Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: MightyGiants on Today at 09:39:10 AMJeff,

It's not like the 2023 disaster of an offense was all on Daniel Jones.  Hell, Jones didn't even play in the majority of games.  So your quote about "the defense" only highlights this author's obsession with Daniel Jones, as there is plenty to be concerned about on the offensive side of the ball, namely the offensive line.

Edit to add-  The Giants got to round 2 of the playoffs with Daniel Jones, so the whole commentary seems disingenuous and only an indication of the Jones hatred that is so pervasive

Fair enough. He could have just highlighted the offense instead of naming a player. I suspect the reason he named Jones is that the QB is the single most important player in the offense, and Jones is coming off an injury that has been known to take two seasons to fully recover from. To me, that is not necessarily indicative of "hate", but I understand your point.

I always do Conections first, because I like it more, and then when I get to this one I just only have so much patience haha.

Strands #70
"Picture perfect"
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Connections
Puzzle #336
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Interestingly, we're actually a slight underdog at home tomorrow night.

Right now I am not worried. If we don't win tomorrow night I will be somewhat.

Quote from: MightyGiants on Today at 09:25:06 AMIf this was an article about Daniel Jones or the Giants, offense, then yes.  Otherwise, this question seems to create a false framing as it ignores the point that this was an article about Burns and his impact on the Giants.

I guess the point is that if the title of the article is "who will have the biggest impact." "Biggest impact" in this context presumably means biggest impact on wins and losses. The author seems to be saying that Burns could end up playing really well, but his ultimate impact on the Giants' record could be capped by the uncertainty around the offense, led by Daniel Jones who is coming off a bad season that ended early with a serious injury that could affect his performance in 2024.

I think if this article were written about a QB coming to a team with a bad defense, it wouldn't be unreasonable to write something like "this QB, while very good, may have a tough time leading his team to more wins this year given the uncertainty around the team's defense, which struggled materially in 2023."

"Hate" just seems like a strong word in this context.

Quote from: Gmo11 on May 11, 2024, 11:37:36 PMBut that's the thing. He played it exactly right because he wanted an OL and Thibs. I imagine their grades on both OL were basically the same. But Thibs was the best pass rusher they were going to find. So he got both. Nobody not a single solitary soul questioned that pick on draft day because it made all the sense in the world. We were told Neal was the most pro ready OL in the draft. He clearly was and is not but at the time the pick was a no brainer. And if it goes the other way and suddenly the Giants have bookend tackles for the next decade that makes the whole thing look a lot better.

We were told that, yes, by pundits and draftnik types. None of us actually scouted the guy. And by scouting I mean actually going to visits, workouts, interviews, watching Alabama games standing on the sideline, reviewing high school tape, talking to his coaches, talking to opposing coaches, etc. We didn't do the work. The Giants did. The Giants decided they wanted to prioritize Thibodeaux over having the first O line pick in that draft. Would they have taken Ekwonu over Neal? We'll never know that. But their course of action is still their responsibility.

Also what about all his other O line decisions? Why does it just come down to Neal? He could have still done a lot better with the O line than he has, even with the bust Neal pick.

Is it not fair to say that there is uncertainty around Jones this year due to his health? Look at how Barkley played one year removed from his ACL injury, and Barkley got hurt much earlier in the 2020 season than Jones did last year. When I read the bold, I took it more as being focused on that point than I did overt "hate."

Jones played poorly last year, and then he got hurt in a way that can often impact a player noticeably a year later. Both of those are facts. I don't see why saying there is uncertainty around him is deliberately hateful or even a little bit unfair, personally.

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.