Stewart was "plodding" during the offseason...

.

was more than capable as a goal line runner last year. I'd expect that to be his main role this year as well.

Perhaps he'll give Barkley a break for a series or two, but I think he'll mainly be in there for short yardage.

and went to the Saints, his old coach, Bum Phillips was there. Bum had all the running backs run the mile in training camp and Campbell couldn't finish and only got through 3/4 of a mile. When asked about it by the press, Bum said "We won't give him the ball if it's 3/4 of a mile out"

Stewart has a role on this team, and it's not to be the bellcow.

get in shape for step 2, camp.

A vet who knows what’s needed to get himself to a desired level. But yes, plodding can be seen

In comment 14009801 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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was more than capable as a goal line runner last year. I'd expect that to be his main role this year as well. Perhaps he'll give Barkley a break for a series or two, but I think he'll mainly be in there for short yardage.

Agree 100%, Stewart's not going to be wasted getting tired running between the 20s. End of the year his stats will be something like 100 carries for 250 yards with 8+ touchdowns. As long as he can drive the pile within the 5 yard line, he's good.

in case they didn't get Barkley.

With Barkley in the fold, he'll get 15-20 plays/game (tops).

Stewart was brought here for two reasons...

1. To provide leadership (specifically to Barkley - I think Gettleman had a pretty good idea that he was going to take Barkley if he was on the board at the time of the signing)
2. Short yardage/goal line situations

Stewart was NOT brought here to carry the rock 20 times a game.

So, this doesn't mean that much to me.

I didn't really like the signing because I thought there were some more intriguing RB's there, but I get why Gettleman wanted to bring Stew here.

In comment 14009818 giants#1 said:

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in case they didn't get Barkley. With Barkley in the fold, he'll get 15-20 plays/game (tops).

I'd be shocked if Stewart got 10 plays a game.

...

In comment 14009826 Jim in Tampa said:

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In comment 14009818 giants#1 said: Quote: in case they didn't get Barkley. With Barkley in the fold, he'll get 15-20 plays/game (tops). I'd be shocked if Stewart got 10 plays a game.

Agreed. It seems clear DG brought him in as one of his guys to help change a shit locker room. Honestly, any on field production is welcome, but not expecting much

Will help as a mentor, short yardage (reduce wear and tear on Barkley), and leadership. I do think we overpaid.

1) Veteran Leadership
2) Goal Line RB

I think that majority of all Giants fans just expected Stewart to provide those two points.

There was a report a few weeks ago that Gallman had become the front-runner for the #2 spot behind Barkley. Gallman's a lot like J.McKinnon from the Vikings last year. A speedster who can catch, block and finish runs. It will be no treat facing a fresh-legged Gallman when Barkley takes a blow.

I love Stewart as the "O.J. Anderson" #3, guiding the youngsters. As pointed out above, the Giants need a GL/SY specialist and Stewart can grind out tough yards. Excellent on 3rd/4th and short & almost never got stopped for a loss last year. It's an artform and often a role an aging RB can fill with sheer guile.

I'm not saying he will be the same, but O.J. Anderson was a "plodder" in 1990.

Brandon Jacobs back but I could be wrong.

Like FMIC said he was good in short yardage and goal line .
He won't get a ton of touches but he fills a role and is good Vet presence .

This signing just does not seem to make sense. But let's see how it plays out.

The plodding NY Panthers.

signed for the exact same money 2/6.8 million

I don't see how anyone can seriously argue that Giants are better off with JS than RC.

He has little left in the tank and I was not a big fan of the signing but now that we drafted Barkley it makes sense. All of our backs were young and couldnt offer much advice. even if we didnt draft Barkey, Stewart would have been a good mentor for the young guys.

He can fill in and play some but he is not a long term answer. I was disappointed in the contract but we needed a veteran presence and Stewart is a high character guy who can help our wounded locker room.

the money didn't make much sense.

But he's a bit more than a mentor in that he knows Shula's offense. So he's kind of like play-coach.

