I keep hearing that the Giants are very interested in C.J. Spiller, the outstanding RB from Clemson. He has great speed and is supposed to be a real game changer. The Giants RBs certainly had a bad year last year, both in production and in health. Jacobs had a season long knee injury and Bradshaw had two bad ankles and bad feet. They both had surgery to repair these injuries. If you were running the Giants, you could certainly be concerned about the long term health and productivity of both RBs. Furthermore, since Tiki Barber left the Giants in 2006, the Giants have not had a great passing threat out of the backfield. Derrick Ward was pretty good as a pass catcher, though he was not a real game breaking threat, and he is of course gone now. The Giants have weapons at WR and TE. In the running game, the RBs are good if they are healthy, but they are not real burners and they are not good in the passing game. A runner like Spiller would be attractive. The problem is - taking him at slot 15 goes against one of my draft philosophies: Never take a RB in the first round. There is way too much talent at RB that can be gotten in later rounds and there are way too many 1st round stud-can't-miss RBs that turned out to be disappointments or outright busts. Jacobs and Bradshaw were 4th and 7th round picks and were good enough to carry the Giants to a Superbowl. Derrick Ward, who disappeared last year in Tampa behind a poor OL was good enough to gain over 1,000 yards for the Giants in 2008, which proves another aspect of the RB-drafting philosophy. Giants picked Derrick Ward off the scrap heap and signed him off the Jets practice squad. Not only can you get top RBs in later rounds, but behind a good OL, even a slightly above average RB can be very productive. Just off the top of my head - Terrell Davis of the Broncos was a 6th round pick. While there certainly were some very good 1st round RBs, it is not necessary to find the great RBs in the first round. If that's the case, and if you believe in inflating the draft value of players based on the importance of the position they play, drafting RB in round 1 is usually a waste.
A few years ago, Texans were thinking about drafting Reggie Bush but ended up with Mario Williams. They were roundly criticized for the move, but even though Reggie won the Superbowl this year with the Saints, he has been far from a dominant player at his position. He is certainly an important player, but Williams is a star DE and is more valuable to the Texans than Bush is to the Saints.
The fact that the Giants are publicly dropping leaks in the press that they are interested in Spiller but are concerned he may not be there at slot 15 probably means they are not going to take him. Reese is very cloak-and-dagger-ish when it comes to the draft, always concealing and providing disinformation about whom they will draft. One thing that seems interesting - Reese has said again that the Giants may not draft a MLB because he thinks the answer to that position may be on the team right now. He was referring to young players on the team that have not played much - Gerris Wilkinson, Bryan Kehl and Jonathan Goff. Was this more disinformation or was he really sending a message to the coaches that he wants those guys tested and not sitting on the bench.
My opinion remains the same - the Giants need a stud in the front 7 and it almost doesn't matter what position it is. Giants remain very high on Clint Sintim and he is the type of player that can provide them with great flexibility in configuring the front 7. He is currently slotted as LB, but played DE in college. He can be a pass rusher with his hand on the ground or standing up at LB. If Giants get the chance to get a stud DE, they can trade Osi and fill in some holes at MLB. If instead they draft MLB, Sintim can keep playing LB.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Giants: off season musings
Jets look like they will be a powerhouse next year. Even though they had a mediocre regular season and got into the playoffs only because their last two opponents, Colts and Bengals, laid down and let them win, they still had a very impressive run in the playoffs. Looking back at their regular season, most of their mediocrity and their losses came from uneven play from the rookie QB, Sanchez, who made questionable decisions with the ball and turned the ball over way too often. It is certainly understandable and almost predictable that a rookie QB will struggle, especially with a rookie HC and young OC that, though he is creative and has good experience in the job, had only coached veteran QB's in his career prior to Sanchez. In the playoffs, when they played a little more conservatively and when Sanchez had the benefit of having an entire year of experience under his belt, he played much better. The Jets crushed the Bengals and had a really good win against the Chargers before giving the Colts a good game in being booted from the playoffs. With Sanchez more seasoned, with a great OL, and now with the acquisition of Santonio Holmes for a 5th round draft pick (a steal based on his ability and production) they are very well situated offensively to have a great year. Rex Ryan was very creative on defense and the and the Jets had the number 1 defense in football. In addition, now it looks like they have the horses on offense. Ladanian Tomlinson looked like he was slowing down the last few years, but if he still has a little tread left on those tires, he should be productive behind that excellent OL. The Jets have all the weapons they need on offense: two excellent WRs in Edwards and Holmes, a good possession WR in Cotchery, a good looking young TE in Keller, a tough young RB with a veteran behind him in Tomlinson and an emerging QB. Not bad.
I am worried about the Eagles. They beat the Giants badly twice last year (after beating them twice in a row the previous year including knocking them out of the playoffs). They got very young last year and now have gotten even younger by getting rid of their QB. In addition, they surely have lots of financial flexibility, because McNabb was by far the biggest contract they were carrying. Even though there is no salary cap this year, there surely will be one whenever football resumes with its collective bargaining agreement and the Eagles will be in prime position to pay handsomely for the few FAs they may need to push them over the top. In addition to their quality and the youth on their current roster, they are well primed to get even better and even younger. They have 7 draft picks in the first 4 rounds in what is judged to be one of the best drafts ever. If anything, the Eagles need some improvement in the OL and DL and this draft is particularly strong in those two areas. Eagles are set up to be a real strong contender for the next several years in the NFC East as well as overall in the conference and the league. Of course, a lot depends on how good the QB play is. If Kevin Kolb proves to be the answer at QB, the Eagles will be very tough.
