Monthly Archives: May 2009
I just finished a blog post over at Inside Football about the upcoming OTAs that are open to the press. This week we get access to two sessions, starting with Monday, June 1. Just in time too, as the offense and defense will start working against each other this week.
I’ll have an update for you as soon as I can get everything written, transcribed, and edited. . In the meantime, I’d like to remind you that if you want to get instant reports headline style from the workouts as they happen, be sure to follow Inside_Football on Twitter.
Coughlin Firmly In Charge
Head Coach – Tom Coughlin
Offensive Coordinator- Kevin Gilbride
Defensive Coordinator – Bill Sheridan
Offensive Assistants: Jerald Ingram (running backs), Chris Palmer (quarterbacks), Pat Flaherty (offensive line), Jack Bicknell, Jr. (asst. offensive line), Mike Pope (tight ends), Mike Sullivan (wide receivers), Sean Ryan (quality control)
Defensive Assistants: Mike Waufle (defensive line), Jim Herrmann (linebackers), Pete Giunta (cornerbacks), David Merritt (safeties), Al Holcomb (quality control)
Special Teams: Tom Quinn, Thomas McGaughey
Strength and Conditioning: Jerry Palmieri, Markus Paul
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Tom Coughin- Head Coach (6th Year)
Down-to-Earth and genuine, Coughlin almost lost his job after the 2006 season. He had always been known as a disciplinarian and his rigid tactics and unbending rules caused a rift in the locker room. His style was a 180-degree turn from his predecessor, the flexible and lenient Jim Fassel. Players felt he was taking the regimentation a tad too far.
With his contract due to expire at the end of the coming season, ownership extended Coughlin for a year in January of 2007 so he would not be a ‘lame-duck’ coach. With that extension came requests that he loosen up on the players. He did. The rest is history.
As a coach Coughlin was treading water after three seasons. He was 25-23 with two playoff losses and the team was stuck in neutral. Then Jerry Reese took over as GM and began bringing the young talent that would help turn his team into a serious contender. This season, Coach Coughlin has another crop of young studs to deal with. They will get the full treatment and he turn them into professionals.
Analysis: Coughlin tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, but since the Giants won a championship, that’s now seen as a positive. He’s outlasted the stubborn veterans who staged a mini-mutiny a few years back and has currently has more security and control than ever. Coughlin has built a solid staff of veteran coaches that adds to the success of the team. He rarely hires coaches with little or no experience. The Giants are pleased they stuck with Coughlin because he has become an excellent game coach: his strategy is usually right on and his ability to adjust in-game is up there with the best.
Offense
Coach Coughlin’s stamp is all over this group. He likes to surround himself with familiar faces. OC Kevin Gilbride held the same job under Coughlin in Jacksonville. So did RB coach Jerald Ingram. WR coach Mike Sullivan and QB coach Chris Palmer were also on Coughlin’s staff with the Jaguars. Jack Bicknell, Jr was a player at BC when Coughlin was the QB coach there under Bicknell’s father. TE coach Mike Pope coached with Coughlin in both New England and under Bill Parcells with the Giants.
Only OL coach Pat Flaherty and Quality Control coach Sean Ryan did not have prior working experience either next to, or under Tom Coughlin. That hasn’t put them at a disadvantage, though. This group understands what it needs to do to win ballgames. The major challenge has been having to go from a veteran team to a young team without losing any productivity.
Analysis: This year, that challenge gets even greater. The Giants will be asking their rookie receivers to step up and attempt to help re-establish the passing game. That will not be easy to do. The running game and the offensive line are staples on this team and both are amongst the leagues’ best. QB Eli Manning still remains an enigma – one game on, one game off. He needs to become more consistent. If he does, the Giants will be at the top of the standings again.
Defense
The Giants like to choose defensive coaches that have a history of sticking to basics and regimentation. DC Bill Sheridan coached at Army, Michigan and Notre Dame before joining the Giants in 2005. LB coach Jim Herrmann actually had Sheridan on his staff at Michigan in the early part of the decade. Herrmann played and coached at Michigan for a quarter-century and began his career under the great Bo Schembechler.
