As a Giants season ticket holder, I had the privilege of attending this exclusive event for the 4th year in the row. It was another fun event hosted by Bob Papa and Dave Diehl at the iconic Beacon Theatre in Manhattan. Here are a few details.
- Without mentioning his name, Papa, Diehl, and even John Mara took some veiled shots at McAdoo. Mara is still seething at the way the Manning "benching" situation was handled. One thing I found interesting is that Mara said he was firm in his belief that Eli could still play at a very high level for several more years but left that for Gettleman and Shurmur to make the decision independently and they both felt very strongly about Eli as the qb for the next few years. Mara said Eli is throwing the ball in practice as well as he ever has in his career and is full of energy and determination.
- Pat Shurmur is who impressed me the most, and is still the most important and best offseason acquisition. He is gracious, direct, respectful, and doesn;t give any canned/bs answers to questions. He has an almost regal yet humble presence about him. The man is everything you want in a head coach, especially for this franchise.
- Bettcher looks and sounds the part of a football coach in every sense of the word. He speaks well and wasn't shy about the fact that he loves to bring pressure and that his scheme will feature 3/4 and 4/3 looks and could change from one play to the next. He made it clear that it's an aggressive, attacking, fly to the ball system. Seems like he's bringing more of a "risk/reward" than read-and-react/bend-but-don't break mindset. He pointed out that the there is a ton of competition in the secondary right now and a lot of talented guys at the CB and Safety spots fighting it out, which is a good thing.
- In the rookies segment, Saquon was Saquon. The guy just handles himself the way you'd want to see any guy on your team do so. He just makes you smile because you know he's such a rare talent and special person. Will Hernandez is a MAN. To say he's physically-imposing would be putting it lightly. He is a well-spoken, and focused individual but you just know he is not messing around. When asked which NFL player he models his game after, he said Al Faneca (which I thought was a great answer). The guy is hungry and quite frankly wants to kick ass on the football field (Eli later praised him as being "cranky" - mentioning that he's started several fights in practice already). Personality-wise, Zo Carter is my favorite guy among the rookies. He has a great sense of humor and just seems like a kind of dude anyone could get a long with and would be just a fun guy to hang out with (NFL player or otherwise). BJ Hill seems like a great kid with a good head on his shoulds and the right attitude. RJ McIntosh seems like a bit of a knuckle-head and still carries himself like a college kid but hopefully he'll learn how to be a pro. Lauletta talked about how amazing Eli is.
- In the Veterans segment (which also featured Landon Collins, Nate Solder, and Alec Ogletree), Eli absolutely stole the show with his deadpan humor. He is by far the most loved and respected guy in the room (by both the fans and his teammates). For what it's worth, he's still the best dressed guy on the team.
Sounds like we have a great corps of people, top-to-bottom.
"Mara said he was firm in his belief that Eli could still play at a very high level for several more years"
Eli just turned 37 in January right? Peyton was 39 when he won his last Superbowl with Denver .... and Peyton should have already had been retired at that point (between his back and neck injuries). I am thinking (okay maybe it is more of hoping) ... I am hoping Eli can get another 3-4 years out of his body (that is certainly less beat up then Peyton's was) and provide the team with 3-4 good (doesn't have to be great) solid, stable years of QB play. That should be plenty of time for -
1. Gettleman to beat cancer.
2. Gettleman and Shurmur to run a few more successful drafts.
3. Gettleman and Shurmur get a good mix of new and old talent gelled together to form a nice team chemistry that is successful on the field.
And, then Eli goes off into the sunset like his brother did ...... on top! Why can't history repeat itself like it did in 2006/2007?
Magic 8-ball says what?
Aaaaaaaaargggggggggh! Let's do it!
Mara needs to take a large chunk of the blame for the Fiasco that was last year. He should have canned Crapadoo after the 49r disaster. We lost to them badly before they started to play their new QB that turned the team around.
It is great hearing so much positive info regarding Shurmur. It makes me chuckle thinking about some folks on this board complaining about that hire.
Sounds like there is a better chemistry this season and a better sense of leadership.
Would be interested to hear what fir the veiled shots at MacAdoo took.
Wish guys covering the team could be more forth coming about issue with coaches and players in the moment than after the fact.
Mara, like everyone else, wanted to get a look at Davis Webb in the right circumstance. The fact that that desire was used to throw Eli under the bus by the HC to put a retread QB in would make anyone angry and sick.
Spilled milk, I know, but he can't play both sides on the matter, he has to own it, especially now that he's the only one left standing.
My view of our ownership certainly has declined over the past few years... IMO the bloom is off the John Mara rose. Fortunately, the early returns on his 2018 decisions seem to be positive, so hopefully we recover. Otherwise, he might be on his way to the category of "meddling owner" despite still being able to trade on Wellington's reputation, for now.
