4th round pick Andre Brown out of North Carolina State officially signed on with the Giants yesterday making him the sixth of nine draft picks to receive a contract.

Brown showed good play making abilities out of the backfield in college rushing for 767 yards and starting all 13 games.

As well as run, Brown also showed he can catch the ball out of the backfield, accumulating 29 receptions for 309 yards during the ‘08 season.

Brandon Jacobs only caught six passes during the whole 2008 season and is not particularly known for his receiving. Brown could come in and make an immediate impact as a backfield receiver for screens and dump-offs.

Giants.com has reported that the Giants have signed 3rd round pick TE Travis Beckum. To make room for the rookie, free agent defensive end Alex Field was waived.

Beckum is the 5th draft pick to sign on, leaving four of the nine draft picks, including 1st rounder Hakeem Nicks, still unsigned.

In 30 games for Wisconsin, Beckum compiled 159 receptions for 2,149 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 159 receptions ranks him 3rd all time in Badger history in receptions behind former Wisco stars Lee Evans and Brandon Williams.

Behind starter Kevin Boss, the Giants are somewhat thin and unproven at the TE position, having just released veteran George Wrightster.

Having two guys who can catch the ball well out of the TE position would be a huge bonus for a Giant team that really has not had that in recent history. Look for the Giants to incorporate some more double TE packages in training camp and the pre-season.

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.

Greetings from your newest Giants football blogger! I’m Patricia Traina, Editor of Inside Football, an accredited, independent publication that covers the New York Giants. From time to time, I’ll pop in to share tidbits, observations, quotes, and other goodies that I collect from my visits to Giants central. I hope you enjoy what I have to offer in the way of information!

For my first blog, here is a quick snapshot of how I thought the Giants’ 2009 draft class looked during this past weekend’s rookie mini camp.

WR Hakeem Nicks: The first rounder came as advertised – very polished. He’s not very tall, but he plays “big.” He’s not afraid to go into traffic and he has good concentration, especially in traffic where he successfully used his body to shield the ball from the defender.

LB Clint Sintim: He worked  on the strong side, and from what I could tell, this kid definitely has a nose for the ball. He diagnosed quite a few plays correctly, though he always wasn’t in a position to make the play. Still he showed great hustle and I think once he puts it all together, he is going to be just fine.

OT Will Beatty: I was surprised to see him exclusively at right tackle as he’s supposedly the future at left tackle. Beatty is a big guy, but he said that they want him to get a little bit bigger. I thought he played a little high at times, but there is definitely some talent there to work with and he does have a very good attitude.

WR Ramses Barden: Definitely a man amongst boys, especially during the 11-on-11s. He still rounds off some routes, but he does a nice job of using his height to his advantage. In fact, they had him running a few corner fades in the end zone.

TE Travis Beckum: I thought he had a quiet camp. He lined up at tight end and at times was split out wide. He also had some problems disengaging from coverage, but the tools are definitely there. He has nice size and did a nice job using his body to shield the ball from the defender on his pass receptions.

RB André Brown: I was very impressed with this young running back. He showed good quickness and vision with finding the hole. I think this kid could be the steal of the draft for the Giants, who got incredible value with this pick.

QB Rhett Bomar: I immediately noticed his unusual throwing style – he has a bit of a side-armed motion. He really zips the ball to his receivers and I think the speed of his passes caught a few guys off guard.  Head coach Tom Coughlin indicated that QB Coach Chris Palmer will work with Bomar to correct his throwing motion.

DeAndre Wright / Stoney Woodson: Of the two drafted corners, I thought Wright was more impressive. In one drill, the defensive backs had to come out of their backpedal, turn around, and make a catch, Wright caught the ball with no problem. Woodson, meanwhile, seemed to fight the ball at times, and tended to leave his feet.

Be sure to stop by at my other “home,” Train-a Thought. You can also follow my Giants updates at Twitter, where my ID is Inside_Football.

Till next time!

Eli At The Crossroads

• Quarterbacks Coach: Chris Palmer
• Offensive Quality Control Coach: Sean Ryan
• Offensive Coordinator: Kevin Gilbride

Quarterbacks: Eli Manning (Starter), David Carr, Andre Woodson, Rhett Bomar

Overview
Eli Manning is entering his sixth season as a Giant. He has already accomplished almost every goal the Giants had hoped. He has won them a Super Bowl and made the franchise one of the league’s most respected.   He is also in the last year of his current contract and there has been little talk of a new contract being negotiated. The Giants have brought back David Carr as the primary backup and are hoping they can groom a third stringer with the winner of the Andre Woodson—Rhett Bomar battle.

