By: Alex Lewin - InReeseWeTrust.com 6/22/10
The 2010 draft marked the fourth draft class that Jerry Reese was at the helm of and arguably the most pressurized. The Giants are coming off a despicable 8-8 season in which team co-owner John Mara called it “more like a 2-14 season than an 8-8 season.” The words hit home for the Giants and their fans; starting out 5-0 first place in the NFC, to stunningly finishing 3-8 and out of the playoffs. Changes had to be made, and they were, first with the dismissal of much maligned Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan, replacing him with former Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, and the signing of free safety Antrel Rolle to a record contract, the most ever for a safety. The Giants knew they needed to add depth in April’s draft, and they did just that. The first round selection of athletic freak Jason Pierre-Paul was straight out of the Ernie Accorsi hand book; drafting for depth instead of for need. Pierre-Paul is sort of an enigma, an athletic freak of nature, who can do dozens of cart wheel hand-stands, but will he be able to shed blocks from some of the top offensive lineman in the game? So far during mini-camp JPP has been a force on the line, shedding through blocks and even starting a fight with Rich Seuburt, the longest tenure Giant and arguably most respected. I can see the Giants using Pierre-Paul mainly on third down passing situations this year; much liked they used Justin Tuck in his rookie season. Like Tuck, Pierre-Paul, in my opinion, will be used inside, trying to push up the middle and hurry the quarterback in making a mistake on third and long.
Linval Joseph was the Giants second round selection and in my opinion Reese’s best move of the draft. Joseph is a force, an immovable object at 6’4 330 he stared at East Carolina under Skip Holtz and was regarded one of the top five best defensive tackles in this year’s draft. The Giants were ecstatic to grab him at 46th and having him in the middle brings the Giants a player they desperately needed. As you already know, the Giants defensive line was horrific last season, much of the problem due to the fact that they could not stop the run. Well here comes big Linval Joseph to solve that problem, act as a William Perry type player to clog the middle and shut down the run. In my mind, Joseph should start alongside Barry Coefield, however due do the $50 million they invested in Chris Canty last off season, Joseph will likely see the field on short yardage situation, primarily in goal line package. Canty has a lot to prove this season, and if Joseph shows promise and Canty has another disappointing year, it could mean the end of Chris Canty come 2011.
With their third round pick, the Giants surprised everyone and took Chad Jones out of LSU. Jones, who was considered a potential top baseball prospect if he went that route, is a ball hawk who can fly around the field. The opinions on Jones seem to vary with some scouts feeling he is a special teamer at best while some disagree with that notion and feel he is going to turn out to be a game changing safety. One thing this pick tells you for sure is that the Kenny Phillips is a long way away from stepping on that field. You got to love Phillips’ effort and his attitude to get back on that field, but the Giants HAVE to know that simply is not realistic at this point. Its possible Phillips will be back for the second half of the season, but frankly I don’t see it and I think privately the Giants personnel would agree with me. Which brings me to how the Giants are going to use Jones this season and there are a few options. For one, Jones can be used as a punt returner now that Domenik Hixon is out for the season. However, Aaron Ross will get first shot at that opportunity, so Jones will have to impress come July during training camp. Second, he could be used as a special teamer and in prevent defense along with major passing situation when the Giants need six defensive backs on the field. I am leaning towards Jones paying his dues on special teams this year since he is right now the fourth safety on the roster even if you eliminate Kenny Phillips.
Phil Dillard was picked in the fourth round by the team and finally ended the Giants long hunt for a middle linebacker. The problem with Dillard is that he can very well have been a product of Ndamukong Suh’s dominance last season at Nebraska. The Giants will find out in the next few years, but unlike if they picked Ronaldo McClain earlier in the draft, Dillard will not start, and might not even beat out Chase Blackburn as the number two middle linebacker. Dillard will almost surely play on special teams this season unless there is a major injury to Jonathon Goff, Gerris Wilkinson, or Chase Blackburn. I know the Giants are getting a lot of heat for not taking a middle linebacker, but when the Raiders shocked everyone and took McClain at number eight, the Giants decided that they were going to wait until the time was right and then pick a middle linebacker of their choice instead of reaching for one. The Giants REFUSE to reach for draft picks; it has been their MO ever since Ernie Accorsi took over for George Young in 1997 and Reese, who is an Accorsi disciple, will not steer towards another direction. I applauded the Giants organization for taking on that philosophy, however, the Giants are left with a gigantic hole in the middle linebacker position. The Giants privately feel that Jonathon Goff will emerge as a talent and that the defensive line will be so good that it will generate enough pressure that the middle linebacker will not be exposed, like the 2007 team. However, that team had Antonio Pierce who not only was one of the leaders of that defense, but was still a ball hawk tackling machine at that point in his career. I think that the Giants are making a big mistake and might pay for it down the road when teams run right up the middle and run crossing routes all day through the middle of the field. You saw last year up close and personal how exposed a team can look if there is not a middle linebacker on the field, in my opinion the second or third most important position. I just hope the same does not happen again in 2010.
As for picks five through seven, the Giants picked up guard Mitch Petrus out of Arkansas who will help with provide the team with depth. Sixth round selection was Adrian Tracy out of small William & Mary college who, if he makes the team, will take up a special teams spot and nothing more. Seventh and last round selection was that of punter Matt Dodge, a teammate of second round pick Linval Joseph at East Carolina. Dodge has a golden opportunity now that Jeff Feagles has retired leaving an empty spot at punter for the Giants going into 2010. Dodge will compete with former Aussie Rules football player Jy Bond to replace Feagles who was one of the best punters the Giants have ever in their franchise’s history, a fixture on the team since 2003.
With all the new names and faces, it should be a very exciting training camp for the New York Giants come mid July, a team Justin Tuck has nicknamed “The Redeem team.” We will certainly see if this rookie class could make an impact to a very important New York Giants season.
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