What a shocker! JPP looks dominant at DE, gets two sacks in one qtr of play, looks ready to lay claim to the starting job and magically, Osi decides that he will start practicing Monday. I guess he decided that his knee was feeling better and that, hey after all, he is under contract, so he may as well report to work. Looks like fifteen minutes of play in the first preseason game cost Osi a few million bucks.
What happens if JPP outplays Osi in the preseason (as I am confident he will) and absolutely requires that he be the starter for the season? Does it make any sense at all to keep Osi on the team? That is a rhetorical question - I hope nobody answered the question silently by nodding their heads in concurrence or shaking violently in disagreement. My point is the same as I made in the last post. We may be looking at the start of the career of the next great pass rushing DE in football. I know the philosophy - you can never have enough great pass rushers and it is certainly an embarrassment of riches for the Giants to have 3 stud pass rushers (4 if you count Kiwanuka). But that mantra may only be true if you have everything else you need on the team. Giants don't. I would sacrifice this pass rusher for one more weapon on offense and/or a reasonable return in the draft.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Carolina Preseason game
Slow out of the gate
Ugh. That was ugly. Offense was boring, unproductive and out of sync. Eli was very mediocre and the running game made a few plays here and there but was not clicking either. Even uglier than the offense was the ST that seemed to give up big yardage on punt returns and even some kickoffs. If you look at the stats, the net yardage on punts was decent at 39.4 yards, but that was largely due to some very good kicks, the actual coverage missed several tackles and showed poor coverage lane discipline The defense was OK, but considering it was going up against a mediocre Carolina offense that does not have a proven QB, I'm not going to give it high grades either.
As far as what I said we were looking for from the game, the big thing was progress from Will Beatty. He was fine in pass blocking and the Panthers did blitz quite a bit, especially for a preseason game, so that was a fairly positive result. He did not do as well blocking for the running game, as the Giants got stuffed a few times on 3rd and short when trying to run behind the left side of the OL.
We didn't see much else positive - nothing from Jernigan; Hixon made a few catches and looked smooth running routes, but did not look explosive; Hynoski was OK. Nothing much happening, it looked like a detached, dispirited group.
One surprise was the play of Adrian Tracy at LB - a converted DE, who was IR'ed last year, showed real good speed at LB and played well in space.
JPP
The best news of the evening, maybe the only good news, is the emergence of JPP from the shadows. He looked positively dominating. He got two sacks in one quarter of play and also got the pressure and the hit on the QB that forced the bad throw resulting in the Bolley INT/TD. He also made some plays in the running game, not necessarily making the tackle, but getting in the way of the runner and forcing him to reroute and break down the play. He has the super-freak athletic skills of a Julius Peppers, has a little more size (at least to my eye, I didn't check out their stats) and has a motor that never stops going. He showed some real good technique on one of his rushes, which is very promising for someone with little college playing experience and only one year in the pros. To make things even more encouraging, he was going against Jordan Gross, who is no slouch, a 9 year veteran with two pro bowls on his resume, including last year where he started at LT.
Time to trade Osi
I don't know if Osi watched this game, but he may be more motivated to get back into camp, because based on last night's performance, he may have lost his starting job on his own team. He may think he's a top 5 DE in the NFL, but that must mean that there aren't too many good DEs elsewhere in the NFL, because he just may be the 3rd or 4th best DE on the Giants. The Giants moved Kiwanuka to LB in order to get their best athletes on the field and to break up the 4 player logjam at DE, with Tuck, Osi, JPP and Kiwanuka. That's a fine sentiment, but I have a better plan. If I were the Giants, I would find a LB on the team - Kruzlick, Jones, Sintim, Dillard, Tracy, anybody.... and move Kiwanuka back to his natural DE position. To break the logjam at DE, trade Osi for as much as you can get - high draft choice, or maybe some offensive talent to put around Eli and perk up that side of the ball.
Later in the week I will do a slightly more detailed, play-by-play analysis of the game.
Ugh. That was ugly. Offense was boring, unproductive and out of sync. Eli was very mediocre and the running game made a few plays here and there but was not clicking either. Even uglier than the offense was the ST that seemed to give up big yardage on punt returns and even some kickoffs. If you look at the stats, the net yardage on punts was decent at 39.4 yards, but that was largely due to some very good kicks, the actual coverage missed several tackles and showed poor coverage lane discipline The defense was OK, but considering it was going up against a mediocre Carolina offense that does not have a proven QB, I'm not going to give it high grades either.
