It's been a while since Giants fans had much to talk about, but, in the words of Bob Dylan, "The times, they are a' changing."
When the Giants brought in James Bettcher as their new DC, the New York Post ran an article wondering if Bettcher could do for Olivier Vernon what he did for Chandler Jones, i.e., turn a 4-3 DE into a 3-4 OLB who leads the league in sacks. Now, that would be nice, but I think a better comparison for Vernon would be ex-Steeler Lamar Woodley. Physically, they're very similar, and while Woodley never led the league in sacks, he did rack up double-digit sacks three years in a row early in his career, before time and injuries caught up with him. Vernon hasn't posted double-digit sacks since 2013, but if he can do it now, at 27, then Bettcher will have a permanent place on my Christmas list.
At the ILB spots, we've got five-year veteran Alec Ogletree (who'll be 27, himself, in September), and second-year man B.J. Goodson. Ogletree is coming off the worst year of his career. The knock on him was that he was not particularly stout against the run, he struggled to get off blocks, and he missed too many tackles. Still, he did register 95 tackles, two sacks, ten PDefs, and a pick six. Was his shoulder injury worse than he let on? Were he and Wade Phillips unable to see eye-to-eye? We'll probably never know, but whatever his warts are, Ogletree is still the best LB the Giants have had in a long time, and if he's healthy, I have little doubt he'll be productive.
Goodson, the proverbial "thumper," simply has to stay healthy, himself. I love his game, and I think that he and Ogletree complement each other very well, so I hope he can shake off the injury bug this year.
I don't know much about Kareem Martin, but clearly he's "Bettcher's boy," and I mean that in a good way. At the very least, he'll be familiar with the defense, so his learning curve won't be nearly as steep as it will for the rest of the corps. He's also freaking huge - much closer to Chandler Jones in that regard. 6-6, 272, with 35-inch arms...he could be pretty scary coming off the edge.
As for the back-ups, I really like Lorenzo Carter. I wasn't on the Leonard Floyd bandwagon a couple of years ago, but I imagine that those of you who were are pretty happy with this pick. He's still more of an athlete than football player, but, man, what an athlete! I figure the Giants will bring him along steadily, although not necessarily slowly. I'm anxious to see him develop.
Calvin Munson did yeoman's work filling in for Goodson last year. Sure, he's limited (and that's being kind), but he was there when Goodson wasn't, and that has to count for something.
Avery Moss is still an enigma to me...maybe to the new coaching staff as well, I don't know. Maybe he'll thrive under Bettcher - maybe he'll crash and burn. Time will tell.
Ogletree seems better suited to 4-3 WILL imo, where he can run and often have to engage and shed fewer blocks, and Goodwin must stay healthy.
Martin isn't a pass rusher so far in the NFL.
Ogletree seems better suited to 4-3 WILL imo, where he can run and often have to engage and shed fewer blocks, and Goodwin must stay healthy.
Martin isn't a pass rusher so far in the NFL.
Small steps. They weren't going to revamp the entire LB corps in one off-season, not when it's been almost completely neglected for the past 10-15 years or so.
He was also one of the worst rated LBs in the entire league playing inside last year. He was much better playing outside in a 4-3.
As much as people have chub for this guy, he is a pretty big question mark. Will we get last year's LB or the one from previous seasons?
The big question marks are whether OV and Martin can get to the quarterback.
I'm very high on Lorenzo Carter.
What I like best is the change in philosophy - building from the inside out instead of the outside in, on both sides of the ball. And with the switch to the base 3-4, there's much more emphasis on building a strong corps of Linebackers, much like the Steelers have done over the years.
Rome wasn't built in one off-season...
Rome wasn't built in one off-season...
Yup. The pizza parlors alone took two years.
Rome wasn't built in one off-season...
Seriously, though...one thing you have to give Ogletree credit for is that he's averaged around 10 PDefs a year (excluding 2015, when he was injured and only played in four games). plus an interception. When was the last time we had a Linebacker who had more than 10 PDefs in a career? I think Pierce was the last one...36 in nine years.
Looking forward to him being strong against the pass, because we sure as shit need it...
Resistance on BBI to changing to a 3-4 has been a bad fit and lack of LBs. with 3 new hand picked LBs and OV moving to a position he played before successfully, those objections should disappear.
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OV was a 3-4 OLB with the Dolphins and it might suit him better than 4-3 DE.
Ogletree seems better suited to 4-3 WILL imo, where he can run and often have to engage and shed fewer blocks, and Goodwin must stay healthy.
Martin isn't a pass rusher so far in the NFL.
Small steps. They weren't going to revamp the entire LB corps in one off-season, not when it's been almost completely neglected for the past 10-15 years or so.
I think they already have!
They've added 3 linebackers in Kareem Martin, Ogletree, and now Carter. Add to Goodson and Vernon, you have depth in Avery Moss, Herzlich, Munson, Armstrong, and a couple of bubble players. That looks like a revamped LB corps to me.
Lets just bring back James Brewer to shore up the offensive line depth while we are at it...
Not so sure designation ( inside/outside) matters that much here . now .
Maybe sign Reid the safety as additional in that light quick group.