To be honest, I really haven't watched him a lot in recent years so I personally don't know how much he has left. Gettleman's comments were extremely flowery after he signed him. We shall see.

In comment 14009812 Matt in SGS said:

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and went to the Saints, his old coach, Bum Phillips was there. Bum had all the running backs run the mile in training camp and Campbell couldn't finish and only got through 3/4 of a mile. When asked about it by the press, Bum said "We won't give him the ball if it's 3/4 of a mile out" Stewart has a role on this team, and it's not to be the bellcow.

Though I don't think it fits to compare Stewart to one of the greatest RBs of all time. It's a lot easier to argue in favor of paying a bunch of money to have a legend on your roster as opposed to overpaying for a who who at the peak of his career was really never a full time starting runningback. Only 3 seasons over 200 carries.

primary back up. I think Gallman will get the role and actually give more of a breather to Barkley then Stewart. Stewart will be a short yardage guy. Most likely on 3rd downs primarily and will also see some carries on the goal line. Barkley is too valuable inside the 20 to start bringing in Stewart, unless they’re knocking at the door. Stewart is more valuable this year as a mentor, veteran and a guy that will assist the RBs in learning a new offense. He’s not here to be the starter.

In comment 14009818 giants#1 said:

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in case they didn't get Barkley. With Barkley in the fold, he'll get 15-20 plays/game (tops).

I highly doubt that.

I want him to be a positive influence in the locker room and film room. Maybe get a few goal line touches....and leave the carries for Barkley. I prefer that Gallman be the first guy off of the bench.

Vet min at most for Stewart at this age and production. It’s not like he was a hot commodity in the FA market I don’t think.

I get the “mentoring” and goal line stuff but you can get that for a lot cheaper.

Oh well, at least Gettleman’s bad signings haven’t really broken the budget (Stewart and Herzlich).

In comment 14010128 Vanzetti said:

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signed for the exact same money 2/6.8 million I don't see how anyone can seriously argue that Giants are better off with JS than RC.

Very good point.

In comment 14009817 Giantsfan79 said:

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In comment 14009801 FatMan in Charlotte said: Quote: was more than capable as a goal line runner last year. I'd expect that to be his main role this year as well. Perhaps he'll give Barkley a break for a series or two, but I think he'll mainly be in there for short yardage. Agree 100%, Stewart's not going to be wasted getting tired running between the 20s. End of the year his stats will be something like 100 carries for 250 yards with 8+ touchdowns. As long as he can drive the pile within the 5 yard line, he's good.

Lol. He is not scoring 8 tds.

Mind over the money we are paying someone who was clearly washed up last year. If that’s the difference between being able to sign drc do you guys still feel it was a smart play

Hes very slow to the hole and he wont see the same kind of openings without Newton at QB.

It was a terrible move and it will be clear early in the year. Should have used the money with another player and went with a younger player for this role.

In comment 14010266 TD said:

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Vet min at most for Stewart at this age and production. It’s not like he was a hot commodity in the FA market I don’t think. I get the “mentoring” and goal line stuff but you can get that for a lot cheaper. Oh well, at least Gettleman’s bad signings haven’t really broken the budget (Stewart and Herzlich).

I agree, we overpaid. SMH

He's irrelevant as all can be on this team, however he is a good guy, a LONG time vet and maybe they like him mentoring the high investment for a year

leadership crap is a need at some level, the idea that the Giants have to go purchase it from a has-been like Stewart, at the amount of money he got, is basically fraudulent.

God forbid Eli, OBJ or some other so called “elite” positional player actually shows some in-your-face character on that Offense to be a true character/leader. Nope, we have to go buy it from the local retirement home.

Short yardage back concerns in 2018...are you kidding me? That is like Issue #76 on the list of things to worry about for a 3-13 team.

Stewart will be the first guy jettisoned next year if not sooner if this team struggles.

Easily will be DGs least-finest moment...

An example of what not to do

Most of his carries last year were on 1st down (55.9%) and with long yardage (65.3% with 7+ yds to gain). Carolina definitely tried to use him as normal back and he basically sucked.

