Paul Schwartz writes that the Giants are expected to try to sign Jonas Jennings if the price is right. Interesting that he ignores the Orlando Pace rumors. He also argues that aside from a middle linebacker, most acquisitions will be on offense. Accorsi had this to say:
"We're not going to be married to any formula; we're going to do what's best," Accorsi said. "We don't need 1,000 players for depth like we did last year. Obviously we want to improve all positions, it's just you don't have to stave off an exodus because we're not going to have an exodus."
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Next Level Scouting's day 3 combine report has this to say:
Tennessee senior running back CEDRIC HOUSTON was 5102, 225 pounds, but decided not to workout here at the Combine because he has been ill the past few weeks. Carolina, Cleveland, Dallas and NY Giants were among the teams mentioned by him, as having shown the most interest to date.
I must be dreaming... It seems that the Giants are trying to work out a trade for Orlando Pace:
Giants officials played down the talks, but some reports in New York have gone so far as to mention offensive tackle Luke Petitgout and cornerback Will Allen as potential trade bait with the Rams.The concern here is salary cap related. If we have to pay him something 8 million a season (the franchise tag means 8.4 million), that's a huge chuck of cap space.
The Giants have cut or waived 5 guys and should be saving about 1 million in cap space for 2005. The cuts are Terry Cousin, Omar Stoutmire, Lorenzo Bromell, and Martin Chase. The Giants waived running back Antoine Womack.
What does it all mean? Well I can only speculate with the draft and free agency ahead, but I imagaine that the Giants fans shouting for Shaun Williams to be cut will have to wait a while. You wouldn't want Alexander, Wilson, and Burns to be our only safeties, would you?
Terry Cousin is no loss. I honestly thought a veteran corener who was a starter not too long ago would be a fine nickle back but I was completely wrong.
Martin Chase wasn't much of a backup as we really felt a difference when Hand went down. He won't be missed.
I'm a little surprised Womack was cut - I guess I just don't understand why reports said he looked impressive in training camp but still couldn't beat out Dayne. The Giants actually had to go looking for a short yardage back (Cloud) last season.
Charles Robinson writes that there are some good running backs in the 2005 draft, and some will be available in the later rounds.
This may be a good year for the Giants to try to find a successor for Tiki Barber. He doesn't seem to be slowing down, but how long do small running backs generally last in the NFL?
Of course, the counter argument is that the Giants have too many holes to fill to waste a pick on a running back, but if we're trying to fill an immediate need with a late round pick, we are in serious trouble. I would say that if the Giants are on the clock and the best player available is a running back we should go for it. But maybe not if that back is Maurice Clarett.
Here's an interesting look at how the combine isn't as helpful for scouts as it used to be. Also interesting was this:
Polian said he has tracked draft choices for 26 years and free-agent signees for 10, and his math shows there is a small but significant margin for error.Average teams are right 50 about percent of the time. Playoff and Super Bowl teams make the right call 56 or 57 percent of the time. And those teams that keep drafting in the top 10 make the right choice only 42 percent of the time.
"You're dealing with humans, so it's not an exact science," Polian said of making the right calls. "But if you bat .560 in the personnel business, you'll be in the playoffs every year."
Recently I wrote my free agent wishlist and it included Donovan Darius. However, the Jags have franchised him, and he's not worth two first round picks so I don't see the Giants going after him.
Gary Myers from the Daily News writes that Scott Pioli, the Pats vice president of player personnel, wants to work for the Giants! The argument is convincing. Here's part of it:
His contract with the Patriots is up after the 2006 draft, and one source says the Giants are his dream job. He grew up a Giants fan in Washingtonville, N.Y., about 60 miles north of the city. His father-in-law is Bill Parcells.
So the first player taken in the NFL Europe draft was Ahmad Childress, a Giant. Here's the complete list:
DT Ahmad Childress, 1st Round Pick by the Hamburg Sea DevilsInterestingly missing is Jared Lorenzen, a Giant who Accorsi said would be in NFL Europe for 2005.
HB Clarence Farmer, 10th Round - Rhein Fire
CB Lamont Brightful, 10th Round - Frankfurt Galaxy
WR Ataveus Cash, 12th Round - Amsterdam Admirals
WR Tony Johnson, 15th Round - Amsterdam Admirals
OT Morgan Pears, 24th Round - Rhein Fire
The Giants want to know that Xanadu will be closed on game days before they invest in a new stadium.
Another problem is that the Jets may not get their stadium in Manhattan so what happens if they stay in NJ?
Not much real Giants news, so I bring you this book review for America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation by Michael MacCambridge from Random House, 552 pp., illustrated, $27.95. It does briefly mention the Giants:
...football didn't really begin its ascent to widespread popularity until 1958, when the NFL Championship game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts stopped the nation's sports fans in their tracks. With the explosion in the popularity of television, that thrilling contest settled in overtime and known to football history as ''the Greatest Game Ever Played" was seen by more Americans than any other football game before it. Yet two years later, when the owners of the NFL's 12 teams elected Pete Rozelle to succeed Bert Bell as commissioner, baseball fans still outnumbered football fans by a wide margin.