Eli Manning – as mentioned, he is a Super Bowl-winning MVP and the face of the franchise. His performance, however, other than the last five games of the 2007 Super Bowl run, has been average at best.  If he were not the younger brother of Peyton Manning one wonders if the Giants would be considering signing him to another long-term deal. He is also the legacy of the beloved former GM, Ernie Accorsi, who gave up so much to get him, so parting ways with Eli would send shockwaves through the Land of the Giants…

Since being given the starting position midway through the 2004 season, Eli has a regular season record of 42-29 with 98 TDs and 74 interceptions. Over that period, his completion rate is 55.9 and his QB rating is 76.1.  When it comes to passing yardage, he is averaging around 3300 per season.

These are not knockout numbers, but the contact he will be looking for will be somewhere near $100 million and the Giants will have no choice but to sign him.

The downside to Eli is that he may have plateaued as quarterback. The year-in, year-out numbers for his career are eerily consistent and disappointingly average. He is terrible at the Meadowlands due to his failure to throw spirals that cut through the wind.  This has lead to inaccuracy and way too many poor performances. His saving grace for most of his time here has been Plaxico Burress‘ ability to outjump defenses and Steve Smith and Amani Toomer’s ability to dive underneath them. Burress and Toomer are no longer with the club.   Also, the Giants did Eli no favors by not doming the new stadium, which they will move into in 2010.

The upside to Eli is that he is only 28 years old and he has never been injured. He has a new crop of receivers that contains players of all shapes and sizes. It could be time for him to turn the corner and become the elite player that he was destined to be. His laid back demeanor may be a thing of the past as well.   With each season, he becomes more and more entrenched in veteran ideology and he should assume more of  a leadership role from here on out.  Eli is also the penultimate role model for kids and is the most marketable player the Giants have had in decades.

David Carr – Carr was reunited with his old coach, Chris Palmer, last season when the Giants rescued him from a torridly brutal existence in which he was sacked 262 times in his first six seasons.

Carr was the first overall selection in the 2002 draft, taken by the expansion Houston Texans, and never had a chance to grow. In 2006, he became a free agent and signed with Carolina, which also turned out badly.  The Giants signed Carr last season and relegated him to backup status., where he has been given a chance to jump start his career.

Carr is only 29 years old and is still a very talented player. We’ve seen high draft picks get chewed up in their first few years and then turn into superstars. The Giants may see that in Carr, but he will only play if something happens to Eli.  He is currently signed to a one-year deal and will be a free agent again in 2010.

Andre Woodson – was taken in the sixth by the Giants in last year’s draft. He is a big, strong prospect that had a productive college career at Kentucky, but he is still considered quite raw although he is progressing according to sources. He is currently on the practice squad. …..Woodson was a longshot to make it to the NFL, but it appears he may still may get there. Whether or not that will be with the Giants remains to be seen.

Rhett Bomar – was taken in the fifth round this past April by the Giants out of Sam Houston State. Bomar is a product of Texas high school football, where as a senior he was ranked the nation’s top high school QB and even compared to John Elway.  That earned him a ticket to Oklahoma, where he became the starter in 2005. Bomar led the Sooners to Holiday Bowl victory and was named MVP.  Unfortunately, he was expelled after that season when it was discovered that he was paid for a no-show job at a car dealership – a clear violation of NCAA rules. That earned him a trip to Division II football………….Bomar may be a real find for the Giants. A real talented kid that lost his way. He’s on the right team, now, though and he can develop over the next few years into perhaps something special.

Outlook
Manning needs to be signed, and it is assumed that happen as soon as the CBA is extended or a new one is reached. With the new receivers, the onus shifts to him becoming a more accurate passer rather than constantly getting bailed out by his receivers…….Carr could start on many teams right now and will spend at least 2009 with the Giants. He might retained past that as long as no one else comes knocking—which is doubtful. When that time comes, perhaps Woodson or Bomar would be ready to assume the No. 2 role.

Note: This is a couple days late because I was visiting my alma-matter, the University of Maryland, over the weekend. I had the good fortune of being on campus during the spring football game when former Terp Darrius Heyward-Bey, the man I hoped the Giants would draft, was taken 7^th overall by the Oakland Raiders. When I asked Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen for his reaction to Heyward-Bey being drafted before Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin, he was so shocked that he was speechless (although this may have also been due to the fact that I was about 40 yards away from him, on the other side of a chain-link fence). Anyway, here are some thoughts from draft day(s).

