Heard him the FAN this morning: He thinks Eli will retire. Said to Boomer you know how it is when things just don’t work right anymore. Listed the following
* Eli has trouble getting off his back foot
* ball just doesn’t come out the same
* accuracy is compromised
I Don t agree Eli will retire, the other stuff, beyond my pay grade to evaluate, but Eli s been a big topic, so I shared.
Yeah i hear you loud and clear. Many are excited to move on, but it is not going to be very easy to replace him.
Quote:
lately and the way he is talking make it seem like Gettleman pretty much told him they are ready to move on, so Eli now is contemplating his options for a) retirement or b) play for another team if he won't take a significant paycut, if another team would take him as a starter. He's not playing for the Redskins...so looking around the league it's basically Jaguars or..maybe Broncos? But he's not significantly better than Keenum right now.
I think Palmer is on to something...it just feels like Eli might be finally done in blue.
Agreed
What is there for the Giants to decide? They talked and told him that's all she wrote and he is contemplating what to do.
Everyone wanted the Giants to lose week 17 for the pick, but Eli could have led a game winner against the Cowboys to bookend the Game winner in 2004 week 17. Would have been cool, but was not meant to be. His last pass, perhaps ever, was a strike to Latimer that was contested and he could come up with.
But I think you have it right, the Eli era is done.
Not everyone wanted the Giants to lose. 2 or 4 spots in a draft is a consolation prize, not the goal. I want them to when every week. I don't expect them to (and most weeks I think its unlikely), but I want them to win. And against Dallas?? No f'ing way I wanted them to lose and I don't get why anyone would. Queue Herm Edwards "You play to win the game."
I think his interviews confirm what we already knew. Eli is not very confident he'll be back. Anything more is pure conjecture.
That being said, if Eli retires I think it highlights the organizational failure in evaluating the 2018 offseason. The miscalculation on the state of the organization to compete in the near term, the mental and physical state of Eli, and the overall 2018 draft strategy centered on the idea that the team could compete in the near term all need to be questioned.
I'm assuming this is just another dig at picking Barkley over a QB and nothing more.
We drafted a RB, a starting G, a couple defensive linemen and a backup QB.
That's a strategy for the near-term?
Wow.
Quote:
The miscalculation on the state of the organization to compete in the near term, the mental and physical state of Eli, and the overall 2018 draft strategy centered on the idea that the team could compete in the near term all need to be questioned.
I'm assuming this is just another dig at picking Barkley over a QB and nothing more.
We drafted a RB, a starting G, a couple defensive linemen and a backup QB.
That's a strategy for the near-term?
Wow.
Not even worth a substantive response to you.
If you attribute not taking a QB at #2 as being a "draft strategy" to compete immediately, then that's what you are hung up on.
Again - we took a Guard, two DL guys, a LB and a backup QB.
Elaborating how that translates into a strategy that indicates making a Super Bowl run would be damn difficult, and impossible for you since you never looked past passing on a fucking QB.
Quote:
But what does “can’t get off his back foot mean”?
When you drop back to pass in rhythm, your back foot hits the ground, that is the "moment" the throw begins, everything stops going back and your entire body begins moving in the direction of the throw. It is the beginning of the slingshot. For pitcher it is similar to the moment when the ball reaches its farthest point behind you. When you throw with your arm instead of your entire body, it is very hard to be accurate or powerful with any consistency. I have made some beautiful throws all arm, but you cannot count on it.
I think the mental aspect plays into that also, knowing that his OL ain't all that. Afraid of stepping in and exposing his planted left leg to the defense. Years of getting beat up will do that to you.
If you attribute not taking a QB at #2 as being a "draft strategy" to compete immediately, then that's what you are hung up on.
Again - we took a Guard, two DL guys, a LB and a backup QB.
Elaborating how that translates into a strategy that indicates making a Super Bowl run would be damn difficult, and impossible for you since you never looked past passing on a fucking QB.
Cool story, thanks for the response.
I certainly don’t agree that either decision was a slam dunk. Barkley is fantastic, and Darnold looked pretty good, at least to me.
Positional value is a valid argument but so is the idea that Barkley is a transcendent talent
Not really that hard to see both sides of the debate have merit.
If you attribute not taking a QB at #2 as being a "draft strategy" to compete immediately, then that's what you are hung up on.
Again - we took a Guard, two DL guys, a LB and a backup QB.
Elaborating how that translates into a strategy that indicates making a Super Bowl run would be damn difficult, and impossible for you since you never looked past passing on a fucking QB.
