Loading ...The preseason is finally done; cut down day has come and gone; now that we know the names of the 53 men who are this year’s New York Giants (for now), all that’s left to do is wait until Sunday’s opener in Carolina. In the meantime, here are some random thoughts on that group of 53 men:
Only two TE’s?
In cutting both Bear Pascoe and Scott Chandler, the Giants have chosen to go only two tight ends. Take that one of them is a ne’er-stay-healthy who can’t block for his life, and you’ve really only got one TE on the roster. Having Pascoe and Jake Ballard on the practice squad is a great safety net, but how can this offense operate if Boss gets hurt in the first quarter of a game? Line Rich Seubert up at TE?
This seemingly thin area of the depth chart had people wondering immediately if the Giants were bringing another TE in, with league-wide trade target Greg Olsen’s name coming up quickly. On one hand, it seems obvious the Giants need to bring another person in. On the other hand, they really liked Pascoe– so maybe they’re content stashing him on the PS until they need him.
Youngsters at the backend:
Although it might have taken a groin/abdomen surgery to make Giants fans’ dreams come true, Sinorice Moss is finally gone and replaced with young, athletic talent at the backend of the WR depth chart. Victor Cruz! will be the fourth guy into the WR rotation and Duke Calhoun becomes the special teams maven, more than Moss could say for any of his time here. Now if only that really tall guy could find a way onto the field in the red zone…
Boothe back in?
Kevin Boothe will be crossing his fingers and praying that someone gets hurt by the time he’s ready to come off the PUP list, because with Shawn Andrews and Mitch Petrus in the fold there’s not much use for another interior offensive linemen. It’s going to be interesting to see what this offense does if Shaun O’Hara misses any time: does Adam Koets play center? does Will Beatty come in at LT and push everyone inside? does Andrews push Seubert inside?
Of course, if Shawn Andrews is ready to play, we have a whole different set of questions to ask, starting with: is Rich Seubert still a starter?
Told you guys Coughlin wouldn’t let this one go. He’s not even healthy (knee) but still found a way to stick. Somehow, Gerris Wilkinson (groin) did the same.
Speaking of these two guys, one of them is probably the first to go if the Giants had to make a move like bringing in a veteran DB, or signing someone like Bomar or Pascoe from the PS. If Clint Sintim has dropped off the radar of the LB depth chart, maybe you want to throw Dave Tollefson‘s name in the “first-to-go” hat too.
Congrats D.J.
No, not you DJ Ware (who was dangled on the trading block prior to final cuts). We’re giving a big shout out to D.J. Johnson, who made the be the team as the 5th cornerback and perhaps one of the punt gunners. His preseason play wasn’t great, but his competition was Courtney Brown and Seth Williams. Brown was terrible, and Williams found a home on the practice squad. After making an NFL team by de facto, Johnson should be sending mail bombs to any veteran cornerbacks on the couch waiting for a call.
But hey, at least he’s not Courtney Brown.
The Aussie Punter
The NY DailyNews kept insinuating that the Giants were praying for a punter to hit the waiver-wire, but that seems silly in light of two good preseason performances down the stretch. Congrats Matt Dodge, you’re an NFL player. Just don’t shank it too often, and you should be OK.
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If we want to take a positive view of the curious decision to risk someone signing Bear Pascoe, it is that there has to be a real plan to make use of Travis Beckum.
This guy is a matchup nightmare. Eli should use him much like his brother used Dallas Clark. I thought they’d give that a try in the second half of last season, but no such luck. But perhaps being willing to not have a third TE on the roster and risking the guy you wanted to keep available in case of an injury means Beckum will finally get his shot.
I also noted that when asked about the carrying of only two tight ends Coughlin responded that “keeping Beckum healthy” was a bigger concern.
Good, creative play-calling against the Patriots on Thursday night + only keeping 2 tight ends + keeping a playmaker like Cruz! even though he hadn’t proven his value on special teams + talking about keeping Beckum healthy + all but designating Bradshaw as the lead back + actually using both Bradshaw and Jacobs in the same backfield a few times Thursday = ???????
Could it be that this coaching staff actually realizes that the way they’ve approached things over the course of the past few years needs serious adjustments? Could Mara and Reese have informed them that they have been given a lot of real talent and their jobs depend upon using the talent instead of forcing players into a rigid system? Could Gilbride’s son have read them the statistics that demonstrate that a more wide-open approach on offense is now a sine qua non in the NFL and that the approaches that worked in the past do not any longer?
It’s probably all a mirage, but we can hope.
I’ll have to see it in January before I believe it’s a genuine conversion.
FF55 see my post above, we old dogs think alike. (a “fan for 46 years” , since age 10)
Sorry, I didn’t catch that. Nice post. You should do much more.
There was a good article in the NY Times about how Justin Tuck is ready to take on a leadership now that he is healthy and now that Pierce is retired. I hope Tuck can lead by example as Strahan once did. On several occasions last year, I criticized the defense for its lack of leadership. I thought that was the core of all its problems. If Tuck does not lead than who can? These linebackers can’t as they have neither the experience nor skill.
I’ll post this now and look for the response when I wake for class around noon tomorrow. Fantasy question. In my league we do have a flex option but its a QB/WR/RB/TE kind of flex and I’m using Eli, my second QB, in that spot. I don’t have a second DEF or K and only have two QBs which is why I will have so many running backs listed below.
Who should be my second starting runningback (DeAngelo Williams is the first)? I have Felix Jones of Dallas, Jerome Harrison of Cleveland, Steve Slaton of Houston, Willis McGahee of Baltimore and Fred Jackson of Buffalo.
Harrison seems to be the starter in Cleveland since that promising rookie went down but besides three good weeks at the end of last year (against poor teams) he seems like an unknown.
Jones will probably get 25-35% of the carries in Dallas since they have Barber and Choice as well, but return yards and return-TDs do count toward the points total.
Slaton was good his rookie year but regressed last year and has a fumble problem, so you don’t know which one you’ll get or if he’ll even be starting.
McGahee plays backup to Rice and it doesn’t seem like he’ll see as many carries in the red zone as he did last year (12 TDs) with the Ravens actually having a receiving corps, and Rice proving to be amazing.
Jackson was great last year but he might not even start as a running back and his return job might be in jeopardy as well, both because of the same player. Plus he was injured most of the preseason.
If Slaton gets the starting nod I’ll probably start him since he’s playing the Colts Week 1. Still, any one who might be able to offer an opinion, it would be appreciated. Its a $125 league and as a college student, thats a lot of money on the line.
Reading ff55′s post from last night filled me with a sense of hope that Beckum will finally get a chance to shine this year. Ever since he was drafted I have felt that he could be a really different and special part of our offensive attack.
UPDATE UP TOP
http://www.giants101.com/2010/09/07/happy-birthday-giants-101-2/