Big Blue Huddle

To me, you can argue whether the team is better but, to me, it comes down more to process than personnel. The big issue in truly judging Schoen's tenure is that he has not had a chance to get HIS QB. The Giants have played themselves out of the top QBs in each year he's been here.

And in looking at that article, the one place where I'd say they definitely haven't improved is the D-line simply because I don't know if there's anyone there with significant upside beyond Dex. With a group like the secondary, it may not be better NOW than it was when Gettelman left, but it could very well be in the future (gotta see how guys like Banks, Phillips and Nubin progress). When Schoen took over, I doubt many people would have expected James Bradberry to still be here in 2024.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 12, 2024, 12:05:28 PMI think Rempe is what he is - a borderline player who brings a lot of energy and physicality to the table. I would also suggest that it's a bit unfair to conclusively judge him as a player given he is a rookie who played basically 1/3 of the season. If we did that with LaFreniere he'd be off the team by now. Rempe's presence on the ice was felt plenty of times this year, and I don't just mean fighting.

Laf was a first overall pick who put up numbers comparable to Sidney Crosby in Juniors. Matt Rempe was a 6th round pick who put up just 22 points in 96 games in the AHL over the last two seasons. I'm not sure there's much of a reason to think there's more there than we've been getting.

As for him being a liability. We should be directing that question at Peter Laviolette who decided to give him all of 4 minutes in a game that went into double OT and none from the 3rd period on. The question around Rempe comes down to whether the energy he brings is worth it to potentially hamstring yourself late in the game.

Quote from: EDjohnst1981 on May 12, 2024, 12:44:16 PMIn game 4, yes he played around 5 mins, but his average ice time throughout the post season is 6.21. Brodzniski played 8.41 last night - you're not scrapping around finding large minutes to replace either one.

However, I do think Carolina have attempted to take more liberties without him in the line-up, there were a number of boarderline incidences last night he could he have kept in check, plus you had Vesey dropping the gloves in Game 3. I don't think that crap occurs with him in the line-up. Furthermore, he's taken 8 PIMs in the post season, again not a disproportionate amount in my view.

My final point to starting him, over Brodzniski only, is the buzz he brings to the home ice crowd - I think that's worth it.

1 PIM for every 4.5 minutes of ice time is a ton. Some of it is not his fault (the goalie interference call he got was garbage) but, again, he clearly has a reputation where he's not going to get the benefit of the doubt. It's also worth noting that Andrei Svechnikov tripped Igor Shesterkin in game 2 when Rempe was in the lineup. As I said, the idea of the deterrent is just not a thing. I'd also point out most of his fights have either been him having to defend himself after a questionable hit or him getting challenge by goons. Even if a deterrent is a thing, he has not really employed that role.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 12, 2024, 10:43:02 AMI don't think Rempe is just a deterrent and nothing more than that. His being in the lineup fires up the fans and the rest of the team. I don't know if you've been to a home game since his arrival, but when he is on the ice fans start immediately chanting his name and the energy level both in the stands and on the ice percolates visibly.

I'm not suggesting he is more than what he is, which is a fringe player on the outside looking in (hence his not having been active recently). I would disagree that he brings nothing additive to the table though, if that is what you are saying.

I appreciate the energy aspect but, beyond that, I'm not sure what else he brings. He's not a highly skilled offensive or defensive player and not a great skater. He's a liability against a team like Carolina that can skate circles around him. There's also that the refs clearly have an eagle eye on him and he's a penalty waiting to happen, which is probably part of why Laviolette hasn't had him out there late. I think the fact that he played just 4 minutes of an 80+ minute game on Tuesday speaks volumes. I just don't know that the positives with him outweight the negatives.

Quote from: EDjohnst1981 on May 12, 2024, 03:40:33 AMI thought the Rangers were unlucky last night.

The first two Canes goals came off dreadful D zone turnovers, they then rallied to get back to parity. I thought the refs let a lot more go last night and the Canes got away with a number of penalties - Trocheck was the victim of a double cross check and a then a third as he was on the floor in the 2nd, that one stands out.

Perhaps the Canes took liberties because there was no Rempe. I didn't think Bronzinski added that much, so I'd start Rempe Monday.

Ultimately the Rangers had chances to win but they came up just short. Whilst I didn't expect to win last night, I didn't see anything last night that has me worried. I fully expect Rangers to close on Monday. So much so that once we got the 2nd goal, I was quite relaxed and almost knew the 3rd would come - Igor was locked in and the high volume Canes shooters were being contained.

All in all, 3-1 through 4 is a great place to be.

LGR.

The series has been chippy since game 1. Rempe won't change that and the idea of a deterrent is an old school hockey trope that needs to die. He also can't skate with this team and would be a liability when on the ice. There's a reason he played just 4 minutes of a game that went over 80.

I'd argue that yesterday might have been their best game at evens in this series. If not for some bad early turnovers and a bad penalty late, this series might be over. Also, the Trouba discussion has to happen sooner rather than later. He's been on the ice for something like the last 7 goals against. We could legitimately see a guy get handed the cup by Bettman and bought out a month later.

