Big Blue Huddle

Not saying this is being done here but go back to last year when the Giants beat the Ravens in large part because Lamar Jackson had multiple brain farts and pretty much lost the game for the Ravens.  After the game, I remember reading here and elsewhere that fans liked Jones better than Jackson. 

A distinction between Lawrence and Jones and I acknowledge that it's not a fair one since we don't know the extent of injuries is the ability to play when hurt. I have no issues with Jones not playing when hurt because his injuries are not only football related but possibly life after football, his neck.  But, with regard to Lawrence's high ankle sprain, it reminded of early Eli when he suffered a similar injury and was supposed to be out for an extended period and never missed a game.  Lawrence seems to have the same kind of toughness that Eli had which might be a huge feather in his cap.

Quote from: Ed Vette on December 15, 2023, 08:38:25 AMI do too. I can't imagine the pain this man has had to endure and the fortitude and resilience it took to work back from all those injuries. It takes a lot of courage to go back out there knowing your body is just more fragile than other men and the next injury is inevitable. These are more than just freak injuries.

The courage for Thomas is not just wanting to get back out there, it's wanting to get back out there behind an OL that's the same OL that didn't protect him in the first place.

I said this on another thread when I saw Deebo Samuels take over a game a few weeks ago.   Toney has a similar kind of skill set physically. I wonder if Reid thought he could harness that in the same way the Giants did but Reid should be much better at coaching plus he has Mahomes as the leader of the offense.  Toney is a tremendous talent but clearly something is missing between the ears and he may just end up being a very good punt returner.

My question on the other thread,  was Toney a Gettleman pick or a Judge pick?  I've seen speculation for both.  My anti Gettleman mindset is to blame him for everything plus he was the GM but I've never seen anything definitive and am very curious for some strange reason.

There were so many things wrong with the Toney pick.  First, from what I've read, he was often injured in college.  Same here.  Second, i dont know about his non football intelligence but he clearly is not an intelligent football player; I've read he does not know the play book.  Highly unlikely to me is he didn't have similar problems in college. Similar to Deondre Baker. I can't believe a guy who falls asleep at meetings had a pristine college career in that regard.  The front office and/or scouts missed stuff.

Last, at a highly critical position of need then (and now), they passed on Darrisaw.

I don't remember this but was Pugh drafted to be a tackle or guard?  I think tackle and I think its his best position. 

It seems that its hard to pinpoint the improvement of the OL to 1 thing.  The most important is the return of Thomas followed by the return of Schmidt.  But, bringing in Pugh helped and it's important to remember (I think) that he came without the benefit of training camp which is a big deal

Quote from: Slugsy-Narrows on December 12, 2023, 09:05:18 AMKafka enough said

I going to disagree.  I think Kafka has stepped up his game and expanded the playbook for DeVito and an OL that had improved significantly with Thomas and Schmidt back.  I'm now thinking that Kafka may have gotten a bad rap earlier in the season given the state of the OL and the inability or unwillingness of Jones to throw deep

Quote from: Bob In PA on December 11, 2023, 10:02:11 AMDB: One thing that changed (for the Giants) yesterday.  The Eagles likely will have to win both games against the Giants to win the division, or, if not to win the division, to qualify for best NFC record and the bye. So even though I never root against the Giants, if we do win, THEY will have no excuse if we beat them (like saying they were resting their players) and the win will be sweet if it knocks them out of contention for NFC-East first-place or the bye, or both. Bob

The Eagles are clearly not as good as they were when we last played them and they dominated.  I am not in the camp of rooting for losses early in the season and that train has already left the station so a win against the Eagles would be so sweet.  But, right now, we should be thinking of playing the Saints on the road and the Saints are a team that needs a win.

A few thoughts. The Packers have a good defense that is capable of getting to the QB in lots of different ways.  The Giants OL has not shown the ability to adequately pass block against teams that dont have GBs ability to get to the QB. 

