Phillip Dillard-I Think He Will Be Our Mike This Season

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thanks LTS when to go out on a limb there.

= way

i would love to see a healthy gerris wilkinson start for us...

I hope he starts. And does not suck.


All his cousin does is rave about him every time I see him now...

was kinda just making the point that we can have whatever feeling we want on it (I think it'll be goff) but it doesn't matter, the fact is the coaches will make the choice after they watch all the guys in camp and preseason

that I will most assuredly be rebuffed with the, 'this is a football website, what else is there to talk about?!?' post.


not directing this at you AD just my thoughts

I've learned to control my excitement when it comes to mid-round LB's...

Dillard is really going to test Goff, I think. But Goff may win out in the end.

I think Goff is the superior athlete and he's is also a film room junkie, although it hasn't been talked about very often.

Quote:

Besides his predilection to brevity, Goff is intelligent. He graduated in December with a degree in mechanical engineering. Belin called him a coach on the field, and Goff reviewed more film than Oscar voters during his time at Vanderbilt. "Jon Goff is a student of the game, you're talking about a guy that looked at more playing film than I did," said Belin.

LB Goff had them talking at NFL Combine - ( New Window )

is for if the only valid response is, wait until camp is over.

Speculation is our job as fans and we all know it will play itself out.

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Both seem to be football players. We all know this defense can function without a superathletic Mike.

I think Sintim will prove to be a solid contributor. Boley will be able to assume Nickel/Dime responsibilities, and Dillard and Goff will both have their moments in the same defense that made Blackburn look good whenever he came in as a reserve.

At this point the crucial spot on the defense that needs to show improvement on the field is the DT position. Henderson would go a very long way there.

and Goff (Mech Eng) more cerebral/analytical. Very similar players, we'll see which style wins out.

Quote:

GMenLTS : 2:51 pm was kinda just making the point that we can have whatever feeling we want on it (I think it'll be goff) but it doesn't matter, the fact is the coaches will make the choice after they watch all the guys in camp and preseason

Yet, I bet he made a prediction on the Giants W-L record thread...:)

Goff or Dillard to be effective they'd better get the kind of play a guy like Josephs brings which they did not have last year.That's a lot to ask for in a rook.

itions...also wilk could have a resergence this year as well.

If my guess about the style of play is correct, we may see Blackburn and Dillard at MLB, Goff and Sintim at Strong and boley and wilk at weak?

That guess is that the linebackers, esp. the middle, may do less covering this year.

It's not about flat speed - the issue is that guys like jason whitten / romo have a nack for burning linebackers PERIOD...so we may adjust the thinking away from that altogether in certain defensive formations.

in camp.

At this stage I'm not sure what basis I would have for high expectation. Not that I am down on the pick, but I seem to recall a lot of talk about the coaches being high on Gerris when he came in as a 3rd round pick, and DeOssie (4th), Kehl (4th) and Goff (5th) all received favorable draft day responses and were seen as smart, hard working, and athletic.

I don't recall what was said by our staff when those guys were drafted(do you?), but they effectively(if not directly) said that PD was their 2nd highest rated LB on their tiers

They liked all those LBs. For DeOssie, it was pedigree stuff, he was smart true football player and had fantastic measurables. The one question with him was the level of competition, but they were convinced he would develop. Gerris was a 3rd round pick, so that says something there, and I distinctly recall one of the beat guys saying the coaches were super excited about the pick (he may be the guy the coaches are most excited about -type comment). Kehl was one of only two players JR has traded up for. The Goff pick was back to back LBs.

As for PD being their #2, I'm not so sure I had read that specifically into what was said, but I know they do like him a lot.

lol

the rest of our options there are uninspiring, to say the least. We'll see how the battle for the MLB spot develops in camp.

is none of them really was a significant college talent. I couldn't recall any of them before they were written up in scouting reports, and I watch tons of college football. Dillard appears to be more accomplished at the FBS level, so I'm hopeful he arrives and the competition really ratchets up a few notches. One of these young players must step up.

But he will still need to beat out Jon Goff in training camp. One starts, the other backs him up and plays specials.

I don't really see any of the others (Wilkinson, Kehl, Blackburn, Micah Johnson, Lee Campbell, anybody else who comes along) as legitimate contenders, just guys who will be depth insurance against either Dillard or Goff going down.

Agreed. They expect Dillard to compete immediatly and it should be between him and Goff.

they may not want to go with a rookie for that.

I know he did it in college. It takes time to adjust to the NFL though.

at all if Kehl makes a big push for one of the starting positions this season.

He's got all the physical and mental tools. Just doesn't have the aggressiveness needed to play in the NFL and tends to overthink rather than react. I kinda think his physical skills are what's kept him on the roster so long; maybe the coaches still think they can teach the killer instinct. But he needs to get there pretty soon or it's 'fade away into the dust' time.

IMO the Giants should settle him into one position only. From the time he has arrived (from his own statements) he's been asked to learn all three LB positions. And he didn't even play in a 4-3 in college and admitted the looks and reads were different for him from the getgo. With GW moved inside (a position he played in college) and now Dillard drafted to compete with Goff and Blackburn at Mike, along with Tracy slated to Sam (behind Sintim and Chase), the best bet for Kehl to develop is to leave him as Boley's primary backup at WIL.

Just look at his competition.

all of these LB's are:
1)Known unknowns
2)Known knowns
3)Unknown unknowns