OL
When I read in the papers that the OL just has to restore some pride and block better next week, you can count me as officially worried. When you see the OL-men use the same lame excuse that I used in my first post - that it is a hard place to play, it's so loud, blah, blah, I want to yuke. It's OK for me to say that, but not the players. I remember the last time the Giants went to Indy, with Kerry Collins at QB - he threw for 300+ yards, a bunch of TDs to Toomer, who had 200+ yards receiving, if I remember correctly. Was it noisy that day? I still remember the first play of the 2nd half - a flea flicker with Tiki Barber taking a handoff and flipping the ball back to Collins who hit Toomer for a long TD. Was it noisy in the stadium that day?!? I understand that the noise makes it harder to block because of the silent snap count, but for an OL-man to bring it up as an excuse.... and then quickly say it is not an excuse, just an explanation, I have to worry. The OL played poorly and were dominated by the Colts DL. There are a few possibilities: (1) the OL is really as bad as they looked and the Giants offense is going to stink; (2) the Giants OL is really very good and just had an off-night; (3) the Giants OL was once good and is now slipping - they are not horrible, but are far from great and the Giants offense and season will be limited by how much they can do.
Unfortunately, I think choice (3) is the likeliest explanation. The truth is that the Giants OL was never a great, dominant unit filled with powerful, athletic players. Rather, they were moderately-talented and exceeded their talent level by working hard, playing intelligently and working cohesively. Those last few attributes still may hold, even though we have all seen a bunch of blown assignments on blitz pickups lately. But if their talent has slipped just a little bit because of age and injury, and they can be dominated phyically and athletically by opposing DLs, no amount of hard work and cohesiveness is going to make up for that. So I suspect that the Giants OL will have a mediocre season. They will stand up to the mediocre DLs and have trouble against the teams that are a little better, especially from the purely athletic point of view. This is what happened Sunday night. I don't think Freeney and Mathis are great players; they are very good, somewhat one-dimensional, but not great. However, they are pure speed rushers / athletes, particularly the type of player that I assert can give the aging / slightly declining Giants OL some trouble. If this analysis is correct, than the suggestion I made in the last post, about making some changes in the lineup, by getting Andrews in the lineup or Beatty when he comes back from injury, is the only way to work out of the predicament.
Jacobs: Time to go
I like Brandon Jacobs - he is defintiley a different style RB than others that there are in the NFL. The entire league is going to speed, both in the running game as well as the passing game; Jacobs is a power RB in a speed league. Therefore, you could say that he gives the Giants a unique edge, a dimension that no other team has. He won't be as fast as the pure speed guys, but if he is fast enough, quick enough and smart enough at hitting the holes to use his power, then he can be a real weapon. However, if he is a hair too slow, then instead of becoming a weapon, he becomes a liability. I thought he looked good in preseason and was hoping he would get his touches and carries. However, once he starts pouting and throwing his helmet, it's time to go. Re-sign Andre Brown and get DJ Ware into the game as backups to Bradshaw.
He threw his helmet into the stands and said it was an accident. He didn't mean to throw it in the stands. He did intend to throw it.... it's just that he did not intend to throw it in the stands. Great excuse. The helmet is hard and is a weapon. He's lucky it didn't gravely hurt someone or even kill them. I think this is much worse than the Plaxico Burress incident, because Burress did not intentionally shoot the gun, it went off by itself. I certainly understand that Burress was carrying the gun illegally and I'm not saying he should not have been convicted. I am just saying that Jacobs actions, in turns of potentially causing harm to others were more reckless and egregious.
Imagine a case where a person takes a gun into a public place and intends to shoot it at the ground. At the last minute, before he is about to shoot harmlessly at the ground, his hand slips, the gun points upward and he shoots instead into a crowd of people. Can his defense be: "I was trying to shoot it at the ground not at the crowd of people". I don't think so - if he caused damage or injury to someone he would be 100% guilty and if he was lucky enough to miss everyone in the crowd and not cause injury, it would still be some kind of crime... reckless endangerment, or some such thing.
