Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: coggs on Today at 01:20:00 PMThey literally had ONE losing streak of more than 2 games.  It was a 4-gamer that started with a SO Loss.  Aside from that, only 5 times where they had back-to-back losses and in 2 of those cases there was a SO/OT loss.

I've got your back on the bigger picture, here, coggs. In fact, if you look at that losing streak, it came after that scorching October/November performance where they went into a collective funk of inconsistency and actually lost five of six. The Canadiens loss was not a bad one, by any means, as they played well, but the Habs were on fire that Saturday night. It wasn't until after the embarrassment in Vegas, and the team letting down Quickie in his return to LA, where they finally woke up, and the huge shootout win in Colorado against the Avs set them on their way (i.e. insert 10-game winning streak here) to where we are today, in my opinion.

Now that we know it's Florida that stands in between the Rangers and a Cup Final berth, we can to a man, honestly state that Florida's credentials, plus their wanting to get back to the Finals to finish the job, makes them a valid favorite in this series. They don't have the hardware, but they are no "Paper Champion" either. Of all the teams in the East, going into the playoffs, both Florida teams (i.e. Panthers and Bolts) represented the biggest challenges for the Rangers should they cross paths (NOTE: I respect the Canes, but I already knew the Rangers could account for them, which they did). So now it's Florida.

A brief (NOTE: good-ending) re-introduction:


There were two others that went to the Cats which ended up close on the scoreboard, but the Rangers chased them in both games.

The shootout win was also made possible by notable absences in Florida's lineup at the time.  They'll be coming into the Garden with a full deck, this time, and, even playing short in the March 23 game, their relentless attacking, which saw them jump ahead 3-2 with four minutes left, is representative of the same style play they put Boston away for good with last night. The defense cannot give them the space in front of Igor, nor the swath between there and the point or the Cats will eat them alive.

They're going to have to figure out how to rattle Bobrovsky and capitalize. This shootout win showed some opportunity on how to do it that, in the other two games, they hadn't quite figured it out. Again, their special teams will be the catalyst in solving that puzzle. For the short-handed goals they pulled off against Washington and Carolina, they're going to have a much harder time with Florida's power play who have the speed and physical brute force to shut down the breaks the Rangers capitalized on.

This will be the series where the Breadman can stamp himself into Ranger lore forever if he can make an impact.

My concerns with Foxy not being 100% may end up being the difference in this series, but whether or not they use Jones to spell him remains to be seen. Note that he played in the March 23 game and held his own, for the most part.

Again, I'm not making any predictions about the upcoming series. We're back to where we were, two years ago, against a tough, physical team who can skate, shoot the puck and score, along with intimidate with brute force. That Rangers' team literally ran out of gas. This one has a sense of purpose. These two teams finished first in their respective divisions and, as such, have earned the right to be here. So, let them play, starting Wednesday, and may it be a great battle of hockey that does the league, and its fans, proud, regardless of the winner.

Having said all that, LGR!

Peace!

I guess they have to pay for those season tickets holder gifts somehow!

Quote from: Ed Vette on Today at 05:44:41 PMReminds me of the videos of NFL players abusing women.

Same here. Made me think of Kareem Hunt and Ray Rice. Not to mention our kicker from several years ago, although there was no video with him. I think there was a 911 call though.

Quote from: Ed Vette on Today at 05:40:21 PMIf Jones is ready and healthy, he's the QB. No controversy. 

In week one, yes, 100%. In week eight or later, probably but not automatically.

You can have controversy about the QB position even if you don't want it. Fans and media members can effectively cause it. The same way they can get coaches fired. I'm not saying this will happen this year by the way. Just that it's not impossible.

Also having no bad vibes or controversy about the team in the centennial anniversary year is basically impossible if they're a bottom seven or eight team again. Having no QB controversy in a big anniversary season is nice and all, but who cares about any of that if the team is on its way to another 4 to 7 win season?

Reminds me of the videos of NFL players abusing women.

Quote from: jimc on Today at 10:13:44 AMI believe this is the crux of the issue. Being hyper critical of DJ can and should never be confused with supporting him. You may say being critical does not prevent you from rooting for him, but I disagree. I contend that most folks that are hyper critical are more likely to root against DJ in order to prove they are correct in their hyper critical analysis. 

hyper critical equals "shitting on"
hyper critical not equal to constructive criticism

By this logic then the same accusation can be made against fans who claim Jones is better than what he has been, except these fans are rooting for the offensive line to continue to do poorly.

I believe neither to be true. I firmly believe Giants fans want the team to win. Which means they want areas of weakness to improve or be improved upon, and if they don't they are likely to be critical. That doesn't mean these fans want bad things to happen - it's very much the opposite. There may be some dark corners out there where that is not the case, but there is no doubt in my mind that the vast, vast majority of fans of any team want their team to be good.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on Today at 05:35:46 PMI don't believe that they would have passed on JJ if they thought he was the perfect fit. I know that you did not quite say that, but that is my view in any case. If that were really true, first off Mara would not have publicly said that he was open to drafting a QB in the first round, and they also would not have been all but confirmed by respected league insider types to have been trying to trade up with the Pats. There has also been a fair amount of smoke about Lock potentially getting a crack at the job at some point, so they may end up with a QB controversy on their hands anyway.

If Jones is ready and healthy, he's the QB. No controversy.

They didn't see an upgrade over Jones with JJ? Perhaps.

Quote from: Ed Vette on Today at 05:06:22 PMIt took me months to properly evaluate JJ instead of just the drive up the board hype that some folks here got on board with. He was the perfect fit but they didn't want a QB controversy on the cusp of their 100 year Anniversary.

