Big Blue Huddle

https://x.com/DanSchneierNFL/status/1787864230340788291

Quote from: madbadger on Today at 11:04:14 AMHe is an intriguing prospect but for him to have 0 ints in college is a huge red flag for me. Cedrick Dort, Wisconsin's worst starting cornerback the past 20 years managed to pick off one despite having hands of stone and no ball skills. I don't know how much room there is in the NFL for non ball hawk cover guys there are in the NFL.

The funny thing is that he did have 1 INT, but it was called back due to a penalty (the penalty was not on Phillips).

While I prefer ball-hawks, I have seen DBs who are skilled at preventing completions from doing well.  I think former Giant Adoree Jackson could be an example.

Quote from: H-Town G-Fan on Today at 11:00:57 AMIt's a popular topic to get clicks and attention. I think the financial aspect of the injury guarantee in Jones's contract is going to (quietly) be a very important factor in how this shakes out.

If the Giants have an earlier exit from playoff contention, no doubt.

With a quieter time, I have been digging into Shane Bowen.  I am trying to better understand what the Giants got when they drafted Bowen.  I haven't found enough to form a conclusion, so I will share my findings.

Prior Job Performance-  I say this is a mixed bag.  On the one hand, Shane moved up the ranks pretty quickly, which usually indicates that he has impressed people with his knowledge and ability.  In terms of how his unit has performed, it has been mixed.  Overall, it's been the middle of the pack (to the slightly low part of the middle of the pack).  His defenses did well against the run and in the red zone, but his pass defenses were not all that strong.

Education-  While I don't think education is that important to the job, degrees do speak a bit to a coach's general intelligence and work ethic.  On that front, Bowen was named to the Dean's List three times while at Georgia Tech (as a player and a student assistant), earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business management in 2009, and a master's degree in workforce development and education from Ohio State in 2014.

Coaching Mentors-   While Bowen has been heavily supported (and likely influenced by Vrabel, who brought him along with him), Bowen did learn from some solid defensive coaches Jim Schwartz and Dean Pees.  He even spent a little time with Urban Meyer.

Misc-  Bowen was a former LB and Safety and Georgia Tech who had his playing career cut short by a neck issue.


My biggest negative:  He wasn't the team's first choice.   Bowen interviewed for the job he had with the Titans under the new HC and with the Jaguars.  Both teams went in other directions.  He may not have even been the Giants' first choice as he was hired after a couple of the hot candidates the Giants interviewed were hired elsewhere, or the Giants were denied an opportunity to interview.  I will admit that sometimes a quality candidate doesn't interview well, but I think that is a somewhat rare situation.    Another negative, at least in my mind, is that I don't think the DC job was an attractive position.  Between Daboll potentially being on the hot seat, most of the coaching staff being in place, and the issues that caused the prior DC to leave, I can't imagine this was a DC's dream job.


Misc positive-  Shane will have the advantage of having two top-position coaches on his staff, with DB coach Jerome Henderson (who also has the title of passing game coordinator) and D-line coach Andre Patterson.    Having two top-position coaches should help Bowen achieve success. 

https://x.com/Anthony_Rivardo/status/1787855388848566516

I do not condemn any opinions on this topic.  Although, in my head, I am taking notes on who says what, and when the situation is decided, there will be clear winners and losers in terms of reputation.    As for my opinion on the topic, I really don't know how it will play out.  From my research, I am not overly impressed with Lock to date (I wasn't that impressed when he was coming out, either).   Still, there are many unknowns regarding DJ's recovery from the ACL and how quickly or if he can overcome being shell-shocked (as he was last season).    With so much uncertainty, I will refrain from making a prediction.


https://x.com/RossTuckerNFL/status/1787854707156742416

https://x.com/BigBlueVCR/status/1787648545538928726

QuoteA handful of teams acknowledged discussing kickoff strategies as part of their pre-draft meetings, with one noting it directly affected at least one of their draft selections.

Running backs Isaac Guerendo (San Francisco 49ers' fourth-round pick), Tyrone Tracy Jr. (New York Giants' fifth-round pick), Dylan Laube (Las Vegas Raiders' sixth-round pick) and Keilan Robinson (Jacksonville Jaguars fifth-round pick) are examples of draft picks who also bring with them kick return upside.

A few team officials said they were cognizant of potential new strategies while making their picks but didn't necessarily have a chance to select anyone who would be better suited for the new rules than the old ones. That isn't too surprising. Since the rules are only in place through the 2024 season, some teams acknowledged they've still got time to figure out the variables while being hesitant to make longer-term commitments during the trial-and-error phase.

I thought this was a great quote that could apply to so many changes.

Quote"It's bulls—," a longtime special teams coach said. "This is what the league wanted for years. But you can either complain about it or adapt and find a way."

If you subscribe to the Athletic, you can read the entire article.

https://theathletic.com/5467219/2024/05/06/nfl-new-kickoff-rules-nfl-draft/

These unit-by-unit comparisons are interesting, and I didn't see anything I would strongly disagree with in the article.


Still, as they say, team building is not the same as collecting talent.  I don't have a good answer as to how to best compare teams or evaluate teams to get a better sense of the direction a team is going.   It is something I have been thinking about though-  how to best evaluate a team to get a better sense of the direction it is going in.

Quote from: londonblue on Today at 08:56:21 AMIt cannot hurt. He should also be an asset in assessing appetite for the game as he was a worthy inheritor of the alpha lunch pail mentality from Richie Seubert. It will be interesting to see them if the use him as a specialist for OL and maybe DL or more generally.

In the past, he was a specialist O-line scout for the Jags (when Coughlin was there).   I think there is some merit to the idea of teams hiring position-specific scouting specialists, especially at a position like O-line, which teams are constantly drafting and often miss on. 

Maybe this will end Schoen's swings and misses when it comes to drafting offensive linemen

QuoteOne of the most successful players in Giants history is back with the only NFL team he ever suited up for.

Chris Snee, a starting guard on two Super Bowl winning teams, has returned to the franchise, newly hired as a scout, The Post has learned.

Snee, 42, made no secret of his desire to return to the Giants ever since he retired after the 2013 season.

A reunion nearly took place in 2022, as general manager Joe Schoen, in his first year on the job, was interested in adding Snee as an offensive line scout.

Snee and the team could not come to an agreement on the time commitment aspect of the position.

Bobby and Justin talk about the Defensive Undrafted Free Agents The Giants have signed since the Draft

00:00 intro02:30 Alex Johnson, DB, UCLA
13:11 Casey Rogers, DT, Oregon
25:57 Ovie Oghoufo, LB, LSU
35:45 Jude McAtamney, PK, Rutgers

Quote from: AZGiantFan on May 06, 2024, 03:59:24 PMIs it common for teams to have someone as Head of Medical Services who isn't an M.D.?

I checked a handful of teams.   I couldn't find another team with the same title.

Quote from: jgrangers2 on May 06, 2024, 02:36:30 PMHow they use Tracy is one of the things I'm most excited to see this year. I can see them designing screens for him and even lining him up as a receiver given his background. Plus he'll probably be our kick returner with the new rules. Will be interesting to see how much they trust him in pass pro though given he's only be an RB for one yaer.

and @madbadger   Tracy was a WR at Iowa, so he was taught how to block even before going back to his old HS position of RB

 

Quote from: T200 on May 06, 2024, 01:33:20 PMThe celebrity roasts are notorious for being unabashedly raunchy and raw. There's an old saying... Be careful what you ask for. I think Tom got more than he bargained for. He definitely didn't like the Kraft joke about the massage.

In this day and age of stronger sensativities, I am surprised that they still have roasts