GM Jerry Reese is a great draft picker

[US Patriot]

Here are some facts about last year's draft that were printed in today's NY Daily News that show why I trust his ability to do well in the draft this week. "The first round pick of Aaron Ross started most of the season. 2nd round pick was receiver Steve Smith, a star in the making, 3rd round DT Jay Alford had the final sack of Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. The 5th round pick was Kevin Boss who played very well when he replaced

starter Shockey. In the 7th round, he choose Ahmad Bradshaw who splitting carries with Brandon Jacobs late in the year and the other7th rounder was Michael Johnson who in the play-offs worked his way int the safety rotation.

In summary, 2 of the 8 players choosen in the draft finished the season as starters. 7 of them played in played in the Super Bowl and 6 played significant roles."

 

I hope that last years success will be duplicated again this year. I hope all of you Giant fans find the above facts interesting and agree with me about Mr. Reese. :worshippy:

[Virginia Giant]

The one thing that worries me is he no longer does the actual scouting of the plaers. He has said a couple times he's not as familiar with this draft class as he was with previous ones, but that he trusts the new scout.

[xxi-xxv]

The one thing that worries me is he no longer does the actual scouting of the plaers. He has said a couple times he's not as familiar with this draft class as he was with previous ones, but that he trusts the new scout.

 

Chris Mara is the head of scouting and he has worked side by side with Reese for years, we should be ok. Not to mention they always say, once a scout always a scout. Thats the knock on the Jets GM Tannenbaum, he was never a scout at the low level, where you develop that eye for talent.

[Lubeck]

All I can say is.....you are ready to anoint the guy after one draft. Something a rank amateur at sports would do, something a seasoned veteran of sports management journalism would never do.

 

We can all preach "Trust in Reese" but this is nonsense. The same kind of nonsense that says Boss can match Shockey's production.

[xxi-xxv]

All I can say is.....you are ready to anoint the guy after one draft. Something a rank amateur at sports would do, something a seasoned veteran of sports management journalism would never do.

 

We can all preach "Trust in Reese" but this is nonsense. The same kind of nonsense that says Boss can match Shockey's production.

 

The same people that wanted to trash him 1 year ago are the ones that think he is the next greatest sports executive. Best way to look at it is this. He has run the draft for the Giants since 2003, EA had final say, but he ran the draft and built the boards. In those years we had some good picks, we have also had some duds as well, but the draft has been better since 2003 then say what it was from 1998 to 2002. He seems to know his shit and his early success is unprecedented. To think he will do that type of draft every year is silly.

[gateb]

Reese said it himself that he thought his draft last year was a little overrated.

 

These guys always have something to prove. Scouting is crucial but the draft is still a crapshoot.

[Nas]

The same people that wanted to trash him 1 year ago are the ones that think he is the next greatest sports executive. Best way to look at it is this. He has run the draft for the Giants since 2003, EA had final say, but he ran the draft and built the boards. In those years we had some good picks, we have also had some duds as well, but the draft has been better since 2003 then say what it was from 1998 to 2002. He seems to know his shit and his early success is unprecedented. To think he will do that type of draft every year is silly.

 

A year ago I was his biggest supporter on this board. Now, while I'm not ready to anoint him, I have to give credit where credit is due. He had a superb draft last year and deserves all the praise in the world. Keep in mind, he didn't just draft very well, he cut the dead weight in his first week or so.

[fishgutmartyr]

I don't think Reese has had a bad move yet in either FA or draft. I remember all the grief he received from his big cuts at the beginning of last year, especially with Pettitgout being cut. ("Reese is sabotaging Coughlin to get rid of him"--remember that?) After a season of nice, consistent play at LT, Diehl was playing in Tampa Bay, while Luke was on IR.

 

So far, the only move from the guy I didn't care for was not trying to get a pick for Pettitgout, assuming he didn't. But considering we wound up with a superbowl win in stead of a pick, I think I can get over it.

[boohyah]

Interesting note from the Giants podcast last week. Papa said that the Giants brought in a lot of players to talk before the draft, that Aaron Ross was not one of them. I found that interesting.

[Lubeck]

Interesting note from the Giants podcast last week. Papa said that the Giants brought in a lot of players to talk before the draft, that Aaron Ross was not one of them. I found that interesting.

 

I would wager they heard enough at the Combine, and any kind of background check they had didn't raise any red flags that would warrant more talks. You are only allowed to bring in a certain amount of players for talks so they probably felt comfortable putting him on their draft board as a first rounder and devoted their time to late-rounders.

[BleedinBlue]

Excellent article in this morning's news concerning Ross' new role in head scout. Apparantly, he's just a young kid but has worked the Eagles and the Bills before moving to the Giants.

Giants have select talent in top scout

by Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger

Monday April 21, 2008, 3:00 AM

 

Sitting at a table in a quiet hallway at the Indiana Convention Center two months ago -- safely removed from the meat-market atmosphere of the NFL Scouting Combine -- Marc Ross was, for once, reflecting on the past instead of the future.

 

Of course, he did so reluctantly and only after he was repeatedly asked to recount his greatest finds as an NFL scout.

 

The first one, which brought a smirk to Ross' face, was easy: Brian Westbrook, whom Ross expected to be dynamic on special teams and as a third-down back but didn't seem likely to turn into the "kill-people, game-plan-for-him" type of player he has been for the Eagles.

 

The next one was rather curious, and very telling.

 

"Kevin Everett," Ross said, his grin quickly replaced by a somber, blank stare.

 

Everett is the former Bills tight end who suffered a severe neck injury and was nearly paralyzed while making a tackle on a kickoff last September. He will never play football again.

 

A special-teams contributor who missed his entire rookie season due to a knee injury and then had his career cut short at three years is one of Ross' favorite finds ever?

