Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: katkavage on March 24, 2024, 10:16:06 AMI keep harping here about next year. The best approach is to not consider 2024 as anything more than a stepping stone to 2025. They will need a QB one way or the other, this year or next. Though these receivers seem extremely talented, receivers are much easier to find than QBs. And grabbing a QB next year and unless he's CJ Stroud level, delays the rebuild even longer.

kat: You're right about all of that. If the Eagles could find a way to get AJ Brown, I suppose Schoen can find a way to do the same, somewhere, some time soon. But one problem with getting the QB first is the size of Jones' contract.  Another is that unless they truly believe Hyatt will "step up" this year, they have never had even a potential elite WR for many years. To me, the WR should come first if it's Harrison.  If they can't get him then I'd go for extra 2024 picks (trade down if possible) rather than drafting a QB at Pick Six, but if they do go for a QB without trading down I'll be ok with it because it would likely mean they couldn't get Harrison AND they really like the QB they'd be drafting. It will be very interesting to see what they do. I just hope they don't have to "settle" for trading down. Bob

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 24, 2024, 09:50:10 AMBob,


I  agree about your point about the O-line Jones worked with.   Hard to "calmly step up into the pocket" when there are already two defenders there waiting to great you.

With Mike, I find his commentary is a combination of what he hears and what he sees from his own study.  I think the Drake May comments were heard.   In another segment, Mike talks about how teams really come away liking JJ.   That was obviously heard and it's what he was referring to when he talked about the intangibles.

Rich: I forgot about his mention of May... you're right. Bob

Quote from: Philosophers on March 24, 2024, 10:05:45 AMI think Brian Hartline at Ohio St is the best college WR coach in the country.  He complemented Harrison's father perfectly in Junior's development.  Junior is a Day 1 starting WR with lethality.  Nabers will start Day 1 but he and a QB probably wont get on the same page maybe til mid-season.  He wont run the NFL quality routes exactly the way the QB needs.  He'll make some big plays early but I doubt he will early on be a volume WR.

Phil: I agree but the Giants DO have Hyatt who (hopefully) will take a step up next season, both in terms of his own performance but also in terms of how much Jones, Lock and ? (if any) will trust him and focus on him. Yet one more thing (not mentioned so far) about Harrison over Nabers is that Harrison is an "X" while Nabers is "too small" for that job, IMO. Bob

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 24, 2024, 10:06:57 AMSchoen already gave up a low third-round pick for an expensive veteran TE and now has given up a high-second-round pick (and misc. draft capital) for an expensive Edge veteran.   If Schoen continues this pattern, he is going to run into serious cap problems even with the savings a rookie quarterback would bring (minus the cost of getting DJ's contract this year and the $25 million the following year).

Rich: You're right, but IMO if Schoen doesn't get a prime-time WR and above-average QB play out of SOME (ANY) QB real soon, he won't have to worry about his cap situation down-the-road, because he'll be out of a job. Bob

Maybe Jones doesn't have the "innate trait" (think fast, play slow) but I'd ask Lombardi to get out there behind the Giants' offensive line and show me how!  lol  NOT ONE WORD ABOUT THE OFFENSIVE LINE. Two thumbs down.

As for the QB's discussed, he's not hearing much. I say that because mostly he talked about the various types of scouts and what they look for, as well as the various things HE looks for when evaluating a QB.

None of that is something he "heard" but rather his view of the drafting process(and I agree with all of that).

Bob

Quote from: ozzie on March 24, 2024, 09:17:04 AMThis sounds wonderful, Bob. I am envious!
To answer Lenn's original question, I would say the thing I splurge on the most would be buying tickets to live events, mostly concerts. We don't go to too many, but when it is something we really want to see or experience, I will bite the bullet and pay the price. I think the first real big time "Rock Concert" I went to, I paid $8.00 and had a great seat. The latest we went to cost us close to $100.00 a ticket and the seats were nowhere as good, HAHA!
(some shows we have paid even more than that)
My reasons for "splurging" on these events are first - it is good family time for us. Believe it or not, our kids enjoy the same music my wife and I do. Secondly - most of my favorite bands are really getting up there in years and you never know when it will be the last time you get to see them.
I'm sure there are other things I probably spend a bit too much on, but live events is the first thing that came to mind.