As far as what I said we were looking for from the game, the big thing was progress from Will Beatty. He was fine in pass blocking and the Panthers did blitz quite a bit, especially for a preseason game, so that was a fairly positive result. He did not do as well blocking for the running game, as the Giants got stuffed a few times on 3rd and short when trying to run behind the left side of the OL.
We didn't see much else positive - nothing from Jernigan; Hixon made a few catches and looked smooth running routes, but did not look explosive; Hynoski was OK. Nothing much happening, it looked like a detached, dispirited group.
One surprise was the play of Adrian Tracy at LB - a converted DE, who was IR'ed last year, showed real good speed at LB and played well in space.
JPP
The best news of the evening, maybe the only good news, is the emergence of JPP from the shadows. He looked positively dominating. He got two sacks in one quarter of play and also got the pressure and the hit on the QB that forced the bad throw resulting in the Bolley INT/TD. He also made some plays in the running game, not necessarily making the tackle, but getting in the way of the runner and forcing him to reroute and break down the play. He has the super-freak athletic skills of a Julius Peppers, has a little more size (at least to my eye, I didn't check out their stats) and has a motor that never stops going. He showed some real good technique on one of his rushes, which is very promising for someone with little college playing experience and only one year in the pros. To make things even more encouraging, he was going against Jordan Gross, who is no slouch, a 9 year veteran with two pro bowls on his resume, including last year where he started at LT.
Time to trade Osi
I don't know if Osi watched this game, but he may be more motivated to get back into camp, because based on last night's performance, he may have lost his starting job on his own team. He may think he's a top 5 DE in the NFL, but that must mean that there aren't too many good DEs elsewhere in the NFL, because he just may be the 3rd or 4th best DE on the Giants. The Giants moved Kiwanuka to LB in order to get their best athletes on the field and to break up the 4 player logjam at DE, with Tuck, Osi, JPP and Kiwanuka. That's a fine sentiment, but I have a better plan. If I were the Giants, I would find a LB on the team - Kruzlick, Jones, Sintim, Dillard, Tracy, anybody.... and move Kiwanuka back to his natural DE position. To break the logjam at DE, trade Osi for as much as you can get - high draft choice, or maybe some offensive talent to put around Eli and perk up that side of the ball.
Later in the week I will do a slightly more detailed, play-by-play analysis of the game.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Big things to watch for in preseason....
** Want to see Will Beatty progressing at LT. If he slides in and becomes a formidable LT, the Giants will be set with a strong, young OL for several years. MacKenzie may have to be replaced after this year, but Diehl may be able to slide over to RT and a replacement at LG is even easier to find. Beatty growing to be a solid LT could make or break the Giants season.
** Let's see what Jerningan has at WR. He could be a dynamic weapon on offense to replace Smith and Boss.
** Want to see if Hynoski looks good at FB which will free Pascoe to be a full time TE.
** Want to see Hixon, if he has lost any quickness or if he can be a contributor at WR.
** Would love to see Barden get on the field and show something, but that's for later in preseason, obviously, as he still on PUP list.
** Andre Brown and DJ Ware will probably fight it out for a roster spot.
** I am dying to see the two young DTs, Austin and Jospeh, this year and last year's 2nd round draft choices respectively.
** I also heard that the LBs are doing well, Jones and Sintim. I would love one of them to come up and steal the starting job, so Kiwanuka can play his natural position at DE.
** Let's see what Jerningan has at WR. He could be a dynamic weapon on offense to replace Smith and Boss.
** Want to see if Hynoski looks good at FB which will free Pascoe to be a full time TE.
** Want to see Hixon, if he has lost any quickness or if he can be a contributor at WR.
** Would love to see Barden get on the field and show something, but that's for later in preseason, obviously, as he still on PUP list.
** Andre Brown and DJ Ware will probably fight it out for a roster spot.
** I am dying to see the two young DTs, Austin and Jospeh, this year and last year's 2nd round draft choices respectively.
** I also heard that the LBs are doing well, Jones and Sintim. I would love one of them to come up and steal the starting job, so Kiwanuka can play his natural position at DE.
