Between Beatty's back and all the unproven youngsters, I think the Giants will have to carry 10 OL this year--which means Locklear is a lock and not a luxury.
a problem if Beatty is hampered, but it would be for any team that lost its starting LT. My guess is the Giants would shift Diehl back to LT in that case. Locklear would be another option.
In fact, Beatty's back could to some extent determine whether Locklear makes the team. I can't imagine the Giants putting Brewer at LT in his second year. He would really have to show he had made a quantum leap forward for that to even be considered.
Even if he goes through camp without a hitch, I think Beatty's back has already made a necessity out of Locklear.
Beatty needs to be concerned about his own roster spot if his back continues to be a problem through camp.
As I see it..
Diehl, Snee, Baas, Boothe, Petrus, Mosley, and Locklear are locks. Beatty needs to just show he can stay healthy and he will be a lock. Brewer and McCants need to show they are improving players who have too much potential to risk on the practice squad.
because he's NYG's most experienced LOT. Use the summer to give Brewer and Mosley as many ROT reps as possible, with the goal of one of them being a week 1 starter.
A healthy Beatty is a much better option at LT than Diehl Â
at this point in his career. I have been saying for months that LT is a big concern if Beatty isn't 100% or can't stay healthy. We need to get one or both of the rookies up to speed in a hurry as insurance. Sure hope they can play at this level.
Left tackle is the premium spot where NYG has a question mark Â
pulled a muscle doing lunges. You guys act like this guy has a chronic back or "back issues". It's going to heal and he's going to be fine. He's never had back problems in the past.
Or Glenn, Martin, and Adams weren't so hot. Martin was over-rated by draftniks early on, but plummeted in the days before the draft when the pro scouts started sharing their thoughts. Adams came with obvious red flags and Glenn had less obvious red flags, but red flags just the same. None of those guys were blue chip prospects.
That's the problem with finding a franchise OLT. Unless you have a shot at one of the two or three blue chip tackles available per draft, you're not going to do any better than a Dave Diehl. The other choice is to take a flyer on developmental guys with good measurables like Whimper, Beatty, Brewer and McCants and hope you can coach them up.
Mitchell Schwartz and Amini Silatolu also went before Glenn, Martin, and Adams. Like I said, if you're not drafting in the top ten or twenty, you're not going to find a franchise tackle who can step in and start for the next ten years.
I said this many times in the past. Even got into strong debate with Eric about Petitgue a year before he was released. His release didn't surprise me at all. When KMac's back started acting up, I said it again.
And its just not missing games, their performance is seriously compromised. It is a position where you have large men banging and pushing into each other while turning and twisting. I don't know how the position can be played with a bad back.
The best you can hope for regarding an OL with a bad back is to be a short term stop gap until you can get a replacement.
As far as I am concerned, The Giants #1 priority next season is to find a replacement LT. Hopefully there is aplyer on the roster that can step up, like Brewer.
Interesting that Glenn was in the mix/discussion at 32. I liked both Martin and Adams from game clips on youtube, FWIW obviously, but sure as heck few of us have any real insight into character/personality issues of the draft prospects.
I recall you have an insider source...
Wilson, by all accounts and from all we've seen or heard up till now, seems like an absolute gem character-wise. A big plus in his favor, along with outstanding overall athleticism.
Milton - no one is a sure thing, and Wilson looks great Â
in a lot of ways. You know I still have high hopes for Beatty, but this is his year to grab it or it's gone, so far as the Giants are concerned.
I like what little I've seen/heard about McCants for a guy drafted so low. We'll see if he even makes the roster or magically ends up IRed year 1. They don't have room for him and Mosely, along with Brewer likely not yet ready for prime time, IMO.
McL: Petitgout didn't really get cut because of his back. Â
He had a broken leg and a $5MM salary, and most importantly, the line had played fairly well without him.
