It is difficult to administer a solid grade for Jerry Reese’s 2010 personnel moves because there are less qualitative results to look at and hopefully Reese isn’t finished making those moves. What I will look at is how I think the players project on the team, how much sense the pick seems to make, and what I think Reese passed on.
1) Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida – Just playing GM in my head, I can think of a number of different ways I would have played this pick. Reese could have gone BPA and taken Derrick Morgan, giving the team a great backup LE, who offers the same kind of element as Big Mike Strahan, including run stopping ability and leadership. He could have gone need and reached a little bit for Sean Weatherspoon to play MLB. Spoon is a projected 10-year starter and another player that offers strong leadership and even a little swagger, a la Antonio Pierce. Instead Reese drafted a third RE, and a very raw one at that, a raw one with high bust potential. Go figure. How good does that aces front look if Tuck and Kiwi slide to the middle and Morgan and Osi are on the outside? I’m just saying… I certainly could be wrong and if this was a team with no needs I would be much more okay with this pick, but as of right now, I hate it: F
2) Linval Joseph, DT, East Carolina – I like this pick, but why not Taylor Mays, the safety that was projected to go top 5 last draft season? If you ask me what unit I think needs the most help from last season, it’s unquestionably the safeties, especially considering Phillip’s long-term outlook. Mays, so far has proven his biggest fault is that he actually listens to his coaches. Unfortunately that was Pete Carroll at USC last season. Under The Great Mike Singletary Mays appears to be blossoming… so far. At any rate Joseph is a solid pick. He won’t contribute this season as DTs usually are quiet year one, but he’ll make a name for himself in no time and keep the middle solid: B
3) Chad Jones, Safety, LSU – Another solid pick with a bright future until the car accident (which we still know little about). This pick actually addresses a need but why are the Giants going out of their way to pass on every MLB who projects to be successful in a 4-3?: A-
4) Phillip Dillard, LB, Nebraska – What can I say? Dillard is a classic 3-4 Mike LB. I just don’t see how he fits Fewell’s cover-2 scheme. (Yes Fewell will run a cover 2, no matter how many wrinkles he puts in there.) I don’t dislike Dillard, but this was a useless pick. If Reese already has Bulluck in his crosshairs at this point, why not draft another safety or a RB or a kick returner? Maybe Dillard will be a good special teamer: F
5) Mitch Petrus, G, Arkansas – One of Reese’s outstanding value picks. He’s strong. He’s big. And he’s got attitude. He’ll fit right in around here: A
6) Adrian Tracy, LB, William & Mary – Unless the Giants plan on switching to a 3-4 this could be a useless pick. I just don’t see him being very good at the Sam. He’s pretty athletic for a big guy so maybe with some development. Or he’s a guy they could bring in when they switch to 3-4 fronts. I do like Tracy’s size and production: C+
7) Matt Dodge, P, East Carolina – I wish the Giants would have picked up a punter a couple years ago to train under Feagles. They kind of dropped the ball on that one because now they’re going from twenty years of experience at punter to a rookie. Matt Dodge has a very strong leg, but punting is more of a finesse undertaking. If the Giants are patient Dodge will pay off big time: B
Off-season – Reese missed the boat on Karlos Dansby, the real off-season prize for the Giants but he brought in Rolle, a good but not elite FS. Unfortunately, Rolle is getting paid like an elite FS. Let’s hope he rises to the occasion. I love the Keith Bulluck signing, though it doesn’t make up, in the long term, for missing out on Weatherspoon and Dansby. With Chad Jones having been injured, the Giants still may need to bring in a SS to play behind Grant, who is an 11year vet: B
2010: Season GPA: 2.4
2009 Season GPA: 2.6
2008 Season GPA: 2.6
2007 Season GPA: 2.6
*Next Thursday I will give a cumulative GPA as well as offer my analysis of Jerry Reese as a GM overall.
I’m just saying…
…are the Jets the new Washington? Has Mike Tannenbaum ever had a nap? Does he sleep at night? Does this guy have to look into every FA and trade possibility out there? I mean Terell Owens? Really dude? I admire his vigilance but we’ve already seen what the gets you. Even Washington has finally toned down their act.
