Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: Ed Vette on February 03, 2024, 09:02:04 AMHarbaugh said he wouldn't be surprised if he's the first QB off the board.

https://sports.yahoo.com/jim-harbaugh-makes-bold-j-230248640.html

Some say Harbaugh should take a drug test.

It's sort of funny, before Harbaugh made his pronouncement I had heard that many thought that Jim is/was legit crazy (in a good way)

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on February 03, 2024, 09:20:53 AMI guess we can say the same thing about every great DC in their first year as a DC.

If he gets along well with Daboll and is well liked with the players, that's a nice starting point. Obviously they need to feel he can do the job though.

True, but Henderson is 54.  Usually, if they show the aptitude they are promoted sooner than that

Quote from: Woody on February 03, 2024, 09:15:07 AMGood point......anybody in house qualified ? That is likely the direction they will have to go at this point.

The Giants have been pumping up their excellent DB coach, Jerome Henderson.  He's never been a DC before, though.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on February 03, 2024, 08:50:38 AMBottom line for me in a nutshell:

He was clearly a good to very good college QB and has some nice tools. With that said, he never popped off the screen for me in big games the way I'd want a top 10 pick to do. Obviously I'm not a professional scout, but I have watched college and pro ball consistently for over 40 years now so I do have some degree of trust in my eyes.

I would not advocate taking him sixth overall under any circumstances, personally. And I don't expect him to last until 39. If he is still on the board past the 25/28 range and the Giants moved up to get him, I could live with that. What I don't want to see them do is let their desperate need for a good QB push them into overrating McCarthy or any other QB prospect this year. That is the Gettleman approach, and I really do not want to go back to that.

I first heard this from Mike Lombardi.  It's called the 4 Ps of scouting.  Your comment in bold makes you a performance scout while I think we all strive to projection scouts.


Poor. Picker. Performance. Projector.

In every area of life, everyone is a scout. We all evaluate things every day, therefore most of us can relate to these four areas -- which generally cause teams to make mistakes.

» The "poor" scout is someone who cannot effectively evaluate talent. Now, it would be easy to assume that poor scouts wouldn't have jobs, but that would be a bad assumption since mistakes happen each year in the draft. Trust me, the league is filled with "poor" scouts.

» The "picker" scout finds one thing that is wrong about the player and allows that one area to alter his evaluation. Much like many teams did with Suggs, picking on the 40 time, even though his tape was consistently good.

» The "performance" scout can only base his evaluation on what a player does in his presence.

» The "projector" scout can view talent and project their ability, understanding how the player fits for his respective team.

Quote from: Ed Vette on February 03, 2024, 08:59:32 AMLike I've said, he should have stayed another year and moved to a different program. Perhaps Harbaugh leaving expedited his decision to push his chips in due to uncertainty.

From JJ's perspective, he just won a championship.  Outside the top 3 QBs, the field is pretty weak.  He could have gone back, but it would have meant a new system (learning new systems tends to set QBs back), and there was no assurance the new system would suit him or that the team would still have the same talent levels.  There is always the injury wildcard as well.

Right now, he can come out, and he is likely a first-round pick.  As it stands now, he will likely be drafted lower in round one, which should help his long-term NFL future as he is likely to be drafted by a better team. 

From the NFL perspective and wanting to get to know more about JJ McCarthy, I am sure most would have preferred another year to see what JJ could do (and hopefully fill out his frame a bit). 

Still, when you are picking 6th in this QB-needy league, you are not going to have a choice of a perfect prospect, so it's a matter of what defect you are willing to live with.

For me, I am warming up to the idea of living with being less proven (but demonstrated talent) with some offset by being on the younger side.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on February 03, 2024, 08:52:27 AMThat's true, and it's a good point.

I don't really want Taylor back for the same reasons you don't. I actually think the front office agrees. I remember in one of the press conferences Schoen said something like "we'll certainly consider him", and it kind of came across that their real feeling was the opposite of that.

