Jim Gallo asks: Ed, I have been extremely concerned since training camp started that the inexperience of the Giants CB room is going to be a major concern. I believe that they were relying on several young rookies and second-year players to rise up and seize opportunities. After watching the first two preseason games my concern has turned to panic. Last year they took this same gamble with the OL and look how that turned out. This late in the preseason is there any veteran solutions they can bring in. Or are we doomed to watch the CB’s crash and burn another season into disaster?
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Adam Jacobs asks: I’ve got a question regarding bringing in DB help. How much long will our GM and HC wait until they sign a corner or safety, preferably one that’s been around the block a couple of times. It’s great when you have young players with skills, but the team seems very thin at both positions are don’t seem in a hurry to fix the problem. Am I missing something?
Ed says: Patience, guys! Rosters are cut from 90 players to 53 on Tuesday. There will be 1,200 NFL players who lose jobs that day. Many of those will be cornerbacks. That is — and almost certainly will be — the time for the Giants to make a move, or moves, at cornerback. Right now, there are a handful of available free agents. Ahkello Withersoon, a seven-year veteran, might be the best. But, he may also be waiting for the right opportunity, and the right paycheck. Neither are likely with the Giants.
Two years ago when the Giants were fifth in the waiver priority order, they were aggressive. Assistant GM Brandon Brown has promised they will be aggressive this time, as well.
Warren Schuman asks: So if I understand the new kickoff rule correctly, I believe that any ball kicked ahead of the landing zone is automatically dead and placed at the 40.
If that is right, does that mean that onside kicks are no longer allowed, or do teams need to figure out a new strategy based on kicking into the landing zone (can’t imagine how you could be successful)?
Ed says: Warren, onside kicks are allowed — on a limited scale. The trailing team is allowed to onside kick in the fourth quarter BUT they have to declare that they are doing so. Thus, no surprise onside kicks. Which makes sense because the onside kick requires a different formation. Also, the trailing team can only use the onside kick twice.
Max Bernstein asks: Am I just a crazy fan for thinking the Giants will be good this year?
Not necessarily Super Bowl contenders, but I think they should definitely be a functional .500-ish team at the minimum.
Yet the national media is penciling in the Giants as one of the worst teams in football! Sb Nation general is listing them as a trainwreck of an organization, ESPN is putting their “ceiling” season as 9-8 (and floor at 4-13), CBS lists them as 28th in their preseason power rankings...ect.
The Giants roster isn’t perfect but it is full of solid NFL players, plus at least a few genuine stars (mostly on defense but still). Plus, Jones is at least a league average QB and at best much better than that. Why is the media painting such a negative narrative around this team?
Ed says: Max, it is absolutely possible the Giants could win eight or nine games. It is also absolutely possible they could win three or four. There are a lot of variables. If things break in the Giants’ favor, if Daniel Jones stays healthy and plays well, the offensive line is adequate, the secondary holds up adequately, etc., they have a chance. If those variables that have been discussed again and again break poorly for the Giants, it will be a long year.
As for why the narrative is so dark, I’m sure a lot of it has to do with Saquon Barkley being gone and Jones still being the quarterback.
Mark P. Lynch asks: With only one cut down day as apposed to several in years passed, it would seem to be a very chaotic day for all teams, Will the Giants change their approach to prepare for the day? Also how does the process play out? I know the Giants are No. 6 in the queue, do they just put in a claim for every player they want plus any that they may not covet but claim just in case you don’t get the players you really want.
Ed says: Mark, the cut down process changed last year. So, this won’t be the first time teams have done it this way.
Here is something from Dan Duggan of The Athletic that explains a lot:
NFL teams maintain their position in the claiming order regardless of how many players they claim. So the Carolina Panthers, who have the No. 1 spot, conceivably could claim 53 players on the wire and be awarded all of them.
Teams can submit claims for as many players as they choose while putting a limit on how many they want to be awarded. They prioritize each claim to determine whom they get. So if the Giants want one cornerback, they can put in claims for a bunch, and they’ll get the one that is highest on their list who isn’t claimed by a team above them in the order. After a team is awarded a claim, it must notify the league of the corresponding player on the roster to be cut.
So, the Giants could claim six cornerbacks, prioritize them 1-6, and specify that they want to be awarded two if possible. Then, the top two of the six they claimed who were not claimed by teams higher in priority than the Giants, would be awarded to them.
The Giants might put in 15 claims, but might also specify they want to be awarded one cornerback, one linebacker, one defensive tackle, etc.
David Kanter asks: I’m reading the stories over the past few weeks coming out about Nix, Penix, and McCarthy (yeah I get it he’s hurt now). And this week the overwhelming media criticism and mockery of Jones. Tell me something to feel better. Cause after that first quarter I’m so disappointed thinking about another season of this garbage.
Ed says: David, do you remember the only preseason series Daniel Jones and the starting offense played last year? They went 75 yards for a touchdown. They looked fantastic. Did that matter when the season started? Not even a little bit. That first quarter meant nothing. It didn’t count. It was, basically, practice. It was the first time the guy played in a game where he could be hit since suffering a major knee injury.
I am not going to tell anyone Jones is a great quarterback. We know he’s not. The mockery has been going on for years. It’s not new, or surprising. It also doesn’t matter. By the way, were you talking about “garbage” when Jones was a big part of the reason the Giants made the playoffs — and won a playoff game — just two seasons ago?
If those quarterbacks you mentioned turn out to be great, and I have my doubts even though I would have been OK with drafting JJ McCarthy, then the Giants and a lot of other teams will have been wrong.
My advice? Stop worrying about the spilt milk of the draft. It can’t be undone, and Malik Nabers is pretty darn good. Worry about what happens beginning Week 1. And what the Giants do at quarterback going forward if Jones doesn’t play well enough this year. That’s what matters now.
ctscan123: Hi Ed, so I was reading the comment section on one of the BBV articles this week and there was some discussion about whether the Giants could have retained Barkley using the Howie Roseman magical void year strategy. While I am not overly interested in that, I am interested in how Roseman’s strategy eventually shakes out. They are in a Super Bowl window right now and ostensibly robbing Peter to pay Paul. Just how bad is Peter gonna get it and when?
Even with the salary cap rising every year Hurts’ future cap hits are insane. Is the idea that they will just keep kicking the can down the road until their window closes and then just blow the whole thing up? Will there be a year where they have $59 to pay the whole team and field a squad made entirely of Arena League and Canadian players and then just start over after that? what is the end game for the void your strategy? Will they ever actually have to pay the piper?
Ed says: CT, we have talked about this before. Howie Roseman is doing what he thinks is the right thing for a team that is built to win now. A team that is in its Super Bowl window. I agree with him. If he has to “pay the piper” in 2028 or 2029 for a Super Bowl title or two between now and then, it is a trade he would gladly make.
How badly will he have to pay down the line? That’s impossible to know. The salary cap keeps skyrocketing. For the 2024 season, the $255.4 million cap is well over what had been anticipated. When GMs push that money into the future, they are banking on the hope that by the time we get that date a few years down the road, whatever that cap hit is it won’t look nearly as painful as it does today because of the way the cap keeps rising.
Those void years mean that at some point there will be big chunks of dead money you can’t use to help your team get better. That’s why it doesn’t make sense for a younger, building team like the Giants to use them.
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