Big Blue Huddle

My goodness I did not expect this reaction.  Why are we bent out of shape that they reassigned 26?  Saquon Barkley is unlikely to ever go into the Giants' Ring of Honor with a limited tenure and injury-riddled seasons.  That's not a personal indictment of Barkley, it's simply the facts.  Even if he did, they don't retire all the Ring of Honor jersey numbers. 

I'm pretty sure the Giants reassigned #21 to Kenny Phillips a year after Tiki Barber retired and he did far more as a Giant than Barkley ever did.

Quote from: andrew_nyGiants on March 14, 2024, 03:53:44 PMWhose against bringing back Leo at a discount?

Trade down 2x from #6 collect picks and build this damn roster!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I don't know why we don't advocate trading down more often.  Especially if you're in a position to leverage multiple teams bidding against each other, trading down when you don't "like" the board is great.  If we could trade down a few spots and still get someone like a Brock Bowers, that's an absolute coup.  Adds a receiving threat, addresses a questionable position, and we pick up some extra draft capital.

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 14, 2024, 01:00:15 PMIt appears Andrew Brandt isn't optimistic that the NFL's investigation will be effective


https://x.com/AndrewBrandt/status/1768320904629489693?s=20

Funny that the NFL can find that Tom Brady was "generally more likely than not aware of a scheme to deflate footballs" but can't wrap their head around how to enforce free agency rules.  It does seem foolish on it's face that the teams can't talk to the player because it's almost completely unenforceable.

Football team calls agent...

Agent: Hello?
Team: Hi, we'd like to sign XYZ.
Agent:  Oh cool he's right here next to me, let me put him on the phone.

Quote from: TDToomer on March 14, 2024, 11:11:38 AMBy what you are describing it sounds like this plan moves the "colleges" further and further away from being a place of learning and more of a minor league pro system. So why still call the teams in this conference College Football?

Quote from: nb587 on March 13, 2024, 07:13:59 PMI think a few college football issues might affect the NFL and not just NIL.  With the big tv money going to the colleges, I think the NCAA will be lucky to be in existence in a few years. The big time colleges will create a super conference and I can see them not taking a back seat to the NFL on scheduling and other matters. They may want to be a feeder league to the pros; they may end up forcing the league to pay way more for the kids to go pro (as if the colleges are not pros now).  Also, there was a recent ruling that allows college athletes to unionize.  That will become a big deal

This might very well be what ends up happening, although I don't know how quickly.  The XFL does not have an age restriction.  How long until top high school talent, who can secure NIL deals AND get paid by the team start opting to "go pro" directly out of high school?  If you aren't inclined to higher education, or see that as an impediment to your ability to focus exclusively on football, or "need cash now" - there are now outlets that can pay and potentially pay big.  And while I'm sure the NFL would lose it's mind over losing it's "free farm system" that it currently has, I imagine they'd have to adapt quickly.  They would also be permitted to view how 18-22 year olds fare against NFL cast-offs, hangers-on or never-has-beens like the XFL currently has.  The point is, the intrinsic value of college athletics has been destroyed by NIL.  What happens next is anyones guess. 

The "super conferenece" stuff is already happening.  The SEC and Big 10 have thrown their weight around and the 14 team CFP will automatically hold at LEAST 6 teams from those two conferences, if not 8.  They also will take home 65% of the revenue from the CFP.  Feels like only a matter of time before they essentially form an AFC/NFC conference style format and college football will really be about .... 32 teams.

You guys should really go read what Nick Saban said.  Because he has said he's not adverse to players making money or being part of some revenue sharing agreement.  Nick Saban has always said his goal with "The Process" was to develop players & people to be better.  Players are no longer interested in development, or if they are, it's taking a back seat to money. 
---
Saban told a story about a recruiting breakfast hosted at his home that ended with his wife, Terry, questioning why they were still doing this.

"She said, 'All they care about is how much you're gonna pay them, they don't care about how much you're gonna develop them, which is what we've always done, so why are we doing this?'" Saban explained.

"If we had some sort of revenue sharing proposition that did not make student-athletes employees ... I think that may be the long-term solution," Saban said. "You could create a better quality of life for student-athletes, you could still emphasize development, you can still create brand and athletic development with a system like that and it would be equal in all institutions. You couldn't raise more money at one school to create a competitive advantage at another."
---

It's not unfathomable that talented 18 year olds or eligible transfer students want to make money.  It's that they're potentially trading their development as a player for the "here and now" cash they can get. It's definitely to the detriment of "team sport" but it's totally within reason of capitalism and free market.  There will definitely be a drop off in the polish that players entering the NFL have, because there's high potential that they followed the money rather than putting themselves in a program (like Alabama) where they are developed into quality players, but potentially have to wait 2-3 years before seeing the field.

As for the NFL - it won't impact the NFL in the slightest.  It was already a free market here for the past 30 years.  It just means the quality of player entering the NFL is lower.

