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Randle is the worst Giants starting WR in a long time

dibc : 9/1/2014 12:11 pm
-and it's not close. The constant OL obsession here seems to shield him from all scrutiny. What killed us in that draft isn't the Reese didn't draft an OL, as usual. It's that he tried to get cute and pick up the needed WR in round 2, instead of drafting Alshon Jeffrey in round 1. Of course, had he drafted Jeffrey, he would have been blasted here. Not "NFL-ready", not the "good character" Giants-type player, only runs 4 routes (open on all of them), not the #1 OL that brought us the last two championships. Randle was sold as NFL-ready, which was fine if it was true, but turned out to be a laugh.

I'm still trying to figure out what Randle is good at. He has truly bad hands - lots of easy drops. He's the very worst route runner the Giants have drafted in a long time - 3 years later in his second offense (with "fewer" adjustments etc.) and he's still running the wrong route more times than not. His speed is mediocre - he's not Steve Smith slow, but his speed is hardly an asset. He's not a deep threat and doesn't get behind the defense the way other receivers of his size and body build do (the young Amani Toomer comes to mind). I guess he's an above-average runner when he does catch the ball, which is way too infrequently. Everything else is below average.

I saw a large number of plays this preseason where Eli had plenty of time to throw and held the ball because nobody was open. That's not the OL. It's the receiving corps. In the past Eli has excelled with 3 good receivers, and been pretty good with 2 good receivers. Right now it's Cruz and nobody. The Giants desperately need Beckham to get healthy, and they need to find a big receiver who can play. It hasn't been Randle. (And it's not Jernigan, Parker, Manningham etc., all of whom are/were here to back up Cruz and Beckham.) I understand that Corey Washington has his limitations, and I'm hardly one who thinks that every undrafted WR we find is going to turn into the next Victor Cruz. But Randle has been so bad at times you have to wonder if this guy deserves a shot. If Washington "doesn't separate" - Randle doesn't either. Washington just might learn how to do that and it doesn't appear Randle will.

If Randle is ever going to get it done, now is the time. I'm always rooting for the Giants WRs - but I'm just not seeing it with this guy. And it's strange because the Giants haven't missed on a WR in a long time. Some have been hurt, etc., but they have generally come as advertised.
My  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 9/1/2014 12:14 pm : link
guess is that Eli has two targets who he trusts: Cruz and Rashad Jennings.
Eli had 2.69 seconds to throw this pre-season, so you couldn't  
Riggies : 9/1/2014 12:17 pm : link
have seen that "large" of a number of times where he had a plenty of time.

As for Randle, his problem is that he's almost bizarrely football dumb and he's unfortunately not some mega physical talent to make up for it. Hopefully something, anything, clicks for him, but it's unfortunately not likely at this point.
This topic is a very sore subject for me  
Spock : 9/1/2014 12:18 pm : link
It makes me question and doubt the people leading our team. Can they be this wrong this many times? What are they looking for on tape or in person? Do these athletes' moms make nice pies for them, or what?
Don't give up on him yet...  
kinard : 9/1/2014 12:21 pm : link
... people were saying the same thing about Toomer after his first two years.

I think Randle's shown some potential and had a couple of pretty good games. We'll know a lot more about him in the next 6-8 weeks.
Randle and Jernigan do nothing  
bceagle05 : 9/1/2014 12:26 pm : link
to inspire confidence. I agree that Washington should get some looks. Beckham and Washington need to push those JAGs down the depth chart as soon as possible.
RR must be related to MM  
Shockwave : 9/1/2014 12:27 pm : link
They are both clowns..
Don't hold your breath on Beckham  
blueblood'11 : 9/1/2014 12:30 pm : link
What he has takes a long time to heal and there is no assurance he won't hurt it again when he does manage to come back. And by then he will be so far behind the eight ball I don't see him really making any kind of impact this year.

When he is finally healthy enough how much of an impact will he really make not ever having experienced the speed of the pro game in preseason first? The bullets by then are flying at break neck speed and he hadn't even experienced the precursor to the regular season by getting his feet wet in the preseason.

This looks like another first round draft disappointment for this year anyway. He may be the real deal but I don't think we will see much of an impact where he is concerned this year.
eric  
SBlue46 : 9/1/2014 12:31 pm : link
Eli missed cruz a few times and threw too hard...
partly eli and oline...plus eli doesnt have playbook
down either. Also mac screwing w elis footwork.
Randle does better on deep routes. ..
lets see what happens Monday. .they all need work.
Randle is a good wr..
The coaches need  
mrvax : 9/1/2014 12:32 pm : link
to spend more time with Randle. He has shown in the past he is capable of making good plays. Hopefully with coaching and practice he'll come around.
sure in a long time  
aquidneck : 9/1/2014 12:33 pm : link
But in 1997 our starting WRs were Kevin Alexander (who?) and Chris Calloway.