The BIG Reese mistake
Everybody is all over Jerry Reese now for not making a big splash in free agency and not even retaining two important players form last year's offensive unit, Kevin Boss and now Steve Smith. I liked Steve Smith and we all remember the big year he had in 2009 and the huge plays he made as a rookie in the Super Bowl playoff run in 2007. In case you need reminding, he made two huge catches in the 0:47 second TD drive against the Cowboys at the end of the half in the divisional playoff round and the huge third down conversion right before Plaxico's winning TD against the Patriots. These plays were great and he is a very good player, but those plays probably elevate him in the evaluation of the fans higher than he really deserves. I am going to put another perspective on this. Players come and players go. The key for long term success is not overpaying for players and drafting well. You can't take a player from your own team that you're very fond of and retain him by overpaying for him as if he were a star. I am not going to be two-faced and pretend that I didn't want Smith back, but his departure is not a crusher and the fact that he left is not the issue I have with Reese handling of this situation. The Giants have a lot of very good players, but they don't have many great players. I believe Reese decided that he would like to keep the good players but does not want to pay them like they're great players. The one consensus superstar he has on the team is Justin Tuck. His contract is due in about two years (I think). If Reese had caved and paid Boss a big contract and/or had come up with more coin for Smith, leaving the Giants salary constrained when they have to come up with the big bucks for Tuck, it would have been much worse situation for the Giants. Furthermore, Terrel Thomas is still on his rookie contract and he is going to demand a major raise when he is up in 2 or 3 years. Like I said, players come and players go; the problem I have with Reese is not the specific departure of these two players, but rather I have two issues with how he handled this Giants off-season.
The first, obviously, is: how did Reese let the Giants get into salary cap hell this year? The main moves the Giants made were salary cap related to get under the cap. Giants cut Seubert, O'Hara, Andrews, Bernard and let Bulluck go also. They restructured Jacobs contract and did some tweaking of Corey Webster's contract as well. He should have managed the cap better to avoid this. (But of course, people would have been howling about how he let this player go and that player go, so I guess he can't win.) The Eagles strategy is not to retain their players unless they're indispensable. That's why they were $30M under the cap and went on a shopping spree this off-season. Giants should work to get in the same position.
The second issue I have with Reese is the way he managed the contract negotiation with these players. He made them an offer and let them sit with it. He didn't give a time limit. He didn't say - this offer is good for 48 hours. He let the players hold their offer and shop it around until some other team came up with just enough extra money or sweetened guaranteed money to beat the Giants offer. That's bad negotiating. I don't know if you remember how Accorsi handled the Plaxico negotiation, but let me refresh your memory. Plaxico was a FA and the Giants were the first team he visited. He met the coach, Giants trainers, was taken out to dinner and at the end of the weekend of FA-wooing, the Giants made him an offer. Since it was his first FA visit, Plaxico declined the offer, indicating that he wanted to visit some other teams before he decided. Accorsi bluntly said, if you leave NJ without signing the contract, the offer is off the table, Plax and his agent didn't believe the Giants so he left town. Accorsi, very publicly went to the press and said that the Giants offer was rescinded, but Plax and the agent didn't mind. When Burress went on his FA tour and did not get any other offers, he fired his agent, signed Rosenhaus as the new agent and came back to the Giants, somewhat chaste and humbled, and negotiated a new contract.
Accorsi specifically said that he did not want Burress to use the Giants offer as leverage to go shopping and extract a better offer from other teams. Similarly, he did not want Plaxico to come back to the Giants with an offer from another team in hand and use it as leverage to extract more money from the Giants. This is where Reese went wrong. He made offers to Boss and Smith, let them sit with it and even said - the ball is in their court. Well, they killed the clock, held onto the offers for a few weeks until another offer came along that was better. All it takes is one of the other 31 teams to think that the player is worth a higher investment, or in case of Philadelphia, is insurance against Maclin injury being more serious. Parenthetically, I also think Reid wanted to hurt the Giants as much as he wanted to help the Eagles, both physically as well as with team morale, but that's besides the point. Reese misplayed the negotiation by leaving it up to the players and giving them lots of runway. If he had made the offer to Boss/Smith and said that it's good for 48 hours, he might have gotten a different result.
The first, obviously, is: how did Reese let the Giants get into salary cap hell this year? The main moves the Giants made were salary cap related to get under the cap. Giants cut Seubert, O'Hara, Andrews, Bernard and let Bulluck go also. They restructured Jacobs contract and did some tweaking of Corey Webster's contract as well. He should have managed the cap better to avoid this. (But of course, people would have been howling about how he let this player go and that player go, so I guess he can't win.) The Eagles strategy is not to retain their players unless they're indispensable. That's why they were $30M under the cap and went on a shopping spree this off-season. Giants should work to get in the same position.
