Big Blue Huddle

Take a look at his stats as last year went along and tell me if this wasn't a GREAT move by the Bills. 

Diggs disappeared in a major way down the stretch last year.  Not sure if it was age, injury, he was in a bad headspace or what- but he was not the same player in the 2nd half of the season last year.  This move doesn't surprise me too much.  Bills now major players at the WR position in the draft (I'm sure this was also part of the calculus for them as the WR spot is STACKED in this draft, top to bottom IMO).

Brock Bowers at 6 would be a throw-the-remote pick for me.  With the kind of QB and WR talent that is guaranteed to be sitting there, picking a TE in that spot would be unthinkable for this team.

For the Penn State guys, I agreed with his takes on both Adisa Isaac and Chop Robinson.  Isaac, IMO, has a ton of upside potential- very high motor, still raw, really good athlete.  I think he'll make an impact as a rotational pass rusher right off the bat.  Cosell calls Chop the best edge in the draft and I agree.  PSU is gonna miss both of those guys next year (although they just moved a guy to DE that I like better than both these guys when he comes out- Abdul Carter...wears the same "honored" number at PSU as Micah Parsons and Lavar Arrington and may be next in line, IMO- keep an eye out on him this coming year). 

I went with other- I think Kayvon has a chance to break out with a legit edge on the other side taking a lot of attention off of him and of course Dex in the middle to do the same.  More than anything, I'm hoping that Burns can mentor the young man and show him some tips to take his pass rush game to the next level.

Shouldn't be too surprised at this, as the position itself is heavily drafted throughout every round.  Throw more darts, land more bullseyes.  Also first pick WRs are naturally going to worse team environments.

Quote from: jimc on March 28, 2024, 06:45:36 PMI believe they wanted to sign Barkley, but at their price. That is responsible stewardship. I think they were surprised that they couldn't.

I don't believe at 2-6 we were done. I don't know what would have gotten us into the playoffs, but you keep playing and trying until you can't. You owe it to your players and to all the other teams.

If you are not trying to win then the only thing you're doing is QUITTING.

Look, you have your opinion and I have mine.  Better to say that we agree to disagree on this point. No harm no foul.

Agree with this 100% and will add a few more points.

-Viewing the team in such a "macro" way feels a lot more like fantasy football/Madden type of thinking than actually running an NFL organization.  At 2-6, following a season in which the team had won a playoff game, is 100% not the time to trade away literally your only offensive weapon and the face of the franchise.  Doing so would have been a disaster- leading to a higher draft pick?  Sure.  Disastrous in every other way?  Yep.
-The fans that pay for tickets and spend all that money to go to games deserve a franchise that is trying to win
-Comparing the Giants throwing in the towel with NINE games left in the season to the Eagles tanking in the final game of the season for draft position is apples and oranges and intellectually dishonest.
-It seems obvious that the Giants were hoping the RB market this year would be similar to what it looked like when the bottom fell out the previous year.  They would have definitely signed Barkley back if that was the case.  But it wasn't....  In fact, DaveBrown and many others on this board thought the same thing and were proven 100% incorrect.  In their eyes we had a broken down RB about to hit a terrible RB market and so it would be smart to let him hit free agency and then try to sign him to a team friendly deal.  That turned out to be wrong.  Ob la di Ob la da.  It's ok to be wrong sometimes. 
-Guess what?  After all this chatter on this board over the last few years it actually looks like Barkley was the smartest one of all of us.  Got a tag for a good amount of $$ and then converted that to a deal that will set him up for the rest of his life- and in the process goes to a hometown team with actual offensive players and an OL around him, and to top it off he gets to stick it to all the fans who have weirdly turned on him. 

It will be interesting to see how he does next year, to say the least.  If he stays healthy, IMO- look out.  Top 3 RB for sure. 

They were never going to try and re-sign Leo.  They wanted to re-sign Barkley but the money wasn't going to match up once they found out that WHOOPS there actually was a large market for Saquon.