Showing posts with label observations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label observations. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Giants: DC Fewell is signed
Just a few comments on Fewell - the defenses in Buffalo were good and aggressive despite having limited talent wen he was there as DC. When he was elevated to interim HC after Jauron was fired, the team went a respectable 3-4 and played with some fire. He played a lot of zone in Buffalo, often using a Tampa-2 defense, but the hope is that he will adjust and play whatever style works with the players he has in NY. In Buffalo, with really bad weather in the winter, even worse than the Meadowlands, it's hard to judge how well the defense really performed. Then again, with the awful Buffalo offense, there was probably a lot of pressure on the defense, with them staying on the field a lot and they did well. Fewell called the games from the coaches box upstairs when he was in Buffalo, it will be interesting to see if Coughlin relents and lets him do the same here.
I think it was very revealing to read what Coughlin said about Fewell in his press release.
“I expect Perry to bring the same qualities that I expect from myself. I want him to be firm, fair, honest and demanding. My expectation is that he will solidify and unify our defense and be an outstanding teacher.”
Nothing too dramatic, controversial or revealing in that statement. It is kind of normal coach-speak pablum. Although the comment about being an outstanding teacher was interesting - I am not sure Sheridan did much of that. But perhaps we got a hint to what Coughlin's issues with Sheridan were in the next part of the press release. Coughlin added:
“I want energy, enthusiasm, toughness, and to make the necessary corrections and game adjustments.”
Breaking this statement down into its parts: Coughlin did not get the energy and enthusiasm from Sheridan that he got from Spagnuolo. We all saw that the players did not play with great fire or passion. This didn't show itself at the start of the game, perhaps, but as soon as something went wrong, they got down on themselves and the effort suffered. Sheridan also was not tough and demanding with the players - you get the feeling that all he did was pick on their errors and criticize. That's not the same as being tough and demanding up front, teaching the players technique and telling the players what he wanted. Second guessing, after the fact criticism, without teaching makes a team unravel.
The second part of the sentence, when Coughlin said he wanted the "necessary corrections and game adjustments" is, IMO, most revealing. Why would Coughlin say this? Why include it in the press release? Just leave it as a general statement about pulling the defense together. I think Coughlin saw that game planning and strategy was not Sheridan's strength and mid-game adjustments and corrections were even worse. Just for reference, look back to the New Orleans Saints game, the first game where the Giants defense was exposed as being weak. Giants went into the game with a defensive game plan to stop the run. They analyzed the Saints as a strong running team that liked to establish the run and then throw after that. I disagreed with that analysis, as did most experts, who think primarily of Brees and his outside weapons when you consider the Saints offense. An analyst on TV before the game, predicted that the Giants would get gashed up the middle by deep passes from the Saints, attacking their weak safeties. Of course, that is exactly what happened and the Giants defense was woefully unprepared for the passing attack of the Saints. Even if the Giants defensive coaches correctly read that the Saints were a run-first team, and the Saints broke tendencies by passing, the poor coaching was in not making any adjustments during the game. The Giants defense was bunched at the line of scrimmage to stop the run all game and they got beat with the pass. They played very predictable zone defenses putting their safeties in the position of having to cover 1-on-1 often and exposed them to the Saints passing game. The Giants made no changes during the game and gave up 40+ points to the Saints.
I think this reveals several things about the Giants defensive game planning under Sheridan: 1. He was not good at judging the opposing offense's strengths and weaknesses. 2. He was not good at self-scouting, judging his own defense's strengths and weaknesses, nor was he able to come up with a game plan that covered up Giants weaknesses and compensated for their flaws. 3. He was not good at making in-game corrections and adjustments.
I think all of these things are referred to in the press statement by Coughlin.
It will be interesting to see which coaches Fewell keeps and which he lets go. It was logical to keep all the coaches, giving Fewell a chance to interview them and let him build his own staff. No doubt he will bring some new coaches in and he may keep some that are currently on staff. DL coach Waufle must have done something to tick someone off, to be the only coach who was fired before the new DC came in.