The second issue I have with Reese is the way he managed the contract negotiation with these players. He made them an offer and let them sit with it. He didn't give a time limit. He didn't say - this offer is good for 48 hours. He let the players hold their offer and shop it around until some other team came up with just enough extra money or sweetened guaranteed money to beat the Giants offer. That's bad negotiating. I don't know if you remember how Accorsi handled the Plaxico negotiation, but let me refresh your memory. Plaxico was a FA and the Giants were the first team he visited. He met the coach, Giants trainers, was taken out to dinner and at the end of the weekend of FA-wooing, the Giants made him an offer. Since it was his first FA visit, Plaxico declined the offer, indicating that he wanted to visit some other teams before he decided. Accorsi bluntly said, if you leave NJ without signing the contract, the offer is off the table, Plax and his agent didn't believe the Giants so he left town. Accorsi, very publicly went to the press and said that the Giants offer was rescinded, but Plax and the agent didn't mind. When Burress went on his FA tour and did not get any other offers, he fired his agent, signed Rosenhaus as the new agent and came back to the Giants, somewhat chaste and humbled, and negotiated a new contract.
Accorsi specifically said that he did not want Burress to use the Giants offer as leverage to go shopping and extract a better offer from other teams. Similarly, he did not want Plaxico to come back to the Giants with an offer from another team in hand and use it as leverage to extract more money from the Giants. This is where Reese went wrong. He made offers to Boss and Smith, let them sit with it and even said - the ball is in their court. Well, they killed the clock, held onto the offers for a few weeks until another offer came along that was better. All it takes is one of the other 31 teams to think that the player is worth a higher investment, or in case of Philadelphia, is insurance against Maclin injury being more serious. Parenthetically, I also think Reid wanted to hurt the Giants as much as he wanted to help the Eagles, both physically as well as with team morale, but that's besides the point. Reese misplayed the negotiation by leaving it up to the players and giving them lots of runway. If he had made the offer to Boss/Smith and said that it's good for 48 hours, he might have gotten a different result.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Boss, Smith, et.al.
This is starting to get stupid. I know it's easy to say you can always replace a TE. And we can also say further that while Boss was productive, he is not a star player making him even more eminently replaceable. And we can say similar things to downgrade the importance of Steve Smith - a very good, but not a great player; coming off an injury and probably won't be ready for the start of the season. But still - those are just rationalizations for why the Giants should not spend top coin to retain them. I understand that and it may make sense, but from the grand perspective, the bottom line is that the Giants offense has fewer weapons lining up to start the 2011 season than it did lining up to start the 2010 season. We are down the starting TE and one starting WR in Smith.
OK. I finished ranting now and have sufficiently calmed down. The truth of the matter is that Boss IS in fact a complimentary and not a star player. He was pretty good after the catch and did run some nice seam routes, but he was really a slightly above average TE. He was not one of those players that demanded the attention of the defense or special game planning thereby allowing the Giants to spread the field and make the offense much better. He did not have blazing speed, and was not an overwhelming, punishing blocker. He ran nice routes, dropped too many balls, had a good football IQ so he could find the soft spots in the zone and was a productive player at the position. But he was more a product of the systems and the offense than a player that made the offense go. We all remember the huge play he made in the Superbowl to set up the TD that put the Giants ahead at the beginning of the 4th qtr. We also remember some nice plays he made last year to help win some games. But let's not get crazy - he is a good but not game-changing player. I actually like Pascoe and I think he can be productive in that spot also. The Giants signed an undrafted rookie FA FB in Hynoski who they like very much. If he can win the job as the starting FB, the Giants can make Pascoe a full time TE, his natural position, and will have Pascoe and Beckum as the TE group. They need one more for depth, but they should be able to pick someone up after the training camp cuts for some decent depth. Alternatively, I would not mind seeing Michael Clayton shifted to that TE slot. He is big and physical for a WR and while slightly undersized for a TE, could probably be a decent backup.
Steve Smith has been in NJ, meeting with the Giants and that makes it seem like he will eventually sign with the Giants. He has no other offers and no teams pursuing him. (I said that with Boss also, so who knows how that could change.) The difference with Smith is that he is coming off microfracture knee surgery fairly late in the 2010 season and teams will be reluctant to take a risk on him.
