00:05Isaiah Smalls of the Miami Herald is on to recap what he saw from the Giants-Dolphins
00:11joint practice on Thursday and of course we got to look ahead with what to watch Saturday during
00:17their preseason matchup. Isaiah, appreciate you hopping on with us down from the 305.
00:23I'm trying to get the Giants audience a fresh pair of eyes on what they saw and what we should
00:29all look out for on Saturday. So can you give us your professional perspective of how the Giants-Dolphins
00:37joint practice went on Thursday? So I saw a few Giants beat writers say, oh it was domination,
00:45domination. I wouldn't go that far. I think defensively it was a little bit more of a
00:51domination, right? Like Brian Burns was by far the best player on the field. Like no one could really
00:56block him. Abdul Carter was getting to the quarterback, Malik Willis, a lot. Haymon Thibodeau
01:04even chipped in. Same goes for Chauncey Golston as well. So really it was that pass rush. That was
01:10the thing that was the most eye-opening to me because obviously I'm familiar with Burns, Carter,
01:16Thibodeau and I'm like okay like they got some guys there. But just to see it in real time and
01:21the Dolphins, one of their strengths is that offensive line, right? They have a second team
01:25all pro center with Aaron Brewer, a promising left tackle in Patrick Hall. They drafted Canaan
01:31Proctor in the first round and moved him to left guard and right guard Jonas Abayana despite having
01:37a bad year as a rookie last year. They moved him back to his home at right guard. And so
01:43like
01:43they have strength on that offensive line. But just to see that pass rush really just get the better of
01:49him kind of has me rethinking this offensive line a little bit. But at the same time, I don't think
01:55that the Dolphins will face an edge rusher group that has this much depth with Thibodeau, Carter and
02:04Burns. So on one hand, I'm like okay maybe this is just the worst that they've seen. So to me
02:10that was a
02:10more eye-opening offense. Now talking about the Giants offense a little bit, the connection to watch out
02:17was Jackson Dart and Isaiah Likely. And it was spectacular. I'm not going to lie to you. I didn't
02:24watch as much of that as I'm sure you know with joint practices. There's so much going on. I've
02:28mainly watched Dolphins offense versus the Giants defense. But anytime I looked up and just from
02:34reading what we had on the Miami Herald, that connection between Isaiah Likely and Jackson Dart
02:40was definitely special. Something to watch. For all those fantasy fans out there, like I wouldn't
02:45be surprised if Isaiah Likely does pretty well. I mean the thing that stood out for me with him was
02:52just the route running. I mean he moves like a wide receiver at that tight end position. So it's going
02:56to be a mismatch for most linebackers. Now from a running game perspective, obviously there's no
03:02scatterboot. But the Dolphins did a good job of stopping the run, which I'm a big fan of. That was
03:09one of their
03:11weaknesses last year. So to see them kind of take a step forward in that regard was definitely
03:15promising. Granted, they're missing some pieces on that defense, the Dolphins were. But it was
03:21an encouraging outing. Like I said, I'll give the edge to the Giants, but the Dolphins definitely
03:27showed up as well. Well, the Giants defense, we know all about the pass rushers. That's a giving
03:33when we're talking about them up here in the Tri-States. But they couldn't stop the run as well.
03:38There was a second worst run defense in the NFL last season. So how did the Giants run defense
03:44look against the Dolphins rushing offense? Yeah, I think that's a good question. For the
03:50most part, it held up. Obviously, the Dolphins had a Pro Bowl running back with Devon H.A.,
03:55who's dynamic. And there was one play where he seemingly broke free and would have gone for
04:01like a 70-yard touchdown. But that's just sometimes what happens when you face Devon H.A.
04:06He has those burners. And you give him a little bit of a crease, he can go. But for the
04:10most part,
04:11a lot of his runs went nowhere. And that's an encouraging sign for the Giants defense.
04:17And when the second-string running back, Jalen Wright, went in, he didn't really do much either.
04:23The third-string guy, Ollie Gordon II, who was a dope walker award winner back in college.
04:29He had a few breaks that would have gone for like 15 yards apiece. But other than that,
04:35I'll say for the most part, they stopped the run pretty well, for sure.
04:38Are there any players from the Giants side of things that kind of stood out to you that you had
04:46to look down at your roster and be like, man, who is this kid?
04:51I mean, like I said earlier, Brian Burns was the guy. Like, I didn't even have to look down at
04:56the
04:56roster.
