Big Blue Huddle

brownE: Are you certain the list is current, or is there a chance it was compiled before Saquon departed?  Bob

Quote from: madbadger on March 23, 2024, 02:27:39 PMBob, the history of the NFL is littered with the bones of can't miss guys who missed. My concern is drafting a guy that early and belatedly finding out that he's a 4.6 guy who bluffed his way through not putting down a recorded time only to struggle to get separation in the NFL.

madb: He comes complete with NFL-caliber route variation ability and has demonstrated that quality throughout his college career. He not only knows all the routes, he knows how to run each of them using different get-off techniques and variations. In other words, he's super-cagey, and NFL backs will have a hard time "bullying" him off-course, which IMO is the greatest problem faced by WR's as they convert from college to the NFL.

What he does not know (or, I should say, what he did not demonstrate at Ohio State) is how to play on the other side of the offensive line. At Ohio State I seem to recall that he was always used starting from one side (the right side), so there could be a problem with moving him around in the formations.

However, I seriously doubt that the staring position on the line is going to matter much to a guy who can run three or four "versions" of every route without ever finding himself somewhere other than where the QB expects him to be (at the exact time the QB expects him to be there). In short, that criticism of him is mostly b.s.

Bob

Assuming the Giants want to pick a QB this year and want McCarthy, I sincerely hope the question they are answering by attending his workout is NOT "should we take McCarthy at six" but rather "how far down can we trade in the 1st round and still get him?" or "how far up from our 2nd pick do we have to move to get him in low 1st round or early 2nd round?" Bob

Quote from: andrew_nyGiants on March 23, 2024, 12:50:29 PMDoes it make you nervous that MH Jr is not participating in any pro days and did nothing at the combine?

andrew: Not even a bit... IMO he's already a pro football player due to his background plus (more importantly) taking full advantage of his background. As a student of the game, he really does have it all, IMO. Bob

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 23, 2024, 11:43:56 AMBob,

Mike Lombardi, who is pretty well connected, says some teams use Nabers as their number one WR.  So if 4 QBs go, there is an outside chance Nabers could go first and MHJ falls to the Giants at 6.  I'll admit it's a longshot but I don't think it's impossible.

Rich: If Lombardi is right, then so is your post.  At least it's something to hope for. 

IMO it will likely come down to whom the Cardinals select (I'm hoping they'll trade down and settle for WR #3).

What would it cost the Giants to switch picks with them? They can't afford to trade up three so they'll be at the mercy of what the Pats do (trade out, take a QB, take Harrison! or "pass" lol). In any event, the Giants luck is about zero so I'm probably just wasting time by typing this.

Bob

We'll never get him. We'd need either Pick 3 or 4, or the most outlandish luck, and we're not a lucky team.

At Pick 6 we'd likely need ALL 5 picks ahead of us to be QB's (there aren't 5 worth taking that high).

A trade up would be required, and it would have to be with the right team... and we really can't afford it, although I personally as GM would do it (damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead).

Bob

Quote from: President Rick on March 21, 2024, 07:53:13 AMdid holmes finally defend a pass?

Rick: I don't know what they see in him. If that's the "best" they can come up with, we are almost certain to see them take at least two more CB's in this year's draft to go along with the two taken last year. Bob

Quote from: Jclayton92 on March 20, 2024, 03:39:54 PMWe have enough guys in Flott, Robinson, and Belton to play nickel. We need a boundary guy.

J: I believe Robinson is a boundary guy, but unless he finds a way to stay on the field he'll never get the necessary experience so that they can trust him out there. Bob

Maybe ok, maybe not. I don't want them settling for leftovers.

I'm ok w/him if only one WR is already off the board. I'll be ecstatic w/him if no WR's have yet been taken.

If 2 WR's are gone and they take him, I'll have trouble believing the explanation that "he was the WR we had highest of the three (Harrison, Odunze, Nabers).

That could be true, but I'd bet my bottom dollar they would be lying.

In short... I'm most happy when they grab the very first guy taken at his position (regardless of position).

Bob

Quote from: uconnjack8 on March 18, 2024, 11:21:57 AMBoy was I wrong on Nakobe Dean.  Thought he was going to be a great pick for them. 

As for White, he is still good.  I think he gets a better DL in front of him in Philly than he had over the last couple of years in Tampa.  His rookie year that line was pretty stacked.

uconn: I teeter-tottered back and forth when he came out. I knew he was a very smart kid but wondered how long he could hold up playing with the "big boys" at his size. In the end, I wasn't happy the Eagles got him, but also didn't want the Giants to take him. I think the "size" thing is/was just more than he could overcome. Bob

Rich: I do believe Schoen is trying to have it both ways, because THAT'S HIS JOB and you always have to plan for contingencies (and, as you pointed out elsewhere, it's "due diligence").