Let's go back to that big picture again and I'll try to be a glass-half full kind of guy this time specifically with the offensive questions. The Giants retooled their OL, making it faster, more athletic and younger. They may have found their starting LT, always a significant move. They got under the salary cap with some stability for the future. They have added draftee Jernigan who could be a real weapon, and have welcomed back some speed in WR Dixon. Victor Cruz is another possible offensive weapon and if Barden and Smith make it back onto the field, there should be plenty of talent for Eli to find.
While I like Bradsdhaw, it's not clear to me that having about $9M tied up in the RB position with two players that are not stars is a good investment.
My opinion is that the Osi situation will get worked out to the Giants satisfaction. Giants seem to have all the leverage: 1. Agent could not work out a trade; 2. Osi further limited his value, his marketability and his leverage by announcing his knee problem; 3. Let's not forget the biggest point of Giants leverage - Osi is actually under contract! Giants should throw Osi a little incentive money in his contract to soothe his ego and pride and expect him to come into camp.
OK. I finished ranting now and have sufficiently calmed down. The truth of the matter is that Boss IS in fact a complimentary and not a star player. He was pretty good after the catch and did run some nice seam routes, but he was really a slightly above average TE. He was not one of those players that demanded the attention of the defense or special game planning thereby allowing the Giants to spread the field and make the offense much better. He did not have blazing speed, and was not an overwhelming, punishing blocker. He ran nice routes, dropped too many balls, had a good football IQ so he could find the soft spots in the zone and was a productive player at the position. But he was more a product of the systems and the offense than a player that made the offense go. We all remember the huge play he made in the Superbowl to set up the TD that put the Giants ahead at the beginning of the 4th qtr. We also remember some nice plays he made last year to help win some games. But let's not get crazy - he is a good but not game-changing player. I actually like Pascoe and I think he can be productive in that spot also. The Giants signed an undrafted rookie FA FB in Hynoski who they like very much. If he can win the job as the starting FB, the Giants can make Pascoe a full time TE, his natural position, and will have Pascoe and Beckum as the TE group. They need one more for depth, but they should be able to pick someone up after the training camp cuts for some decent depth. Alternatively, I would not mind seeing Michael Clayton shifted to that TE slot. He is big and physical for a WR and while slightly undersized for a TE, could probably be a decent backup.
Steve Smith has been in NJ, meeting with the Giants and that makes it seem like he will eventually sign with the Giants. He has no other offers and no teams pursuing him. (I said that with Boss also, so who knows how that could change.) The difference with Smith is that he is coming off microfracture knee surgery fairly late in the 2010 season and teams will be reluctant to take a risk on him.
Let's go back to that big picture again and I'll try to be a glass-half full kind of guy this time specifically with the offensive questions. The Giants retooled their OL, making it faster, more athletic and younger. They may have found their starting LT, always a significant move. They got under the salary cap with some stability for the future. They have added draftee Jernigan who could be a real weapon, and have welcomed back some speed in WR Dixon. Victor Cruz is another possible offensive weapon and if Barden and Smith make it back onto the field, there should be plenty of talent for Eli to find.
While I like Bradsdhaw, it's not clear to me that having about $9M tied up in the RB position with two players that are not stars is a good investment.
My opinion is that the Osi situation will get worked out to the Giants satisfaction. Giants seem to have all the leverage: 1. Agent could not work out a trade; 2. Osi further limited his value, his marketability and his leverage by announcing his knee problem; 3. Let's not forget the biggest point of Giants leverage - Osi is actually under contract! Giants should throw Osi a little incentive money in his contract to soothe his ego and pride and expect him to come into camp.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Osi.... et al
After giving Osi and his agent all of about 36 hours to find a team interested, the Giants withdrew their offer to allow the agent to seek a trade for Osi. This makes it seem like it was just a ploy all along for the Giants to show Osi that his value was not as high as he thinks, especially now when teams are cramped by a slightly lower salary cap than the last capped year in 2009. Still, I think some team would have come up with some creative deal to trade for Osi and then the Giants would have been in a real bind. Giants had demanded a # 1 pick, but suppose a team offered a 2 and a 4. Or a starting player and a 3. If they had to say no to that, they really could have been called liars by Osi + agent.
