Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: Trench on Today at 12:38:39 PMOne of those losses should be discounted because if my memory serves, he basically wasn't allowed to throw the ball that 1st game

Fair enough.

We also saw the Giants win one of those games when the Pats kicker very suspiciously pushed a sub 30 yard chip shot (in the final minute or two with the game on the line) wide right.

Either way, the original point about DeVito deserving to be taken seriously stands.

He would be my candidate too. There is no player on the team who had a bigger 2022 to 2023 performance dip than Jones, so he is the most obvious candidate for a bounce-back as he has the most room to bounce back.

The more interesting question for me is whether he can be better in 2024 than he was in 2022. Being materially better than 2023 practically goes without saying. There is no way Jones is nearly as bad as he was in 2023.

Quote from: MightyGiants on Today at 12:09:09 PMJeff,

Do you think DeVito would make it onto or last on the PS?

It is certainly my lean that he will not get claimed. I'm sure plenty of teams would love to have him on their PS, but I tend to doubt by the end of the summer any team will want him to be on their opening day active roster. Injuries or an incredible string of performances by DeVito in the preseason could change that, but my base case is that he'll make it back to our PS.

Could he get poached off the PS during the season? Yes, possibly, but that's the case with lots of PS players, and it's just the way it goes.

Good list.

One that really speaks to me is "tipping culture." I couldn't agree more that this has become annoying. In fact, I would say it has gotten out of control.

I have always considered myself a very good tipper. I recognize that waiting tables is not an easy job, and I appreciate good service and believe those providing it should be compensated. I usually tip a minimum of 20% in restaurants, and sometimes 25% if the service was really outstanding and the place wasn't a blatant ripoff. I am also pretty generous with barbers, hotel employees, cab drivers, delivery people, etc.

With all that said, there are appropriates times and places for tipping, and there are times and places when it is not appropriate. It is appropriate when someone provides you a personal service, such as being waited on in a restaurant, having your bags handled by a hotel bellhop, or getting a haircut. It is not appropriate when you go to a store, buy something, pay at the register and walk out of the store with the item. More and more now you see very aggressive requests for tips in these types of situations. Oftentimes, you're forced into an awkward situation where you need to click specifically how much you want to tip with the checkout person standing there staring at the screen you're about to click. I don't get bullied into tipping in these situations because I feel I very clearly understand when tipping is appropriate and when it is not, but I suspect many do. It is clear that more and more employers are trying to farm out their own responsibility to compensate employees to their customers, and it's wrong. I'm not surprised it came up in this list.

The Giants were 3-3 last year when DeVito started and 3-7 when he didn't. He also had the best QB rating of any Giant QB last year at 89.2. I personally don't think he will make the opening day 53, but he deserves the opportunity to at least compete in camp and the preseason.

Don't forget the Giants also signed Nathan Rourke, so we need to see how he figures into all this.

They have four QBs. Assuming Jones is healthy enough, he will be the starter, and then of the remaining three one will be the backup, one will likely be on the PS, and one will likely be sent packing. We'll see what happens.

I can't disagree with the B+ grade. I was a big fan of the Burns move (getting a 25 yr old of that caliber without giving up a first rounder when Carolina was previously offered two first rounders was great, I thought), and I did not really have an issue with any of their picks. I also liked that they didn't capitulate and pay up for Barkley, and I was fine with not bringing back Adoree or McKinney. Once they decided to make the move for Burns, they didn't really have the money for any of these players, and I would much rather have Burns than not. Obviously they could have spread Jones' exorbitant 2024 cap hit out over future years by committing to him for more than just this season, but they clearly did not want to do that, and I think that was absolutely the correct stance to take (which doesn't automatically mean he won't be here in 2025). So I'm good with this grade.

I think it's hard for fans to really know. Maybe those of us who have attended live camp sessions (I have not) and have managed to be within earshot of Daboll or at least observe his body language can have some idea, but the reality is it's difficult for any of us to really know other than what we hear others say, which is only reliable some of the time, as people (especially people who work for him or play for him) tend to only say complimentary things.

Rangers basically need to win one of two in Ft Lauderdale. Like everyone else here, I'd love it if they won both, but realistically 1-1 in these next two games should be the primary objective. That would then put them in a position to win at home to go up 3-2 in the series and have two cracks at winning it including, if necessary, a game seven at MSG.

If they win one out of two, I don't really care which one it is, but I would obviously strongly prefer they win today to keep the hopes of taking a commanding 3-1 series lead alive.

One thing I know for sure is we need the Shesty of game two, not game one, in this game. We also need the physicality of game two as well. I think if we have both of those two ingredients, the other stuff will take care of itself.

Quote from: uconnjack8 on Today at 07:37:00 AMLooking at where almost 60% land, that would likely put Flott more than 2 standard deviations from the mean.

I went back and looked at various lists of the best CBs of the 2000s and 2010s. I couldn't find one below 185 and the vast majority were, as @MightyGiants noted earlier in the thread, somewhere in the 190-210 range.

There have clearly been CBs under 180 in the NFL and are now, but it's a small group, and, based on the moderate amount of backward looking I did, the group does not appear to include any who were distinctly above average.

I think the statement that size (including weight) matters much more for CBs than it does for WRs was a pretty accurate one based on the evidence.

Quote from: MightyGiants on Today at 06:57:33 AMThis article covers lightest current CBs

https://hortonbarbell.com/average-height-and-weight-of-an-nfl-cornerback/

Good find. Thanks.

Quote from: BluesCruz on Today at 05:19:30 AMBy that I meant the NE starter and bring them back to relevance
He has the intangibles that made Brady good and its between the ears, confidence etc
His arm is also grossly underrated

We have never had much luck with QBs    Some have been good, none dominant in a Brady, Montana type sense

We will find a way to fumble Tommy D away- just watch

If that happens, it won't matter unless he has meaningful success elsewhere.

Keep in mind that a year ago the Giants were the only team in the NFL that was interested in him.

Strands #84
"Beyond Nashville"
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Fell for the trap on the first guess.

Connections
Puzzle #350
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Who are the best NFL CBs in somewhat recent times (say the last 20 yrs) who were lighter than 180 lbs?

Can someone provide three or four recognizable names?

Quote from: Ed Vette on May 25, 2024, 04:21:45 PMI read the words from the bottom up and then scan for pairs. It's usually the case where I have three pretty solid matches and then there are a couple of words that could match as a 4th. Then I search for another set of words before I commit to that set. I try to get three sets with at least two word matches and then go process of elimination. Often I pick four and one is wrong. Sometimes two are wrong. Occasionally the purple is obvious but that's rare.

Not too dissimilar from me.

I read through the whole thing once ideally without rushing - sometimes twice - and try to spend a few seconds thinking about each word and potential multiple meanings it might have. Once I've gone through that, on most days, I can usually get one right away. Obviously some days are harder than others. Once I get that first one it's generally a process of finding pairs or possibly sets of three that I feel pretty good about and then finding the best candidate(s) for the last word(s).

I think I've mentioned this before, but one thing I try to do is when I think I have one dead right, and then it's wrong, and it's early in the puzzle, I try to move away from that category altogether and find something else. Too many times when I first started doing Connections I'd get stuck on one idea, and then it turned out the whole idea was wrong. By cutting my losses with a given theme when I get it wrong once, I have found the results seem to be better than when I keep using up guesses by just swapping out one word for another. Obviously if it's later in the puzzle you may not have any other option, but I try to avoid that when it's early.