clark:But if you're just doing it to try and put fans back in the stands, not so good at this point.
Connor Clark:You know, they even made Tim Boyle the third quarterback and you know Daniel Jones was going to be the fourth.
Connor Clark:How did you feel that the Giants went about the situation with Daniel Jones this week and his eventual release?
A.J. Rovner:I think it started out as an extremely disrespectful way of treating Jones.
A.J. Rovner:Just in the sense of that it could have been handled so much sooner after the London game.
A.J. Rovner:Give it an entire week to just let it serenade like the Giants obviously knew there was a plan with the injury settlement and to not make an official move I think is extremely disrespectful.
A.J. Rovner:When they all come back from the by Monday to sit down in the quarterback room and make the decision then I just don't think that's the right way of doing it, especially to a guy that no matter what you say, has been there six years, has been a class act.
A.J. Rovner:Was under the tutelage of Eli Manning, who's the best quarterback in Giants history.
A.J. Rovner:And whether you thought Jones dunk or whatever your opinion was as a, as a player, if you look at the Instagram after you tens and 20 players just complimenting him and saying thanks for being a leader.
A.J. Rovner:And then I think the Giants handled it really well at the end, allowing him for his release and either latch on as a starter for a poor team or as a backup for contending team, which is kind of crazy, right, because you're making 40 million and now you're guaranteed that still.
A.J. Rovner:But now you're going to get paid the league minimum to go somewhere else.
A.J. Rovner:So it's a funny game and there's such a big business side to it that I think some young fans and some older fans don't really realize.
Connor Clark:Yeah, I don't think people realize that part.
Connor Clark:We're talking with AJ Rovner, who has his own show, the Roepner Report, on the Mic'd up podcast.
Connor Clark:Obviously some inside information as he gets to see things on a somewhat daily basis and a weekly basis.
Connor Clark:Watching the team out on the field, they're talking about Tommy DeVito maybe being a backup with the Ravens, maybe going to the Vikings.
Connor Clark:So he only wants to be with a contender, which I think, you know, we're here talking about the Giants.
Connor Clark:But let him have a chance to be on a team that has a chance to win and then maybe next year he can sign with somebody else.
Connor Clark:But you know, there's a lot of money that basically over the next 24 hours, teams are not going to pick him up because he's owed that money.
Connor Clark:But once he becomes that free agent, you know, he has that right to just kind of sit behind, you know, a big time quarterback.
Connor Clark:And I think that's going to be an interesting situation.
Connor Clark:Do you think that people are going to feel good for Tommy DeVito when he signs somewhere else?
Connor Clark:Or do you think there's going to be some, I'm sorry, not Tommy Devo for Daniel Jones, or do you think that there's going to be some backlash of, you know, he's just getting to ride the coattails of a good team?
A.J. Rovner:It doesn't really matter what other people think.
A.J. Rovner:Yeah.
A.J. Rovner:And also, I'll tell you one thing Jones definitely enjoyed today.
A.J. Rovner:Everybody criticized him for being the problem.
A.J. Rovner:And this is why the Giants sank And he sat back on his couch and saw The Giants score seven points and DeVito was what, three for five in the first quarter or something like that?
A.J. Rovner:So he definitely had a good day.
A.J. Rovner:And now he's a free agent just like anybody else.
A.J. Rovner:And he has every right to latch on.
A.J. Rovner:At the end of the day, you're getting paid the same amount to have the potential to win a Super bowl.
A.J. Rovner:Getting paid 40 million to be a backup to Lamar Jackson or Sam Darnold doesn't seem like a bad gig.
A.J. Rovner:Think about Drew Locke making 5 million to.
A.J. Rovner:Was he some 13 passes this year.
A.J. Rovner:I know he says he's upset about not starting, but wear a headset for three hours and take some second team reps and make 5 million.
A.J. Rovner:There's worse things in life.
Mike Guidone:So you mentioned Sam Darnold and I'm really happy for him because, you know, he went through a lot with the jets and kind of resurrected his career with San Francisco.
Mike Guidone:And now he's doing such great things with Minnesota.
Mike Guidone:I'm hoping that that happens for Daniel Jones, that he gets to a place where he can, you know, maybe resurrect his career.
Mike Guidone:I mean, certainly as you mentioned, financially he doesn't have any issues there, but it would be great because I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, maybe there were some other highlights in there, but it seems to me like his two best games, Daniel Jones, were his first game in the playoff game in Minnesota.
Mike Guidone:So, you know, can he do it?
Mike Guidone:I think he can, but obviously, you know, he hasn't shown the long term capabilities.
Mike Guidone:But there's a lot of things going on with that.
Mike Guidone:So do you think that DJ can, can maybe become Danny Dimes again someplace else?
A.J. Rovner:I'll tell you one thing.