…I don’t know if people really know how special of a player Keith Bulluck is. You know that guy that just always seems to be around the ball? Always seems to come up with a big play? That was Bulluck in Tennessee. I don’t know that he’ll be the player he was for the Titans, but I’m pretty sure that he’ll replace everything the Giants lost in AP and still bring more athleticism and coverage skills. The Giants may be going to the Super Bowl this season guys.
…Is the new GFB site beautiful or is it beautiful?
J. Williams is a fan and a longtime reader of GFB. His commentary is strictly his own and is not necessarily the opinion of SNY or the GFB staff.
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My response will be forthwith. I am pretty
busy at work.
I will leave you with this, Chad Jones with an
A- is a departure from your draft analysis.
Thanks for your early response TD,
Well, I figure there isn’t much left outside of Jones at that point and it does address an actual need relatively early, albeit not as early as I would have liked.
didn’t Dillard play WILL at nebraska?
Rojo,
As far as I know Dillard was a MLB at Nebraska and an excellent thumper. He put up a lot of tackles – 71 total, 38 solo. That’s a good number. He’s a good linebacker but probably the worst one to put in this system.
He played WILL but was the biggest of the six LBs on the two-deep:
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=204785759
He excelled at the position but he won’t have Ndamukong Suh playing in front of him anymore
Rojo,
Okay, that’s interesting. If I were speculating myself I would assume that an ex-WILL would have some descent coverage skills. I didn’t see Nebraska play last season and I know Dillard only really from scouting reports and very little film. He does have a high tackle # and I bet a good nose for sniffing out the run. From everything I’ve seen of him he projected and was listed as a MLB for the NFL.
I’m still perplexed as to where and why though?
J … take a look at this thread, where your grades are being ripped to shreds. It’s a web site where Giants fans who actually know what they’re talking about go and discuss the team.
Check it out: http://corner.bigblueinteractive.com/index.php?mode=2&thread=379744
By the way, J … JPP played LE in college. Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p8dO-6nlcU&feature=related
Left. Defensive End.
Jimmy,
Would you put a pass rusher with questionable skills playing the run game on the left side of your line?
The kid’s been compared to Andre Carter and has the skill set of a Gaines Adams. You first need to do an about-face and admit that you were incorrect about where JPP played. Then take a look at some of the more reputable scouting reports and read what experts said about the kid, going in. Clearly, he’s a project, but he has an excellent frame, is quick off the ball, athletic as it gets and had 16.5 tackles for losses, against the run, in addition to his pressure on the quarterback. You wrote that you would have preferred Morgan and compared him to Strahan. Do you remember Strahan when he came into the league? He wasn’t exactly the player that Strahan became, if you get my point. So, to answer your question? It depends. If it’s JPP we’re talking about, you saying his skills are questionable doesn’t mean he can’t contribute as a rookie. More likely, though, he’ll be utilized in packages where he can, as a young speedster, show off his pass rush. You graded him an F. That’s just silliness.
Jimmy,
Okay, I had this conversation last week, when I graded Nicks. The grade I’m giving is to Reese and not so much the exact ability of the player but how I feel the pick fits and what Reese may have passed on. So that’s not to say that JPP wont one day be a great DE, but he isn’t right now and another RE isn’t what the Giants needed. The theory behind this is stated explicitly in the grade.
Also, we know that the position of a player in college is not always the position of a player in the pros. Some halfbacks become fullbacks and back. Some DE become LBs. Some DTs become DEs, etc, etc. JPP is a raw DE that has questionable skills playing the run and a very fast first step. I’ve read a million scouting reports on the guy (give me some credit) If I were to play him right now I would put him on the right side of my line.
As far as a Strahan comparison, I guess I would argue that Strahan was a 2nd round pick. I don’t really remember the draft climate in 1993, but I would wonder how complete this team was, whether he was drafted in place of a bigger need, and how close the team was to a champions ship, and what the team needed personality-wise.
Gaines Adams? Are you drinking? Have you ben keeping track of his career?
Not drinking yet, but pretty close. Read what I said about Adams. Similar skill set. That’s not really debatable, is it?
