Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: Uncle Mickey on April 29, 2024, 04:28:38 PMWas Wink an increasing cancer last year? That was a very strange dynamic to say the least and the defense did not seem like it had a really sound plan many games.

I think so, but more in the front office and coaching staff then the players. There was a cancer in the Eagles' last year, who started out the season 10-1, followed up by 1-6 to finish the season. That doesn't happen because of a talent void. So the front office made a lot of coaching changes. All was not well in the Eagles' camp last year

Disharmony and unhealthy relationships, whether between players or coaches/staff...it destroys moral, and takes its toll on a team. You have to believe in the system and live for it...from top to bottom. It's why you check character and locker room atmosphere and cut bait with certain individuals before things get worse

IMHO, it's going to come out like this

Eagles
Giants
Cowboys
Commanders

Eagles: about the same as last year...maybe some improvement, but nothing radical. Still not Super Bowl ready, but the team to beat in the division

Giants: improving with dynamic offensive players and solidified defense, but still young. Heading in the right direction with speed and depth...a year or two away from being highly feared

Cowboys: going in the wrong direction after losing key players and saddled with very expensive Dak, and a patchwork OL with aging vets and error-prone rookies. Taking Zeke back tells you just how desperate they are on the offensive side. They could end up last in the division if Commanders are quick studies

Commanders: in a couple of years, they might very well be the team to beat in the NFC East. They are going to have a lot of up 'n coming rookies that make mistakes this year, as well as breaking in a new QB. But they are heading in the right direction, and they aren't going to be bottom feeders in a year or two

Just my opinion. Anyone see it differently?

Quote from: LennG on April 29, 2024, 12:26:46 PMA few more of those 'truisms'

We live in a time when intelligent people are silenced so that stupid people won't be offended.

That is so true, yet hardly a joke or something to laugh at...it's more like a crying shame 

I'm the village homer and believe we are headed in the right direction. I have a lot more faith in DJ than half the fans who believe he's garbage...I believe he will excel if given protection and decent receivers. I will believe that until he proves otherwise, and I refuse to get on the "dump DJ wagon"

I've said it before, but I think it's worth bringing up again

The biggest changes this year are

1) a lot of coaching changes, in which the new coaches are younger than Daboll and hungry. New DC, New STC, New OLC, new Director of Strength and Conditioning...all with good pedigrees. The problem with older coaches with a ton of experience, is they have a hard time taking orders from a HC that is younger and greener than them. I think that's what happened with Wink. That problem "should" go away - this will be "Daboll's Team" now

2) Like last year's acquisition of Okereke, this year it's Brian Burns. Mixing in a stud with the youngsters. We will be better at forcing the QB to get rid of the ball faster, or he'll have grass stains on the back of his jersey, or have to pick mud out of his face mask. Burns is going to be fun to watch and will probably help Thibs on the other side of the line

3) We're young and getting experience under the rookies' belts, and that's imperative. We've added speed and tenacity all over the defensive backfield, and added a ball hawk in Nubin. We have a significantly upgraded receiver room and some interesting young RBs with fresh legs

4) We won't be so predictable as we are no longer a "Barkley-centric" offense. I love Barkley, but every team we faced had a defensive strategy of stopping Barkley first and foremost. Now they'll have to scheme the entire field when facing us

5) Fingers crossed that we will finally have a season in which we don't lead the league in injuries. Hopefully, Frank Piraino (our new S&C coach) will make a dramatic difference

When Schoen took over, we were a mess. A smithering of NFL quality players mixed in with a lot of mediocre and less-than-mediocre players, and a bench made up of "Street Signings" and other teams' castoffs...no depth at all. We are moving in the right direction, but we have to have patience...which is something fans have little of

The fact that NE didn't bother to re-sign him, nor did they draft a RB, pretty much tells me that Zeke is on his last legs in the NFL. If he showed anything last year that excited the Patriots, he'd still be a Patriot

Dallas is heading towards the bottom of the division. They have not improved anywhere, while losing some good talent...and of course, they are led by a choke artist in Dak. I hope we beat them like a rented mule this coming season

Nice overview. You left out a couple of players I think could still step up and be a factor: Isaiah Simmons, and Trey Hawkins III. I'm not ready to kiss them off. Also, I think the OL will be better under a good OL coach and the two new players. I also think the only reason we signed TEs Jack Stoll and Chris Manhertz, was to use them as a sixth lineman as they are premier blockers, both in pass protection and run blocking

It will be interesting to see how Bricillo works his magic on the line. Regardless, nice writeup and good read

I'm lost for words...Knicks have so much heart       
Could this be the year there are actually two ticker tape parades on Broadway? 