I think it was very revealing to read what Coughlin said about Fewell in his press release.
“I expect Perry to bring the same qualities that I expect from myself. I want him to be firm, fair, honest and demanding. My expectation is that he will solidify and unify our defense and be an outstanding teacher.”
Nothing too dramatic, controversial or revealing in that statement. It is kind of normal coach-speak pablum. Although the comment about being an outstanding teacher was interesting - I am not sure Sheridan did much of that. But perhaps we got a hint to what Coughlin's issues with Sheridan were in the next part of the press release. Coughlin added:
“I want energy, enthusiasm, toughness, and to make the necessary corrections and game adjustments.”
Breaking this statement down into its parts: Coughlin did not get the energy and enthusiasm from Sheridan that he got from Spagnuolo. We all saw that the players did not play with great fire or passion. This didn't show itself at the start of the game, perhaps, but as soon as something went wrong, they got down on themselves and the effort suffered. Sheridan also was not tough and demanding with the players - you get the feeling that all he did was pick on their errors and criticize. That's not the same as being tough and demanding up front, teaching the players technique and telling the players what he wanted. Second guessing, after the fact criticism, without teaching makes a team unravel.
The second part of the sentence, when Coughlin said he wanted the "necessary corrections and game adjustments" is, IMO, most revealing. Why would Coughlin say this? Why include it in the press release? Just leave it as a general statement about pulling the defense together. I think Coughlin saw that game planning and strategy was not Sheridan's strength and mid-game adjustments and corrections were even worse. Just for reference, look back to the New Orleans Saints game, the first game where the Giants defense was exposed as being weak. Giants went into the game with a defensive game plan to stop the run. They analyzed the Saints as a strong running team that liked to establish the run and then throw after that. I disagreed with that analysis, as did most experts, who think primarily of Brees and his outside weapons when you consider the Saints offense. An analyst on TV before the game, predicted that the Giants would get gashed up the middle by deep passes from the Saints, attacking their weak safeties. Of course, that is exactly what happened and the Giants defense was woefully unprepared for the passing attack of the Saints. Even if the Giants defensive coaches correctly read that the Saints were a run-first team, and the Saints broke tendencies by passing, the poor coaching was in not making any adjustments during the game. The Giants defense was bunched at the line of scrimmage to stop the run all game and they got beat with the pass. They played very predictable zone defenses putting their safeties in the position of having to cover 1-on-1 often and exposed them to the Saints passing game. The Giants made no changes during the game and gave up 40+ points to the Saints.
I think this reveals several things about the Giants defensive game planning under Sheridan: 1. He was not good at judging the opposing offense's strengths and weaknesses. 2. He was not good at self-scouting, judging his own defense's strengths and weaknesses, nor was he able to come up with a game plan that covered up Giants weaknesses and compensated for their flaws. 3. He was not good at making in-game corrections and adjustments.
I think all of these things are referred to in the press statement by Coughlin.
It will be interesting to see which coaches Fewell keeps and which he lets go. It was logical to keep all the coaches, giving Fewell a chance to interview them and let him build his own staff. No doubt he will bring some new coaches in and he may keep some that are currently on staff. DL coach Waufle must have done something to tick someone off, to be the only coach who was fired before the new DC came in.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Giants: Chiefs game and random observations
I mentioned once before that the blocking by the TE's has really improved and Sunday against the Chiefs was no exception. Boss has steadily improved and was good last year, but Darcy Johnson made some excellent seal blocks on running plays, hooking the LB so Jacobs could get to the outside. He also got out in front of Nicks on his TD run and made a good block on the LB. As he continues to improve, the running game will also become more productive.