A.J. Rovner: At the end of the: A.J. Rovner:He took him out for Tyrod Taylor about halfway through the fourth quarter in the entire stadium was sheer.
A.J. Rovner:And Daniel Jones, they get three combined touchdowns or four.
A.J. Rovner:And the Giants massacred the Colts to clinch a postseason birth and then upset the Vikings.
A.J. Rovner:I don't think there was one Giants fan sit on their couch.
A.J. Rovner:They upset the Vikings saying, this is not our guy.
A.J. Rovner:You know, Dave will fix the.
A.J. Rovner:And now two years later, Dave was on the hot seat and Jones is gone.
A.J. Rovner:And that's what makes the NFL such a fun and enticing sport.
A.J. Rovner:Talking to my dad about.
A.J. Rovner:And then I'll get to the Jones question.
A.J. Rovner:The 49ers right contenders every year and now they're under.500 just because of an injury.
A.J. Rovner:It's just such a different game every year.
A.J. Rovner:I feel like the consistency is not there.
A.J. Rovner:Except for Chiefs.
A.J. Rovner:I mean they're just always at the top.
A.J. Rovner:But back to the Jones part.
A.J. Rovner:I'm rooting for him and I think any Giant fan that doesn't is really looking at it the wrong way.
A.J. Rovner:The guy gave everything he had for almost six years.
A.J. Rovner:He was a really not like from the second he was drafted because everyone thought he was over picked sixth overall and he brought some good memories and but just like you said, Darnold gets a shot in Minnesota because J.J.
A.J. Rovner:mcCarthy goes down.
A.J. Rovner:All you need is one chance in this league and then you can make a difference and you start to get the public eye and no better example of that than Tom Brady.
A.J. Rovner:Drew Bledstow goes down a sixth round pick and he's the best quarterback ever.
A.J. Rovner:You just need one guy to go down your time to shine.
A.J. Rovner:The examples go on.
A.J. Rovner:Nick Carson, Wentz.
Mike Guidone:Yep.
A.J. Rovner:I hope he finds his spot.
Connor Clark:Well AJ I can hear it in your voice.
Connor Clark:The passion of being a Giants fan and also the frustration of not seeing the product out on the field.
Connor Clark:And you know, I think it's, it's, it's kind of what the real Giants fans are thinking.
Connor Clark:So we appreciate you coming on and it's a tough time.
Connor Clark:You know, even Tyrone Tracy's not giving you exactly what you want either.
Connor Clark:And it's like you're looking for a bright spot here.
Connor Clark:But the Giants still have some games left.
Connor Clark:Hopefully we don't throw up our turkey against the Cowboys.
Connor Clark:You got the Saints, the Ravens, Falcons finish with the Colts and Eagles.
Connor Clark:You know, maybe there's some positive things.
Connor Clark:So I'm going to let you finish on a positive note.
Connor Clark:I want your opinion of who the Mets are going to sign in free agency.
A.J. Rovner:I was just going to say if you were going to let me off that.
A.J. Rovner:I was going to say do you think we're going to re sign Stodo?
A.J. Rovner:But I think the priority for the Mets has to be the starting pitching.
A.J. Rovner:I do.
A.J. Rovner:I think the lineup and the depths is okay.
A.J. Rovner:Definitely has to improve.
A.J. Rovner:But starting pitching concerns me.
A.J. Rovner:I saw your boy hanging out with David Peterson.
A.J. Rovner:That's been my guy for years.
A.J. Rovner:Thought that was awesome.
A.J. Rovner:And besides him and Sanga, there's a lot of question marks.
A.J. Rovner:Mania, Quintana, Severino.
A.J. Rovner:So I think Corbin Burns at the top of my list, the consistent starter that could pitch in the postseason.
A.J. Rovner:He's been pitching him more contact now can go deeper into games.
A.J. Rovner:I really like him.
A.J. Rovner:Big fan of Blake Snell and we'll see.
A.J. Rovner:But I think the most prized possessions.
A.J. Rovner:Juan Soto.
A.J. Rovner:How can you not like the guy that has a.420 something crazy career on base percentage?
A.J. Rovner: assurance as we head into the: Mike Guidone:Well, we've been joined by A.J.
Mike Guidone:rovner of.
Mike Guidone:You know, obviously an insider on the Giants, a true fan, and you gave us a lot of great stuff today and we appreciate you being on.
Mike Guidone:As Chris said, it's not easy times, but hopefully we'll be looking for something positive and once again, love to have you back on and hopefully, you know, at least the Giants can.
Mike Guidone:Can pick it up here and make a little bit better showing for you as we go along.
A.J. Rovner:That's definitely the hope.
A.J. Rovner:I think that it's a great spot on national television.
A.J. Rovner:Thursday.
A.J. Rovner:Doesn't matter.
A.J. Rovner:You think of Thanksgiving, you think of a meal in football.
