For me, it's at QB. Jones vs. Glennon and Thorson.
Ha! Just kidding.
Honestly, with competition seemingly everywhere, LB and WR look like the easiest choices, but the one position that intrigues me the most is at TE. Have the Giants ever had eight guys fighting for three or four spots before? I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Figure Engram and Rudolph are locks, but after those two it's anybody's guess who stays and who goes.
So, where are you looking for the fiercest competition?
Guard is going to be a competitive battle as well to determine starters. However, the winners here may wind up only being a touch better than the reserves anyway in the end.
Maybe Slot Cornerback too?
I also am interested to see how the following guys are used.
-Odenigbo and Elerson Smith...are they going to be traditional 4-3 DE’s? Smith is being listed as a DE, which makes me think Graham will be deploying a lot more 4-3 looks
Coughlin- moving to ILB?
Do you think we'll get as much rotating on defense this year as we saw last year? I've heard a couple of pundits make the case that we'll see less personnel rotating in and out, and more staying on the field but shifting positions. Reason being that opposing OC's now have a year's worth of film on Graham's defenses to study, and that they'll adjust their offenses accordingly to account for his personnel changes. I don't necessarily buy that, but I'd like to know what you think about it.
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Our defense rotates a lot but not as much as our WRs and TEs would based on situations. I mean maybe they would but we kind of know what the WRs and TEs bring to the table already. The main competition will be at OG imo. We need guys to step up there and I'm curious where Murphy is in his progression. The news on him has been very quiet.
Do you think we'll get as much rotating on defense this year as we saw last year? I've heard a couple of pundits make the case that we'll see less personnel rotating in and out, and more staying on the field but shifting positions. Reason being that opposing OC's now have a year's worth of film on Graham's defenses to study, and that they'll adjust their offenses accordingly to account for his personnel changes. I don't necessarily buy that, but I'd like to know what you think about it.
Yes, definitely. Graham and Judge have said repeatedly that they want to be multiple and be game plan specific. Guys will be put in positions to succeed. I expect our safeties to rotate and play all over the place. I expect to see different situations where Adoree Jackson is lined up outside and in the slot. I expect to see OLB rotated to find out who can do what. I expect our DL to rotate like they always have. This doesn't mean equal playing time, just that many guys will see the field over the course of the year.
That's a lot of guys with real potential. And the "winner" becomes a name as the primary ER on a good D.
Competitions that will have greater bearing on the team’s success include:
- EDGE
- Nickel
- Dime
- ILB2
- WR 3/4/5
Also RB3, assuming Barkley starts the season on a pitch count. On the offensive line, we have to hope that the presumptive starters all solidify their positions and the three veteran backups remain backups.
I get the impression that a three safety look wil be quite prevalent.
Wide Receiver, How much time will K-Toney get? Can Ross step up this year?
Right Tackle, Is Peart ready to be the man? How will Solder look?
OG - Are Hernandez and Lemieux ready or can someone push them out? *Possibly someone from another team.
ILB - Ragland, Crowder, Coughlan
OLB - Carter, Ojalari, Ximines, Anderson, Elerson, Odenigbo
Most intriguing new players?
Odenigbo
Ojalari
K-Toney
Jackson
Rising young vets?
McKinney
Peart
Crowder
Lemieux
Vets on rebound?
Engram
Carter
Ross
Solder
Thoughts?
I assume you meant Hernandez. It’s tough, those people all look alike. 😉
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Good list. For rising young vets I think you’re missing Thomas and Dex and maybe Gates. Vets on rebound, Martinez.
I assume you meant Hernandez. It’s tough, those people all look alike. 😉
Ugh. Got me!
If this actually is a battle, we are sunk...
Ross got $1MM guaranteed. There might be potential offsets for the $500K of guaranteed salary, but just looking at contracts I would say he has the inside track on a roster spot if he’s healthy at the end of August (big if). There are only three locks at WR - maybe four if you count Slayton.
Right tackle and right guard are the team's two weakest positions IMO, ergo those are the two battles that intrigue me the most.
Giants started five DBs the last seven games of the season.
Whether the fifth DB on the field is the third safety or the third (slot/nickel) cornerback is something that I think resists precise definition.
Ryan, Peppers and Mckinney started the last two weeks of the season designated as safeties. Their snap counts in the final game vs Dallas were 100%, 98% and 89%, respectively. Darnay Holmes had 31% of snaps as the sixth DB.