WHAT A WIN!!! End this on Saturday and give yourself some time off while Florida and Boston eat each other alive.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 05, 2024, 02:39:41 PM4. Ball security: Max of 11/12 INTs if his passing TDs are in the 25-29 range, and a max of 14/15 if he's above 30 passing TDs. Fumbles need to be low/mid single digits again.

5. Risk appetite: Jones will need to take more risky shots downfield and not always opt for the closest receiver. Tyrod Taylor did it last year on the same team, and with Nabers and better O linemen Jones needs to do it this year.

6. Pocket/rush awareness: Jones will have to show marked improvement in this area.

Outside of staying healthy, a combination of these things are what I'd need to see. He needs to show that he can effectively read a defense and is willing and able to take chances down the field without putting the ball in harms way. Basically, show that you can be a difference maker and not just somebody who can look good against bad competition.

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on May 06, 2024, 01:50:03 PMI like the mix up of Singletary, Tracy, and whoever wins the other RB...probably Gray IMO. It's always advantageous to have a variety of skill sets among those who are going to carry the ball. With Barkley, we were pretty much one-dimensional, not to mention every team we faced schemed for him whenever he was on the field. And we know Tracy can catch a ball and will probably be used like that quite a bit. Should be an exciting year to watch the youngsters get their feet wet on the big game board

How 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.

Quote from: Philosophers on May 03, 2024, 05:13:55 PMI am not surprised.  That year felt to me the NFL teams falsely manufactured prospect QB talent than was actually there.  Other than Lawrence nobody during the college football season said Wilson or Lance would be top 5 picks.

I remember Lance having a ton of buzz and it was a big deal when he actually played in one game during the Covid season. Wilson, on the other hand, had that huge season and suddenly shot up draft boards.

As of now, here's what I would expect to be the de facto unit.

QB: Daniel Jones
RB: Singletary starting with Gray and Miller as the main backups. Tracy will be used as a gadget player and kick returner
WR: Nabers, Slayton and Hyatt as the outside receivers with Robinson in the slot (can't imagine Nabers isn't the #1 from the get go)
TE: Bellinger as the #1 TE with Johnson as the #2
OL: Thomas, Eleumunor, JMS, Runyan, Neal left to right (Stinnie at LG and Eleumunor at RT if Neal is terrible in camp)
DL: Dex and RNR as the starters with Davidson and Riley rotating in (probably see another late signing ala A'Shawn Robinson last year)
EDGE: Burns and Thibs with Ojulari rotating in on passing downs
LB: Okereke and Mcfadden start (Simmons as a primary backup who mixes in)
CB: Banks and Flott on the outside with Phillips in the slot
S: Nubin and Pinnock (Mills rotates around the secondary)

I'm buying this as much as I'm buying the idea that the Giants tried to trade up to 3 for Joe Alt. In other words, I'm not buying it at all

How are there so many people saying the Giants have ignored the O-line? Is it really just because we didn't draft Cooper Beebe or Christian Haynes in the third round (as if either of them are automatics who would solve our problems immediately). The Giants' plan this year was very clearly to make the OL the focus of their FA plan and go elsewhere in the draft. They did that. Both of their starting guards will likely be recent FA pickups.

And the most important move they may have made in the offseason was their new OL coach. If he can help develop the guys already here, that's a huge acquisition without spending a dollar of cap space or draft capital.

Quote from: MightyGiants on April 28, 2024, 08:24:34 AMAssuming 3 QBs go off 1-2-3, and the Cards took MHJ, that left a pick between Nabers and NYG.  As Gettleman how being a pick away from getting your desired WR (Devanta Smith) works out, when teams know you want him.

But how does making a play for the third pick change this? I highly doubt there was ever a genuine threat of anybody jumping up to still Nabers from them. If anything, the smokescreen was coming from the New England side, who knew they were never moving off the #3 pick, but wanted the rumors out there to try and drum up a Godfather offer from the Giants or Minnesota.

The simplest answer here is that the Giants viewed Drake Maye in a tier above JJ McCarthy so were willing to trade up for Maye but not even take JJ at 6.

Leonard Taylor
Julian Pearl
Fabian Lovett
Michael Pratt
Gabe Hall
Beau Brade

Some of the names still around that I'd love to take a shot on

Quote from: LennG on April 27, 2024, 06:19:04 PMI say average.
Sorry did not address our biggest need QB. Did nothing for our second biggest need solid help on the OL.

Does anyone think our OL is solid? We gave Jones a big piece but what did we do to keep him upright?

I guess our management thinks what we have is good enough.

Did you want the Giants to draft a QB at 6 that they didn't fully believe in? If not, them not taking a QB was  kind of our of their hands. As for O-line, it was our heaviest investment in FA and that's without considering that we got a new OL coach. Our starting OL in week 1 will likely be Thomas, Eleumanor, JMS, Runyan, Neal barring injury.

The defensive secondary was far more of a pressing need. We probably needed DL help more than OL help so if they ignored anything, it was there.

Went with a 4. I really like the players they got with the first five picks but they were all on the outside. Disappointed to not get a DL as it feels like we have a major lack of depth there behind Dex. Would have been interested to see if they would have taken someone like Orhorhoro, Fiske or Newton at 47 if they lasted.