He did score 5/6 TDs within 5 yards, so he showed he could punch it in. I'm just not sure that's worth the guaranteed money.

gonna pace himself. If he still looks bad in training camp then he will not be any better during the season. We'll see.

just situational (rotation, goal line, etc) Im sure if Barkley should miss any time period, theyd look to the others to carry the load til barkley returns or so forth.

Have the Guants been able to convert in the past three years?

Stewart is probably going to make a difference in some game that’s going to benefit the Giants hopefully that will be in the playoffs .......

Quote:

Ross Cockerell Vanzetti : 7/10/2018 4:39 pm : link : reply signed for the exact same money 2/6.8 million I don't see how anyone can seriously argue that Giants are better off with JS than RC.

Ross Cockrell makes us a better team? Stewart at least fills a need we've sorely been lacking - a goal line/short yardage runner.

Exactly what role does Cockrell fill? 4th or 5th CB??

A team with locker room problems and a lack of veteran leadership that is going with a new offensive system could use a guy like him.

It wasn't until the 'wait, HOW MUCH?' moment that it all fell apart.

yes

In comment 14010528 NikkiMac said:

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Stewart is probably going to make a difference in some game that’s going to benefit the Giants hopefully that will be in the playoffs .......

Lets say he has 50 carries for a surprising 180 yards as a pure short yardage / goal line back. He has 10 TD's. Was he worth what we paid for him? Or could our current RB's have done the same for much less $$?

or someone cheaper, closer to vet min.

Between having a weak Offensive Line and a QB that is absolutely no threat to sneak, no sure we should blame the short-yardage conversions issues on our previous RBs.

Nevertheless, if Stewart has any value on the field it better come here...

In comment 14010535 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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Quote: Ross Cockerell Vanzetti : 7/10/2018 4:39 pm : link : reply signed for the exact same money 2/6.8 million I don't see how anyone can seriously argue that Giants are better off with JS than RC. Ross Cockrell makes us a better team? Stewart at least fills a need we've sorely been lacking - a goal line/short yardage runner. Exactly what role does Cockrell fill? 4th or 5th CB??

Where's this confidence coming from in this group of Corners. Even if you think Grant Haley is going to set the world on fire, what happens when someone gets hurt? Cockrell was a very good player. I think you're tremendously overstating the value of a "goal line back".

on what is supposed to be the best RB prospect since Adrian Peterson.

The 49ers gave a ton of money McKinnon 30 mill 16 mill guar 7.5 mill per.

They might have overpaid for Stewart by a bit, but it's not a crazy contract. Blount got 2 mill fully guar by the Lions. You guys are quibbling over 1.5 mill extra in guaranteed money. I'd rather have Stewart being the vet leader and mentor for Barkley than Blount. And that difference might be worth the extra mill.

Cockrell played pretty well but let's not go crazy - some of you guys are making it sound like losing him was devastating.

Stewart was the move I liked the least this offseason, but it's not really going to be that prohibitive or suffocate the team. I think Gettleman had a pretty good idea he was going to draft Barkley when Stewart was signed and I think he wanted Stewart here to really guide Barkley from day 1 and be a positive influence on him. Beyond that, we also could use a short yardage guy.

It's a slow time and there's not much to talk about, so stuff like this gets blown out of proportion.

Stewart isn't going to move the needle that much one way or another - but given what we're going to be putting on Barkley's plate and will expect him to do here over the next few years, I don't hate having a guy in the locker room like Stewart for him to learn from.

It is what it is.

But he was a quality player, and there's really no reason to count on either Haley or Beal on being that as rookies. CB is a really, really hard position to make the jump from college.

wasn't even considered solid.

He's a mediocre player who I'm sure is replaceable by most scrap heap guys.

Hell, Stewart could be put in that category as well.

At least Stewart fills a role we've been consistently poor at.

are on equal grounds.

Wake up and enter the year 2018 in the NFL...

