Loading ...Since being drafted in the first-round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, rookie running back David Wilson has received nothing but tremendous praise by scouts, pundits, coaches and teammates. A week ago, offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said he may be the most explosive player he's ever coached. Over the weekend, that sort of next level esteem continued to be heaped upon the rookie as linebacker Chase Blackburn said Wilson reminded him a lot of future NFL Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.
“He reminds me of [Tomlinson] when I first came into the league a little bit, just the speed and like the vision and stuff,” Blackburn said.
The significance of that compliment wasn't lost on Wilson, who doesn't seem to mind the pressure that's being put on him.
“Hope I have the same career — or better,” Wilson said. "I’m competitive, so I’m gonna get after it. You always gotta try to be the best, that’s how I figure it.”
Considering Wilson hasn't taken so much as a single training camp snap, expectations should probably be tempered. After all, everyone remembers the last time the Giants drafted a running back in the first round who had similarly high expectations. To say that didn't work out would be a bit of an understatement.
Still, Wilson has all the tools, athletic ability and instincts to be a tremendous football player in the NFL. If he can stay healthy, familiarize himself with the system and not float away as a result of all of these comparisons and compliments, he stands a good chance of making an immediate impact … which is something he fully expects of himself.
“I’m going in expecting to make an immediate impact,” Wilson says.
If nothing else, this sure gives fans something to look forward to come training camp.
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I really don’t understand the love affair with Herzlich. Actually I do. He’s white, and he’s a supposed hard worker and “leader”. He beat cancer so umm…….what am I missing here?
The guy hasn’t looked like an NFL player since he injured his leg. The NFL graveyard is filled with thousands of these guys, players who had a great college season or 2, were on their way to becoming good pros and got hurt. Herzlich would not be on this team if he didn’t go to BC. Thats a fact. The guy is a nobody, a has been, a never was. In fact lets not even call him Herzlich. Lets call him “White LB from BC” because thats the only reason anyone talks about him.
Potential breakout players:
Bennet: great physical tools, a 2 cent head. Maybe he gets a nickels worth out of his brain and has a nice season, then gets overpaid by Carolina.
Petrus: Has the tenacity you want from an OL. Can get out and pull and run. Apparently needs work as a pass blocker.
Jaqaun Williams: You want to talk about actual physical skill. This kid has light years more talent than “White LB from BC”. Has all the skills necessary to be a top notch OLB. Probably needs to work on technique and add some size, but he can get out and run with the best of them.
David Wilson: His ceiling is Chris Johnson from Tenn. Will he get there? Probably not, but he’s got big time play making ability. In the same way Victor Cruz does.
Marvin Austin: This kid was a big time pass rusher coming out of college. I don’t expect him to do much early on, but could possibly come on late in the way JPP did the last 6 games of his rookie year.
Jernigan: Doubtful as he might just be too soft for the NFL. But he has almost identical physical tools as Mario Manningham.
I’ll admit, I have a crush on Williams.
I think I just like the way he flies on the field because let’s be real, he wasn’t anything special last season.
Yet for a rookie 6th rounder seen as a project, his production was adequate, to say the least.
He made rookie mistakes (reads, over agressivness) but these can be avoided and I thought he played well late in the season (along with the rest of the D so it might be just the people around him making him look better).
That’s really unfair to Herzlich. He looks like he could be a very solid player. Is Chase Blackburn loved because he’s white, or because he can play football despite being slower (by, perhaps, .2 seconds) than some of the “elite” MLBers?
I don’t know how Herzlich will pan out, but I do know that the way you dismiss him is just as much based upon assumptions as is any heralding of his future stardom.
How come there are no Giants tickets on NFL ticketexhange ?
They haven’t been printed and shipped yet, so they can’t be posted.
Pretty high praise coming from an NFL veteran for Wilson. He has, IMO, more power than Tomlinson. The question is does he have the same vision, acceleration and anticipation, and does he have the durability that Tomlinson had? We cannot know that yet, but if he has 90% of what LaDanian Tomlinson had the Giants just added a weapon that will make Eli Manning unstoppable.
I think you meant to say: a weapon that will make “white QB from Ole Miss” unstoppable.
Braylon Edwars won’t be resign by the J-E-T-S. We should grab him assp !
Like most of us I never saw Herzlich or most of the other rookies play , so as far as judging their talent level , I go by two things . First and foremost is whether the Giants see enough in him to have him on the roster . Then I will read the or watch the prognosticators from the Hair on down (or up depending on your opinion ) The fact that for example , Herzlich is still on the team tells me he is showing talent and has nothing to do with him being as Nosh says white , from BC and a cancer survivor .The bottom line is can he play better than other options ? so far the answer is yes . Nosh , as much as I value your opinion (and yes i really do honest Injun ) it does come behind Reese and the Giants coaching staff and the other players . So I will wait for training camp and the final 53
Nosh.O- What’s with the Herzlich hating. I saw him play in college and he was terrific. Last year he was better than Jones who stunk out the joint as the starting MLB.
Giantt is right on. They are not wasting a Roster spot because they seem to be at a premium. Look at what they did with Ballard, trying to save Cap Room.
One more thing if these guys who have all those physical skills can’t make the plays then who needs them.
+1
The perfect example of this is a comparison between Chase Blackburn and, just for example, Dez Bryant.
