Big Blue Huddle

https://twitter.com/clt_ny/status/1655959761114873856

Matt is a former NFL safety turned ESPN staff writer.  Here was his comments:


John Michael Schmitz, C, New York Giants
Drafted: Round 2, No. 57

Why he is a perfect fit: In addition to Schmitz's finishing ability as a blocker, which showed up consistently during Senior Bowl workouts, it's the zone-run fit in Brian Daboll's offense that sticks out. This is where the 6-foot-4, 320-pound rookie center can reach, combo, climb and cut off second-level defenders. He's an instinctive and detailed technician here, and that opens up more running room for Saquon Barkley to get vertical on inside and outside zone schemes.


https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/draft2023/insider/story/_/id/37422780/2023-nfl-draft-best-team-fits-landing-spots-top-rookies

On the topic of JMS, Giants.com had a nice article on him.

https://www.giants.com/news/john-michael-schmitz-nfl-draft-2023-alex-boone-jeremiah-sirles-minnesota-gophers

Mike Lombardi revisited his comments in light of the Dexter Lawerence signing in his latest podcast.  Mike is walking back his comments.  After pushing the narrative that they overpaid for Daniel Jones and that the holdouts of Dex and Barkley are the result and evidence of the "disease of me" in the Giants locker room, Mike is now spinning things differently.

First off, after all the blowback he initially received, he tried to focus on his comments about how challenging and difficult it is to take the next step after winning a bit.

Now he is claiming that he didn't say the Giants locker room had a problem or suffered from the disease of me, but rather he was saying there was the POTENTIAL to have that happen.

Mike also acknowledged the challenges of Barkley wanting to be paid while playing a position where there is no demand or high salaries.  He also acknowledged that Dexter's contract was fair and good.

I found this to be an enjoyable read

https://nypost.com/2023/05/06/mike-kafka-wink-martindale-talk-coaching-roots-rising-giants-expectations/

Here is a sample


Q: Whatever comes to mind: Darren Waller?

Kafka: Explosive.

Q: Parris Campbell?

Kafka: Explosive.

Q: Jalin Hyatt?

Kafka: Explosive.

Q: How would you describe your leadership or coaching style?

Kafka: I try to lead by example — doing the right thing, preparing at a high level, trying to be a teacher and understanding that these guys may or may not have heard or know as much as I know, and I want to be able to be a teacher for them and help them understand whatever we're trying to work through. As a former player, being in those shoes, just trying to understand what the coach is trying to get done, and so for me, I like painting a picture for those guys.

Martindale: I think it all starts with being honest in your relationship with the players. I think that a lot of coaches today make it about themselves instead of the players, and the game always has been and always will be about the players. And as a coach, the sooner you embrace that, the better it'll be for both sides.

Q: What are the traits of the ideal Wink Martindale football player?

Martindale: Dabs [head coach Brian Daboll] has had the motto, and it's true: smart, tough and dependable. I like players that are passionate about the game, and then play with old-school violence that's made this game so great. It's starting to shape up. Are we there yet? We're just taking it one day at a time. It's gonna happen, I just don't know when it's gonna happen eventually. We're going in the right direction.

https://nypost.com/2023/05/06/mike-kafka-wink-martindale-talk-coaching-roots-rising-giants-expectations/

https://twitter.com/_MLFootball/status/1655715499123064834

https://twitter.com/AngryNFLInsider/status/1655602596160126977


Career history
As an executive:
Carolina Panthers (2000–2015)
Scouting assistant (2000)
Area scout (2001–2007)
National scout (2008–2012)
National scout/senior college scout (2012–2014)
Assistant director of college scouting (2014–2015)
Tennessee Titans (2016–present)
Director of player personnel (2016–2017)
Vice president of player personnel (2018–present)
Interim general manager (2022)


 MAY 04, 2023 12:23 PM
Ryan Cowden no longer with the Titans
Ryan Cowden
   Ryan Cowden
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ryan Cowden, the Titans VP of player personnel, has been removed from the team's website, and he is no longer with the franchise.

He spent seven seasons with the franchise and was promoted to VP in 2018.

When Jon Robinson was fired in November of 2022, Cowden filled in as head of the personnel side and was a candidate to replace him. The team hired Ran Carthon. [Unlocked]

The Panthers, Commanders, Giants and Steelers all interviewed him for their open general manager jobs in recent years.

He advanced to the second round of the Pittsburgh search in 2022 before the Steelers chose in-house candidate Omar Khan.