I doubt Ross Cockrell will ever be anything more than a nickel back and there are countless other players who will match his production. He was a lot like Fluker - a guy who played decent on a bad team and people project him to be very good

Overvaluing guys who leave this team and then do jackshit elsewhere is a time honored tradition.

But yeah, I'll wake up....

In comment 14011416 Jimmy Googs said:

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are on equal grounds. Wake up and enter the year 2018 in the NFL...

Pretty sure it actually depends on the CB...

Jonathan Stewart is 31 years old. He's an old, established 10 year veteran whose role is clearly defined, and who doesn't need to come in and prove anything to anyone.

I would probably be plodding too. Whats the incentive for him to bust a gut in OTA's?

Cockrell is orders of magnitude better than the ghost of William Gay. If there was a scrap heap of guys as good as Cockrell I would have certainly grabbed one of them. Instead they have a 33-year-old who was a back-up safety as the third corner going into camp.

Unfortunately these are the types of decisions the GM is making on a very bad team. Ross Cockrell, William Gay, Jonathan Stewart -- these aren't the type of players a good team is counting on to make substantive contributions.

In comment 14011333 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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wasn't even considered solid.

According to whom?

In comment 14011466 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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Overvaluing guys who leave this team and then do jackshit elsewhere is a time honored tradition.

To be fair, so is undervaluing anyone and anything associated with a team that had a bad year.

Cockrell will be a backup CB and a nickel CB. That's likely his ceiling

Stewart will be a short yardage back and a goal line back. That's his ceiling.

I'd rather have a proven player in an area of weakness than a guy who basically has players all around the league with his similar skill set.

Into 2 years $6m. So that's pretty solid. And the idea that decent or better at that position is easy to find is one example of undervaluing.

We're talking about "goal line back" as if we didn't just spend the second overall pick on what is supposed to be a once in a decade, doesn't come off the field RB. I'm not sure where the idea came from that that's a real need.

In comment 14011466 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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I doubt Ross Cockrell will ever be anything more than a nickel back and there are countless other players who will match his production. He was a lot like Fluker - a guy who played decent on a bad team and people project him to be very good Overvaluing guys who leave this team and then do jackshit elsewhere is a time honored tradition. But yeah, I'll wake up....

Yeah you should. I am not overvaluing Cockrell at all. Just properly valuing the de minimus value Stewart brings.

The Fridge played goal line RB too as a hobby...

In comment 14011469 arcarsenal said:

Quote:

In comment 14011416 Jimmy Googs said: Quote: are on equal grounds. Wake up and enter the year 2018 in the NFL... Pretty sure it actually depends on the CB...

are you sure it also doesn't depend on the 31 year old RB who had no where to go other than his couch this season...

great comparison.

The Fridge was also a goal line back for a Super Bowl team with a HoF RB.

If you don't see a value in converting short yardage over carrying a 4th or 5th DB whose skill set is similar to many, many players, I don't know what to tell you.

Of course, one of the major complaints about the offense in recent years was the lack of converting short yardage. We take a step to fix that and it is crapped on.

Typical.

Getting a short yardage RB isn't a problem on its face. Signing Stewart, to be a one-trick pony, for what they did is.

Especially if (albeit indirectly) it takes away resources that could be invested in better depth.

speak so definitively that Stewart is going to suck this year I'm tempted to ask what the Mega Millions numbers will be next week.

that stewart will suck, but that we'd spend the same amount on a 4th or 5th CB and that would be dandy.

I bet if we ponied up that salary for a CB, the same suspects would be bitching up a storm that we overpaid a 4th and 5th CB when we could've spent the resources elsewhere.

It's a neverending circle of ridiculousness.

The hand of God will clear the way for Barkley in any short yardage situation.

In comment 14012284 Jimmy Googs said:

Quote:

In comment 14011469 arcarsenal said: Quote: In comment 14011416 Jimmy Googs said: Quote: are on equal grounds. Wake up and enter the year 2018 in the NFL... Pretty sure it actually depends on the CB... are you sure it also doesn't depend on the 31 year old RB who had no where to go other than his couch this season...