We won the division that year.
I was really high on the pick  
UberAlias : 9/1/2014 12:34 pm : link
He's shown some potential in the past. Let's see what kind of season he has.
Early-2009 Manningham?  
Enoch : 9/1/2014 12:59 pm : link
Rookie Nicks didn't start until late in the season.
...  
SanFranGiantsFan : 9/1/2014 1:01 pm : link
I don't like to question people's intelligence, but I do with Randle. He doesn't seem to the sharpest tool in the shed; the amount of times he & Eli are on a different page is astounding. And I'm going with the 10 year veteran with 2 Super Bowl MVPs on that one.

Also, how badly does he want it? The talent is there.
dibc  
Klaatu : 9/1/2014 1:02 pm : link
What else isn't close?
"Pro ready!"  
Dave in Hoboken : 9/1/2014 1:02 pm : link
.
Whittling down the playbook  
PEEJ : 9/1/2014 1:03 pm : link
to a reduced number of plays in the game plan might help RR
Maybe they should flash the play on the jumbotrons  
Shockwave : 9/1/2014 1:10 pm : link
for MM when he lines up...What are the chances though that he still forgets the play?
How is he even worse than Jernigan?  
Ten Ton Hammer : 9/1/2014 1:17 pm : link
Over-reactionary nonsense that gets posted on this site is draining.
Bottom line  
blueblood'11 : 9/1/2014 1:18 pm : link
It all depends on the offensive line. We all know that. If Eli has the time to throw someone always comes open. In the end I think if the running game continues to produce it will open up the passing game. Well, we can only hope that to be the case. It makes sense. But then again nothing seems to be making sense with this offense these days.
"And it's strange because the Giants haven't missed on a WR...  
Jimmy Googs : 9/1/2014 1:19 pm : link
in a long time"??

Jernigan, Barden, and Moss immediately come to mind...
Nickname  
djhagone : 9/1/2014 1:22 pm : link
Reuben "Wrong Route" Randle!!!
To date  
RetroJint : 9/1/2014 1:39 pm : link
all he's done is run through a porous Cowboy pass defense and beat an Eagle defense, who had quit on the year, in Big Andy's last game. Hardly counts. However there is some talent there. I don't like the guy because he talks too much. At least for a player with such weak credentials.
While I never liked the Randle draft selection  
Sy'56 : 9/1/2014 1:41 pm : link
in 2012 (I wanted Mohamed Sanu or Marvin Jones)...he has shown flashes here and there. This season will be all about consistency for him. He doesn't need to be a star...but if he can show the ability to get open and catch the simple passes every week, he'll have a solid year. There have been times where he looks like a tough guy to cover. He can make the acrobatic catch...its just about staying on the same level week in and week out.

Of all the NYG roster issues, Randle isn't near the top of the list.
I agree ...  
Mike in Raleigh : 9/1/2014 1:47 pm : link
with those who said that Toomer seemed to be just like Randle is right now (after 2 yrs).

Hopefully Randle will catch on for good and start to rack up numbers and help contribute to more Ws !!!!
Giants WR corps  
Glover : 9/1/2014 2:08 pm : link
is not attractive. The O line is also not trustworthy. I hope they . The run game looks like it improve rapidly. THe run game looks like it could be productive, and that will help bring safeties into the box and all, but Cruz will be closely covered, so hopefully CRS Randle, can hopefully do what Eli is expecting him to. Jernigen had a few nice games at the end of the last season, but he hasnt brought any momentum into this pre-season, looks like the same underachieving 3rd round pick. Washington should get opportunities by default.
This offense will struggle mightily  
Chris L. : 9/1/2014 2:52 pm : link
until Randle and Jeringan are supplanted by OBJr and Washington. Eli will get blamed for all of the problems but Randle and Jernigan will have a BIG hand in the early season failures.
Eli "miscommunication" issues with receivers seem to occur before  
Mason : 9/1/2014 3:19 pm : link
Randle... hell even before Manningham... just maybe er... never mind.
I honestly don't think you know what  
BSIMatt : 9/1/2014 3:28 pm : link
the hell you are talking about. It's fine to be frustrated with mental gaffes, or whatever it is that cause people on here to freak out over Randle about. Bringing up Jeffrey is absolutely ridiculous, as they drafted Randle after Jeffery was selected. You want to bring up what the Giants should have done with their first rounder with regards to Jeffery then start bitching about David Wilson, it has nothing to do with Randle.