You keep saying RE when he hasn’t played there. Similar to the way you mentioned Mays as being something fantastic, when camp isn’t open yet.
Some others have made good points on BBI about your apparent shallow analysis of these picks.
We clearly don’t agree on JPP.
Talk some more about Dillard. How is THAT an F? And the comments you made about the safety position? Did you write this before or after the Rolle/Grant pickups at DB? Before/after the Bulluck signing of last week? The DBs are impact players and address the need (which is why the Giants often go with BPA, because there’s either confidence in players on the roster who are under the mainstream radar, or there is a plan to upgrade through FA or trade. If Bulluck is as healthy as he appeared in workouts, he’s the starter at the Mike, and if he remains healthy, he’ll contribute on a higher level than any of the LBs who were drafted (who, incidentally, all were drafted to play inside positions on defenses that play the 3-4).
Lemme start off by saying that I registered for this site just to say this has got to be the worst analysis I have ever seen. Who the hell did you bend over for to get this crap as the Giants blog for SNY? I know that they’re the station for the Jets but it’s almost if they want to insult Giants fans like when ABC hired Dennis Miller for MNF or ESPN hired Rush Limbaugh.
I, like Jimmy the Lip found out about this nonsense from BBI, where real Giants fans talk Giants football. Second, who the hell writes a draft recap at the end of July? Mel Kiper doesn’t even talk about the draft this late and he’s programmed for it! Were you so high on your pedestal that you forgot the time of year?
Let’s start from the top shall we? The fact that JPP DID NOT play RE but LE has been covered so we’ll skip it (but hey, your deep analysis of youtube can’t be wrong, right?). You suggested the Giants should’ve reached for a need in Weatherspoon. I remember when the Giants reached for a DT named William Joseph. Remember him? That was 2003 and how did that work out? You also mentioned the Giants should’ve went with Morgan who went one pick later. So by that statement would the draft grade been a D?
In the 2nd rd, you said Taylor Mays should’ve been the pick because the previous year he would’ve been a top 5 pick. He went 49th! Does that not tell you he had obvious flaws? The 49ers had TWO first round picks and didn’t take him and yet somehow he’s blossoming under the Great Mike Singletary who was a great player but hasn’t been a head coach two years? And how the hell has he blossomed and he hasn’t even started training camp? But this is what kills me further. We get Chad Jones in the 3rd and you give that pick an A-. So what would Mays have been? An A+++ with stars, hearts and stickers? You say that the biggest need was Safties, well that’s why we signed Antrel Rolle. Then you say he’s not good enough even though he went to the Pro Bowl last year? WTF??? Then your most egregious act yet was giving Dillard an F despite admitting in your own comments you haven’t seen him. You said “why get him if Bulluck was in the crosshairs?”. Have you been in hibernation? Bulluck was signed over the weekend. THE. DRAFT. WAS. IN. APRIL! I’ll skip 5th and 6th rds because your incompetence is tiring but lastly the fact that you wished the Giants drafted a punter a few years ago is mind-blowing. How many teams do you know have two punters on the regular season roster?
To top it off you gave the ’07 draft a 2.6. I remind you that the ’07 team won the Super Bowl with 6 of 7 players contributing in that game, remember?
Look man, if you’re not gonna ask for help give it up because you insult all Giants’ fans with stuff like this. If SNY needs Giants info tell them to post a link to Big Blue Interactive or just anywhere else. But unless you’re going to really do research leave this kind of stuff alone. SNY should be ashamed
I will respond to this. On occasion we allow fans to post opinions. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of myself, the junior writers or SNY.
I appreciate your response and hope you will return to this site in the future.
Thx
JF
SJNYfan and Jimmy the Lip,
There are a couple of concepts around this article that you seem to either be ignoring or unable to understand. Perhaps its my fault that I did not properly introduce it, but you also seem to be hanging on to a couple of concepts that I never pushed forward:
First of all, this is not a draft recap. I wrote 4 consecutive article giving my own analysis of the moves that Jerry Reese has made over his 4 seasons with the team. The grades are not meant to represent the quality or skill of any one player, rather how I personally (in my opinion that is) feel the personnel decision worked for the team.