Outside of the Ronnie Barnes discussion if our GM cared a bit more about how injury prone a player is, maybe we wouldn't always be leading the league in injuries

There also are a lot of areas of improvement for McCarthy entering the NFL as some sources said late in 2023. An AFC director of player personnel told WalterFootball.com:

J.J. is similar to [Will] Levis, but J.J. has better feel in the pocket than Levis did .... J.J. has a strong arm, is pretty good throwing outside the numbers. But I question his vision and instincts. He's late throwing down the middle of the field, and that leads to some misses. He misses quite a bit vertically because he's late on throws. I'm not sure what he's looking at so we will have to find that out in the interviews .... I don't like the decision-making, and he can be careless and reckless with the ball, which is surprising for a Harbaugh guy. J.J. is more talented than a game manager, but the instinctive issues are concerning.

https://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2024jjmccarthy.php

December 1, 2023

"I love McCarthy," one veteran NFL executive said. "He may not have enough juice to get him over Williams, but there is something about J.J."

...

"Would have loved to see him throw more than eight (expletive) times," one scout who attended the game texted as he left the stadium.

...

"That's Harbaugh," one NFL general manager replied. "He's going to do what he does. I give that kid credit. A lot of kids crumble there."

...

"The thing I liked, he knew there were a ton of scouts there and he threw it eight times," he said. "Yet after the game, J.J. was celebrating. He didn't give a (hoot). You saw him running all over. Tells me loud and clear he is a team guy."

...

"He's definitely athletic enough in the pocket," said a national scout with Michigan in his territory. "He's got all the necessary arm talent. He's accurate enough. I like his confidence. There's that fine line of taking risks and not being stupid, and usually he's at that line. For whatever reason, there's been a few games this year he's been crossing that line.

"He's a legit first-round contender based on what I've seen. I'm optimistic about what he can be. I don't have a strong conviction at this point."

...

that leads into another Harbaugh-related topic of whether Michigan's system better equips the quarterback for the NFL based on what he's asked to do.

"Yes," said a general manager who has seen McCarthy play this season. "Because he's running a more pro-style attack. He is in a different offense than all these other guys getting all of the stats.

"Now, he's in shotgun a lot, too, but he'll get under center. You can see him work through progressions. He still needs some work at that. He's accurate but misses throws like they all do. But it's more of a pro style with what they're doing with Harbaugh. They run the hell out of it, which helps the quarterback with the play action. He's an interesting guy."

...

"Unbelievable mind," one high-level evaluator said. "Can't make any judgment on him until they play (more) high-level teams."


https://www.chicagotribune.com/2023/12/01/nfl-evaluators-praise-jj-mccarthys-unbelievable-mind-would-the-chicago-bears-target-the-michigan-qb-and-local-product/

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on February 03, 2024, 08:30:22 AMThat is certainly the reason why I would prefer to look elsewhere. In the unlikely event that we draft a rookie who is projected to start in 2024 (either right away or at some point during the season), I'd be more open to Taylor. If we're just running it back with Jones and DeVito again and we need a stable veteran, then forget it.

The challenge, from the Giants' perspective, is that free agency occurs before the draft.  So it's tough to sign the sort of FA QB you feel bet fits the situation without knowing how the draft shakes out.  Although, it seems to me that all FA QBs are snatched up right away, and there usually are a few serviceable ones still available post-draft.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on February 03, 2024, 08:32:43 AMWhat exactly does an assistant head coach do? Both during games and during the week?

From what I can see from the outside looking in, it's more of an honorary title than anything.  I guess the title can bring a few more responsibilities, but that varies on a case-by-case basis.

https://x.com/NFL_DF/status/1750225768888545485?s=20

https://x.com/NFL_DF/status/1750225885108588574?s=20

https://x.com/NFL_DF/status/1750225999206170637?s=20

Quote from: Trench on February 03, 2024, 12:19:23 AMCrystal clear that Schoen got outmaneuvered....now it's on him

In fairness, the Giants were in a very weak position:

1)  Coordinators prefer to come in with the new HC so they know they have at least 2 or 3 seasons

2)  The disaster that was the Wink departure (regardless of how fans feel or spin it) has made jobs working under Daboll less attractive

3) Even before all of that, the cost of living (and taxes) and the salaries NYG pays made the assistant coaching jobs at NYG, not the most attractive

https://x.com/CFBNumbers/status/1752048230781607956?s=20

The thing to appreciate about JJ is his age.  The guy started as a true freshman (a good sign), and he is only 20 (as opposed to 24).  I came across this excellent chart of how college QBs improve over time


https://x.com/DevyEusuf/status/1753064664878211105?s=20

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on February 03, 2024, 12:06:54 AMBest QB on the team last year, and he is familiar with the system. I don't see why it wouldn't be at least a consideration.

I would say the reason you wouldn't consider him is Taylor's glaring inability to stay healthy even for just a series