I think it's a possibility...wouldn't that be a hoot? 

I think the biggest thing that defenses will have to face now, is that they can no longer design their entire game strategy around stopping Barkley. We're in the process of making the Giants an all out air game...which coincidentally should improve our run game...fingers crossed

Quote from: Uncle Mickey on April 28, 2024, 02:50:28 PMI see a ton of negativity here. Giants have this uncanny tendency to do really well when the expectations are low. A lot has to fall right but I am not going into next season without at least some hope either.

I don't think people are being negative, but rather being tentative with their expectations. We knew that the entire team had to be rebuilt when Schoen was hired and that it would be a 3-year process, but we got a little ahead of ourselves with a stellar first season with Daboll at the helm. Then reality slapped us across the face and that's where we are now. I think the general tone is positive, but we're trying not to get ahead of ourselves. You can never question the passion Giants' fans have for this team, but no matter how much they love the team, they aren't blind to reality

Quote from: AZGiantFan on April 28, 2024, 01:17:05 PMYes and no.  One of the benefits of building through the draft is the fact that you can get quality players on very cost controlled contract.  I couldn't find a full list showing the rookie slotting for the #39 pick the Giants traded for him, but #32 gets around $12 million.  Burns signed for $141 million with $76 million.  So you really can't look at him as in any way comparable to a 2nd round drafted player.

I respectfully disagree. I see it as managing draft capital to maximize overall value to the team. There was no one in this draft that is in the same league with Burns. Maybe one of players in the draft will become a pro-bowl edge rusher, but there is no guarantee of that. Burns is guaranteed, young, and with his best years ahead of him

I'm cautiously optimistic that we can win 7–8 games, but instead of fretting whether we're a good team or not, I'm going to be more interested in watching the growth of last year's rookies (JMS, Hyatt, Gray, Hawkins III), and watching closely to see if bringing in Bricillo and a couple of veterans on the o-line will improve things (hopefully, a lot)...our new defensive scheme with a new coach...and of course, the newbies getting their first taste of NFL play and how they play, especially Nabers

I like that Schoen seems to have settled into building the team stick-by-stick. I think the worst thing that happened was a great first season with a low-talented team, that might have caused Schoen to think we're "almost there" and only required some tweaking. Season two was an in-yer-face reality check, an old-fashioned, "fist to the nose" wake-up call...especially out of the gate where the Cowboys utterly humiliated us because we didn't take offseason workouts seriously enough and came completely unprepared in game one. Stings just to talk about it   

So three things:

1) Schoen is forgetting about "win now", and building a foundation for the future instead of thinking we could make it to the playoffs with a few tweaks - that's a positive IMO

2) Daboll will NOT let this team have an easy offseason workout this summer and will come to game one ready to actually play like NFL players. I believe no one was more humiliated than Dabes in that Cowboy game

3) the addition of a stud ER across from Thibs will be exciting to watch and could have more of an impact on the defense than anything else

So I've got lower expectations, yet excited to see growth in players and overall play this season. If we only win 4 or 5 games, but they are close and we played well, I will be satisfied because I know we're still in building mode. We're not the Chiefs yet

I find Casey Rogers quite intriguing. He has some game to him and rates very high in his RAS score. That score shows he needs to add about 10 lbs of muscle I guess. Put horns on each side of a helmet and a fat sword in his hands, and he'd look like a feared Viking warrior. I will be watching this guy closely to see if he can make the team and be of use to us. His athletic scores are comparable to Braden Fiske's (although Rogers wasn't invited to the combine) and would have been second fastest of all DTs. He also plays on special teams, and I've included a clip of him on a trick play where he turned a 4th and punt into a 1st down (he's no. 98)

Interesting gossip in the news...made me laugh

From the Yardbarker

Minnesota Vikings tried trading up in 2024 NFL Draft for... Malik Nabers?