Can you please define a "win now" off-season strategy if you do not believe that the 2018 Giants off-season strategy constituted one?
What I saw was a team sticking with an old quarterback in steady decline hoping for one more run, signing replacement level offensive lineman to large contracts, trading a valuable mid-round draft pick for a veteran linebacker, giving a massive contract to a veteran wide receiver coming off a season where he played 5 games, and last but certainly not least, using the second pick in the draft on a "transcendent talent" at the most replaceable position on the field and making him the one of the top payed players at that position in the league before he took a single snap.
Seems like a "win now" off-season strategy to me.
Excellent and succinct summary of the situation. Agree 100%.
Quote:
expect you to formulate one.
If you attribute not taking a QB at #2 as being a "draft strategy" to compete immediately, then that's what you are hung up on.
Again - we took a Guard, two DL guys, a LB and a backup QB.
Elaborating how that translates into a strategy that indicates making a Super Bowl run would be damn difficult, and impossible for you since you never looked past passing on a fucking QB.
Can you please define a "win now" off-season strategy if you do not believe that the 2018 Giants off-season strategy constituted one?
What I saw was a team sticking with an old quarterback in steady decline hoping for one more run, signing replacement level offensive lineman to large contracts, trading a valuable mid-round draft pick for a veteran linebacker, giving a massive contract to a veteran wide receiver coming off a season where he played 5 games, and last but certainly not least, using the second pick in the draft on a "transcendent talent" at the most replaceable position on the field and making him the one of the top payed players at that position in the league before he took a single snap.
Seems like a "win now" off-season strategy to me.
Sticking with Eli? What was the alternstive? Drafting last year’s top collegiate QBs over Barkley? Seriously?
What I saw was a team sticking with an old quarterback in steady decline hoping for one more run, signing replacement level offensive lineman to large contracts, trading a valuable mid-round draft pick for a veteran linebacker, giving a massive contract to a veteran wide receiver coming off a season where he played 5 games, and last but certainly not least, using the second pick in the draft on a "transcendent talent" at the most replaceable position on the field and making him the one of the top payed players at that position in the league before he took a single snap.
Seems like a "win now" off-season strategy to me.
It has already been posted ad nauseum, but a "win-now" strategy doesn't revolve around turning over the roster by 70% and the starters by 50%. It doesn't revolve around trading your best pass rusher. It doesn't revolve around having exit plans for the young players who were identified as either immature or malcontents.
Why don't people just call it what it was - disappointment that eli wasn't replaced and they needed to spin it into a "win-now" strategy for some reason.
Almost all of the moves made in the off-season were for two main reasons:
1) improve the roster in weak areas
2) Change the culture/professionalism of the locker room
Omameah and Solder were brought here to add a vet presence to the OL. Ogletree to upgrade a LB unit that has been deficient for years. Stewart to give a vet RB to a roster that was Gallman and other unproven guys.
But Eli stayed and some posters freaked out. A lot of posters.
When you spend most of the pre-draft time talking about positional value against drafting a RB and when the team doesn't draft a QB and you are disappointed, this is the fallout.
It isn't that we picked the best player in the draft, it was that we snubbed replacing Eli. Calling it a mandate from ownership, a yes-man nod from Gettleman, a slap at the entire field of analytics, or the idea that providing Eli a 3rd ring over actual improvement of the team was the motivation all sound really foolish at face value, but it didn't stop those things from being posted here. A lot. Same with "win-now". The mantra that won't die.
Except it was dead the day we took the practice field. Seems like not accepting that is still alive though.
Quote:
The overall draft strategy was in competing now??
Quote:
The miscalculation on the state of the organization to compete in the near term, the mental and physical state of Eli, and the overall 2018 draft strategy centered on the idea that the team could compete in the near term all need to be questioned.
I'm assuming this is just another dig at picking Barkley over a QB and nothing more.
We drafted a RB, a starting G, a couple defensive linemen and a backup QB.
That's a strategy for the near-term?
Wow.
Not even worth a substantive response to you.
Because he is right
When you spend most of the pre-draft time talking about positional value against drafting a RB and when the team doesn't draft a QB and you are disappointed, this is the fallout.
It isn't that we picked the best player in the draft, it was that we snubbed replacing Eli. Calling it a mandate from ownership, a yes-man nod from Gettleman, a slap at the entire field of analytics, or the idea that providing Eli a 3rd ring over actual improvement of the team was the motivation all sound really foolish at face value, but it didn't stop those things from being posted here. A lot. Same with "win-now". The mantra that won't die.