CB coach Pete Giunta coached at Penn State and was the Rams’ DC when they won Super Bowl XXXIV. Safeties coach David Merritt is a former NFL linebacker who once coached defense at VMI. Al Holcomb is a former phys ed teacher that toiled in the NCAA Division II coaching ranks before being hired by Coughlin last year to become the defensive quality control coach for the Giants. Finally, DL coach Mike Waufle has a long resume. Waufle has been coaching defensive lines in both the collegiate and professional ranks for nearly 30 years.
Analysis: The defensive line rotation when it gets cooking under Waufle is practically unstoppable. Last year, the rotation took a hit when Michael Strahan retired and Osi Umenyiora missed the entire year with a knee injury. This year, they are stacked again with bodies. They will bring the pressure big time, which will alleviate the stress on the back seven. The linebackers are going to shock people. Herrmann loves the possibilities of having Michael Boley and Clint Sintim flanking captain Anotnio Pierce. Look out. The secondary has benefited from three top draft choices – Corey Webster, Aaron Ross and Kenny Phillips. Giunta and Merritt work well together and this group has the potential to become great, not just good.
Special Teams
Tom Quinn and Thomas McGaughey are back running the show. Last year, the Giants sent 3 special teamers to the Pro Bowl: punter Jeff Feagles, kicker John Carney and long snapper Zak DeOssie. This year, Carney is out and Lawrence Tynes is back in. The Giants will see how much Ahmad Bradshaw and Domenik Hixon are needed on the offense before deciding on whether to switch them out of their returner roles. The Giants are one club that actually makes out on the new wedge rule. They normally don’t run many kicks back for big yardage, and they usually fend the kickoff very well.
Analysis: The Tynes for Carney switch makes everyone uneasy, but Tynes has a long-term deal with four years left so live with it. The coaches would prefer that Hixon continue his returner role. That would happen only if the rookie wideouts unseat him in the starting lineup.
Strength and Conditioning
Jerry Palmieri is another guy who has been following Coughlin around. From BC to Jacksonville to the Giants, Palmieri has been keeping the Giants in top physical form. He was awarded the NFL’s S&C Coach of the Year in 2007. His assistant, Markus Paul, is a former DB for the Chicago Bears and has worked in an S&C capacity for the Jets, Patriots and Saints before joining the Giants in 2007.
Analysis: The Ginats just recently moved into a brand new training complex, just west of Giants Stadium. The 199,000 square-foot complex contains all of the modern amenities for proper training, including a 7500 square-foot weight room and four full practice fields: 3 grass and one FieldTurf.
Quick Question: What is the job of an NFL quality control coach? A quality control coach helps break down tape of the opponents, monitors his team’s tendencies so that measures can be taken to make his team less predictable and helps keep the players on script during practices. He is available to the head coach for whatever else needs to be done during practice or in preparation for the upcoming opponent. – Thanks to Steve Corkran of the Contra-Costa Times
Tagged
Giants Coaches |
Now that the Giants’ off-season conditioning program is over, it’s now time for the team to kick off their OTA program tomorrow.
For those who don’t know, the OTAs (Organized Team Activities) is the first chance for the rookies and veterans to get together and begin learning the fundamentals that they’ll work on during the mini camp and then training camp.
For those curious, the media access days are June 1, June 5, and June 9. The OTAs end on June 12 and are followed by the three-day, mandatory mini camp (to which the press gets full access).
Don’t forget to let me know what players you’re interested in hearing about. Your feedback will help me plan my blog entries and my “Tweets” accordingly.
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Speaking of your feedback, I’m looking for your memories of Giants Stadium. As you probably know, the building is set to close its doors forever after the 2009 season concludes (though hopefully the Giants will still be playing in January 2010.)
I’m going to be running a chronological list of my memories (both professional and personal) from the place starting the week after the veteran mini camp and leading up to the start of training camp. I have begun reading some of the submissions that have come in from the fans and I’m really enjoying the different stories people have been sharing. I hope you’ll consider sharing your stories with me as well.
