By Giants.com 1/25/10
Monday, January 25, 2010
GREAT BLUE NORTH GIANTS DRAFT REPORT Vol 4, No 17 January 24, 2009
What ends badly usually ends badly!
That was certainly the case for the 2009 Giants who literally petered out in a pair of dismal season-ending losses to Carolina and Minnesota by a combined score of 85-16 that probably flattered the Giants. Indeed, what was so shocking about the losses, especially the pounding they took at the hands of Carolina two weeks ago, was the utter lack of intensity and emotion shown by the Giants who at least when the Panthers’ game kicked off, were still very much in the hunt for a n NFC wild card. Instead, for the first time in 5 years, the Giants ended up watching the post-season on television like the rest of us. And that certainly what anybody, least of all the Giants football hierarchy, expected when the team roared out of the gate to a 5-0 start, only to inexplicably go 3-8 the rest of the way and barely finish the season at .500.
Needless to say, the inexplicable collapse of the Giants over the course of the last three months has left ownership, G.M. Jerry Reese, head coach Tom Coughlin and the rest of the team’s brain trust scrambling to answer what went wrong and what needs to be done to get back on track in 2010. The big question that they will have to answer was whether 2009 was an aberration resulting from some combination of injuries, latent Super Bowl hangover, bad luck and just plain bad year which teams do have or whether a fundamental rebuilding of the roster is required.
Team owner John Mara left little doubt how he felt when, sounding all the part of a disgruntled sports radio talk show caller he ripped into the team from top to bottom saying among other things that the past 8-8 season felt more like 2-14. Mara went on to say that said he was disappointed and unhappy with everyone in the organization and promised major changes. Of course, those changes weren‘t long in coming as embattled defensive co-ordinator Bill Sheridan was unceremoniously fired the day after the season ended, while defensive line coach Mike Waufle wasn’t far behind. Waufle’s dismissal though may have more to do with the fact that he reportedly bitched to management about his status with the team in a post-season interview.
On the other hand, Jerry Reese, Tom Coughlin and company appear to be more inclined to stick to tinkering, at least for another year, before embarking on a full-scale rebuilding job. For starters, there is only so much one can do in a single year anyway. Even in a good year, for example, teams can really only reasonably expect 2-3 draft picks - and even that may be a tad optimistic - to come in and really contribute right away. Plus with all the uncertainty of the possibility of an uncapped year on the horizon, free agency may actually tighter than usual this off-season.
At the same time, unlike say 1992, or even 1964 for you real old timers out there, the Giants are far from an aging team that has pretty much run its course. Indeed, the team’s core is still relatively young, at least in football terms, although there clearly is some age creeping in along the offensive line and at DT. For the most part, though, from QB Eli Manning on down, the team’s best players are still very much in what should be their football primes.
It is also very difficult, if not impossible to minimize the impact of the myriad of injuries that befell the Giants this season. No team wants to make injuries an excuse, but it is just difficult to imagine that having one’s QB play all year with a painful foot injury, to have the team’s best defensive player play all year with basically one arm, to lose the team’s one decent safety for the year in the third week of the schedule, to have every RB and every DT on the roster impacted by a significant injury issue, to get almost nothing from the #2-3 CBs because of injuries suffered in training camp, etc. just isn’t going to have a devastating impact at some point sooner or later.
All that said, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that heading into the off-season there are a number of areas that the Giants have to address including safety, defensive tackle, and MLB, along with the kicking game. Still, it wouldn’t be a total surprise if the first issue the Giants address this off-season is the pass-rush, or more accurately, the abysmal lack thereof this past season. The fact that DE Justin Tuck, the team’s best defensive player, was just a shell of himself after dislocating his shoulder when fouled in Dallas in the second week, as well as that the DT rotation seldom, if ever, actually showed up on game day certainly contributed. It was the ineffectiveness of DE Osi Umenyiora that is probably the most lingering sore spot that has to be addressed. What the Giants will have to do in the next few weeks is decide whether the lousy year from Umenyiora, who did have a team-leading 7 sacks, but never got anything even starting to resemble consistent pressure at any time during the season, was a result of the lingering effects of the knee injury in 2008 or reflects a long-term decline in his play. In the end, the Giants probably go with the former and keep Umenyiora around for another year as he is still young and relatively cheap in terms of the salary cap. What the Giants are likely to do, though, is put in place a contingency plan beyond Mathias Kiwanuka for 2010 just in case the Osi of 2009 is the Osi they get next season. In particular, it shouldn’t be a total shock if the Giants were to draft a DE no later than the 3rd or 4th rounds this coming; in fact, it wouldn’t be a total shock here if the Giants took a DE as early as the second round this year. Remember, the primary guiding philosophy of the Giants’ organization the past few years has been to get after the passer. Figure that the pass rush gets better simply if Tuck gets healthy, but still we’d be shocked if they didn’t address it is some fashion this off-season.