Sure, but just saying a CB is more valuable than a short-yardage RB is pointless. It means nothing unless you attribute actual players to the positions.

If it's Cockrell and Stewart, sure, I'd probably just rather have Cockrell based on the way the team is built and what our needs are.

But a CB isn't always more valuable. That part doesn't really make sense.

was being discussed, and it was meant to cover every possible comparative like Jim Brown vs Trevin Wade...

In comment 14012574 Greg from LI said:

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The hand of God will clear the way for Barkley in any short yardage situation.

I find it absolutely fascinating that a supposed grown man is this obsessed by harmless comments by the GM simply because he didn’t want that player? Wtf is wrong with you? I’ll bet you’ve brought up the hand of God comments 50 times or more since they were said. Because it’s your way of throwing a hissy fit for not drafting who you wanted. You are an embarrassment when you don’t get your way. It’s incredible. You seem like a somewhat intelligent guys so I’m shocked that you decide to go about things the way you do when you don’t get your way. You must have been a real treasure as a child...

Now we get to spend the rest of Barkley’s career reading your infantile tantrums on every thread. Lucky us!

others criticizing, some hopeful, others clueless, some uniformed, and even others sarcastic.

It just seems like an neverending circle of ridiculousness on here...

Actually, just sounds like a pretty standard sports message board to me...

I don't know, just seems so odd...all these Giant fans that have such range of views and opinions in their respective posts. Its almost like we all think differently for some reason.

But you could be right...

That's sports fandom for ya...

Any time you have such a wide array of people in different age brackets behind a curtain of anonymity, this is pretty much what you get.

Of course, this includes some extremes. People who won't be happy unless the Giants go 16-0 or people who won't criticize anything the team does no matter how bad it gets.

But if we all always agreed, this place would be pretty dull.

Just like its probably okay for some posters to really dislike monies allocated as they were for a guy like Stewart, and others to feel like a short-yardage good locker-room RB like him was worth the value. And hell...maybe even for other posters to show less-conviction either way and let it play out.

well, onto the next thread...

If there are a glut of serviceable 3rd, 4th and 5th CBs on the market, I'm very confused why William Gay is on this roster. I suspect the Giants secondary is going to be very, very bad this year.

In comment 14012809 christian said:

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If there are a glut of serviceable 3rd, 4th and 5th CBs on the market, I'm very confused why William Gay is on this roster. I suspect the Giants secondary is going to be very, very bad this year.

Its because there isn't a glut...it wasn't a well thought out comment.

Almost everytime one of our reserve CBs has had to come into a game over the past several years, its like they have a "bulls-eye" on their backs. Serviceable is not what I have seen. Cockrell was one of the few that stepped up...

that the Giants didn’t offer Cockrell a contract? I’m not saying they did or didn’t, I have no idea. But is it possible that they did and he just didn’t want to be here? He seen first hand the dysfunction and losing last year and maybe he made the decision to move on. Could you blame him? Is it possible all of this complaining is unwarranted?

defense we are creating so he was expendable and let go to the Panthers. Good news though is we snatched their goal-line RB from before he was able to retire to his couch...


https://247sports.com/nfl/new-york-giants/Bolt/NFL-Free-Agency-Ross-Cockrell-signs-with-the-Carolina-Panthers-116595803/

In comment 14013029 Jimmy Googs said:

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defense we are creating so he was expendable and let go to the Panthers. Good news though is we snatched their goal-line RB from before he was able to retire to his couch... https://247sports.com/nfl/new-york-giants/Bolt/NFL-Free-Agency-Ross-Cockrell-signs-with-the-Carolina-Panthers-116595803/

To be fair, 247 is not a very reputable news source. I’m not saying they are wrong in this case, but my guess is that knowing the source, that’s pure speculation on their part

listed when I googled it so I posted it.

HE was brought in here to plod and smash his way to 6-10 tds and provide leadership.