Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on November 14, 2023, 01:55:49 PMJust out of curiosity, what is your best guess as to what happened with the 2017 Eli benching decision that ended his consecutive games streak? Do you think that was proposed to Mara and he gave it the OK? Or do you think McAdoo (and perhaps Reese) just proceeded with doing it and didn't even seek approval?

I ask, because given how emotional and loyal Mara seems to certain people, it is peculiar that he would have OK'd something like that when the team was 2-9. And if he didn't approve it and they just went ahead and did it without even asking him or telling him, then that kind of backs up the claim that coaches/GMs do whatever they think is right, even if Mara himself isn't a fan of the decision.

Unlike his feelings about Jones he never made his feelings about Eli's benching public. I'm sure it didn't sit right with him and it probably made him sick to his stomach but beyond that I don't want to speculate.

Quote from: MightyGiants on November 14, 2023, 01:17:46 PMIf memory serves, Wellington Mara rarely if ever spoke to the press.  So I am not sure what conclusions can be drawn from not hearing anything positive said about any Giants QB from Wellington.  Hell, I don't recall Wellington saying anything good about Phil Simms either.

That's the point. Owners shouldn't be talking about individual players as it creates undue influence. IMHO an owner should state publicly that it's his job to be concerned with the big picture and that all individual personnel decisions are the sole domain of GM. You really think any GM is gonna recommend firing Ronnie Barnes after the love Mara showered on him in public? It ties your GM's hands.

Quote from: MightyGiants on November 14, 2023, 12:56:31 PMI don't think John Mara was the owner when Dave Brown or Danny Kannell were the QB of the Giants.

His father was and he was involved with the day to day operation of the franchise. If Wellington was smart enough to keep his mouth shut about Brown and Kannell that John should have been taking notes. What makes his comments particularly egregious is he grew up in the NFL. I expect guys like Jones and Snyder who bought their franchises to shoot from their hips, Mara on the other hand should have known better.

Quote from: MightyGiants on November 14, 2023, 11:33:45 AMHas Mara ever done anything but praise the Giants QBs?  Has any owner ever said publicly said anything negative about their starting QB (with the possible exception of someone like Jerrah)?

Here's the thing, Mara has been around football long enough that sometimes you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.  If you "did everything you can to screw up" a QB prospect you drafted, there will be a point where the damage done is simply not reversible (see David Carr) or could take years to reverse (see Geno Smith).

I don't recall Mara ever praising guys like Dave Brown or Danny Kannell. It's one thing to praise a quarterback when he's done a good job and quite another when one has done a bad job and was entering his walk year.

Quote from: MightyGiants on November 14, 2023, 10:59:51 AMEd,

Belief, by definition, is a position held without supporting evidence. 

To your fair point about Bob being a company man.  I have followed Bob for many years, from his time on NFL radio to his podcasts with Carl Banks and his Twitter account.  Bob is not one of those company shill types.  He rarely says anything controversial or makes strong statements.   

So, from my perspective, there must be something about these beliefs being espoused by some fans that has motivated Bob strongly enough for him to speak out.   I think that Bob means what he said in this instance.

I will also add that there are people with insider sources (like Mike Lombardi and Chris Bisignano).  They both reported over the summer and at the start of the season that the building (not Mara) was high on Daniel Jones.  Lombardi is close enough to Daboll that Daboll reached out to him for advice when Daboll was deciding between the Dolphins and the Giants.  In a recent podcast, Mike Lombardi suggested that Daboll has been avoiding him because he doesn't want to hear the "truths" Lombardi would tell him like Jones isn't the answer or the team is not talented enough.

But there is plenty of evidence that a) Mara is clearly fond of Jones, he's said so publicly, and b) he has said the Giants have done everything to screw the kid over. 

If you're a first time head coach/GM and know the boss has strong feelings about a player because he has gone out of his way to make those feelings known publicly are you really going to go against him publicly by not extending him? Everyone who follows the Giants was stunned at the overly generous terms of Jones extension. Sure it was their call but to imply that there was no influence from Mara is absurd. I'm not even saying the interference was intentional but it was clearly there.

 

That's a very difficult block made impossible because McKeathan froze for a fraction of a second. Almost like he forgot his assignment for a millisecond. IMHO he isn't well coached, the scheme is asking him to do what he isn't capable of doing what he is being asked to do and he lacks the athletic ability to play in the NFL.

Knowing the Giants we'll hit a 63 yard field goal in a snow storm on the last day of the year to drop from 2nd overall to 4th.

Quote from: TDToomer on November 13, 2023, 06:12:56 PMGreat. So 20 players get replaced by rookies in 2024, the team will be younger and continue to struggle, and someone will make a new list of 20 players we need to get rid of. 

I wish we had 20 draft picks...

3rd overall most likely but if you want one of those two guys you're going to have to trade up to prevent someone else from doing so. Chicago, Carolina, Arizona and NE are the most likely teams to finish as bad or worse than us this year. Chicago is going to take a quarterback either with their pick or the pick they got from Carolina last year. Because of the contract Arizona is pretty much married to Murray unless they can convince someone else to take him off their hands and New England is quarterback needy.

Bobby Johnson OL
Mike Groh WR
Thomas McGaughey ST
Chris Mara
Tim McDonnell
Ronnie Barnes
Mike Kafka OC

Pipe dream though. Three of them are bulletproof despite the utter incompetence.

Looks like Laffy has turned the corner. He's averaging pretty close to a point a game. Not getting much out of the first and second overall picks has hurt the franchise. Now if they can just get Kakko to pull his head out of his rear end they could be special.

Quote from: andrew_nyGiants on November 11, 2023, 03:41:39 PMThat's just it, I don't think he's going in the 1st round.


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Don't care if he's available in the 6 th round. I don't want a quarterback with one foot in the grave. The position is far too important to be entrusted to a guy with that injury resume. Thanks but no thanks.

Quote from: andrew_nyGiants on November 11, 2023, 03:24:01 PMI'm about to watch who I think could become a great QB - Michael Penix Jr


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He's an intriguing player but he's already torn his ACL twice. Let someone else take that gamble in the first round.

Quote from: sooners56 on November 11, 2023, 03:00:45 PMJJ the game manager is not who the Giants need.

He's not a game manager. Not his fault that the interim/game coach is scared of his own shadow. When Harbaugh was running the team he had no qualms about asking him to carry the offense when needed.

Quote from: sooners56 on November 11, 2023, 03:00:05 PMAllar sucks and no it's not the defense. He just makes terrible passes!

He's a first year quarterback in a defensive oriented league. He's been pretty good this year, but is going to need another year or two of starting experience to get there.