Meanwhile, we’d be thrilled if the Giants were to consider moving Kiwanuka, one of the few Giants’ defenders who appeared to be playing hard this fall, back to SLB next fall, especially if they can add some depth at the position in the draft. Kiwanuka, who was 4th on the team in tackles, but had only three sacks, just doesn’t have quite the explosion or strength to consistently beat NFL OTs when lined up with his hand on the ground, but is much better when operating in space. At the same time, the Giants have to decide what they have at MLB in second-year MLB Jonathan Goff who replaced veteran Antonio Pierce and was adequate, although the second coming of Harry Carson he wasn’t. Even if the Giants decide they need to upgrade from Goff, who is smart, quick and relentless, but isn’t that big, strong or physical and may not have great instincts, we still aren’t convinced that LB be a prime priority for the Giants this off-season as many in the media, not to mention the fandom are speculating.
In particular, the Giants signed WLB Michael Boley to be their 3rd down LB last off-season. Use a high pick on a MLB like Rolando McClain of Alabama in the first round of this year’s draft and you are almost by definition committed to either using a second LB on passing downs, or having your #1 pick be a two-down player. And we certainly wouldn’t rule out taking a MLB like McClain, however, the bottom line is that one isn’t going to get faster on defense, nor all that much better against the pass, by taking a prototype 260-pound run-stuffing LB with mid-4.7 type 40 speed.
At the same time, there probably isn’t as much urgency on the other side of the ball, however, the Giants also need to make an assessment of what they have in OT William Beatty, the team’s second round pick at the 2009 draft. Beatty made some significant strides during the course of the season, but still seldom looked the part of a future shut-down LT while filling in for Kareem McKenzie the final month of the schedule. Beatty appears to have the quickness and agility to handle the outside, but got pushed around way too much by more physical DEs (as well as some that aren‘t). Certainly, Beatty should benefit by an off-season the weight room but there questions as to just how much additional bulk and strength his frame will permit.
Maybe the only benefit to the Giants slide at the end of the year was that they will end up with the 15th pick overall in the opening round of the 2010 draft. And in what looks to be a potentially better than average draft year, the Giants should have some interesting options on April 22nd. Locks there aren’t though.
At safety, for example, Tennessee junior Eric Berry is likely to be long gone by the time the Giants get on the clock, however, there is a better than even chance that either, or both, of FSs Taylor Mays of Southern Cal or Texas sophomore Earl Thomas will still be there at #15. The 235-pound Mays isn’t always that instinctive or athletic in coverage and is coming off a disappointing injury-plagued senior season, but is a thumper with the sub-4.4 speed to outrun a lot of mistakes. Meanwhile, Thomas isn’t all that big at barely 5-20, 200 and isn’t the greatest tackler out there, but has sub-4.4 speed as well as terrific ball skills. Indeed, there is more than one NFL team looking at Thomas as a potential corner.
There is also an outside chance that the afore-mentioned Rolando McClain of Alabama could drop into the middle of this year’s opening round especially if he doesn‘t run that well at pre-draft testing. McClain also may be a little tall, at almost 6-4, for a 4-3 MLB, but is very instinctive and - like Antonio Pierce - is known as a heady coach on the field. On the other hand, there is something of a drop-off at MLB after McClain, although Florida’s Brandon Spikes would be decent value in the latter part of the opening round.
If there is one key position for the Giants which may not be setting up all that well for the Giants, at least in the opening round, is DT. Superstars Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska and Oklahoma junior Gerald McCoy are top 5 guys, while the next best of the DT class are more late first-round types. UCLA junior Brian Price, who led all of college football in tackles for loss last fall, is the best of the rest, but likely would be a reach at #15 as he isn’t all that tall at barely 6-2 and is known to have something of an inconsistent motor.