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I posted a new edition of Letters to the Editor in my blog earlier this evening, and one letter in particular inspired me to do some further research on the current Giants roster. I’m currently developing an article about it, so I don’t want to say too much about what I’m writing, but I will share a couple of interesting facts that came from my research.
As of this writing, the average age of the Giants’ roster is 25.5 years old. That number will probably go up slightly once the free agent hopefuls are cut throughout the summer, but let’s say for argument’s sake the average age goes up one full year. That’s still a great average age for a football team because it means that most of the guys have at least four years of experience, which is around the time most players come into their own as far as making contributions.
Here’s even more good news. Of the 11 players currently on the roster who will be 30+ by the start of training camp, their average age comes out to 32, which means they’re still young enough to make at least another 2-3 years of contributions while the youth behind them develop. THAT is how you plan your football team, folks.
Further, if you look at the talent on paper, the Giants are loaded. I know you don’t award the Vince Lombardi Trophy in May, but unless massive injuries wipe out the depth on this team, I can’t see any reason why come January 2010 they’re not still playing ball.
Want another statistic to help you over hump day? This is a team that in four years under head coach Tom Coughlin has made the playoffs four times and has won two NFC East Division titles, one NFC Conference Championship, and one Super Bowl. That’s impressive!
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Last but not least, I received a very cool e-mail earlier today advising me that the book I edited on behalf of Inside Football, “Giant Journey: The Story of the New York Giants’ Road to Super Bowl XLII” is now available on Amazon.com! The book, which is a compilation of articles, tells the story of the Giants’ rise to Super Bowl XLII Champions.
Tagged
Giants Stadium,
Roster Notes |
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No surprise here.
Like most NFL teams, the Giants are in serious trouble if they lose their quarterback. While I do believe that the defense is good enough to carry the team for a few games, there is no way the Giants can win the division without Eli Manning. That is something I would not say about any other player on the team.
David Carr looked better than solid in his limited playing time backing up Manning in 2008, going 9 for 12 with 115 yards and 2 touchdowns. This small a sample size does not mean much, but it is not crazy to think that Carr can perform well, being that he was a former #1 overall pick with a strong arm who has never played behind an adequate offensive line. If Manning were to miss a handful of games, the Giants could do worse than to have Carr pick up the slack.
But if Eli is gone for an extended period of time, the Giants will severely miss his improved passing ability and his leadership. For the first time in his career, Manning’s completion percentage was over 60 % (60.3) and his QB rating was over 80 (86.4). He had more than twice as many touchdowns (21) as interceptions (10).
He has had his ups and downs, but in the 2007 season’s playoffs and the 2008 season, Giants fans finally saw Manning turn into the type of franchise quarterback that Ernie Accorsi traded up to draft in 2004. Although he sometimes struggles with his accuracy, he has still developed into a top ten QB in the NFL. QB is probably the most important position in any sport, and losing a starting QB can be the difference between making the Super Bowl and missing the playoffs entirely (see 2008 New England Patriots).
What Brandon Jacobs does for the Giants’ offense, Justin Tuck does for the defense. The 6-5, 274 pound monster is as threatening a presence as there is in the NFL (save for maybe Ray Lewis). With 10 and 12 sacks in the last two years respectively, Tuck is primed for a true breakout year. Tuck was on pace for 17 sacks mid-way through the 2008 season, before fatigue and the flu caused his play to deteriorate.
When Tuck was not himself down the stretch last season, the pass rush struggled. Tuck was playing his first full season as a starter, and it finally got to him. Tuck was not himself in the playoff loss to the Eagles, and the Giants pass rush generated no pressure.
With the return of Osi Umenyiora and the addition of Chris Canty, Tuck will be able to see some much needed rest, allowing him to stay fresh down the stretch. But make no mistake about it; Tuck is still easily the most important and most well rounded member of this defense.
Like Michael Strahan before him, Tuck is a player that opposing offenses will gameplan for. He will see tons of double teams, which will allow the rest of the talented front seven to exploit one-on-one matchups. Take Tuck away and suddenly the pass rush is good, not great, and the rest of the defense suffers.