Milton: I don't want Locklear on the team. Nothing personal against the guy. It's just that he's insurance, and if he makes it, that means something went wrong with Plan A.
Beatty missed the final month-plus of the regular season and all of the postseason with a detached retina. Now, it’s his back, which flared up in the week before the game against the Eagles last November (the game in which he injured his eye).
“I had so much time off I was actually trying to get myself in shape and doing more than I should’ve done,” Beatty said, adding: “Last year, (the back) was really bothering me but it never took me out of anything. I was having tightness and things like that. But this is the first time I missed OTAs because of the back.”
Yes he broke his Fibula, but that is an injury players come back from. Within a year, Kiwanuka, Ward and Shockey all had the same injury. (Not sure what was going on with fibulas at that time). None of those 3 were cut, and the all returned without significant loss in ability.
However LP's performance had been in steady decline. And I attributed it to his back. At that I I was charting OL play, and it was clear that LP could fire forward but he didn't have the ability turn defensive players well. I attribute that to his back problems. IMO he was cut due to lagging performance from back issues, not the broken fibula.
Regarding Beatty and his back. This is absolutely not the first time he has had back issues.... Linked is an article for the Star Ledger when it was first reported that he had an eye problem. It mentions that he has been battling back problems as well. Link - ( New Window )
In fact, Beatty's back could to some extent determine whether Locklear makes the team. I can't imagine the Giants putting Brewer at LT in his second year. He would really have to show he had made a quantum leap forward for that to even be considered.
Beatty needs to be concerned about his own roster spot if his back continues to be a problem through camp.
As I see it..
Diehl, Snee, Baas, Boothe, Petrus, Mosley, and Locklear are locks. Beatty needs to just show he can stay healthy and he will be a lock. Brewer and McCants need to show they are improving players who have too much potential to risk on the practice squad.
Given the OL and specifically OLT concern. :D
And I'm one here who has posted often that I believe in his skillset for NYG at OLT.
That's the problem with finding a franchise OLT. Unless you have a shot at one of the two or three blue chip tackles available per draft, you're not going to do any better than a Dave Diehl. The other choice is to take a flyer on developmental guys with good measurables like Whimper, Beatty, Brewer and McCants and hope you can coach them up.
And its just not missing games, their performance is seriously compromised. It is a position where you have large men banging and pushing into each other while turning and twisting. I don't know how the position can be played with a bad back.
The best you can hope for regarding an OL with a bad back is to be a short term stop gap until you can get a replacement.
As far as I am concerned, The Giants #1 priority next season is to find a replacement LT. Hopefully there is aplyer on the roster that can step up, like Brewer.
I am more concerned with his eye than his back. Will seems to have had a series of things go wrong including a broken foot.
While don't think the back will be an issue, his health is one. It always seems to be something. He needs top prove he can stay on the field.
I recall you have an insider source...
Wilson, by all accounts and from all we've seen or heard up till now, seems like an absolute gem character-wise. A big plus in his favor, along with outstanding overall athleticism.
I like what little I've seen/heard about McCants for a guy drafted so low. We'll see if he even makes the roster or magically ends up IRed year 1. They don't have room for him and Mosely, along with Brewer likely not yet ready for prime time, IMO.
Milton: I don't want Locklear on the team. Nothing personal against the guy. It's just that he's insurance, and if he makes it, that means something went wrong with Plan A.
The BBI Worry Warts drive me crazy.
June 4, 2012
June 12, 2012. - ( New Window )
However LP's performance had been in steady decline. And I attributed it to his back. At that I I was charting OL play, and it was clear that LP could fire forward but he didn't have the ability turn defensive players well. I attribute that to his back problems. IMO he was cut due to lagging performance from back issues, not the broken fibula.
Regarding Beatty and his back. This is absolutely not the first time he has had back issues.... Linked is an article for the Star Ledger when it was first reported that he had an eye problem. It mentions that he has been battling back problems as well.
Link - ( New Window )