parlintm

Ditto.

Sold.

I think that this draft is extremely important for the Giants. They have several holes that need to be filled and grabbing a TE is far down on the priority list. I agree that we after this year we will need a new blocking tight end, but that is what I'd focus on. A guy whose blocking skills are great, hands dont matter so much. I think we address this next offseason.

Bad for football. And it means that there's a good chance of a lockout in 2008. The greedy, rich, selfish people of the NFL can't come to grips over a couple mill of their multi-billion dollar industry... and now we get a worse product. Simply horrendous. They might make more money in the short run, but if teams like the chiefs and packers can't afford to keep up w/ big markets like the Giants and Dallas, many longtime football fans will leave. Just like baseball.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2348417

I think Jackson is the safest pick out of them all. He might be like Tatupa, not the fastest or biggest guy out there but a phenomenal football player. I missed the senior bowl, what happened?

Or rocky bernard.

In my other topic, regarding Accorsi's moves and upgrading the secondary, I threw out a mock draft that included us drafting a LB in round 1. It generated some interest so I thought that this could be a good topic on its own. I listed my preferences in this order: Howard, Sims, Ryans, Dqwell Jackson, Carpenter The reason that Howard edges out Sims in my book is because he used to play safety so he's got great hands and is good in coverage, hits like a train and he doesnt have the injury history. I also think Howard has a much higher ceiling than Sims. Here are the scouting reports on each player: http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr...omashoward.html http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr.../erniesims.html http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr...emecoryans.html http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr...ycarpenter.html http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr...elljackson.html

I started this thread w/ the intention of discussing how Ernie plans on "upgrading the back 7." So I'm going to start a LB thread since this is clearly of interest. Going back to Ty Law: 1. Im shocked that nobody's shot me down yet... I'm waiting. 2. Is signing him possible? By that I'm assuming he will get in the 8.5-10 per year range. How much room are we expected to have if we don't sign Allen, Walker or anybody else. And then how much does that change if we sign Clancy? 3. How much will it cost to sign our draft picks?

Here are interviews with Howard and Sims: http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/interview...omashoward.html -- I like that hes got great hands. Definitely seems more versatile and fluid than emmons. http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/interview.../erniesims.html Since I didn't include Sims' scouting report earlier, here it is: http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr.../erniesims.html I think the combination of size, speed and coverage skills that Howard has makes me lean towards him over Sims. He can rush the passer, hit like a train and drop back and pick of a pass (used to be a safety). Also, he doesnt have the injury history.

For whatever reason, I'm not a Carpenter fan either. I'm a huge sims fan though... actually was going to list him first but changed it. Sims and his concussions are the only thing that scares me. If this guy is going to be a backup, Id like them not to be injury prone. As we all know, there is nothing worse than having the backup go down w/ an injury (except maybe seeing pierce go down grabbing his ankle....)

When its all said and done, i bet he's a ram.

I think Vernon Davis will go to a team that has needs other than TE. He's the type of player that a GM or coach will fall in love with and make a big draft day trade to get regardless of need. Obviously someone like the chagers wouldnt do it but the Rams or eagles... anyone who is not set at the TE position is a possibility.

OK, so i might be going over the top w/ Law but I think the general idea is correct. EA will make a big effort to improve the secondary this year. I think this means NOT resigning Will Allen and going after the best corner that the Giants can afford. I think he would be willing to overpay for someone like Law since there is a HUGE dropoff in talent after him. Here's a mock that I came up with. It assumses that we sign the best corner that we can get in FA as well as eventually signing Clancy. Since I think we will spend most of our cap space on those 2 positions I will proceed as if we make no other signings. Round 1: Best LB available. My preferance is in this order - Thomas Howard, Ernie Sims, Demarco Ryans, Bobby Carpenter, Dqwell Jackson. -- I could be talked into any of these guys though. http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr...omashoward.html Round 2: Jonathan Joseph CB http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr...thanjoseph.html Round 3: Greg Blue S http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr...s/gregblue.html Round 4: Dusty Dvoacek DT http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr...tydvoracek.html Round 5: Brandon Williams WR Round 6: Greg Jennings WR Round 7: Johnny Jolly DT Offense: QB- Eli, hasslebeck Rb - Tiki, jacobs Fb - Finn Te - Shockey, Shiancoe OL - Same as last year WR - Plax, Amani, Williams/Jennings/Taylor Defense: DE - Strah, Willie Joe, Clancy, Osi --- Tuck, Dvoacek/Robbins, Jolly LB - Torbor, Pierce, Emmons/Howard -- Blackburn, Moore CB - Law, Webster -- Joseph, Will P., Deloach S - Gibril, Butler/Blue -- means reseverse / means competing for spot

Davis has bumped himself into the top 10 of the draft. I just hope that the Eagles don't make a trade to get him. He is going to be a pro bowler very soon.