For a contrary view, from someone who thinks that the Eagles killed themselves with the McNabb trade and are heading to a 6-10 season, take a look at Gary Myers article in the Sunday Daily News.
I am still puzzled about the Cowboys cutting Flozell "the hotel" Adams. They had a very good season last year and won their first playoff game in a decade. They have been very quiet with changes this off-season, not doing so much as even tinkering with their roster, signalling that they are content with their team. A big part of their offense is their running game which is greatly helped by their massive OL, the most massive of whom is Adams. He is a dirty player, having ruined Justin Tuck's season last year with a dirty trip that injured his shoulder. He also went after Tuck and took a cheap shot at him on the last play of the half in the other Giants-Cowboys game. Because it was the last play of the half, the penalty would not carry over to the next half, so he had a "free" whack at him. But that doesn't bother the Cowboys - they have other players (G Leonard Davis is one) that also take their share of cheap shots. I just can't figure out why they cut Flozell. In my opinion, his play has declined slightly over the last few years and maybe they feel he's done. But you shouldn't cut your starting LT when you don't know what you're going to do to replace him. I know Jerry Reese cut Pettigout in 2007, but that was Pettigout and this is a real NFL caliber LT. In fact Flozell is a five time pro bowl selection. Maybe some of those pro bowls came from the hype of playing for America's team, but he was undoubtedly a strong player. He's also apparently hard to coach and doesn't have the best work ethic. But.... five pro bowls???? Someone tell me why they cut him and what they will do at LT in 2010.
I am worried about the Eagles. They beat the Giants badly twice last year (after beating them twice in a row the previous year including knocking them out of the playoffs). They got very young last year and now have gotten even younger by getting rid of their QB. In addition, they surely have lots of financial flexibility, because McNabb was by far the biggest contract they were carrying. Even though there is no salary cap this year, there surely will be one whenever football resumes with its collective bargaining agreement and the Eagles will be in prime position to pay handsomely for the few FAs they may need to push them over the top. In addition to their quality and the youth on their current roster, they are well primed to get even better and even younger. They have 7 draft picks in the first 4 rounds in what is judged to be one of the best drafts ever. If anything, the Eagles need some improvement in the OL and DL and this draft is particularly strong in those two areas. Eagles are set up to be a real strong contender for the next several years in the NFC East as well as overall in the conference and the league. Of course, a lot depends on how good the QB play is. If Kevin Kolb proves to be the answer at QB, the Eagles will be very tough.
For a contrary view, from someone who thinks that the Eagles killed themselves with the McNabb trade and are heading to a 6-10 season, take a look at Gary Myers article in the Sunday Daily News.
I am still puzzled about the Cowboys cutting Flozell "the hotel" Adams. They had a very good season last year and won their first playoff game in a decade. They have been very quiet with changes this off-season, not doing so much as even tinkering with their roster, signalling that they are content with their team. A big part of their offense is their running game which is greatly helped by their massive OL, the most massive of whom is Adams. He is a dirty player, having ruined Justin Tuck's season last year with a dirty trip that injured his shoulder. He also went after Tuck and took a cheap shot at him on the last play of the half in the other Giants-Cowboys game. Because it was the last play of the half, the penalty would not carry over to the next half, so he had a "free" whack at him. But that doesn't bother the Cowboys - they have other players (G Leonard Davis is one) that also take their share of cheap shots. I just can't figure out why they cut Flozell. In my opinion, his play has declined slightly over the last few years and maybe they feel he's done. But you shouldn't cut your starting LT when you don't know what you're going to do to replace him. I know Jerry Reese cut Pettigout in 2007, but that was Pettigout and this is a real NFL caliber LT. In fact Flozell is a five time pro bowl selection. Maybe some of those pro bowls came from the hype of playing for America's team, but he was undoubtedly a strong player. He's also apparently hard to coach and doesn't have the best work ethic. But.... five pro bowls???? Someone tell me why they cut him and what they will do at LT in 2010.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Giants: McNabb trade
It was really a surprise to see McNabb get traded from the Eagles; doubly so to see him traded within the division to the Redskins. McNabb has been such a fixture in Philadelphia for 11 years, it is going to be really hard to see him in another team's uniform. That's why the trade was shocking, more than on its football merits, though certainly there are some surprises there too. While of course this is a Giants blog, this trade, involving two NFC East teams has enough of an impact to warrant some thoughts.
I have posted occasionally about McNabb and have not been shy about saying that I always thought he was an overrated player. When he first came into the league he was a poor passer, not very accurate and not comfortable sitting in the pocket. His passing has certainly improved over the years and he has become a good (but in my opinion not great) passer. He does throw a fairly nice deep ball and has a strong arm to throw hard, short and medium range balls fairly accurately. His mechanics do occasionally break down and he will hold the ball too tightly, releasing it late, which causes him to throw more than a few balls into the dirt. Worm-burners is what we like to call them. His main deficiency as a pure passer is his intermediate balls which require some touch - a pass to get the ball over the LBs and drop it in front of the DBs. I think Reid recognized this and did not call on McNabb to throw that type of pass too often. Eagles used a west coast style offense which required McNabb to throw short quick slant routes, out patterns mixed in with deep balls. His intermediate routes were off of in-cuts, where the WR cleared the defender running across the field and McNabb could use his arm strength to squeeze the ball in to the opening. McNabb's great strength, of course is his athleticism, his running ability and his escapability in the pocket. Over the years, he made more plays escaping the pocket, running outside and throwing on the run than he did sitting in the pocket. Everyone remembers the Giants-Eagles playoff game at the end of the 2008 season, when the Giants had McNabb sacked on a play early in the second half, but he escaped and completed a clutch 3rd down pass to move the chains on the way to a TD drive that changed the game. The Giants strategy in his early years was not to blitz him too heavily and not to flush him from the pocket. Instead, they would rush in very disciplined lanes, keeping McNabb in the pocket and forcing him to beat them with his arm. This worked early in McNabb's career, but over the last several years, McNabb and the Eagles have improved and he has a good record against the Giants.
