gmenroc

I like Aikman.

I think Joe Buck and Chris Collinsworth both suck ass, figuratively and literally.

Phil Simms is mediocre.

I'm on that same boat. I hated the pick at the time, not so much because I thought JPP would be a bust, but because I thought we had greater needs. I couldn't be any happier on how that has turned out.

That said, I want a LB in this year's draft.

"has been positively identified as that of 21-year-old Michael Philbin, son ofPackers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, a source close to the family tells ESPN.

Oshkosh police have yet to release the identity of the body"

 

WHAT?

A relative confirmed the identity. Story was leaked to the press before the police officially announced it.

They have a tough game ahead of them on Sunday. If we can get a turnover in a big spot, we'll have a shot but this GB team isn't the GB team from 2008

I agree that turnovers will play a larger role than running the ball well. We had 2 to GB's 1 in our regular season matchup. We each gained 7 points off turnovers. But the Giants were driving at the end of the first half when Eli fumbled...so while GB didn't have enough time to capitalize off that particular turnover, they kept us from getting what could have been a FG.

Our D is playing better, but we have to be aware that so is theirs. They were not entirely healthy when we played them the first time and neither were we.

...they run for over 100 yards per game. I hope BJ and AB do the same against the Pack. Just food for thought.

And that 1 loss, where they ran for over a 100 yards was to Green Bay.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=311204019

3rd RB will be Scott, no question, assuming Ware doesn't play.

I havnt seen anyone underate Webster. maybe underappreciated.

 

And I wa the first to aknowledge Rocky B.

among us fans...I don't believe he's underrated or underappreciated. But when the discussion of the league's top CBs happens amongst talking heads, he's left out of the conversation more often than not.

Well, I don't think it's abnormal that we haven't heard anything about Beatty since the surgery. He's on IR so the whole team and media has moved on with the players that are there and with the playoffs here, it's a non-story until training camp, really. I did remember reading something about Beatty being expected to make a full recovery, though. Detached retina, although I'm not a doctor, doesn't equate to permanent blindness in that eye. So we'll see.

 

One thing you are ignoring about Diehl is that he sucked out loud at Guard. Flexibility or not, he stinks on the interior. Not serviceable, not he had a couple of bad games... he was a turnstile... he was atrocious, he was not an NFL caliber guard. I do think he's a fairly good tackle. Good enough to start. But he is by no means going to be confused with a Pro Bowler at that position, either. I like DD. I think he works hard and plays hard. That's why I think they should pencil him in at RT next year. I agree with you on McKenzie. I think he probably goes elsewhere next year or retires.

 

As far as the draft, however, I think you go in to the season with Beatty, Boothe, Baas, Snee, and Diehl as your O-line. I did say that I think they should sign a RT in free agency, someone that can start if something happens. It would provide insurance for both Beatty and Diehl. If Beatty gets hurt, Diehl would move back to LT and player X would start at RT. If Diehl gets hurt, he steps right in on the right side. Plus there's Brewer, we'll see what happens with Tony Ugoh, he could be back, and maybe Stacy Andrews as well. I don't see the need to draft someone this year, however. I do think that if Brewer doesn't make big strides by this time next year, you have to go in to the draft thinking you need to draft your RT of the future somewhere in the first 3 rounds. But next year, they'll be fine with the horses they have and an addition or two in free agency for depth.

 

I pretty much agree with your assessment of what you would like to see in the draft. I would like LB round 1, RB round 2, and get a TE and WR in rounds 3 and 4. I would like the Giants to somehow get 2 2nd round picks or 2 3rd round picks. There are definite ways to make that happen but that talk is for after the season is over.

Beatty is definitely a question mark. I'm no doctor either, but a detached retina as far as I know it, can lead to blindness. Glad to hear that you read somewhere he is expected to recover. I think at the end of the day, we agree that there needs to be some depth added to the OLine. Arguing whether that be via the draft or FA is splitting hairs. I like the idea of getting younger there.

I agree that Diehl had a rough going at G early in the season. I think a lot had to do with the Baas signing. Whether it was the line calls, or the unfamiliarity with the new guy...I don't know. Given the line's play towards the end of the season here, I don't want to see any experimentation or shifting, but it'd be interesting to see at least what Diehl could do at G now that they have a season working together.

I like the guys we have, but I also think that we need to prepare for the long term on the Oline.

Regarding Webster...yes he's extremely underrated.

Still sucks for our offense twice a year if it happens.

