G-Men Latest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F8S8X9o-SA

 

So what’s been going on with the G-Men lately?

Well, Victor Cruz didn’t show up to voluntary workouts (not something to be worried about) and Justin Tuck has been going on about how pathetic of a season he had.

I’m glad to see Tuck has been taking the blame on himself and saying he needs to become a better leader this year like he was back during their super bowl run. He also believes that Giants will have Cruz and be ready to go by week 1.

Michael Boley,  Justin Tuck,  Kenny Phillips

The Cruz situation hasn’t really progressed since he fired Tom Condon and is now represented by Jay Z. Something every Giants fan must be thrilled about! Anyways, Cruz has until Friday for any other teams to approach him and offer him a contract and give the Giants a first round pick in exchange. If not, Cruz will have to sign and play under the restricted free agent tenure of 2.85 million for this year until a deal is worked out.

Cruz is looking to make somewhere around 11 million annually and the Giants are only willing to pay him 7 to 9 million annually, which I might add is more than Wes Welker is making in Denver and he’s been just as productive if not more.

 

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With any luck the situation will be resolved sometime after the draft and the Giants will get one of their primary weapons locked in for the next several years.

As for the draft it’s still a mystery how the Giants will use their first round selection. Many rumors have the Giants trading up to grab Chance Warmack or staying at the 19th pick and taking Manti Te’o or Alec Olgetree.

Whichever route they decide to take they need to address the defensive and offensive lines to add some depth and youth. Also the possibility of drafting a safety in the later rounds wouldn’t be a bad decision to boost their secondary with the loss of Kenny Phillips.

The draft is a week away and all the G-Men fans are excited to gather outside Radio City Music Hall and welcome the newest members to Big Blue family.

Mock Draft Fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMOmJ62yPf4

 

With all the mock drafts floating around the internet I figured I’d jump on the bandwagon and make one myself.

It’s intriguing to judge this draft class because let it be none there is a bunch of talent throughout the players, but lacking in the big name department (the Andrew Luck’s and RGIII’s of the world).

It’s a rich class when it comes to offensive linemen and defensive ends with interesting talent at other positions. So this poses the question: Who’s going to take who?

Other than just naming off my picks I’m also going to examine who I think the Giants should take with the 19th pick, but without further delay here are my first round picks in order by team for the 2013 NFL Draft:

1 Luke Joeckel, OT
Texas A&M
 
2 Sharrif Floyd, DT
Florida
 
3 Bjoern Werner, DE
Florida State
 
4 Dee Milliner, CB
Alabama
 
5 Jarvis Jones, OLB
Georgia
 
6 Ezekiel Ansah, DE
Brigham Young
 
7 Eric Fisher, OT
Central Michigan
 
8 Geno Smith, QB
West Virginia
 
9 Matt Barkley, QB
Southern California
 
10 Star Lotulelei, DT
Utah
 
11 Lane Johnson, OT
Oklahoma
 
12 Cordarrelle Patterson, WR
Tennessee
 
13 Xavier Rhodes, CB
Florida State
 
14 Chance Warmack, OG
Alabama
 
15 Dion Jordan, DE
Oregon
 
16 Jonathan Cooper, OG
North Carolina
 
17 Damontre Moore, DE
Texas A&M
 
18 Kawann Short, DT
Purdue
 
19 Sheldon Richardson, DT
Missouri
 
20 Tyler Eifert, TE
Notre Dame
 
21 Barkevious Mingo, OLB
LSU
 
22
(from )
Kenny Vaccaro, FS
Texas
 
23 Keenan Allen, WR
California
 
24 Desmond Trufant, CB
Washington
 
25 Datone Jones, DE
UCLA
 
26 Alec Ogletree, OLB
Georgia
 
27 Tavon Austin, WR
West Virginia
 
28 Johnathan Hankins, DT
Ohio State
 
29 Robert Woods, WR
Southern California
 
30 Alex Okafor, DE
Texas
 
31 Jesse Williams, DT
Alabama
 
32 D.J. Fluker, OT
Alabama

I believe Sheldon Richardson is who the Giants should aim for if he’s still around that point in the draft. With the G-Men lacking at defensive tackle after releasing Canty a few weeks ago they’ll need someone big and powerful to fill up those holes on the d-line.