On the surface, this makes life much tougher in the NFC East for all the teams, particularly the Giants. Giants have beaten the Redskins 4 times in a row and generally have dominated the match up for the last several years. This certainly makes the Redskins a better team and a tougher game. While it is a risk for the Eagles, depending on how well Kolb and Vick play, there is no doubt that they are a very talented team. DeSean Jackson is a star at WR and the other WR, Maclin also is a threat with great speed. They could use an upgrade at RB, but their OL seems pretty solid and a decent pocket passer could do very well with that offense. Add to the fact that this is purportedly one of the deepest drafts in memory and the 2nd round pick that the Eagles acquired from the Redskins at pick number 37 overall, is almost like another first round pick. If the Eagles draft well, they could add two first-round-talent type starters with these picks and will have lots of young talent on their team. While it is shocking to see McNabb in another uniform, it is almost easy to understand why the Eagles traded him. They have a history of trading players a year too early rather than a year too late. McNabb certainly has a great record, having taken his team to the NFC Conference Championship game 5 times in 11 years. Placing this load on Kolb is a risk, but I think he will probably do well. In fact, if he is an accurate pocket passer, maybe the Eagles will be better. McNabb's contract being up at the end of the 2010 season was surely the motivator.
In that context, it's almost hard to understand why the Redskins made this trade. Certainly I understand that they have upgraded their QB situation and that Jason Campbell apparently does not have the talent to take a team to the promised land. However, the Redskins finished 4-12 last year after making the big free agent signing of Albert Haynesworth at DT. They were an old and often injured team, particularly on offense. Portis is showing signs of age at RB and their entire OL was battered and bruised. They fired the coach, hired a new GM and gave him lots of authority to rebuild the team. They cut several OL-men from last year's team and had one, Chris Samuels, retire. In fact the Redskins don't have a LT signed on the current roster and are rumored to be interested in recently released Flozell Adams. They even have made attempts to trade Albert Haynesworth and wanted to include him in the McNabb trade, with the Eagles declining that offer. With all that rebuilding necessary, why would the Redskins take a QB who is an eleven year veteran and give up draft choices to get him. The Redksins should have the outlook to rebuild, not to try the same old Snyder formula of acquiring veterans and trying to win now. Especially this year, where there seems to be so much talent in the DL and OL in the draft, would be a time to acquire draft picks, rather than shed them. Nevertheless, it certainly makes the Redskins a better team now. Maybe McNabb is the kind of QB that can upgrade a poor team and make it mediocre, but is not the kind of players that has the skills to take a good team and make it superior. A QB who has finely honed passing skills is needed against the dominant, elite offenses in the league that you are likely to come up against in the playoffs. But a team that has a mediocre OL and exposes their QB, needs a QB that can elude the rush and make plays while scrambling.
McNabb is probably considered a border-line HOF candidate. If he hadn't upchucked (literally) in the huddle in the SB against the Patriots and had won that game, his stock would certainly be higher. Furthermore if he had won a few of those other conference championship games, and had gone to, say, 3 Superbowls instead of just 1, surely he would have been thought of more highly. In a way, therefore, it might also be surprising that the Redskins gave up so little to get McNabb. The way to evaluate what a player is worth, however is not just by his career accomplishments, but also how many years the player is under contract for and how many years the team has control over the player. McNabb's contract is up in 2010, so this was more of a rent-a-player for a year rather than acquiring a player for 5 years. Redskins could sign him to an extension, but they could have signed him as a FA after the 2010 season also. So they are giving up two draft choices for one year of Donovan McNabb's services. Especially now after this trade, McNabb will surely shop himself as a FA after the 2010 season and the Redskins may get nothing more than the one year of his career.
Bottom line is that the NFC East got much tougher. Cowboys and Eagles have lots of talent and are both coming off playoff years. Redskins improved themselves with this trade and the teams in the NFC East will beat each other up again this year, making it harder for more than just the division winner to make the playoffs.
The only explanation for why the Eagles traded him within the division is that: (1) the Redskins made the best offer and (2) Eagles don't fear McNabb as a player. If it makes the Eagles better and they're still not worried about the Redskins led by McNabb, then why not do it. The Eagles had all three QBs on their rosters with contracts expiring after 2010. They had to do something. Time will tell if they got rid of the right player.