04:56We know Burns. Like, everybody knows Spider-Man. But are there any players that maybe some draft
05:03picks, you know, some bubble guys, some guys that you were like, man, like, who is this dude?
05:07Okay. Yeah, no, Malachi Fields was a guy for me that definitely stood out a little bit.
05:12I know you guys are kind of bad with Malik Nabors out like that, that, that, you know,
05:17I think y'all have Darnell Mooney as well. But like, there is a need for another receiver to step
05:23up.
05:23And I think Malachi Fields could be that guy. I really like where I saw him. I believe at the
05:26senior bowl and just to see him make plays with his route running and, you know,
05:32catching the ball. I think that was a positive sign. Now, granted, like, I'm not trying to
05:37poo poo the dolphins or anything, but the secondary is one of their weakest spots
05:41and they're missing two starters. Right. So I don't want to overreact, but Malachi Fields was
05:47definitely a guy that made me turn my head for sure. What about on the defensive side of the
05:53football? Anyone kind of stand out to you?
05:56Yeah, I think, I think Chauncey Golsan was a guy that I wasn't as familiar with.
06:01And to see him kind of break through the middle and, you know, make a few plays in the backfield,
06:06it would have been two sacks. Like that was something to me that definitely impressed.
06:11I was, I was definitely, I know you guys have kind of have that, that hole in the middle with,
06:15with no Dexter Lawrence. So to see a guy kind of step up to me,
06:20obviously I don't think they played the same exact position, but just to see what I saw from
06:25Chauncey Golsan was definitely a little bit encouraging and definitely something to pay
06:29attention to going forward. We got a cornerback battle going in that defensive secondary. Did you
06:35get your eyes on Taye Banks, number two, Colton Hood, number 12, Paulson Adebo, 21. Is any one of
06:42those guys kind of flashed throughout the course of the practice? Yeah, Paulson Adebo for sure. He had a,
06:47what would have been probably a pick six. Luke Williams kind of prides himself on not really
06:52turning the ball. He doesn't really give the ball up that much. And to see Paulson Adebo kind of step
06:58in and granted that he was facing a rookie in Caleb Douglas, who's definitely been one of the brighter
07:02spots of the passing attack, but you guys kind of limited him. He had like maybe one catch for 12
07:08yards,
07:08but yeah, Paulson Adebo was a guy who definitely caught that, that, that pick and would have taken
07:14that to the house. So he's a guy that definitely showed out. And as much as I liked Colton Hood,
07:19I didn't really see him make as many plays as I probably would have liked. But I would say,
07:25I would definitely say Paulson Adebo was a guy that definitely stood out for sure. All right,
07:29let's look ahead to Saturday because John Harbaugh hasn't really specified how much the starters
07:34and some select vets will play in this game. So let all the Tri-State know, are there any guys
07:41or,
07:42or matchups that you're eyeing on Sunday and you feel as though Giants fans should keep an eye out on
07:48as well? Yeah, for me, I think the Dolphins are a little bit in the same boat as well, right?
07:55Like
07:55Coach Jeff Haffley wasn't really sure if starters would get a chance to run on Saturday. That being said,
08:03I'm sure a lot of the rookies need work. And if Caleb Douglas, the wide receiver at Texas Tech,
08:11is out there, I want to see how he looks against a Colton Hood, right? Like those are two,
08:17Colton Hood was definitely a guy that I thought could end up in Miami, one of the bigger corners
08:21of that draft. So to me, if, if Caleb Douglas plays, I'm looking at that matchup, but then also
08:29really just Colton Hood against any of the wide receivers. The Dolphins wide receiver unit isn't
08:34the deepest, doesn't have the most established talent. And so for a rookie to go make his name
08:42against the, the Dolphins secondary, I would be encouraged by that if I was a Giants fan. So
08:48definitely looking forward to see what, what Colton Hood can do out there.
08:53All right, Isaiah, we appreciate it. We needed the fresh pair of eyes because everyone's getting
08:58the same reports up here. And you know, we, we, we got to have a different perspective.
09:02Uh, have a good time out there. Miami gardens on Saturday. I wish I was down there. I didn't
09:07make the trip. Oh, without a doubt, without a doubt. I think the Dolphins knew to keep,
09:14I mean, I think the Giants knew to keep me up here, uh, on this trip for, for other reasons,
09:19but appreciate you having an old blue rush, my man.
