Big Blue Huddle

From an old article in 2022..."the Giants were fed up with Evan Engram dropping passes, which was his calling card. Bellinger was chosen because he had the lowest drop rate of any TE in college, and because he brought size that Engram didn't have, which might translate to better blocking than Engram offered. Bellinger was seen as a future pass catcher though, not a blocking TE"

He started out very well, then got his eye poked by Devin Lloyd in the game against the Jaguars. The injury required surgery to repair his septum, as well as repair fractures on the lower part of his left eye socket. By the time he was back, he had been replaced by one-time great offensive TE, Waller

He's the same person he was when he was drafted...a reliable pass catcher who's hard to bring down. He's never going to better than Manhertz or Jakob Johnson who are proven specialists as "blocking ONLY TEs". Bellinger's a 6'5"/256 lb pass catching TE who suffered a major eye injury and has been basically misused since that horrific injury. His real competition on the team is Theo Johnson who has potential to be TE1, simply because of his size and athleticism, but Theo is a rookie who will have a lot of work ahead of him to have hands as reliable as Bellinger

Bellinger has great hands. He's not going anywhere. Over his college career, he had a total of 3 drops in 4 years...and gained a reputation as a very hard guy to bring down

He had that bad eye injury that set him back and then had to suck hind tit to Waller. He's a keeper and ain't going nowhere

My comfort:

- no serious injuries!!!

- it's not a real game and coaches are experimenting with a lot of things and will tweak things before the real games start

- like I pointed out earlier in another thread, DJ taking risks that amounted to turnovers shows that if he's ever going to become a major QB, he needs to throw the ball out there and let the chips fall where they may. It's not his comfort zone, as he is overly conscious of making mistakes, so he takes safe outs...but he needs to get out of his comfort zone. Great QBs let it fly and interceptions happen...just ask gunslingers' Brett Favre or Josh Allen (who had far more interceptions thrown than DJ). The more he throws, though, the more confidence he builds, and the more he is forced to let his complimentary players make plays. I'm comforted knowing Daboll is telling DJ to let it fly and for him to get used to it. This is the NFL, not college and QBs need to trust receivers to be at the right place at the right time and bring the ball in

Concerns:

- none really...these are not real games, and Daboll is "test-driving" players on the back of the roster...separating the wheat from the chaff and experimenting with ideas. Most of the plays that will be used in real games are not used pre-season, as Daboll keeps his cards close to his chest. We won't know what we are dealing with until we watch the first few real games

I've watched quite a few clips of him since the signing. He seems to be an elite blocker, both in protecting the QB and for making holes for the RB. Plays like his hair is on fire, and though seldom used as an offensive weapon, he catches a ball nicely

I love this kid. I think we got ourselves a hidden gem - fingers crossed

Quote from: Jclayton92 on August 17, 2024, 04:43:32 PMI was talking up Jones new moxy and new beard to my friends as he was throwing picks.

I wouldn't make too much about the picks. Some of the best QBs have been known to throw more than their share of picks. One of the things talked about earlier this year, was the skittishness of Jones worrying more about getting picked, than moving the ball...forcing him to be too conservative. Daboll pointed it out that he'd rather see picks where the QB is trying to move the ball downfield, then for the QB to hold on to the ball too long and search for a quick dump off throw. It might work for short gains, but it's not how football games are won. If Tom Brady threw a couple of picks in preseason, no one would say a word...they'd just call him rusty or whatever. Daboll wants DJ to get aggressive and not so conservative/aprehensive. It's all about changing the mindset of the QB so that he's not timid to take a shot downfield, instead of looking for easier short throws as an out. It's a process

I thought that was you who turned me on to Hiaason. I love reading more than watching TV, because it's all on my time and there's so much more detail, and the picture the reader imagines in his head is unique to him and has much more detail and color to it. Turned out to be one of my favorite authors when I need something "less dark". He's a fantastic writer

I'm a little surprised you started "Razor Girl" and haven't finished it. Once I started "Razor Girl", I couldn't put it down. Read it in a couple of days. What story has anyone read, that starts out with a beautiful woman acting distracted and "accidentally" runs into the car ahead of her. She's naked from the waist down, and is shaving her nether region knowing it will throw the guy off when he gets to her window (duhh...it would throw me off, I can promise that)...LMAO. And Yancy, with his tendency to work around his house (inside and out) in his birthday suit garners a lot of surprises from his neighbors or those who drop in for an unannounced visit

Internet quick synopsis for anyone interested in Hiaason's books: "A lovable con woman and a disgraced detective (Yancy) team up to find a redneck reality TV star in this raucous new novel from Carl Hiaasen, the bestselling author of "Bad Monkey". Merry Mansfield, the eponymous Razor Girl, specializes in kidnapping for the mob".