What Ralph glosses over and fails to adequately account for is the comment near the beginning of the article is to explain that the time when Schoen said (paraphrasing) the Giants need to address the QB position came BEFORE they signed Lock.

Is that not "addressing" the QB position?  Ralph doesn't say, which means IMO it's safe to ignore the rest of the article inasmuch as it's crucial to viewing what he starts the article with in the proper context (noting that the Giants have gone "in-depth" on studying the best college QB's).

Bob

Quote from: gregf on March 18, 2024, 01:04:54 PMI see Neal taking 50% snaps at starting RT with the new guy we signed from Raiders the other 50%. Neal will get plenty of snaps at guard too. If the competition at RT is close, I could see Neals youth and draft slot giving him an edge. But if he is clearly outplayed, he gets to compete to compete for a starting guard spot. I'd love to see him earn a starting spot purely on merit

greg: Of the many possibilities suggested here and elsewhere, I like yours the best. The only downside is that either guy with a chance at playing tackle instead of guard could (intentionally or not) try harder at tackle (or not try as hard at guard) with knowledge that the tackle job pays more.  The counter to this is that (this year) both men get paid same amount no matter which job they win.  Bob

Quote from: EDjohnst1981 on March 17, 2024, 08:52:11 AMOkay, one example.

There are countless examples of locking on a guy and missing the open WR. Are we to infer that BD is putting the responsibility on the WRs all the time?

No, but I believe we can infer (from the fact that the coaches and GM insist Jones is still their guy) that it has happened a lot more than we know.

As for your examples (locking on a guy and missing an open man), I agree that Jones makes mistakes too. The question the coaches must sort out is whether Jones is making more than his "fair share" of mistakes and (again) I fall back on the fact that the team apparently is viewing him as their starting QB for (at least) the upcoming season.

Bob

Nice job, Jolly. Your guess is as good as any, and I can see a possibility that it works out as you said.

I agree that the 6th overall is a good spot. It always seems the Giants are just one pick too low to guarantee that at least one player who's true worth a high-1st-round pick will still be there when it's their turn. I figure that will happen again this year.

The possibility of receiving phone calls to trade down is IMO higher this year than it has been in a while, for the reasons you gave and others.

Bob

Guys: The situations on defense and special teams are (for me) more "cloudy" than usual due to new coordinators, so I listened intently to everything you both had to say on those subjects. A thorough and thoughful job on all of that. On offense, I agree with anything not mentioned below.

OL acquisitions in free-agency - I see the starting OL as Thomas, Eluemunor, Schmitz, Runyon and Neal. I did find Brian's idea about switching Big E with Neal to be interesting and not unthinkable, although IMO it's highly unlikely.

Lock - I think they're more pleased with getting Lock than Ceri believes. I know he's not the runner that Jones is, but I suspect things are going to change in that regard this year, because they know (as we know) that Jones probably won't be able to withstand another major injury (especially to the neck) so IMO they intend to have Jones play more like Lock, not the other way around!!!

The following assumes the Giants have heard nothing negative from the doctors about Jones' health and have no reason to believe he won't be ready to play by the start of the season - or - by the fourth game at the very latest, in which case they'll decide between Lock and DeVito in preseason (this competition of course could also include a QB they might draft in a later round or acquire post-draft in free-agency).  Yes, they could trade down but they can't control whether anyone calls them with an offer, so I'm ruling that out for now.

I have no reason to think they'll draft a high 1st-round QB. IMO they're hoping to convince everyone that they will in order to maximize the number of QB's who go before it's their turn. IMO they have a specific WR in mind whom they'd kill for (and a second WR choice in case their guy's gone). I suppose if lightning strikes and THE ONE QB they would actually want (I don't know who) is still there at six they will take him come Hell or high water, but the odds of that happening are almost zero and they essentially can't trade up because it would "cost" too much. So IMO they are planning for reality, not for luck or a lightning strike.  Notwithstanding the media firestorm that would result from drafting a position other than WR or QB at Pick 6, I seriously can't rule out the TE from Georgia or Joe Alt if they only like two WR's and both are gone along with any and all QB's in whom they might have had an interest (i.e., the worst-case scenario for pick six this year).

Bob

PS added later.... to repeat myself for the umpteenth time, I still believe that only ONE (or none) of the first-round QB's will prove to be more than an average NFL QB.  I just don't like this group.