No one should be totally surprised if the Giants go in another direction with this year’s opening round pick. Indeed, there are a couple of real wild cards out there. On the one hand, there could be a couple of junior DEs just to good to pass on in this year’s opening round. Carlos Dunlap of Florida, for example, is a 6-5, 290-pounder who had been considered a potential top 5 type - if not a possible #1 pick overall - but saw his status plummet when he was suspended from the SEC championship showdown with Alabama after being arrested for a DUI just days before the big game. Meanwhile, no player in this year’s draft class has more physical upside than South Florida DE Jason Pierre-Paul who is a relative newcomer to football, but is a rangy 6-5, 265-pounder with uncommon speed and quickness.
Meanwhile, the strength of this year’s opening round could be the offensive line class which includes, among others, Idaho OG Mike Iupati and junior LTs Brian Bulaga of Iowa and Anthony Davis of Rutgers each of whom could be considered just too good to pass on. The 330-pound Iupati, who actually has the feet to play OT at the next level, unparticular, is something of a hidden gem.
The better news for the Giants is that while the front end talent in the 2010 draft class is good, there is also terrific depth meaning the Giants need not force anything in the opening round. Indeed, with their second pick - the 46th selection overall - for example, the Giants could have their choice of a number of very promising DTs including Jared Odrick of Penn State, Dan Williams of Tennessee, super-quick Arthur Jones of Syracuse and possibly even Terrence ‘Mount’ Cody of Alabama. Meanwhile, safeties Nate Allen of South Florida, along with juniors Morgan Burnett of Georgia Tech and LSU’s Chad Jones would also be good value at that point, as would any of several DEs including Greg Hardy of Ole Miss, Corey Wootton of Northwestern, and George Selvie of South Florida. Moving onto the 3rd round, where the Giants have the 76th pick, figure that players like safeties Darrell Stuckey of Kansas, Major Wright of Florida and T.J. Ward of Oregon, DEs Rahim Alem of LSU, Lindsey Witten of UConn, Brandon Lang of Troy and small-school sleeper Austin Lane of Murray State. For good measure, there could also be a passle of pretty good DTs available at that point including Vince Oghobaase of Duke, Lamarr Houston of Texas, Tyson Aluaha of California, Torrell Troup of Central Florida and Boo Smith of Louisiana Tech.
Let the vetting begin!
That was certainly the case for the 2009 Giants who literally petered out in a pair of dismal season-ending losses to Carolina and Minnesota by a combined score of 85-16 that probably flattered the Giants. Indeed, what was so shocking about the losses, especially the pounding they took at the hands of Carolina two weeks ago, was the utter lack of intensity and emotion shown by the Giants who at least when the Panthers’ game kicked off, were still very much in the hunt for a n NFC wild card. Instead, for the first time in 5 years, the Giants ended up watching the post-season on television like the rest of us. And that certainly what anybody, least of all the Giants football hierarchy, expected when the team roared out of the gate to a 5-0 start, only to inexplicably go 3-8 the rest of the way and barely finish the season at .500.
Needless to say, the inexplicable collapse of the Giants over the course of the last three months has left ownership, G.M. Jerry Reese, head coach Tom Coughlin and the rest of the team’s brain trust scrambling to answer what went wrong and what needs to be done to get back on track in 2010. The big question that they will have to answer was whether 2009 was an aberration resulting from some combination of injuries, latent Super Bowl hangover, bad luck and just plain bad year which teams do have or whether a fundamental rebuilding of the roster is required.
Team owner John Mara left little doubt how he felt when, sounding all the part of a disgruntled sports radio talk show caller he ripped into the team from top to bottom saying among other things that the past 8-8 season felt more like 2-14. Mara went on to say that said he was disappointed and unhappy with everyone in the organization and promised major changes. Of course, those changes weren‘t long in coming as embattled defensive co-ordinator Bill Sheridan was unceremoniously fired the day after the season ended, while defensive line coach Mike Waufle wasn’t far behind. Waufle’s dismissal though may have more to do with the fact that he reportedly bitched to management about his status with the team in a post-season interview.
On the other hand, Jerry Reese, Tom Coughlin and company appear to be more inclined to stick to tinkering, at least for another year, before embarking on a full-scale rebuilding job. For starters, there is only so much one can do in a single year anyway. Even in a good year, for example, teams can really only reasonably expect 2-3 draft picks - and even that may be a tad optimistic - to come in and really contribute right away. Plus with all the uncertainty of the possibility of an uncapped year on the horizon, free agency may actually tighter than usual this off-season.