The success of the Giants defense revolves around one simple strategy: rushing the quarterback. A great defense starts up front, and an effective pass rush makes everything easier. The question marks in the linebacking core will be made less pressing by a great pass rush. The lack of a veteran presence in the defensive backfield will be nullified by a great pass rush. Pressuring the quarterback not only creates sacks, but it gets the entire offense out of rhythm.
Former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi used to say “you can never have too many pass rushers,” and current GM Jerry Reese has taken that advice to heart. The pass rush is the soul of the defense, and Justin Tuck is the heart that makes it beat.
High Round Talent On Display
Coaches
Secondary / Corners: Peter Giunta (3rd year)
Secondary / Safeties: David Merritt (3rd year)
Defensive Coordinator: Bill Sheridan (1st year)
Safeties: Kenny Phillips, Michael Johnson (Starters), C.C. Brown, Steve Cargile Cornerbacks: Corey Webster, Aaron Ross (Starters), Terrell Thomas, Kevin Dockery, DeAndre Wright, Rashad Barksdale
Others: Stoney Woodson, Vince Anderson, Bruce Johnson, Travonti Johnson, Sha’reff Rashad
Overview
The NFL is chock full of athletes that fit the defensive back prototype, that is why every team invites over a dozen players to camp each year. How many of them can play at a high level is another question. The Giants want to make sure they have sufficient talent at the position as well as fill their roster with capable athletes. Three starters in the Giants’ secondary were the club’s top selections in three of the last four drafts.
Pete Giunta, who was in the running for the job of defensive coordinator runs the corners while David Merritt, a former Arizona Cardinal linebacker, handles the safeties. The split responsibilities has worked very well thus far. This year, the club is hoping to see all of this young talent come to fruition and make a significant impact.
Safeties
Michael Johnson was a 7th round draft pick out of Arizona in 2007. He ended up being thrust into action during the Giants’ Super Bowl run. What a find this kid was. Since joining the Giants, he has played in every single game, starting 21 of them. Last season, he started every game at free safety, including the playoffs, and was second behind Antonio Pierce on the team with 77 tackles.
Kenny Phillips was the team’s first round selection in last season’s draft. The former Miami Hurricane came to camp with high expectations, but he was not inserted into the starting lineup until late in the season. Phillips still made major contributions as a sub with 66 tackles and an interception off the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger in the Giants’ regular season victory in Pittsburgh. He is currently #1 on the depth chart at strong safety.
C.C.Brown was signed as a free agent this past winter. Brown comes over from the Houston Texans where he was a starter until he broke his forearm last season. The Giants see a lot of James Butler in Brown. The coaching staff likes his aggressiveness and his ability to call plays.
Steve Cargile is a Columbia product that failed to catch on with the 3 other clubs who signed him. The Giants may not keep him, either. They are obviously intrigued by his size (6’2″, 218) and his intelligence. He may end up being unseated by a number of players: Sha’reff Rashad; Vince Anderson, a corner; Kenny Ingram, a linebacker and even Gerris Wilkerson and Michael Boley have been discussed as candidates to bolster the safety ranks.
Analysis: At some point the cream has to rise. Michael Johnson has played extraordinarily well for a 7th rounder, and its common sense he will only get better. Phillips is the key, here. He needs to step up and provide the Giants with the type of play his Miami forerunners, Ed Reed and Sean Taylor provided their teams past their rookie seasons. Now, that would be something.
Cornerbacks
The Giants waited a few seasons for 2005 top pick Corey Webster to get his sea legs. Now they are waiting for 2007 top pick Aaron Ross to get his. He better find them fast because the Giants have an army of bodies just waiting for a chance. Terrell Thomas, last year’s 2nd rounder out of USC, has a ton of talent. He’s got the championship pedigree and the Giants will have to find playing time for him. 
Kevin Dockery has done nothing but make plays since the Giants signed him as a rookie free agent. At 5’8″, 185, Dockery is on the small size, but he has the field sense of a seasoned veteran to compensate for that.
Rashad Barksdale is the first player from SUNY Albany to play for the Giants. For those of you who are unaware, that is where the club holds its training camp. Barksdale was primarily a practice squad player last season and has moved up the depth chart as a result of the team being thin at corner last season.
