Are you a half empty or a half full fan of the Giants?

So in order to be a fan, you need to be a "glass is 1/4 full, 1/8 full etc." person IMHO. Yes, among "birds of a feather", some venting / complaining is OK, but it shouldn't turn into a lack off season optimism.

This time of year, I find it hard to not be optimistic. Some years the optimism was warranted, other years it isn't.

Especially in the NFL, where the rules and policies are set up to try to make the weak teams stronger and the strong teams weaker, there is at least some reason for optimism for almost every team.

I like to see them win even when much of BBI is ranting they should lose for a higher draft pick. A win is a win.

And I feel pretty good about this year's team. Of course, it's June.

'07 and '11 just demonstrated what we've known all along - there's no trophy for being the NFL's best team in September, October, November, or December.

The past 2 years have been very tough to be optimistic. Looking at the the tem in training camp there was a lack of elite talent. Ezpecially 2 years ago with an aging oline and Andre brown as the RB. Websters and Nicks fading out didn't help and the side effects of bad or unlucky drafts have persisted.

Fast forward to now. The team is much younger, Spags being back alone should mean the defense is actually fun to watch. Richburg and Pugh moving to the position they should excel at is a plus. Donnells development t a surprise and a plus. Careen on the field at the same time as Beckham, just trying to cover those 2 is daunting. And Manning is ready to go by all accounts.

This is the first time in the past 3 years I felt the giants have enough talent on the roster to be an over 500 team. Sure I'm worried about safety and OL but I like what they did and are doing and hope for the playoffs this year.

as is the case with every new campaign but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to having genuine concerns (as we all do) over the OL. I'm not at all convinced that it was sufficiently addressed and with the youth and inexperience at some positions, moving bodies around and the Beatty injury, it apoears the OL is yet again a huge question mark.

"The glass is shattered."

--Doomster

If we do not have every position covered by an elite, experienced but still youthful player....we will suck.

We do not need to outrun the bear......just the person next to you.

While the NFL East do not have an elite team, I am usually optimistic to make the playoff. Even if on paper, the Cowboys might be better....I feel we can beat any of them.....I do realize we have not the past years. The OL is an issue.....key injuries will cripple them.

But if we make the playoff, we know what the coaches and Eli are capable of doing.

Stuff like the Beatty injury chips away at that feeling. I am generally pretty positive during the season but there's always those 1 or 2 games a year where Eli puts out a clunker like he did in San Fran this past year that has me furious

I am very optimistic

high ceiling guys and sadly most didn't pan out and they are paying the price right now.

Starting around the 2013 draft, the Giants completely changed their approach and started drafting players that produced at a high level in college and the players with high "potential" weren't taken. Since that 2013 draft, the roster is being turned over and the dead wood of high potential players is being removed. It is a process but it is happening.

This year will be another year of maybe making the playoffs... maybe. 2016 is when the dead wood will be gone and the high productions players will be the core of the team and then they have a real shot at making it deep into the playoffs.

But for me it's all about health, because as I've said repeatedly, there's plenty of talent on this team; we just need it on the field, not on IR. We've seen teams go from "worst to first" many times, and more often than not they were teams that were devastated by injuries one year, and relatively healthy the next year.

With that in mind, questions abound. Beason, Kennard, Taylor, Prince, Moore, Cruz, Beckham, Jennings, Schwartz...can they all give us 16 games? The odds are against it, but as Han Solo said, "Never tell me the odds!"

zero is still zero. Some years like in the seventies there may have only been a only little piss in the glass but it was still something

Always an optimist this time of year until the injuries start to mount up. I have high hopes for this year. If the o-line become functional then I think the offense can be very good but the key is the defense. I can easily see this is as a 10-6 or 11-5 year where we are back in the playoffs.

In comment 12335977 Trainmaster said:

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So in order to be a fan, you need to be a "glass is 1/4 full, 1/8 full etc." person IMHO. Yes, among "birds of a feather", some venting / complaining is OK, but it shouldn't turn into a lack off season optimism. This time of year, I find it hard to not be optimistic. Some years the optimism was warranted, other years it isn't. Especially in the NFL, where the rules and policies are set up to try to make the weak teams stronger and the strong teams weaker, there is at least some reason for optimism for almost every team.