I have posted occasionally about McNabb and have not been shy about saying that I always thought he was an overrated player. When he first came into the league he was a poor passer, not very accurate and not comfortable sitting in the pocket. His passing has certainly improved over the years and he has become a good (but in my opinion not great) passer. He does throw a fairly nice deep ball and has a strong arm to throw hard, short and medium range balls fairly accurately. His mechanics do occasionally break down and he will hold the ball too tightly, releasing it late, which causes him to throw more than a few balls into the dirt. Worm-burners is what we like to call them. His main deficiency as a pure passer is his intermediate balls which require some touch - a pass to get the ball over the LBs and drop it in front of the DBs. I think Reid recognized this and did not call on McNabb to throw that type of pass too often. Eagles used a west coast style offense which required McNabb to throw short quick slant routes, out patterns mixed in with deep balls. His intermediate routes were off of in-cuts, where the WR cleared the defender running across the field and McNabb could use his arm strength to squeeze the ball in to the opening. McNabb's great strength, of course is his athleticism, his running ability and his escapability in the pocket. Over the years, he made more plays escaping the pocket, running outside and throwing on the run than he did sitting in the pocket. Everyone remembers the Giants-Eagles playoff game at the end of the 2008 season, when the Giants had McNabb sacked on a play early in the second half, but he escaped and completed a clutch 3rd down pass to move the chains on the way to a TD drive that changed the game. The Giants strategy in his early years was not to blitz him too heavily and not to flush him from the pocket. Instead, they would rush in very disciplined lanes, keeping McNabb in the pocket and forcing him to beat them with his arm. This worked early in McNabb's career, but over the last several years, McNabb and the Eagles have improved and he has a good record against the Giants.
On the surface, this makes life much tougher in the NFC East for all the teams, particularly the Giants. Giants have beaten the Redskins 4 times in a row and generally have dominated the match up for the last several years. This certainly makes the Redskins a better team and a tougher game. While it is a risk for the Eagles, depending on how well Kolb and Vick play, there is no doubt that they are a very talented team. DeSean Jackson is a star at WR and the other WR, Maclin also is a threat with great speed. They could use an upgrade at RB, but their OL seems pretty solid and a decent pocket passer could do very well with that offense. Add to the fact that this is purportedly one of the deepest drafts in memory and the 2nd round pick that the Eagles acquired from the Redskins at pick number 37 overall, is almost like another first round pick. If the Eagles draft well, they could add two first-round-talent type starters with these picks and will have lots of young talent on their team. While it is shocking to see McNabb in another uniform, it is almost easy to understand why the Eagles traded him. They have a history of trading players a year too early rather than a year too late. McNabb certainly has a great record, having taken his team to the NFC Conference Championship game 5 times in 11 years. Placing this load on Kolb is a risk, but I think he will probably do well. In fact, if he is an accurate pocket passer, maybe the Eagles will be better. McNabb's contract being up at the end of the 2010 season was surely the motivator.
In that context, it's almost hard to understand why the Redskins made this trade. Certainly I understand that they have upgraded their QB situation and that Jason Campbell apparently does not have the talent to take a team to the promised land. However, the Redskins finished 4-12 last year after making the big free agent signing of Albert Haynesworth at DT. They were an old and often injured team, particularly on offense. Portis is showing signs of age at RB and their entire OL was battered and bruised. They fired the coach, hired a new GM and gave him lots of authority to rebuild the team. They cut several OL-men from last year's team and had one, Chris Samuels, retire. In fact the Redskins don't have a LT signed on the current roster and are rumored to be interested in recently released Flozell Adams. They even have made attempts to trade Albert Haynesworth and wanted to include him in the McNabb trade, with the Eagles declining that offer. With all that rebuilding necessary, why would the Redskins take a QB who is an eleven year veteran and give up draft choices to get him. The Redksins should have the outlook to rebuild, not to try the same old Snyder formula of acquiring veterans and trying to win now. Especially this year, where there seems to be so much talent in the DL and OL in the draft, would be a time to acquire draft picks, rather than shed them. Nevertheless, it certainly makes the Redskins a better team now. Maybe McNabb is the kind of QB that can upgrade a poor team and make it mediocre, but is not the kind of players that has the skills to take a good team and make it superior. A QB who has finely honed passing skills is needed against the dominant, elite offenses in the league that you are likely to come up against in the playoffs. But a team that has a mediocre OL and exposes their QB, needs a QB that can elude the rush and make plays while scrambling.
McNabb is probably considered a border-line HOF candidate. If he hadn't upchucked (literally) in the huddle in the SB against the Patriots and had won that game, his stock would certainly be higher. Furthermore if he had won a few of those other conference championship games, and had gone to, say, 3 Superbowls instead of just 1, surely he would have been thought of more highly. In a way, therefore, it might also be surprising that the Redskins gave up so little to get McNabb. The way to evaluate what a player is worth, however is not just by his career accomplishments, but also how many years the player is under contract for and how many years the team has control over the player. McNabb's contract is up in 2010, so this was more of a rent-a-player for a year rather than acquiring a player for 5 years. Redskins could sign him to an extension, but they could have signed him as a FA after the 2010 season also. So they are giving up two draft choices for one year of Donovan McNabb's services. Especially now after this trade, McNabb will surely shop himself as a FA after the 2010 season and the Redskins may get nothing more than the one year of his career.
Bottom line is that the NFC East got much tougher. Cowboys and Eagles have lots of talent and are both coming off playoff years. Redskins improved themselves with this trade and the teams in the NFC East will beat each other up again this year, making it harder for more than just the division winner to make the playoffs.
