An Inconvenient Blueth: New York Giants Podcast

Zach and Willys make a triumphant return to the traditional art of podcasting after a hiatus of nearly 7 months. With two games of the Giants' 2022 season down and not a loss to be seen, the Bluethers discuss how real this nascent renaissance is, and what we might expect in the next few games.

This episode was recorded on February 16, 2022. With news about the fresh coaching staff quieting down and draft talk not quite heating up just yet, the Bluethers recap what's been happening in Giantsland.

The Giants are up to much more than they were while ostensibly "competing" in "football games," and the Bluethers are here to cover it all. They talk over the Brian Daboll pick, how Joe Schoen is building the Giants by sacking the Bills, and how we can assess the hiring of two men who've never done their new jobs before. Of course, they also discuss the official retirement of An Inconvenient Blueth's patron saint: Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr., who we fully expect to legally become #TB12nft any day now. Zach and Willys wrap up by offering initial reactions to the Brian Flores lawsuit and its allegations, and a bit on Jim Harbaugh's strange flirtation with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Giants hired a new general manager: Joe Schoen. The Bluethers prudently let the dust settle and those other Giants podcasts cover the breaking news. They pod before you today as men of reflection, ready and willing to opine on the news with poise and perspective. Other topics include George Washington, whatever happened to Aaron Rodgers, when to go to sleep, and a variety of the kinds of tangents you've grown to know and quasi-love from this beautiful production known as An Inconvenient Blueth.

The Giants' season has mercifully ended, and so too have the reigns of David Gettleman and Joe Judge. With a new dawn finally arriving over the unthinkably bland facade of Corporate Insurance Stadium, Zach and Willys return to the show to break down the end of Big Blue's year, Gettleman's legacy, and the pleasant surprise that John Mara has put the new general manager on the same track as the head coach he'll hire.

After a week on the injured list, Zach and Willys are back to talk about what seems like a new rock bottom for the Giants. Obviously, the conversation begins with an exploration of the origin of the phrase "rock bottom," which yields little of interest, and goes on to more big-picture talk about this team and its future. What else is new? With a game against the Chargers in LA coming up, the Bluethers also discuss the dire QB situation, from who's playing to the status of Big Blue's quarterbacks coach. It's rough out there, people. Stay safe, and try not to pay too much attention to the Giants.

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us and the Bluethers in transit, they put together a very special Double-Solo Episode. Needless to say, they cover the rock-bottom loss to Tampa and Podcast God Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr., as well as the breaking news that Jason Garrett has been fired as offensive coordinator. What a game. What a week. What a season. What a time to be alive. News jingle audio courtesy of Tuben on Freesound

Did the Giants win the bye week? Who knows? Zach and Willys try to get to the bottom of one of the great questions of our time by creating a pro-con ledger, using the purchaser's method, and discussing Odell's new start with the Rams. They also get into Cam's return to Carolina, the Vikings (in general, in logo, and in architecture), what "art deco" means, and the origin of the phrase ad nauseam.

The Giants beat the Raiders and now get to enjoy a week without having to play football. With the G-Men's season (basically) half over and Big Blue setting a blistering 5- or 6-win pace, the Bluethers discuss the team's defensive brilliance and continued stagnation on offense. Needless to say, they also discuss the Aaron Rodgers fiasco, Cam signing back with the Panthers, and—most importantly—OBJ agreeing to terms with the Rams. Other topics include masochistic sports fans and how to avoid consistently eating bad food. You can't afford to miss this! WIN THE BYE WEEK!

The Bluethers break down a trademark loss to Kansas City on Monday Night Football, which featured an impressive defensive performance and an unsurprisingly inept offense by Big Blue. They discuss the Giants' endemic problems, the lack of strategic creativity, and whatever hope remains for changing things. Zach and Willys cover a few other stories, and wrap up with a look ahead to the upcoming game at home against the Raiders.

After a rare win for Big Blue—one that Zach watched in person at Corporate Insurance Stadium—the Bluethers talk about how the victory changes the outlook for the rest of the season. They also take a look at standings around the league, and what would have to happen for the Cowboys to not win the NFC East. To close out the show, Zach and Willys discuss how Kansas City's struggles might have changed the Giants' chances against the once (and maybe not future?) juggernaut on Monday night. As always, tangents abound.