Cromartie has much more than just raw potential. Prior to his injury he was arguably the best CB in college football. Obviously if he isnt healthy, I want to stay away but if he shows that hes returned to his old form he could definitely be worth a shot at 25.

"Well just to let all the New York Giants fans know, I'm back to 100%. Just recently the doctors officially cleared me 100% to begin getting ready for the up coming offseason. The injury really put things in reality for me. One year I don't miss no plays, than the next I get knocked out the last month of the season when we were making a serious run for the playoffs. But I'm excited and ready to begin this offseason and build off of what people thought we could not do last year. This team, with a couple of pieces, can be a Superbowl Champion. I believe that and I'm sure my teammates do as well. We start working March 20, so the clock is ticking and best believe that this year NY Giants won't come up short. The defense will improve for one. This is the first year, in my 6 years that I will have the same coaching staff coming back. That alone speaks for its self. Also our offense will be one of thee best next year, so I hope everyone is getting pumped up like me and ready to turn Giants Stadium into a nightmare for the upcoming year." -- Antonio Pierce fuck yeah

I drank way too much coffee while studing for an exam and at this point can't sleep so I've just been thinking about the Giants and two things kept ringing in my head: 1. Accorsi saying that this is his last year as GM 2. That his priority for the offseaon is to upgrade the back 7. So I've thought back to my offseason plans, as well as many other board members and most of them include: 1. Resigning W. Allen or a comparable FA 2. Acquiring depth, especially at LB through the draft. And I've realized that we're wrong. Accorsi says he is going to make the back 7 better this year. The more I think about it, he almost definitely doesn't plan on improving the back 7 by resigning w. allen and getting some unproven rookies. I mean think about it. The last thing he wants in his final year is to resign W. Allen and draft some rookies only to have Allen get beat and drop interceptions while the rookies fail to materialize. Is it any better if he signs someone like Allen only to have them get beat?? He will be chased out of town and his great career as GM will be marred by a bad last season. I guarantee he won't let that happen. So then I kept thinking and realized that the Giants have not signed 1 player yet and only have continued to cut people. They have proven to be extremely tight during any negotiations... I'm looking at Clancy. So what is EA saving his money for? And how exactly does EA plan to improve the back 7? It's a possibility that he goes out and signs a LB like Peterson but I doubt he goes that route. I think he wants to make sure that the secondary is vastly improved. He doesnt want the Giants to have the weak link be our passing defense again. I've heard that the Giants might end up having quite a bit of cap space and it seems as if this new deal will only increase the cap to 100 mill, maybe even higher. It seems as if the Giants are making room for 1 big Free Agent signing. The question is, who? I think the answer is.... Ty Law. Before you shoot this down, here me out. This is, of course, assuming we have enough cap room to do it, which I think we will. Ty had an OK year and won't be demanding as much as he did last year. The only teams that will be willing to pay him are teams contending for the SB. Despite rumors, a rebuilding team like detroit would rather add young players. He has also made it very clear that he will only play for a contender. 1. EA wants to improve the secondary. He will say, "fuck will allen, if giant fans want a good corner, ill get them the best in the game." he wants to go out on top, what better way to do that than land a stud like law. 2. Draft cromartie or stud CB in round 1. BAM!! Just like that we have Ty Law, Webster and Cromartie as our CB's. Will P. steps into the mix if he gets healthy. That right there, has the potential to be a GREAT secondary. Just think how many sacks Osi, Strah and Tuck will have once they start getting coveage sacks too. 3. After round 1 the Giants can then proceed as planned w/ the draft -- LB in round 2 (although could swap w/ CB in round 1 if the right player is available), S in round 3 etc... Adding Law would limit our ability to sign some veterans but I think it would be a price EA is willing to pay. Rather than resign Clancy, we might be stuck w/ Robbins and a rookie. The FS spot would be a battle between Butler and a 4th round pick. We would have to go cheap w/ our #3 WR or not sign one at all. But one thing is a definite... we wouldnt have the 27th passing defense in the league and that is something that EA could walk away feeling good about. Ok, now you can shoot me down.

I wouldnt be too shocked if the Giants went w/ a DT first round. I've even seen Bunkley down for the gmen in a mock or two. What do people think of him? No way Ngata drops even close to us and I believe Bunkley is next on the board at DT. The giants will only go w/ DT if they think he's the BPA on defense.

I agree completely. I was just bringing the idea up especially since its becoming increasingly likely that allen will leave for another team and we might have to pay above market value for a veteran corner. I dont see this happening though. I think in all the positions we will draft in round 1 are in this order: OLB, CB (whether we resign allen or not), DT, FS, WR.

