Loading ...People can say what they want about Antonio Pierce, but when he went down with an injury last year that ultimately led to his retirement, the New York Giants lost a vocal veteran leader and clearly suffered the consequences.
That loss was also evident for the majority of the offseason as many people searched tirelessly for a defensive veteran to stand up. Unfortunately it wasn’t until Antrel Rolle was brought to New York that a spark was seemingly lit. Still, with a vastly depleted linebacking corp and youngsters as far as the eye could see, Big Blue was still in desperate need of some veteran leadership.
Insert linebacker Keith Bulluck.
Signed only a few short days ago, Bulluck has already begun to establish himself as the vocal leader that had been lacking since the departure of AP.
“The game changes now that I’m in New York,’’ Bulluck said. “The game totally changes. I think that the energy that the city brings and the excitement and the fans that all the New York sports teams have will definitely help me out a lot. Just as far as stoking the fire that’s still burning. I’d love to help bring another championship to New York.”
“But I can’t just go back there and not be productive,” said Bulluck. “I’ve still got work to do, and I’m still working towards everything that I need to do for myself individually. I mean, it would’ve been great to end my career in Tennessee because that’s where I started. But it’s would be great to end my career in New York because that’s where it really all started.’’
Bulluck also revealed on a recent conference call with WFAN’s Paul Dottino’ that it came down to the Arizona Cardinals and Big Blue. He said it was after speaking with former defensive end and future Hall of Famer Michael Strahan that the decision became clear.
So, what else does Bulluck think he can bring to the Giants?
“I’m not a rah rah guy…I’m a natural leader. I don’t need to have a C on my chest; I’m here to win,” Bulluck said.
His agent reconfirmed Bulluck’s excitement and desire to play in New York.
“Next day he calls me up and he says, ‘I’ve been dreaming about this my whole life. I’m from New York. It’s not even close.’ It was his dream to play for the Giants. He grew up in New City. Like all kids his age, L.T. was what it is about,” his agent said.
I love the attitude and I love the enthusiasm. I am excited to see what he bring to the table.
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When AP first came to the Giants he said the same thing… “I’ve been dreaming about this my whole life.” But he was talking about Lee Fong’s all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.
The more I think about this signing, the more I like it. If/when we get a look at him in training camp/pre-season and he’s moving well, I’ll love it. If he’s healthy, he’ll be starting at MLB…which begs the question: can Jon Goff play special teams?
If Dillard plays well, or Fewell prefers Blackburn to Goff as backup MLB, it’s not hard to envision a final roster that does not contain Jonathon Goff’s name…
i think Goff makes the team regardless of the signing.
well, let’s all hope Bullock is an upgrade. I don’t know who the titans replaced him with, but they have a quality defense over there, and they no longer wanted him.
Will Witherspoon I believe.
This could be great. Got to love his attitude.
Or it could be another Danny Clark, Carlos Emmons, Barrett Green.
Let’s hope for the best
Yeah, it could be…but the fact that it’s a relatively cheap one-year deal, and there are young options behind him would make it hurt a lot less than those other situations.
The other thing, is that with Fewell coming in, all these guys (Goff, Dillard and Bulluck) have a clean slate. No system experience; no favorites. The best man will earn the job, and Jerry Reese just added a more than legit candidate into the race. No drawbacks here, from my POV…
Dread,
Hindsight is 20-20, my friend. Sure now some of the players behind those over-the-hillers look less than exciting. But at the time the coaches didn’t allow them to receive any meaningful snaps whereby they could be comprehensively evaluated. That’s my beef–the coaches don’t develop players; instead, they let them languish on the bench until they are all but forced to let them play or they cut them entirely.
Still, some of those players I listed played in front of superior talent. Ross sat while Madison played; McQuarters returned punts while Hixon rode the pine; Clark maddeningly played nearly all of the snaps in the Viking game last year instead of Sintim, who could’ve used the game experience considering he is the incumbent SAM this year. It happens all the time, man. They don’t put players in a position to succeed and then wonder why they have the same problems year in and year out. I certainly agree with you belief the the blame is on Reese’s door for failing to commit to drafting linebackers earlier in the draft so as to maximize the potential for them to be better than just perenial backup players. It’s a point that gets lost on here amidst the Coughlin-hateration. But stating that the evidence doesn’t suggest a trend is to ignore a litany of facts to the contrary.
