James Butler

The views from espn on the importance of our needs:

 

OUTSIDE LB: The jury is still out on whether Reggie Torbor will ever realize his potential. Although he has played well at times, he is inconsistent. The bigger concern is on the strong side. Carlos Emmons, who turns 33 this year, has lost a step and is coming off a season-ending pectoral injury. With unrestricted free agent Nick Greisen wanting to play inside and likely signing with another team, there isn't much depth here either. The Giants need an outside linebacker who has the speed, athletic ability and power to supplant Emmons as the starter. That would allow him to move into a backup role where he would provide quality depth.

 

WR : Plaxico Burress' first season with the Giants was the second most productive of his career and he returns as Eli Manning's go-to-receiver. There are concerns about the No. 2, however. Although Amani Toomer runs good routes and doesn't drop many passes, he isn't as explosive as he was earlier in his career and has problems consistently separating from man coverage. There is good depth here but Jamaar Taylor drops too many passes and Tim Carter is too raw to replace Toomer at this point. As a result, the Giants need a receiver who has the size, burst and athletic ability to make an immediate impact.

 

DT : Kendrick Clancy's decision to sign with Arizona makes this a far greater need. Clancy didn't make many big plays, but he was relentless and, more importantly, consistent. Although William Joseph has far more natural ability, he doesn't always play with a mean streak and has yet to realize his potential. Exasperating the loss of Clancy is the fact that Fred Robbins, who has had problems keeping his weight down, tends to wear down over the course of games. The Giants need a defensive tackle who can replace Robbins, allowing him to move into a situational run-stuffing role.

 

OFFENSIVE TACKLE: Luke Petitgout has avoided becoming a cap casualty, but he will have to compete for a starting job opposite Kareem McKenzie. Although he is a technician who plays with good intensity, Petitgout has been slowed by back pain and is having problems holding up on an island in pass protection. Bob Whitfield and Lewis Kelly provide some depth. However, Whitfield isn't an every-down player at this point of his career and Kelly's lack of strength is reason for concern. The Giants need to add a tackle who can push Petitgout for playing time.

 

RB : Few players do as much for a team as Tiki Barber does for the Giants. He is a smart, between-the-tackles runner, has the burst to break long runs and catches the ball extremely well. However, he is undersized and 31 years old. That has to raise concerns about his durability, especially since he gets so many touches. Brandon Jacobs is a powerful short-yardage runner, but he lacks the initial burst of an every-down back. The Giants need to start preparing for life after Barber and improve depth by adding a developmental back who has the tools to replace Barber when the time comes.

 

Other options: Interior offensive line and cornerback

Reggie Torbor IS NOT a ROLB/WLB. This was his first full season playing LB because the year before he came in situationally as a LB and as a DE. This year he looked much more natural and comfortable at LB. He needs to work on certain things, especially pass coverage. This guy used to play DE in college and people are making it sound like he was a highly touted LB. I think they got it mixed up when they said that Taylor drops too many passes and Carter is too raw. Tiki gains 10 more pounds of muscle and yet he is still "undersized"?! I thought I read somewhere that Brandon Jacobs had one of the fastest times in the 40 in the first 10 yards, so I don't know what they mean but lacking the initial burst.

That article is both right and wrong.

Anyone them if they had Tiki - Tiki was the Giant offense - Eli was a spectator for the last half of the season. Eli's QB rating was 23rd in the NFL - his completion Pct. was under 53% - pitiful. Still, the Giants were able to win 11 games without a decent QB.

How many td's did he throw compared to ints? How many times did he lead the Giants into poistion to tie the score or to win the game? You just posted two stats that are deceitful. Kyle Boller had a better completion percentage than Eli but didn't play as well as Eli.

Manning not only improved, but he also showed that he can lead the team to tie the game or to win. He's a very good young 2 minute drill QB. Usually young QB's try to do to much and get nervous at this point, but Eli remains calm. The completion percentage was misleading, he had a good year and he will only get better.

He'll be fine. It should be a very good battle. The loser of course would end up being the third safety and he would provide pretty good depth.

IMO, he isn't worth that much, and I don't believe any team would have to give any compensation for him.

Wow, it wold be intersting if Ryan Clark would come back here. Not only for the reason that he was a Giant before but this.

05/28/04 9:40AM

Giants Sign Another Safety; Waive Ryan Clark: The Giants added more depth and competition at safety yesterday when they signed 11-year veteran FS Brent Alexander, who waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers in March. According to The Star-Ledger, Alexander signed a 4-year contract, but no financial terms were disclosed.

"He's hoping (to start)," said Alexander's agent. "He's coming there to play. (But) he was told emphatically that he'll have to earn anything he gets."

According to Alexander's agent, Alexander chose the Giants over the Rams and 49ers. He said 15 or 16 teams also had interest in his client.

The Giants have completely revamped the depth situation at safety this off-season, claiming Jack Brewer off of waivers from the Vikings, signing Jason Doering (who was not tendered by the Colts), and now signing Alexander. They also drafted S Gibril Wilson in the 5th round of the 2004 NFL Draft in April.

To make room for Alexander, the Giants waived S Ryan Clark, who joined the Giants two years ago as a rookie free agent. In addition to Clark, the Giants released S Clarence LeBlanc earlier this month and have chosen not to re-sign unrestricted free agent S Johnnie Harris.

Because of these moves, we have updated the Free Agents Signed, 2004 Free Agent Scorecard, Roster, Depth Chart, and Players Cut sections of the website.

Butler can be a good safety for years to come. He is one of those players who were rated sort of high but had his stock dropped for some reason. One thing about Butler is he has good tools in order to be a very good coverage safety. The problem is he needs to improve against the run and he needs to be a more aggressive tackler. I think the Giants should try to sign Ryan Clark. His stock shouldn't be high and he is a good young veteran who has experience as a slot nickel guy, as a free safety, and as a strong safety. He has good speed and his coverage has gotten better (Washington trusted him enough to have him cover other teams WR's at times, even the opposition's best WR). He is a pretty good tackler also.