Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: TONKA56 on Today at 09:42:10 AMVictor Cruz
Jake Ballard

Thanks, I added them to the list

Victor Cruz
Jake Ballard

Quote from: kartanoman on Today at 09:26:24 AMRound two starts tonight!

What kind of game are the Rangers going to throw at the Canes? Will rust from 12 days between games be a factor?

I'm ready to drop the puck now!

Peace!

Interestingly, the Rangers are the underdog in this series (according to Vegas oddsmakers) despite having the best record in the league, being healthy overall, and just sweeping a team. Here is the Athletic's take on the series:


Rangers-Hurricanes predictions: An Eastern Conference executive, player and coach weigh in

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 12:
By Arthur Staple
5h ago


The betting sites and the data modelers like the Carolina Hurricanes in their second-round matchup with the New York Rangers. The data, as is usual when it comes to Carolina, is on the Canes' side. Despite winning the Presidents' Trophy and dispatching the inferior Washington Capitals in four games in the opening round, the Rangers are not analytical darlings this season.

We wanted to know what some NHL insiders think. So, same as we did in Round 1, we've assembled an executive, a coach and a player from three different Eastern Conference teams to give us their views on what they agree should be an excellent matchup.
How even is this matchup?

The executive: Both teams' first-round series went about as I expected, though I was surprised that a team with as little juice as Washington has was able to tilt the ice at times against the Rangers. There were stretches in the first round when (Igor) Shesterkin had to be great, and he was. That's a big advantage for the Rangers in this series — Freddie Andersen is a great story, but I just don't see him being able to match what Shesterkin can do when he's locked in like this.

If what we've seen through the regular season and first round of the playoffs holds, the Hurricanes will have the puck a lot more, they'll generate more shots, more offensive zone time and more chances than New York, but that won't be enough for them to win. The Rangers don't need the volume of shot attempts and opportunities that the Hurricanes do to score. If Carolina is going to make this a series, its top offensive guys are going to have to be very good and better than they have been against the Rangers.

The coach: The first-round numbers for both teams were pretty similar, they were both good on the power play (the Rangers were 6-for-16, 37.5 percent, against the Caps and the Hurricanes were 5-for-15, 33.3 percent, against the Islanders) but the Canes' penalty kill wasn't as good against the Islanders as it was in the regular season (Carolina was 8-for-11 on the PK, 72.7 percent). Discipline is going to be crucial in this series because both power plays can bite you if you start taking penalties, the Rangers probably more than Carolina.

I'd say both teams need to take a step up after the first round. If the Rangers play the same as they did five-on-five against Washington, Carolina will kill them. They could get away with things against the Caps, but that isn't happening here. Probably give the Rangers the edge in net and they have better skill guys, but the key for me is how does the Rangers D react to what Carolina does? Carolina will rim pucks in all day long, their D will pinch to keep plays alive and then they want to beat you down low. Carolina will make plays in the neutral zone if they're there but is happy to rim and chip pucks in and go to work. The Rangers have that 1-3-1 (neutral-zone system), but can it hold when Carolina's flying around?

The player: I'm curious to see how the teams hold up in the D zone. The Rangers have that five-on-a-dice style and it works for them. When you have to see Carolina in a seven-game series you'd think (the Hurricanes) could wear you down with the way they attack every spot on the forecheck. The Hurricanes have played that man-to-man on D for a long time and it's brought them a lot of success, but not over the hump — you can break them down at times because once they lose a guy, it can be a bit of a scramble. And the Rangers have some skilled players who could force the issue there.
The Rangers are going to need Adam Fox in Round 2. (Danny Wild / USA Today)
What will be the difference in the series?

The executive: If Adam Fox isn't 100 percent that could be a big spot for the Rangers because they'll need him — they always do, of course — to skate out of trouble and counter Carolina's aggression. But for me, the Canes were in a similar position two years ago and they couldn't put the Rangers away. Vincent Trocheck was on that Carolina team and now he's probably been the Rangers' best forward in the first round. The Rangers may not have the puck much, but I don't think it will matter. Rangers in six.

The coach: It's the special teams for me. The Rangers have the guys to neutralize Carolina's power play, starting with the guy in net (Shesterkin). Carolina obviously added (Jake) Guentzel, and its two best guys against the Islanders were (Seth) Jarvis and (Andrei) Svechnikov, but it's going to need (a) big series from the big guys, like (Sebastian) Aho. The Rangers' big guys can get to that higher level. Not sure Carolina's can. We went around our coaches' room before the playoffs started to pick a champion; I chose the Rangers. Can't change now.