DeAndre Wright and Stoney Woodson, both taken by the Giants in the final rounds of this year’s draft, have the inside track on making the club. Jerry Reese gives his picks a lot more latitude than he does undrafted free agents, so it remains to be seen if these guys can return dividends.
Analysis: We never get the chance to see how good these corners really are because the pass rush forces a lot of quick passes. The rush is back this year, so the key will be to wrap and tackle to prevent big plays. Webster, Ross and Thomas may end up rotating with Dockery coming in to spell them. Its hard to predict who the others will be because corners are like relief pitchers in baseball. Hot and cold.
Outlook
It still is unclear who will man the middle in the nickel. Butler and Gibril Wilson had done an admiral job over the years. As stated, Phillips must step up. He is the enforcer in that secondary now. It is time for these highly regarded, talented players to begin to realize their potential. If that happens, this defense has a chance to be the league’s best.
Tagged
2009 Offseason,
Kenny Phillips |
No player better personifies the Giants, both in name and in attitude, than the behemoth that is Brandon Jacobs. At 6-4, 264 pounds, Brandon Jacobs is officially the scariest person ever to run for 1,000 yards. Originally drafted to be Tiki Barber’s goal-line specialist/ touchdown vulture, Brandon Jacobs has shown the speed and agility to be an every-down back. When Jacobs is in the lineup, the Giants are a ferocious, smash-mouth offense that can run the ball and pick up substantial chunks of yardage in any situation. The only problem is that Jacobs has missed 8 games over the past two seasons.
When Brandon Jacobs was not in the lineup last year, the Giants looked to Derrick Ward to pick up the slack. Although Ward is better suited to be a change-of-pace back, he filled the whole left by Jacobs admirably. However, Ward departed in free-agency to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving the Giants without a tested veteran backup. Ahmad Bradshaw has shown flashes of brilliance, and Danny Ware and Andre Brown each have oodles of potential. But the Giants would much rather have the three backups/ change of pace backs be just that; back ups and change of pace backs. These three RBs each have their own style of running that can be very valuable to the team, but none of them are that goal line/ short yardage force, at least not yet. Coupled with Brandon Jacobs’ power skill set, these three change of pace backs can each contribute and find success in ways they would not be able to as feature backs. It is possible that they can effectively carry the load should something happen to Jacobs. I’d rather not find out.
Everyone always says that power running backs wear down the opponent as the game goes on. And while this may be factual, or it may just be an old football cliché, one thing is for sure: opposing defenses fear the Giants more when Brandon Jacobs is playing.
An Eclectic Mix Of Talent
Linebackers Coach: Jim Herrmann (1st Year)
Defensive Coordinator: Bill Sheridan (1st Year)
MLB: Antonio Pierce (Starter), Chase Blackburn, Johnathan Goff
WLB: Michael Boley (Starter), Bryan Kehl, Gerris Wilkinson
SLB: Danny Clark (Starter), Zak DeOssie, Clint Sintim
Overview
Jim Herrmann takes over for Bill Sheridan as LB coach, a position he held with the Jets the past three seasons. Herrmann played and coached at Michigan for nearly a quarter century and actually had Sheridan on his staff when he became offensive coordinator there in the mid-1990′s. The two have a long working history together as they bring their expertise to a potpourri of linebacker talent here in East Rutherford.
Middle Linebacker
Antonio Pierce is back as both the centerpiece and the captain of the Giants defense. Pierce is entering his 9th season and a pro and fifth as a Giant. He has led the Giants in tackles the past three seasons, but there has been concern in the media about his decreasing productivity. Bill Sheridan wasn’t concerned, though. He laughed when someone mentioned that to him at a press conference. Pierce is in the prime of his career and he will continue to be the quarterback of the defense for the foreseeable future.
Chase Blackburn serves as Pierce’s immediate backup as well as a valuable special teamer. Blackburn, a fifth-year free-agent out of Akron, has become a fan favorite with his aggressive style of play.