The Bluethers recap a surprisingly triumphant win for the Giants in New Orleans and an unsurprisingly terrible loss in the general vicinity of Dallas. They also get to the biggest news around the league this week: the downfall of AIB podcast legend Jon Gruden. To wrap it all up, they take a look ahead to this weekend's game against a clearly better Los Angeles Rams.

In an episode that was salvaged from the depths of the ocean/hacked by the four computer geniuses that work for Dave at Corporate Insurance Stadium, Zach and Willys break down the demoralizing loss to Atlanta and look ahead to the new, very downgraded outlook for the rest of the Giants' season. Of course, they also take another look at the ongoing employment prospects for the coaching staff and front office, and preview Week 4's challenge in New Orleans against the resurgent Saints.

Zach's back on the pod to discuss the bizarre and humiliating loss to the Football Players of the Nation's Capital, a ridiculous run of Giants penalties, and what might be salvaged of yet another season that's started with two straight losses. The Bluethers also take a look at the upcoming game in Corporate Insurance Stadium against Atlanta, and how far the Giants' season could fall with another loss on Sunday.

Willys takes to the mic for the first-ever solo episode of An Inconvenient Blueth. After a real downer of a season opener and with a primetime matchup with Washington looming, he breaks down what we should take from Week 1, what the heck is going on with the Giants' offense, and how much of a chance Big Blue stands against the unnamed football team's ferocious defense.

It's the Season 5 Premiere! The Bluethers talk training camp transactions, losing to the Jets in the first preseason game, and a throwback to Super Bowls past. They also break down how Big Blue's depth chart is looking at this point in camp, and what might go down between now and the start of real football games.

Zach and Willys return during the slowest period of NFL news to look back on the Giants' draft and the shockingly forward-thinking trade the Big Blue made in the first round. They also take a game-by-game look at the Giants' 2021 schedule.

Zach and Willys do one final draft preview before the big event starts on Thursday. After substantial upgrades to the pod, they go through another mock draft—this time with actual research at their disposal. They also pour one out for Wayne Gallman, a Giants who should and would have been great, had someone let him.

Zach and Willys make their triumphant spring return to the mics to hammer out their annual simulated mock draft on behalf of the Giants. Follow their picks round by round for a taste of what we expect Big Blue to do at the end of the month.

Zach and Willys welcome special guest Ethan Rothstein back to the show to shoot the breeze about the Super Bowl, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and obscene salaries for baseball players who might not be that good at baseball. Expect very little information from this episode.

With only the best teams in football still alive, the Bluethers catch up on the last few weeks of news from the Meadowlands and around the NFL. They take a look at the end of the Giants' season, views on the Eagles' forfeit and Doug Pederson's firing, and the most important holes for Big Blue to fill in the offseason.

Just in time for Christmas, the Bluethers discuss the latest downturn in Big Blue's performance, the injury to Daniel Jones, and whatever hope remains for a Giants playoff appearance this season.

After a crucial hiatus to invest in the Blueth Exploratory Committee, Zach and Willys return for an unprecedented septuple episode. They cover the Giants' miraculous playoff chances, the various controversies around Joe Judge's coaching staff, and how Big Blue has managed to become the best team in the NFC East despite playing like a thoroughly mediocre outfit.

Well, the Giants lost again and the nation has entered one of its stranger periods... ever? But what's not strange is Big Blue's offense looking inert and uninspired, so let's take an hour to chat about that and keep our minds off of actual problems.

The Giants played one of their worst games in memory, and got trounced by another club's second string. (Let's call them the 28ers.) These are dark days for Big Blue indeed, and the Bluethers are here to break it down. Moving on fairly quickly from a game that left little to talk about, they discuss how Sunday's embarrassment could hasten the departure of Dave Gettleman, Joe Judge's status three games into his head coaching tenure, and what a smart front office would choose to do from here on out.

One more loss for the record, and many more for the soul. Saquon is done for the year, Danny Dimes is back to his fumbling ways, and a very unconvincing Bears team left the Giants sitting at 0-2 for the one-millionth time in the last one million seasons. The Bluethers discuss what happened in Chicago on Sunday, how the Big Blue defense has actually been a pleasant surprise so far in 2020, and how Joe Judge might generate any kind of offense for the next 14 games.

