Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: Ed Vette on Today at 09:28:18 AMIf they protect Jones and he has time in the pocket, he will put up top 10-12 QB stats. I'm more optimistic of the Running attack than most of you here although it may be a drop off from Barkley. Can they protect him? They brought in a decent crop of veteran Linemen.

The bottom line is that there will be injuries and that Oline Depth concerns me. And while Jones can win games healthy, he would be foolish as they would to incorporate running plays with him. Jones also folds against good teams and in big moments.

I agree the running game will be better with a rotation of backs that run forwards.

Deandre Baker isn't even in the NFL. It was just a bad pick. Through and through. He's currently playing in the UFL after getting waived by the Chiefs (who seem to like NYG castoffs). Noted as being "lazy" in his preparation at Georgia (and cruised by on pure skill).

JPP/Chad Jones - yeah, Ed pointed out the issues with "bad luck" and the like. They were reckless/careless.

Evan Engram magically became healthy after leaving the Giants.

Owa Odighizuwa - he came out of college of with hip issues. That's part of the reason he dropped.

Tunsil/Collins - there's no telling if the Giants would've drafted either. I know that Coughlin LOVED Flowers.

All in all - the Giants did get a rough break with injuries in terms of severity (see Cruz, Terrell Thomas). However, the NFL is a violent and vicious game. Injuries are an unfortunate result.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on Today at 09:01:39 AMI agree that Taylor is better than Lock, but I have to hope that our QB play is better than last year unless we think Jones' 2023 level of play is his norm, which I don't. I'd like to believe 2024 Jones will not only be better than 2023 Jones but will also be better than 2023 Tyrod Taylor and 2023 Tommy DeVito. That's an unbelievably low bar for a $40mm a year 6th year veteran starting QB

I hope you're right but I've given him the benefit of the doubt for five years and every year he's fallen short. At this point he's like a beaten dog who cowers at every loud sound. Getting him the best chew toy ever made isn't going to change that.

Quote from: kartanoman on Today at 09:26:24 AMRound two starts tonight!

What kind of game are the Rangers going to throw at the Canes? Will rust from 12 days between games be a factor?

I'm ready to drop the puck now!

Peace!

I am ready too - really pumped.

Rangers in six.

LGR

Bad luck or selecting dumb people?

Jones - cited with careless operation of a vehicle after he lost control of his Range Rover and ran into a street pole. New Orleans police did not administer a Breathalyzer test because Jones had to be rushed to the hospital, and a blood sample could not be taken because the rookie was in surgery for most of the day. He crashed just after 0600 in the morning and was careless - sounds pretty dumb to me.

JPP - made a decision that was dumber than dumb. When he joined Tampa he put some some decent sack numbers - 12.5 in 2018, which was his best season since before the hand.

Baker - All charges dropped - perhaps we shouldn't rush to judgment on legal matters and let the due process play out. However, with the advent of social media that is increasingly difficult. It's not like he pulled up any major trees post-Giants. Bad selection

Collins - personally, I think it was a bad call not to take a late round flyer on Collins, if I remember he came out with some comments that he'll only play for the cowboys. I would have taken that gamble.

Nice list of injuries but over the course of a decade, I am sure every team will have their sob stories.

Interesting post, though Rich. I enjoyed reading it.

After transferring from Iowa to Purdue, you transitioned from wide receiver to running back. It was a swift, successful transition, with you rushing for 716 yards and eight touchdowns this season. What allowed you to make such a smooth transition?

Tyrone Tracy Jr.: I would say coaching and natural God-given ability. To start with the coaching aspect of it, head coach Ryan Walters, the offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, and running backs coach Lamar Conard–all placed their faith and trust in me.

They allowed me to be myself on the field. They didn't place any restrictions on me. They allowed me to go full throttle. Most importantly, they allowed me to make mistakes along the way. They gave me a chance to correct those mistakes. They didn't place me on a short leash. They allowed me to play through it and be my authentic self.