The grades I propose are also situational, so the fact that I give Jerry Reese’s drafting of Chad Jones an A is specific to that situation. Jones was the best safety available at that point in the draft, the team needed some safety depth, and Jones had a high potential factor. I personally would have preferred Mays in the 2nd round, but Jones in the 3rd was a very good pickup.
Whether Jason Pierre-Paul played RE or LE in college doesn’t necessarily represent where he will play in the pros. As I said before, because he will be a liability playing the run, much like Osi Umenyora and Mathias Kiwinuka, he projects to to play the right side of the line where run responsibilities tend to be less.
As far as Taylor Mays. I read an article, actually a number of articles that quoted Mike Singletary as being very happy with Mays’ work ethic and interest in the learning the defense. I didn’t say Taylor Mays was the second coming of Ronnie Lott. And even in the article I purposelly put “…so far” to acknowledge that it’s still too early in the offseason to tell what mays will do, not to mention that he’s a rookie.
As far as a my comments about safeties, I still believe that the Giants need more depth at the safety position. Deon Grant, as i stated in the article, is an 11 year veteran. Antrelle Rolle is not considered an elite safety, but he is a very good FS. He has had a couple of injuries. Should one of them go down, Chad Jones being unavailable this season, I don’t know that its not 2009 again. The backups outside of Michael Johnson don’t seem to me to be have a lot of experience or potential.
The ’07 Giants were a team put together Ernie Accorsi. Reese did a great job of drafting players that supplemented that team and contributed in the draft. However, perhaps if you go back and read the article, you can see that I took a look at the long term results of that draft, not just the 2007 super bowl win.
Finally, I’m glad that there are passionate fans out there. And if you disagree with the opinions stated in the articles I post feel free to call them into question based on your own opinions or analysis. I very much enjoy discussing the Giants goings on and fielding your dissenting comments. The extra-curricular conversation I can do without.
BTW,one of the Taylor Mays articles:
http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/49ers_Coach_Mike_Singletary_Praises_Rookie_S_Taylor_Mays/2821125
Dude, even your editor thinks you’re an idiot.
Give it up.
That is not true. We value everyone’s opinion.
What your editor had to say about your grades:
Let me preface this by saying that the author of this post is not a professional writer nor is he affiliated with SNY. On occasion, we allow fans to submit pieces to us for publication. This particular piece was published without the editing team getting an opportunity to proofread. That is why it has multiple errors.
The writer’s opinion is his own. You have the right to agree or disagree. That is your prerogative.
We value everyone’s opinion. No matter how many mistakes it may include.
:)
Thanks John.
Jimmy,
While I’m flattered that the OPINIONS stated in my article were interesting enough to spur you and your friends at Big Blue Interactive into a day long feeding frenzy of Giant-defending (Because you weren’t defending Reese.)anger, I can’t help but wonder exactly why you seem so hostile. I can’t really think of anything I’ve done here but put forth my OWN PERSONAL analysis of Jerry Reese as a general manager.
Perhaps it is the fact that I have a blog appointment from where I can write my articles for people to read? You can start a blog if you want. Here are some sites: http://www.wordpress.com or http://www.blogspot.com
Or is it that I expressed an opinion that is perhaps not popular with you? Is that what you do? Attack people who express opinions that are different from yours. Censorship is a violent act in a supposedly free country.
I’m not mad at you or insulted by your lack of tact in conversation. I used to be you, and not long ago. You know getting myself worked up over something somebody else said in a forum that I disagreed with, cursing and insulting people, embarrassing myself. I had to learn a few things:
One, that we’re talking about professional football, something we all obviously love. And the more dissenting opinions, the richer the discussion and the experience.
Two, I never say anything to anyone that I would not say to them in a conversation to their face. I do that because I recognize that on the other end of that conversation is a person or persons that I need to respect.
Finally, I make sure that I try my best to read and understand the the nature of a person’s OPINION and the lens through which they view a certain act, or analyze a certain situation. I do that because when I counterpoint someone I want to know that I actually engaged them rather than spewing personal insults that misdirect and change the tone of conversation. Good luck to you in the future.