Tag Archives: Andre Brown
-I’m surprised by the release of Phillip Dillard. It isn’t that I was a fan, because I wasn’t. But I was convinced that the Giants were. He was the 2nd team MLB throughout the preseason. If they had designs on cutting him, I would have expected to see more of Herzlich or Greg Jones at MLB during the 4th game. That said, had Clint Sintim remained healthy, then perhaps the Giants would have parted with Herzlich. That would have been a mistake, but at least there would be a clear cut 2nd string MLB on the roster.
-The Giants have depth issues. That isn’t news. And what will either be their key to victory or undoing this year, just may be the stockpile they have at DE. They have an A+ in that area, but Bs and Cs in others. But it is quite impressive that the 4th DE slot on the depth chart has remained a constant since mid-2007. Dave Tollefson deserves a tip of the cap.
Tagged Andre Brown, Dave Tollefson, David Carr, Domenik Hixon, Victor Cruz |
What does a 97 yard touchdown run get you? If you’re on the Giants, it gets you a spot on the bench, and perhaps, a ticket out of town. Da’Rel Scott, who received only one carry last week against the Bears and took it to the house, did not get a chance to build on his exciting run against the Jets. Even with Ahmad Bradshaw being limited and Brandon Jacobs getting ejected, Scott did not see the field once.
It’s possible that Scott will get an extended look on Thursday against the Patriots, as Coughlin could rest most of the starters instead of play them on two days rest (ridiculous…I can’t even play frisbee golf on two days rest). Regardless, it was disappointing that Scott didn’t have a chance to run behind the first (or second) team offensive line.
Scott was drafted because he has something the Giants have lacked from the running back position for years: true breakaway speed. He has already proven that he’s a legitimate burner in pads, he just needs to stay healthy and cut down on his fumbles (a fixable problem). The biggest remaining question for him, and every rookie, is how his talents will translate to NFL game speed. Well, there’s no way to find out if he doesn’t actually get a chance to play in real live games.
DJ Ware has looked solid this pre-season, and Giants brass seem as if they really want him to make the team. It could be that Scott and Andre Brown are battling for one roster spot, a battle in which Brown seems to have a leg up, for some reason I do not understand. Or it could be that neither has a real shot to make the 53-man squad.
One thing I do know is that the Giants would be foolish to believe they can sneak Scott onto the practice squad. As we speak, Al Davis is watching youtube videos of Da’Rel’s 40-yard dash.
Tagged Andre Brown, da'rel scott, DJ Ware, pre season |
Ahmad Bradshaw will likely not play in tomorrow’s pre-season battle versus the Jets, due to lingering soreness in his back. Bradshaw’s absence will result in more carries for the handful of running backs looking to make the roster. DJ Ware, Andre Brown, Da’Rel Scott and Charles Scott are likely battling for one, maybe two roster spots.
Ware scored on a short touchdown run against the Bears, but has not shown much otherwise. He has been around for a few years, and although he has had his moments, he’s never capitalized on the chances he has been given. Brown has impressed coaches with his renewed quickness in camp, but has not shown that explosiveness yet in the pre-season games.
Da’Rel Scott has not been given many chances in the first two games, leading me to believe that he entered week two of the pre-season behind Ware and Brown on the depth chart. After his 97-yard touchdown run on Monday night, I expect to see him get a much longer look the rest of the pre-season. He could benefit the most from Bradshaw’s absence.
Charles Scott is an interesting case. He’s unlikely to beat out any of the three aforementioned backs based on just his running ability, but it should be noted that he was in as a fullback on Da’Rel Scott’s long run, and he delivered a key block. With none of the other fullbacks showing much in pre-season games, perhaps the coaches will fall in love with Charles Scott’s versatility. I’d still consider him the long shot in this group, as Henry Hynoski has shown more in practice and is much more likely to be kept, but Charles Scott’s ability to play fullback is something to consider.
It should be interesting to see which of Ware, Brown and Da’Rel Scott inherit first team touches.
Tagged Andre Brown, Charles Scott, da'rel scott, DJ Ware |
OK…well as long as no one was injured in the last ten minutes, I think I’m ready to unveil my final roster projection for 2011. We still have two preseason contests to go, but right around now is when the decisions start to become clear. So let’s jump right in with QB.