 

"From an off-field standpoint, everything that's happened to him, the resiliency the guy has shown is amazing," Ross said. "He'll be more proud of what he's done than of what he could have done on the field."

 

Make no mistake: Ross, a former Princeton wide receiver who is now the Giants' director of college scouting, is looking for players who want to win Super Bowls, not Nobel Prizes. And after all eight of the Giants' picks in last year's draft contributed to this past season's championship run, Ross has a high standard to meet.

 

"I don't think he's afraid of the challenge," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said. "And it's really not a challenge. We're not looking for Marc Ross to match last year's draft.

 

"We just want him to help us continue to draft good players ... and, of course, good people."

 

YOUNG AND GREEN

Reese had been the Giants' director of player personnel since 2002 before taking over as general manager last February. Three months later, he hired the 34-year-old Ross to take his place. Ross has climbed the ranks of the scouting system even more quickly than Reese, who was 39 when he became the Giants' college scouting boss.

 

Ross has always been the young guy. He became a scouting intern in 1996 with the Eagles after one year as a public relations intern for the Giants. Only 23 when he was sent on the road to remote places like Montana to scout obscure players like linebacker Jason Crebo, he didn't know where he was going and had to haggle to get there. Because he was younger than 25, Ross wasn't allowed to rent a car until he proved it was a company account.

 

"Now, these scouts are getting younger and younger," Ross said. "But when I started, there weren't many guys my age at all."

 

It didn't stop him from gaining respect. Tom Modrak, hired by the Eagles as director of football operations in May 1998, noticed Ross' eye for talent immediately when he read his report on Florida State tackle Tra Thomas, whom Philly had drafted in the first round a few weeks prior to Modrak's hiring.

 

"The description and the directness (of the Thomas report) .¤.¤. his whole body of work was excellent," Modrak said. "That was an easy hire for me, to renew him."

 

Under Modrak, Ross learned a fundamental draft lesson on not caving to outside pressure. In 1999, he and Modrak easily identified Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb as the player they wanted to take with the No. 2 overall pick. As the draft approached, the local sports talk station, fans and even the mayor of Philadelphia (now Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell) pleaded with the team to take running back Ricky Williams.

 

The Eagles took McNabb, who was booed by Philly fans on draft day.

 

Nine years later, it's clear Ross, Modrak and the rest of the Eagles' scouting department were correct. McNabb has gone to five Pro Bowls and one Super Bowl; Williams has been in and out of the league because of a short-lived retirement and several drug suspensions.

 

Meanwhile, No. 1 overall pick Tim Couch, whom Ross and the Eagles rated below McNabb, quickly flamed out with the Browns.

 

"The bottom line is: Does a guy help you win?" Ross said. "Football comes down to who makes the plays at the right time. Certain guys have a sense for that and a savvy about them. They have great football sense."

 

In 2000, at the age of 27, Ross' football sense resulted in the Eagles' making him the youngest college scouting director in the NFL.

 

His climb and good standing with the Eagles ended, however, four years later. Modrak had butted heads with the organization and was fired, followed out the door soon after by his entire staff.

 

Ross rejoined Modrak in Buffalo and served as a national scout for the Bills. He had a lot of input into last year's impressive draft class, which included running back Marshawn Lynch, linebacker Paul Posluszny and quarterback Trent Edwards -- each of whom started as rookies.

 

AN HONEST EVALUATION

All the while, Ross has maintained his approach as a scout who doesn't hedge his bets.

 

"He'll argue with you and that's good. I want guys that feel something and do it," Modrak said. "He doesn't politicize anything.

 

"If the buzz is going one way and he doesn't feel it, he doesn't go that way. That's a quality that's special in this business."

 

Ross didn't even sugarcoat his opinions of the Giants' draft last year when he interviewed with Reese and brought all of his reports to show his future boss.

 

"Some of them were good," Ross said, "some of them were bad."

 

Ross has been that honest and straightforward for quite some time, according to Steve Verbit, Princeton's defensive coordinator, who recruited Ross out of Archmere Academy in Claymont, Del.

 

"Everybody was in love with Marc Ross at Archmere," Verbit said. "Teachers, coaches, guidance counselors -- all of them raved about his honesty and sincerity."

 

Ross' adjustment to the Ivy League, academically and on the field, was a struggle. It wasn't until his junior season that the undersized speedster developed into an All-Ivy League receiver for the Tigers.

 

"There were times I thought he was a volleyball player instead of a football player," Verbit said. "I would shake my head and think, 'What happened to the hands I saw on this young man two or three years ago?'"

 

Ross knows how Verbit felt. While with the Eagles, one player he raved about was North Carolina's Na Brown -- a sure-handed receiver in college who quickly came down with a case of the dropsies in three disappointing NFL seasons with Philly.

 

Of course, no scout is perfect. So Ross has tried not to let players that didn't pan out like Brown affect his approach or confidence in his ability to spot talent.

 

"It's like a DB -- you get beat, you have to look forward to the next play," Ross said. "You have to have that conviction in your evaluations and your system.

 

"You can't get gun-shy. You just keep going and forget about it."

 

Even the successes -- like last year's draft -- can't be held onto for too long.

 

"As we kept winning and those guys kept making plays, I was like, 'You're putting more pressure on me,'" Ross said with a laugh. "And (Reese) said, 'Hey, I expect you to take us to new levels.'

 

"To me, it's a challenge. I told the scouts, 'That was a great draft, but it's over with and we have to look forward to next year. Our goal should be to make it even better.' And that is really 100 percent my goal."

 

 

[Tempest]

"Some of them were good, some of them were bad" Yeah that pretty much sums up every draft unless your Miami, Denver, Oakland, Detroit, etc.