Money

Crabtree is a great prospect. He's the best WR in this year's class. We need help at WR. I agree with you on those points. Look at the draft value chart. 2,600 points for pick 2. We don't have the pieces to acquire the 2nd overall pick. Why is this so difficult to grasp?

Sure, we could throw in Eli Manning or Justin Tuck. That could probably get the ball rolling. The point is, once we approach the presumable price for that 2nd overall pick, it becomes untenable on our end. Future picks are an option, but do you really see Jerry Reese giving up all our picks in 2009 AND our 1st rounder in 2010? I don't.

I'm telling you it's impossible for the Giants to trade into the top 5. I demonstrated this in no uncertain terms. Go back and reread the post if you must. Use a calculator if you have to. Later, on Sportswrath... Plax 4 Prez argues that 2 + 2 = 5. "Trust me on this, I've seen 2 in action." Stay tuned!

To add to the discussion: Chris Long was the 2nd overall pick last year (coincidentally, he was drafted by the Rams). His contract... 5 years, $56.5 million, $29 million guaranteed. Meanwhile, here was Larry Fitzgerald's contract -- which he signed, btw, after legitimizing himself as perhaps the league's finest WR... 4 years, $40 million, $30 million guaranteed. Altogether, we'd have to give up our entire draft save for compensatory selection, actively ignore our other needs (which are certainly relevant), AND give Crabtree a contract commensurate with the absolute best player at his position ... all before he's even stepped on an NFL field. Plax 4 Prez, are you familiar with the concept of opportunity cost?

Henson's decision to forego his senior year and play for the Yankees very much makes him a nemesis. He cost us a great shot at the national title, and sentenced us to four full years of John Navarre. But he deserves credit for failing spectacularly in two pro sports...

That opportunity doesn't exist. It doesn't. Repeat after me: "The Giants don't have the resources to trade into the top 5. Math is my friend and enemy. I know how to add and subtract, I promise." This idea that the Giants could trade a "couple picks" to get Michael Crabtree is entirely fictional. Fictional. FICTIONAL - like dragons, acrobats, and the female orgasm. Crabtree would realistically have to slide outside the top-10 for us to have any shot at him. And if he's the next Jerry Rice, that ain't happening...

Quite honestly, you can poll a random collection of paid professional NFL scouts, and 100% of them will say Calvin Johnson was a substantially better prospect than Michael Crabtree. There is no comparison, especially since the latter has been unable to verify his production through workouts. And again, we don't have the ammunition to trade into the top-5. You might as well start a thread suggesting that the Giants trade for Raymond Berry, because it's just as likely to happen. But I like how a guy who played on an 0-16 with Dan Orlovsky and Daunte Culpepper as his QBs can put up 78/1330/12 and be described as merely "ok."

Here's an assignment for anyone in favor of dealing up for Michael Crabtree. We'll call this the Reality Test. Your mission: Provide one example of a draft day trade where a team situated 25th or lower moved into the top 5. The Giants pick 29th, the Rams pick 2nd ... so I've shifted the goal posts to help you out. One example. Go! Actually, stop. On second thought, don't waste your time. I'm sending you on a Fool's Errand: a trade of those parameters has never happened. The proposal for Crabtree might work in an alternate reality, but in our world it's infeasible, unprecedented, and functionally impossible. Sorry. While we can debate over subjective topics, such as the merits of Calvin Johnson and Michael Crabtree, numbers are inarguable. And in the case of Crabtree 4 Prez, mathematics are the greatest enemy. Refer to the NFL Trade Value Chart, which remains a guiding presence in trade negotiations (although several outsiders have described it as outdated). The 2nd overall pick is worth 2,600 points. You can add up all the picks the Giants have in the 2009 draft (with the exception of their conditional pick, which is not tradeable), and you'll fall far short of 2,600. It's not your fault -- it's just the rudimentary laws of addition and subtraction. Stated differently, the Giants could offer the Rams their ENTIRE DRAFT (nine picks), and it still would not be enough to obtain the 2nd overall pick. So what's next? This is where you jabronis (to borrow a term from Messr. Rock) desperately exclaim "Throw in Sinorice Moss! Throw in Kiwanuka! Throw in Bob Papa! Do anything!" And it's at this point where you humuliate yourself with an alarming absence of dignity and a pathetic inability to grasp the big picture. Michael Crabtree might be a great NFL player. But right now, what do we really know about him? He's a decently big black dude, he plays football, and he doesn't look like a bitch. He's a guy in tight pants who only exists on your TV screen, where you sit every week starring intently while eating pretzels and drinking cheap beer. Maybe he ends up a Giant, but it will require an extaordinarily serendipitous twist of fate for that to happen. And if he's nearly as good as you claim -- "Hall of Famer" -- then the chances of him being available to the New York Giants are less than zero. If you've resigned yourself to tears at the sight of Michael Crabtree donning another team's uniform, as our own Plax 4 Prez has, then you have my condolences. Might I recommend Kleenex Facial Tissue with Lotion? And hey, should the improbable happen and we get Crabtree, you can always turn those sad tissues into happy tissues. Cry love.