At the same time, unlike say 1992, or even 1964 for you real old timers out there, the Giants are far from an aging team that has pretty much run its course. Indeed, the team’s core is still relatively young, at least in football terms, although there clearly is some age creeping in along the offensive line and at DT. For the most part, though, from QB Eli Manning on down, the team’s best players are still very much in what should be their football primes.
It is also very difficult, if not impossible to minimize the impact of the myriad of injuries that befell the Giants this season. No team wants to make injuries an excuse, but it is just difficult to imagine that having one’s QB play all year with a painful foot injury, to have the team’s best defensive player play all year with basically one arm, to lose the team’s one decent safety for the year in the third week of the schedule, to have every RB and every DT on the roster impacted by a significant injury issue, to get almost nothing from the #2-3 CBs because of injuries suffered in training camp, etc. just isn’t going to have a devastating impact at some point sooner or later.
All that said, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that heading into the off-season there are a number of areas that the Giants have to address including safety, defensive tackle, and MLB, along with the kicking game. Still, it wouldn’t be a total surprise if the first issue the Giants address this off-season is the pass-rush, or more accurately, the abysmal lack thereof this past season. The fact that DE Justin Tuck, the team’s best defensive player, was just a shell of himself after dislocating his shoulder when fouled in Dallas in the second week, as well as that the DT rotation seldom, if ever, actually showed up on game day certainly contributed. It was the ineffectiveness of DE Osi Umenyiora that is probably the most lingering sore spot that has to be addressed. What the Giants will have to do in the next few weeks is decide whether the lousy year from Umenyiora, who did have a team-leading 7 sacks, but never got anything even starting to resemble consistent pressure at any time during the season, was a result of the lingering effects of the knee injury in 2008 or reflects a long-term decline in his play. In the end, the Giants probably go with the former and keep Umenyiora around for another year as he is still young and relatively cheap in terms of the salary cap. What the Giants are likely to do, though, is put in place a contingency plan beyond Mathias Kiwanuka for 2010 just in case the Osi of 2009 is the Osi they get next season. In particular, it shouldn’t be a total shock if the Giants were to draft a DE no later than the 3rd or 4th rounds this coming; in fact, it wouldn’t be a total shock here if the Giants took a DE as early as the second round this year. Remember, the primary guiding philosophy of the Giants’ organization the past few years has been to get after the passer. Figure that the pass rush gets better simply if Tuck gets healthy, but still we’d be shocked if they didn’t address it is some fashion this off-season.
Meanwhile, we’d be thrilled if the Giants were to consider moving Kiwanuka, one of the few Giants’ defenders who appeared to be playing hard this fall, back to SLB next fall, especially if they can add some depth at the position in the draft. Kiwanuka, who was 4th on the team in tackles, but had only three sacks, just doesn’t have quite the explosion or strength to consistently beat NFL OTs when lined up with his hand on the ground, but is much better when operating in space. At the same time, the Giants have to decide what they have at MLB in second-year MLB Jonathan Goff who replaced veteran Antonio Pierce and was adequate, although the second coming of Harry Carson he wasn’t. Even if the Giants decide they need to upgrade from Goff, who is smart, quick and relentless, but isn’t that big, strong or physical and may not have great instincts, we still aren’t convinced that LB be a prime priority for the Giants this off-season as many in the media, not to mention the fandom are speculating.
In particular, the Giants signed WLB Michael Boley to be their 3rd down LB last off-season. Use a high pick on a MLB like Rolando McClain of Alabama in the first round of this year’s draft and you are almost by definition committed to either using a second LB on passing downs, or having your #1 pick be a two-down player. And we certainly wouldn’t rule out taking a MLB like McClain, however, the bottom line is that one isn’t going to get faster on defense, nor all that much better against the pass, by taking a prototype 260-pound run-stuffing LB with mid-4.7 type 40 speed.
At the same time, there probably isn’t as much urgency on the other side of the ball, however, the Giants also need to make an assessment of what they have in OT William Beatty, the team’s second round pick at the 2009 draft. Beatty made some significant strides during the course of the season, but still seldom looked the part of a future shut-down LT while filling in for Kareem McKenzie the final month of the schedule. Beatty appears to have the quickness and agility to handle the outside, but got pushed around way too much by more physical DEs (as well as some that aren‘t). Certainly, Beatty should benefit by an off-season the weight room but there questions as to just how much additional bulk and strength his frame will permit.
Maybe the only benefit to the Giants slide at the end of the year was that they will end up with the 15th pick overall in the opening round of the 2010 draft. And in what looks to be a potentially better than average draft year, the Giants should have some interesting options on April 22nd. Locks there aren’t though.
