Gman329

Fair point. But under the right circumstances - you've got the cap space and you think this is a move that could put you over the top - it could happen.

Gotta admit, he sounded like me screaming at the TV last night! Some of those might have been word for word quotes!

This year's draft class looks pretty damn good, too! Apple, Shephard, Thompson (watch out for him next year!), Goodson (ditto!), Perkins.......those guys could be contributors for years to come.

They keep talking about his poor hand placement and they showed an example last night, one of the times he was beaten. Isn't that something that should be fixable through coaching, practice and repetitions? Don't think they change horses midstream but gotta think they reassess during the off-season.

Yeah, whenever they showed Spags on the sideline, looking at his call sheet, barking into the headset, you saw a confident man who knew his D had everything under control! Even when we gave the ball back to Dallas 3X in the last 5 minutes, just begging them to put a game tying - or winning - drive together, they never wilted, never gave an inch. Looked like we could have played until Wednesday and those bastards weren't going to score!

I was among those who had doubts on this signing. There were questions about his focus and consistency. Maybe ask Dez today if it was a good signing? 9 targets, 1 catch for 10 yards....which Jackrabbit promptly knocked loose. Week after week, he's been shutting down whoever he lines up across from, taking them to Jackrabbit Island! Odell is the Giants MVP but the Jackrabbit is a close second.

I think the point is that slot and outside receivers are not as interchangeable as you seem to think. Maybe you're right, maybe he does move outside but I doubt it. I believe Shephard will be an outstanding slot guy but only a fair wide out....and if he moves outside, I doubt they'll find anybody as good as him in the slot, so in effect, you're weakening two positions. Also. Nicks, Randle and Odell were always outside guys.

Agreed. It all starts by being able to run the ball. I've been bitching about that for years.

And while Eli will never be Fran Tarkington, he's actually moved around in the pocket a little more than I recall him doing in past years, trying to buy himself a few more seconds. Last game, he even improvised, with that basketball flip to someone (Jennings?) that went for a big gain. If Eli "crumples", it's because he's got no way out, nobody is open and the play is f*cked. The OL isn't playing well and our receivers not named Odell don't seem to get separation (and Odell is doubled and tripled). With the receivers, I don't know if it's them or play design but even when Eli completes a pass, it's with a guy hanging on the receiver's back. No QB is going to look good if nobody gets open in the few seconds he's got to throw. If the OL, receivers and guys designing and calling the plays do their job reasonably well, Eli has shown he can do his job very well. I've said it before and will keep saying it: Eli is the least of our problems.

Did you look at the metrics? Last in rushing, 29th in rushing yards before contact...and 4th QB hits allowed and sack%., giving them the middle of the pack ranking. So when you watch the games, do you see Eli standing back there all day, scanning the field for receivers, as that #4 ranking in hits on QB allowed and sack % would suggest? I sure don't . I see a guy who who knows he has to get rid of the ball in 2 seconds or take a drive killing sack. Stats sometimes lie.

Then I guess I am too, for laughing.

I don't know about that. 31 catches on 67 targets this year. Cardinals expected big things when they signed the guy and he's been a huge disappointment. Yes, he's got all the measurables but the production has never lived up to potential. Sounds like he's their Rueben Randle!

Not only does Jeffrey get hurt every year, he's currently serving a 4 game ban for PEDs. And the Bears put the Franchise tag on him this year! That's a mess I'd stay away from!

I'd be very surprised if they put Shephard on the outside. He's a slot guy, that's where he played in college, it's his natural position. I'm guessing the Giants will want him to do what he does best.

That would work for me, even though, at 5'11", his game is more similar, rather than complimenting Odell's style of play. He's good enough that I guess I wouldn't quibble about the lack of diversity in receiving styles. He figures to be pretty expensive, though.

Disagree. He's been lost in the swamp of ineptitude. I think he'd settle into a role like A Boldin has in his twilight years.

Brandon Marshall. Jets are backing up the truck (again). Veteran WR, 32, with a big contract probably doesn't fit into their rebuild. But there's some tread left on the tires and you have to think, after the morass he's been in, he'd LOVE a chance to finish his career with a winning organization. At 6'4", 230, he'd be a perfect possession guy to put opposite Odell.

Ghost pressure? No. It's real and Eli has been moving around the pocket this year more than I've ever seen him do......and receivers still aren't open. Eli is the least of our problems. If those around him do their jobs well, including the OL, OC and HC, trust me, Eli will do his job just fine. And Jennings, while unspectacular, is a decent (C+?) runner and though I haven't seen numbers this year, I recall he was one of the league leaders, if not THE leader, in yards after contact last year. I don't think he goes down with a stiff breeze this year, as you suggest. And on SO, SO many running plays, the ball carrier has ZERO chance! He's met by 2 or 3 DL/LB types the second he gets the ball! I said/asked a while back - what % of our running plays go for 2 yards or less? Don't know the number but too damn many is the answer, I know that. Some of this is the OL and I believe some of it is the opposing D knows where the play is going all too often because of formation/personnel/down&distance tendencies/etc. Yes, I'd like to see an upgrade at RB but you gotta give the guy a LITTLE room to operate.

That hurts. Horrible timing. JPP has been a force. Now they can pay more attention to Vernon on the other side and that pass rush they've been generating lately will be greatly diminished.......unless one of the O guys - Od or Ok - surprises us. Damn. This also complicates putting a price tag on JPP going into Free Agency again.

OL is well below league average, which is why we're 31st (last I checked) in rushing. Tough to have "pocket presence" when you can't count on more than 2 seconds and nobody gets open. And in those instances when the OL does give Eli more time, he's still operating with the speeded up clock in his head and the receivers still aren't getting separation, anyway. Do you guys think Eli just forgot how to play QB? There are many factors I'd point to before going there.

We need a legit outside receiver. I'm happy that, against all odds, Cruz made it back from that gruesome injury but I think it's about over for him....and he's not an outside guy, anyway......and Shephard isn't either. He'll stay in the slot. Either through free agency or the draft, there will be at least one and probably more than one new WRs in camp next summer.

Cruz is best suited to the slot and Shephard is simply better at this point. We need a legit outside receiver....and an OL that can give Eli a half a freaking second to breathe back there! And an RB who could worry defenses wouldn't hurt, either.

Because you don't let guys draw a paycheck and whither on the bench. That's a failure on the part of the coaching staff, if it happens. They sat him down for a while and tried to redefine a role for him, paring down his assignments to things he does well, even if it's only a few plays. It's that or cut him outright, which could be the next step but if he's on the roster, you try to find something for him to do.

He certainly hasn't taken the step forward one would expect in his second year. Yes, he's probably better suited to RT but as long as he's being paid LT money, they're going to jam that square peg into the round hole.

I hear you and I'm usually in the "it's the players and execution, not the coaching" camp, too. But it is much harder to execute when the defense has a pretty good idea of what you're doing and that's appeared the case many times this year, especially on the running plays. I'm fine with the job Mac is doing for a first year coach and hope he's saving the wrinkles for December......but it just might be that ole taciturn Tom played more of a role in the creative use of X's and O's than we might have realized. His persona would suggest Defense but he was always on the Offensive side of the ball and while Mac ran things, as Gilly did before him, TC always had a hand in there, I'm sure, a hand they may be missing now.