Somehow professional football has happened, which gives the Bluethers something to talk about that's at least nominally related to the playing of professional football games. After an expected loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Zach and Willys discuss Iron Curtain's stifling of Saquon in the running game, the stellar play of Darius Slayton as a rising WR1, and why Jason Garrett appeared so many times on the broadcast. Week 1 is in the books. Welcome back, however rudely, to Giants football.

Deep into the dog days of summer, the Bluethers jump on to talk about the unorthodox beginning of training camp, the Giants' kicking situation, and what we think we've learned about DeAndre Baker's legal case. And, of course... plenty of other clearly impertinent topics, straight from Lockdown Studios East of East and West.

Keeping alive the recent trend of Giants banality, Big Blue has been interesting in the last few weeks only to the extent that they’re tangentially related to the actual news of the day. Right now, said news is Cam Newton’s signing with the Pats and the (football) disgrace in D.C. deciding to change its name. The Bluethers break down those two big stories, plus discuss the latest on DeAndre Baker’s criminal case and the case for extending Saquon’s contract. We’re back, even though the NFL won’t be.

With the hypothetical, probably-not-happening 2020 schedule now ripe for pointless discussion and analysis, Zach and Willys jump on the mics to discuss the Giants' outlook, the mess of Corporate Insurance Stadium's parking situation, why you might want a burner LinkedIn, and when a gardener becomes a farmer.

Here come the hog mollies! With the all-remote draft now a thing of bizarre 21st-Century history, the Bluethers break down the Giants' picks, Roger Goodell's strange behavior, and some guys who probably won't make the roster.

With the remote draft just hours away, Zach and Willys discuss super-detailed sports simulations, half marathons, dermatologically problematic toe situations, and stress-free quarantine tv binges. They also break down what they want the Giants to do in the draft, what they think Dave Gettleman will actually do, and which player from this class will have the best professional career.

With the draft drawing ever closer and real football still looking indefinitely untenable, Zach and Willys jump on to talk about the quarantine era of the podcast, draft buzz, shamelessly horrible mock drafts, and the new 17-game, expanded-playoffs football season.

With the draft less than three weeks away, Zach and Willys each play Dave Gettleman in a full, seven-round draft simulation. They discuss who they took, why, and how this year's class stacks up against Big Blue's position needs. Everyone stay at home.

As the Giants wrap up free agency, the Bluethers return to discuss the latest signings, as well as the most interesting free agents left around the league. 

With the world in lockdown and the Giants on the move, the Bluethers break down one of the most significant quarterback transactions in football history: Colt McCoy to the Meadowlands. They also discuss Big Blue's other free-agent acquisitions so far, from James Bradberry to Cameron Fleming. By episode's end, they also sneak in a note about something Tampa did.

The Bluethers are barely back, just in time for prolonged periods of Alone Time. They focus on burritos, with brief interludes on Andy Reid, the Giants' shallowest positions, and the safety hazards of water-based draft stages.

In the wake of Eli Manning’s retirement, the Bluethers dive into what constitutes a burrito, what constitutes a good burrito, and which ingredients to list first when talking about the constituent elements of a burrito. They also get around to Eli’s retirement, his body of work, and the currently unprecedented amount of money he made playing professional football. Zach and Willys also look around the league, discuss Eli’s legacy relative to other quarterbacks from the era, gut impressions of how good the era’s best statistical passers really were, and the upcoming pairing of Kansas City and San Francisco.

The Giants finally got their man (after the Panthers got who was previously the Giants' man) for the vacant job of head football coach. The Bluethers discuss what we know about Joe Judge, from his background to... well, that's basically all that we know about him, other than his love of the "blue-collar" nature of the financial capital of the world. Zach and Willys also break down the other head coaching hires in the NFC East/Charlotte, how many penalties the Giants committed in 2019, and what Judge will have to do to pull Big Blue out of the giant hole that they've fallen into. All that, and... the episode ends with a very special surprise.