Now this is all speculation because the Giants will most certainly take the best player on the board. Though, they should consider focusing on a defensive linemen to help improve their 28th ranked running defense from a year ago.

We’re only a month and a half away from the draft and it should be an exciting one to watch and look forward too.

Wasted Franchise Tag?

 

Did the Giants waste their opportunity to use the franchise tag this past monday? Or was it the right move?

Many people predicted that Giants would use their tag on left tackle Will Beaty, but he agreed to terms on a 5-year contract extension worth 38.7 million on Feb. 27.

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The Giants have other free agents they could’ve signed just as defensive end Osi Umenyoria, safety Kenny Phillips, left guard Kevin Boothe, tight end martellus Bennett, kicker Lawrence Tynes and linebackers Chase Blackburn and Keith Rivers.

Any of these suitors could’ve comeback to the team and made an impact in some fashion, but it seems Reece and Coughlin have chosen to go a younger route with the team this year. By signing these players back they’ll have less cap room to work with and just recently got back under the cap contact restructuring.

One player that they should’ve franchised was Victor Cruz.

Contract talks with him have come to a standstill and don’t seem to be progressing enough before free agency opens on March 12th. It’ll be interesting to see how the Giants will deal with his new contract before then.

Who Should the Giants Draft?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRhaqpILvPU

 

What do the Giants need to address in the draft? Who’s going to be lingering around that 19th pick? Both questions Giants fans are eager to find out.

With so many holes on the Giants roster this offseason it’s hard to pinpoint one specific area the G-Men need to focus on.

Some people would argue that they need to draft defensive players, especially within the secondary and linebacker postions. While others would argue they need help on the offensive line.

Here are three names to consider and might be on the Giants wish list:

Hi-res-155398001_display_image  LB Alec Ogletree, Georgia.  

Hi-res-157285442_display_image  OT D.J. Fluker, Alabama.

Hi-res-154488199_display_image  CB Xavier Rhodes, Florida State.

Any of these players could bring an immedient improvement to the Giants roster.

It’ll be interesting to see what route they choose to go with their first round pick. But as always Jerry Reece and Tom Coughlin will pick the best player on the board and it’s bound to try excitement to the big apple.

 

 

 

Freeney in Blue?

 

Who wouldn’t want that sack machine leading the charge on defense? Apparently not the Indianapolis Colts.

After 11 seasons with the Colts Dwight Freeney has been released and now sits among the  top 4-3 pass rushers on the open market.

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Freeney is the Colts all time leader with 107.5 sacks. While Peyton Manning became know for being the face of the franchise, Dwight Freeney became known as the leader of the defense. One of the most feared pass rushers for a decade he became known for his fierce bull rush technique.

Now that he’s hit free agency, who’s going to win him over?

Teams like the Atlanta Falcons and Green Packers could greatly use his services to boost their average defenses, but how about the team that he grew up watching as a kid?

The Giants could use another relentless pass rusher to coincide with JPP. With Osi Umenyoria now gone and Just Tuck declining the G-Men could benefit greatly from adding a player of Freeney’s caliber for the right price.

There is concern with his age (33) and lack of production this year (5 sacks), but the Giants are lacking in depth at the position. He would be moving back to a 4-3 scheme under Perry Fewell and could have great success with JPP on the other side.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Giants take him into consideration during the new league year (March 12th). Something both Coughlin and Reece should think about during the next few weeks.

The Rebuilding Process Begins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSJAoASi5P8

 

The New York Giants have begun their house cleaning a little early this offseason. It began with the release of Michael Boley and now the G-Men have parted ways with veteran running back Ahmad Bradshaw & defensive tackle Chris Canty.

Both players were vital parts of the Giants superbowl run last year and solid starters at their positions. Though, the price of keeping both of them would limit big blue from several million dollars in cap space. The Giants have other areas of the team to improve on and 22 other free agents to re-sign, such as Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks.