Miserable fans aren't bigger fans. Can't stand that outlook.

I'd say half full. In an offense driven, 3 step drop league the giants have their skill positions and QB in order

When we won our last 2 Super Bowls, it was not expected. He we are again. No one expects us. I have to be an optimist!

I expect back-to-back super bowls.

.

it's just up and down. Still I watch all the games. Even when they are a lousy team. I just enjoy it.

yet I've very pessimistic about the league itself. Many playoff games ended with controversy with one fan base feeling they got lucky, the other feeling they got screwed and everybody asking themselves "WTF"?

Also, the game coming down to the final possession too often has cheapened the game for the thrill. Sure, the game usually is won in the 4th qtr but the rules and play have too often slanted the game toward the final possession. It's exciting but makes you wonder why they play the first 59 minutes when the newest rules increase the likelihood of a fantastic finish regardless. They've taken solid defense and offensive struggle away.

players of all time, I have seen some of the best football ever played, and I have seen some of the most horrendous football played by some of the worst players of all time. Through all of that I always believed the Jints would win every game they played. With all that said i am a half full guy and I believe in the Jints!

and man did the offense look unstoppable at times (especially early) and that was without the improved OL and a serious running game. This season will turn on how well the defense can play. Bottom line. Nothing else.

The O should be as good or even better (barring stupid injuries of course) than last year. And I think we run the ball a little better. But we have to STOP the run and we have to get teams off the field. Defense baby defense.

Right now, there is no way of knowing what that defense is actually going to do, so no way of knowing what this season looks like.

Giants have given me two improbable, incredible victories. I think they're a well-run franchise. That doesn't mean I expect playoffs every year, but I'm usually confident they will fix things when things are going poorly.

...empty.

This has been a very bad football team for at least 2 full seasons.

All the camp reports and all the yada yada yada don't mean shit.

The game is on the field.

We'll just have to wait to see whether or not this team has fixed its POA problem or not.

POA problems on both sides of the ball. That's what makes really bad teams.

I have been half full but the bad drafts, lack of depth and injury issues on this team have made me not have such high hopes.

and then work from there. every year all i ask for is 10 wins and the playoffs. then 2011 happened and 9 wins got us a SuperBowl. like our chances this year.....

Game threads are horrible to participate in with all the negative 1/2 baked lunatic comments. This site gets so negative during the season that I have to avoid it to enjoy being a Giant fan. I hope some of you guys will be around come September.

and frequently smile to myself when I read younger fans losing their minds at mediocre seasons. If you experienced real awfulness, the TC era seems pretty darn good, though exasperating at times.

I think growing up with those awful teams and then seeing two separate eras with two Lombardi trophies each has made me kind of a zen fan. I try to enjoy the games, enjoy football, and not to get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. For this too shall pass.

I was absolutely livid when the Giants lost the 1986 opener, convinced their front office and ownership was inept and they'd never win a Super Bowl until the Maras sold the team. Whereupon the Giants answered: STFU. So, generally, I try to restrain my anger.

I'm cautiously optimistic right now, and usually am this time of year. I am a wait-and-see guy with the draft. I don't assume anybody is an obviously terrible pick (like, say, because he isn't named Duke Johnson) or headed straight for the Hall of Fame.

I try not to say a guy has "never played" when he's been in 22 games the last two years (like Brandon Mosely). I try not to call a guy "Becky" when he's got a hamstring injury. I never call a pro football player a "china doll" when every one of those guys goes through physical punishment I could never have tolerated. On every. Single. Play.

And having interviewed Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms and other players over the years, I am sure of one thing: We fans have NO IDEA what is really going on with these guys. So I feel like it's best for me to sort of go with the flow.

Their is talent and potential to be a playoff team. The OT situation is a big worry. This offense could be dynamic but our line has to improve in all phases off of last season. The recent defensive results need a major reversal. If those two things work themselves out in a positive manner we can contend. If either collapses I don't see us making the playoffs...again.

Prior to last season we were decimated talent wise and it showed. Fast forward to adding OBJ, Richburg, Kennard, A. Williams, Flowers, Collins, Dwayne Harris, Vereen and that's 5 new starters, a versatile RB who is perfect for this offense and a ST leader who brings some much needed physicality to those groups.

