Big Blue Huddle

Kevin Cole

@Unexpected_Pts newsletter/pod. Previously Data Scientist @PFF, Director of Data & Analytics @RotoGrinders
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https://x.com/DanSchneierNFL/status/1786054520390266961

If you listen to nothing more than the last ten minutes or so, it's worth it. Toomer goes into a lot of detail about becoming a pro, what it takes physically and mentally...about not fearing about competition, but actually wanting it, etc. Amani tells it like it is (it's simply business) from a player's perspective and his unique point of view on DJ as well as running backs. He explains to players that you have to get better every year or you're gone, and don't fear being replaced, but embrace it and use it to push yourself further

A good example is Kayvon who spent the offseason getting bigger and stronger, as shown here in Spring workout...exactly as Toomer explains in his dialogue. He looks jacked and will look great across his new bookend Burns. They will push each other

"Destiny guides our fortunes more favorably than we could have expected. Look there, Sancho Panza, my friend, and see those thirty or so wild giants, with whom I intend to do battle and kill each and all of them, so with their stolen booty we can begin to enrich ourselves. This is nobel, righteous warfare, for it is wonderfully useful to God to have such an evil race wiped from the face of the earth."
"What giants?" Asked Sancho Panza.
"The ones you can see over there," answered his master, "with the huge arms, some of which are very nearly two leagues long."
"Now look, your grace," said Sancho, "what you see over there aren't giants, but windmills, and what seems to be arms are just their sails, that go around in the wind and turn the millstone."
"Obviously," replied Don Quijote, "you don't know much about adventures."

Quote from: kartanoman on Today at 09:10:24 AMI think the "meh" season for the ages was 1996 with a lame duck head coach, an even more broken quarterback and a former super-star running back run down to the steel walls of his tires, and hardly a WR to throw to.

Peace!

Did Thomas Lewis ever make it onto the field?

Jones was a loser at Duke

Has been a loser for us

How is Nabors going to change that ...... is he the second coming of Homer Jones?

Marc Ross, the man who oversaw the Giants' drafts for 11 years (his last draft was just graded in the 3-year draft grade thread), gave his take on the Giants drafting Nabers.


https://x.com/NFLTotalAccess/status/1784652442338197696


Carl Banks addressed his comments (Carl has had his disputes with Ross in the past).  Banks pointed out that Ross didn't directly say Daniel Jones was a bad QB.   Banks also pointed out, that if Nabers is as advertised, it will definitely help Daniel Jones (along with the other WRs)

Banks also disputed Ross' claim that the Giants drafted Nabers to try and fix Daniel Jones.  Banks said that Nabers was drafted because the Giants needed a modern offense, and that starts with at least one elite receiver on your roster.   Banks felt Jones was on his own (DJ will sink or swim on his own).   If Jones wants to stay with NYG he is going to have to earn it himself.  He did suggest he expects and improves Jones, but the key is Jones getting comfortable that his O-line is able to protect him.

I will say that Marc Ross tests one of my core tenets.   I have a strong preference for seeking out former NFL people to hear their opinions and views on football.   In general, I feel those views and opinions are more valid and tend to be better than other commentators.

Yet, what do I do with someone like Marc Ross, who I witnessed as terrible at his job for 11 years?  The man even has a degree from Princeton, so he is certainly not stupid.

To date, I simply take the approach that I take with most of the true experts.  Listen to what they have to say (while giving them the benefit of the doubt), but don't take their word as gospel.  They need to support and lay out sound arguments for why they hold the opinions they do (especially, hot takes).

I will say, I don't disagree with his assertion big picture.   If Jones doesn't have it in him to be a franchise QB, Nabers will not change or fix that.   On the other hand, if Jones isn't as bad as some people think, an elite QB can really elevate DJ's game.  Ultimately, time will tell.

Maybe Schoen is more enamored with what DeVito did before getting his head slammed off the turf than most here thought.

Of course they will start Danny Boy (they are paying him a fortune), but there is a good chance he will not be the same player after that injury that he was.  He might go down again.  With a career record of 22-37-1 Jones is no prize.

The new veteran they brought in to back him up- Drew Lock is a journeyman.  There is no indictor that this guy also with a 9-14 record as a starter can pull the wagon

That leaves Tommy and he might have some magic left in his game....time will tell
Tommy is 3-2 as a starter and has proven ability to drop in long passes outside the numbers   Something Jones could never do and likely cannot learn at this point

Are we set at QB....no.   

Quote from: kartanoman on May 01, 2024, 04:25:41 PMNo. I've watched enough Carolina games this year and your boys worked hard during your series with them. Just a lot of pressure goals, as well as lucky bounces off the boards, when it counted made it seem easier than what it was.

Don't underestimate what Patrick Roy did for your team this season. Your boys still have a talent gap, no question about it, but they came to play and fought hard. They made the Canes sweat a few out and they're about to get hit with another level of intensity and talent where lucky bounces and goals 30 seconds apart won't be happening.

Your Isles now have to go and get some talent and they're going to be dangerous as long as the boys buy what Roy is selling them. Develop some leaders who can translate his fire into results on the ice. As a Ranger fan, even I can see  the foreshadowing of the New York rivalry coming back to life again. Roy planted the seeds and now it's time to get more talent and cultivate that team into a winner. When they played "never say die" on Saturday afternoon, it was beautiful to watch. It was too much to ask for yesterday's game but not for lack of trying.

Folks on the Island should be optimistic about the future as well as pushing the "paper champions" around, even if only for a little while; the Rangers and their fans appreciate it sincerely.

Peace!

The Isles have about $6 million in cap space for next season with a few RFAs to extend. There will be no big splashes. We don't get a Panarin to fall into our laps like you guys. We need to develop talent but all the prospect rankings say we are near last in the league.

So it's 89 skeptical to disappointed and 38 cautiously positive to excited. I'm in the "I'll believe it when I see it group. Although, to me, the keys are the Oline, how well the Defense starts off, can the Run Game be effective, and how well Jones & Co. can connect with the weapons. It often takes time for a new DC to get his players up to speed. It can be a few games or half the season. It may also take a few games for the interior Oline to work as a cohesive unit.

If Simmons can be used as a Blitzer from the Will Back Position to be adjuvant to Burns and Thibs in Pass Rush, that might offset the inexperience in the Secondary this year. I see him and McFadden sharing time, based on Down and Distance. Dex is going to be double-teamed and I don't see anyone replacing Leo just yet. Right now I'm more concerned about the Defense than the Offense. Minus Adoree, Leo, and McKinney, Adding Burns and Rookies Nubin-Phillips who will need time and Special Teams addition Muasau looks to me to be a 2024 step back but two steps up in 2025.   

If all progresses well, then we are looking at Jones as the 2025 QB, and with additions from the '25 Draft and a projected 46 million in Cap Space, they could make a run for at least the NFC East.

Quote from: Jclayton92 on Today at 10:23:18 AMOdds are that we either are horrible or we do just enough to have ppl clamoring for Jones yr 7. Anything less than 4,000 and 20tds as a threshold and we need to rip the band aid off and move on for everyone's sanity.

He can throw that and the team could still have a poor record. Middle of the pack and we're not in a good position to draft a top QB again.