If Calvin Johnson is Tiger Woods, then Michael Crabtree is Vijay Singh. Jerry Rice is, quite obviously, Jack Nicklaus. Matt Jones would definitely be John Daly. Andy Reid is Craig Stadler.

I have to agree with Golfing Guy. Calvin Johnson was probably the best WR prospect of the past ... oh, I don't know ... ever. And he's done nothing in his pro career to disspell that notion. This isn't a strike against Crabtree - he's just not as a good as a guy who's a lot bigger, a lot faster, and a lot more athletic. Not even close Sure, Crabtree had unreal production. But unlike Crabtree, Johnson didn't have the benefit of a spread offense that passed the ball 80% of the time; unfortunately, he spent his collegiate years playing with Reggie Ball (someone who most asuredly qualifies as a jabroni).

It really wouldn't make sense for either team. The Giants don't want to give away their entire draft for one player; the Rams don't want to lose out on a blue-chip prospect. And a trade of that nature won't happen, so this conversation is academic.

I can say with 100% confidence that Plax's injuries in 2007 were not remotely ploys. Believing so is really, really misguided...

Micah Rucker is a nobody. He won't be a factor any time soon, and he won't supplant Moss or any other WR on our roster. The person who described him as another Anthony Mix called it right...

They're each potential results, but neither motivated the decision to release Plax.

Unfortunately, it doesn't mean either of those things. It really means that Plax more or less refused to make the behavioral concessions the team asked for (his dissatisfaction stemmed from the team recouping his bonus money). Factor in the adjounment of his legal case, and his fate was pretty much sealed...

World Series? Yeah right. The Mets will be fortunate to even finish with a better record than the Marlins...

I was talking offensively. Church is a fine defender.

He certainly can't be much worse than Ryan Church.

Patton has a lot less mileage (fewer game played, fewer major season-ending injuries). He also has missed a lot of games, so perhaps he hasn't had as extensive an opportunity as Amani had to conclusively prove he wasn't athletically capable of being a starting WR anymore. And like I said earlier, Patton is only an inexpensive insurance policy. He likely won't be counted on to contribute anything. I don't even know why we're bothering talking about two guys that are, for all intents and purposes, done in the NFL...

Based on his personality, I think he craves that type of attention. Getting away from a sinking ship in Cleveland would probably be rejuvenating, too. When he was at Michigan, he would always rise to the occassion on the biggest stage. Ohio State, Rose Bowl, Michigan State. He just seemingly had an extra gear when the spotlight was on him, and his performance against us on Monday Night was certainly no exception, as Aaron Ross can attest. He also has always talked about becoming a movie star after his football career is over. I'm telling you, New York would be the perfect place for him. Meanwhile, Cleveland was not such a good place for that type of mentality. Combine that with the rift between him and his fans over the U-M/OSU thing, and I can see how that would be a negative environment...

I don't think Amani would play in Cleveland anyway. There have always been whispers that he wanted to finish his career playing on the west coast...

Toomer sure wasn't very "cluth" during our strecth run this year. Although intangible qualities such as "clutchness" might not slip, tangible qualities such as speed, agility, and explosiveness do slip. And in Toomer's case, they've slipped drastically. I won't speak for the Brown organization, by my guess is that their decision didn't simply come down to Toomer vs. Patton in a vaccuum. Price is always an issue, and Patton could be a guy they just want for vet competition; I doubt they're counting on him playing a pivotal role in their offense. Truth be told, neither guy will do anything substantial this year or any year beyond that. But Patton is likely viewed as someone who has more in the tank if he can stay on the field....

It's more than slight difference in downfield ability. Braylon has averaged 16 yards per catch in his career, Boldin has averaged just 12. Knowing Braylon, I really believe a change of scenary and shift into the spotlight would alleviate his drops. He's made some of the most sensational catches I've ever seen....we know he can catch. And no matter how sure-handed Boldin is, he won't be a worthwhile investment if he's not on the field or past his prime without two years...

I'd much rather have Braylon than Boldin. Boldin will be 29 this year, has a lot of mileage, and misses time every year because of injury. There's a lot of downside involved with him, and I don't think he provides the vertical threat that would improve our offense.

Their second TE, Steve Hedien, is much better than Matthews and Johnson. He actually had a really strong game against us when we played Cleveland on Monday night. Besides, guys with less than 10 career receptions typically don't carry much trade value. No one has contacted Toomer because the writing is on the wall: his days as a productive starting WR are over. And there's not much interest in a third or fourth receiver who doesn't play special teams and has no developmental upside.