that explains a lot of what we've been seeing with the Giants.
Here's a radical thought: In this environment, where it's very difficult to project most linemen from college to the pros, its probably smart to deprecate O-linemen in the draft.
Reese's high-risk strategy of not drafting a lot of linemen the last couple of years, even though the line is a problem, could turn out to be high-reward, because they've upgraded a lot of other positions (by drafting guys they could evaluate more reliably.) If the veteran free agents and UDFA O-linemen pan out it's going to look like genius.
Fluker with the Chargers could be similar to Robinson with the Rams: A guy in the wrong system, taking too long to assimilate the pro game. A different team, a different system, and another NFL training camp could "fix" him. Or not.
On the other hand, if the free agents don't pan out, we're all going to be howling about the line again all season.
And here's an idea we all need to digest: O-line problems aren't just a Giants thing. They're an NFL thing. The Cowboys were a huge outlier and their super-line didn't get them to a Super Bowl.
that explains a lot of what we've been seeing with the Giants.
Here's a radical thought: In this environment, where it's very difficult to project most linemen from college to the pros, its probably smart to deprecate O-linemen in the draft.
Reese's high-risk strategy of not drafting a lot of linemen the last couple of years, even though the line is a problem, could turn out to be high-reward, because they've upgraded a lot of other positions (by drafting guys they could evaluate more reliably.) If the veteran free agents and UDFA O-linemen pan out it's going to look like genius.
Fluker with the Chargers could be similar to Robinson with the Rams: A guy in the wrong system, taking too long to assimilate the pro game. A different team, a different system, and another NFL training camp could "fix" him. Or not.
On the other hand, if the free agents don't pan out, we're all going to be howling about the line again all season.
And here's an idea we all need to digest: O-line problems aren't just a Giants thing. They're an NFL thing. The Cowboys were a huge outlier and their super-line didn't get them to a Super Bowl.
Giants are starting 2 first round and 1 second round lineman that they drafted.
Giants are starting 2 first round and 1 second round lineman that they drafted.
Agree 100%, and they have put a lot of picks into the line in the last 10 years. But they picked no O-linemen in 2016. Then they picked only one in 2017, in the 6th round. Bot years, the line was clearly an issue.
We've been hearing lots of criticism of the front office, both from fans and from beat writers, for failing to address the line. But maybe they're ahead of the curve on this. Maybe they simply aren't looking to draft as many guards and tackles as they used to because they're too hard to project to the pro game. Maybe they're aiming to get linemen at a lower cost (that is, without spending their few draft picks) or at a stage when it's clearer what they can do (as veteran free agents).
Here's a radical thought: In this environment, where it's very difficult to project most linemen from college to the pros, its probably smart to deprecate O-linemen in the draft.
Reese's high-risk strategy of not drafting a lot of linemen the last couple of years, even though the line is a problem, could turn out to be high-reward, because they've upgraded a lot of other positions (by drafting guys they could evaluate more reliably.) If the veteran free agents and UDFA O-linemen pan out it's going to look like genius.
Fluker with the Chargers could be similar to Robinson with the Rams: A guy in the wrong system, taking too long to assimilate the pro game. A different team, a different system, and another NFL training camp could "fix" him. Or not.
On the other hand, if the free agents don't pan out, we're all going to be howling about the line again all season.
And here's an idea we all need to digest: O-line problems aren't just a Giants thing. They're an NFL thing. The Cowboys were a huge outlier and their super-line didn't get them to a Super Bowl.
Here's a radical thought: In this environment, where it's very difficult to project most linemen from college to the pros, its probably smart to deprecate O-linemen in the draft.
Reese's high-risk strategy of not drafting a lot of linemen the last couple of years, even though the line is a problem, could turn out to be high-reward, because they've upgraded a lot of other positions (by drafting guys they could evaluate more reliably.) If the veteran free agents and UDFA O-linemen pan out it's going to look like genius.
Fluker with the Chargers could be similar to Robinson with the Rams: A guy in the wrong system, taking too long to assimilate the pro game. A different team, a different system, and another NFL training camp could "fix" him. Or not.
On the other hand, if the free agents don't pan out, we're all going to be howling about the line again all season.
And here's an idea we all need to digest: O-line problems aren't just a Giants thing. They're an NFL thing. The Cowboys were a huge outlier and their super-line didn't get them to a Super Bowl.
Giants are starting 2 first round and 1 second round lineman that they drafted.
We've been hearing lots of criticism of the front office, both from fans and from beat writers, for failing to address the line. But maybe they're ahead of the curve on this. Maybe they simply aren't looking to draft as many guards and tackles as they used to because they're too hard to project to the pro game. Maybe they're aiming to get linemen at a lower cost (that is, without spending their few draft picks) or at a stage when it's clearer what they can do (as veteran free agents).