Jonathan Goff, the Giants’5th round draft choice in 2008, missed most of last season with injuries. The team is still curious to see if Goff can build on his stellar career at Vanderbilt and become a solid pro linebacker.
Analysis: Pierce will get all the reps unless something unforeseen occurs. Blackburn is an excellent backup with a great motor. As for Goff, the Giants aren’t the only ones who want to see what he’s made of.
Weak Side Linebacker
The Giants wasted no time inking former Atlanta Falcon Michael Boley once the free-agency period began last February. There is a lot to like about Boley. He’s durable -he has never missed a game in his four-year professional career; and he’s productive – amassing 334 tackles in 64 games. Although Boley had played the strong side for Atlanta, the Giants want to take advantage of his athletic ability on the weak side.
Bryan Kehl had a nice rookie season last year, playing mainly on special teams, but saw some time with the starting defense when the team got thin at LB.
Gerris Wilkinson is coming off a knee injury, but he remains very much in the team’s plans.
Analysis: Boley was signed because of the uncertainty of Kehl and Wilkinson. If you look at all three closely, you’ notice they are built more like safeties than linebackers. That is discussion for another day as rumors have one of these players being worked out in the secondary.
Strong Side Linebacker
Danny Clark was brought in last season to defray the loss of Kawika Mitchell. To many, he is a stop-gap player until the team can find a better alternative. That being said, they haven’t – and his play hasn’t warranted it, either. Clark is an old Coughlin guy from Jacksonville who is just a steady, reliable pro.
Zak DeOssie is a linebacker by trade but he’s on this roster mainly because of his Pro-Bowl special teams ability, especially at long snapper. He can play LB, but the Giant do not want to use him there if they don’t have to.
That is where Clint Sintim, the first of the Giants’ two 2nd round picks comes in. Herrmann raved about Sintim’s ability to cover and stop the run before praising his ability to rush the passer. Translation – he will play all three downs or in every situation. Sintim is an imposing figure at 6’3″, 260 and is exactly what the Giants were looking for to bolster their LB corps.
Analysis: The stage is set for Sintim to come in and rush the passer behind Osi Umenyiora. That won’t bode well for many quarterbacks in this league.
Outlook
Pundits slammed the Giants for being too thin at linebacker. You just read about nine exceptional men that comprise a talented, versatile group that can adapt and adjust to any situation and are under the tutelage of two extremely capable coaches. The focus in on Sintim, who the Giants hope will instill some fear in opponents.
Yeah, we took the easy way out. Instead of placing each individual lineman on this list, we are grouping them as one indispensable unit. And while this may seem insulting to each individual lineman, it just drives home the fact that an offensive line is about five men working together as one. Or as one of the bearded Patriots linemen once said (I don’t remember which one) ‘we’re five knuckles on a fist.’ Although Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward get all the credit for leading the NFL in rush yards and for recording 1,000 yard seasons, the O-line is as responsible for these feats as anyone.
If any one of the Giants’ starting linemen has to miss an extended period of time, the drop off in talent from starter to backup will be drastic, especially now that Grey Ruegamer is no longer with the team. Opposing defenses will make sure to target the weakness on the line caused by the injured starter and the Giants offense will suffer; when Kevin Boothe replaced the injured Kareem McKenzie last season, the results were not pretty. Second round pick William Beatty should turn into an excellent lineman one day, and may be an upgrade at backup O-line right now. But the fact remains that if he, or any other backup offensive lineman is forced into action, the Giants offense will be playing with a serious handicap.
Of course, one member of the offensive line may be more valuable than another. For instance, Chris Snee is the most talented athlete, while David Diehl plays the most important position, and Shaun O’Hara is the glue that holds the unit together. Kareem McKenzie and Rich Seubert are no slouches either. But the point is that five talented offensive linemen does not necessarily equal a great offensive line. More than any other position, the offensive line must develop chemistry through familiarity and teamwork in order to protect the quarterback and establish the running game. This unit has taken years to develop, but it has finally blossomed into one of the team’s greatest strengths. Removing any one of the starting five would not just make the line weaker in one spot; it would have a trickle-down effect, weakening the entire line. After all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
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