The New York Post is reporting that the Giants are one of the worst off teams in the NFL - we are 5.5 million under the 2005 cap. I hope they are wrong, because 5.5 million isn't going to do much in free agency.
A list of available free agents from Sportsline. If you ask me who I really want there are two main guys I'd love to see in Giants blue:
1. Ed Hartwell - I'm not as down on Keven Lewis as a lot of Giants fans, but if you want a dominating defense Hartwell would be a huge step in the right direction. We need to be tougher against the run than we were in 2004 and I don't blame the defensive line.
2. Donovan Darius - Much better than Shaun Williams and probably won't be as expensive either. We would then have some leverage in forcing SW to restructure. If he does, we could consider cutting Stoutmire (though I do like Omar on special teams).
There. I think that would give us a really good defense. As for offense, I can't see the money a premeir tackle would cost being worth it for us. What else do we need? A receiver.
What would also be nice - While I'd love to see Taylor and/or Carter become reliable threats and have one playing opposite Toomer, and while Tyree and Ponder work hard, I'd like to see the Giants get a reliable but not too expensive receiver (and cut Ike Hilliard). Maybe Baltimore's Travis Taylor, New England's David Patten, Houston's Corey Bradford or Tampa Bay's Joey Galloway would come cheap.
Seeing as how we're expected to be 10 million or more under the cap, we could possibly sign Hartwell, Darius, a receiver and have a bit of money left for our few draft picks, resigning Lance Legree, Nick Greisen, and maybe Jim Finn and a role player or two (like a fullback if we don't resign Finn).
Paul Schwartz writes that Stokes' agent is very confident that Barry will come back stronger than ever in 2005. He is expected to add depth if Seubert can return or compete with Whittle for a starting job if Seubert does not return.
Fox sports says the Giants are looking for a receiver:
The Redskins and Giants are in the market for a big-play wide receiver. Two wide receivers should be especially appealing to Washington: Muhsin Muhammad (Panthers) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Bengals). Muhammad performed impressively this season, but he'll be 32 when the 2005 season begins. Houshmandzadeh has the speed to get downfield and also might be a good choice for the 5-yard out patterns Joe Gibbs likes to call. The Giants also might consider Houshmandzadeh, as well as the Steelers' Plaxico Burress and the Raiders' Jerry Porter.Personally, I don't see any of those guys coming at a reasonable price. I think their respective teams will try to keep them (Cincinatti and Houshmandzadeh want to stay together and where would the Panthers be without Muhammad's 93 catches, 1,400+ yards, and 16 touchdowns?) and I think the Ravens have to get one of those guys. Having said that, all of those guys played better than Toomer last season so they are worth substantial money.
That didn't stop Jon Heyman from arguing that the Jets should trade for Moss because none of the free agent receivers are very good. He mentions that the Ravens are interested in Moss too, and if the traded for him the free agent receivers would probably get a little cheaper.
Luke Lawton was a strong blocker and runner in college but hasn't been able to make an NFL team.
Jim Finn is an unrestricted free agent that the Broncos web site calls "one of the game's unsung heroes".
What does this mean for the Giants? I think the Giants still have to resign Finn or another veteran fullback because it is not clear that Lawton can start in the NFL.
That's how much the Giants want a sponsor to pay for getting Giants stadium named after them. This would help the Giants pay for a new stadium with more luxury boxes and the like.
Watching the road to the superbowl, basically ahighlight reel, I noticed that the Patriots seem to go deep a lot. I know Eli Manning and Jamaar Taylor hooked up deep a few times, but I think that to be successful on offense the Giants need to go deep more often.
The questions as I see them:
Is Jamaar Taylor a real deep threat?
Will Tim Carter ever stay healthy for an entire season?
Are any of the free agent wide receivers worth the money they'll want?
If we draft a wideout, what are the chances they'll contribute in 2005?
The importance of going deep also tells me that the Giants need a better pass rush. A defensive tackle that can rush the passer would be nice...
Noting that the Patriots are winning with guys who couldn't start in college and receivers in the secondary, Dan Pompei argues that corners are not all that important.
Sure you have to ahve them, but they don't have to be Champ Bailey's. Your Randall Gay's can handle a zone too. This brings up some questions for the Giants:
1. Should they play less man to man?
2. Man to man is a strenght of Will Allen's. In the zone he's less effective and and he can't catch. And we've all seen him (and every other corner in the league) get torched on occasion in man coverage. Should we trade Allen? What can we get for him?
3. Are Deloatch and Walker good enough?