but see right there your list is down from like 8 in your last post to like 2 and a half. i agree that sintim should have gotten some snaps once the season was lost but thats not what we’re really talking about here. we’re talking about players that could have performed significantly better than the veteran standing in their way, and Sintim himself admits he didnt really know what was going on last year. also, i know that someone on here has posted stats that show danny clark wasnt as bad as we all thought…
and punt returning? again, the issue was that quality young starters were being inhibited by unqualified veterans. while punt returning is a valuable position, its certainly not a position that requires much development and technique–you either know how to do it or you dont, and i would be willing to wager that Hixon’s increased PR average (if its even significant) couldn’t really be extrapolated to any tangible difference in points or wins.
and wasn’t sam madison playing because A-Ross dislocated his shoulder twice that year?
i think what people fail to realize is we are just now becoming a team that is strong throughout the roster. up until now, there hasnt been young answers at a lot of positions and thats why veterans have been consistently turned to as a solution, with varying levels of success.
i just think its silly to be anything but optimistic about Bulluck. the only negative in the whole situation is this really, really overblown perception that Coughlin will only play vets.
um guys, Bullock is already saying or atleast insinuating that the starting MLB job was part of the deal.
Also his knee is not n issue, although i am sure they will try to bring him along slowly.
when he tried out with us he did not wear a knee brace AND he did not swell up the next day after reese and TCput him through LB drills.
Sounds like a good pick-up if you ask me.
NOONE IN HERE including ff55 was COMFORATABLE with Goff, Wilk or Dillard or kehl starting in week one. we might have been willing to give them a shot to prove themselves, but noone was looking foward to how great our LBs were going to be.
I will say one thing very much in Coughlin’s favor. Much as I could not stand watching Pierce after 2005 (until then he was a pretty good player and certainly a leader…later he was a leader who couldn’t play well enough to deserve the designation as leader of the defense), this defense had no one at all who stepped up last season as the voice of the defense or a pivot around which people could gather their pride in order to play above their heads in those last two crucial games when some leadership and fire was the only way they could have made up for their injury-depleted talent level. So the HC insisted they change that dynamic.
Coughlin understood the defense needed emotional leadership. Reese did too. I love Tuck, but he simply did not step up, partly because he was injured and partly because he just wasn’t ready to take on that role. Anyway, they went out and got Rolle, a big-time leader by virtue of game intelligence, force of personality and ability to play the game. Now they’ve brought in another potential leader in Bulluck. Tuck should mature into a verbal leader this season as well as the best player on the defense. If Osi can direct his personality in the right direction he has leadership talent. Kiwi is as intelligent a player as there is in the NFL and he has that natural pride and dignity that makes people follow you. Kenny Phillips was becoming a leader back at safety when he was forced out of the lineup and off last year’s roster. And the word I get from someone who knows is that both Corey Webster and Aaron Ross have been doing a great job of adding leadership to the secondary with the consistent encouragement from Fewell.
Furthermore, they went out and got a guy to coach the defense who is apparently one of the better emotional leaders in the NFL and connects even more with the players than did Spags while also being significantly more demanding.
I am sick of Coughlin’s act, but I readily acknowledge that what he concluded he needed on defense in regard to leadership was exactly right. Better to have to manage a lot of personalities all bent on a leadership role (and that DOES have tio be managed subtly and very well) than have to try and elicit leadership from a group that won’t step up when needed. Bulluck adds to the probability that the defensive chemistry will jell much like it did in the 2007 playoffs.
I’ve said any number of times, I think this defense will be fine no matter which player starts at MLB. There are a lot of really fine players on that side of the ball, and they’re led by a really fine coach who will make the offense react to them rather than the passive approach Sheridan wanted in which the defense was always adjusting to the offense. I think we have a defense that will jump from among the worst (in the last half of 2009) to among the best in 2010. And leadership will be part of that equation.
It was mentioned on the last thread by me and someone else, but one of the more interesting aspects of the Bullock signing is that he was not really a MIKE with Tennessee. Talk about indictments of your existing croup!
I think the signing is a no lose situation for the Giants. Sure, he may be cast into the starting role even if he doesn’t necessarily deserve it, but even so, the fact that the Giants went out and signed a 33 year old LB coming off a knee injury doesn’t exactly speak of all that much confidence in the current LB corps, especially at the MLB position.
I’m assuming that this means the Giants don’t see Goff as the long-term answer at MLB, and if it’s Dillard’s job once he proves he can handle it, they’re willing to give him some time to learn the ropes. And I’m fine with that.
Keith bullock is better than danny clark and AP have ever been in their careers.
so at worst we will be better than last year in that position
This ^^^^^^^^^^