The only explanation for why the Eagles traded him within the division is that: (1) the Redskins made the best offer and (2) Eagles don't fear McNabb as a player. If it makes the Eagles better and they're still not worried about the Redskins led by McNabb, then why not do it. The Eagles had all three QBs on their rosters with contracts expiring after 2010. They had to do something. Time will tell if they got rid of the right player.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Giants: upgrading the secondary
What everyone saw last year but the GM refused to (publicly) admit was that the S play in the secondary was very weak. Although we'd like to blame it all on coaching and injuries, you have to put some of the blame on the front office for not stocking the secondary with good S players behind the starters. I posted earlier that Darren Sharper was available for the Giants in the last off season at about the same price that the Giants paid to get C.C. (can't cover) Brown. Darren Sharper played superlative football and helped the Saints win the Super Bowl. C.C. Brown played poorly and had his contract tender rescinded when the Giants signed another S this week. You have to put that down as a big miss for Reese. I guess the Giants think that the good safeties are in the NFC West, because after signing Antrel Rolle from Arizona, they signed a S who had played for the Seahawks and became a FA, Deon Grant. He is a steady, solid, though unspectacular player. He has played 144 consecutive games, so he is definitely sturdy. He is certainly the quality of a starter in the league, so if Phillips is a little late coming back, Giants will not be hurt at that position.
Giants also signed Feagles and another punter, who was an Australian football player, Jy Bond. He is purported to have a huge leg, something that clearly slipped with Feagles last year. It is not clear whether Bond knows which direction to kick the ball, but presumably that is what the coaches are for. Bond was signed before the Feagles contract negotiation was done, so he may have been an insurance policy against Feagles not signing or leverage to manage the numbers in the deal. Nevertheless, I have to assume that it is Feagles job to lose. Unless Bond knocks their socks off with booming punts, or Feagles leg strength continues to decline, the veteran will keep his job. One thing Feagles has going for him is that he is one of the best holders for FGs that I have ever seen. He saves numerous bad snaps and gets them down for a good kick. This is very important for Tynes, whose timing is easily thrown off.
The biggest news that we need to hear coming out of the off season conditioning program is the progress from injury of some of the key DL-men. I am very anxious about Alford and Canty in particular and hope they come back strong. No news yet, however.
Giants also signed Feagles and another punter, who was an Australian football player, Jy Bond. He is purported to have a huge leg, something that clearly slipped with Feagles last year. It is not clear whether Bond knows which direction to kick the ball, but presumably that is what the coaches are for. Bond was signed before the Feagles contract negotiation was done, so he may have been an insurance policy against Feagles not signing or leverage to manage the numbers in the deal. Nevertheless, I have to assume that it is Feagles job to lose. Unless Bond knocks their socks off with booming punts, or Feagles leg strength continues to decline, the veteran will keep his job. One thing Feagles has going for him is that he is one of the best holders for FGs that I have ever seen. He saves numerous bad snaps and gets them down for a good kick. This is very important for Tynes, whose timing is easily thrown off.
The biggest news that we need to hear coming out of the off season conditioning program is the progress from injury of some of the key DL-men. I am very anxious about Alford and Canty in particular and hope they come back strong. No news yet, however.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Giants: Wilkinson / Linebackers
Al Pacino as Michael Corleone (Godfather III): Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.
Wolfman (re. the SBBR blog, with apologies to Al Pacino): Just when you thought you could avoid reading the SBBR blog during the off-season when nothing much is happening, I pull you back in with a nugget that turns out to have some legs to it.
Permit me to explain. In an item I posted on March 25, I went into a brief analysis of the LB position, specifically mentioning the interesting case of Gerris Wilkinson. The Giants tendered Wilkinson a contract as an RFA to keep him on the roster, even though he has shown little more than just potential in his tenure with the Giants, with his playing time significantly curtailed by injury. He was drafted in 2006 in the 3rd round and impressed the coaches with his athletic ability, speed, size and football IQ. He played in all 16 games in his rookie year, much of his playing time coming on special teams. He even started the playoff game against Tampa Bay in 2007 in place of injured Kawika Mitchell, but in each of his seasons after his rookie year, he missed significant playing time due to injury. Because of the amount of time he has missed, if the Giants had not tendered him a contract, making him a UFA instead of RFA, it seemed unlikely that some other team would have signed him. Further, I said in yesterday's blog post that GM Reese tends to hold players with high injury rates in disfavor and replaces them with players that can stay on the field. (Of course this is not something unique to Reese's world football view, but the Giants GM has acted aggressively on this philosophy in the past.) Therefore, I found it interesting that the Giants would even tender Wilkinson a contract. It speaks quite highly about how athletic he is and how much capability he has. Giants have upgrades to make at LB, particularly at MLB and apparently, they do not want to give up on Wilkinson and they want to keep his talent in the mix. Parenthetically, I will tell you that I always loved Wilkinson's speed and size combination. I remember him playing in the last game of the 2007 season - the "perfect season" game against the Patriots - a game I attended. I saw him on a few plays get matched up with Randy Moss and run 20-30 yards down the field with him step for step, keeping him covered. Those are plays you wouldn't see if you watched the game on TV and weren't at the game, because the ball didn't go to Moss on those particular plays. Wilkinson is 6'3", 230 with great speed - a perfect prototype LB for today's game.
Here's the exclamation point to that innocent analysis that I posted yesterday. In Brian Costello's Giants Notes article in today's NY Post, with the headline about Brandon Jacobs eager to have a great 2010 season, there are two innocent little sentences buried in the last paragraph that read as follows:
Gerris Wilkinson said that the team is moving him to MLB. He played mainly WSLB in his first four years.