Per Albert Breer, the Titans hired former Falcons college scouting director Anthony Robinson as an assistant general manager who will oversee scouting.

https://www.paulkuharsky.com/news/ryan-cowden-no-longer-with-the-titans

On this week's college Draft, Ross & Emory Hunt break down the full draft classes for all of the teams in the NFC East, specifically:




Dallas Cowboys 9:53
New York Giants 15:00
Philadelphia Eagles 18:08
Washington Commanders 22:30

The Eagles and Cowboys are

Details here

https://giantswire.usatoday.com/2023/05/08/new-york-giants-not-projected-receive-any-compensatory-picks-2024-nfl-draft/?taid=6458d6647a434400019a98c4&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

What was the best game?

I learned a few interesting things that makes me think he has a great chance of making the final 53


Gervarrius Owens: the Giants are getting a 'hard-hat' guy
The Giants' newest safety talks after his first day of rookie mini-camp

By Nick Falato

https://www.bigblueview.com/2023/5/6/23713742/2023-ny-giants-safety-gervarrius-owens-rookie-mini-camp-hard-hat-news?utm_campaign=nickfalato&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Please post news from day to of camp here

(note today is my walk day so I will be late in my own postings to the thread)

Waited the proper amount of time.  Here is a thread with the grades of all the NFC East for the 2019 draft


https://twitter.com/BruceMurrayNFL/status/1654543949770506241

Again I am pulling from today's roster and June rosters from the previous 2 seasons

2021

LWR   86   Slayton, Darius 19/5   13   Pettis, Dante W/SF   84   Sills V, David SF19   81   Mack, Austin CF20   80   Bachman, Alex SF19
RWR   19   Golladay, Kenny U/Det   87   Shepard, Sterling 16/2   18   Board, CJ W/Jax   6   Dillon, Derrick CF20   00   BENJAMIN, KELVIN SF21
SWR   12   Ross III, John U/Cin   00   Toney, Kadarius 21/1

TE   88   Engram, Evan 17/1   85   Toilolo, Levine U/SF   47   Griffin-Stewart, Nakia SF20            
TE   80   RUDOLPH, KYLE CC/Min   82   Smith, Kaden W/SF   48   Hikutini, Cole SF21   47   John, Rysen CF20

2022  (Note Hodgins was a mid-season addition and not on this version of the roster)

LWR   19   Golladay, Kenny U/Det   86   Slayton, Darius 19/5   84   Sills, David SF19   31   Dorsey, Khalil U/Bal   13   Toivonen, Travis SF21
RWR   89   Toney, Kadarius 21/1   80   James, Richie U/SF   82   Foster, Robert SF22   15   Johnson, Collin W/Jax      
SWR   3   Shepard, Sterling 16/2   17   Robinson, Wan'Dale 22/2   18   Board, C.J. W/Jax   81   Bachman, Alex SF19   87   Proehl, Austin SF22

TE   83   Seals-Jones, Ricky U/Was   88   AKINS, JORDAN U/Hou   45   Bellinger, Daniel 22/4
TE   85   Myarick, Chris SF22   46   Allen, Austin CF22   43   Miller, Andre CF22


2023

LWR   18   Hodgins, Isaiah W/Buf   84   Hyatt, Jalin 23/3   15   Johnson, Collin W/Jax   13   Sills V, David SF19   45   Miller, Dre CF22
RWR   86   Slayton, Darius 19/5   3   Shepard, Sterling 16/2   19   Smith, Jeff U/NYJ   87   Polk, Makai SF22   6   Ford-Wheaton, Bryce CF23
SWR   00   Campbell, Parris U/Ind   17   Robinson, Wan'Dale 22/2   80   Crowder, Jamison U/Buf   81   Pimpleton, Kalil SF22   88   Mickens, Jaydon SF22

TE   12   WALLER, DARREN T/NYG   83   Cager, Lawrence SF22   89   Sweeney, Tommy U/Buf   
TE      82   Bellinger, Daniel 22/4     85   Myarick, Chris SF22   49   Jones, Ryan CF23

https://twitter.com/clt_ny/status/1654800287255740417

https://twitter.com/clt_ny/status/1654800357661212676

https://twitter.com/clt_ny/status/1654800436858085377

https://twitter.com/clt_ny/status/1654800470777405442

https://twitter.com/nfl/status/1654542725679808519

https://twitter.com/Colts/status/1654569333819834369

https://twitter.com/ch_skysports/status/1653727465678729217

There could be others, but this is the official list




Here are most of the scouting reports (I still need to add the Washington Safety

https://giantsfans.net/message_board/index.php?topic=66228.msg888596#msg888596

https://twitter.com/chuckknoxx/status/1654491725979590658

https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1654506573572497411

https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1654506600483237888

https://twitter.com/TalkinGiants/status/1654455909559554051



PLEASE POST NEWS FROM PRACTICE HERE

I thought I would do a series where we look at the depth charts over the past 3 seasons to sort of get a feel for how this team is progressing.  I will start with O-line since I don't think the Giants have signed any UDRFAs of note at that position (I still haven't added them in).  I will be using the current depth chart and comparing it to the June 2022 and June 2021 rosters (using Ourlads)