On the one hand, I understand the Giants position - they probably did not say exactly what Osi said they did, and Osi kind of interpreted or heard what he wanted to hear. Even if the Giants made a loose promise or best effort to renegotiate, nobody could have anticipated the salary cap situation that they found themselves in because of the new CBA. They may have planned to give him a new contract, but found changed business conditions when the time came.
Osi's perspective is somewhat understandable, but flawed. His email rant to the Associated Press, where he said the team has all the power to cut a player but the player has to live by the contract is correct. That's life. To whine about this now, nanoseconds after a new CBA was negotiated and signed, reaffirming the state of business in the NFL with its non-guaranteed contract is like complaining to God that that darned sun keeps coming up in the east everyday. Live with it.
Osi is also complaining that he is making only around $4M this year and he has outplayed his contract, especially compared to the huge deal that the Panthers gave to their DE Johnson (who is he?). Well, he forgets that he also received a big bonus up front and he should not just look at the 2011 base salary. Furthermore, because one stupid team overpays for one player doesn't mean that he is entitled to the same money. The biggest flaw in Osi's argument that he has outplayed his contract, is that this fact may be true only for 2010. Let's not forget that he missed the entire 2008 season with a knee injury and that he had a miserable year in 2009 where he actually lost his starting job. That makes his claim about outplaying his contract a little misleading. I think Osi is a very talented pass rusher, but he is a fairly one-dimensional player and should not get paid like one of the top five DEs in football.
Having said all of that, the Giants should try to keep Osi on the team and make him a happy, productive player. I think part of Osi's complaint and frustration is that he is very proud, wants to be thought of as "the best" and wants his ego stroked through a new contract. The Giants should try to find a compromise to make all parties happy and not threaten to start a revolt among the other players who may demand more money if they hold out. I think that's called a win-win.
Ideas for compromises:
1. Don't rip up the current contract, but give Osi an extension to the contract starting in 2013. This way, the Giants are not throwing out his current contract and are not creating a precedent, encouraging players who perceive themselves as underpaid to become squeaky wheels in order to get some oil. This shows Osi some love, does not break the current salary cap and does not give players license to revolt.
2. If they wanted to be bold, they could even renegotiate by giving him a new contract at the end of 2011, going into the 2012 season. The same benefits accrue to both side as above and Osi gets money earlier.
3. If Osi is unwilling to do that, if he feels the relationship with the Giants is so fractured, they can instead promise to cut him after 2011. That way they will get a highly motivated player for 2011 and he will be able to negotiate at market value with no restrictions as a FA for the 2012 season. I don't recommend this, because it is too risky for the Giants.
4. Make the 2012 contract dollars guaranteed and/or give him a big roster bonus for March 2012 as a prelude to renegotiating at that time. That way, Osi is guaranteed either to get a pile of cash and a new contract from the Giants, or he will be cut loose and negotiate as a FA.
Big picture, the Giants reputation has taken a hit and they should try to repair it and keep the best players on the team.
On the one hand, I understand the Giants position - they probably did not say exactly what Osi said they did, and Osi kind of interpreted or heard what he wanted to hear. Even if the Giants made a loose promise or best effort to renegotiate, nobody could have anticipated the salary cap situation that they found themselves in because of the new CBA. They may have planned to give him a new contract, but found changed business conditions when the time came.
Osi's perspective is somewhat understandable, but flawed. His email rant to the Associated Press, where he said the team has all the power to cut a player but the player has to live by the contract is correct. That's life. To whine about this now, nanoseconds after a new CBA was negotiated and signed, reaffirming the state of business in the NFL with its non-guaranteed contract is like complaining to God that that darned sun keeps coming up in the east everyday. Live with it.
Osi is also complaining that he is making only around $4M this year and he has outplayed his contract, especially compared to the huge deal that the Panthers gave to their DE Johnson (who is he?). Well, he forgets that he also received a big bonus up front and he should not just look at the 2011 base salary. Furthermore, because one stupid team overpays for one player doesn't mean that he is entitled to the same money. The biggest flaw in Osi's argument that he has outplayed his contract, is that this fact may be true only for 2010. Let's not forget that he missed the entire 2008 season with a knee injury and that he had a miserable year in 2009 where he actually lost his starting job. That makes his claim about outplaying his contract a little misleading. I think Osi is a very talented pass rusher, but he is a fairly one-dimensional player and should not get paid like one of the top five DEs in football.