oz: I envy you that particular luxury. Harrisburg (although it's the state capitol) is not really near a city big enough to host a lot of major events, although the nearby Hershey Arena does hold concerts during summer months (but the concerts mostly involve what I'd call "second-tier" groups). Example: although Taylor Swift (not that I'm a fan) is from Reading, PA, she has never to my knowledge made an appearance within 100 miles from us. Bob

Quote from: ozzie on March 24, 2024, 08:56:40 AMI personally would not. I don't think the Giants have enough draft picks to trade even one away. Still need to plug too many holes.

oz: Agree, but... getting either a QB or WR whom the Giants consider to be a "sure-fire" hit will go a long way to minimize the need for filling EVERY hole and they can use the remainder of this draft to pick one or two of the other holes and concentrate on filling them... which means they can use next year to finish the job.  IMO without either an improvement at the QB position or an elite WR, the Giants can fill all the holes they want this year and it's still unlikely to improve the results for this year. Bob  PS. Nothing wrong with doing it the other way around (i.e., filling as many of the non-QB and non-WR holes as possible this year and completing the job next year). Bob

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on March 24, 2024, 08:47:17 AMAnd if so, if you could pick between JJ and Maye, whom would you take and why?

DB: I wouldn't complain if they did that to get whatever QB they deemed a perfect fit for the Giants.

A move like that would mean they believe the QB they're taking is better (for them) than at least one of the QB's already off the board (if not both of the QB's already off the board).

Needless to say, I would be ecstatic if they made that trade to get Harrison Jr. instead of a QB for two reasons: (1) it would tell me the doctors believe Jones' leg will be fine (and there's no reason to worry about his neck problem); and (2) it would tell me they agree with me that Harrison is a better player than ANY QB in this draft (and they agree that the Giants need a first-rate WR more than a new QB).

Bob

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 24, 2024, 08:27:00 AMBob,

I am not saying they are similar, but the comparison between the Nabers vs. MHJ reminds me of the Manning vs. Leaf debate.  Leaf was the more physically gifted, while Manning was the more refined.

One other thing I noticed is that Daniel underthrows a lot of his long passes.  I lost count of how many times Nabers had to throttle back to catch the ball (often costing yards/TDs)

Rich: I did notice that. I still haven't decided which guy made the other guy look good, but it seems to have been Nabers providing the "security blanket" for Daniels rather than the other way around. Bob

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 24, 2024, 08:03:13 AMMarvin Harrison Jr. vs. Malik Nabers: Here's Who Is Better.

Rich: The one thing my posts have not mentioned about Nabers (but should have) is that his body movement is incredible.  He can turn while running full-speed.  Even Harrison is not as good as Nabers at that aspect of physical capability. Bob

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 24, 2024, 07:36:39 AM

Rich: I think Skinner did a great job.  However... check out that highlight reel.

All his "routes" are college routes (essentially running in straight lines with a head fake).

MORE importantly, almost all those highlights involve the DB playing a mile off the line-of-scrimmage!!!  In the NFL the DB's are good enough and fast enough to play him from the LOS... how will Nabers react?  How will he cope?  I DO like him but I worry about that aspect of the game also.

Bob

PS added.  Concerning the few highlights where the DB started less-than-a-MILE (lol) off the line of scrimmage... in NONE of those cases was Nabers even TOUCHED by the DB.  In ALL of them, the DB immediately began back-peddling at the snap.  In the NFL, they get up in your grille and get their hands on you (until you get past the "legal" territory for hand contact).  Remember what Mike Tyson said.... "EVERYBODY HAS A PLAN UNTIL THEY GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE.  In the NFL, Nabers will get punched in the face. 

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on March 24, 2024, 07:38:47 AMBob,

To clarify, by "class", I was simply referring to disposable income level and/or available savings level. Not any sort of social class concept.

I think how much loose cash flow one has lying around is generally going to directly correlate to his/her ability or willingness to spend more robustly on non-essential things. I understand that there are wealthy people who still pinch pennies and that there are less well off people who spend aggressively, but over the whole population I would say that correlation is pretty clear.