Except it was dead the day we took the practice field. Seems like not accepting that is still alive though.
Facts!!!!!
When you spend most of the pre-draft time talking about positional value against drafting a RB and when the team doesn't draft a QB and you are disappointed, this is the fallout.
It isn't that we picked the best player in the draft, it was that we snubbed replacing Eli. Calling it a mandate from ownership, a yes-man nod from Gettleman, a slap at the entire field of analytics, or the idea that providing Eli a 3rd ring over actual improvement of the team was the motivation all sound really foolish at face value, but it didn't stop those things from being posted here. A lot. Same with "win-now". The mantra that won't die.
Except it was dead the day we took the practice field. Seems like not accepting that is still alive though.
Fatman, I think I've moved well past the qb, position, but I think it's valid to discuss again coming off a 5-11 season, staring into a black hole at the most important position in the sport. I get it, your a mouthpiece for the organization. It was a win now team, that's not debatable. The only people who think it was not win now are those like you, pretty much every pundit outside of the organization and other fanbases thought the Giants were win now. You are in a small minority.
If you would like me to elaborate on how drafting a top young qb could set yet up for years of success and potential championship runs, than you are not worth a response. All four of the Giants superbowl championships were literally built on the franchise qb model, and yet you need you need help connecting the dots on the position?
In fact, I do not want the Giants to draft a qb in 2019 as I do not feel there is one worth a top 10 pick. So tell me again how I am stuck on it?
Of course it is debatable. If it was universally recognized as a win-now strategy why did nearly every pundit outside of the organization (your ridiculous words) have the Giants as .500 or worse this year?
Let's put it a more basic way - had the Giants drafted a QB and gotten rid of Eli - all other things staying the same, most people would label it as a "rebuild". Why? Because the discussion centers completely on not drafting a QB.
Again - a "win now" team doesn't jettison their best pass rusher and overturn the starting lineup by half. A team trying to get out from under the mass of failed drafts does.
By the way, the Browns drafted a QB, signed a FA WR for big $$$, brought in a vet RB, drafted a RB. Traded for a vet QB. Were those "win now" moves or just trying to undo a decade of a poor roster?
I'll eagerly await a pithy, fucking "Cool story, bro".
1. Group of people are pissed off that we check down too often to short high percentage passes.
2. Group of people (some of which are also in group 1) claiming the completion percentage is important.
"Literally"?? We won the first two SB 's following the defense first formula. It would be like saying the Bears went the route of the franchise QB.
Christ, Hoss was the QB for our 2nd SB!!
With dots like that, you bet your ass I need help connecting them!
Quote:
Can you please define a "win now" off-season strategy if you do not believe that the 2018 Giants off-season strategy constituted one?
What I saw was a team sticking with an old quarterback in steady decline hoping for one more run, signing replacement level offensive lineman to large contracts, trading a valuable mid-round draft pick for a veteran linebacker, giving a massive contract to a veteran wide receiver coming off a season where he played 5 games, and last but certainly not least, using the second pick in the draft on a "transcendent talent" at the most replaceable position on the field and making him the one of the top payed players at that position in the league before he took a single snap.
Seems like a "win now" off-season strategy to me.
It has already been posted ad nauseum, but a "win-now" strategy doesn't revolve around turning over the roster by 70% and the starters by 50%. It doesn't revolve around trading your best pass rusher. It doesn't revolve around having exit plans for the young players who were identified as either immature or malcontents.
Why don't people just call it what it was - disappointment that eli wasn't replaced and they needed to spin it into a "win-now" strategy for some reason.
Almost all of the moves made in the off-season were for two main reasons:
1) improve the roster in weak areas
2) Change the culture/professionalism of the locker room
Omameah and Solder were brought here to add a vet presence to the OL. Ogletree to upgrade a LB unit that has been deficient for years. Stewart to give a vet RB to a roster that was Gallman and other unproven guys.
But Eli stayed and some posters freaked out. A lot of posters.
I think a lot of that is fair. They did certainly turn over a substantial portion of the roster. However, on the biggest off-season questions, the team stayed the course. Eli and Beckham were both brought back and built around. Solder got the most guaranteed money for a left tackle in NFL history. That is quite a price to pay for a "veteran presence" on a team that's retooling. When I think about rebuilding, or even retooling, I think about draft pick accumulation. Where was the draft pick accumulation last off-season? Sure, they traded JPP for a pick, but they also traded a pick for Ogletree.
