In identifying one of the Mets woes, Boomer was making the point how good teams in hockey, baseball and football are strong up the middle.
In the discussion he mentioned how Gettleman gets this and that the Giants trio of center and guards might become one of the best in the league. These guys are beasts
I understand from other points of Boomer shared here, I m one of the few that values his opinions,
But there it is.
Halapio (sp) was the center he specifically mentioned.
as for the Mets, I am not a fan but they have a strong middle in field to build around. McNeil is an all star and Rosario is improving. Add a superstar in Alonzo at 1b and you just need to add a 3b.
Bruce, you're never alone, especially when it comes to being annoyed by Boomer.
I'm not sold yet. Our RT is and Center are questionable. Our guards are fantastic compared to years pass. We are still missing pieces on the line.
Jalapio will be just a JAG to me until he proves otherwise.
well since Boomer is frequently wrong and off the mark -- this worries me
personally, I'd like to see brown or o'hagen surprise
Agreed. Halapio may turn out to be a capable Center - maybe even a good one - but he could just as easily crash and burn, taking the rest of the O-Line with him.
Spencer Pulley is average at best (and that's being charitable), and Brown, O'Hagan...who knows?
...but Center?
WTF?
Jon Halapio hasn't done jack-shit.
He's a journeyman who has got a lot to prove.
More likely than not Gettleman goes Center in Round One or Two next season.
I felt when watching the games all the pressure was coming from up the middle of the line. Whether that was Halapio, Omameh, Hernandez, or Barkley's fault is all debatable.
Too me (having played center my entire playing career), the center has to help those other players out. It feels like he is getting a free pass because they didn't specifically go after him defensively, but should be getting a chip in or going after someone if he is free.
The whole middle of our blocking scheme was terrible the beginning of the year.
I liked what I saw from Halapio last year. I get why people are questioning him - he has no track record and got injured right away. But Barkley had some running room right up the gut in both the JAC & DAL games last year - I know because I was studying Hernandez's play early in the year.
In that DAL game specifically, I thought Shurmur got away from the run too early, because they were having success running behind Halapio to open the game.
He's big and physical and he's always looking to hit somebody.
By the time the right side settled down Halapio was long on IR. But they (O&F) were a dysfunctional mess that made the whole line look incompetent IMO.
Until LT came along and changed the basic geometry of the game,
By the time the right side settled down Halapio was long on IR. But they (O&F) were a dysfunctional mess that made the whole line look incompetent IMO.
I'm not saying he's going to be terrible, I'm just saying I'm not sold until I see it on the field at this point. Many people including major reporting outlets have a guy that has been with 4 different teams and a handful of in game action to be a breakout super star player. I'm not that confident in his abilities yet. I'd much rather eat crow though.
However... Halapio was praised as the highest rated OL for those first two games if I remember right. Plus the staff loves him, and he gets high praise from LeCharles Bentley (Said he could be a top 5 center). That's cause for optimism.
We already saw OL improvement last year, so even if Halapio can improve upon what Pulley gave, and with better play at LG with Zeitler, 2nd year improvement from Hernandez, and Solder more comfortable? Even with Wheeler as the RT that is still looking like the best OL we have had in a LONG time. And we already saw improvement at the end of last year, with the whole offense. I'll try to remain optimistic here, I think this OL may end up being pretty good if they stay healthy.
Woah.
Better for all involved....
Amen... been saying this for a long time!
Quote:
However... Halapio was praised as the highest rated OL for those first two games if I remember right. Plus the staff loves him, and he gets high praise from LeCharles Bentley (Said he could be a top 5 center). That's cause for optimism.
Sure it is. And LeCharles praised John Jerry, Weston Richburg (best C in NFL), Schwartz and other OL who are no longer on the team.
I never heard him praise John Jerry in the same breath as top 5. Same for Schwartz, do you have a link for that? I did hear him talk up players that he coached in his OL program (I'm sure for marketing purposes). I didn't see that Halapio ever attended his training, so those were just observational comments on Halapio as far as I know.
Anyway he's not the first to praise Halapio. And I'm trying to be optimistic, even if he is just slightly better than Pulley that's another overall boost to an already improving (on paper) OL.
And to be fair Weston Richburg looked initially like he was going to be a pretty good center but he just couldn't stay healthy, and had (seemingly a piss poor) attitude.
Funeral Flowers... LOL
Right there with you BB56.
They'll have other needs as well but they will also have draft picks and lots of cap space, especially if Eli is off the books.
My hope is Pulley beats him out before the season starts. He's the better player.
My hope is Pulley beats him out before the season starts. He's the better player.
This is what I was trying to say earlier. You said perfectly.
I heard it live. He was saying that the middle of the Oline should be solid. That they rebuilt it. He didn't say Halapio is going to be stud. I don't think he is wrong as the guards are fantastic, and Halapio will probably be ok between them.
Lol. 👍