Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: Ed Vette on Today at 04:22:34 PMTwo hours of my life I'll never get back.

That bad? I was planning on maybe giving it a shot.

Quote from: AZGiantFan on Today at 04:13:36 PMWasn't it Marcus Golden?

That's a great guess, and I think you're right. I forgot about him. I was thinking Vernon, and I just checked and he never did it with the Giants.

Think it's Golden. Nice one.

Without looking, can anyone name our last one before Thibodeaux last season?

Nothing wrong with believing in oneself.

Quote from: AZGiantFan on Today at 02:04:42 PMIt should have died after everyone had a good laugh but somehow the troll kept getting fed.

And continues to...

The Rangers are better than Edmonton. Shame they couldn't find a way through.

I just want to be clear, because I'm not sure everyone here understands the thrust of my OP given some of the posts I'm reading.

"Going to be more fun to watch (than last year)" does not mean "going to win." To be clear, I think the Giants will likely be a losing team again this year. And I appreciate that watching your team have a losing season is not fun. I never meant to imply that.

My belief is simply that they'll be more entertaining this year than last year, when they were pretty miserable to watch, even in the small handful of games they won. It was all dink and dunk and just miserably boring and largely ineffective offense with minimal teeth on defense.

I still think the team has major issues (or at best question marks) at QB, on the O line, in the secondary, in the RB room, with proven wide receiver and tight end talent, with their ability to stay healthy, and just with depth in general up and down the roster. It's very likely the team will be below .500, and it's possible we could be picking in the top five again.

At least they have some young players with legit talent though, some of whom could be dazzling at tims to watch. That is all I was saying. I don't really think we had that last year.

Quote from: Messiah717 on Today at 06:08:08 AMPanarin became Mr. East/West as usual in the playoffs which was opposite of his entire season.  Why? Because he doesn't want to get tough and play playoff hockey.

Mika has no toughness whatsoever and will never be a playoff guy.  It was laughable watching how dreadful he was.

Kreider for all his numbers did his usual disappearing act when things got tough.

All together those three had two goals combined in the series if you count Panarin's useless goal.  You will never win with garbage like that.

Mika is stuck on the books for a long time.

Panarin we have for two more years. With his points total last year and near-MVP discussion season, I wonder if he is tradable for some picks/prospects. The Rangers need to get younger, bigger, and more physical.

Kreider we have for another three seasons but at $5mm per from here out I wouldn't say he's outrageously overpriced.

Trouba another two years.

Team needs a major shakeup but you're not likely to get it.

Not quite my thing.


Strands #91
"Nailed it!"
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Connections
Puzzle #357
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Quote from: kartanoman on Today at 01:46:16 AMWow, disappointment I get here, but the venom? Harsh, folks.

Two ECFs in three years, both losses to teams who were bad matchups to begin with. It was clear this Florida team out-hustled them, out-physicaled them, could pass the puck with great precision and were always in position. In contrast, the Rangers couldn't overcome their pressure and turned the puck over at the worst of times which led to Florida goals. Yet, despite all that, this crappy, piece of garbage group of overpaid, no trade clause losers, lost by one goal margins, less game one which was a one goal game until the end. The result two years ago was comparable, so it should be clear where the gaps are, as files58 has listed, but it will come at a cost for the future, which they seem steadfast on holding on to.

So, a very good season, otherwise, comes to an end. Is Drury going to make the moves to make a serious run for the Cup next year, or does Drury have to go and someone else with the hunger to go for it need to step in and do what needs to be done? Would that work in Laviolette's system or would that upend all he has accomplished this season?

Lots of unanswered questions and unknowns heading into the off-season. But after the frustration of this one settles, I think it was a heck of a ride and one of the most enjoyable seasons I've followed in all the years I've supported them. I'd rather look at it that way versus the one Cup in 84 years, which is a bit too perverse for me.

Peace.

It was a very good season overall but an ultimately unsatisfying one.

The biggest issue for me is we're stuck with these players who seem good in the regular season but who never step up in the playoffs. Panarin is the poster boy of that, and by the way this dates back to his days in Columbus and Chicago.

Mika and Kreider (despite Kreider's huge third period in game 6 of the 2nd round series) are not far behind.

Laffy did take a big step forward this year but Kakko is a confirmed bust relative to what people thought he'd be coming in. He's worthy of a bottom six spot but he's not a needle mover.

Our defensemen leave a lot to be desired. Miller is a total liability and Trouba is overpaid. Fox is fine but I'm getting tired of hearing he is "clearly playing hurt." This isn't the first year I've heard this with him. Maybe he just is what he is?

We have a great goalie, and those don't grow on trees. And unlike many of his teammates he actually shows up in the playoffs. So we'll continue to be competitive. But it's beyond clear now that no matter how good he is in the regular season Panarin just isn't a factor in the playoffs. And Zibanejad isn't much better.

It's getting tiresome with these vets. They've been on the team for a long time now.

Lost to a better team. Simple as that.

Quote from: brownelvis54 on June 01, 2024, 03:03:31 PMMe too. It was a secret release.
you can watch it in English or stick with Japanese with subtitles.

I know many film aficionados strongly prefer subtitles and scoff at watching foreign films with English dubbed in, but I will confess I prefer the latter.

Quote from: Stringer Bell on June 01, 2024, 07:18:33 PMSigh. He's not ready to give up that paycheck. Mentally, he's not in it. In his heart, he's not in it. He'll play half the season and will be a total non-factor.

Yup. Same thing happened with Solder.

Even though it doesn't suit us, it's hard to blame these guys for not being willing to pass up that kind of money.

Quote from: madbadger on June 01, 2024, 07:00:49 PMWhich would you prefer to have a game with zero sacks but ten pressures that completely wreck the play, or a game with two sack and four pressures? I know which one I prefer. Pressures also lead to interceptions which are awesome too.

Definitely the former, and it's not a difficult choice since you qualified it with the description "that completely wreck the play." Obviously not all pressures wreck plays, so that's an important part your hypothetical.

If you just said 10 pressures but did not specify what would happen, I'd still go with the pressures, but it would be a somewhat closer call.

As a separate but related thought, I wonder what the league-wide numbers are on INTs thrown per pressure and fumbles lost per sack. I have no idea myself, but I'm curious.