For those of us who disagreed with the Barkley pick, it wasn't even so much that we thought they had to take a quarterback, at least I did not think that. If they truly did not believe in any of the quarterbacks, I think they should have traded down. For a team that is rebuilding and is years away, I would think that the choice to take Bradley Chubb or Quentin Nelson and another draft pick over Saquon Barkley would be very clear.
Taking a running back in that spot, given what the rest of the roster looked like at that time, is just not consistent with a team that was realistic about its prospects of success. If you are counting on Barkley to have more than a five year career at his current level of play, you are simply hoping against all odds and flying in the face of all football history. I'm not saying its not possible, but it is certainly not probable. Now, we are looking at the prospect of Eli retiring after a 5-11 failure of a season and of not having a chance to draft a top rated young quarterback until 2020 (at which time, we may need to give up valuable assets to get into a position to take one). With all that said, it makes last off-season seem more and more like a failure.
If Eli were of a mind to retire based on his assessment of his own abilities, what would he be arguing with Gettleman about the day after the season ends?
One thing no one has mentioned I think is that Eli - who requested the meeting - might have been asking DG for an extension!?
No one seems to be considering this, but IMO it makes as much sense as anything else, if DG turned him down flat out or said only at a large pay cut...
Quote:
In comment 14246862 bw in dc said:
Quote:
certainly has more than enough credibility on throwing. My God he could throw a football, especially under duress. Has a very good understanding of throwing mechanics. Same with his QB guru brother Jordan.
And had a very sneaky good career.
Could have been even better if it wasn’t for that dirty play against Pittsburgh. He was never the same type of player.
That was Roethlisberger’s first SB run.
Low cheap shot by Oelhoffen. That’s back when the Steelers prided themselves on their cheap shots. They had some real scum on the D for a while...
What a ridiculous statement about Kimo. Kimo was not going for a cheap shot there. When Kimo got up he was visibly very upset about the way he hit Palmer and how he went down.
I have no agenda other than to relay the info, from another NFL quarterback.
Having trouble getting off his back foot is referring to the weight transfer. We always hear about foot work with quarterbacks, this is related to that
Quote:
also why lax counsel has gone the "cool story, bro" route.
When you spend most of the pre-draft time talking about positional value against drafting a RB and when the team doesn't draft a QB and you are disappointed, this is the fallout.
It isn't that we picked the best player in the draft, it was that we snubbed replacing Eli. Calling it a mandate from ownership, a yes-man nod from Gettleman, a slap at the entire field of analytics, or the idea that providing Eli a 3rd ring over actual improvement of the team was the motivation all sound really foolish at face value, but it didn't stop those things from being posted here. A lot. Same with "win-now". The mantra that won't die.
Except it was dead the day we took the practice field. Seems like not accepting that is still alive though.
Fatman, I think I've moved well past the qb, position, but I think it's valid to discuss again coming off a 5-11 season, staring into a black hole at the most important position in the sport. I get it, your a mouthpiece for the organization. It was a win now team, that's not debatable. The only people who think it was not win now are those like you, pretty much every pundit outside of the organization and other fanbases thought the Giants were win now. You are in a small minority.
If you would like me to elaborate on how drafting a top young qb could set yet up for years of success and potential championship runs, than you are not worth a response. All four of the Giants superbowl championships were literally built on the franchise qb model, and yet you need you need help connecting the dots on the position?
In fact, I do not want the Giants to draft a qb in 2019 as I do not feel there is one worth a top 10 pick. So tell me again how I am stuck on it?
And yet, according to experts in the field like Shurmur, there were no franchise QBs in his view to even come close to the talent of Barkley. If there was, QB guru would have run to the podium to grab him. He knows much more than fans do. Yet that same fucking narrative continues to be opined here, that is, we PASSED ON A FRANCHISE QB..Time will tell, but the only person qualified to make that assessment is the guy who made that assessment
Quote:
It was a win now team, that's not debatable. The only people who think it was not win now are those like you, pretty much every pundit outside of the organization and other fanbases thought the Giants were win now. You are in a small minority.
Of course it is debatable. If it was universally recognized as a win-now strategy why did nearly every pundit outside of the organization (your ridiculous words) have the Giants as .500 or worse this year?
Let's put it a more basic way - had the Giants drafted a QB and gotten rid of Eli - all other things staying the same, most people would label it as a "rebuild". Why? Because the discussion centers completely on not drafting a QB.
