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It's Friday, and that means our weekly Q&A swap with Big Blue View's Ed Valentine. Be sure to swing over to his site at http://www.bigblueview.com/ to get a look at my answers to the same four questions.
Here's Ed:
1. Where in the world is Kevin Boss?
"I love Boss, but I think we all have to face the reality that the tight end will never be a full-time first option in a Tom Coughlin offense. He is very traditional about the use of his tight ends -- one of the things that drove Jeremy Shockey crazy when he was in New York. The tight end gets utilized as a primary target in the Green Zone, and a secondary or non-existent target the rest of the time. That, unfortunately, is just how it is. Last week against Dallas was a great example. As good of a pass catcher as Boss is, Coughlin and Kevin Gilbride wanted to give David Diehl help against DeMarcus Ware, so Boss was often relegated to blocking. I couldn't blame them for that, since Ware usually eats Diehl for lunch. I feel like Boss could be a 60+ catch tight end, but I doubt Coughlin will ever allow him to be used that way. I'm just resigned to it."
2. Do you believe losing to the Eagles the last three encounters, including the one that eliminated the Giants from the 2008 postseason, will factor into Sunday night's game?
"The players, of course, say no. The fans don't want to think that the Eagles have the upper hand. But, three straight has to play on the minds of the Giants. Has to. A huge season-ending loss last season and a blowout this year. The Giants have had no answer defensively for stopping the big play, they have barely laid a finger on Donovan McNabb and they seem to become a turnover machine against the Philly defense. Of course it factors in."
3. Given the state of the secondary, how would you defend DeSean Jackson this time around?
"You mean, aside from dive at his knees on the first play from scrimmage and take him out? Well, I will tell you what I would not do. I would not put Corey Webster on him one-on-one all over the field. Tried that with Vincent Jackson and Brandon Marshall, and he got torched both times. The Giants always talk about press coverage, and they need to press Jackson at the line of scrimmage, maybe with a physical guy like Terrell Thomas. You know the Eagles will take deep shots with Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. The Giants have to make sure there are no breakdowns in communication at the safety spots, which they did a much better job of last week with Aaron Ross and Aaron Rouse playing well."
4. Now that the Giants have a little space between themselves and the .500 mark, what do they have to do from here to get a playoff spot?
"Beat Philly, first of all. They don't do that, the playoffs are not happening this season. I think the Giants have to get to 10 wins, which I think is realistic if they are able to win on Sunday. Best bet at this point is get to 10 wins, then they have to hope Dallas or Philly (most likely Dallas) falters down the stretch."
What do you guys think?
EP
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disagree with the statement that they have to beat Philly, if they go 3-1 over the last 4. I think they're in.
ReplyDeleteU guys are laughable in ur Boss worship Ern. It isn't Coughlin, Gilbride or Eli's fault that Boss isn't a superstar. Boss can't get seperation because he is not fast. His good hands make him a serviceable option but nothing more than that. One of the offseason priorities might be to find a game changing TE because Eli loves to throw over the middle and lets face it, Boss is never going to make a pro bowl.
ReplyDeleteWayno is absolutely right about Boss. He has great hands but it takes him much too long to get open. He just doesn't have any speed or quickness. As far as this being a must game - not so fast. Yes, we would have a great chance to win the division if we win this game, but we still have a very realistic shot at a wild card with a loss. Dallas has 4 losses. They have the Chargers, Saints, Redskins and Eagles left on their schedule. They could easily lose 3 if not all four of those games. If the Giants finish at 9-7 or better they will have a great chance at a wild card due to their tie breaker advantage over Dallas and Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteI have disagree with you guys about Boss. He's got great hands, granted he doesn't have great speed but his route running and timing are awesome. Look at Dallas Clark. His speed is sub par but his route running and timing are truly spectacular. Boss reminds me of Clark and has the potential to be just as good. Seperation doesn't necessarily come from speed, route running and timing are just as important. Look at Moss, he's got great speed but he runs horrible routes and his timimg his way off... that guy was a waste of a draft pick.
ReplyDeleteP.S. It's just too bad that Boss will never really get the numbers under Coughlin's offense.
ReplyDeleteBoss comments. It's interesting, because KG had much the same thing to say about Boss (you can see the interview on the BBV 'Transcripts' page). He said they want to throw more to him, and they design stuff for him and wind up going elsewhere because he has trouble getting off the line unimpeded.
ReplyDelete1138sw, with all due respect, are you crazy? Boss and Clark are both TE's. The similarities end there period! Clark is much faster and quicker than Boss. They can split Clark out wide like a WR and he'll beat press coverage. Boss is a big TE with good hands. But he just doesn't get open quickly enough to be an elite receiving TE like a Clark, Celek, Witten, Davis, etc. He's just not that type of player.
ReplyDelete@Brian I'll have to disagree. Clark just isn't that fast, he's just damn crafty and really good at his routes with great soft hands He's a damn heady player too and probably one of the best TE's I've ever seen. I think Boss has the potential to be that. He's just got to be better at breaking from his blocks like Clark does. I don't mean to say he's Clark yet but I think the potential is there. Look at Boss as he had that long run in the 3rd quarter of the SB and look at him against Atlanta a few weeks ago. I know we keep him in for Max protection but come on Coach give the guy a chance for a big game!
ReplyDeleteBoss is good. He just needs to work on his quickness to get off the line. Once he starts moving, he is fast. Look at how many times he rumbles for big yardage after the catch. YAC.
ReplyDeleteThey need to motion him from one side to the other. It is simple. They he can disengage better.
bigblue09