Regarding my God-given ability, I've had experience with the running back position my entire life. When I got out there on the field, going from receiver to running back wasn't totally foreign to me. It was no different from what I did in high school, just a little more detailed. I had to focus more on the fundamentals.

I also had to jump into the film room a little more. My film study of the running back position had to grow. I had to step up my knowledge of the position to play at a higher level.

How do you think that background as a wide receiver has helped you play the running back position at a higher level?

Tyrone Tracy Jr.: It was huge. It helped me get comfortable faster. I've only been playing the position full-time for a little over a year now. I started making the change in April of last year. It's literally been one year and one month.

I feel great because I've had some experience with the position my entire life, as I said earlier. It allowed me to get comfortable in the backfield. Once you're making that change from a new position, it's natural to have some worry and doubt in your mind at the very beginning of the change.

It took a while, but I would estimate I got the hang of it around mid-spring last year. I got my confidence. I noticed I was starting to make plays with more consistency. I was generating explosive plays. I started doing everything I wanted to do at the position.

The background of playing football from a young age, both the wide receiver and running back positions, that helped me tremendously.

You run the football with terrific contact balance. You forced 46 missed tackles on just 113 carries and finished fourth in the country in yards after contact per rush. How did you develop that area of your game?

Tyrone Tracy Jr.: Wow, that's a great question! I would credit my training. I do a lot of balanced-based stuff. When I'm in the weight room during the offseason, I'm still doing balance stuff. I use different exercise balls and foam mats to challenge my body. I know it's going to benefit me on the field.

I try to stay on my feet--that's the truth. Sometimes it's that simple. I don't want to let one person tackle me. I try to gain as many yards as I can. I try to counterbalance the types of hits I'm getting. I don't want to get tackled. Who wants to get tackled? (laughs).

You can read the rest of the interview here

https://www.si.com/nfl/giants/giants-tyrone-tracy-position-switch-bowling

Conspiracy theories have shown to be dangerous and even deadly

How to Immunize Yourself From Conspiracy Theories
We can all do our part to tamp down the frenzy of conspiracy theories with a few simple steps:

1)Don't assume that "secret" information is more accurate than public information. The information we get from newspapers and news magazines often requires fact checks and editorial reviews before publishing. Such reports may prove more accurate because of its need to withstand public scrutiny.

2)Examine the emotional payoff you get from going down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. Do you find it an exciting way to bond with friends? Is it engrossing and entertaining, like an exciting game? Ask yourself if the payoff is worth the agitation and feelings of fear that follow (Wilbur, D. et al., 2021).

3)Think like a scientist by looking for evidence against the conspiracy. Examine evidence from credible sources: peer-reviewed journal articles and books, for example, or mainstream news outlets with a professional, bylined editorial staff. Non-credible sources may include social-media posts without named authors or cited sources of information. The more extreme and outrageous the claim, the more evidence should be required.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/frazzlebrain/202309/why-conspiracy-theories-are-fun-but-dangerous-0

Quote from: TONKA56 on Today at 09:42:10 AMVictor Cruz
Jake Ballard

Thanks, I added them to the list

Victor Cruz
Jake Ballard

Quote from: kartanoman on Today at 09:26:24 AMRound two starts tonight!

What kind of game are the Rangers going to throw at the Canes? Will rust from 12 days between games be a factor?

I'm ready to drop the puck now!

Peace!

Interestingly, the Rangers are the underdog in this series (according to Vegas oddsmakers) despite having the best record in the league, being healthy overall, and just sweeping a team. Here is the Athletic's take on the series:


Rangers-Hurricanes predictions: An Eastern Conference executive, player and coach weigh in

RALEIGH, NC - MARCH 12:
By Arthur Staple
5h ago


The betting sites and the data modelers like the Carolina Hurricanes in their second-round matchup with the New York Rangers. The data, as is usual when it comes to Carolina, is on the Canes' side. Despite winning the Presidents' Trophy and dispatching the inferior Washington Capitals in four games in the opening round, the Rangers are not analytical darlings this season.