It's also funny to me, that you've watched "large numbers of plays" this preseason and say we have "Cruz and nobody" when Cruz himself has done absolutely nothing this preseason, Cruz himself is coming off a poor year, yet you turn it into a way to single out Randle. You're not a coach, you're not a scout, you're watching preseason games sitting on your coach and playing jump to conclusions/assigning blame without information.

Quote:
I'm still trying to figure out what Randle is good at.


It's one thing to criticize Randle for making mistakes/not being on the same page, however he has made plays. He has shown an ability to get down field and make plays. That's what the Giants drafted him for. Let me ask you how the hell are you going to see a lot of down field plays with Randle with the state of the Giants offensive line in 2013? The Giants had to cut off the deep routes once they realized they couldn't give Eli any time for the deeper routes they were accustom to. So, to correct you...he has shown the ability to get deep and make plays. This isn't up for debate, he's already shown it. Maybe not as often as you'd like, but as stated before, with the collective state of the Giants offense in 2013 I don't think you were going to see any version of air coryell with Eli ducking and running 80% of the time.

You're confident in Washington, or say he deserves a chance when he's made all his plays against 4th stringers who likely aren't on NFL rosters. Randle has made plays on starting NFL corners, guys like Carr,Namdi, Rogers-Cromartie, etc..not guys that were getting cut on saturday.

Quote:
He's the very worst route runner the Giants have drafted in a long time - 3 years later in his second offense (with "fewer" adjustments etc.) and he's still running the wrong route more times than not.


Again, he's still running the wrong routes more times than not? WTF are you basing this on? How the hell could you even pretend to know this?

He was a 2nd year player last year, his biggest crime was the mistakes he made on route adjustments which cost Eli. These were mental mistakes, made in the context of one of the worst offenses I've ever seen. Newsflash, 2nd year players make mistakes, it does happen. He made too many mistakes, but if he was half as bad as you're suggesting he wouldn't have put up 900+ yards in 9 tds against NFL competition. If you can't separate/get open/make plays then you don't put up that production, you just don't..you're out of the league like Stephen Hill if you can't do those things. The guy has averaged over 15 ypc for his career show he's shown himself to be effective in the intermediate to deep range. He deserves to be criticized for his play last year, but this over the top.
RE: Don't hold your breath on Beckham  
natefit : 9/1/2014 3:41 pm : link
In comment 11835942 blueblood'11 said:
Quote:
What he has takes a long time to heal and there is no assurance he won't hurt it again when he does manage to come back. And by then he will be so far behind the eight ball I don't see him really making any kind of impact this year.

When he is finally healthy enough how much of an impact will he really make not ever having experienced the speed of the pro game in preseason first? The bullets by then are flying at break neck speed and he hadn't even experienced the precursor to the regular season by getting his feet wet in the preseason.

This looks like another first round draft disappointment for this year anyway. He may be the real deal but I don't think we will see much of an impact where he is concerned this year.

THIS ^^^
RE: Maybe they should flash the play on the jumbotrons  
Giantology : 9/1/2014 3:48 pm : link
In comment 11836019 Shockwave said:
Quote:
for MM when he lines up...What are the chances though that he still forgets the play?


MM is on IR you dipshit. Show a little respect for a guy who had one of the biggest plays in SB history.

I see you are in regular season form with your garbage already
Randle's been having the same issues with Nassib and Painter  
Riggies : 9/1/2014 4:17 pm : link
when he's been on the field with them this offseason/preseason.

His problems aren't about the QB. They're about his own lack of football intelligence for the most part.

And comparing him to Mario is bull. MM would make mental mistakes at times, but he was able to at least generally grasp the entire complex Gilbride offense his second year and not have to have everything dumbed down for him in order for him to contribute. Three into the NFL, RR still can't recognize what the hell cover 0 is on the field.
Like I said before  
mrvax : 9/1/2014 4:51 pm : link
I think Randle could use extra help, coaching him more. More practice running the routes assigned to him. Practice over and over again. He'll eventually get it.

I guess you haven't seen Giant receivers  
Doomster : 9/1/2014 5:20 pm : link
over the years, to make that statement.....

Who led the Giants in td receptions last year?

Who was second in yards per reception last year?

Worse  
SoZKillA : 9/1/2014 6:29 pm : link
Than Derek Hagan ?
It's got a lot to do with "want to"  
JonC : 9/1/2014 6:33 pm : link
His maturity and approach have been questioned on more than one occasion, and as another said how badly does he want it? He needs to play with a sense of urgency, run better routes, anticipate the pass and fight for it, etc. Hopefully the light bulb goes on soon.
We are dangerously weak at people that know  
Jimmy Googs : 9/1/2014 7:45 pm : link
how to get open and can actually catch a football.

