Big Blue Huddle

Certainly not me.

Having signed Brandon Marshall and Rhett Ellison in FA, the Giants will have improved run blocking, and middle of the field and red zone pass catching which is tantamount to having added a really good TE in that respect which I imagine made it much less likely that they would draft a TE in Round 1 this year. But if TE still is a high priority, they have the better option of getting Miami TE David Njoku at 23 and so the notion of trading up for Howard is a foolish one.

Cheers!

It used to be a different position but it is becoming much less so.  A bigger receiver, sure, slot, split, flexed, but hardly tight anymore. Eli needed a big red zone/ end zone pass catcher whether from a WR or TE.  They got it for him when the signed Marshall as fast as they could.

Cheers!

The addition of a big 6'4/ 230lb, topnotch "go across the middle", and red zone/ end zone receiver in Brandon Marshall and a very solid blocker and outlet receiving FB/HBack in Rhett Ellison strikes me as a predetermined plan which  diminishes the likelihood that the Giants will draft a TE in Round 1.

If he is there at 23, I don't see them passing on Ramczyk to play OLT. He won't be. He reminds me of Nate Solder, who was on the Giants radar back in 2011. But the Pats jumped up two slots ahead and grabbed him. He's been a fixture for them ever since. The Giants took the Prince at 19 and, of course, he's no longer with them. Indeed, none of the Giants picks in 2011 are still with the team. And yet, against all odds and with David Diehl at OLT, the Giants swept through the playoffs and beat The Pats and Solder for their second Lombardi in 4 years. There are a lot of reasons why I avoid predictions, and that's one of them.

If not a TE, and I think not, and if not  Ramczyk (or Bolles?), I wouldn't be surprised if they took a RB, Cook or Fournette if either was available. Probably won't be.  Otherwise, it would seem likely that they will go for the other side. They might shock us by drafting a MLB. Wowee! A LB in Round 1? If so, it would be Zach Cunningham, no doubt.

Still, it's hard to talk about surprises when no one gets this stuff right at anytime. When it comes to matching players to teams, no one in the world gets it more than 25% right. And as most of the correct guesses occur in the first 10 picks;  we aren't likely to do any better than we did last year with Eli Apple or with Flowers, the year before, or with OBJ in '14 or Pugh in'13. 

Whomever it is, and however it turns out overall, please let us not have a repeat of the 2011 Draft; that is unless it means we get  to beat the Pats in the Super Bowl again.

Cheers!

I would say yes if my team was anything close to what the Patriots have been and apparently still are which is a top tier contender. But it could be risky to draw broad conclusions based on what the Pats have done in that regard as there are many more reasons why they are a dynasty if not the GOAT.

I agree with Ed that the player's age and costs would be factors while the perhaps greater certainty with a proven starter would be an incentive for a team which see itself with a "win-now" opportunity. For most teams, the question is are you rebuilding, reloading, or relying?   

Cheers!

As I suggested in my comments in the "Giants should be able to find top notch player in the second round" thread, it either is encouraging or worrisome that Reese & Co. have had obviously greater success since 2012 than it did in its years before.

If, as was suggested by Seneca (not Wallace but the Roman Stoic), "Luck is where opportunity meets preparation" then bad luck must imply either lack of opportunity or lack of preparation, or perhaps a little bit of both.

Would that leave us encouraged or worried? I don't think it can be a little of both. 

Cheers!

You are supposed to be able to find a topnotch player in the second round no less than in the first round even if we consider that the media only gets about 80 percent of its top-100 rankings right. The Giants picks are 27 and 53.

Is there any reason to think of the Giants as any more or less able to get a topnotch player in Round 2 of this year's Draft as compared to say any of the last five: 2016 Sterling Shepard; 2015 Landon Collins; 2014 Weston Richburg; 2013 Jonathan Hankins; 2012 Rueben Randle.

No, Randle wasn't topnotch but that had little to do with his having been a second rounder in what was a singularly lousy Giants' Draft overall. Indeed, he might be faintly praised as the best of a sorry lot in 2012. I suppose we could view it as either encouraging or worrisome that only since 2012 has Reese & Co done materially better than in its years before.

As we can find as many as 10 Edge Rushers ranked in the Top-10, then should that becomes a position of need, waiting until Round 2 seems plausible.  The quantity/quality distribution among DBs also would admit patience. Of course, the depth in those areas also may make it more likely that others will choose to target those positions we think the Giants will or should be.

Still, whether it's a TE, an OLT, a RB they target in Round 1, they should be able to a topnotch player in Round 2.

Cheers!