According to Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk), the Vikings tried to make a move that would have shaken up the entire first round and had our brains malfunctioning almost to the degree of what they are dealing with today in Atlanta. Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was reportedly trying to get to No. 5, where the LA Chargers were sitting.

During a live hit last night for ProFootballTalk, Florio said a source he trusts says the Vikings had serious discussions with Jim Harbaugh & Co, not to get a QB, but to try and snag LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.

    "I've got a little something more to tell you, here. Something I've picked up, because I've got tentacles everywhere. I've got connections. I'm hearing things, and you know what I heard, and I'm surprised by this, but I trust my source. At No. 5, the Chargers, when they took Joe Alt, they passed on an opportunity to trade out of that spot. The team that wanted to move up to that spot, I'm told... the Minnesota Vikings. And not to take JJ McCarthy. The Vikings, I'm told, were trying to move up to No. 5 to get Malik Nabers." Mike Florio – ProFootballTalk

From there, Florio goes on to question what the Vikings' interest in Malik Nabers meant for Justin Jefferson. Could Minnesota really be concerned they might lose him or be forced to trade him this offseason (or next) should they not be able to reach a contract agreement.

Now, it's important to know that this ProFootballTalk report came after the New York Giants selected Malik Nabers with the No. 6 overall pick and after the Chargers had already drafted 'one of us' Joe Alt at pick 5. But it was before the Minnesota Vikings had traded up to No. 10 to take JJ McCarthy. Here's the rest of the transcript from the Florio clip above.

    "What does that tell you about the Vikings and Justin Jefferson? The Vikings tried to get to No. 5, apparently not to get McCarthy, but to get Malik Nabers. What an offense that would've been. They still would've needed a quarterback, they may get that quarterback in a few picks." Mike Florio – ProFootballTalk

What in the Mike Florio world is going on here... Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

We now know that the Vikings were able to land JJ McCarthy at No. 10. So, if we assume that Florio's source was correct, one has to wonder if Kwesi and O'Connell were really trying to stack the Minnesota receiving core to a level we haven't seen since Randy Moss, Cris Carter and Jake Reed all suited up in purple and gold.

Or... was the Vikings' call up to No. 5 a smokescreen of some sort? We know the Giants spent more time with JJ McCarthy than any other team in the draft and many thought he would be the pick at No. 6, if he was still available.

Instead, it was New York who passed on JJ and opted for Nabers at No. 6. We may never know the answer to these questions, or if this call up ever really happened. But Nonetheless, it is a 'what in the...' type of report that Mike Florio has become famous for.

The grades are all over the place, basically from A- to C+, depending on which of the dozens of sites one takes to heart. In the grand scheme of things, grades don't mean a damn thing. We all know that you can't grade a draft until a couple of years down the road, but that's neither here nor there. It also does not take into consideration how the pieces chosen fit neatly into the puzzle of what the team is trying to put together

The bottom line is this, each team is awarded a certain amount of draft capital, that varies depending on a won/loss record or "horse trading". If I may use an allegory here, it's like 32 people are given a different amount of money and told to go into a store and spend it however they see fit (the person with the most money getting first dibs on an item), and then when the money is all spent, evaluate who comes out with the most value for their money

Schoen made a point yesterday in his post draft meeting with reporters that I have said to myself repeatedly throught the last 3 days of the draft. His words almost went (or did go) completely unnoticed, but he said quietly offhand, "don't forget we used a 2nd round pick on Burns"...BINGO

The 2024 Giants' draft should look like this, and THIS IS HOW OUR DRAFT SHOULD BE GRADED:

RD 1 WR Malik Nabers
RD 2 ER Brian Burns
RD 2 S Tyler Nubin
RD 3 CB Dru Phillips
RD 4 TE Theo Johnson
RD 5 RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.
RD 6 LB Darius Muasau

Brian Burns is only 25 yrs old and already has been to two Pro-Bowls at the NFL level. This MUST be taken into consideration when grading this year's draft class!!!