I presume Giants drafted Aaron Robinson because they weren't satisfied with Holmes; he will be in the mix competing for snaps as the fifth/sixth DB.
One size does not fit all.
Ross is over rated and Pettis is under rated.
Agreed. I really can't see what he brings to the table beyond speed. Speed is quite defensible in the NFL now. Haven't seen Ross cut into a crease, juke a defender or make a strong play on a contested ball. Realistically, if he's on the team how many times is he going to do something that makes you say "Wow, we need to keep this guy"?
Robinson is a guy who can play slot, outside in a pinch, and I firmly believe he can play S if he gets enough reps for it. He's a physical player and I'm very happy they landed him.
Holmes is not going to be a guy who starts outside because he isn't strong enough against these bigger receivers. His position is primarily slot, but having so many good corners is a luxury.
They doubled down in their young talent in a way I've never seen the Giants do.
For the first time they are backing up their young talent with some NFL proven talent that have shown they can at least hang in the NFL.
Players like Solder, Fulton, Ragland, Anderson, Ross, Pettis etc. are all players that will compete for starting jobs, but if injuries happen, or talent doesn't develop they can step in and do an admirable job.
In the past it seems that the vet depth just wasn't there and the Giants would just count on a guy like Peart getting better with no real backup plan.
Robinson is a guy who can play slot, outside in a pinch, and I firmly believe he can play S if he gets enough reps for it. He's a physical player and I'm very happy they landed him.
Holmes is not going to be a guy who starts outside because he isn't strong enough against these bigger receivers. His position is primarily slot, but having so many good corners is a luxury.
I would say the labels are not as significant as the number of DBs who can be on the field.
That's how I wound up talking about Holmes in a post that began with discussion of safeties.
When Holmes was starting and McKinney was hurt, and the Giants started five DBs, Holmes was called a slot.
When McKinney came back and the Giants started five DBs, McKinney was called a safety.
Did the Giants defense actually change, functionally speaking? Or just the labeling?
Bottom line is that McKinney took most of Holmes' snaps, even when he came back from injury.
And on top of that, the Giants then draft Robinson in the third round.
Robinson may be able to play outside but, barring injury, he's only going to do that if Jackson shifts to slot. Which doesn't do anything for Holmes' snaps.
I think the linked article is on point. Some of Holmes' coverage metrics weren't bad, but he didn't make many standout plays and had a number of penalties.
With the added competition, his outlook is unclear.
si.com - ( New Window )
Nevertheless in general I would think that competition is most fierce in positions with most risk for team and level of players. I would think CB should have competition in backup slots but if all,is well the first three vb’s are pretty much decided.
So i go to the offensive line where it is hard for fans to judge because of my (our) ignorance of technique etc, and it is unusual for me to be looking at same things that coaches are and we don’t have film, multiple view film.
Yet here is the place where the teams future will in a large way be decided. Virtually every position, perhaps not LT, but the RT and inside positions are up for grabs. The players know it and the coaches know it. That There is a rookie OL coach will make the competition even fiercer. There will be a lot we could see, but the film and watching with a knowledgeable person would be great.
How do you grade ‘o’ line men, where does aggressiveness fit, smarts and instinct and how do you measure these. The techniques etc should be measurable by coaches but what is the scale.
Anyway that what I would try to find out about. We really need an offensive line.
CB Holmes vs rookie CB Robinson - slot corners are hard to find and I think Holmes did well down the stretch. Will rookie Robinson, with the physical tools, challenge?
S Peppers / Ryan vs S McKinney - I see McKinney being use all over the field as a 3rd safety / slot guy / cover LB type hybrid. Will he win playing time in the main defense or garner snaps? Will there be a 3 safety rotation?
LB - except for Martinez, everything is a battle with no "for sure" clean cut winners coming into training camp. My gut says Carter starts OLB. I see us mixing it up a lot so the younger guys will get snaps. Hard to say until the first pre-season game is over where we are "on paper" at least.
WR Toney vs Shepard - no doubt in my mind a healthy Shepard has a big experience & route running advantage but lets face it: Shepard gets hurt all the time and is a concussion away from retirement. I think Toney will get worked in as the season moves along with the hope that by the last quarter of the season he can be counted on in the slot. Hope...its all we have until the games begin.
TE K. Smith vs rest. I think this kid just fell off a cliff last year as he didn't live up to expectations. Can he bounce back and be one of our four TE's?