These injuries are really going to hurt the Giants. Alford and Phillips are, so far, the only season-long injuries, but when you are missing so much starting talent, it's got to diminish the defense. We thought that the Giants could get by and manage the injuries because they were coming during the soft part of the schedule and the injured players would return to the lineup later. However, in one week we will be starting the meaty part of the schedule and Boley, Canty and Ross are still out. Think about that. Canty, Ross, Boley and Phillips represent 4 starters on defense, and Alford represents a 5th from the regular rotation. Most teams would fall apart with so many starters from their defense missing, even against weaker teams in the league. Look what happened to the Steelers defense with just Polamalu missing and to the Colts defense last year when Sanders went out. Giants will feel the pinch eventually, no doubt against the better teams in the league.
I can't wait until Danny Ware comes back. I like Bradshaw, but I think Ware is a smoother, more polished runner, maybe even a smidge faster than Bradshaw and can make some plays in the passing game.
Trade Sinorice Moss to Cleveland. (Can't take credit for this - it was my brother's idea.) Now that the Browns have traded Braylon Edwards to the Jets, they may feel the need to add a deep threat to their corps of WR's. I still think Moss can be a good deep threat and he might be an asset to the Giants, but realistically, he is not getting enough playing time or having enough balls thrown to him to make it worth it for the Giants to keep him. Giants now have 4 very productive WR's in Manningham, Smith, Hixon and Nicks. They have used Hagan as a 5th WR situationally at times instead of Moss and they still have Barden sitting on the bench. They have enough depth there, that they should consider trading him. The Giants could get draft picks from the Browns or could try to get Brodney Pool, the Browns' starting S, which would would give the Giants a little depth at the position to back-fill for loss of Phillips.
Giants are 16 point favorites over the Raiders. The Raiders must really stink - there are questions about whether the starting QB will play for the Giants and how effective he will be in light of the plantar fasciitis and they are still favored by more than 2 TDs.
JaMarcus Russell is playing poorly; he has a powerful but inaccurate arm. His completion percentage is around 40%. The whispers also are that he's very heavy, completely out of shape and is not the most studious of QB's.
Romo held up 3 fingers, signalling 3rd down to his team after his incomplete 4th down play that ended the game against the Broncos on Sunday. He claims that he knew it was really 4th down and he was trying to trick the officials into thinking that they had one more play. Gamesmanship. Yeah, right.
Interesting that the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets got Braylon Edwards from the Browns in a trade. With all the focus on Giant WRs in the off-season, Braylon Edwards was on the Giants shopping list of possible players to upgrade the WR unit. Giants declined because Reese thought that the Browns were asking too much. Jets gave up a starting WR in Stuckey, their best ST player and two draft choices - a 3rd and 6th. Comparable value from the Giants might have been Hixon, Kehl, and two draft picks for a player that you are renting for one year. In the Jets case, they are renting him for 12 games, so it really is a lot to give up. Of course if it transforms their offense by giving Sanchez a legitimate deep threat, moves defenses off the line of scrimmage and opens up the running game, it might be worth it. By making this trade, Jets are advertising that they are reaching for the brass ring this year. Giving up so many players for 12 games worth of a player is not a long term move; it is a win-now proposition. In the end, perhaps this will turn out to be a good move for the Jets, and I think it was the right thing for the Giants to turn down. While Edwards has size and speed, he has had only one good year in the pros. He also has this fighting incident hanging over him, a league investigation and possible suspension. After the Plaxico experience, I don't think the Giants want a player with some baggage. We'll see.
Giants also announced that Kehl had surgery on a broken finger and will probably be out a week or two. Kehl has been spectacular on ST for the Giants. Last Sunday he forced a fumble on the opening KO and recovered it. On the opening KO of the 2nd half, he smelled out the onside kick and recovered it. I doubt the NFL keeps records of these things, but what is the probability that a LB will recover both KO's of each half in the same game.
Goff is also playing well on ST and made a huge hit on one of the Chiefs KO returns.
