New York Giants
2012 NFL Mock Draft: New York Giants
After winning the Super Bowl in 2011, the Giants still have needs, and there’s no better time to fill them than during the NFL Draft. On April 26th, a wild three-day event will take place in the heart of New York City, and the Giants will be looking to snag important pieces for their quest to defend the title. Even though they are the Super Bowl Champions, holes still remain on the Big Blue roster.
Though they are picking 32nd, there will still be plenty of talent on the board, and the first pick is a crucial one for General Manager Jerry Reese, who has had incredible drafts since taking over in 2007. Below, you will find coverage of the first four picks of the New York Giants. Rounds 5-7 could really head in any direction, but I believe Big Blue will fill all of their major holes in those opening rounds. Nobody can claim to be an expert on the NFL Draft, but we can sure as hell try.
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*Aside from round one, all picks are not “of…
Sheridan faces daunting task as Bucs new DC
Bill Sheridan views himself first and foremost as a teacher. And in that regard, the newly named defensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Bucs has been immersed in a formulating a basic study plan for his mostly young players.
Call it, Introduction to Preventing the Long Play 101.
Indeed, when Sheridan and head coach Greg Schiano scrutinized film of last years woeful Buc defense a unit that set a new standard for most points allowed in franchise history with 494 he was taken aback by the number of long plays permitted by the unit, often resulting from poor technique and insufficient hustle.
But he says he also a saw a silver lining in the porous performances.
The one really encouraging thing weve seen as we watch the film is that all of it is correctable, Sheridan told the media Tuesday at One Buc Place. Thats one thing that can and will be corrected the sheer volume of big plays, what I call plays of 20 yards or more. A lot of (fixing) that has to do with great effort and pursuit to the ball. Greg and I saw that exactly the same.
Sheridan has frequently taught that style as a linebackers coach. He held that position with the New York Giants from 2005-2008, and spent the past two seasons as linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins. But in 2009, the year after the Giants won the Super Bowl, he served as defensive coordinator when Steve Spagnuolo departed to become head coach of the St. Louis Rams.
It was a humbling experience, as New Yorks defense wound up allowing 427 points the second most in franchise history. The Giants started 5-0, but lost eight of their last 11 games and gave up a franchise-record 40 or more points five times.
Before he could be asked about what happened, Sheridan introduced the topic at his introductory press conference and offered an explanation, saying it was precisely what he told Schiano during his interview.
I took and take full responsibility for the fact we didnt play good enough defense at the end of the year when I was coordinating it, he said. I was put in charge and the bottom line is at the end of the year, we didnt keep the people out of the end zone well enough to be successful.
Sheridan then offered some additional background about what went wrong.
When I was in New York, I inherited the job there, he said. I was promoted from within, so we maintained the exact same staff that we had had the previous three or four years, with the exception of the linebacker coach we brought in to replace me.
We though started off 5-0 and had the No. 1 defense in the NFL, after sustaining a couple of season-ending injuries to a couple of our starters (linebacker) Antonio Pierce, (safety) Kenny Phillips we started to falter. And we hit a skid in the middle of the season. In hindsight, one of the things we probably did was we assumed as a defensive staff because wed made the playoffs for four previous years that things would get turned around.
In addition, Sheridan said he and his staff attempted to simplify the defensive game-plan to make it easier for newly signed free agents to master. That, however, only seemed to make matters worse.
We tried to be very simple for them to give them a chance to execute, he said. But in hindsight, I think we may have been guilty of being too simple.We werent posing enough issues we were playing against.
What excites Sheridan now is a chance to build from scratch, coordinating for a defensive-minded head coach who shares his vision for an aggressive, physical style of play from Tampa Bays 4-3 alignment.
Greg is assembling a great coaching staff, people coming from different backgrounds, Sheridan said. Now as we go through OTAs here and in the preseason camp, we will be going over everything in tremendous detail to make sure were on the same page. Nothing will be assumed, because we have not been together. So thats kind of exciting from that standpoint.