QB Keeping 2: In 2011, NFL teams now have the luxury of dressing 46 players on game day. This essentially means that the 3rd string QB is no longer an “emergency option.” The Giants have chosen to forgo the 3rd QB all together since 2008, and I’m not so sure that changes this season. Obviously Eli is the number 1, but he heads up a current corps of 4 talented signal callers.
David Carr (first pick ever of the Houston Texans in 2002) is my favorite to win the job, and not just because he is less expensive than the other veteran alternative. Yes he is about 2 million cheaper than Sage Rosenfels, but he is also equally talented and more versatile. Quite frankly, I expected him to win the starting job in San Francisco last year and I still think he will be a starter again in this league before he retires. Rosenfels may also be trade bait for another CB (more later).
I don’t see Ryan Perrilloux, the raw first year player out of LSU/Jacksonville State making the team despite the new accommodation on gamedays for QBs. The roster is too tight in other areas to find room for a project at a position with an established starter.
Tagged Andre Brown, DJ Ware, Eli Manning, Hakeem Nicks, jimmy kennedy, Linval Joseph, mark herzlich, Matt Dodge, Terrell Thomas, Tyler Sash, Victor Cruz |
QB: A-
Let’s state the obvious. Eli Manning is the starter. Continuing with the obvious theme, Manning needs to improve.
I don’t want to hear one more excuse about the players around him, injuries, or any other outside factor. He is supposedly the chosen one, the franchise symbol. Yes, many of his interceptions last season bounced off receiver’s hands. Yes the run game bottomed out at times in 2009. Yes, two seasons ago he surpassed 4,000 yards in the air. It doesn’t matter. He’s being paid to be a leader. If a receiver can’t catch, teach him how. If a member of your offense is obnoxious and overbearing in the huddle/locker room, handle it.
David Carr is my favorite to win out the back up job. He is capable, a favorite among the coaching staff, and frankly cheaper than Sage Rosenfels.
I expect the Giants to keep 3 QBs this season and that job will go to Ryan Perrilloux . The team feels that they may have found a solid investment in the young QB out of LSU and would like to develop him further.
Tagged Ahmad Bradshaw, Andre Brown, Devin Thomas, Domenik Hixon, Linval Joseph, Mario Manningham, marvin austin, Steve Weatherford, Tyler Sash, Victor Cruz |
When the Giants released RB Andre Brown last year before the season, many felt they had seen the last of him. One year removed from a devastating Achilles injury, Brown fought hard to get back in the Giants good graces. It wasn’t enough. After the Giants released him, Brown spent time with four clubs: Denver, Indianapolis, Carolina and Washington. When the Redskins released him on July 28th, the Giants were quick to reclaim him.
This time, things may work out for Brown. Coach Tom Coughlin said today: “He’s faster. To me, he looks faster. He looks faster. I think all his issues with his legs are past and he does look, to me, he looks more explosive.”
Brown himself has admitted he is in much better condition. “I feel good. I feel healthy. I am just going out here and I am working hard. I am just getting better every day.”
“Last year I was just getting out from surgery so I felt like all I could do was run straight ahead,” Brown told reporters today. “I couldn’t make cuts like I wanted to and I am a natural jump cutter. I like to jump in and out of things but I didn’t feel that pop. During this lockout I trained really hard and it ended up being really beneficial for me because I ended up getting stronger and faster.”
Brown’s odyssey is a strange one, but he’s glad to back where he started – with the Giants.
Tagged Andre Brown, giants, Giants Training Camp, New York Giants Blogs |
The release of Bryan Kehl was the fourth surprising cut by the Giants over the past two weeks.
Kehl has the look of a prototypical linebacker. A standout in BYU’s 3-4 scheme as an outside pass rusher, he has yet to break through as an NFL player. It can be argued that Kehl’s raw talent was hampered by his landing spot come draft day. Of all the 4-3 defenses to be brought into, the Giants were the worst fit.
It is no secret that the Giants have been carrying at least four top level defensive ends since the 2007 campaign. This year the total grew to five with the addition of Jason Pierre-Paul. For a mid-level draft pick striving to see the field, the opportunities were slim. When other defenses might have dialed up a rush from an extra linebacker, the Giants simply placed another DE in the spot.
