Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: BluesCruz on May 11, 2024, 07:28:14 PMTommy DeVito is the best Giants QB in my opinion

He has the right mindset and can make all the throws....also a good pocket presence

The other two will fail miserably I'm afraid before Tommy gets another shot

Meanwhile he's getting a lot of practice with the scout team

DeVito has his work cut out for him this summer and fall. He's clearly not making the 53 short of at least one of Jones/Lock being medically unable to play, and it's unclear if he'll even be on the practice squad now after this pickup of this ex Pats' QB. It's possible one of either Tommy or the Pats guy could get claimed after not making the 53, but I think that's pretty unlikely. One of them will probably end up getting his walking papers.

Quote from: Gmo11 on May 11, 2024, 05:33:21 PMI would agree with that. But I'd add that Neal was a no brainer pick that any GM in the league (save Gettleman) would have taken in that spot and if he had turned out to be even serviceable that changes things in my opinion. If Neal was good the team would be much better off overall, although they'd still have a QB problem I suppose.

They could have taken Ekwonu 5th overall but they prioritized Thibodeaux. There was an active debate as to who was better between Neal and Ekwonu. So far Ekwonu has been the materially better player (mainly due to Neal being so awful).

But even despite the Neal conundrum, Schoen has done a very poor job overall dealing with the O line mess since taking over prior to this offseason. Every free agent he has brought in has been brutal and every draft pick, so far at least, has either looked awful, gotten hurt quickly, or both. The O line coach left a lot to be desired until this offseason as well, and while that may have been Daboll's hire, Daboll is Schoen's hire so ultimately Schoen is responsible.

By the way, I've been a pretty steady Schoen supporter and still am, but I'm not going to gloss over areas where I don't think he has done a good job to this point. Let's hope the decisions made in this most recent offseason lead to better O line play in 2024 and beyond.

Is it better? I would say yes. O line is better, D is better, we have a star receiver, and our special teams are better.

Is it as improved as it should be after three offseasons since Schoen's hiring? I would have to say no.

Quote from: AZGiantFan on May 11, 2024, 03:12:06 PMHe didn't do the evaluations, pff did.  He did the math.

I'm aware of that. I was just curious who he is. I wasn't challenging the content.

Quote from: Philosophers on May 11, 2024, 02:50:15 PMFlott is rail thin.  Good for DeVonta Smith but not big WR

Flott's 4.52 40 time is also a bit on the slow side by CB standards.

Quote from: Philosophers on May 11, 2024, 11:10:58 AMSo true Dave.  Nova 3 and Ono.

For Brunson to struggle yet team be so competitive in a game speaks volumes abiut the team.

Here's my question now.  Are they really better with Randle?  I am not sure.

I'm not sure either Phil. As I said above, with Randle you get sometimes great play, but you pay a very big overall price for it. He's often very unreliable handling the ball and can be very poor with shot selection. When you net it all out I'm not sure if he's a net value-add, especially factoring in price. We know that other teams aren't interested in taking on his contract, so that tells you something right there. I'd also add that the Knicks were without him for a long time this year and seemed to do just fine.

Quote from: Messiah717 on May 11, 2024, 10:36:14 AMOG is a tough break with how well him and the team were playing.  They can still beat Indiana but a depleted team will get horse whipped in the Conference Finals.  Good things are happening though.  Unfortunately, the injuries bit them this year.  With Randle and OG that's a team that can be in the conversation of getting to the Finals. 

I'm with you across the board.

If I'm Rose, I'm looking at ways to move on from Randle and Mitch after this season. Mitch is additive when healthy, but he has multi-month absences, and then the moment he comes back he's clutching his ankle and grimacing the first time he lands on it, and the cycle starts again. I just don't see how they can keep doing this. Plus Hartenstein is going to command a lot more money moving forward, and I don't want to lose him.

With Randle it's a combination of erratic and often sloppy play, injuries, and a sometimes toxic attitude. I understand that when he's on, he can be dominant, but you pay a big price for all of that (on top of the financial price, which is also very big).

The heart of this team is the Nova-3 and OG now, IMO, with nice contributions from a few other guys like Deuce and Hartenstein. They definitely need one more player after that, but they have the assets to make a move when the opportunity is right.

Just out of interest, who is Ian Hartitz and what NFL-relevant professional experience or credentials does he have? His X handle says he's "president of the Cordarelle Patterson Fan Club" (which I assume is a joke) and that he does a fantasy football podcast. Does he have any actual experience that separates him from just any other fan who spends some of his spare time looking at NFL stuff? If the former applies, I'll probably start following him on X.

Tough loss last night, but I thought it was a great effort. A lot of people out there thought the Knicks would get blown out last night, possibly resting players and saving themselves for game four.

Instead, they were not only in the game late, but they were leading fairly late in the game, and they managed this without OG plus all their other injuries. Basically, the Nova three led the team again, and it feels like as long as these three games are playing you always have a shot.

To be fair, I am worried about OG, because I think they may still need him to win this series, and if they were to advance, they will certainly need him to have any sort of shot of even being competitive against the Celtics (assuming the Celtics advance). I worry about OG because hamstrings are usually not a "day to day" thing, as the Knicks are publicly characterizing this injury. They tend to take a while to heal, so I worry he could be done. I hope that's not the case.

All in all though, a good effort last night despite the final result. This team has a ton of heart and grit. Hopefully they can get it done tomorrow.

Connections
Puzzle #335
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Strands #69
"It's a date!"
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Strands #68
"Like a rocket"
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Connections
Puzzle #334
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Huge!!

When Panarin took a penalty to break up a Ranger power play and turn it into 4 on 4, I texted a friend with the comment "first time I've heard Panarin's name tonight." It was as if he saw that text, resented it, and wanted to show me up. And show me up he most certainly did. What a sensational play by him to set up the Laffy goal and then obviously to also get it done in OT. Great stuff!

I want this wrapped up on Saturday so badly. Back to back sweeps would be immense. If they win in five I'm obviously fine with that but I really think they should be looking to end this this weekend. The Canes have to be totally deflated at this point.

Has anyone watched "Baby Reindeer" on Netflix?

Very creepy and disturbing, but also very good. It's also unclear how much of it is actually true (nobody seems to know for sure other than perhaps the real people involved). Very mysterious, unsettling, disturbing series.

I highly recommend it if those kinds of shows are your kind of thing. If you can't handle some off-putting scenes, stay far, far away.