The cheers for Cam Skattebo aren’t limited to one New York area arena.
Already a favorite of Giants fans at MetLife Stadium, the rookie running back received a big ovation Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden during the Knicks-Cavaliers season opener.
“It was awesome,” Skattebo said. “I felt like I was welcomed in and taken in by everybody.”
Skattebo was seen flexing under the basket after an OG Anunoby dunk.
“The Knicks game was crazy,” Skattebo said. “We need that atmosphere in our football stadium.”
One place that Skattebo won’t feel love is at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. Eagles fans are notorious for their hostility.
“I’m a thick-minded, thick-souled, thick-blooded person,” Skattebo said. “I’m excited to see how different it actually is. I’m not too worried about the fan system bothering me in any way.
“You always are going to hear people talk crap. If they do it better than others, props to them, but there is a respect level at some point. I’ve heard Philly has no respect when it comes to the stadium. It’s crazy people drinking beers and having fun, trying to have a good time, and team win or lose you’re either talking crap that we suck or talking crap that your team sucks. It’s just the way football goes.”
WR Malik Nabers, who tore his ACL on Sept. 29, still has not undergone surgery. “Down the line here,” head coach Brian Daboll said. He has been spotted at various events on crutches since then. The delay in surgery could mean a delay in rehab and recovery.
“More common to wait a month for swelling to subside,” Dr. David Chao, former team doctor for the Chargers and founder of SICscore.com, wrote on X. “Although sometimes athletes have immediate surgery to beat the swelling to get a jump on next year.”
CB Paulson Adebo (knee), OLB Brian Burns (hip), DT D.J. Davidson (ankle), DL Chauncey Golston (neck) and S Jevon Holland (knee) did not practice. Burns maintains adamance about playing, but there is less optimism that the secondary will be intact.
WR Darius Slayton (hamstring), TE Daniel Bellinger (neck), LB Swayze Bozeman (ankle), RT Jermaine Eluemunor (knee) and LB Demetrius Flannigan Fowles (hamstring) were limited.
QB Jaxson Dart (ankle), K Graham Gano (groin) and C John Michael Schmitz (concussion) were full participants. Schmitz still needs to be cleared by an independent neurologist.
Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka defended his decision to call a max-protection pass instead of a run on third-and-5 with less than five minutes remaining against the Broncos. Dart threw a costly interception deep in Giants’ territory.
“Those decisions always come down to just your confidence level in the quarterback and in the players,” Kafka said. “And I have a tremendous amount of confidence in Jaxson and the ability to put the ball in his hands in certain situations, whether it’s third down, whether it’s fourth down.”
Tiki Barber and Jon Gruden are among the NFL personalities who ripped the play call for not calling a handoff and forcing the Broncos to use their final timeout.
“Sure, hindsight, you can look at it and evaluate it,” Kafka said. “But when we talked about it as a staff early in the week, you look at the gotta-have-its and the plays that we like, that was the one that was high on our list.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
