Its been way too long since we had rookies from later rounds contribute immediately and showed they may belong in the league. Yes, it was only 1 preseason game, but its hard not to be excited on how clear the rookies were not overwhelmed by game situations.
1. Jones - what else is there to say? He was fantastic.
2. Lawrence - Did a lot of dirty work. Took on a lot of double teams.
3. Baker - outside an iffy PI, you didnt even know he was in the game.
4. X-Man - was able to get a few pressures. Skillset is there.
5. Connolly - Might have been our best defensive player. All over the place.
6. Ballentine - good KO return, coverage, and a beautiful INT. PI could have easily been avoided. He will learn.
7. Slayton - got in the backfield a few plays I saw.
And lets not forget our UNDFA
1. Reggie White JR. made some really nice catches.
2. Jake Carlock - pick 6 on a really nice play, and a sack.
Overall, other than Love - who struggled a bit - the rookies showed they arent going anywhere!
Us Manning fans are supposed to be sour over Jones' positive plays though
So in that regard, Jones was throwing floaters!
Seriously, sans the delay, fun night of football!
Gettleman last night...
Drafted 2 day 1 defensive starters in Lawrence and Baker, plus very possibly 1 more in Connelly.
2 more who are sure to contribute this year in Ballentine and X-Man.
And, oh by the way, brought in what looks to be the future QB of the New York Giants.
He's shown that he's got some quickness and understands his position. There's a big upside to this kid...
Yes the plan is to pick guys who fit your offensive and defensive philosophies instead of physical specimens without experience.
For my money from my seat in the stands, Love looked better than Baker. More comfortable playing his assignments.
I am thinking he will be more productive when Betcher gets more creative with his blitzes allowing our ER to knife inside and counter. There was an emphasis on setting the edge and containment. Very vanilla.
Jones, Lawrence, Baker, Love, Connelly, Ballentine, Slayton, White, Carlock, Gates all looked solid to me.
He is quick in/out of breaks and smooth and was open but his QBS missed him more than once.
Something about him reminded me of Lionel Manuel.
Want to see more of him.
TJ Jones too could make the roster too.
He got crossed up bad on the 3rd down play but Im wondering if him bouncing between Saftey and Slot messed him up on his responsibility on that play.
He reacted very much the same as peppers did, and im not sure who was playing saftey and who was slot on the play as they mixed up the looks.
And then he and Baker have to play the pick better. But those 2 blips are easy to correct and tolerable for 2 rookies.
Thats darius you are thinking of. Chris Slayton our 7th rounder frfom Syracuse got some good PT.
You're thinking of the wrong Slayton.
Impressive yes, but we knew that already about Dex, no?