DB: I hadn't yet read your post when I wrote mine.  The line at the bottom (which I have erased) was something I intended to direct to Lenn's first sentence, but I didn't want to raise another issue. Since you mentioned it, however, and since it had also occurred to me, I'll elaborate. I believe to an extent our generation (and social class) have all the money. The bad news is that IMO we DO make it worse for generations behind us by not pinching our pennies tight enough when money for those generations gets tight. The good news is... for the same reason, we also have the means to support the overall economy when it's shaky... and prevent a complete collapse. Bob

Well, I will be excited if Nabers is our man at Pick Six, but I'd take Harrison anyway. Three reasons.

First, he and his dad hardly ever missed a game. That (as Giants' fans know) is crucial.  Compare our most recent 1st-round-drafted (and failed) WR, who just couldn't get ON the field. We know less about Nabers in general, and that's not a very good reason, but it matters to me.

We also know Harrison can play in cold weather. That is important, since Nabers has never done it. We just don't know how he'll react to getting hit in cold weather.  Harrison has already proven it doesn't bother him one bit. It is a huge question-mark with Nabers (to me).

Last, Harrison's route-running involves a mental aspect of the game that all professional WR's must have. Those who come to the NFL as "one-trick ponies" don't last very long (same for basketball). Pro DB's always take away what you did in college, because they have seen you do it over and over again, on tape. Nabers has never had to run ALL the routes in his offense, and there's a question-mark in my mind about how hard he'll work to raise his game knowledge to the pro level (it's not a big question-mark but it's bigger than any question-mark concerning Harrison).

Bob

PS. I fully agree with Cosell, but if you can't get open, you can't get "the ball in your hands" (quoting Cosell).  I have more confidence in Harrison being able to get open in the NFL (without special "scheming") than Nabers.  Make no mistake, however... if Nabers is the Giants' pick I'll be very happy, just not ecstatic. lol

Quote from: LennG on March 23, 2024, 07:28:02 PMWhile the economy is basically stagnant, but the Stock Market is booming, many people are still watching their pennies. But I was thinking is there something that, no matter what, you always splurge on even if you know you shouldn't, or even can't afford it? Some people splurge on clothes, on cars, on accessories for their homes, and even on that morning coffee. Do you have one thing that you have top have no matter what the cost?

I thought about this for a while and basically, myself and my wife, are pretty frugal about most things. It's not that we can't afford something but growing up more poor than middle class, I refuse to way overpay for something, knowing I really wouldn't enjoy it if I did.
That said, I guess our one 'vice' is cruising, which we do no matter what. We love to travel, but cruising is our nirvana in that we just love it no matter what. We have been on over 40 cruises and if we count up all the money we have spent on it over the years, yooowwweeee, but it is our passion as we age. We never did this while our kids were at home, but now, again, it is our one true expense that we will indulge in no matter what.

Lenn: To answer your question, we have about three acres of land which is ALL garden. Not just grass. It's like living in Longwood Gardens, but slightly smaller. lol  We "splurge" (mostly out of necessity) on the best garden tools, equipment, supplies and implements as are available. It's a lot of work but we've been able to keep up for about 25 years.

Which brings me to... we're finally downsizing and moving nearer our daughter (only child) and grandchild (again, she's an "only") to Stewartstown, PA, which no one has ever heard of (down I-83 from Harrisburg to the last exit before Maryland). Building a house which is almost done (we'll be a half-hour easy drive to see the Yankees when they visit the Orioles).

A comment about the bold type above... I disagree in the sense that it's a "class" thing.  Our generation has all the money and there are a lot of us (still). We got it by "watching our pennies" as you say, and it wasn't handed to us. So that is never going to change.  But we have a lot more than the generations behind us.  They will IMO never know the type of life we have (that applies especially to the groups two and three generations behind us; the generation immediately behind us will struggle but IMO still not do too badly).

Bob

Quote from: brownelvis54 on March 23, 2024, 06:48:18 PMBob. The article was written. 03/22/24

brownE: That's a stunner. Thanks for checking. I can't explain it, but off the cuff, it appears they need to get more 1st-contract players on the offensive payroll and cut a few veterans.  Looking over the roster, I don't see how they can do that. We seem to have as many 1st-contract players as all but a very few teams. Bob