Barkley came as-advertised; polished, humble, said the right things. I was very impressed with Hernandez; he gave a thoughtful answer to a question from the audience about being "underrated" which demonstrated a degree of quiet self-confidence I appreciated. Nothing remarkable to say about the other rookies, although I get the sense that Lauletta has an element of moxie/cockiness; neither good nor bad, just an observation.
Solder is a going to be the linchpin of our improved OL not just because he is a top-tier player. Rather, as I suspected when I first heard about his work with Flowers after OTAs, he brings a leadership quality to that meeting room which was utterly absent lately. He's a veteran, he knows what it takes to win at a high level, and he's a solid human being.
Our OL for the past 3-4 years has been young, generally bereft of veteran leadership, and did not have a winning pedigree. We also lost track of little things that offensive lineman just "do"... stick together off the field, eat together, work out together, etc. Playing the position calls for an essential cohesiveness that only develops with time spent as a unit, and given the CBA, practice schedules, free agency (the "modern game") and so on, it's not going to develop if a unit is simply going through the motions, punching their tickets. That's why things like rumors of Flowers/Hart not participating in the OL Secret Santa and generally keeping to themselves was very alarming to me. That's a symptom of a lack of an identity as a unit that manifest in poor performance on the field. I played this game long enough and at high enough levels to know things like that still make a difference... it's not Madden, plug-and-play.
So, listening to Solder speak, and hearing about little things he's done like push cafeteria tables together so the OL can eat as a unit, that's meaningful to me and gives me hope for the season. I am optimistic we turn things around this season, and while I'm not calling for a Super Bowl, I am extremely confident we are going to see better play up front, and that's where it all begins.
Solder might be the best money we spent this offseason.
It's exactly what the worst owners do. NY sports has quite a few GM owners, the Sons of Wellington, Dolan, the Wilpon's come to top of mind. It doesn't seem to be a winning formula.
desperate coach AND GM.
Ogletree, on what he wants the personality of the defense to be. "Gritty, Tough, and Bad Motherf....". He did stop himself.
Collins: "This defense is great because we're sending 5 every snap."
Bettcher: "Love the competition in the back end. I like creating packages for third and long, second-passing downs and the red zone with a lot of DBs on the field.".
and
"We won't really know until camp and preseason games who has a real chance to make the 53" when asked about the young undrafted guys.
Hernandez on being underrated in the draft ratings. "I was known as a mauler, but trust me, if we ran more inside zone I would have been known as one of the best inside zone guys." He said this with the gunfighter's stare, by the way.
Eli on the system. "I'm picking it up really well. Everything makes sense to me."
and
"All the blitzing by this defense is great as we try to come together as a unit because we have to get the protections right to pick all of these pressures and overloads up."
Solder on his pushing the tables together in the cafe so every Olineman at the OTAs was at the same table. "The bible says the family breaks bread together".
Shurmer on what he took from his Cleveland experience "There's a huge list of things I'd never do again."
and
"I put a major emphasis on really getting to know the players."
Mara "By far, the most difficult task as the CEO is picking the right head coach".
and, after getting booed regarding the Eli benching.
"I know, I'm paying for it still. I REALLY paid for it when I went home for dinner that night."
The rookie defensive players all made comments about how "Snacks is The Man", and "Snacks is the real deal".
It's exactly what the worst owners do. NY sports has quite a few GM owners, the Sons of Wellington, Dolan, the Wilpon's come to top of mind. It doesn't seem to be a winning formula.
I agree.
The question was something to the effect of, "what are your two most difficult jobs as owner?"
Mara's response was, #1, picking the right head coach (reasonable), and then #2 was picking the right quarterback, alluding to the difficulty of identifying and transitioning college prospects into successful pro QBs. I suspect he was giving a response from a broader, organizational perspective, and his role as a "buck stops here" owner, but still, I think there were a lot of other responses he could have made that would be more appropriate for an owner, rather than GM.
Thank you very much for sharing, it's full great details.
No offense to anyone including the poster or Betcher, but that's one of football's great clichés. in all the decades I've been watching football, the ONLY defense I have ever heard of that was NOT an "aggressive, attacking, fly to the ball system," was Rusty Rod's Read-and-React.
So while I'm glad they're going to run an aggressive system that the players love, putting it that way means almost nothing.
and, after getting booed regarding the Eli benching.
"I know, I'm paying for it still. I REALLY paid for it when I went home for dinner that night."
Ha ha, that's great!
It's also disingenuous because Mara basically anointed McAdoo as Coughlin's heir-apparent before McAdoo did anything worthy of that distinction in the NFL. Mara thought he was finding some hotshot, young diamond in the rough. Then it blows up in 2 years, and Mara is making digs?
I wish and hope that Mara would go completely hands-off with this franchise.