A.J. Rovner:So the country will be watching.
A.J. Rovner:I hope The Giants score 20 points in front of a national audience.
Mike Guidone:Let's hope so, A.J.
Mike Guidone:thanks again.
Mike Guidone:Happy Thanksgiving and we'll talk to you soon.
A.J. Rovner:You too, guys.
A.J. Rovner:Thank you.
Mike Guidone:Absolutely.
Mike Guidone:That was A.J.
Mike Guidone:roe once again.
Mike Guidone:It had to be tough for him to come on and talk about that.
Connor Clark:Today because being at the stadium, trying to, you know, interact with fans, oh, my God.
Connor Clark:Everybody's doing the Tommy Cutlets.
Connor Clark:And then you got the quarterback of the other team mocking him with the Tommy Cutlets.
Connor Clark:Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's so bad.
Mike Guidone:It just is.
Connor Clark:I won a game at home.
Mike Guidone:No, you know, I think we talked about this a while ago, but, you know, the Giants were on that early season HBO Hard Knocks, where it was the draft process or whatever else, and I was really struck by two things.
Mike Guidone:You know, I know.
Mike Guidone:You know, saying that a football coach is arrogant is really kind of, you know, I mean, they all are for some.
Mike Guidone:They have to be in some respects.
Mike Guidone:But I really thought that Brian Dable was just arrogant and the way he spoke to different players and, you know, it was obvious they needed and wanted a quarterback and different things.
Mike Guidone:And the other thing that struck me was that just Joe Shane seemed to be.
Mike Guidone:I don't want to say clueless, but.
Mike Guidone:Clueless.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Connor Clark:That was rough.
Connor Clark:Like, even though the phone conversation.
A.J. Rovner:Yeah.
Connor Clark:That they had with Saquon.
Connor Clark:I mean, I don't want to talk about Saquon.
Connor Clark:Good for him.
Mike Guidone:Yeah.
Connor Clark:But like, it just seemed like, why, why Are you doing this right?
Mike Guidone:Yeah.
Mike Guidone:And nothing good came out of that.
Mike Guidone:So we'll go from there.
Mike Guidone:But AJ had mentioned your son yesterday, went to a clinic with David Peterson.
Mike Guidone:Is that correct?
Mike Guidone:From the Mets?
Connor Clark:Yeah, a little clinic going on in Mass Pequa.
Connor Clark:And that's great.
Connor Clark: to: Connor Clark: He shows up at: Connor Clark:Mike.
Connor Clark:They did 15 minute rotations of five different stations and he was at station number four, which was throwing.
Connor Clark:He stayed there for all five groups to rotate and worked with every kid.
Connor Clark:It was cold out.
Connor Clark:These are outside, this is not an inside.
Mike Guidone:Okay.
Connor Clark:Yeah, it was chilly and, you know, didn't have a hood, just was hands in his pocket taking it out and worked with every kid, took pictures with anybody, anybody.
Connor Clark:Class act.
Connor Clark:And, you know, I almost wanted to go up and be like, hey, you know, you want to give us 10 minutes on a Sunday night?
Connor Clark:But, you know, stayed away from that.
Connor Clark:Answered questions.
Connor Clark:They had Q and A.
Connor Clark:Oh, did they really?
Connor Clark:Yeah, Henry went up and asked.
Connor Clark:So Henry had a shirt on that said, sorry, my Sundays are reserved for David Peterson.
Connor Clark:Love the shirt.
Mike Guidone:How good is that?
Connor Clark:He said, what's your favorite holiday?
Connor Clark:And he said, I guess I'd have to say the Fourth of July.
Connor Clark:And Henry was like, oh, that's so funny.
Connor Clark:My birthday is the 5th of July.
Connor Clark:So the guy's like, oh, you should meet up and get together.
Connor Clark:Oh, it was great.
Connor Clark:They asked him and did ask him a question.
Connor Clark:Toughest batters faced.
Mike Guidone:Oh, wow.
Connor Clark:And he said, one of the toughest batters I faced, and hopefully he'll be on my team next year is Juan Soto.
Mike Guidone:Okay.
Connor Clark:And he did put it that way.
Mike Guidone:Well, that's good to know.
Connor Clark:And he said the second one was Manny Machado.
Connor Clark:But yeah, he did it.
Connor Clark:He did a really nice job.
Connor Clark:Henry had a great time.
Connor Clark:And, you know, I give the Mets credit for doing things like that.
Connor Clark:I don't know how much money those guys.
Connor Clark:He came on a plane from Colorado, was flying back to Colorado and just put on, you know, three hours of just smiling and Mr.
Connor Clark:Met was there and stuff like that.
Mike Guidone:That's great.
Mike Guidone:Well, that's the kind of stuff that you don't hear a lot and that they do.
Mike Guidone:And it's just.