Again - a "win now" team doesn't jettison their best pass rusher and overturn the starting lineup by half. A team trying to get out from under the mass of failed drafts does.
By the way, the Browns drafted a QB, signed a FA WR for big $$$, brought in a vet RB, drafted a RB. Traded for a vet QB. Were those "win now" moves or just trying to undo a decade of a poor roster?
I'll eagerly await a pithy, fucking "Cool story, bro".
You are hopeless and clueless. When you curse on an internet message board, you lose all credibility. Why waste time arguing substance with someone like you? There are plenty of other informed posters with which one might have a spirited and lively debate. Nothing more to be said to you.
"Cool story, bro" worked better to admit arguing "substance" wasn't in the cards.
Quote:
By the way, the Browns drafted a QB, signed a FA WR for big $$$, brought in a vet RB, drafted a RB. Traded for a vet QB. Were those "win now" moves or just trying to undo a decade of a poor roster?
The Browns spent years accumulating draft picks and jettisoning non-useful players and bad contracts to put themselves in the position to have the type of off-season that they had last year. The past off-season was in many ways the year that the Browns decided to cash their chips and "go for it." The Giants never did that. It looks to me that they just tried to reload on the fly and it didn't work.
That said, we need a new QB. I believe, deep in my heart, Eli has lost the quality that made him great. You see something else when you watch, fine. We disagree, is what it is. I believe he would need a dominant team to win a playoff game.
I would prefer to see us play ANYONE but Eli next year. I think a draft pick with some mobility could give as much production as Eli. I would like someone with deep ball accuracy and some mobility. I feel that would make us harder to defend and game plan against our running attack.
You cannot cover our skill players for any length of time. A QB with mobility will give us more big plays when they escape containment. I understand a dominant OL and a pocket passer can achieve this, but we are pretty far away from a dominant OL and our cap space and dead money is not looking great for 2019.
Wanting a new QB for the Giants does NOT make you stupid. Wanting the Giants to play Eli does not make anyone stupid either. I CAN see the reasoning behind starting him another year. We just disagree, can we leave it at that? Instead of trying to prove we are a geniuses and everyone that does not believe as we do are morons?
Quote:
are you fucking kidding me?
Quote:
By the way, the Browns drafted a QB, signed a FA WR for big $$$, brought in a vet RB, drafted a RB. Traded for a vet QB. Were those "win now" moves or just trying to undo a decade of a poor roster?
The Browns spent years accumulating draft picks and jettisoning non-useful players and bad contracts to put themselves in the position to have the type of off-season that they had last year. The past off-season was in many ways the year that the Browns decided to cash their chips and "go for it." The Giants never did that. It looks to me that they just tried to reload on the fly and it didn't work.
Let's not act like Cleveland had some long-game in the works here for years and are now enjoying the fruits of doing so.
They were a horribly run franchise for a very, very long time.
John Dorsey came in with a much more aggressive mindset than his predecessors and it didn't hurt to have the number 1 pick in his back pocket so that he could finally get a QB worth a shit there.
It certainly helped to have accumulated the assets they did in the interim; but they were a directionless team without a QB right up until 2018 and had won just 1 of their previous 32 games.
"Cool story, bro" worked better to admit arguing "substance" wasn't in the cards.
One more question, are you on direct deposit from the Giants (I assume Paul Dottino signs your paychecks) or do you still receive a hard copy check? Sorry couldn't resist.
Quote:
In comment 14247397 FatMan in Charlotte said:
Quote:
are you fucking kidding me?
Quote:
By the way, the Browns drafted a QB, signed a FA WR for big $$$, brought in a vet RB, drafted a RB. Traded for a vet QB. Were those "win now" moves or just trying to undo a decade of a poor roster?
The Browns spent years accumulating draft picks and jettisoning non-useful players and bad contracts to put themselves in the position to have the type of off-season that they had last year. The past off-season was in many ways the year that the Browns decided to cash their chips and "go for it." The Giants never did that. It looks to me that they just tried to reload on the fly and it didn't work.
Let's not act like Cleveland had some long-game in the works here for years and are now enjoying the fruits of doing so.
They were a horribly run franchise for a very, very long time.
John Dorsey came in with a much more aggressive mindset than his predecessors and it didn't hurt to have the number 1 pick in his back pocket so that he could finally get a QB worth a shit there.
It certainly helped to have accumulated the assets they did in the interim; but they were a directionless team without a QB right up until 2018 and had won just 1 of their previous 32 games.