Hypothetical I was discussing with my brother this morning: The score is tied in the middle of the 3rd qtr. It's 4th and 5 on the opposing team's 38 yard line. It's a 55 yard kick, so you're out of FG range. Do you punt or do you go for it? Feagles is a good punter and could probably pin them down on the 10. Your defense is good, so if you stop them with a 3-and-out you get the ball back, probably losing about 15-20 yards of field position. On the other hand, your offense is very good, efficient at making 3rd-and-makeable distances so maybe you put the ball in Eli's hands and risk giving up the ball to the opponents with good field position, if the offense doesn't pick up the 1st down. Moreover, if you were to punt, and Feagles kick is slightly off so he boots it into the end zone, you gain only 19 yards of field position. What's your call?
These injuries are really going to hurt the Giants. Alford and Phillips are, so far, the only season-long injuries, but when you are missing so much starting talent, it's got to diminish the defense. We thought that the Giants could get by and manage the injuries because they were coming during the soft part of the schedule and the injured players would return to the lineup later. However, in one week we will be starting the meaty part of the schedule and Boley, Canty and Ross are still out. Think about that. Canty, Ross, Boley and Phillips represent 4 starters on defense, and Alford represents a 5th from the regular rotation. Most teams would fall apart with so many starters from their defense missing, even against weaker teams in the league. Look what happened to the Steelers defense with just Polamalu missing and to the Colts defense last year when Sanders went out. Giants will feel the pinch eventually, no doubt against the better teams in the league.
I can't wait until Danny Ware comes back. I like Bradshaw, but I think Ware is a smoother, more polished runner, maybe even a smidge faster than Bradshaw and can make some plays in the passing game.
Trade Sinorice Moss to Cleveland. (Can't take credit for this - it was my brother's idea.) Now that the Browns have traded Braylon Edwards to the Jets, they may feel the need to add a deep threat to their corps of WR's. I still think Moss can be a good deep threat and he might be an asset to the Giants, but realistically, he is not getting enough playing time or having enough balls thrown to him to make it worth it for the Giants to keep him. Giants now have 4 very productive WR's in Manningham, Smith, Hixon and Nicks. They have used Hagan as a 5th WR situationally at times instead of Moss and they still have Barden sitting on the bench. They have enough depth there, that they should consider trading him. The Giants could get draft picks from the Browns or could try to get Brodney Pool, the Browns' starting S, which would would give the Giants a little depth at the position to back-fill for loss of Phillips.
Giants are 16 point favorites over the Raiders. The Raiders must really stink - there are questions about whether the starting QB will play for the Giants and how effective he will be in light of the plantar fasciitis and they are still favored by more than 2 TDs.
JaMarcus Russell is playing poorly; he has a powerful but inaccurate arm. His completion percentage is around 40%. The whispers also are that he's very heavy, completely out of shape and is not the most studious of QB's.
Romo held up 3 fingers, signalling 3rd down to his team after his incomplete 4th down play that ended the game against the Broncos on Sunday. He claims that he knew it was really 4th down and he was trying to trick the officials into thinking that they had one more play. Gamesmanship. Yeah, right.
Interesting that the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets got Braylon Edwards from the Browns in a trade. With all the focus on Giant WRs in the off-season, Braylon Edwards was on the Giants shopping list of possible players to upgrade the WR unit. Giants declined because Reese thought that the Browns were asking too much. Jets gave up a starting WR in Stuckey, their best ST player and two draft choices - a 3rd and 6th. Comparable value from the Giants might have been Hixon, Kehl, and two draft picks for a player that you are renting for one year. In the Jets case, they are renting him for 12 games, so it really is a lot to give up. Of course if it transforms their offense by giving Sanchez a legitimate deep threat, moves defenses off the line of scrimmage and opens up the running game, it might be worth it. By making this trade, Jets are advertising that they are reaching for the brass ring this year. Giving up so many players for 12 games worth of a player is not a long term move; it is a win-now proposition. In the end, perhaps this will turn out to be a good move for the Jets, and I think it was the right thing for the Giants to turn down. While Edwards has size and speed, he has had only one good year in the pros. He also has this fighting incident hanging over him, a league investigation and possible suspension. After the Plaxico experience, I don't think the Giants want a player with some baggage. We'll see.