(You can read the entire article by clicking here.)
Many feel that the Giants starting MLB for 2010 is not currently on the roster. Maybe he is and it is Gerris Wilkinson. If the Giants draft McClain in the 1st round, maybe they want a veteran to start, shepherd the player along and keep the position warm until McClain is ready to step in and start full time. Alternatively, perhaps the Giants are not planning on drafting McClain or realize they may not get him, leaving the starting MLB position wide open, so the Giants want to put as much talent at the position to create competition and hope that they do in fact find a starter on the current roster. The fact that they have kept Wilkinson at all shows that they still have hopes for him emerging as a player. The fact that they have shifted him to MLB shows that he is not just training camp fodder, who is unlikely to make the team. They are shifting him to a position of great need for the defense and investing coaching and training time in him, no doubt, in hopes that he will emerge as an important contributor.
Perhaps nothing at all will come of this. Maybe Wilkinson gets hurt again or performs poorly and doesn't even make the team. Maybe it is just moving players around to have the right mix of players at each position in training camp so practices can run smoothly. I just find it very interesting that there is some action going on with a player nobody is focusing on, who is well under the radar at an important position.....and that I posted about him yesterday.
Wolfman (re. the SBBR blog, with apologies to Al Pacino): Just when you thought you could avoid reading the SBBR blog during the off-season when nothing much is happening, I pull you back in with a nugget that turns out to have some legs to it.
Permit me to explain. In an item I posted on March 25, I went into a brief analysis of the LB position, specifically mentioning the interesting case of Gerris Wilkinson. The Giants tendered Wilkinson a contract as an RFA to keep him on the roster, even though he has shown little more than just potential in his tenure with the Giants, with his playing time significantly curtailed by injury. He was drafted in 2006 in the 3rd round and impressed the coaches with his athletic ability, speed, size and football IQ. He played in all 16 games in his rookie year, much of his playing time coming on special teams. He even started the playoff game against Tampa Bay in 2007 in place of injured Kawika Mitchell, but in each of his seasons after his rookie year, he missed significant playing time due to injury. Because of the amount of time he has missed, if the Giants had not tendered him a contract, making him a UFA instead of RFA, it seemed unlikely that some other team would have signed him. Further, I said in yesterday's blog post that GM Reese tends to hold players with high injury rates in disfavor and replaces them with players that can stay on the field. (Of course this is not something unique to Reese's world football view, but the Giants GM has acted aggressively on this philosophy in the past.) Therefore, I found it interesting that the Giants would even tender Wilkinson a contract. It speaks quite highly about how athletic he is and how much capability he has. Giants have upgrades to make at LB, particularly at MLB and apparently, they do not want to give up on Wilkinson and they want to keep his talent in the mix. Parenthetically, I will tell you that I always loved Wilkinson's speed and size combination. I remember him playing in the last game of the 2007 season - the "perfect season" game against the Patriots - a game I attended. I saw him on a few plays get matched up with Randy Moss and run 20-30 yards down the field with him step for step, keeping him covered. Those are plays you wouldn't see if you watched the game on TV and weren't at the game, because the ball didn't go to Moss on those particular plays. Wilkinson is 6'3", 230 with great speed - a perfect prototype LB for today's game.
Here's the exclamation point to that innocent analysis that I posted yesterday. In Brian Costello's Giants Notes article in today's NY Post, with the headline about Brandon Jacobs eager to have a great 2010 season, there are two innocent little sentences buried in the last paragraph that read as follows:
Gerris Wilkinson said that the team is moving him to MLB. He played mainly WSLB in his first four years.
(You can read the entire article by clicking here.)
Many feel that the Giants starting MLB for 2010 is not currently on the roster. Maybe he is and it is Gerris Wilkinson. If the Giants draft McClain in the 1st round, maybe they want a veteran to start, shepherd the player along and keep the position warm until McClain is ready to step in and start full time. Alternatively, perhaps the Giants are not planning on drafting McClain or realize they may not get him, leaving the starting MLB position wide open, so the Giants want to put as much talent at the position to create competition and hope that they do in fact find a starter on the current roster. The fact that they have kept Wilkinson at all shows that they still have hopes for him emerging as a player. The fact that they have shifted him to MLB shows that he is not just training camp fodder, who is unlikely to make the team. They are shifting him to a position of great need for the defense and investing coaching and training time in him, no doubt, in hopes that he will emerge as an important contributor.
