Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on May 08, 2024, 10:08:45 AMThough it wasn't broadcast in the headlines of news stories, the Giants' ST squad was poor the last few seasons. Fans knew it, but it was a side-note in the news. Apparently, judging by the changes, Schoen decided to fix it...knock on wood
Some of the changes I've noticed:
- Fired STC Thomas McGaughey and hired new STC Michael Ghobrial
- Resigned Gunner Olszewski (and true to his name, is a "gunner") who was our best gunner on STs since the retirement of David Tyree. Olszewski is also our punt returner, but that could change after the addition of WR/RB Tracy in the draft
- Signed Miles Boykin, one of the best gunners in the NFL...but as you know, we need two gunners, one on each side of the field
- Signed former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie, on a cheap 1-yr contract. Should promote competition at the punt return spot between him and Olszewski (and probably Tracy)
- Resigned Carter Coughlin, our best STs player who led the team with nine tackles last season and has earned a reputation as a hard hitter https://www.giants.com/video/carter-coughlin-s-hit-stick-tackle-ends-patriot-kick-return-giants-vs-patriots-h
- Drafted shifty Tyrone Tracy as a RB, but is targeted to also be a returner who could be especially effective under the new kickoff rules
- Bryce Ford-Wheaton has spent the year and off-season practicing to make the STs squad as a "jammer" and possibly a "gunner"...he is apparently taking STs very seriously
- Drafted Darius Muasau who is known to be a special teams ace and an "unrelenting" attacker. He also played for our new STC Ghobrial. He is said to be an extremely hard hitter and a "film rat"
- hopefully, Graham Gano is back and in top shape as our place kicker
- Jamie Gillan "the Scottish Hammer" made impressive improvement last season and should be in even better shape this coming season
I'm sure there are other behind the scenes changes being made, but it certainly appears that Schoen and Daboll have not ignored the problem of the "Third Team", for which we have sucked, and have taken it very seriously to upgrade across the board. I suspect the biggest change is probably putting in a whole new system designed by our new STC Ghobrial
Great post and topic! Thanks for putting it together. Been thinking a lot about this and have many of the same thoughts.
I like the new coaching staff. I like how the return game is coming together. I like the focus on gunners and standout ST tacklers.
My one big concern is with the 2 kickers. Gano's return from injury at his age is definitely a concern. And I'm just not high on Gillan. Too inconsistent for my liking.
But if the return and coverage units can perform, I'll be happy.