• The selection of WR Hakeem Nicks helps to fill the gaping hole left by Plaxico Burress (this would be a good opportunity to make a joke about how Plaxico Burress left a gaping hole in his leg, but I am above that). Nicks is compared by many to Anquan Boldin, and even Michael Irvin. I guess I’d take Michael Irvin-type production. He may not be a deep threat and he may not be 6′5, but he is probably the most polished wide receiver in the draft and he has big, strong hands, which will help him grab some of Eli’s patented inaccurate over-the-middle.

• Here is what I wrote about Nicks in January in my Wide Receiver Preview: ” Pretty good size and strength, but only average speed. He showed his amazing hands and focus in making one of the best catches of the year during the Meineke Car Care Bowl.”

• Say what you will about mock drafts, but the Aggregate Mock Draft I compiled in March correctly predicted that the Giants would select Nicks. Now, I’m not saying that I’m psychic, but if anyone would like to rent me for their trip to Vegas, my asking price is $300 per night.

• OLB Clint Sintim and OT William Beatty were great value picks in the 2^nd round, as both were projected as possible first rounders at some point. Sintim fills a need at linebacker, although some are concerned that his style of play is a better fit in a 3-4 system. Look for him to be used mostly in pass rushing situations, at least early on. Beatty could become a starter down the road, but will be an immediate upgrade at backup OT. He could be groomed to eventually take over Left Tackle from David Diehl, but I have a hunch that he will see his first action filling in for the oft-injured Kareem McKenzie at Right Tackle.

Read more…

Turns out the Giants were trying to be more aggressive during the draft than most thought. According to Mike Garrafolo of the Star Ledger the Giants were ready to make a deal with the Lions and acquire the 20th overall pick and then use that pick to select Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.

The person, who requested anonymity because the Giants don’t discuss war-room talks publicly, didn’t divulge what was being offered to Detroit but said the trade was contingent on Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin’s being available for the Giants to select at that spot.

The plan was nixed when the Eagles, probably sensing the Lions were shopping their pick, jumped up two spots to No. 19 (by giving the Browns a sixth-round selection) to pick Maclin, whom they hadn’t considered a possible target because they didn’t expect him to fall that far. It’s unclear if Philly knew its division rival was the team getting ready to pounce on Maclin. Giants general manager Jerry Reese declined comment when asked about the proposed trade.

ESPN.com has combined draft grades from 9 sources to create a Consensus NFL Draft Report Card.  With a GPA of 3.22 (out of 4), Jerry Reese and the Giants rank 5th in their class; more than respectable, although it seems as if Reese will not be graduating Cum Laude.

So far, the initial consensus is that Jerry Reese ran another successful draft, filling current and future needs and never reaching too far.  ESPN’s Todd McShay picked the Giants as his “draft winners” and NBC/ rotoworld gave the Giants their only A+ of the draft (see Anthony’s post below for more on that).

According to ESPN’s consensus report card, the Eagles had the best draft (3.37) and the Raiders had the worst (0.78).  Looks like Al Davis will not be graduating on time.

ESPN’s Report Card has links to all nine of the sources used.  If you are like me and you have an insatiable hunger for all of this excessive draft coverage, I recommend clicking on the above link and reading the pages of analysis.  Of course, even the most knowledgeable draft expert only gets it right a fraction of the time…

Gregg Rosenthal and Evan Silva of Rotoworld gave the Giants their highest rating for their selections in the 2009 NFL Draft, an A+ rating. Here is what they had to say about the Giants picks:

GM Jerry Reese stuck to his value board throughout. LB Clint Sintim would’ve fit better in a 3-4 scheme, but Reese could afford the luxury pick because his roster is so loaded. Failing to land Braylon Edwards was a bit disappointing, but Hakeem Nicks comes from a pro-style offense, offers terrific hands and route running, and may be the draft’s most NFL-ready wideout.

OT William Beatty was a projected first-round pick and robbery at No. 60. Small-school receiver Ramses Barden is a long-term project, but has a Plaxico Burress-like body. TE Travis Beckum is a poor man’s Kellen Winslow. Late-round DBs Stoney Woodson and DeAngelo Wright are long shots for roster spots, but RB Andre Brown and QB Rhett Bomar will add healthy competition at skill positions.