And that is young.
Thirty eight year-old first time coach, 2nd year QB, lots of draftees from the last 3 classes as presumed starters, very few players over 30 on the roster.
It's really exciting, no more ambiguity if the team is re-tooling or re-building. The team is growing.
I expect there to be a lot of growing pains. Jones in the 2nd system of his young career, new system on offense, new system on defense, presumably several new starters on the o-line, secondary potentially made up of 4/5 players under 3 years in the league etc.
But as a fan, it's really nice to know this is the foundation that will march forward for better or worse.
If the Giants come out of the gate slow, or frankly have a tough year, I won't be surprised or concerned.
My hope is we are on our way to becoming a very good fundamental team - good tackling, good blocking, good decision making.
That said, Saquon and Jones have about the best personalities you could hope for with 2 young potential stars in NY. Both seem like leaders and captains in every sense. Tomlinson and Lawrence were champions in college who stepped into the NFL and were good players from day 1. Tate and Solder have won a lot of games in the NFL. So there are raw materials to work with and if they add someone like Simmons via the draft, that's another guy with a winning pedigree. But the pressure is on Judge and the rest of the staff need to build those pieces into a team, and deliver on the tough/winning identity he outlined in his vision.
My hope is we are on our way to becoming a very good fundamental team - good tackling, good blocking, good decision making.
Yeah, I agree. I want to be a team that does things consistently right on the field. I can take the wins and losses, but if we do the fundamentals consistently, we'll be competitive.
An unexpected win from a superb game plan
An unexpected win from half time adjustments
A win despite missing some important players
Those to me are indicators of competitive advantage via preparation, coaching and execution.
I don't expect one of the lines or the LB unit or the WR unit or the whole backfield to be finished ...too many significant talent gaps for one talent acquisition cycle
And enough cap room for picking off a cap casualty trade mid year
Yeah, I agree. I want to be a team that does things consistently right on the field. I can take the wins and losses, but if we do the fundamentals consistently, we'll be competitive.
I'm not in McL's sphere, but I do like to study the game where you can quantify success/failure in a number(s).
But it's still a pretty straight forward game: when you have the ball, find a way to keep running with the ball before you get tackled. And when you don't have the ball, find a way to tackle the person with the ball to the ground quickly.
Sorry, a child of the 70's I am forever jaded and skeptical - it isn't a winner until it fucking WINS.
Talk to me after the 9th win in a future season. Then we can talk 'identity'. Right now, the identity is 'flailing losers'.
Sitting at my desk at work chuckling ...
AND FIRED UP!!!!!
Let's GOOOOOOOO!!!!!
An unexpected win from half time adjustments
A win despite missing some important players
Those to me are indicators of competitive advantage via preparation, coaching and execution.
Excellent points. The only teams Shurmur could beat last season were fellow-bottom feeders - Skins twice, Dolphins, and Bucs (only because of a missed FG). Never had any confidence in him leading the team to an impressive win against a team ahead of the Giants in the standings. We all knew by Halloween the only two possible wins left on the schedule were Skins and Dolphins.
My hope is we are on our way to becoming a very good fundamental team - good tackling, good blocking, good decision making.
If there is one word to accurately describe this team, it's young.
Maybe identity isn't a perfect word, maybe it's essence or something.
I suspect many, many thing will be the direct product of this team being young on the sideline and on the field.
I expect lots of growing pains, rookie coaching mistakes, ups and downs from Jones, plenty of confusion as coordinators and rookies get on the same page.
I don't expect a crisp, efficient, fundamentally sound team next year at all. I expect all the things that are the product of being young all over the organization.
And I am really cool with that -- because I think for the first time since 2004 there is a crisp direction.
Sorry, a child of the 70's I am forever jaded and skeptical - it isn't a winner until it fucking WINS.
Talk to me after the 9th win in a future season. Then we can talk 'identity'. Right now, the identity is 'flailing losers'.
"Flailing losers" my ass! It's "LOVABLE LOSERS," you imgrate! LOVABLE! And don't you forget it!