One, for an NFL middle linebacker at least, has at best average athleticism. Yet remember his play to save a game in Philadelphia when he went into a gap and stopped Westbrook on 4th-and-1? Remember his going up against Monster Gronkowski in the Super Bowl 35 yards downfield and being the one who came down with the ball? Remember his coming to the Giants last season cold and picking off Aaron Rodgers when “The Greatest Quarterback of All Time” (according to some fools) hadn’t been intercepted since the Ice Age ended? Chase Blackburn makes plays.
Then there’s Dez Bryant. Perhaps one of the 4-5 best athletes in the NFL. A big man who is incredibly fast and powerful. But he has a habit of not showing up so far in his career at big moments.
Now, in all likelihood most NFL GMs would take Bryant over Blackburn every time, strictly based on current potential. And I would not disagree with them. But right now Chase Blackburn is a better bet to make a play at a crucial moment in his next game than is Dez Bryant.
Well Barden is still on the roster and he’s worthless, so just because the guy is still a Giant doesn’t mean he can play. How many seasons was Sinorice Moss paid by us?
The big diff between Herzlich and Blackburn is that Chase knows the defense. He has 7 years of NFL experience and JR and co still thought so little of him that they went with the underwhelming Greg Jones at MLB until the Saints thoroughly embarrassed us last year.
Also coming into the NFL Chase ran a 4.69. Herzlich ran a 4.91. At least according to Wikipedia. Although I wouldn’t argue now that Chase and “The great white hype” are equally slow.
Look you guys want to root for this guy thats fine. But lets not act like he’s got skills. He’s a nice story. An E:60 piece with cheesy music and a bad voiceover from Jeremy Schapp.
But I didn’t see one thing from him last season that flashed any sort of pro potential. It seems like everyone is holding onto that ACC Defensive player of the year award like he will someday get back to that. He won’t.
Jaqaun Williams is the young LB to watch. He showed some flashes last year. Herzlich just showed some really weird eye black.
Well, first of all, you’re WAY late on the Williams bus. That left a year ago. But yeah, he has a great chance to be pretty special.
Second, you’re not really going to use Herzlich’s time at the Combine as a valid number, are you? My view is pretty simple. I believe that Jon Goff at 100% would be just fine as the MIKE in this defense. Excellent between the tackles player, excellent at recognition and getting the defense in the correct set, a bit below-average-but-improving on his pass drops. Goff’s gone and Herzlich is here. The coaches obviously believe Herzlich is better. How much better? I don’t know, and neither do you. That awaits more evidence. BUT, in the few opportunities Herzlich had last season he looked very strong between the tackles and what I would characterize as “average” in his pass drops. That was without a preseason and a year away from his presumably better physical condition now (yes, chemotherapy knocks the stuffing out of you, but the effects do get less as time goes by in many patients, and very few of them train the way an NFL player does so there’s very little baseline evidence in this regard and everyone is just guessing as to how close he can get to his sophomore-at-BC athleticism, which was extraordinary).
Herzlich IS a question mark. So, for that matter, is Beatty, Diehl, Baas, Petrus, Bennett, Beckum, Jernigan, Amukamara, Thomas, Sash, Austin, Tracy, Trattou, Hixon, and all the rookies. That doesn’t mean nothing should be expected from them. With the competition on this team anyone who makes the final roster is good. The only question is just how good.
Typo in the title of this post is killing me. Yeah, I’m that guy.
Oh and he may not be on the Giants because he’s white, but he’s absolutely loved on this website because he’s white.
Not saying anyone here is racist, it’s more of a subconscious thing. People seem to rally around the hard nosed white player.
Prime example: The way Shockey was universally loved by Giants fans and Plax was loathed.
Theres something about the hard working, overachieving, white player that get’s fans excited. Maybe it’s the Rocky syndrome. I don’t know. But Herz and Jones equally sucked last season. Yet a lot of people talk about Herz still and Jones is a complete afterthought.
Jones actually had a OK game (vs ARI).
Herzlich didn’t.
Edit : I forgot that dreadful PHI2 game. He was used heavily that week and came out ok.
I HATED Shockey, and said so frequently. I wanted Plax kept until he wound up stupidly refusing to plea bargain early and went to prison. I’ve wanted Tollefson gone forever (exactly the kind of player you’d argue we all love).
Your argument is insulting, nonsensical, and quite frankly, racist.
You’re dead wrong about the race thing.
Maybe you hated Shockey but 99% of Giants fans loved him. Never blamed him once for being the idiot he clearly was. Plax on the other hand caught universal cr@p.
And Tiki is really a great example. He did more for the Giants on offense than anyone other than Eli. He was so respected by the owners that Willington asked to see him while on his death bed. Single handedly took us to the playoffs in 2005 and 2006. Yet Giants fan Loathe him.
Shockey, even after it’s come out how bad a teammate he was to Eli, has never gotten anywhere near the heat Tiki or Plaxico has. And you could argue he was a worse teammate than both.
Herzlich is talked about on this board so frequently because he’s an underdog, a WHITE underdog.
Like I said I’m not calling anyone on here racist, it’s def more of a subconscious thing. There’s no hatred involved, but it has a lot to do with race.
Theres something that White fans seem to embrace about the less skilled white underdog. I keep thinking of the Rocky films. That doesn’t make people racist, but it doesn’t mean that race doesn’t play a factor in it.
You already called everyone a racist……. Now should I say, “how typical”.
Not that I’m saying your black or anything. Who cares what color someone is.