Maybe I'm reading too much into things, grasping for any optimistic straw I can find, but it seems to me that the atmosphere in East Rutherford has undergone a huge, long overdue change. It's almost as if the skies have cleared over MetLife, and the dark cloud that's been hovering over the Giants for ten-plus years has finally been waved away.
That's not to say that everything is sunshine and roses. Clearly, the team still has a lot of work to do before they can be considered upper echelon. But I can't recall a time - at least not in recent years - when the front office and the coaching staff have been so obviously on the same page, marching in lockstep, speaking with one voice. That really resonates with me. It inspires confidence.
Of course the real test will be how the organization handles adversity. But by their words and actions, it appears that Schoen and Daboll are trying to foster a spirit of unity, of "team before self," if you will, where players can depend on each other when times get tough. In that respect, "smart, tough, and dependable" applies to the entire team, not just any individual player.
For me, it's a real welcomed change. It's a mark of professionalism from the powers-that-be without any of the bluster and bravado that characterized previous regimes. It's a sane, rational approach to building a team, not an approach marred by systemic dysfunction. It's a sign of competence, and I believe it will eventually lead to a return to glory for Big Blue.
Things seem calmer and all in one direction
Dabs going to the rangers games doesn't hurt! Man of the people mixing with NY and enjoying that with a chance to eventually be part of doing same at Metlife. We can only hope for a home play off win in the not to distant future.
Doball and Schoen truly seem to enjoy each other's company....so hopefully there will be less finger pointing and more resolution when thing go wrong.
I just hope the results are better with less flawed theories..
Releasing Bradberry is 1st questionable move....that I hope does not bite them in butt.
Wink Has express the importance of cover man corners....and the Giants on paper are weaker.
The one nice fact...the DB coach has been here....should know what they need....and knows if in-house (Robinson) options could work.
I do love the approach toward the trenches....tons of bodies, tons of attention
One area that I wish Schoen had done was taken a larger chop out of the guys on the roster that need to turnover in this rebuild. Stretching out inevitable cap hits or turning down low offers may be tolerable today but is it really the best course of action for a team nowhere near ready to compete for anything substantial.
Much to still do but glad to see some steps have been taken over these past months.
It's just coming off of: Mcadoo, Shermur and JJ and seeing rays of sunshine there only to have them turned to sh!t, its hard to buy in yet and start to feel relieved. Been burnt too much.
Same here, I've drank the new regime Kool Aid too many times
Two things still hanging around imv, the two Mara family members in personnel jobs, and it seems clear their drafting strategy was impacted by a lack of trust with certain individuals, and they did some reach drafting as a result. If it works out it will be brushed aside, but it's hard to argue against leaving better talent on the board.
I realize the experience has soured so many -uncapable of optimistic thinking until proven otherwise and I get that. I realize to some I must come across as a homer these days but that is simply not true as I tend to steer away from the emotional extreems. Its just that, in this particular case, I feel so beat up by the years of incompetence, I just want to enjoy a pleasant spring day from time to time, despite the knowledge of the fact that the season isn't without its rainy days too. Know what I mean?
Looking back on the Judge era, Joe was never an OC or DC so he probably didnt have a feel for how the game plays out actually coaching those aspects. Garrett was so far removed from being an OC that it seems like he was coaching like it 10 -15 years ago. He wasnt up on the new offenses. Graham was an OK DC but I never got the sense he was putting guys in position to be successful.
My biggest concern right now is that Daboll may call the plays which I think is a huge mistake on his part. He needs to be focused on the whole game, not just the O. To be a great OC you need to be discussing things while the D is on the field and I think he needs to learn to be a head coach 1st and then once he feels good about it he can then call plays again.
At this point, show me. The same buffoons who made the previous disastrous hires decided to hire these guys.
However, what drives me is not simply what's being said about the Giants here, or at BBV, Talkin' Giants, Giants.com, or any other Giants-centric source. It's what's being said by the team in the non-Giants blogoshpere, on YouTube and elsewhere. There's a "who are these guys" vibe out there, and that's not being used as a pejorative. It seems like many outsiders were expecting to see the Giants continue to embarrass themselves as they have in the past with their hires, with their approach to free agency and the draft, and they're kind of surprised to find that they haven't. When your friends give you praise, it's one thing. When your enemies do, it's another thing altogether.
So, I hope the Giants really are on the right track...finally. Time will tell, as it always does, but I hope that someday we can reflect on 2022 and recognize it as a turning point...as a year when the Giants began to emerge from the wilderness and approach the promised land.
- fired GM and HC
- Brought in one of the top, popular GM candidates from an up and coming team, widely seen as being a GM in the making
- Hired a widely regarded OL candidate from a good team
- Allowed him to build a coaching staff of modern coaches with aggressive O and D schemes
- Drafted top OL and Edge prospects
- worked on the cap, signed lower price FAs to deepen roster
- cleaned house on a lot of players
- cleaned house on a lot of scouts
- appeared to be on the same page
- didn’t extend DJ so he’s in a play to stay year
Hindsight may say otherwise if it goes south, but short of changing ownership not sure what else fans could want. Changing QBs is not realistic this year.
That said, people still need to be realistic. I know this preseason everyone will say “6 wins and I’d be ok” but that will change during the 11 losses and our guys have rookie struggles, when people call on everyone to be fired.
The reason this time it's different is because the ownership has gone out of their comfort zone and hired a GM who is being allowed to clean out the FO of almost everyone but the two owners who can't be fired. This is the first time since 1979 that the Giants have hired the GM and HC at the same time.
I think the Bradberry release and explanation shows that the GM isn't going to make the same mistakes the Giants have been making for 10 years. The Giants had 3 options to keep Bradberry. Extend him with no other restructures and then wind up in the same cap spot with him in a few years, restructure L Williams and let Bradberry play this year at his 2022 cap hit or restructure Galloway and let Bradberry play this year at his 2022 cap hit. The decision they came to was to release Bradberry so next year they can release L Williams and Golladay if they want to.