Second, Winks's ability to call a game is very good but so is LaFleur.  I imagine LaFleur will come up with some plays and formations that will work considering the Giants (or Wink) haven't seen him in a very long time.  I give the edge to LaFleur even more so since I put more value of GBs winning lately as opposed to the Giants barely beating 2 very bad teams. 

Last, GB playing on a Monday night game against a bad NY team.  I'm guessing that there will be lots of cheeseheads in the stadium to nullify or temper the Giants home field advantage.  I hope I'm wrong but this could get ugly.

Quote from: Jclayton92 on December 05, 2023, 08:39:05 PMI am going to be in the minority but Neal was getting better and better every game until the injury. He hasn't even played a full season yet and he's a bust to most.

Legit wild that Thibs and Neal were busts by a huge group of fans a few games into the season and those same fans are fine trotting Daniel Jones out for a 6th season to do absolutely nothing. Just wild that the pitch forks can come for a guy that hasn't played a full year when one that has played 5 gets every pass in the book for no reason.

Our oline coach Is bad, McDermott took day to day oline responsibilities away from him in Buffalo and then he left with daboll that offseason.

New oline coach coupled with a healthy Neal and I think we see significant improvement as long as he can get back on the field this season and get more reps.

I'm going to agree with this post about Neal.  Early on, he looked as badly as he was last season, but I thought he picked up his game until he got hurt.  What I'm not understanding, and this is on Schoen and Daboll, is the hiring and retention of the OL coach. The Giants have had issues with the OL for over a decade but they have finally put in enough resources that there should have significant improvement.  Instead, they've gone backwards. While some of it is related to injuries, at least some is on the coaching.  There are good OL coaches out there so why are we stuck with a Bills castoff?

When the Giants drafted Toney, knowing nothing about red flags concerning injury history and apparent inability or unwillingness to learn the playbook, I was against the pick primarily because Darrisaw was available and he would filled a need that they still haven't fixed.  But, last night watching Deebo Samuels do his thing, I understand what they were trying to accomplish with Toney.  He has a similar skill set but doesn't look like he'll ever use them the way Deebo does. 

I've read here that Judge was the decision maker on the Toney pick and not Gettleman. I haven't read that anywhere else.  To me, Judge looked like a stickler for discipline in the Belichick mold and that would rule out Toney.  Plus, I find it very easy to blame Gettleman for every bad move.  Still, if Judge had a long term contract, which I think he had, then maybe drafting Toney made a little bit of sense if they thought he could play like Deebo. 

One of the worst decisions by an official that I have ever seen.  A team should have one of its employees start an altercation with an opposition player on the sideline and they both get thrown out.  Makes alot of sense

Should have added that the other tv game here has Baker Mayfield and Bryan Young both of whom were the 1st picks in the draft

The more I watch football, and I have been watching football for longer than many of you have been alive, the more I realize there are no rules.  I am right now watching the 49er vs the Eagles who are clearly taking the best teams in the game with Purdy and Hurts as the starting QBs while I am reading here about the absolute need to draft a QB with the 1st pick.  Or, we have to draft OL in the 1st as though a 1st is the only chance to improve the OL.  The best rule, in my opinion, is draft really talented people emphasizing certain positions of value.  We need to add talent at lots of positions

Heard this on a Francesa podcast.  How does anybody bring back early from a serious injury an older immobile QB behind a horrible OL that cannot pass block in meaningless games?  Never mind.  Its the Jet

Before the season started, the win total for the Giants was 7 or 7 1/2.  I think it started at 6 1/2.  Most here and other Giants forums were convinced the over was a lock; many predicted double digit wins.  Most of the "experts" that I heard were for the under and the primary reason was no confidence in Jones.  It was not even the OL.  The experts who went for the over were mostly about the superior coaching.  I know the lines put out by Vegas reflect an effort to balance wagering but the initial line is based on assumptions by super smart people.  I know they messed up last year but that doesn't happen too often.