Right now all we can do is project and guess what the future moves will be... a lot of it is IF this happens then we can do this, but IF this happens then we do this. That's why a lot of it is conflicting. So Ill try to break it down. Im assuming the Giants have a fair amount of cap space (somewhere in the neighborhood of being able to sign W.A and then having room to fill in a lot of holes with veteran depth). 1. IF the Giants sign W. Allen or a comparable FA (most likely scenario, I think): I would like to see the Giants use their second round pick on a LB. The first round pick would then be used to get the BPA -- Safety (IF the Giants dont think that Butler is a longterm answer), DT or WR. IF the Giants think that Butler will be a good starter for the next couple of years they use the remaining cap space to sign a veteran FS to back him up incase of injury or lapse in play. 2. IF the Giants decide that W. Allen or other comparable FA's are overvalued because of the thin market then it gets interesting. I think that the best (only?) option would be to draft the CB at #25 that they believe can start or has the best chance to start from day 1. IMO, a healthy Cromartie fits that description the best. Since the Giants would then have some extra cash that they didnt spend on Allen I would hope that they have a few options in the FA market. 2b. With this extra money they could do the following. IF Butler is NOT the answer, they could sign the best Safety available and play Gibril at either FS or SS and use Butler as a backup. OR a more tempting option, IMO, would be to go after Rocky Bernard to give us one of the best Dlines in football. This defenes would look like: Strah, Willie, Rocky, Osi -- Tuck Emmons, Pierce, Torbor -- Round 2 Pick Cromartie, Webster -- Deloach, Will P, Mid-Late round pick Gibril, Butler -- Mid round pick/Vet That defense would be VERY young and could be phenomenal in 2-3 years. Does this clarify my thoughts?

Ummmm.... ummmm.... so what are my other options? Webster, Allen, Deloach, unsure will p, walker and midround pick? Honestly, that's not much better. The thing is, I'm trying to think 2-3 years from now and I don't want to be stuck w/ an overpaid will allen just because we didnt have any other options. Remember, he was the guy that Giant fans wanted to castrate early last season and then got toasted big time by Moss... lets not forget this completly. I think I would feel OK, but not great if we got Cromartie to start opposite Webster and depending on Will P's health, also draft a CB in the mid rounds. I would only be OK with that scenario if we used Will Allen's money to get a good player. Making a move for Rocky Bernard has popped into my head and would be VERY appealing. But does not signing W.A or a comparable corner enable us to go after someone like Rocky? That's the question. I don't know why, but from what I've seen w/ Webster I'm sold. I want to see him starting from day 1 and even if he screws up early I want to see him play. I think hes going to be better than the Wills and a solid corner for us for years. Finding the other starter is the key.

He's just an example that I'm throwing out there. Right now there are about 10 first round quality LB's. I'm just saying that the chance one of them drops to our second round pick is a definite possibility. If not one of those 10, there are always quality LB's available in the second round who get overlooked b/c they arent the biggest or fastest player out there. Just like Lofa last year. Accorsi should definitely be able to find a quality LB with that pick.

I'm terrified that the Giants are going to feel that they desperately need a veteran CB and will overspend on mediocre talent like they did w/ Petigout. I would much rather see them draft a talented rookie (very deep at CB this year) and let the kid take his lumps alongside Webster. As the season progresses, they would have gain experience and will only get better. We could use the money that we would spend on a FA CB to upgrade big time at a postion that we were going to get a FA. This could mean getting a big time Safety (at either spot and maybe move Gibril) or DT (we could have a beast of a line). If we got a big DT then our DLine could hide our young secondary. Just a thought if WA or another CB gets too pricey. I think Cromatie definitely has the potential to step in and start at a very difficult position. He was projected to be a TOP 5 pick if he were to stay in school another year but his grandmother just got cancer or something so he needs the money now which is why he's making the jump. Webster and Cromartie would be a very talented Corner tandem that happened to drop b/c or injuries the year before going to the NFL.

Here are the scouting reports for OLB and ILB from nlfdraftcountdown: http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/rankings/ilb.html http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/rankings/olb.html I like abdul hodge a lot. I'm not sure if he can play OLB or not. Given the number of LB's in this draft, there's a chance someone like Howard drops to us in round 2. Honestly, I havent spent too much time researching the round 2 LB's... but given the number of top tier guys I would be suprised if there wasnt a quality LB left at 54 or whenever our next pick is. Accorsi is pretty good at finding those second round guys and I have faith that he could get great value in the second round at LB. If someone who knows about the second round LB's would speak up, Id be interested to hear about it.