From BookBrowse.com
Book Summary

"The new full-tilt, unstoppably hilarious and entertaining novel from the best-selling author of Skinny Dip and Bad Monkey.

When Lane Coolman's car is bashed from behind on the road to the Florida Keys, what appears to be an ordinary accident is anything but (this is Hiaasen!). Behind the wheel of the other car is Merry Mansfield - the eponymous Razor Girl - and the crash scam is only the beginning of events that spiral crazily out of control while unleashing some of the wildest characters Hiaasen has ever set loose on the page.

There's Trebeaux, the owner of Sedimental Journeys - a company that steals sand from one beach to restore erosion on another ... Dominick "Big Noogie" Aeola, a NYC mafia capo with a taste for tropical wear ... Buck Nance, a Wisconsin accordionist who has rebranded himself as the star of a redneck reality show called Bayou Brethren ... a street psycho known as Blister who's more Buck Nance (the moonshine folk hero who is living legend at the MoonRunners Saloon) than Buck could ever be ... Brock Richardson, a Miami product-liability lawyer who's getting dangerously - and deformingly - hooked on the very E.D. product he's litigating against ... and Andrew Yancy - formerly Detective Yancy, busted down to the Key West roach patrol after accosting his then-lover's husband with a Dust Buster in a most unfortunate way. Yancy believes that if he can single-handedly solve a high-profile murder, he'll get his detective badge back.

That the Razor Girl may be the key to Yancy's future will be as surprising as anything else he encounters along the way - including the giant Gambian rats that are livening up his restaurant inspections.

Since it's that season, here's a couple

The question could likely be answered by the waiver wire. We all know that Schoen watches it like my aunt used to watch soaps...may she RIP

If a quality OL falls through the cracks and onto the wire, Schoen will be fully aware

Someone on here a couple years ago or more, turned me on to author Carl Hiaasen (Steve?, aka "Sem" perhaps). Anyway, Hiaasen writes great detective stories based in Southern Florida. He uses a good mystery into every plot, but always finds a way to constantly inject humor into murder, greed, sex, and mayhem that only takes place in Florida

Anyway, I read his book, "Striptease" (or maybe it was "Skinny Dip" - can't remember) and was hooked and have since read most of his books, including "Bad Monkey". So imagine my elation to hear that a new series has dropped on Apple TV called "Bad Monkey" and lo and behold, it's based on the book by Carl Hiaasen. I haven't started it yet because like many new series, they drop the first three episodes, and then you have to wait each week for the next episode...ala "Fargo", "Only Murders in the Building", etc. Very frustrating after getting used to watching a series anytime I want. Spoiled I guess. I remember the days that if you missed an episode because you had to be somewhere more pressing, you missed it and you missed it forever

Anyway, here's the trailer

I just finished the first season of "Troppo" on Prime and am now entering the second season. I really liked it. Sort of an Agatha Christie detective/mystery set in the swamps of a small town in Australia. Got a little bit of everything, "suicide by crocodile", "teen murder", "using deadly snake venom to get high", "corrupt police", "murder by Eastern Brown Snake", "big money vs. barely able to survive folks", etc. Somehow, they left out the funnel web spider 

I liked it and thought I'd share

Quote from: Giant Obsession on August 17, 2024, 07:29:10 AMI have a HOF question,  not meaning to hijack your thread.

How in the heck is Neil Sedaka not in the HOF  ???

R&R HOF is a joke. It's run by clowns who use their own preferences only, totally ignoring sales, popularity, number of hits, and especially, whether the inductees have anything whatsoever to do with "Rock". If Sedaka didn't make it, it's because the "Lords of Rock and Roll" (the committee behind closed doors making HOF decisions) didn't care for him or had a personal beef with someone

A bigger travesty, IMHO, is the snubbing of Tommy James and the Shondells, and Three Dog Night. No rock group sold more records in '68 and '69 than those two groups - and that includes the Beatles in those years...maybe you've heard of them

James had 14 hits, none bigger than "I Think We're Alone Now", and "Crystal Blue Persuasion". So popular that James' no.1 hit "Mony, Mony" was copied by Billy Idol, which made him a star. And Joan Jett (R&RHOF) also copied James with her hit "Crimson and Clover"...but I digress. Three Dog Night ran off a dozen hits and have been snubbed - makes no sense at all

Yet, Willie Nelson is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and never played a rock lick in his life...and then there's all the rappers who have been inducted to the R&R HOF...duh 

I think Joe and Brian are hell-bent on fixing ST's, judging by their early signings, and then adding this one. The Giants weren't the worst ST in the NFL, but they weren't good and were quite bad when it came to field position. They have made a concerted effort to improve this area of the game.

25 years old, spent the last two years on the Rams, was a CB, switched to S, excelled on special teams. That's all I got