See the passing of Brett Favre's Dad.

Or the year we won the superbowl and had the disable veteran's story to rally around...

Yeah, we'll have to wait and see how the coaching carousel shakes out.

Us fans are not only quick to forgive, but we're also very quick to un-forgive. I think that the ending of the season and the playoff win saves Fewell for next year (unless he's given a HC position, which I don't see happening). But, if GB kicks our ass 6 ways to Sunday this weekend because of some questionable defense - then he's right back in the spotlight for getting replaced.

Regardless, if a change is desired, replacing Fewell with Spags would be A O K with me.

What shitty thing to happen, at any time let alone when the whole country is focused on you.

No doubt. Ranks up there with the Steelers RB coach who got burned in his own house fire.

Obviously the focus is on the guy's family, but it's stuff like this that a team can rally for and it can really end up being a uniting, team-building, focus-building thing. This could easily be a motivating factor for GB to blow our doors off.

McKenzie will be a 33 year old free agent this off season. I could see Diehl moving to McKenzie's spot at RT next season and seeing how that works. Diehl has 2 more years remaining on his contract. Both Boothe and Petrus now are proven quality players at Guard. I wouldn't expect any draft picks to be spent on offensive line, perhaps a young LT to provide insurance for Beatty... and I expect a mid-tier RT to be signed in free agency to provide insurance if Diehl doesn't work out at RT. But I think it's highly likely Diehl moves to RT next year. And no, I didn't forget about Brewer, but until he is at least getting some playing time, I won't be certain the coaching staff has him in any future plans... he has to progress and earn it.

If Beatty can see out of his one eye, than sure, your plan may work. I'm not certain he makes it back. Haven't heard anything from him since his surgery. Diehl has been more valuable to our line than many like to admit. His flexibility from G to LT to G to RT is impressive, as is his durability. McKenzie's best days are behind him though I think. Unless he wants to sign a 1 or 2 year deal, 3 tops, he'll be riding off into the sunset I think. Regardless of McKenzie's situation, I have to disagree with you about the draft. I think we need to get a OT. Whether it's RT or LT, I don't care given Diehl's ability, but I think we need to keep the line fresh with new, younger talent. I'm not talking 1st rounder here, but I think it's important we use at least a 3rd on an OT. I'm hoping for LB, OT, RB, and TE in the first 4 rounds, again with the OT being no later than the 3rd.

If we keep seeing what we saw against Atlanta, I'd not mind keeping Fewell at all. The problem is, I'm not overly confident that we'll continue to see that or that we'll see it consistently.

I think if we were to get blown out against GB, it could undo the good the Atlanta win has done.

With the HC jobs filled and those to be filled, you'd think that Spags is going to get a DC offer somewhere before we'd finish the season.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7442751/source-body-found-river-son-green-bay-packers-coach-joe-philbin

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- A body pulled from a river in Oshkosh, Wis., Monday has been positively identified as that of 21-year-old Michael Philbin, son of Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, a source close to the family tells ESPN.

Oshkosh police have yet to release the identity of the body. The Packers, who are preparing for Sunday's NFC divisional playoff game game against the Giants, canceled player availability Monday.

Police have been searching for Michael Philbin since Sunday evening. He disappeared at about 2 a.m. Sunday after an outing with friends in the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus area, about 50 miles from Green Bay.

Joe Philbin spent Monday in Oshkosh, where divers recovered the body of a man between the ages of 20 and 25 from the Fox River in the late afternoon after a security guard reported hearing cries for help from someone on the ice. Oshkosh police said foul play was not suspected, but the man's name was being withheld until his family is notified.

Michael Philbin is the second-oldest of six children to Joe Philbin and his wife, Diane.

"The Philbin family's obviously going through a tough time right now, and as we always have, we're a family-first philosophy with our organization, with our program," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said earlier in the day. "So we're supporting Joe and his family the best we can, and we're holding out hope that this comes to a positive conclusion."

The offensive-minded McCarthy calls his own plays and has a hands-on role with game planning, but Philbin's behind-the-scenes detail work with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the offense would not be unnoticed. McCarthy said he has contingency plans in place to prepare for Sunday's game if Philbin remains away from the team.

"We're prepared to do whatever we need to do as a staff to make sure our team's ready to go," McCarthy said, brushing aside a question about what the Packers would be missing if it did not have Philbin's input this week. "We'll be ready to go."

Packers and Giants players took to Twitter with supportive messages.

