John Lynch: Giants Should Consider Benching Nicks

Has to contribute if we are going to continue on this run. Who exactly is going to take his place? Randle? I like Randle in his role right now in our offense and fear the increased potential for interceptions on communication breakdowns if he has more balls thrown in his way. I think Nicks will get in the end zone vs Dallas.

is likely to be over. If he had said drop Nicks to number 3 I maybe would listen but to bench him makes who the 3rd reciever?

Jernigan is a better option than Nicks since Jernigan would become the 3rd WR.

Any writer that would suggest benching Nicks isn't worth reading.

Nicks and Cruz requires special attention from the defense which is why Randle is getting open on a lot of his plays, without Nicks our entire passing game suffers.

because he has been a great receiver. But, his past is a great but oft injured player, and it seems his present is a struggling oft injured player.

I was certain the Giants would resign him after the season, but now I'm not so sure.

But as for this season, he is still their best option

Which is crazy considering it’s a contract year for him. I personally would not mind seeing Murphy out there a little more to see what he can do? He is taller than Nicks and has the speed. Plus it would not hurt to light a fire under Nick’s ass.

Nicks is a shell of his former self, you see it not only in his play but his interviews. With the importance of this year for him and the fact he still cannot produce speaks volumes of his physical and mental state. I do think at this point it is more mental for him though.
I hope the light bulb turns on for him we need it and so does he.

there is more to this than we are being allowed to know..whether its an undisclosed injury, an off the field personal matter, or anxiety over his pending free agency and contract status, or a falling out with eli, there is something else at play here

we'll likely get more insight at the end of the season or during the off season

Hopefully you helped to light a fire under his ass. The idea of playing for a big contract certainly isn't doing it.

Nothing to be gained from benching him in 2013. Still our best threat/option at the position for foreseeable future.

when Nicks was on the bench last week. Great idea!

he gets to play

if pass interference calls counted for something, we might not be having this conversation.

he is a good number three receiver behind Randle and Cruz . There is no way Giants will pay him big money next year so he is most certainly a goner. Sign Manningham on the cheap and rebuild OL.

I loved Nicks first two years but he has not played like a number one WR in quite a while.

So much for the Nicks jersey.

The Giants haven't benched Diehl in 3 years. Nicks' job is perfectly safe.

This will be nick's fu game.

Why would they bench him? They will let anyone write an article these days apparently.

Is it mental? Is it physical? Who the hell knows. Every week I expect him to break out of this funk and have a big game. Hopefully it will be Sunday.

for Nicks to turn it on for that big pay day.

I felt Nicks should have sat down last year...he just wasn't producing....

What good is having him go out there week after week, if he is hurt? There is a reason he hasn't scored a td this year....he has had opportunities the old Nicks would have scored TD's on....

I don't know what's wrong with him, nobody but Nicks does....

If he can't perform well, I see no problem having Cruz/Randle out there in 2 WR sets...

We keep waiting for him to "break out"....we don't have that luxury anymore.....if by the fourth quarter, we are having trouble scoring, and Nicks is having another one of "those games", I think the move has to be considered....

But who knows....strange things have happened in this Giant season.....the guy could turn around and have a huge game.....and if he does, BBI will ask, where has this been all season? Who cares? If we win, all is well in Giant Land....if we lose, every play in this game will be dissected to the "nth" degree....

Giant Land will become Clowney Land, ad nauseam....

told him that Eli was just trying to throw the ball away on the Toomer TD to beat the Broncos?

is going to Nicks. He is getting open because he is running better routes than Nicks. He is playing better. Why is that so hard to come to grips with? We drafted Randle for a reason. He is starting to live up to his expectations and we should make excuses as to why just to hide the fact that Nicks sucks this year?

I can't help but think of last year when Nicks was hurt but tried to play through the injuries. Him attempting to play through hurt the whole offense. As soon as he sat the offense started gaining back life.

Whatever he is dealing with - body, mind, or a combination of the two - he hasn't looked like his head's been in the game this year. And his explosiveness and separation are like Anthony Mix is out there, not the Hakeem Nicks we came to love.

I would sit him, at least to get more explosion on the field with guys who are mentally with it. It's going to be a war mentally these next few games, and if we have a guy out there hanging his head, it hurts matters, no matter how you slice it.

If Nicks isn't right and isn't a thought in defense's minds, the D's keys are going to Cruz, Randle, and tee'ing off on Eli. I don't think we can afford that.

Murphy would.. and good luck with that.

We just need to hope that Hakeem can get it together here. We need him.

Keep him on the field for distraction sake if nothing else. And he may just catch a ball or two.

needs to understand who is available behind the trio.. and the issue is the offense.. I hate the way Nicks is being singled out by the media types.. anyone see any Cruz Salsa dancing in the lat few weeks.. nope...