Quote from: PSUBeirut on March 13, 2024, 09:55:48 AMI agree with the concept and I'm glad we're moving this way....but I do think the "RB by committee" idea is more myth than reality across the NFL.  I looked at this a bit last year and was surprised to find that the vast majority of successful teams have a clear lead back that dominates the touches (Pacheco, McCaffrey, Mixon, Pollard, Swift, Cook, Etienne, etc.).  And other teams likely would have done the same if not for injury (JK Dobbins comes to mind).  I think if you were to dig into the stats you'd find the same.

Pacheco - 14.6 carries per game
CMC - 17 carries per game
Mixon - 15.1 carries per game
Pollard - 14.8 carries per game
Swift - 14.3 carries per game
Ettiene - 15.7 carries per game

Devin Singletary - 12.7 carries per game (only 10 starts)

Fair point but I think "lead back" or "workhorse" implies way more than 15 carries a game.  Simple reality is that in today's NFL, unlike 20 years ago, your featured back is gonna average between 12-15 carries per game.

If we want to get into semantics, Burns was not a free agent.  When it comes to compensatory picks, trades aren't included.

Quote from: EliWasrobbed on March 12, 2024, 08:29:11 AMThe moves yesterday guarantee we are taking a QB in the draft. For that (as long as it isn't overrated JJ) I am happy.

The Burns move saved what was shaping up to be disastrous first day

No, they don't.  It certainly wouldn't be a surprise, but I would be equally not as surprised if they don't pick a quarterback.  Hate Jones all you want, and with good reason, but nothing that transpired yesterday predicates a drafting of a quarterback, at least not in the first round.  Schoen did already say that backup would need to be addressed and Taylor moving on yesterday does solidify the backup need.

Quote from: EliWasrobbed on March 11, 2024, 05:01:52 PMin what universe did saquon not want to come back?

I've had patience for years. Schoen has shown he is absolutely clueless on every single thing he's done other than Kayvon. Joke of a GM.

"They did it last year, so I'm numb to it," the running back said when asked about the franchise tag. "I don't have any feelings toward that at all.  If you're gonna do it, just don't wait until March 5," Barkley said. "Just get it over with. If not, let me go. Simple."

That's not a ringing endorsement from Barkley that he wanted to be back.  The Giants offered him a multi-year deal last off-season that he turned down.  It's clear that Schoen and Barkley's representation were not close on a contract that represented the value Schoen believed Barkley brought with what Barkley's representation thought he deserved.  That's just a business decision and while losing a great player stings, it's a part of football. 

Quote from: EliWasrobbed on March 11, 2024, 04:32:22 PMWhy are you supporting an awful GM who has already let 2 franchise players walk for nothing?

Nobody walks for nothing.  They go into the algorithm that's used to define compensatory picks next year.  Both players expressed displeasure with the Giants and it's pretty evident they didn't want to come back.  We want players, not prisoners.  As much as it hurts to lose them, I applaud a GM who assigns value to players and doesn't deviate from the strategy and over-pay, especially at positions like running-back and safety where there is typically deep value in the draft. 

So far he's making some relatively low cost signings which I think is great.  This team is not one player or two or even three from competing for a championship.  I'd rather construct through the draft, over time, than keep making expensive swings for the fence.  I don't anticipate the Giants being a contender next year, and that's okay.  The Giants made a mistake last off-season by signing Jones to the extension they did and giving Barkley franchise money.  It's gonna take a season to undo that.  It might even take 2 if they're not thrilled with the quarterbacks available at #6 and decide to revisit in 2025.  Show some patience. 

It's pretty obvious that the Giants are finally following the modern blue print for building a team by not over-paying for a running back.  The departure of Barkley needed addressing, and the Giants did it with low-cost signing.  At 5m+ a year (and unlikely to see all 3 years), the Giants secured a veteran who can continue to show the youngsters the ropes while not breaking the bank. 

Devin Singletary will not be Saquon Barkley, but most people won't get the intent and will only think Schoen signed a middling running back while puking over the loss of Barkley. 

Why don't you let the offseason actually conclude before throwing a temper tantrum?

It would be really interesting to see deals reported as % of the cap instead of aggregate numbers.  While everyone seems to know that the guaranteed money is really the only number that matters, I doubt this is misaligned with a percentage of the cap, especially given that the cap just went up an excessive amount.  Does it reset the market in terms of dollars?  Yes, but every year every top free agent or signing does.  If it doesn't move the needle on the percentage of the cap, then we're not really "resetting" anything.

Anyone remember that guy who flooded the board with posts about the magnificence of John Jerry and how he was the best guard in the league?  I'm beginning to get that feeling again with some of this....

The Giants could very well draft a quarterback this year.  They could also choose to roll with Jones again.  I won't presume to know because I'm not Joe Schoen.  The presumption and insistence illustrated lately here that we have to take a quarterback is beyond tiresome.  We could literally be talking about the opening of free agency but instead we'd rather continue to argue about whether or not Daniel Jones is the future at QB, despite the fact that we really have no say in the matter.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on March 08, 2024, 04:42:42 PMWhy has he not been able to do the same thing with Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe?

I imagine it had something to do with Matt Cassel throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker while Mac Jones is throwing to some cast-offs and nobodys.

I'd also imagine that Matt Cassel having the benefit of sitting the bench and learning the game for 3 seasons behind the best coach/qb combo ever before actually seeing action might have something to do with that as well.