"As children we all have to someday say goodbye to our parents, but a parent should never have to say goodbye to their child," said offensive lineman T.J. Lang, whose father, Thomas, died last week.

Packers defensive lineman B.J. Raji wrote that "life is too short."

"Live in the present," he tweeted.

Giants defensive end Justin Tuck offered his condolences via his Twitter page.

"Our prayers go out to the Philbin family and Packer nation for their loss," he wrote.

Joe Philbin has been with the Packers since 2003 and has been the team's offensive coordinator since 2007. He interviewed for the Miami Dolphins' vacant head coaching job last week.

Denver deserves a lot of credit. Granted, Pittsburgh was vulnerable but considering how Denver's offense had performed in recent weeks I wasn't expecting what they showed last night. I thought Pittsburgh would be able to weather the injuries and their defense could contain Tebow. Nothing is a lock. I should know this by now but I never learn my lesson.

Don't think anyone would've picked Denver with a whole lot of confidence going into that game. Despite Pittsburgh's injuries, I too thought they'd easily overcome them given their defense.

I'm tired of Rodgers car commercials, and I soured on Green bay with the whole favre debacle. I don't know what to think about this Giants team anymore. They played Greebay and San Fran hard this year. They got smoked by the Saints. I can safely say I don;t want to see them play the saint for the NFCC at the "Mercedes-Benz Superdome"

 

It seems confidence with this is team runs streaky. And they can get down on themselves and give up.

We're consistently inconsistent...I'm hoping the better defense and running game we've been seeing actually continues. It'll have to if we want to continue in the playoffs.

It will get better should we beat GB...

I'm a cautiously optimistic guy. I think we can beat GB given how close we played them earlier in the year and given our defense has actually grown a set of balls since then. But you're right about the NO game and the nervousness it gives us fans.

Inevitably, there will be someone who is so overconfident, they'll ask the question this week: "who'd you rather face after we beat GB, NO or SF?" I won't be the guy asking that question.

I hate to be the guy to blame injuries, but the Steelers were beat to shit before last night's game. Playing Ben the last few weeks of the season was a mistake, but hindsight is 20/20 as they say. I don't think I would've been playing him the last few weeks if it were up to me, but they were fighting pretty hard for a WC spot if I'm not mistaken so I understand their decision.

But I think Pouncey was the nail in the injury coffin. Losing him made a hobbled Ben much more vulnerable. Depth at RB wasn't helpful either to their offense.

But Denver, geez, how do you not give them some credit here. The Steelers defense was relatively healthy going into the game and they just got manhandled by Denver's offensive line. You didn't hear anything really from Polamalu or Harrison, or really anyone else making big plays. Ike Taylor was abused almost as badly as Newman on the Cowboys when the Giants played them.

F DWTS for even sending an invite at this time.

This is a classic example of winning solves all. I like Coughlin, he's done well by us. I think he has earned his time with us. That said, the troubling thing for me was the few games this season where we outright lacked effort and lacked motivation. The knowledge and skill was there, but the heart, the desire, the energy just wasn't. And I think that falls on the coaching staff moreso than the players.

At the end of the day, it's a job to most of these guys. And I really don't care that it's a game they're playing, there are days where you're just not up for it. And in the workplace, it's a supervisor's responsibility to get the most out of their staff in the same way it's a coach's job to get the most out of his team. And I think this is where Coughlin failed midseason for us. That's the concern. The losing is one thing. But the getting your ass kicked while not even giving it an honest effort is another.

Had that trend continued and had we missed the playoffs, I really think Coughlin would've been packing right now.

Fish, I disagree on Williams, solely because I don't believe he's a MLB at all and I don't think his future with this team is at MLB. If he sticks around, he's more likely to be Boley's successor.

Yeah, I think too that Williams will be better on the outside. I'm pretty disappointed in Greg Jones so far in the middle. Was actually more excited about his being drafted/signed than Williams. Hopefully he's able to step up more next year with a year in the system, a year in the NFL, and playing alongside the guys.

Just watching the first 3, I see an assload of penalties given today's rules...

Just because he has a year left doesn't mean we can't upgrade the position. Sure, it makes it more a slap in the face to fire a guy as opposed to letting him walk and nonchalantly hiring someone else, but either way, the owners are looking at the best interest of their ball club.

We one hundred percent MUST re-sign Steve Weatherford. If we went back to the Matt Dodge days I'd fucking kill myself. But first I'd kill everyone in the Giants front office.

Agreed!