Giants also announced that Kehl had surgery on a broken finger and will probably be out a week or two. Kehl has been spectacular on ST for the Giants. Last Sunday he forced a fumble on the opening KO and recovered it. On the opening KO of the 2nd half, he smelled out the onside kick and recovered it. I doubt the NFL keeps records of these things, but what is the probability that a LB will recover both KO's of each half in the same game.
Goff is also playing well on ST and made a huge hit on one of the Chiefs KO returns.
Hypothetical I was discussing with my brother this morning: The score is tied in the middle of the 3rd qtr. It's 4th and 5 on the opposing team's 38 yard line. It's a 55 yard kick, so you're out of FG range. Do you punt or do you go for it? Feagles is a good punter and could probably pin them down on the 10. Your defense is good, so if you stop them with a 3-and-out you get the ball back, probably losing about 15-20 yards of field position. On the other hand, your offense is very good, efficient at making 3rd-and-makeable distances so maybe you put the ball in Eli's hands and risk giving up the ball to the opponents with good field position, if the offense doesn't pick up the 1st down. Moreover, if you were to punt, and Feagles kick is slightly off so he boots it into the end zone, you gain only 19 yards of field position. What's your call?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Giants: some random stats and observations
Giants record in games that have mattered since the start of the 2007 season looks like this:
2007 regular season: 10-6
2007 post season: 4-0
2008 regular season: 12-4
2008 post season: 0-1
2009 regular season to date: 3-0
total: 29-11.
That's a hair under .750 winning percentage. Not bad.
Cowboys without TO are morphing into a run-first team, which probably suits their personnel well. The OL is huge but not that fast and are probably better run blockers than they are pass blockers at this point in their careers. Flozell Adams got fined for another trip this weekend on Julius Peppers and Felix Jones got fined for a leg whip while trying to block. I guess that is the blocking technique that they teach in Dallas. Fines of 15,000 or so don't mean much to a guy who is making millions. Flozell Adams should be suspended for a game or 2.
Felix Jones is a scary player with enormous speed. I think the Cowboy WR's are ordinary. The Roy Williams trade, where Cowboys gave up draft choices in the 1st, 3rd and 6th round may go down as a gross overpayment for the return they got. It's still not as ridiculous as what the Patriots gave for Randy Moss - a 4th round pick.
As much as we all love Ahmad Bradshaw, he really does not have breakaway speed. He can take a hit very well, especially for someone who is only 200 lbs. He has great balance, great vision and can cut back very well, but when he gets in the open field he is not a true burner. I like Bradshaw, but I would like to see the Giants have a pure speed RB back there.
If Manningham emerges as a star and either starts or at least takes a significant number of snaps, it will take some playing time away from other WR's. If Hakeem Nicks continues to improve and pushes his way into the offense, it would mean a slightly diminished role for Domenik Hixon. This might be good for the Giants, because the lighter burden might encourage the coaches to put Hixon back as the KR and/or PR. He is a deadly KR and it would improve the Giants field position. The new no-wedge rules on kickoff returns reduces the threat on kickoffs and there have been fewer TD returns of kickoffs this year, but field position is still important.
I'll say it again: Eli is the most underrated QB in the league and Romo is the most overrated.