We are still too thin on the DL, especially at DT for my taste and we have a lot of big ? at DE. Health at LB is an issue and J.T. Thomas and Jonathan Casillas are NOT going to solve anything but ST and possibly depth issues at LB. Beason will go down at some point, that's a given and McClain is very average if he's the next in line. Kennard has a long injury history and honestly everyone is else JAG.

Our depth at CB and S is woeful and we're counting on a rookie, an oft injured 3rd year player and a too short, too slow and now injured S in Berhe. If Prince or DRC goes down it's a big drop off from there unless Chykie Brown and/or Chandler Fenner develop quickly.

Our OL is still a bit in flux but with Flowers, Pugh and Richburg we should have 60% of our line for 5-8 years. Schwartz I don't trust injury wise, Jerry is so so at best and Newhouse is another reclamation project and those have not panned out for Flaherty lately. We still lack depth there too and have some non NFL caliber players on the roster on the OL.

I think the arrow is pointing back up with OBJ, Flowers, Richburg, Collins, Hankins but we still have some very below average starters, injury prone vets and some flat out bad players who shouldn't be in the league or challenging for starting jobs. We have some pieces to build on but this roster is still a long long way from being a contender unless everyone stays healthy and we get some miraculous development from guys like DaMontre Moore, Jay Bromley, Kennard, Berhe, Taylor, Fenner and Andre Williams. Those middle ground players who should be solid contributors all have to step up and stay healthy to stabilize this team.

The Giants have been good to me. I'm a glass half full fan.

When the Giants build their team back up and really trust and fortify the team with young drafted talent, they might take some lumps along the way but the team delivers. This team is very very young across the board. No position is old or stale.. Even LB has a young talent in kennard.

I trust the Giants to develop young talent. Over the last 35 years or so not many have done a better job of finding developing and nurturing young talent. I'm not sure how good this team will be in 2015 but the arrow is pointing up. This is gonna be a fun team to watch these next few years.

10+ wins!

as the Giants go

Spags back to at least make the defense respectable. We finally have a solid LB in Kennard. JPP just needs to sign his tender and get back on the field and he'll love the aggressiveness in a Spags defense and thrive.

Year 2 of Eli/McAdoo/Odell. The rise of Odell lit a fire under Randle's ass too because they were LSU teammates; add a contract year into the mix and Randle is going to try and light it up. Cruz seems to be recovering faster than expected but would be surprised to see him before Week 6 as they will consider putting him on PUP to be cautious.

Most importantly, the OL looks to have most of the pieces in the right place even with the Beatty injury. Flowers looks like he could step into LT right away; he'll have some growing pains but he looks like a franchise tackle. Richburg and Pugh are in their proper positions. The major worry for the OL is injury because it's not a deep group

but that is dependent on how well the OL run-blocks. If they run-block well we could have a crazy offense. Jennings is rock-solid and a great fit for the McAdoo system. Vereen on 3rd downs will be a terror for defenses because they have to commit to Odell deep and possible Cruz in the intermediate areas of the field. Andre Williams is a bowling ball RB who showed signs of rounding out his game.

Donnell is still a bit of a ? but his work ethic is incredible and I wish most of the other players worked as hard as he does. He just has to toughen a bit when taking hits after he catches the ball as defenders know he fumbles it. Donnell is going to get a lot of looks as defenses have to commit to Odell, Vereen and possibly Cruz so he'll have to take advantage of the opportunity

Until the season starts and Dallas marches down the field for 7 and Eli go three and out. Then we find out how full most of these glasses really are.

This is a very fickle fan base. Moreso than others.

I think I am always half full. This year is no different. I think the Giants improved several areas of need both through FA and the draft. To what degree? I don't know and the answer may determine how far they go.

But, the way I see it, their division rivals are all in turmoil and they addressed their needs. I honestly believe with Eli and their WRs they can be a very good team. I absolutely believe they are good enough to win a wide open division.

That side, the realistic side does recognize there are still flaws. This will probably not be a 12+ win team that dominates. But, I think they should win 9-11 games, which is very likely enough to win this division. If they do that, I think they are a very tough out in the playoffs because of Eli and OBJ and a decent supporting cast. I think, even with flaws, this is a team that other teams will have to worry about each week. That wasn't the case the last couple of seasons.