Frank played in an era before the staggering commercialism of TV and Fantasy Football gambling when a team would field only 22 players and often a lot less. I sometimes wonder what the ESPN sensation machine would make of a right- handed number 16 sprinting right and throwing a left-handed pass to Kyle Rote much less to what those guys really meant to us in a far better time.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=kyle+rote&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=64D15783CBF3E99DF8C464D15783CBF3E99DF8C4

That may be why some of us old dudes are as cynical of the modern game as we are. And it doesn't just apply to football. isn't that right, Lenn?

Cheers!

Way to go, Rick. That's what this is all about.

Cheers!

The Gifford family released a statement that read, in part: "We rejoice in the extraordinary life he was privileged to live, and we feel grateful and blessed to have been loved by such an amazing human being. We ask that our privacy be respected at this difficult time and we thank you for your prayers."

He was 84, was and always will be my favorite Giants player.  Requiescat in Pace.

Another amazing presentation, Ceri.  Aside from questions about talent at the position, there will be a big experience deficit. Spags will have to find one of them to replace Rolle in making the defensive coverage adjustments.

As for coverage behind what likely will be a frequently rotated Dline with some iterations of the so called, Four Aces package, you might recall Tom Coughlin's comment about Spags's experience with the fire zone blitz when he hired him in '07. With his rehire this time, he mentioned that Spags has since learned a lot about defending the spread offense. That may well suggest that we will see a lot of Cover3 Fire Zone. That will involve 5 DBs, 2 of whom play the seams, two play a tight 3rd, one the middle 3rd. How we label some of those guys: CB, Nickel DB, SS, WS, FS may be less important than is their learning and executing those positions well. We may know who before we know what and whether.     

Cheers!   

The Bucs, you mean. Right, Eli? 

You're not channeling your inner John Mc Kay are you, Ed? 

Cheers!

It is a good reference. Quality stuff, Rich. As you suggest, it almost certainly will be a topic of conversation here.

Your assessment of the three players in terms of alignment is reasonable although coverage could vary widely. In general, it is true that the X is viewed as the No.1 WR, which often reflects big play ability as much or more than number of receptions. It also is true that the X most often is covered by the opponent's best CB, and if he represents a real threat, he may see double or bracket coverage.

As for Manningham in that context, I view him more of up the field X-receiver than route-savvy Z.

But whether the X, or Z sees m2m or zone, press, squat, or off depends on the nature of opponent's defense, and game plan. Moreover, even when the CB presses, it doesn't automatically mean he's playing Man. If the X makes an inside move, and it's Zone, the CB may pass him off. We saw quite a bit of that from Seattle in the SB where their press Cover 3 may have been a counter to Denver running 2x2 and 1x3 sets which they often use to try to exploit m2m coverage with a pick play.

I too will be interested in who sets up where and with how many WRs, and how often. We then may get some idea as to whether there will be a meaningful increase in multiple (3 and 4 WR) sets which might be a first reflection of the difference between the Packer's pass offense and the Giants which otherwise is not all that different. For example, over the past couple of seasons, GB passed out of 3 and 4 WR sets almost 90% of the time compared to the Giants 73%.  While the Pack passed with 3 WRs about 65% to the Giants 60%; they used a lot more 4 WR sets, 25% to the Giants 10%. Perhaps, we will see a bit more in the way of twins and trips.

We know, of course, that TC has never been comfortable with 4 WR sets for reasons of pass protection ever since Eli's has been his QB. That must have been a factor in countering Gilbride's instincts toward the wide open and multiple. Will it be any less so now?

As for motion, neither the Coughlin/Gilbride Giants or the McCarthy/Clements Pack have employed it.

I'm sure that they will try to get the Backs more involved in the passing game, but even so the biggest benefit to the passing offense would result from a solid improvement in the running game.
 
Cheers!

Excellent analysis as always, Ceri. Even with the increasing role and emphasis given to Tight End, there have only been 3 TEs taken in Round 1 in the past five years as compared to 18 OTs, 18 WRs, and 16 DTs. I guess that suggests something about how high Ebron is being rated when considered value at 12.

And while I don't disgree with your assessments of A S-J, Niklas, Amaro, Fiedorowicz et al as later picks, it does makes one wonder whether there were similar reservations and/or doubts responsible for guys like Witten (69) and Findley (91) and Graham (95) lasting until Round 3?

In 2010, Gronkowski went at 43 which coincidently is where Our Heroes are scheduled to pick in Round 2, this year. His durability (back problem) was  big question mark, that I know. I also know that the TE he most often was compared to at the time was Kevin Boss. 

Cheers!

Absolutely spot on about Thomas, and probabably Hosley as well although my thumb is only sideways on him at this point.  And your Draft analysis and projection are nulli secundus as always, CD.

Cheers!