Eric Mangenius may get run out of Cleveland by Thanksgiving. He has no clue how to manage people. He is a dumb version of Tom Coughlin before the Coughlin-personality-makeover. In addition ti his poor people management skills, his personnel decision making is awful. Consider this: He trades down with the Jets and gives his former team the franchise QB they need instead of drafting Sanchez himself. Presumably, he did not draft Sanchez because the Browns drafted their own franchise QB a few years ago in Notre Dame's Brady Quinn. Furthermore their QB situation was deep because of Derek Anderson's presence on the roster. Anderson had 1 good year in his career two years ago, when the Browns surprised everyone in the league with a 10-6 record and almost snuck into the playoffs. So what does Mangenius do? He drives everyone crazy with his QB competition in the off season and totally mismanages the situation. He waits until 3 days before the season opener to inform everyone who the starter will be, Brady Quinn. So everyone assumes this is the start of the Brady Quinn era in Cleveland. Except, after 2 bad losses, at half time of the third game, when his entire team is being completely overwhelmed, he replaces Quinn as QB. Anderson throws 3 INT's in the 2nd half of the game. The QB switch gives the entire world the impression that the only reason the team lost is because of the poor play of the QB. The team is great. The coach is brilliant. Only reason we are losing is the QB. He managed to destroy the confidence of both QBs and undermine the ability of either one to run the team. What a dope.
2007 regular season: 10-6
2007 post season: 4-0
2008 regular season: 12-4
2008 post season: 0-1
2009 regular season to date: 3-0
total: 29-11.
That's a hair under .750 winning percentage. Not bad.
Cowboys without TO are morphing into a run-first team, which probably suits their personnel well. The OL is huge but not that fast and are probably better run blockers than they are pass blockers at this point in their careers. Flozell Adams got fined for another trip this weekend on Julius Peppers and Felix Jones got fined for a leg whip while trying to block. I guess that is the blocking technique that they teach in Dallas. Fines of 15,000 or so don't mean much to a guy who is making millions. Flozell Adams should be suspended for a game or 2.
Felix Jones is a scary player with enormous speed. I think the Cowboy WR's are ordinary. The Roy Williams trade, where Cowboys gave up draft choices in the 1st, 3rd and 6th round may go down as a gross overpayment for the return they got. It's still not as ridiculous as what the Patriots gave for Randy Moss - a 4th round pick.
As much as we all love Ahmad Bradshaw, he really does not have breakaway speed. He can take a hit very well, especially for someone who is only 200 lbs. He has great balance, great vision and can cut back very well, but when he gets in the open field he is not a true burner. I like Bradshaw, but I would like to see the Giants have a pure speed RB back there.
If Manningham emerges as a star and either starts or at least takes a significant number of snaps, it will take some playing time away from other WR's. If Hakeem Nicks continues to improve and pushes his way into the offense, it would mean a slightly diminished role for Domenik Hixon. This might be good for the Giants, because the lighter burden might encourage the coaches to put Hixon back as the KR and/or PR. He is a deadly KR and it would improve the Giants field position. The new no-wedge rules on kickoff returns reduces the threat on kickoffs and there have been fewer TD returns of kickoffs this year, but field position is still important.
I'll say it again: Eli is the most underrated QB in the league and Romo is the most overrated.
Eric Mangenius may get run out of Cleveland by Thanksgiving. He has no clue how to manage people. He is a dumb version of Tom Coughlin before the Coughlin-personality-makeover. In addition ti his poor people management skills, his personnel decision making is awful. Consider this: He trades down with the Jets and gives his former team the franchise QB they need instead of drafting Sanchez himself. Presumably, he did not draft Sanchez because the Browns drafted their own franchise QB a few years ago in Notre Dame's Brady Quinn. Furthermore their QB situation was deep because of Derek Anderson's presence on the roster. Anderson had 1 good year in his career two years ago, when the Browns surprised everyone in the league with a 10-6 record and almost snuck into the playoffs. So what does Mangenius do? He drives everyone crazy with his QB competition in the off season and totally mismanages the situation. He waits until 3 days before the season opener to inform everyone who the starter will be, Brady Quinn. So everyone assumes this is the start of the Brady Quinn era in Cleveland. Except, after 2 bad losses, at half time of the third game, when his entire team is being completely overwhelmed, he replaces Quinn as QB. Anderson throws 3 INT's in the 2nd half of the game. The QB switch gives the entire world the impression that the only reason the team lost is because of the poor play of the QB. The team is great. The coach is brilliant. Only reason we are losing is the QB. He managed to destroy the confidence of both QBs and undermine the ability of either one to run the team. What a dope.
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