NY Giants Mailbag: Bobby O, The Quarterbacks, Committment to Win and More

Want to get in on our weekly mailbag? You can do so here, or post your questions on X (formerly known as Twitter) to @Patricia_Traina, hashtag #askPTrain. Letters may be edited for clarity/length.

Patty- any update on Skataboo?
— pete m. (@pjmazz813) July 18, 2025

Not yet, Pete. We should have information on Tuesday regarding who passed their physicals and who did not.

Patty…do you typically get a gut feeling during training camp and pre season as to how good or bad the team will be? I know you are an optimist but I would interested to hear your gut feeling as camp opens and then right before week 1…
— Andrew Bogdan (@AndrewBogdanCT) July 18, 2025

Sometimes. I base it on how the camp unfolds and the injury situation. I think it's too soon for me to give a gut feeling because, as of right now, we haven't been in the building yet.

Once we get in, I want to see a few practices in pads. As of right now, you're right. I am optimistic. Things look good on paper. But I'm also realistic to know that looking good on paper ain't worth the paper it's written on.

Bobby Okereke, inside linebacker with the NY Giants, speaks to the press after a practice at Quest Diagnostics Training Center, East Rutherford, NJ, May 28, 2025. | Anne-Marie Caruso/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A couple of your media colleagues have expressed concern about linebacker Bobby Okereke and if he might be headed for a split with the Giants this year. Do you think that's a possibility? – George W.

George, anytime a player coming off injury practices early in the spring and then suddenly gets held out of practice, that does raise my antenna.

During the spring, Bobby Okereke seemed enthusiastic and positive about the coming season, but again, this was before they suddenly backed off on him.

I don’t know if he had a setback or a new injury (I hope not), but I did find it odd that during the mandatory minicamp, he wasn’t spotted on the field. And usually, when that happens, it means the player was kept inside to rehab an injury.

So yes, I do have some concerns about that situation. I hope Bobby’s back issue hasn’t returned, just as I hope he’s not dealing with something new from a physical perspective.

New York Giants | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Since you have been a football writer, the money teams bring in, as well as the salaries of coaches and players, have increased significantly. Are teams as motivated to win as they were 30+ years ago?

Do you think that players are better now than they were at the beginning of your career? Better includes being physically better, mentally better, and being motivated to win as much as former players who did not earn as much money when they played. – Howard D.

Howard, I do think guys are motivated to win. Why else would they put themselves through the rigors that come with playing the game?

As for players being better now than they were 30 years ago, I think you have a different generation with a different mindset. I had a similar conversation with a member of the 2007 Super Bowl team, and we both agreed that back then, players weren't as concerned about building their brand, and they prioritized football. However, these days, there is a greater emphasis on brand building.

Also, remember the CBA was a lot different when I started in the business. I don’t recall there being performance escalators. I don’t believe roster bonuses and the like were heavily used in contracts as they are today.

Overall, I don’t want to paint the players of yesteryear and those of today with a broad brush stroke. You have some old-school individuals, and then you have those who are, as I said, more focused on their brand. We are now more aware of the differences thanks to social media than we were back in the day.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll fields questions from reporters during Mandatory Minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Giants Training Center in East Rutherford on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Given the poor opening games of the past two years, do you think Coach Daboll will revert to the traditional preseason use of players? The starters play the first quarter in the first game, the first half in the second game, and the first three quarters in the third game.

It seems that with three preseason games, many teams have abandoned this formula that has historically worked fairly well. I don't think scrimmages with other teams are a good substitute for actual play. – Mike W.

Mike, I am 100% with you about this. I was just speaking about this very same topic with a friend of mine before I sat down to answer this week’s letters. I don’t know what Daboll’s plans are, but if I had to guess, I do think we’ll see the starters and key reserves get more preseason reps.

Now, the only way I don’t see that happening is if the guys are banged up. However, I am 100% on board with the idea of getting them reps before the season, given how they’ve come out of the gate looking flat in the past, like week-old soda.

And with two games against division opponents up first on the schedule, they cannot afford to come out of the chute looking like it’s still the preseason.

New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson | John Jones-Imagn Images

With the changes at quarterback, do you see the Giants doing more or less passing this coming season? – Robert C.

What I’d like to see–and what I think they’d like to see as well–is a balance between run and pass. In the past, the Giants often had to play catch-up, which meant passing more. I think that if they stay close in games or manage to take the lead, we might see the balance that has eluded them in the past.

My family and I have followed the NY Giants for many years, but with my age, etc. I’ve lost some of my ability to keep up. I just want to keep up with my all-time favorite team; I'm also interested in any other information about the Giants. – Doug F.

Well, Doug, you've come to the right place. We put out content daily here on New York Giants On SI, several times a day.

I also have a daily (Monday-Friday) podcast, Locked On Giants, which has a premium community called the Blue Crew Community.

We have two excellent podcasters here on the site, Coach Gene Clemons who hosts “A Giant Issue” and Paul Dottino of WFAN fame (and who is part of the Giants broadcast team) who hosts the weekly live streamed podcast Big Blue Breakdown.

You can find both podcasts, as well as video shorts and post-practice updates that we plan to produce this year, on our YouTube channel.

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