At safety, for example, Tennessee junior Eric Berry is likely to be long gone by the time the Giants get on the clock, however, there is a better than even chance that either, or both, of FSs Taylor Mays of Southern Cal or Texas sophomore Earl Thomas will still be there at #15. The 235-pound Mays isn’t always that instinctive or athletic in coverage and is coming off a disappointing injury-plagued senior season, but is a thumper with the sub-4.4 speed to outrun a lot of mistakes. Meanwhile, Thomas isn’t all that big at barely 5-20, 200 and isn’t the greatest tackler out there, but has sub-4.4 speed as well as terrific ball skills. Indeed, there is more than one NFL team looking at Thomas as a potential corner.
There is also an outside chance that the afore-mentioned Rolando McClain of Alabama could drop into the middle of this year’s opening round especially if he doesn‘t run that well at pre-draft testing. McClain also may be a little tall, at almost 6-4, for a 4-3 MLB, but is very instinctive and - like Antonio Pierce - is known as a heady coach on the field. On the other hand, there is something of a drop-off at MLB after McClain, although Florida’s Brandon Spikes would be decent value in the latter part of the opening round.
If there is one key position for the Giants which may not be setting up all that well for the Giants, at least in the opening round, is DT. Superstars Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska and Oklahoma junior Gerald McCoy are top 5 guys, while the next best of the DT class are more late first-round types. UCLA junior Brian Price, who led all of college football in tackles for loss last fall, is the best of the rest, but likely would be a reach at #15 as he isn’t all that tall at barely 6-2 and is known to have something of an inconsistent motor.
No one should be totally surprised if the Giants go in another direction with this year’s opening round pick. Indeed, there are a couple of real wild cards out there. On the one hand, there could be a couple of junior DEs just to good to pass on in this year’s opening round. Carlos Dunlap of Florida, for example, is a 6-5, 290-pounder who had been considered a potential top 5 type - if not a possible #1 pick overall - but saw his status plummet when he was suspended from the SEC championship showdown with Alabama after being arrested for a DUI just days before the big game. Meanwhile, no player in this year’s draft class has more physical upside than South Florida DE Jason Pierre-Paul who is a relative newcomer to football, but is a rangy 6-5, 265-pounder with uncommon speed and quickness.
Meanwhile, the strength of this year’s opening round could be the offensive line class which includes, among others, Idaho OG Mike Iupati and junior LTs Brian Bulaga of Iowa and Anthony Davis of Rutgers each of whom could be considered just too good to pass on. The 330-pound Iupati, who actually has the feet to play OT at the next level, unparticular, is something of a hidden gem.
The better news for the Giants is that while the front end talent in the 2010 draft class is good, there is also terrific depth meaning the Giants need not force anything in the opening round. Indeed, with their second pick - the 46th selection overall - for example, the Giants could have their choice of a number of very promising DTs including Jared Odrick of Penn State, Dan Williams of Tennessee, super-quick Arthur Jones of Syracuse and possibly even Terrence ‘Mount’ Cody of Alabama. Meanwhile, safeties Nate Allen of South Florida, along with juniors Morgan Burnett of Georgia Tech and LSU’s Chad Jones would also be good value at that point, as would any of several DEs including Greg Hardy of Ole Miss, Corey Wootton of Northwestern, and George Selvie of South Florida. Moving onto the 3rd round, where the Giants have the 76th pick, figure that players like safeties Darrell Stuckey of Kansas, Major Wright of Florida and T.J. Ward of Oregon, DEs Rahim Alem of LSU, Lindsey Witten of UConn, Brandon Lang of Troy and small-school sleeper Austin Lane of Murray State. For good measure, there could also be a passle of pretty good DTs available at that point including Vince Oghobaase of Duke, Lamarr Houston of Texas, Tyson Aluaha of California, Torrell Troup of Central Florida and Boo Smith of Louisiana Tech.
Let the vetting begin!
Great Blue North Giants Mock Draft 1/25/10
Labels:
2010 NFL Mock Drafts,
Die Hard's Updates
Earl Thomas, SS from University of Texas has been flying up the draft boards and to be honest, I don't think he will be available after at 11, let alone pick 15. He has incredible skills and his only downside in my mind his is size. He is not a big safety compared to the normal safeties draft high in the 1st round. This is a guy that I will keep my eye on as we get closer to draft day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)