Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: H-Town G-Fan on Today at 11:00:57 AMIt's a popular topic to get clicks and attention. I think the financial aspect of the injury guarantee in Jones's contract is going to (quietly) be a very important factor in how this shakes out.

If the Giants have an earlier exit from playoff contention, no doubt.

With a quieter time, I have been digging into Shane Bowen.  I am trying to better understand what the Giants got when they drafted Bowen.  I haven't found enough to form a conclusion, so I will share my findings.

Prior Job Performance-  I say this is a mixed bag.  On the one hand, Shane moved up the ranks pretty quickly, which usually indicates that he has impressed people with his knowledge and ability.  In terms of how his unit has performed, it has been mixed.  Overall, it's been the middle of the pack (to the slightly low part of the middle of the pack).  His defenses did well against the run and in the red zone, but his pass defenses were not all that strong.

Education-  While I don't think education is that important to the job, degrees do speak a bit to a coach's general intelligence and work ethic.  On that front, Bowen was named to the Dean's List three times while at Georgia Tech (as a player and a student assistant), earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business management in 2009, and a master's degree in workforce development and education from Ohio State in 2014.

Coaching Mentors-   While Bowen has been heavily supported (and likely influenced by Vrabel, who brought him along with him), Bowen did learn from some solid defensive coaches Jim Schwartz and Dean Pees.  He even spent a little time with Urban Meyer.

Misc-  Bowen was a former LB and Safety and Georgia Tech who had his playing career cut short by a neck issue.


My biggest negative:  He wasn't the team's first choice.   Bowen interviewed for the job he had with the Titans under the new HC and with the Jaguars.  Both teams went in other directions.  He may not have even been the Giants' first choice as he was hired after a couple of the hot candidates the Giants interviewed were hired elsewhere, or the Giants were denied an opportunity to interview.  I will admit that sometimes a quality candidate doesn't interview well, but I think that is a somewhat rare situation.    Another negative, at least in my mind, is that I don't think the DC job was an attractive position.  Between Daboll potentially being on the hot seat, most of the coaching staff being in place, and the issues that caused the prior DC to leave, I can't imagine this was a DC's dream job.


Misc positive-  Shane will have the advantage of having two top-position coaches on his staff, with DB coach Jerome Henderson (who also has the title of passing game coordinator) and D-line coach Andre Patterson.    Having two top-position coaches should help Bowen achieve success. 

Let's Drew the line here, okay? He's insurance in case DJ gets hurt (very possible). I think he has improved from his Denver days..but meh.

The next qb is out there..somewhere..we hope.

The Bruins provided quite the shock last night.

Would be huge for the NYR to go 2-0 up right now. We are playing with such chemistry a game winner can come from anywhere. If I were predicting, I think the Rangers nick a close one again. I'm hoping Bread can imitate Zib and dominate the game.

He is an intriguing prospect but for him to have 0 ints in college is a huge red flag for me. Cedrick Dort, Wisconsin's worst starting cornerback the past 20 years managed to pick off one despite having hands of stone and no ball skills. I don't know how much room there is in the NFL for non ball hawk cover guys there are in the NFL.

It's a popular topic to get clicks and attention. I think the financial aspect of the injury guarantee in Jones's contract is going to (quietly) be a very important factor in how this shakes out.

Meh, I've seen enough of Lock to know he isn't a starter in the NFL. If he beats out Jones we'll be in line for a top three pick, which might not be a bad thing for the franchise.

I do not condemn any opinions on this topic.  Although, in my head, I am taking notes on who says what, and when the situation is decided, there will be clear winners and losers in terms of reputation.    As for my opinion on the topic, I really don't know how it will play out.  From my research, I am not overly impressed with Lock to date (I wasn't that impressed when he was coming out, either).   Still, there are many unknowns regarding DJ's recovery from the ACL and how quickly or if he can overcome being shell-shocked (as he was last season).    With so much uncertainty, I will refrain from making a prediction.


https://x.com/RossTuckerNFL/status/1787854707156742416