Is more of a product of the OL. And I'm willing to bet he has a massive game this week since Dallas d sucks and the OL is starting to come together a bit. This will be nicks game. Then the run begins.

200+ yards. 3 Scores.

He hasn't made it all the way back from his injury last year - and at this point, one has to question if he ever will.

replaces Nicks in the rotation... because the answer as to who would be the new #3 is simple - NICKS.

I'm a huge fan of Randle's and see that he is improving all the time. The time will come, however, that Nicks will have to come up big down the stretch. Anyone remember Manningham and Tyree? Without those guys and their big grabs, neither team wins a Superbowl.

I disagree, I think most of it is on him dropping balls and playing disinterested.

The bigger issue is if he has lost a step of quickness is it really worth re-signing him?

.

beside lingering problems from last year.Still a pretty good receiver even given his injuries.Need him on Sunday.

In comment 11353615 Damon said:

Quote:

200+ yards. 3 Scores.

From your mouth to God's ear

to be a good possession receiver but that is all. Not a deep threat or #1 any more. We should use him that way. Give Randle and Murphy a shot at the long stuff.

In favor of who? By this guys logic he would say we should have benched ELI.

in other cases. As long as Nicks' is showing up 5 minutes early for the team meetings, he should play.

Someone said it best earlier in this thread...if Diehl doesn't get benched for poor play then no one should.

First of all, benching would be a formality because the Giants are routinely in 3 wide sets. So, unless you were willing to have Randle and Jernigan on the field together for a ton of snaps, even a benched Nicks would be in at some point in the first or second series. Second of all, he is still the 2nd best WR on the team. For all of Randle's TDs, he is still terribly inconsistent and running incorrect routes.

Hurt, I feel the reason he looks diminished. I'd bet a secure new contract and a good off season to regain his health and her the nicks of old. With Giants or not. He is only 25.

...his brothers are straight-up thugs, one in prison for attempted murder.
Link - ( New Window )

but for whatever reason, health, money, personal/family issues? Whatever is bothering him he's not the same player he was two years ago and in my opinion he never will be for the Giants again. In all likelihood he's almost physically finished. He'll be somewhere else next year and we'll see if the change of scenery makes a difference in his production.

Bring up the R word...as in Ramses.

For the lazy shit stirring media outlets at fox and espn and NFL net. Nicks isnt having a great year but to suggest benching the guy is fucking stupid snd senseless. Stupid. Stupid stupid.

Eli throws a pick. Yeah brilliant idea.

hurt, and it's frustrating for him. He knows he's not the #1 WR anymore, and probably not #2 either.

He's not being lazy. That's not his style. He has played through a lot of injuries. This is also a contract year for him. He's just frustrated that his injuries mean he won't cash in as a FA like he expected.

"He's just frustrated that his injuries mean he won't cash in as a FA like he expected."

So how does that help sending him out there like that? At some point during the game, because this game makes or breaks our season, if it's not working, a change has to be made...

I hope it doesn't come to that.....the way to avoid that, is to work him into the offense early....make him the first read, if it's not there, dump the pass elsewhere...

In comment 11353748 Doomster said:

Quote:

"He's just frustrated that his injuries mean he won't cash in as a FA like he expected." So how does that help sending him out there like that? At some point during the game, because this game makes or breaks our season, if it's not working, a change has to be made... I hope it doesn't come to that.....the way to avoid that, is to work him into the offense early....make him the first read, if it's not there, dump the pass elsewhere...

In a different situation, he might well sit, or get fewer snaps. But he still may be drawing coverage away from others, and the other options are Jernigan and Murphy.

over the last few weeks, Eli hasn't looked his way that often. Whether it be because Nicks has become unreliable with all the drops or Nicks not getting open I don't know. I think Nicks knows he needs to play big before the season ends in order to get a nice payday. He can take over a game when he wants to and don't be surprised if it is against Dallas.

which I'm sure the staff does.. injuries can effect you.. probably is frustrating..

I still think Nicks can break out at any moment though.. hope tomorrow is the day..

would I be curious to see how Randle does getting extra reps.. yeah.. so we know future possibilities.. but Nicks is still Nicks..

Nick's agent, I wonder how much an effect he has on him. Seems like Nicks can't go potty unless he checks with this guy.

I know J-Zee drove Cruz nuts, till Victor told him to back off, that he just wanted to play football

I know, agents are important, but sometimes it seem they are grabbing the wheel out of the player's hands way too often.

you let him work through it.

Benching him ruins his confidence, making matter worse, wipes out any chance of re-signing him, no matter how "cheap", not to mention hurts the Giants chances making the playoffs and/or make some noise if they get there.