2021

LT   78   Thomas, Andrew 20/1    72   Barton, Jackson W/KC   76   SOLDER, NATE U/NE            
LG   66   Lemieux, Shane 20/5   60   Murphy, Kyle CF20   00   Heggie, Brett CF21            
C   65   Gates, Nick CF18   64   Harrison, Jonotthan SF21                  
RG   71   Hernandez, Will 18/2   73   Fulton, Zach CC/Hou   62   Slade, Chad SF20   00   Burton, Jake CF21      
RT   74   Peart, Matt 20/3   79   WIGGINS, KENNY SF20   

2022

LT   78   Thomas, Andrew 20/1   74   Peart, Matt 20/3   62   Hamilton, Devery SF21   61   Mbaeteka, Roy SF22      
LG   66   Lemieux, Shane 20/5   72   GARCIA, MAX U/Arz   75   Ezeudu, Joshua 22/3            
C   76   FELICIANO, JON SF22   68   Bredeson, Ben T/Bal   65   Gates, Nick CF18            
RG   64   GLOWINSKI, MARK U/Ind   77   DOUGLAS, JAMIL U/Was   60   McKethan, Marcus 22/5   67   Rivas, Josh CF22      
RT   70   Neal, Evan 22/1   73   Gono, Matt SF22   79   Cunningham, Korey SF21


2023

LT   78   Thomas, Andrew 20/1   74   Peart, Matt 20/3   70   Cunningham, Korey SF21            
LG   68   Bredeson, Ben T/Bal   75   Ezeudu, Joshua 22/3   60   McKethan, Marcus 22/5   67   Davis, Wyatt W/Arz      
C   61   Schmitz, John Michael 23/2   63   Hassenauer, J.C. U/Pit                  
RG   64   GLOWINSKI, MARK U/Ind   66   Lemieux, Shane 20/5   77   Anderson, Jack W/Phi   72   Kindley, Solomon SF22      
RT   73   Neal, Evan 22/1   79   Phillips, Tyre W/Bal   62   Hamilton, Devery SF21

https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1654260868224368640

https://twitter.com/BobbySkinner_/status/1654230212148617216

This season the Giants are going to face a murder's row of QB talent combined with quality passing offensive support.  The CB upgrades will be tested




https://twitter.com/Doug_Analytics/status/1654155634021916673



https://twitter.com/clt_ny/status/1654150153991749633

With the addition of Waller, do the Giants run more 12 personnel (1 RB and 2 TE) than last year?  Does the crowded WR room prevent that from happening?

https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1653924668733026305

Former GM Randy Muller was very impressed with how closely Daboll and Schoen work

QuoteAs Duggan reported, Giants coach Brian Daboll initiated contact with the Rams via text that they would have an interest in doing the trade. This is not normal; the general manager usually leads in every way in the draft room. I love this because it also told me the head coach was in lockstep with the GM about acquiring the player. Giants fans should be excited because Daboll was involved and thus will be extra motivated to do everything within his power to make sure the Hyatt move is seen in a good light.

It sounds simple and to be a given, but it's not. Some saw Hyatt as unpolished and raw as a route runner. Look for him to be schemed into an offense seamlessly and be used as the guy who can take the top off of defenses early in his tenure with the Giants.

The GM and head coach in New York are obviously communicating well and on the same page. Giants ownership has taken its share of criticism in the past decade, but it looks to me like they struck gold with this combination.

The rest is behind a paywall (one that I think is worth subscribing to)

https://theathletic.com/4485716/2023/05/04/nfl-draft-observations-randy-mueller-colts-giants-dolphins/

https://twitter.com/DDuggan21/status/1617248468178800640




https://twitter.com/TomPelissero/status/1654080523285811211

https://twitter.com/nickfalato/status/1654091250172059649

Even some insights into what the Giants were thinking


https://twitter.com/SalSports/status/1653825246699331585