Big Blue Huddle

Art Stapleton
@art_stapleton
The meddling stuff is folly. Fans want Mara to meddle when he doesn't, and if he doesn't, he gets ripped for not stepping in and meddling. He's the owner. He stays out of the way, but he's involved. He's not an ivory tower guy. Fans have seen him waiting in parking garages for his car at Town Hall. He flies commercial.
As with any owner, there are good decisions and bad decisions, and Mara owns all of them - he signs off on it all, either verbally or just allowing it to happen.
After Jerry Reese, Mara wanted a GM to be the voice for the football ops. Reese was not that guy. Thought he had that with Gettleman, and obviously we saw how that turned out.
There's a reason why Mara has stepped into the background: he wants the GM to be the face. That's Joe Schoen. Mara will talk on league matters and give an occasional State of the Giants, but those are more rare because he would rather Schoen be that representative for the organization.

https://x.com/art_stapleton/status/1759314372004835548?s=20

Damned if you do, damned if you don't, except when the Lombardis keep piling up.

Peace!

Fans want Mara to meddle?

That's the first I've heard of such a thing. If there are indeed fans who want a meddling owner, I'd like to suggest they look to the 1-star rated team.

Art Stapleton
@art_stapleton
A memory about the Giants from 2018:

I was on the record in believing Sam Darnold was the best QB in the class. Genius.

Doesn't matter now other than to add context to decisions teams make all the time, big and small ones, but I do believe that, if the Giants went QB in that spot, and John Mara and Pat Shurmur had their pick, they would've taken Josh Allen.

And it's unlikely Allen becomes the Josh Allen we see now if he was a Giant, just based on circumstance.

But again, if Mara was as heavy handed as he is often accused of being, Allen was the QB he liked most.

We all have heard the McAdoo/Mahomes story a million times to the point it has become legend around here, even if it's not quite exactly how things went. Doesn't matter now.

The "what ifs" of every decision are fascinating when we know how the future played out. The alternate timelines would make for a compelling flick, though.

https://x.com/art_stapleton/status/1759251993250381949?s=20

He's focusing on the wrong Mara. I don't really have a problem with John. Our abysmal draft record over the past decade, including three different general managers, stands as an indictment of Chris Mara's influence in the player personnel department. He is the only common thread.

The team has been bad for over a decade. That falls on Mara, meddling or not.

Quote from: madbadger on February 18, 2024, 04:58:41 PMHe's focusing on the wrong Mara. I don't really have a problem with John. Our abysmal draft record over the past decade, including three different general managers, stands as an indictment of Chris Mara's influence in the player personnel department. He is the only common thread.

Chris Mara probably had minimal influence because personnel decisions are made via group consensus.
Even then, his influence was probably positive. Before he came to the Giants, Chris ran a very successful scouting service that was subscribed to by over half the teams in the NFL. He knows his stuff.


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Quote from: todge on February 18, 2024, 05:45:22 PMChris Mara probably had minimal influence because personnel decisions are made via group consensus.
Even then, his influence was probably positive. Before he came to the Giants, Chris ran a very successful scouting service that was subscribed to by over half the teams in the NFL. He knows his stuff.


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You've said that in the past but when he assumed the title of director of player personnel in 2011 we went from being a good drafting team to one of the worst. That drought spans several GM's. I'm sure it's just a coincidence.