1) Schwartz being healthy for a week--- and Richburg--- the OL is actually a "plus" even with Newhouse if all are healthy. Much of that is due to the stud we drafted in round 1.
2) cruz practicing and playing- Parker is JAG and doesn't warrant a roster spot. The ability to occupy the slot with a ODB talent is vital for extending drives.
3) eli comfortable in the pocket... he looks more like the guy feeling pressure that isn't there... thats not good. the OL has been fine- he needs to trust it.
Offensively, there is enough there to win games--- i would 100% not extend Eli until the end of the season--- there is no advantage right now and we could be entering the blow up phase of this 3 year disaster.
4) Kuhn on the 3rd unit Ellis starting--- it would 1) improve the team and 2) show me that the coaching staff has a clue. Ellis is better, and i struggle to even evaluate the defense when we run a guy out there that stinks.
Side note people keep saying "they want to see what kuhn has for a roster spot"--- Name me one example of a guy starting all preseason and then getting cut by the giants?
5) No more Cullen at DE... he is good at 1 thing- penetrating from the DT spot... dont put a mediocre square peg in a round hole.
6) Start Owa. He is the only DE that has shown some ability to set an edge and his upside is more then mediocre. with no JPP we need a special DE and he at least has a shot.
7) Beason healthy--- he's not the stud he once was, but Mclain is terrible. Kuhn + Mclain up the middle ... your team has no shot.
8) Play Cooper Taylor all game next week--- mix him, collins, and Merriweather and see what clicks best.
9) Prince and DRC showing lock down ability so that the defense can scheme and overcompensate for the weak middle of the field.
If all of the above happened this could be a 8 win team.... but not much more. We lost our best defender by a mile... the most important player to a 4-3 D. our #2 and #3 paid offensive players (Cruz and Beatty) are either hurt or dont warrant 8m a year in Cruz at current health. the roster is in rebuild anyways.... so the talent is just plain poor.
Beason healthy? I don't expect or think we need it. The young guy can probably step in without much of an impact. Beason is not a make or break player. Id like him out there but he's replaceable.
I don't think Qwa will start but his development is a plus. My concern is the DT stuff but I've got to figure they know who to get out on the field. With Kennard and Thomas I think McLain can hold the fort for a game or two if needed. Safety is thin but not without some starting talent. DRC and Prince are as good as any pair of CBs in the league.
Problem is, while he is replaceable, we have no one to replace him...
And Cruz is a huge question....I doubt he plays against the Pats....there is a good possibility he doesn't play in the opening game, and if he does, will he be 100%?
For this offense to be scary, it has to click on all cylinders.....there are bound to be a lot of misfires, as this engine gets tuned up....
The defense? Just too many question marks....
Have to hope this team can play .500 ball, and then get hot at the end of the season....
But its much better then the current product.
As far as the D if they can keep everyone on the field it can be a D that is "good enough" i.e., middle of the pack. Dallas won last year with a D ranked bottom 1/4 of the league. We're bet than that and better than the current Dallas D for that matter.
But the amazing thing to me is that, at the same time, they have the chance of being the worst defensive team in Giants history. No pass rush and can't stop the run. And that's without talking about the secondary.
Just thinking about a bunch of 38 to 35 games has me retching.
I wouldn't even have Kuhn on the 3rd unit. He just flat out shouldn't be on the roster. I agree most with your comment about Owa. He has the potential to be a very good player and he has done better than expected against the run this summer. I would have no problem starting him and Moore (I guess) at the other DE spot. But, I think all 8 or 9 DL need to rotate regularly for this unit to have any kind of success this year,
Can they gel and improve and get deeper when/if Beatty returns and maybe become a strength? its not that far fetched
But the amazing thing to me is that, at the same time, they have the chance of being the worst defensive team in Giants history. No pass rush and can't stop the run. And that's without talking about the secondary.
Just thinking about a bunch of 38 to 35 games has me retching.
We have to be able to run the ball. There is no sign that will happen. Let's face it, Jennings, Williams and/or Vereen are not making anybody forget Tiki Barber.
did you watch 2008 pre plax shooting? that was football
Dallas goes deep in the playoffs and picks up Lee, Jones, Hardy, Collins and Gregory. And you don't think they got stronger?
Right now, I think Dallas should be among the favorites to go to the Superbowl and the surprising Eagles may be right there too.
I didn't watch last night, was in Ohio dropping off the kid for her last year of school. But hitdog42, in his usual cogent perceptive posting, rings a bell here: I watched Jax game pretty carefully, posted, and noted the same that night: Eli looks tentative, jumpy, too quick on his reads and need to release, shall we use the dreaded Reese word "skittish"?
Fact of the matter is in the first two games the protection has been decent or a bit better, but Eli has not even looked decent (and I can't comment about last night, but I gather he did not have a stellar outing?).
With a growing family, already wealthy beyond his dreams, all the off-season rumble about the dangers of playing in the NFL, is it possible his heart is not in it? Would he acknowledge that to himself? Is the lack of extension bothering him all his protests to the contrary notwithstanding?
I believe he probably still has the necessary physical skills, and he's reached his mid-30s, so maybe it's taking his body longer to rev back up to regular season's rhythm and intensity? What I've seen is reasonable protection, a lot better than in a couple of recent years, but something is not yet right back there.
As for the rest of the OP points, all fair, and let's take a difference-maker Beason out of the equation: that signing = another Reese off-season mistake.
I do kind of disagree with Doomster, with whom I usually find myself on all fours about 98% of the time, as to the disjointed, patchwork nature. My take is that with Pugh, Richburg, now Flowers coming on in '13, '14, and '15, coupled with the free agents added each year, the collapse and retirements of Baas and Snee, the failed free agents added each year (Chas. Brown, anyone? Bueller né Brewer?, the endless Mosley and Brewer experiments as well as the TEs), this year seems about par for the course of the last four years.
Like it did in 07 when the D gave up 80 points in the first two games.
Like it did in 07 when the D gave up 80 points in the first two games.
Osi, straphan, tuck
Not on this team- understanding concepts is one thing- having talented pass rushers is another
1) He really is just learning how to play. His college career was truncated, and he played in a completely different defense. I'd like to see him start at some point this year, but throwing him out there right away is more likely to make the Giants a 6-10 team (or represent an admission that they are one) than lift them to a better record.
2) Hate to say it, but those hips may only have a certain number of NFL snaps in them. I wouldn't like to waste them before he knows what he's doing.
philly and dallas are formidable division opponents. Washington may be improved from last year but they are still somewhat of a mess.
if the team can stay healthy and can cut out the major mental mistakes that have plagued them the last few years - the turnovers, the drops, the QB/receivers not being on the same page, the missed defensive assignments leading to walk in touchdowns - cruz comes back to form, someone hungry steps up to make us forget about JPP, and the guys we signed the last couple of years show up and contribute like they were expected to, then the team can have success this year. but I'm not convinced that 50% of those things will happen and that's why I think a beatable schedule this year will go to waste.