I was impressed with the question from the long time fan about Schurmurs perspective on D, since there is so much talk about the Offensive - his response was only average.
Overall, it was a common thread that the Macadoo 2 years wants to be forgotton, there were references made that almost made it seemed like we went from Coughlin to Schurmer.
New OC Shula looked like an empty suit - he was out of his element, and didn't seem like he had a presence to command a lot of respect. May not matter since the HC is an offensive guy who I think will be calling plays anyway.
Mara felt that that we had an opportunity to get Webb some playing time and see what he can do late in games.
Mcadoo felt he was bigger and smarter than the team and came up with his plan. He had no intention of getting Webb in the game just by simply never giving him any reps all season long.
I felt it was strange that the quarterback fiasco decision was made while Mara was out of the building. It seemed to me that mcadoo purposely did it knowing Mara wasn't there. Just like he laid out the plan knowing full well that manning would not go with it.
It came across strongly in my mind that Eli has a chip on his shoulder with something to prove.
I felt a hunger all around to do something special, and no one said it.
A far cry from last year, where Macadoo stated the goal is singualar, to bring home another Lombardi, and then went 3 - 13.
I preferred the more tempered approach.
I don't buy this for one second. I think the directive to get a look at the other QBs came from either Reese or Mara.
Mara acknowledged he had the power to stop the benching and didn't.
He acknowledged that he consented and even encouraged Reese and Mac to get a look at the other QBs on the roster.
Somewhere in there, folks thought (incorrectly) that Eli would agree to start games, and then rotate others in, which didn't happen obviously.
In comment 13984505 regulator said:
Spilled milk, I know, but he can't play both sides on the matter, he has to own it, especially now that he's the only one left standing.
My view of our ownership certainly has declined over the past few years... IMO the bloom is off the John Mara rose. Fortunately, the early returns on his 2018 decisions seem to be positive, so hopefully we recover. Otherwise, he might be on his way to the category of "meddling owner" despite still being able to trade on Wellington's reputation, for now.
Barkley came as-advertised; polished, humble, said the right things. I was very impressed with Hernandez; he gave a thoughtful answer to a question from the audience about being "underrated" which demonstrated a degree of quiet self-confidence I appreciated. Nothing remarkable to say about the other rookies, although I get the sense that Lauletta has an element of moxie/cockiness; neither good nor bad, just an observation.
Solder is a going to be the linchpin of our improved OL not just because he is a top-tier player. Rather, as I suspected when I first heard about his work with Flowers after OTAs, he brings a leadership quality to that meeting room which was utterly absent lately. He's a veteran, he knows what it takes to win at a high level, and he's a solid human being.
Our OL for the past 3-4 years has been young, generally bereft of veteran leadership, and did not have a winning pedigree. We also lost track of little things that offensive lineman just "do"... stick together off the field, eat together, work out together, etc. Playing the position calls for an essential cohesiveness that only develops with time spent as a unit, and given the CBA, practice schedules, free agency (the "modern game") and so on, it's not going to develop if a unit is simply going through the motions, punching their tickets. That's why things like rumors of Flowers/Hart not participating in the OL Secret Santa and generally keeping to themselves was very alarming to me. That's a symptom of a lack of an identity as a unit that manifest in poor performance on the field. I played this game long enough and at high enough levels to know things like that still make a difference... it's not Madden, plug-and-play.
So, listening to Solder speak, and hearing about little things he's done like push cafeteria tables together so the OL can eat as a unit, that's meaningful to me and gives me hope for the season. I am optimistic we turn things around this season, and while I'm not calling for a Super Bowl, I am extremely confident we are going to see better play up front, and that's where it all begins.
Solder might be the best money we spent this offseason.
In comment 13984508 Simms11 said:
Quote:
His hail mary plan was to scapegoat Eli and play Geno. He thought the team would improve proving Eli sucked not him. It was a desperate move.
I don't buy this for one second. I think the directive to get a look at the other QBs came from either Reese or Mara.
Clearly his communication to his manager was poor, or, less likely, his manager failed to follow his instructions but that should have resulted in immediate firing.
Eli was and should have been most upset. He was but moved on. You should too. It didn’t cost you anything.
I'm still steamed about the way Mara handled the Eli benching. As I remember it -- he was off doing some League business sumewhere. When you make a franchise decision like that as an Owner, you have to make sure everybody understands the impact of what you're doing. Don't leave it at "let's get a look at another QB" and allow the numb-nuts Coach and GM make up their own scenario. Clearly define what you want as the OWNER. Geno Smiff....Good Lord.
MacAdoo should have been fired the moment he announced that change -- hooked off the podium !! Even the most casual fan of the team knew the right way to handle the move to Davis Webb.
Since this scenario may pop up again this season, what is the right approach?
If an in game switch is a no go, and more importantly the starter should get the vast majority of the practice reps, whats the correct approach?