We wanted to know what some NHL insiders think. So, same as we did in Round 1, we've assembled an executive, a coach and a player from three different Eastern Conference teams to give us their views on what they agree should be an excellent matchup.
How even is this matchup?

The executive: Both teams' first-round series went about as I expected, though I was surprised that a team with as little juice as Washington has was able to tilt the ice at times against the Rangers. There were stretches in the first round when (Igor) Shesterkin had to be great, and he was. That's a big advantage for the Rangers in this series — Freddie Andersen is a great story, but I just don't see him being able to match what Shesterkin can do when he's locked in like this.

If what we've seen through the regular season and first round of the playoffs holds, the Hurricanes will have the puck a lot more, they'll generate more shots, more offensive zone time and more chances than New York, but that won't be enough for them to win. The Rangers don't need the volume of shot attempts and opportunities that the Hurricanes do to score. If Carolina is going to make this a series, its top offensive guys are going to have to be very good and better than they have been against the Rangers.

The coach: The first-round numbers for both teams were pretty similar, they were both good on the power play (the Rangers were 6-for-16, 37.5 percent, against the Caps and the Hurricanes were 5-for-15, 33.3 percent, against the Islanders) but the Canes' penalty kill wasn't as good against the Islanders as it was in the regular season (Carolina was 8-for-11 on the PK, 72.7 percent). Discipline is going to be crucial in this series because both power plays can bite you if you start taking penalties, the Rangers probably more than Carolina.

I'd say both teams need to take a step up after the first round. If the Rangers play the same as they did five-on-five against Washington, Carolina will kill them. They could get away with things against the Caps, but that isn't happening here. Probably give the Rangers the edge in net and they have better skill guys, but the key for me is how does the Rangers D react to what Carolina does? Carolina will rim pucks in all day long, their D will pinch to keep plays alive and then they want to beat you down low. Carolina will make plays in the neutral zone if they're there but is happy to rim and chip pucks in and go to work. The Rangers have that 1-3-1 (neutral-zone system), but can it hold when Carolina's flying around?

The player: I'm curious to see how the teams hold up in the D zone. The Rangers have that five-on-a-dice style and it works for them. When you have to see Carolina in a seven-game series you'd think (the Hurricanes) could wear you down with the way they attack every spot on the forecheck. The Hurricanes have played that man-to-man on D for a long time and it's brought them a lot of success, but not over the hump — you can break them down at times because once they lose a guy, it can be a bit of a scramble. And the Rangers have some skilled players who could force the issue there.
The Rangers are going to need Adam Fox in Round 2. (Danny Wild / USA Today)
What will be the difference in the series?

The executive: If Adam Fox isn't 100 percent that could be a big spot for the Rangers because they'll need him — they always do, of course — to skate out of trouble and counter Carolina's aggression. But for me, the Canes were in a similar position two years ago and they couldn't put the Rangers away. Vincent Trocheck was on that Carolina team and now he's probably been the Rangers' best forward in the first round. The Rangers may not have the puck much, but I don't think it will matter. Rangers in six.

The coach: It's the special teams for me. The Rangers have the guys to neutralize Carolina's power play, starting with the guy in net (Shesterkin). Carolina obviously added (Jake) Guentzel, and its two best guys against the Islanders were (Seth) Jarvis and (Andrei) Svechnikov, but it's going to need (a) big series from the big guys, like (Sebastian) Aho. The Rangers' big guys can get to that higher level. Not sure Carolina's can. We went around our coaches' room before the playoffs started to pick a champion; I chose the Rangers. Can't change now.

The player: I think this is as much of a toss-up as you can get. Different styles, a lot of skill everywhere, they both do things well but kind of do them differently to get to the result. The Rangers defend well, I don't think they get enough credit for that, but I think it's going to come down to goaltending. Freddie's been great for (Carolina), but he hasn't exactly held up the last few playoffs, so he's got to not just be good, but stay healthy. I also wonder what a Carolina loss might do. This will be what, six straight years of making the second round without getting to a Final? This might be the last go for that core. Not sure if that helps them or puts too much pressure on (them). I honestly can't pick a winner.