I don't believe that they would have passed on JJ if they thought he was the perfect fit. I know that you did not quite say that, but that is my view in any case. If that were really true, first off Mara would not have publicly said that he was open to drafting a QB in the first round, and they also would not have been all but confirmed by respected league insider types to have been trying to trade up with the Pats. There has also been a fair amount of smoke about Lock potentially getting a crack at the job at some point, so they may end up with a QB controversy on their hands anyway.

Quote from: jimc on Today at 10:13:44 AMI believe this is the crux of the issue. Being hyper critical of DJ can and should never be confused with supporting him. You may say being critical does not prevent you from rooting for him, but I disagree. I contend that most folks that are hyper critical are more likely to root against DJ in order to prove they are correct in their hyper critical analysis. 

hyper critical equals "shitting on"
hyper critical not equal to constructive criticism

I get what you are trying to say but you are completely wrong.

All the people that supposedly "hate" Jones on this forum are the primary ones in every game day thread rooting him on.

This is an NFL team forum, we are hyper critical of every single player and coach.

Most of this forum have been hyper critical of multiple players and coaches.

Neal
Barkley
Thibodaux
McFadden
Mckethan and Ezeudu
Xavier Mckinney
Bobby Johnson

And more

So it's ok for the majority of the fan base to be hyper critical of them constantly and root for them but it's different for Jones?

Nothing would have made me happier than Jones being the guy because then we wouldn't have to find one but that hasn't been the case.

I am actually on the opposite side of the Neal debate as I think he got really good reps in before getting injured this past season. The majority here though have been hyper critical of him for his comments and his play. Are they actively rooting against him?

QuoteI blame the majority media for creating a "bash DJ" emotion among many fans. From the very get go of the draft when we took Daniel Jones, the talking heads (that's what they are because they are not coaches hired for their incredible insight, knowledge, and hands on development of QBs), went insane over the pick because (as all talking heads) they need appear profound in their knowledge so that fans actually buy their BS. Now, they (talking heads) are deeply invested in proving themselves right and will never let it go because they need the ego-boost that they are worthy of getting big bucks to tell fans what they should feel, rather than their own feelings about a player. The talking heads haven't let go of their hatred for Jones since the moment he was chosen. In so doing, they have converted a lot of fans into buying their BS

How many criticisms from talking heads talked negatively about Dak Prescott after his 14 fumbles and 10 interceptions in 2021 (in 12 games). Nary a complaint from talking heads about his ridiculous turnover rate (multiple times more than DJ) or about his salary. BTW, DJ had 7 fumbles in 21...literally half that of Prescott. Most likely, talking heads have the same shortsighted mindset that is, "all winning is done by the QB" and therefore, Prescott is worth his 4-year, $160 million contract, which includes no-trade and no-tag clauses  Could it be because Prescott plays behind a real NFL offensive line...or that their defense was excellent...or that their skill players were better than average?

Here's another interesting stat:

What QB had the most turnovers in their career?

NAME                    TO    % RATE
Brett Favre            363    7.1
Eli Manning            300    7.0
Drew Brees            285    7.6
Vinny Testaverde    278    6.9
Peyton Manning    268    7.7
Ben Roethlisberger  262    7.6
Tom Brady              260    7.4

BTW, the lowest TO rate is held by Kerry Collins

I guess what can be taken from that is that successful QBs tend to be gunslingers who take more chances than less successful QBs

Regardless...getting down on Carl Banks for being frustrated with the negative vibe, not only from fans, but from most media outlets, is a normal reaction. That same frustration is held by all the players on the team who have great faith in DJ, as do I

To sum it up:

I believe DJ is extremely talented (height, arm strength, highly mobile, accurate, etc), as do all the players on the team and the coaches. No one from the comfort of their couch, beer in hand, watching TV knows what DJ has been told to do, or even a hint of an idea how well or fast he processes information...even when they claim to be mind readers. And yeah, we are all well-aware that the team has sucked for a long time now. We don't need more stats to know that. Yet, not all of us believe a great QB can make a "less than mediocre team" to the Super Bowl, nor are we stuck in that "short-sighted" mindset that it's a "team game". All the regurgitated stats proving DJ sucks does not change anyone's opinion. The problem has been across the board and is not an overnight fix. Trying to convince the rest of us that we would be a winning team if we just drafted a different QB isn't changing minds

Oh well...so much for staying out of it...duhhh

I also had major question marks in my mind every year on offense since DJ became the NYG QB.....

Who in tarnation is this OL coach and why couldn't we pick someone with a stronger resume/track record? (Hunter, Columbo, Gugliemo, Booby Johnson)

What kind of offensive system is this guy going to run? (Garrett)

Who are these questionable receiving options we brought in that have major risks associated with each of them? --- Tate & Randolph & Waller (too old/downside of career), Galloday (super injury prone), Toney (big time character risk, dedication to the game)

And some of the OL we have brought in of course have been terrible misses too.

This year 'feels' significantly different.

-Nabers comes in as not just a top 6 pick in the draft but with a rare high franchise perennial pro bowl kind of grade for a WR.

-As mentioned before, Runyan has tremendous pass pro analytics

-Bracillo's resume strongly suggests he will raise ALL 5 OL's games to play more as a unit and probably get a guy, or two or three playing at a much higher level than they did under Johnson.

-Not one OL will likely be a rookie on the line this year unless multiple injuries beset the line.

- The young receivers Hyatt and Wan'Dale will be a year older and more mature.