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Newsday is reporting that the Giants are close to a deal with Arrington. The Giants were not interested in “$18 million in guaranteed money, close to $18.5 million that linebacker Julian Peterson got from the Seattle Seahawks in a seven-year, $54-million deal last month.” I wonder what Arrington will end up with?
I’m going to look at LOT and big defensive tackles.
DT – Looking at larger guys, you have Gabe Watson who may be around at #25 but who may not have the heart to be great. The dude was benched his senior season. But he’s big!
Steve Fifita is short at 5’11″ but a big, strong 320 pounds. Projected on most draft sites as a late-round pick/ free agent. I think he’ll be a good run stuffer in the NFL and would be anice fit next to Joseph. I have no idea why this guy would go undrafted and would like to see the Giants draft him.
Johnny Jolly is also projected to go in the later rounds. He’s 6’3″, 320. Another possible run stuffer.
Montavious Stanley is 6’2″, 315. Can stuff the run and rush the passer a bit.
LOT – There’s really one guy I like. Daryn Colledge. I’d be shocked if he was there when we pick in the second but you never know. He is said to have great desire and top intangibles. I love guys who work hard.
The Daily News is reporting that Arrington will visit the Giants again to ake a physical (something he hasn’t done yet). Apparently he wants to sign before the draft. That’s interesting because the Giants are “the only team Arrington is planning to visit before the draft. According to league sources, his only choices are the Giants, Jaguars, Dolphins and Packers. So far none of those teams has been willing to meet his asking price of seven years, $54 million with $18million guaranteed.”
That’s too much for the Giants to pay since Arrington is hardly a sure bet. Barret Green had less injury history than Arrington…
Brandon Short is back with the Giants with a one-year deal with a base salary of $585,000. Sounds nice and cheap to me. Good signing!
What I’m reading here doesn’t add up. Fist it says that this means Arrington probably isn’t coming to the Giants. I doubt we do sign Lavar, but I don’t see how signing a SAM for 585,000/year has any influence.
Then it says that Emmons and Short will compete for the SAM job and Torbor is expected to move to WILL. Is it just me or before the Short signing was Emmons being projected to WILL while Torbor remained at SAM? Considering that Emmons is better in coverage (though I concede that Torbor is the more natural pass rusher) I would expect to see Emmons move to WILL.
Just a little article on a DT and a safety the Giants may be interested in on draft day. And another one.
With the 2006 NFL Draft just a little bit more than a week away, who will the Giants, with the 25th selection in the first round go for, and what positions do they need to be filled to be successful this NFL Season? The positions that the Giants desperately need to fill is Line Backer and are predicted to draft one in the first round. As of now, they have two quality linebackers in Antonio Pierce and Carlos Emmons and will thus need to pick up two quality backers either in free agency. They are attempting to sign former Pro Bowler Lavar Arrington but will still need to draft one quality linebacker in this year
No Giants news other than a good read on Jim Finn in this article. It talks about his history in the NFL, how he’s from new Jersey, how he was a tailback in college, and one thing more: “I want to win a Super Bowl,” he said. “You get tickets every year (as a player) in the NFL, but I refuse to go until I get to play in the game.”
That’s cool!
After reading comments directed to my proclamation that the Giants would win at most seven games in my last post, I decided to analyze the schedule they will face next year and point out the games I believe will be wins and losses for them. Keep in mind that I am predicting games thinking that both teams will be as healthy as possible. It is true that any big injury can make any good team a poor one, but that is not something that can be accurately accounted for this early in the year.
With that in mind here is the first half of the schedule analysis!
Week 1
It’s official. Feagles is retrning for another season. That is very good news for the Giants. Feagles is an excellent punter, and is the holder on field goal attempts. The Giants special teams will be awesome!
Paul Schwartz expects the Giants to take the best linebacker available at 25 becuase Arrington will most likely not be a Giant:
At the moment, the scenario involving LaVar Arrington and the Giants is a dead issue. The Giants do not have an offer on the table and would bring the former Redskins linebacker in only at modest price, which is significantly lower than the bloated contract sought by Arrington’s agents.
There are a number of great prospects expected to be available: Bobby Carpenter, Chad Greenway, and DeMeco Ryans. A.J. Hawk and Ernie Sims are expected to be off the board.
Keep in mind that Emmons is a passable WILL so we don’t need the rookie to start. At least not immeidately. I do have my doubts about Emmons making it through the entire season so I would expect the rookie to end up with some playing time. Of those 3 DeMeco Ryans would be my choice, but all three seem like they could become quality starters to me.
I don’t care about Greenway’s 40 since he won’t be covering running backs 40 yards downfield anyway. At 250+ pounds Carpenter seems more like a SAM but the Giants proved they don’t care about stereotypes when they drafted Jacobs to be a tailback. If the dude can cover, I have no problem with a big WILL.
The next two guys don’t figure into many 1st round mock drafts, but since they are always wrong… Thomas Howard from UTEP can cover and rush the passer. Sounds like WILL material to me. Maryland’s D’Qwell Jackson could make the switch from inside to OLB. I’ve never seen him play so I don’t if he can cover. I’ve read that he plays fast and has good insticts. Sounds good to me.
In the end, it’s not such a bad draft to be forced into taking a linebacker. Let’s just hope the Giants choose the best of the bunch.