The leadership and production that Bradshaw and Canty brought will be missed, but opens the door for younger players to set up and fill that void.

imgres2012 1st Round pick David Wilson and 4 year vet Andre Brown will be the running backs coming into next season. Wilson has a chance to shine as he proved toward the end of last season that he has what it takes to be a starter with his unique speed and elusiveness.  Brown is a great power runner that will be a good rotational guy and red-zone threat.

Markus Kuhn and Marvin Austin have a lot to prove this season after coming back from injuries. Both are talented DT’s and need to show they can stay healthy to fill the role that Canty brought to the defensive line.

Giants Eagles Football

The Giants have more depth at positions than people give them credit for, but still have some work to do to maintain that core foundation. Free agency and the draft will be interesting to watch we’ll see how Reece and Coughlin answer the call. Though, they’ll certainly made some big moves to start.

 

 

Boley Released

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4wMri4nsuo

 

Michael Boley has been released by the Giants and now lurks among the free agent market. This comes as no surprise considering his pace of play has declined this year due to several shoulder injuries.

He started 11 games this season and played in all 16. He racked up 84 tackles, 3 interceptions, half a sack, and two fumble recoveries.

imgres  The key factor in his release was the 550 passing yards he let up in pass coverage. He was brought to the team in 2009 because of his exceptional pass coverage skills and tackling ability. Though, his play this season didn’t display those skills like during last year’s super bowl run.

“We recognized his special skills were in coverage. He’s a smart player who made some big plays for us. He was an integral part of our Super Bowl XLVI championship team. Michael played outstanding football down the stretch for us that season” said Tom Coughlin.

In realty Boley shouldn’t have been released because he was still one of the better starting linebackers on the Giants squad. It was the 6 million dollar price cap that Jerry Reece didn’t want to pay for when the G-Men have 22 other free agents to resign on the team.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Giants plan to fill the void of Boley, whether that be through the draft or free agency. And where will the next stop be Boley himself? All questions soon to be answered.

 

Should the Giants pursue Revis?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cERNVVo9kIw

Courtesy of CBSSports

The rumors of New York Jets All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis being on the trading block have been circulating around the NFL for weeks now. Leaving fans with one simple question, where’s he going to land?

According to Revis’ twitter feed he was completely unaware of the occurring plans for him to be dealt and was left “speechless” due to the rumors.

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Now in retrospect this wouldn’t be the first time people from Jets camp would try and pull a stunt to make major headlines and grab media attention, aka Tim Tebow. But let’s pretend for a second that the rumors are true, if Woody Johnson actually plans to deal Revis to another team who could best utilize his talents? What kind of value can the Jets get for him? Will another team be willing to pay his 6 million in base salary next year and then sign him to a long term deal?

The Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots have expressed interest in the star corner, but the Jets have no plans on dealing him within the division. So why not consider the team that plays in the same building?

The New York Giants ranked 28th overall in pass defense this year and many fans have credited that to the colossal defensive impulsion they suffered as a result. Looking at the corners on the Giants roster isn’t a very appealing one. Cory Webster is entering the final year of his contract and his performance this year doesn’t warrant him to be receiving an extension anytime soon. Terrell Thomas has been plagued by injuries and hasn’t played a defensive snap in over two years. 19th overall pick in 2011 Prince Amukamara and 3rd Round pick in 2012 Jarod Hosley haven’t had enough time to develop in the Giants defensive scheme due to injuries.

Enter the possibility of Revis Island. Adding a shutdown corner like Revis would boost the g-mens secondary quite significantly and potentially restore their fierce pass rush they’ve become known for. Now, would Jerry Reece and Tom Coughlin actually make a bold move to acquire the corner?

The Giants have never been known to make big splashes in free agency since Coughlin and Reece know how to build teams based on talent from the draft. They’ve won two superbowls during their tenure and neither team had a star corner like Revis. So the move is very unlikely to occur.

Though, it’s not to say that such a trade couldn’t happen. It’s just very unlike the nature of the Giants to take part in unless the price is right. Only time will tell the outcome of this story and within the next few weeks we’ll have a clearer picture into what the Jets plan on doing with Revis. For now, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the show or as T.O. would say “get your popcorn ready”.