I'm ready for the turnaround.
9 YEARS OF LOUSY FOOTBALL! WE'VE HAD ENOUGH!!!
If that was the Great Wall of Text, I probably skimmed it. Anyway...
When I said "turmoil," I meant that with a completely new staff, and a head coach that resembled Tom Coughlin more than Jim Fassel, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some pushback from even some of the younger players, some chafing at the new direction (and directives). There will be some friction. As I joked in another thread, it's going to be "Buy in or bye-bye." I also expect "dead wood" to be identified and eventually discarded.
Sure, it's going to take time, and although I usually counsel patience, quite frankly after two years of Dave Gettleman calling the shots my patience has worn thin. I do not agree that this is year three of a four-year rebuilding process. This is a reset. Not quite a total reset, because Gettleman is still the GM, but a reset nonetheless. It's the first year following the failed experiment of the previous two years. Essentially, the Giants are starting from scratch...again.
With the exception of a new QB in place, the Giants are pretty much in the same boat as they were when Gettleman took over. Their O-Line is still a joke, and they can't rush the passer or defend against the pass. Is there hope for the future? Sure. There's always hope. What's lacking is faith. Faith that Dave Gettleman can right this floundering ship.
4 wins will be a disappointment. 6 wins will be encouraging. 8 wins will be exciting.
4 wins will be a disappointment. 6 wins will be encouraging. 8 wins will be exciting.
I would feel better knowing JUDGE (and his assistants) give their approval to all transactions instead of thinking DG is doing this on his own. Although I really don’t know if DG has had exclusive say on these matters to date. Maybe it is already shared.
Yes, we have a few nice pieces in certain areas but it just doesn't feel anywhere near like a core to rely upon and restructure around yet. In fact, several of the units still need a massive overhaul (O-line, Linebackers, Pass Rushers) before anyone can even think we will win on any consistent basis.
Nobody with any decent football sense should have thought this was an overnight fix but it also needs more momentum than we are witnessing. Gettleman has got to stop mixing in so many bad and questionable moves amongst his better ones. Otherwise, the improvements will remain on the periphery and the team as a whole will continue to stagnate.
I think the team's identity is still a big ol' TBD...
2018 FA was a borderline disaster but I didn't see any big missteps in 2019.
But mostly, Im looking for an intense summer camp with lots of churn positions 24 -53.
Good depth is a precursor of getting better and better each year and eventually wins 1-2 games per year
That all said, we have to get 1-3 units above NFL average ( different than more individuals above average)
2018 FA was a borderline disaster but I didn't see any big missteps in 2019.
Eric - added Zeitler which was okay but really just pushed the major issues at Tackle and Center yet another year which is now becoming a disaster. Golden Tate is not the kind of signing this team needed at all based on his attributes and age. Bethea was basically a joke even if a stopgap. Leonard Williams deal was somewhere between questionable and a joke depending on your "homer" rating.
That all said, we have to get 1-3 units above NFL average ( different than more individuals above average)
aligned with this thinking completely...
And one reason Im liking/hoping Judge/Garret regime is that any re -up of SB as a slice of the future cap will be at least vetted by guys who only have a vested interest in the future
Eric asked me to remark about 2019 bad/questionable deals and Leonard Williams is a whopper...
Merely my current opinion of which one "may" in the future have proved out to be "more worser"
Sb's highlight reel compared to the less obvious to an untrained eye performance of LW has a tendency to hide the true sense of the misallocation concerns.
For all I know we are still two cycles away from an average OL and in need of a power runner between the tackles.
Irrespective of cost ( granted there is no such thing ) LW could be a good part of a better than average unit as other units are addressed. Depends on performance and how fast we can get out of the contract overhang.
Whereas I dont yet see how to get a good payback on a #2 slot anytime soon in context of other units needs and the alternative draft choices that year.
Imo
But this "more worser" being proved out isn't that interesting to me.
The fact that the volume of bad/questionable deals continue to negate the impact of the good ones is...