Heres what Sheridan had to say on some topics:
On hitting it off right away in his initial meeting with Schiano:
Right from the get-go, I think we saw a lot of things on a very eye-to-eye level, especially how we thought defensive football should be played and taught. The No. 1 statistic in defensive football is (points allowed) and that will obviously be an emphasis in everything we do. If you can keep people out of the end zone, youre going to win games in this league. Another concept I know Greg talked about (is) we absolutely believe in being physical and out-physically our opponent and actually trying to physically dominate our opponent. We recognize this is predominantly a passing league and I know the fans love to see the ball thrown all over the park. But we understand that games are won on the front. We have a good, young front here and were definitely going to talk to and coach our players about being aggressive and attacking.
On dealing with players:
In the time Ive been in the NFL, I think all NFL players want to be great and theyre willing to do whatever youll lead them to do to be great. They all want to be successful and win games. And if you can show them how to do that and be demanding of them, thats something we will definitely as a defensive and full staff be with our players. They may never get to the expectations we have. but (we will be) demanding of your players in regards to their effort and their execution. Those are the two things that win in the National Football League. If you can get your players to believe in your system and play as hard as they possibly can each down, and get them to execute their jobs within the defense, thats what wins.
On his teaching style:
We view ourselves as teachers. Our job is to communicate not only the schemes we expect but also to motivate them to perform them at the top level. And everything we do will be with energy and urgency even though the season is a marathon. But on a moment to moment basis, there has to be a sense of urgency from 8 a.m. position meetings to every single thing you do in practice. Everything will have a tremendous amount of urgency to it. Our staff is all about correcting and teaching. Were not interested in justifying or explaining. Were about finding what the issues are, correcting them and getting them taught to the extent we need to (so we can) win.
On what he likes about the defense from what hes seen:
In general, theyre young, which I think is great. Because it can only get better. Guys arent stuck in a five- or six-year rut. Maybe if theyve been in the league a half dozen years, thats probably what they are as a player. So our players are young and theyre only going to get better. I think we have a potentially very good, young front, which is a great way to be. The team that just won the Super Bowl won that way. And thats how we won it in (2008) as well.
On one of the common threads he noticed in the long plays yielded by the Bucs last season:
There wasnt any pressure. And I dont just mean four-down (lineman) pressure. Of course, if you can pressure the quarterback with four down, youre going to win in the NFL. But from a schematic standpoint, the one thread we noticed when we watched is it was all just a four-man rush. Its not to imply that the Bucs didnt pressure last year and obviously they had more success when they did.
On the philosophy of an aggressive defense he shares with Schiano:
Everything we do defensively, even in a non-pressure scheme, will be all aggressive, across-the-line-of-scrimmage technique, especially our front. We always say, We dont let the offense climb up on us. You definitely have to pressure in this league. You cant just rush four and say were good enough on the back end or good enough on the front four. If you can do that, great. And theres a place for that in every single game. But you need to pressure. and you have to do it in a calculated form. Because the offenses get prepared for that, too. And if they know whats coming, theyll have an answer for it.
David Diehl Ranked Last in Pass Blocking Efficiency for Guards and Tackles
I hate to pile on a guy, especially considering I just wrote that the Giants should cut him, but David Diehl is getting piled on by more than just me.
According to Pro Football Focus, Diehl was the worst pass blocking tackle in 2011. Not to out perform himself, he was also their worst in pass blocking efficiency as a guard.
They ranked all the tackles and guards who took at least 200 snaps last season, and Diehl took over 200 at both positions. I don’t know that this has ever happened before at PFF, but I would be shocked if it had.
It seems pretty clear to me, and hopefully to the Giants, that Diehl needs to be released, or significantly reduce his pay and make him a backup.