Makes plenty of sense.  And I happen to agree with it- I think it would be an awful look to just do a wholesale firesale at that point in the season. 

Nah.  Just draft a stud in round 4-6.  It's easy and super cost effective.

I don't find it all that strange or disturbing.  There's a whole lot more to OC duties than just calling plays.

Quote from: Painter on March 22, 2024, 09:32:32 PMI'm not fond of the idea of a leader touting his leadership skills any more than I am in judging or passing blame on someone I don't know and have never met. I might find that to be a bit presumptuous and possibly self-aggrandizing, which would not correspond to my notion of leadership. Of course, to each his own.

Indeed, I have never regarded leadership as something to be claimed. More often, I find it reflected in a willingness of others to follow another in their own best interest whether or know it at the time. It may exhibit as a natural quality with some, but quite often it's evident only as a unique event.

Cheers!

This was very much in line with my thoughts while reading through this thread.  People who tout their own leadership skills usually (as in, I'd say 95% of the time) are the ones with the enormous egos that their subordinates roll their eyes at when they're not looking their direction.

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 22, 2024, 05:24:07 PMhttps://x.com/realtannenbaum/status/1771144832263639427?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ

I'm sorry but if that's the evidence count me out.  That is about as routine as a one-read play can get in that situation.  There was no reading of the defense on that play.  And to top it off the throw wasn't all that perfect either- he didn't lead the WR past the sticks.  If I was this guy I'd be embarrassed by this tweet.

And I'm no JJ hater.  I think he's actually gonna be one of the better QBs.  But not because of plays like this.

Quote from: MightyGiants on March 21, 2024, 03:16:00 PMI heard an ESPN Eagles beat reporter proclaim the Eagles are getting a "Pro Bowl running back" by signing Barkley.  Would you agree?

Yes.  I guess we'll see.  If he's healthy, there's no doubt in my mind he's still a top RB in the league- even after losing a step due to injury.  And he just got paid like one- despite a huge majority of Giants fans on this board proclaiming he'd never see that kind of top-end RB money. 

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on March 21, 2024, 12:10:56 PMI think what happened with Hawkins, was offenses thought little of the rookie CB that they assumed they could throw his way and the WR would win. But he showed he could defend. After several games, savvy offensive coordinators found weaknesses in his game and exploited them. Hawkins is a good kid with a great attitude and talented. He found out that the NFL was quicker all around and that offenses key on any shortcoming they find on him. Hopefully, he's been studying tape and getting mentally prepared this off-season so that he continues to improve his game. I think in another year of seasoning, he's going to be very good. It's not only difficult to make the jump to the NFL, but CB is one of the harder positions to become skilled at. I have faith he will improve with experience

So here's my follow-up question for those that have been tracking CB play way better than I have- why is it such a huge need to bring another CB in opposite Banks if we have a promising 2nd year player there?  I'd assume something must have happened with his play to warrant this much concern- I just haven't been tracking it.  Thanks for the help.

Quote from: uconnjack8 on March 21, 2024, 12:09:13 PMDies that stat by any chance have a breakdown of where they were hit and by whom?

There is a difference when a 300 lb. DT hits a RB in the backfield compared to a 180 CB hitting him 5 yards past the LOS when the RB has hit full running speed.    That was really a rhetorical question as I am sure they dont break that down.

Just like Jones faced pressure quicker than other QBs, I am pretty positive Barkley was getting hit earlier than most other RBs.  I really dont need stats to tell me what I regularly saw - DL in the backfield making contact within a step or two of Barkley receiving the hand off. 

It's all good, he's gone and the team is moving to a pass 1st offense. 

Good point.  Are there stats for where initial first contact is made by defenders?  I'd be shocked if Barkley wasn't near the top of those lists pretty much the entire time he's been a Giant.  BIG difference in yards after contact, I'd imagine, depending on where that 1st contact occurred- after a RB has gathered some momentum or before they've ever had a chance to get out the gate (as we all know has been the case with Barkley so often with our awful OLs).