With so much going on in the world of Big Blue, the Bluethers get right to the heart of it all with a riveting discussion of how uninspiring Corporate Insurance Stadium is. After several minutes on that, they cover the firing of Pat Shurmur, the candidates to replace him as head coach, the inexplicable retention of Dave Gettleman, and why anyone might be so delusional as to think that there's any hope for success any time soon. Happy New Year! We don't have to watch this team again for eight months.

Eli started another game, the Giants lost another game, and the entire coaching and executive staff in East Rutherford remains intact. It's mid-December and securing the first overall pick for 2020 has never looked more possible, so, whatever your holiday tradition, happy holidays to those of you who like gritting out uninspiring losses in the perhaps delusional pursuit of future success. 

With no news from the football field and a world of news from Eliopolis, Zach and Willys break down the momentous development that Mr. Manning will (probably) be getting the start on Monday night in Philly... before the largely indifferent eyes, ears, and creaky ankles of the world. The Bluethers also discuss the profound infrastructure investments that they've made in the show, the delirium to which this football team has driven them, and how bad this Giants team really is compared to the truly awful Giants teams of the distant past.

The Bluethers are back after nearly a month wandering through the desolate land of Giantsia. They discuss the Giants' losing streak, the podcast's industry-leading legal department, Daniel Jones's increasingly worrying inability to keep hold of the ball, and what looks like another loss coming up this weekend against the Bears.

The Bluethers are back to talk about their Blueth on the Road trip to Foxboro for last Thursday's Giants-Patriots game, complete with the majesty of Tom Brady's throwing, the questionability of Pat Shurmur's play-calling, and the grandeur of an incredibly long commuter train full of well-behaved New England people. It was very windy and cold. They also chat about the upcoming slate of games for Big Blue, starting with this week's game back home in Corporate Insurance Stadium against the Arizona Cardinals.

The first two games of the Danny Dimes Era have come and gone, and so has the Giants' winless streak. After a fortuitous victory in Florida and a stroll through the hapless capital, Big Blue is sitting pretty at a relatively unimpressive (but nonetheless exciting) 2-2. The Bluethers also cover the choking of Odell, the brutality of Burfict, Saquon's injury, Ryan Connelly's torn ACL, and their recently-acquired tickets to next Thursday's game in Foxboro.

This is our emergency pod about Eli's benching.

In an unprecedented Instant Reaction Episode, Zach and Willys break down a devastating loss for the Giants at the hands of the other, other New York team that now owns Corporate Insurance Stadium. In a first half that determined the game, the Bills looked like a team that could win the title... and we all know that they can't. The Bluethers discuss the unfortunate state of Big Blue's defense and what they might do to improve it. They also chat about—SURPRISE—when Daniel Jones might see the regular-season field, and take a look ahead to the Week 3 matchup in Tampa.

With a bonafide football game complete, the Bluethers talk about... actual football. The Giants are 0-1 and look far from competitive with Dallas, so thank goodness Buffalo is coming back to Corporate Insurance Stadium this week. If the Bills can barely beat the Jets, they're just the team the Giants need. Of course, the true highlight of the pod is an update on Odell's $300,000 watch, which has now been worn like a sweatband during a professional football game.

With actual football games fast approaching, the Bluethers jump on the mics to break down the most important parts of the preseason, the Giants' roster, and the coming 16 (real) games for Big Blue. This is our official season preview. Welcome back to Giants Football, Ones.

The Bluethers try a panoply of disruptive innovation technologies to bring you this near-hour of football-adjacent blather. With the preseason well underway and the regular season still a relative abstraction, Zach and Willys break down the hottest headwear stories in the NFL, chat about the sudden promise of Daniel Jones, and read an email from one of the most loyal Ones. In what may well be the final episode before the proper start of Season 3, you're treated to a sneak peek of the future of Bluething. Enjoy, and happy mid-preseason!

With absolutely nothing to talk about, the Bluethers make this the perfect way for you to waste less than an hour of your life that you'll never get back. In the episode, you'll get: A briefing on everything you need to know about the Giants with training camp underway A high degree of skepticism Some hot Hall of Fame talk Other things Tune in! As always, we owe a debt of gratitude to the brilliant composer who makes Creative Commons music for podcasters like us to use: Music from https://filmmusic.io "March of the Spoons", "Take a Chance", and "The Curtain Rises" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)