Perhaps nothing at all will come of this. Maybe Wilkinson gets hurt again or performs poorly and doesn't even make the team. Maybe it is just moving players around to have the right mix of players at each position in training camp so practices can run smoothly. I just find it very interesting that there is some action going on with a player nobody is focusing on, who is well under the radar at an important position.....and that I posted about him yesterday.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Giants: Off season news
It's been very quiet in Giants world for the last month or so, since the signing of Antrel Rolle, but now that the Giants have reported to the voluntary off season workout program, there is a little bit of news. Tom Coughlin, in the coaches breakfast at a recent NFL meeting, said that while S Kenny Phillips rehabilitation from his microfracture knee surgery is progressing, it is far from certain that he will be ready for the start of training camp, at least without restrictions on his practice habits. Kenny Phillips himself remained optimistic and upbeat, but realistically, he has not been cleared to start running yet and it is reasonable to assume he won't be completely ready. If he is restricted from participating in two practices per day and can only do one, or perhaps needs to take a practice off once in a while, that would not be terrible, because it probably means he could get ready for the regular season. The key really is not when he will be ready, but if the microfracture surgery has been successful and his speed and tackling ability returns. Phillips is a hard hitter and sure tackler for someone his size and that is something that is separate from how hard you run. It's not just a matter of physics applying Newton's first law: F=ma (Force=mass x acceleration), because then the only things that would matter would be the speed and size of the player. Furthermore, the player that delivers a big hit is also absorbing a hit from a player that may be bigger. However we have all seen players that are very physical and hit harder than what it seems they should based only on their mass. Giants seem to have another player on their team that fits this category in Ahmad Bradshaw that can seemingly take a hit from bigger players and keep going. I saw an interesting article that asserted that the muscle and skeletal structure of the player and his ability to tense his body muscles up in a tight central core precisely at the moment of collision, while accelerating through the hit, is what gives some players the ability to be bigger hitters than would seem possible from their size. If Phillips loses some speed and somehow his base and balance is affected by this injury, his ability to tense his muscles and explode through the collision, accelerating at the precise moment of impact with perfect timing might be affected as well. No reason to obsess about these things - we'll have to wait and see.
The drama from this camp will certainly come from the Osi Umenyiora situation. He was demoted to situational pass rusher last year and accepted it gracefully during the season, but whined about it in the off-season. He even said that he would retire or demand a trade if he was not returned to the starting lineup. Osi made one probowl but realistically was never a great run stopper. He is a speed player and when in top form is a very good edge pass rusher. In previous years, with Strahan on one side, with outstanding DT play in the middle of the DL, with Pierce and the other LBs playing well behind him, any actual weakness in run stopping ability was masked. However, last year, with Osi coming off a knee injury, with Pierce slipping, with poor DT play and an overall decline in the entire defense, Osi's run stopping weakness was exposed, or perhaps even was exacerbated. The question is: what is Osi's true overall level of play? Did he appear worse than he actually is last year because of the factors that I mentioned. Conversely, did he appear better than he actually is in previous years because of the overall quality play of the players around him. Coaches have to assess this and make accurate evaluations.
Making these questions more interesting is what the Giants do in the draft. With the departure of Pierce, there is a huge hole in the middle of the defense at MLB. The Giants have several players at LB that they were high on in past years, Ryan Kehl, Brian Goff and Gerris Wilkinson, but there is a strong feeling that the starting MLB for the 2010 season is not currently on the roster. Goff played last year replacing Chase Blackburn, who had replaced Pierce earlier and showed some ability, but also did not blow anyone away with his play making talent. This is reputed to be one of the best drafts ever and is particularly strong in the DL and OL. There are a few good LBs, but the draft is deeper in the DL. The Giants do not like to draft for need and will always lean to pick the best player available. They also weigh players heavily by position, meaning a great LT will be more valuable than a great interior OL-man. If the Giants are able to pick up a great DE in the draft, perhaps they will be motivated to trade Osi to a team with a surplus of LBs and a need for a speed rushing DE. (Giants co-residents come to mind as a team that might fit this bill - Osi for Harris?) If they draft Alabama LB Rolando McClain, that everyone seems to be very high on, the situation is changed, and perhaps Osi stays.
Speaking of the LBs currently on the team, it's unfortunate that we didn't see enough out of Kehl and Goff to know if they are good enough to be starters in the league. We also didn't see enough from Sintim to know if he can play LB. (Perhaps he can be the situational pass rusher that the Giants will need if they trade Osi.) Wilkinson might be the most talented LB, as measured by size, speed and athleticism. His problem is that he can't stay on the field and is constantly injured. If he can get past the injury bug, he might be a contributor. I did find it interesting that the Giants tendered him a contact. Reese has showed an inclination in the past to move away from players that are often injured and goes for younger, healthier players. I found it interesting that he tendered a contract to oft-injured Gerris Wilkinson. It must mean that they still hold out hope for him to become an NFL caliber player.
The drama from this camp will certainly come from the Osi Umenyiora situation. He was demoted to situational pass rusher last year and accepted it gracefully during the season, but whined about it in the off-season. He even said that he would retire or demand a trade if he was not returned to the starting lineup. Osi made one probowl but realistically was never a great run stopper. He is a speed player and when in top form is a very good edge pass rusher. In previous years, with Strahan on one side, with outstanding DT play in the middle of the DL, with Pierce and the other LBs playing well behind him, any actual weakness in run stopping ability was masked. However, last year, with Osi coming off a knee injury, with Pierce slipping, with poor DT play and an overall decline in the entire defense, Osi's run stopping weakness was exposed, or perhaps even was exacerbated. The question is: what is Osi's true overall level of play? Did he appear worse than he actually is last year because of the factors that I mentioned. Conversely, did he appear better than he actually is in previous years because of the overall quality play of the players around him. Coaches have to assess this and make accurate evaluations.