Its a good thing the NFL hasn't turned into a passing league or anything like that...
Not fair to say that Randle has bad hands. I think his hands are  
Mark C : 9/1/2014 9:58 pm : link
better than average. That said, it probably is high time we laid a good helping of the blame for this passing offense debacle at his door. He's underachieved bigtime and hasn't really gotten much criticism. And he's looked like absolute crap this preseason.
I am going to go against the grain here  
SGMen : 9/2/2014 12:12 am : link
Neither Randle nor Cruz are true #1 wideouts. They just aren't and we have to live with that. However, I do believe Randle will be better than some suggest. He does have talent but is a bit "slow" of wit when it comes to football at least.

If Randle shows up on opening day with solid route running it will go a long way to determining how our passing game goes.
I think worst is harsh, bottom half for sure  
PatersonPlank : 9/2/2014 8:16 am : link
Man do we need a healthy ODB.
Reuben Randle has not shown any evidence of being any good  
Essex : 9/2/2014 8:32 am : link
. . . don't really care how bad he is compared to other bad receivers. fact is that he is terrible.
Didn't ramses barden start a few games?  
Scyber : 9/2/2014 8:50 am : link
Didn't Sinorice Moss "start" two games in '07 (which obviously ruined that season)?
Randle like Manningham (and others in the past)  
TMS : 9/2/2014 9:20 am : link
seems to have problems understanding or executing the right downfield moves in sync with ELI and the route plan. Notice Peyton always has WRs who can perform those functions regardless of their physical skill sets. This is obviously lost on Reese and Ross when they draft a lot of these guys.
A big problem with  
TMS : 9/2/2014 9:25 am : link
this situation is ELI is tentative now because of his interception numbers. He is afraid to throw to spots because the WRs may not be on the same page. This has to be fixed.
Its really up to Reuben Randle as to how good he wants to be.  
Curtis in VA : 9/2/2014 9:53 am : link
Physically its all there.

Mentally, its not.
Define 'long time'.  
Big Blue Blogger : 9/2/2014 10:20 am : link
Those of us who lived through the period between Homer Jones and Amani Toomer saw some god-awful WRs, and very few good ones. It was almost funny watching Phil Simms throw the ball to Mike Sherrard the one half-season that Sherrard's body held up. Phil was like a 38-year old kid who just got his first decent new toy.

Randle's also better than some of the slugs who were pressed into service when injuries hit in years like 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010.
Very difficult to define what characteristic makes a great WR  
Bob in Newburgh : 9/2/2014 10:33 am : link
I believe that Eric Decker is a great WR, at least in terms of being in the top 20 or so in the League.

Now Decker has no fatal flaws (unlike Hill who the Jets dropped because they decided that lack of eye/hand coordination is not something that just needs development), but his greatest plus is probably not having a weakness.

But just how does not having a weakness get you the separation you need to put up his numbers the last 2 years?
What bothers me the most  
Matt M. : 9/2/2014 10:42 am : link
is that this offense is supposed to have significantly less reads. Rather, each receiver is given a route and that is the only route, unless an audible is called. Yet, Randle still seems to be running the wrong route.

I say with confidence that it is Randle for a few reasons. One, in 10 years, Manning has only had consistent problems of miscommunication with 2 WRs. One was Manningham his first go 'round and the other is Randle. For the approximate other dozen or so WRs he's worked with in that span (more if you count TEs), there have been few problems overall and no problems with consistently being on the wrong page.

Two, Randle experinced the same issue with other QBs in pre-season. So, it certainly doesn't seem to be the QB.
Daryl Jones  
Aaron in MA : 9/2/2014 12:37 pm : link
.....
Randle is a good receiver.  
x meadowlander : 9/2/2014 1:59 pm : link
Not a Pro-Bowler - not yet, anyway - but he is being unfairly compared to a LONG line of excellent starting receivers. Cruz/Nicks/Toomer/Burress/Smith, even Manningham in his prime - you have to go back to Ike Hilliard to find someone who was not a dynamite receiver.

Still, he's been good, has been a playmaker - lots of tough catches in traffic and when being challenged for the ball by a DB, and VERY good in space. I look forward to him rising to the challenge of silencing critics who are pissed that he isn't the second coming of Jerry Rice.

His hands aren't BAD, for the record - they're average. With last years atrocious O-line, he had a catch rate of 54%, league average is about 58%.

(For reference, Hakeem Nicks sports a 55% catch rate, Victor Cruz 60%)
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