New York Giants Season: Big Giants Boom’s Annual Grades (Part Three)
In the final section of this article series, we will address the seldom talked about aspects of the season: Special Teams performance and Coaching. We will also offer our staff’s grade for the overall team performance. The positions in this section all usually lead to success or failure and are only brought up when they propel a team to greatness or cause the same team to crash and burn.KR/PR- The Giants have had issue with this phase of the game since Domenik Hixon went down last year. This season, Hixon was expected to boost this phase, bit once again, went down to season ending injury. Of the players that took on the responsibility of returning kicks and punts and establishing field position, only one really stood out; Devin Thomas.Thomas had 25 kick returns and 607 yards for an average of 24.3 yards per attempt. Had this job not been divided between three players (Thomas, Da’Rel Scott and Jerrel Jernigan), Thomas surely would have had 1,000 yards returning. The trio, how…
2012 NFL Free Agency: 5 Veteran New York Giants That Will Be Released
The New York Giants have a situation coming up that will need to addressed. Depending on who you ask, they are either $7-9 million over the cap, or just under it.
Regardless, they will have to make some tough decisions and will end up letting go of some veterans.
Some are free agents, but others are going to be cut or traded. The 2012 roster is going to have a different look to it, but that does not mean it is going to be any worse.
The Super Bowl champs are going to do their best to repeat, and it starts with these tough choices.
Here are five players I believe will not be with New York in 2012.
Brandon Jacobs Says He Will be on the New York Giants in 2012
After two years of a roller coaster ride of emotions, Brandon Jacobs seems pretty confident he will remain a New York Giant in 2012.
Jacobs could never make up his mind during the last two years, saying he wanted to be traded just as often as saying he wanted to retire in New York.
That has changed, and it looks like the Giants could be holding on to the bruising back.
“Well, I have spoken to my agent and I do expect to be fully back with the New York Giants next season,” Jacobs said. “These guys in the front office, they’ve been doing this for years. They know what they gotta do. I want to be back. But they actually know what has to be done if they want me back.”
The Giants cap situation is pretty murky. I’ve heard they are as much as $9 million over the cap, and Spotrac says they are $1.5 million under.
Any way you spin it, the Giants will have to make some tough decisions on their veteran players. They have some guys like Victor Cruz who deserv…
RB Brandon Jacobs expects to return to the New York Giants
RB Brandon Jacobs is under contract with the New York Giants for the 2012 season, but with a salary over $4.4 million due next season, Jacobs has been the subject of speculation as a possible candidate to be released. On Tuesday, Brandon Jacobs said that he expects to be back with the New York Giants next season.
On Tuesday, Jacobs was a guest on The Sirius Blitz with Jim Miller and Rich Gannon. When asked about his future with the Giants, Jacobs responded, “Well, I have spoken to my agent and I do expect to be fully back with the New York Giants next season. These guys in the front office, they’ve been doing this for years. They know what they’ve got to do. I want to be back. But they actually know what has to be done if they want me back. If they don’t want me back, that’s another story in itself, then nothing has to be done. But I’ve got a feeling that they do”, Jacobs told the hosts.
The Giants owe Jacobs a roster bonus of $500,000 dolla…
Giants’ Reese plays catch-up at NFL combine
As the NFL world returns to Indianapolis for the second time this month, Giants general manager Jerry Reese realizes he’s a bit behind the curve when it comes to this latest event at Lucas Oil Stadium. Which is a good thing, considering the last time he was in town just 17 days ago, his team was putting together a remarkable Super Bowl win over the Patriots.
Jacobs now ‘expects’ to return to Giants
Brandon Jacobs has made it clear that he wants to return to the Giants, and with each offseason interview he does he sounds more and more certain that he actually will. It’s not that simple, of course, for the big, 29-year-old running back, but he still said “I do expected to be fully back” …
Giants likely won’t franchise Mario Manningham
According to Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network, the New York Giants will likely not place the franchise tag on wide receiver Mario Manningham.
The Giants are a franchise that typically never uses the the franchise tag any way and it looks like this year won’t be any different.
Manningham is a good receiver that has a knack for making plays, but he’s very inconsistent with his route running and sometimes makes routine catches more difficult then they need to be.