The player: I think this is as much of a toss-up as you can get. Different styles, a lot of skill everywhere, they both do things well but kind of do them differently to get to the result. The Rangers defend well, I don't think they get enough credit for that, but I think it's going to come down to goaltending. Freddie's been great for (Carolina), but he hasn't exactly held up the last few playoffs, so he's got to not just be good, but stay healthy. I also wonder what a Carolina loss might do. This will be what, six straight years of making the second round without getting to a Final? This might be the last go for that core. Not sure if that helps them or puts too much pressure on (them). I honestly can't pick a winner.

While bad decisions have certainly been made, I think the Giants have been arguably one of the unluckiest teams in the league.

Consider:

2010-  In the third round, the Giants draft a promising safety and special teamer, Chad Jones.  He has an off-season auto accident and never fully recovers.  Plays some snaps but as a shadow of his former self.

2015-  Giants star edge rusher JPP mangles hand in fireworks accident.  Eventually returns, but isn't quite the player he had been

2020-  Giants first-round cornerback Deandre Baker arrested for armed robbery.   He is eventually found innocent, but not before the Giants cut him.

2014-  Promising first-round running back David Wilson found to have stenosis in his neck and has to retire from football before his rookie contract is even finished

2016-  a last-minute video pushes Laramy Tunsil off many draft boards.  This left the Giants scrambling and they ended up drafting Eli Apple

2015- Legal questions kept La'el Collins (solid O-line prospect) from being drafted in round one.  This pushes the Giants to take Ereck Flowers instead.  Worse, Collins ends up signing as a free agent with Dallas essentially giving the Cowboys a free extra first-round pick.

Consider some of the drafted players with healthy college careers but became injury messes in the NFL

Saquon Barkley
Evan Neal
Daniel Jones
Joshua Ezeudu
Azeez Ojulari
Evan Engram
Weston Richburg
Justin Pugh
Shane Lemieux
Aaron Robinson

Guys whose careers were cut short by injury

Hakeem Nicks
Terrell Thomas
Jay Bromley
Owamagbe Odighizuwa (mental illness)
Sterling Shepard
Victor Cruz
Jake Ballard

Even OBJ suffered a major injury.

Have I missed any other bad luck issues the Giants have had the last decade or so?

EDIT TO ADD:  McKinney's fluke hand injury in 2022

Quote from: Ed Vette on Today at 07:43:04 AMConspiracy Theories: The bastion of the weak minded. 

Its 3PM in Germany and I'm feeling a bit faint....maybe I need to get some sugar in me :-)

Anyway since the second shot I can't feel my feet- no joke there...

If they protect Jones and he has time in the pocket, he will put up top 10-12 QB stats. I'm more optimistic of the Running attack than most of you here although it may be a drop off from Barkley. Can they protect him? They brought in a decent crop of veteran Linemen.

The bottom line is that there will be injuries and that Oline Depth concerns me. And while Jones can win games healthy, he would be foolish as they would to incorporate running plays with him. Jones also folds against good teams and in big moments.

Round two starts tonight!

What kind of game are the Rangers going to throw at the Canes? Will rust from 12 days between games be a factor?

I'm ready to drop the puck now!

Peace!

Quote from: TDToomer on May 02, 2024, 10:53:33 AMThe Isles have about $6 million in cap space for next season with a few RFAs to extend. There will be no big splashes. We don't get a Panarin to fall into our laps like you guys. We need to develop talent but all the prospect rankings say we are near last in the league.

You finally have the right coach to develop your talent. You have the heart to play with the Rangers. You have something brewing.

Lest you forget the tides were turned over 40 years ago.

Peace!

Quote from: TONKA56 on May 03, 2024, 06:52:07 PMI've shared this before. Pretty great read. 

https://www.bigblueinteractive.com/2016/08/07/wilderness-years-new-york-giants-1964-1978/

When you scroll to the bottom, try to find these books and read them. I bought many of them years ago and they are insightful and give you a greater appreciation for those folks who made up the Giants in the past: even when it was going bad.

It's easy to cast the absolute whole as bad. But to do so is to throw the baby out with the bath water. So many good players and support staff who were stand-up soldiers during those times. That's why the Super Bowl XXI glory carried over onto them, for their efforts were not in vain.

Peace!

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on Today at 08:32:14 AMMy point was not that Saquon was a perfect player or the best running back in the league - simply that, when healthy, he has generally produced at a high level. 98.8 all-purpose yards per game over the course of his 74 game career, and that actually includes all the games where he was clearly playing at a less than healthy level, ie the entire 2021 season and parts of other seasons when he came back from injuries sooner than expected and took a handful of games to get back to his normal self.

Jones' career numbers are clearly not anywhere near the QB-equivalent level of production that Saquon's are. I think that is plain as day, frankly.

You know I secretly never thought we could sniff a SB with those two in the backfield

Barkley is gone and overpaid Danny is going. Schoen will ease him to the side door this coming off season

There is hope for the future

Schoen likely felt like me but had to placate his boss and bide his time getting rid of them....anyway that's a thought.  Im happy with that possible addition by subtraction