Some observations from todays practice
Giants fans have to be concerned about Newhouse and Mosely at RT. Neither looked good and Newhouse looked worse. Only good news (but it was against the 3rd team), was seeing Bobby Hart in at RT. He was very impressive.
LB Tony Johnson put huge pressure on a punt, and clearly would have blocked it in a real game
A lot of fun watching Mark Herzlich and Jerome Cunningham battle each other on numerous special teams drills. Clearly 2 guys who really want it.
Tom Quinn on a few occasions had to coach up both Geremy Davis and Corey Washington on the skills of blocking gunners on punt returns
Bennett Jackson started at left safety and was impressive. He is also the blocking back and calls the punt plays when Weatherford is in
Devin Unga caught my eye for his intensity on specials
Kerry Wynn looks really big and moved well. Ditto Jordan Stanton
Canadian Center Brett Jones was giving great effort, but seemed beaten on at least 2 plays by DT Dominque Hamilton
Jonathan Casillis broke thru from the right on a blitz. He would have crushed Nassib if allowed.
Ereck Flowers held his own today. He did a lot better handling Damontre Moore, actually swallowing him up on a few plays. Flowers matchup with starter George Selvie was worth watching. Lots of effort from both. Slight edge to Flowers.
Daniel Fells just always seems to find a way to get open. Impressive
Biggest raw from the crowd today was a nice over the middle completion-Manning to Cruz
Orleans Darkwa should a great burst on a fun right up the middle. Was 20 yards down field in an instance
Chykie Brown with outstanding coverage on a long pass down the left side
Preston Parker with a great burst on a punt return
Shane Vereen with 3 nice runs today
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For those wanting a RT upgrade ... we also need an upgrade at DE, SS, potentially both OLB positions, could use stronger weapons at TE, and depth at CB. Welcome to the modern NFL and its salary cap, rosters are rarely complete let alone deep.
It is academic at this point because as you say, the ship has sailed. There are not many improvements floating around.
However, it the academic conversation, I think a solidification of OL if I had to pick one and only one upgrade area, that is where I would do it. We are going to win/lose on the back of this offense. This year anyway. That much is clear.
The Giants can win with a stand out offense and a defense that can hold its own. Adding a DE or S on this defensive unit is not going to be a material difference. And that includes adding a solid JPP which is why I am 100% fine bagging that whole thing and saving the money.
Great logic. Dont let the o line derail the season with the weapons we have. Ah if only beatty didnt get hurt.
Could never understand through all the years the, "I know it was against 4th stringers, but he really looked good," mantra..It says nothing really..
Nothing personal about you, my friend, just a general observation about a yearly observation..:)
Like him or not, Eli is a franchise QB. He may be paid more than some people like, but that is the only way to keep a franchise QB. When you combine him with a the WR trio of OBJ, Cruz, and Randle, as well as the 3-headed RB monster, they have the talent on offense to put up points. With their current system, the OL really only needs to improve to decent, which is very doable. They likely have upgraded themselves at LG and OC, and if Schwartz can stay healthy at RG. They need decent play from both OT positions.
Defense is a big question to me. I love Collins at S. Even as a rookie, I think he is an immediate upgrade given how poorly Rolle played last year. the problem is a lack of depth overall at that position. I honestly think Collins could be the best player on the entire D by season's end. I am not in love with Spags' defense the way many are here. But, I see any change as an upgrade over Fewell. They have some talent, but will require several guys to play up, so to speak, along the DL and LB. They also NEED to stay healthy in the secondary.
Could never understand through all the years the, "I know it was against 4th stringers, but he really looked good," mantra..It says nothing really..
Nothing personal about you, my friend, just a general observation about a yearly observation..:)
I think it would say a lot more if it said he was beaten badly by 4th stringers, everything I've read says that Hart has looked good....
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of Newhouse or Mosley?? Come on.
We need an upgrade here.
Give me a name, Curtis.
As I said to Joey in another thread, there's a dearth of OL talent in the league, which is why guys like Charles Brown, James Brewer, and J.D. Walton all have new teams, not to mention our own Marshall Newhouse.
Reese indirectly made an upgrade by making sure James Brewer wasn't on the roster any longer.
But I agree Klaatu. Pickings are slim and all come with hair on them. But the idea is to find the one with least amount or most developmental potential. That simply may be Newhouse and Mosley in the eyes of the men in blue caps.
Didn't PFF give Herzlich the team's second highest grade against the run last year when he started the last 6 or 7 games?
The minute you need him to track and pursue sideline to sideline it falls apart.
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Didn't PFF give Herzlich the team's second highest grade against the run last year when he started the last 6 or 7 games?
Maybe. But, that's not exactly a ringing endorsement considering our run defense was so terrible. Still, I get your point. It just seems like we keep some of these marginal players around too long. Whether or not we're missing out on something better is probably very difficult to say. I like the young man, his story is terrific. I hope he gets better in coverage.
And if you care to debate, go re-watch the first Redskin game or the SF game last season when he was exposed by players he had in man-to-man or zone coverage. Watching his RBs come out of the backfield in passing downs is particularly eye-opening as to his recognition skills.
Making tackles 4-5 yards past the LOS tells me you care but are not talented enough to help the cause.