New York Giants Season: Big Giants Boom’s Annual Grades (Part Two)
As we continue our breakdown of the New York Giants and their miraculous season that led to the Super Bowl Championship, we move onto the Defense. They were led by captain Justin Tuck and Pro Bowl standout Jason Pierre-Paul. The Defense was more than just these two players, however. Several names stepped up in a big way to solidify this unit at the right time.DE- The Giants’ defensive ends didn’t amaze the crowds with spectacular individual numbers, outside of Jason Pierre-Paul, but these players were always intimidating to the opposing offenses and never made another quarterback’s job any easier.Pierre-Paul had 86 tackles, 16.5 sacks and six passes deflected. Justin Tuck had 37 tackles, five sacks and three passes deflected. The veteran Osi Umenyiora had 25 tackles with nine sacks and one pass deflected. Finally, longtime backup Dave Tollefson got a good amount of playing time and had 21 tackles, five sacks and one pass deflected.The Giants’ defensive ends are so at…
Five reasons why A.J. Smith should not be blamed for trading Eli Manning
The Star-Ledger-US PRESSWIRE
Eli Manning and the New York Giants won their second Super Bowl in five years when they defeated the New England Patriots on February 5, 2012. Manning is infamous among Chargers fans because he did not want to play for this franchise when he was drafted by them in 2004. Manning was traded for Philip Rivers, and here is a list of reasons why this is one of the few moves I cannot blame A.J. Smith for making.
The Clutch Enigma: Eli Manning’s Playoff Performances
Kyle Rodriguez moves to Eli Manning in his continuing evaluation of clutch quarterback play.
After examining the pressure performances by Tom Brady last week (here and here), this week we turn our attention to Eli Manning.
While “Little Brother” has shown flashes of the Manning genes in the past, he’s generally been seen as inconsistent, frustrating player. However, after his stellar season in 2011, capped off by an incredible Super Bowl run, Eli’s legacy has been vaulted to near Hall of Fame worthy levels by some members of the media (and fans). Critics point to Manning’s mediocre career totals, while proponents point to his two Super Bowl rings and clutch play (a.k.a. “He just wins big games”).
That second part is the part that’s questionable, and the part that would vault Manning to the upper echelon of quarterbacks during this era. So, has Manning’s play in pressure situations truly been exceptional, or is this merely another misconce…
New York Giants Season: Big Giants Boom’s Annual Grades (Part One)
The New York Giants finished this season hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy as the champions of the NFL. It wasn’t always pretty. It wasn’t always effective. But the Giants made the most of their opportunities when they needed to. With the high of the Super Bowl championship last week beginning to settle us all back into reality, the staff can finally take a realistic view of the Giants and their performance over the entire season. This will be an in depth look per position and will be divided into three parts. The first part handles the offense. The second part tackles the defense and the third part goes into special teams, coaching and intangibles. Each category will have an overall grade awarded to it. Some may be obvious, while others may surprise you. All will be forthright and objective. With that said, let’s begin with the Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning and his supporting cast.QB- David Carr had an absolutely stellar season…Just kidding, it was ALL Eli Manning.Manning…
New York Giants Osi Umenyiora Promises Quiet Offseason
After a Super Bowl run that was obviously fun for the entire New York Giants team, Osi Umenyiora seemingly does not wish to be traded any more.
On top of that, even if he does desire a trade, he promises Giants fans he will not be a distraction this off season. In terms of a trade or staying for the last year of his contract, he is good either way.
“No strategy, man. I’m just going to be really quiet, that’s for sure,” Umenyiora told Sirius XM radio on Monday.
This is a far cry from last off season, when he did a lot of talking, held out for a supposed promised raised from Jerry Reese, and ended up being labeled the bad guy when the Giants did not give in to his demands.
Osi ended up being a key factor in the Giants run to Super Bowl XLVI, and if they want to keep him around they will definitely try to make it work.
Last off season it seemed as if Osi could not wait to get out the door, but with this team being as good as it is now, he wants to stick around now. Who woul…