I don't disagree with any of that. I am not saying the Browns are any sort of a model franchise here. The other poster was using the Browns as an example of a team that had a similar type of off-season to the Giants. I think his point was that the Browns are always rebuilding or retooling and, therefore, the Giants last off-season must also have been a rebuild or a retool. But I think the Browns did actually go for it last off-season and comparing the Browns off-season to the Giants off-season actually hurt his larger point.
My opinion is that the Giants did the same thing. They took steps to improve the team after years of poor drafts. When the Giants do it, but draft a RB instead of a QB, people scream that they are all-in on Eli and are charging towards the Super Bowl.
When the Browns do it, but select a QB, it is correctly seen as overcoming years of mistakes.
Quote:
I think his point was that the Browns are always rebuilding or retooling and, therefore, the Giants last off-season must also have been a rebuild or a retool. But I think the Browns did actually go for it last off-season and comparing the Browns off-season to the Giants off-season actually hurt his larger point.
My opinion is that the Giants did the same thing. They took steps to improve the team after years of poor drafts. When the Giants do it, but draft a RB instead of a QB, people scream that they are all-in on Eli and are charging towards the Super Bowl.
When the Browns do it, but select a QB, it is correctly seen as overcoming years of mistakes.
We may be getting bogged down in semantics at this point: I think "taking steps to improve" and "overcoming years of mistakes" can describe either a "win now" approach or a "building for the future" approach. The best off-seasons are like the ones the Browns had where you end up doing both. The worst off-seasons are like the ones that the Giants had where you end up doing neither.
Whatever you would like to call their respective strategies, we are losing each other because it seems to me that you are essentially viewing Saquon Barkley and Baker Mayfield as the same type of building block for an organization trying to dig out of a hole. I concede that it is possible that Saquon Barkley will be a first ballot hall of famer and its possible that Baker Mayfield will be out of the league in three years. However, even if all of that is true, I think you are very badly underrating the value of a young quarterback as compared to a young running back. Consider what most would consider the long term prognosis for the Browns to be at this moment if they had Tyrod Taylor and Saquon Barkley rather than Baker Mayfield and Nick Chubb (who the Giants could have had in the second round if they were so convinced they needed a running back upgrade). Are the Browns equally well-situated in those two scenarios? In my opinion, the biggest piece to the puzzle has yet to be added in the first scenario and all the pieces are already in place in the second scenario.
Quote:
There is too much focus put on Eli. At this point, it's pretty clear he can still win if he has decent blocking. It's also pretty clear there is some decline in his play. At the end of the day there are no vets I see out there that are a better option (that will be available for a reasonable price). I think he is back as the starter for 2019 either way but I would love to see him negotiate a better rate for the Giants for cap purposes.
Excellent and succinct summary of the situation. Agree 100%.
Shocking.
Yes let’s put less focus on the QB and the player at the top of the cap...
Quote:
I think his point was that the Browns are always rebuilding or retooling and, therefore, the Giants last off-season must also have been a rebuild or a retool. But I think the Browns did actually go for it last off-season and comparing the Browns off-season to the Giants off-season actually hurt his larger point.
My opinion is that the Giants did the same thing. They took steps to improve the team after years of poor drafts. When the Giants do it, but draft a RB instead of a QB, people scream that they are all-in on Eli and are charging towards the Super Bowl.
When the Browns do it, but select a QB, it is correctly seen as overcoming years of mistakes.
It's not just picking the player they did. I feel like plenty of people look at the Solder signing as a way to reach for wins now. It's hard to present that signing as a 'lay the ground work for the future move'.
Solder wasn't even their first choice as far as upgrading the OL. If they had gotten Andrew Norwell, the Giants would have gone into the 2018 season with Ereck Flowers battling for LT1 against who knows what.
Debating it wasn’t and hiding behind the rational that we were just improving is disengenuous.
Solder wasn't even their first choice as far as upgrading the OL. If they had gotten Andrew Norwell, the Giants would have gone into the 2018 season with Ereck Flowers battling for LT1 against who knows what.
They wouldn't have gone with Flowers had Norwell been signed. They would have likely drafted someone like Braden Smith in round 2 instead of Hernandez.
Debating it wasn’t and hiding behind the rational that we were just improving is disengenuous.
Gettleman just said recently that the Stewart and Omameh signings were to help change the culture in the lockerroom. Kareem Martin and Nate Solder are also high character well respected men. It seems that many had forgotten about last year's mutiny in the locker room. That couldn't happen again and it appears these signings had more to do with character than trying to win now.