Having said all of that, the Giants should try to keep Osi on the team and make him a happy, productive player. I think part of Osi's complaint and frustration is that he is very proud, wants to be thought of as "the best" and wants his ego stroked through a new contract. The Giants should try to find a compromise to make all parties happy and not threaten to start a revolt among the other players who may demand more money if they hold out. I think that's called a win-win.
Ideas for compromises:
1. Don't rip up the current contract, but give Osi an extension to the contract starting in 2013. This way, the Giants are not throwing out his current contract and are not creating a precedent, encouraging players who perceive themselves as underpaid to become squeaky wheels in order to get some oil. This shows Osi some love, does not break the current salary cap and does not give players license to revolt.
2. If they wanted to be bold, they could even renegotiate by giving him a new contract at the end of 2011, going into the 2012 season. The same benefits accrue to both side as above and Osi gets money earlier.
3. If Osi is unwilling to do that, if he feels the relationship with the Giants is so fractured, they can instead promise to cut him after 2011. That way they will get a highly motivated player for 2011 and he will be able to negotiate at market value with no restrictions as a FA for the 2012 season. I don't recommend this, because it is too risky for the Giants.
4. Make the 2012 contract dollars guaranteed and/or give him a big roster bonus for March 2012 as a prelude to renegotiating at that time. That way, Osi is guaranteed either to get a pile of cash and a new contract from the Giants, or he will be cut loose and negotiate as a FA.
Big picture, the Giants reputation has taken a hit and they should try to repair it and keep the best players on the team.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Bradshaw agrees to contract
It seemed inevitable when all the potential buyers of Ahmad Bradshaw's services dropped away, who brought in other RBs to satisfy their needs, that Bradshaw would accept the offer from the Giants and return. That seems to be what happened and it probably means that the Giants got Bradshaw in at a reasonable, cap-friendly price. Terms of the deal were not yet announced. The same will probably be true for Boss in short order as TE spots are also not open for Boss to look at.... in other words, it seems to be a buyer's market.
The big question mark is Steve Smith - not because many teams are pursuing him, but because his physical health is up in the air. My guess is all these situations will be resolved by the end of this week, perhaps by Wednesday, when the FAs are legally allowed to start practicing.
What happens if Osi's agent can't find a team to give up what the Giants are looking for in a trade and/or a team that will renegotiate his contract and give him what he wants financially? Does he come back into camp like a good soldier and bleed Giants blue suffering on his ~$4M salary? Or does he cut off his nose to spite his face, refuse to play for the paltry sum that the Giants are paying him and sit on the sidelines for 2011. I understand that Osi is a very proud man. Pride goeth before the fall.
Truthfully, there may not be many teams that will be willing to give up a 1st round draft choice (and potentially another starter) and pay Osi a cap-threatening sum. Once the agent got involved with making a deal, instead of the Giants just trading Osi themselves, the contract renegotiation became a requirement of the deal. It will also cut down the buyers. Would the Giants trade Osi inside the division, say to Dallas or Philadelphia? What are the parameters of the authority that the Giants gave to Osi and agent. I still say that there is at least a chance that Osi will not be traded and will end up playing for the Giants. If the Giants don't rip up his contract but give him an ego-soothing two year extension with some guaranteed money thrown in, he comes back in happy.
The big question mark is Steve Smith - not because many teams are pursuing him, but because his physical health is up in the air. My guess is all these situations will be resolved by the end of this week, perhaps by Wednesday, when the FAs are legally allowed to start practicing.
What happens if Osi's agent can't find a team to give up what the Giants are looking for in a trade and/or a team that will renegotiate his contract and give him what he wants financially? Does he come back into camp like a good soldier and bleed Giants blue suffering on his ~$4M salary? Or does he cut off his nose to spite his face, refuse to play for the paltry sum that the Giants are paying him and sit on the sidelines for 2011. I understand that Osi is a very proud man. Pride goeth before the fall.
Truthfully, there may not be many teams that will be willing to give up a 1st round draft choice (and potentially another starter) and pay Osi a cap-threatening sum. Once the agent got involved with making a deal, instead of the Giants just trading Osi themselves, the contract renegotiation became a requirement of the deal. It will also cut down the buyers. Would the Giants trade Osi inside the division, say to Dallas or Philadelphia? What are the parameters of the authority that the Giants gave to Osi and agent. I still say that there is at least a chance that Osi will not be traded and will end up playing for the Giants. If the Giants don't rip up his contract but give him an ego-soothing two year extension with some guaranteed money thrown in, he comes back in happy.
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