His release is still odd considering that the Giants activated him instead of veteran Gerris Wilkinson for Sunday’s game against Carolina. Either Kehl played poorly enough on kick coverage to warrant being dismissed or perhaps parting ways was considered the best option for both parties. Kehl belongs in a 3-4 scheme and is likely to find a fair share of suitors very shortly.
Tagged Andre Brown, Bryan Kehl, Derek Hagan, Domenik Hixon, jay alford, Kevin Boss, Ramses Barden, Travis Beckum |
RB Andre Brown Is Ready To Fulfill Promise
At this year’s draft, there was a buzz that the Giants were going to take a running back high in the draft. C.J. Spiller of Clemson was a very tempting target and the rumors were that the Giants had coveted the speedster.
Those rumors may have been true, for all we know, but Spiller was long gone by the time the Giants were ready to make their first selection. They ended up not taking any running backs at all.
There are two theories behind that. The first is the fact that the RB pool in the draft this year was very shallow. The other is that the Giants were waiting to see how well second-year RB Andre Brown had progressed from Achilles’ surgery.
Brown blew out his Achilles’ in the last practice before the first pre-season game last summer. He’s never played in a game for the Giants. Outside of the TIMEX Center, very few people have ever seen him run, or even know that he exists.
That is all about to change for this humble 23-year-old from Greenville, North Carolina. This week at Giants’ mini-camp, it was hard not to notice #22.
Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin, always cautiously optimistic, says that Brown is doing better but by the tone of his voice he sounded like a man who has to see some more before he makes his final decision.
Coughlin did admit that Brown “runs with power” and “catches the ball well” out of the backfield. which was something the Giants have been working on during this mini-camp.
Since Brown hasn’t ever worn a Giants’ uniform in anger, he calls himself a “super rookie” because much of this process here is still new to him.
In an interview after practice yesterday, Brown was very candid with reporters about his injury and the disappointment of missing his rookie season. Brown suffered a rare injury for football players – a torn Achilles tendon – and his rehab was a lonely one with few players to commiserate with.
He said there weren’t any running backs any of the the trainers could recall that ruptured their Achilles’. There were some defensive players, but most of them were well into their careers when they got hurt.
By his actions, he’s seems to have studied and rehabbed very well. He looked like Terrell Davis on some plays, Adrian Peterson on others. No lie.
Even though Brown is still conscious of his injury, and admitted he was sore after the double-practice on Tuesday, he looked fine yesterday and claimed he’s not thinking about making cuts anymore. He just doing it.
Brown is currently fourth on the Giants’ depth chart at RB. He was asked if he thought there was a need for -and a role for – a third running back. He wouldn’t know the answer to that since he wasn’t here when Derrick Ward filled the role of change-up back / receiver.
“I think there is,” he said, “But I just want to get out there and hit somebody. Special teams, whatever. I don’t care where I’m at as long as I’m helping the team.” 
Brown is working on special teams as a kick returner. He may be tried out as a punt returner now that Domenik Hixon is gone for the season, but his name did not come up as an immediate candidate for that in Jerry Reese’s press session yesterday.
As for the third back in the offense, it’s Brown vs D.J. Ware, who also saw a lot of reps this week. Brown has the better upside and if he continues to build on his strong spring, it may be hard to keep the ball out of his hands this season.
Tagged Andre Brown, Giants Mini-Camp, New York Giants, New York Giants News |
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.
Tagged Andre Brown, Giants 2009 Draft Class |
FoxSports.com has ranked the top running back groupings in the NFL and has the Giants ranked fifth.
A bit surprising to see the Giants ranked so high in this seeing as they just lost one of the best 2nd string RBs in the league in Derrick Ward.
I like Ahmad Bradshaw a lot (as does every Giant fan) and I think he can definitely step in and pick up where Ward left off. The real question has to be in the depth behind him. Danny Ware has two total rushing attempts in his career and Andre Brown (who just signed by the way) is a rookie.
Tagged Andre Brown, Brandon Jacobs, Danny Ware | ← Older posts