Mike Guidone:It is, it's wonderful for young kids, number one, to get them going.
Mike Guidone:And also you just feel good about the team.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Connor Clark:And I think there's a positive vibe with the Mets now, so we'll see.
Connor Clark:But I've got a game of buy or Sell.
Connor Clark:Okay, we're going to have to try to do a couple.
Mike Guidone:We'll do quick.
Mike Guidone:We got about four minutes left.
Connor Clark:All right, so number one, turkey is not the best Thanksgiving food.
Connor Clark:Buy or sell?
Mike Guidone:Well, I'm going to buy that because you know what?
Mike Guidone:What?
Connor Clark:Yours?
Mike Guidone:Pie, man.
Mike Guidone:Any kind of pie.
Mike Guidone:That's right, any kind of piece.
Mike Guidone:All right.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, I'm an apple crumb, peach pie kind of guy.
Connor Clark:There we go.
Connor Clark:Gotta have the desserts always.
Connor Clark:Mike will always make room for desserts.
Mike Guidone:No matter where we are and no matter what time of day.
Connor Clark:Chicken, fried chicken.
Connor Clark:So, yeah, I would say I'd buy on that, too.
Mike Guidone:Okay.
Connor Clark:Got any other ones?
Mike Guidone:Let me see.
Connor Clark:I got a second one for you while you're thinking.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, throw it on me.
Connor Clark:The Giant, the Giants, the Knicks will finish in the top three in the east by.
Connor Clark:Or sell.
Mike Guidone:Okay, I'm going to sell on that one.
Mike Guidone:I think they're going to be four or five only because I think it's just going to take the better part of the season to get the defensive rotations down.
Mike Guidone:You know, Carl Anthony Towns, I think, has been as advertised, has provided great shooting.
Mike Guidone:You know, there's still, I think, some depth questions and rotation.
Mike Guidone:So I don't know if they're going to get those worked out, but I don't know, it's not like anybody else is really, besides Cleveland.
Mike Guidone:Jumping to it right here.
Connor Clark:Cavs 16 1, Celtics 14 and 3.
Connor Clark:And Magics are ahead of them.
Connor Clark:Knicks are fourth.
Connor Clark:But I think it's going to be an up and down rollercoaster.
Connor Clark:You're beating the Nets and the Suns with nobody.
Connor Clark:No big deal.
Connor Clark:I mean, you can't go out there and then lose to the Jazz.
Connor Clark:So I think they're going to have their wounds and lick it at times and, you know, at other times they're going to have to win a couple in a row.
Connor Clark:So I would say for them, I'm probably going to sell.
Mike Guidone:Okay.
Mike Guidone:All right, so I got one for you.
Mike Guidone:Are you buying or selling that if Soto doesn't sign with the Mets or the Yankees that he signs with somebody in the American League East?
Connor Clark:No, I will sell that.
Mike Guidone:Okay.
Connor Clark:I do not think he's going to the Red Sox or the Blue Jays.
Connor Clark:And I don't think the Rays are involved.
Connor Clark:I mean, I just don't know how they can sell something when they don't even have a roof on their stadium, which I think is going to be crazy for the next year.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, they don't.
Mike Guidone:They don't even know what they're doing.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Connor Clark:So they got.
Connor Clark:They're going to be playing at the Yankees Tampa Stadium.
Mike Guidone:Crazy.
Mike Guidone:Yeah.
Mike Guidone:I hope they're going to stay in Tampa.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Connor Clark:So I would say I'll sell that.
Connor Clark:I think if he doesn't.
Connor Clark:Yeah.
Connor Clark:I don't even know where he's going to get stolen.
Connor Clark:I think it's, honestly, I think it's Mets and Yanks.
Mike Guidone:Okay.
Connor Clark:I really, I really don't see it being, I can't even say who I think it would be because I think it's either the Mets or he's going to give the Yankees a little bit of a discount.
Connor Clark:But I honestly, Mike, I think the Mets are getting them.
Mike Guidone:Well, that would be great.
Mike Guidone:And we're going to watch that closely and be very exciting.
Mike Guidone:It's been a great hour.
Mike Guidone:We had Connor Clark join us as always, about college football, A.J.
Mike Guidone:rovner, our Giants guy, Cappy, Enjoy the week.
Connor Clark:I'll be back in two weeks.
Mike Guidone:All right.
Mike Guidone:Yeah, you'll be back.
Mike Guidone:I'll be calling in, though.
Connor Clark:Good.
Mike Guidone:I will be calling in, everybody.
Mike Guidone:Have a great Thanksgiving.
Mike Guidone:Thanks for listening.
Mike Guidone:WGB Sports Talk New York.
Connor Clark:Happy Thanksgiving.
Mike Guidone:The views expressed in the previous program.
Chris Caputo:Did not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgbb.