Game to game is a different story. There are points where I have recognized a self destructive pattern in specific games where I'll say something like, "This game is over". This is where I love watching with my oldest son, who is now 10 1/2. He has far more football understanding than most kids his age and more than a decent amount of adults. But, this where the fact that he is still watching through the rose colored glasses of a 10 year old. He will always ask how I can say that when there are XX minutes left to play. Hell, he holds steadfast until the final gun, regardless of the score and I love that about him. It has helped restore the child like optimism in me as a fan.

but I do hate the many fluff pieces about how so and so is in better shape than he's ever been or how that player is ready to have his best season ever.

I'm half full when the game is not going on, I always think they'll be good (or almost always). I'm half empty during the game when I let my emotions get the best of me.

In comment 12336485 AgentZero said:

Quote:

Until the season starts and Dallas marches down the field for 7 and Eli go three and out. Then we find out how full most of these glasses really are. This is a very fickle fan base. Moreso than others.

How many other fan bases did you study?

even WNBA

I'm not a numbers guy, myself, but I'm sure that Optimus-NY will be interested in your methodology.

complicated. Maths and stuff.

because the glass is still HALF full/empty and it seems like that is how we ended last season. Would have expected to go into this season 3/4 full.

In comment 12336758 AgentZero said:

Quote:

complicated. Maths and stuff.

Oh, how complicated could it be?

Just give us a glimpse, okay? Break down a couple of team's fan bases, say, Oakland's and Kansas City's. And throw in the Tulsa Shock's for good measure.

I'm a Pollyanna.

but I think the Giants' glass is a little more than half full. Beckham, Cruz, Randle and Donnell are at least as good or better than the 2011 receivers and Manning can find the open guy and hit him. The OL personnel is improving and they just need time to play together and gel. Beatty's injury may be a blessing in disguise, since now they don't have to play him because he was a first rounder. He's proven by now that he's never going to be better than average.

The defensive front seven is finally accumulating better than average players. Beason and Kennard, JPP, Hankins and Ayers as the foundation and enough talent shown by Moore, Selvie and Owa to believe that at least one will be a good pass rusher.

The big fear, of course, is injuries since about half the guys I named have the ability to trip over the white lines painted on the field and go on IR.

Otherwise I can see them winning nine or ten games. Good sign that everyone's jumping on the Cowboys' bandwagon this season.

Superbowl Baby...

benefit of the doubt or not.

From 2008 to 2012 I was very optimistic. The last few years, more pessimistic.

getting Spags back has me drinking the koolaid. Still, after the past few seasons I have no expectations for this team, good or bad.

especially at this time of the year. but i'm not stupid about it and over-evaluate their personnel thinking the giants are full of all-stars, more like i'm always looking for guys to fulfill their potential though i know only a certain percentage will. so as long as he is on the giants i remain hopeful even for a guy like adrien robinson who thus far hasn't shown it.

I'm 100% FULL! CHAMPIONSHIP HERE WE COME! 16-0 BABY!

completely confident of the Giants was the 84-90 era. In those days, because of the Giants' D and the presence of LT, I could watch games calmly and rarely got excited. I just had so much confidence in that D, in Parcells and BB and in George Young. Even when we messed up in '87, I was not worried...knew it was an anomaly...and was confident we would rebuild the offensive line in '88 which we did.

I do not have that confidence now and therefore I do not watch games in the same manner. I would say I am a realist but ever hopeful fan. Even in '07 and 11, I did not have the confidence in this team but was hopeful once we made the playoffs.

following a late afternoon showdown with the Broncos in 2005.

In comment 12336770 Klaatu said:

Quote:

In comment 12336758 AgentZero said: Quote: complicated. Maths and stuff. Oh, how complicated could it be? Just give us a glimpse, okay? Break down a couple of team's fan bases, say, Oakland's and Kansas City's. And throw in the Tulsa Shock's for good measure.

Im afraid I did not include the Tulsa Shock, but I threw in my local Orlando predators to help balance out the math. Well not the actual players or fanbase but a local Orlando bartender. Actually he was in Kissimmee which is a part of the orlando metro area. He's good tho.