Making these questions more interesting is what the Giants do in the draft. With the departure of Pierce, there is a huge hole in the middle of the defense at MLB. The Giants have several players at LB that they were high on in past years, Ryan Kehl, Brian Goff and Gerris Wilkinson, but there is a strong feeling that the starting MLB for the 2010 season is not currently on the roster. Goff played last year replacing Chase Blackburn, who had replaced Pierce earlier and showed some ability, but also did not blow anyone away with his play making talent. This is reputed to be one of the best drafts ever and is particularly strong in the DL and OL. There are a few good LBs, but the draft is deeper in the DL. The Giants do not like to draft for need and will always lean to pick the best player available. They also weigh players heavily by position, meaning a great LT will be more valuable than a great interior OL-man. If the Giants are able to pick up a great DE in the draft, perhaps they will be motivated to trade Osi to a team with a surplus of LBs and a need for a speed rushing DE. (Giants co-residents come to mind as a team that might fit this bill - Osi for Harris?) If they draft Alabama LB Rolando McClain, that everyone seems to be very high on, the situation is changed, and perhaps Osi stays.
Speaking of the LBs currently on the team, it's unfortunate that we didn't see enough out of Kehl and Goff to know if they are good enough to be starters in the league. We also didn't see enough from Sintim to know if he can play LB. (Perhaps he can be the situational pass rusher that the Giants will need if they trade Osi.) Wilkinson might be the most talented LB, as measured by size, speed and athleticism. His problem is that he can't stay on the field and is constantly injured. If he can get past the injury bug, he might be a contributor. I did find it interesting that the Giants tendered him a contact. Reese has showed an inclination in the past to move away from players that are often injured and goes for younger, healthier players. I found it interesting that he tendered a contract to oft-injured Gerris Wilkinson. It must mean that they still hold out hope for him to become an NFL caliber player.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Giants: sign Rolle
By now you all know about the signing of Antrel Rolle who became an unrestricted FA when the Cardinals cut him. It's hard to understand what the Cardinals are doing - they have now lost 4 important players from their team last year. Three of them are: Antrel Rolle to the Giants; Karlos Dansby to the Dolphins; and Anquan Boldin in a trade to the Ravens for essentially a middle round draft pick. That's three important players - don't forget that they also lost Kurt Warner to retirement. Why did the Cardinals let all these players go? There's no salary cap this year, so that can't be the issue. They definitely were losing Warner to retirement, so they knew his salary was coming off the books (reported to be $4M). Boldin was traded for a middle round pick to the Ravens and his $3M salary came off the Cardinals books. I can understand why the Cardinals might not have an inclination to sign both Rolle and Dansby, but it's hard to understand why they let both go, with (at least) $7M reduction in salary that will accrue to them with the departures of Warner and Boldin. One possible answer is the long rumored tight spending habits of the Bidwill ownership of the Cardinals. No reason to look for another answer. It looks like they are going with Leinart as the qb and perhaps they want to wait and see whether they have a franchise qb in Leinart before they ante up and spend money on an expensive supporting cast around him to push for contention. Cardinals have a relatively new stadium and have made a good playoff push the last two years, making the Super Bowl in 2008. The ownership may feel that they have established enough credibility with the fans that they can afford a down year, where they save money on payroll and still maintain fan support and loyalty.
From the Giants perspective, this is a great signing. Rolle is an excellent player and the S position has become very important in today's game, perhaps even surpassing LB in its criticality to the defense. Average LB's can be compensated for by a great DL in the running game and great S play in the passing game. But with the NFL now a pass-centric league, the S position has become critical and you can't hide them. More than sitting back and covering the occasional deep ball, safeties need to have great range running sideline to sideline in coverage and with the very common 3 and 4 WR sets, they are thrust in a role of man-to-man pass coverage very often. We all remember what a disaster the Giant S position was last year, with Phillips out, with Michael Johnson having a bad year and with CC Brown (CC stands for Can't Cover... thanks for my brother for pointing this out to me) having to step in and try to be a factor in pass defense, a role for which he is not well suited. Rolle is a perfect match. he is fast, is a very tough hitter and has strong coverage skills, having spent his first few years in the league as a CB. If Phillips comes back from his injury, the Giants S position will be strong and their DB-field, with Webster, Thomas and Ross at CB should be a strength, rather than the weakness it was last year.
Giants still need to figure out what to do at the LB position. They also need to figure out if the players on the DL who did so poorly last year will come back from their injuries and perform well this year. There are a lot of question marks for the Giants defense this year and these will probably not be answered until the season gets going.
From the Giants perspective, this is a great signing. Rolle is an excellent player and the S position has become very important in today's game, perhaps even surpassing LB in its criticality to the defense. Average LB's can be compensated for by a great DL in the running game and great S play in the passing game. But with the NFL now a pass-centric league, the S position has become critical and you can't hide them. More than sitting back and covering the occasional deep ball, safeties need to have great range running sideline to sideline in coverage and with the very common 3 and 4 WR sets, they are thrust in a role of man-to-man pass coverage very often. We all remember what a disaster the Giant S position was last year, with Phillips out, with Michael Johnson having a bad year and with CC Brown (CC stands for Can't Cover... thanks for my brother for pointing this out to me) having to step in and try to be a factor in pass defense, a role for which he is not well suited. Rolle is a perfect match. he is fast, is a very tough hitter and has strong coverage skills, having spent his first few years in the league as a CB. If Phillips comes back from his injury, the Giants S position will be strong and their DB-field, with Webster, Thomas and Ross at CB should be a strength, rather than the weakness it was last year.
Giants still need to figure out what to do at the LB position. They also need to figure out if the players on the DL who did so poorly last year will come back from their injuries and perform well this year. There are a lot of question marks for the Giants defense this year and these will probably not be answered until the season gets going.
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