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Now that the Giants have their middle linebacker in Keith Bulluck, what will be the biggest positional battle once training camp opens Sunday?
Beatty vs. Diehl? The pecking order of running backs? Osi Umenyiora-Mathias Kiwanuka?
You tell me. And tell me why. And don't be afraid to throw in whether you're personally heading up to the University at Albany, and whether you have any eating or lodging suggestions for any camp newbie.
EP
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Beatty vs. Diehl by a land slide. That would change the whole dynamic of the O line.
ReplyDeleteAlso, regardless of who starts between Osi an Kiwi both will be seeing the field a decent amount. That wont be the case in regards to the O line barring injury.
So many battles, which one gets priority:
ReplyDelete1. Beatty vs. Diehl, I mean Diehl vs. Seubert, Beatty vs. himself, however you want to view this battle. This is going to decide the o-line, which will either open holes for the RBs or keep Eli vertical. I think this is the most important battle, as it will decide the fate of the offense.
2. Kiwi vs. Osi, boy, is Osi going to be pissed when Kiwi gets the bulk of the playing time, as I believe Kiwi to be better and he will have a breakout year. Osi's reaction could be negative and thus creating a potential lockeroom problem.
3. Kilbride vs. me...I am not going to sit around this year and watch him under-utilize his weapons. This will probably turn into me vs. my tv, which just could end really bad. KG really gets on my nerves, if you all haven't noticed.
good article by Ralph V about the nagging injuries that are still at play as the Giants head to camp.
ReplyDeleteThe battles, might be more like forfeits if a few of these guys can't bounce back.
Tuck and Bradshaw visibly limping at OTAs, Osi's hip, Alford's knee
I really don't view these as real position battles.
ReplyDeleteBeatty vs. Suebert is already done and the Giants ae committed to letting Beatty play left tackle.
Bulluck vs. Goff/Dillard is done as long as Bulluck is healthy
Osi vs. Kiwi was done last year when Kiwi got the bulk of the playing time and outplayed and out hustled that jerk.
Bradshaw vs. jacobs is a moot point as both will get their fair share of carries
The battle I would love to see is Tynes vs. any young kicker with a boot. How is this waste of a human being still on the team? Get ready for the worst coverage unit in the league again. Thanks Larry.
The biggest battle will be Sinorice Moss and the ability for the Giants to find anyone to finally take his roster spot.
ReplyDeleteBeatty vs. Diehl will be the ultimate battle.
ReplyDeleteBattles I'm interested in:
ReplyDeleteKenny Phillips v. His Knee
Sorgi v. Clipboard
Tynes v. the 10 yard line on kickoffs
Matt Dodge v. the ghost of Feagles
Canty, Cofield, Boley, Osi, Jacobs, Bradshaw v. the injury bug
Sinorice Moss v. the world (I always bet on the world and he always lands on the roster)
More interested in which WRs get cut, if Bernard makes it through camp, if Linval Joseph earns playing time, Brown v. Ware v. Johnson for the 3rd RB spot.
True dat.If the special teams are not vastly improved in coverage and return department I will start to doubt if Jerry is a genius.
ReplyDeleteAaron Ross vs Terrell Thomas will be the biggest battle.
ReplyDeleteDid I miss something? Did they already announce Beatty as starting LT?
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't believe that Diehl will relinquish his position at OT. Look for Beatty vs. McKenzie and Petrus vs. Seubert. Landolt may be another offensive lineman worth keeping an eye on. Staying with offense, I also think that Barden vs. Manningham will be an intriguing match-up.
ReplyDeleteOn defense, it will be interesting to see the match-ups of Ross vs. Thomas and Joseph vs. Cofield vs. Canty. I would normally just disregard for rookies, but the Giants label Joseph as an 'anchor'. The DE match-up really isn't worth while. There will be a rotation regardless of who starts with the player having the most impact to play the most.
Not really a battle, per se, but I am certainly curious as to whether or not Barden can become the endzone - jumpball threat that Plax was. Really the only way NY had success against Philly was using Plax to jump over all their short DBs (Asante is 5'8", at best, despite being listed as taller). It kept Philly from blitzing because they had to double cover Plax and it opened up the running game. Philly's number one weakness is the short, but fast, DB. Average size WRs they can handle because of their speed. They can't do anything with WRs over 6'3". Plax and Eli had a fine time exploiting that. Nothing against any of the other WRs, they are an impressive group, but you can't teach height. Philly has been killing us since Plax nearly killed himself. Giants need Barden to emerge as a threat.
ReplyDeleteOn the training camp side - we always stay at the Days Inn by campus (1230 Western Avenue). Not palatial, but you can walk to the practice fields. We saw Coughlin and his family at the Best Western next door 2 years ago, so I'd assume they are fine too.
ReplyDeleteSad to be missing camp again this year, but I've got a newborn (4 weeks on Friday) so my wife would kill me :-)
MK - First, congrats. Second, if this is your first child, make sure you buy a DVR before the season starts. From birth until they hit three years old, all my kids made damn sure I never got to see the entire game. Make sure your pick up the appropriate amount of Giants baby clothes. You can't start breaking them in too early.
ReplyDeletedweez115, you are right on the money about Plax and the type of havoc he created to opposing defenses. Brian Dawkins all but admitted that the Eagles prepared for the Giants differently without having to worry about Plax. In fact, he indicated that they could just play their regular defense as they really were not concerned with the Giants offense at all (and that's putting it lightly).
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, hopefully Barden can be that guy that can cause similar match-up problems.
My biggest battle will be to find a way to get solid camp reports. Last training camp all we read about was Barden and no talk about the LB situation.
ReplyDeleteYou don't need Plax to make other teams adjust their schemes, you need better offensive coordinator; one who challenges the opposition with innovation.
ReplyDeleteWe have a team full of players who barely seem to grasp the playbook,
Here is my comment about the biggest battle, and this is by far the thing that interests me the most.
ReplyDeleteWith Rolle, Bullock and perhaps Tuck, you have three players who can hold their teammates accountable in the defensive huddle.
Who is the leader of the offense? Who is going to hold the RB and WR accountable for blown patterns and missed blocks? When I read that Nicks and other young receivers look to Moss for leadership, I get worried...why aren't these guys looking to Eli? Does the offense have a leader?
TC is the leader of the offense
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, Eli has stepped up to be the leader of the offense. Didn't you see him last year yell at Bradshaw for missed blocks? Or taking responsibility for blown calls and the like? How about him on the sideline talking to his teammates? Eli has spent the offseason training with the WRs and I think the team does respond to him now (especially minus Tiki, Shockey, Plax, etc). I think you can look for Eli to even have more of an active leadership role this year.
ReplyDeletethe information that is conveyed in interviews with Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks, is that Eli has NOT worked with them outside of the voluntary workouts.
ReplyDeleteDonovan McNabb had the entire Redskin receiving corp with him during the last two weeks before camp.
Sorry, forgot to specify last year he worked with the WRs. That is where they built their current relationship. I don't think they needed as much focus on that this year as compared to last year. So the fact they did not spend time outside of mini-camp and OTAs, does not worry me in the least. Training camp they will pick it up. McNabb has a whole new team, playbook, etc; therefore dude needs the extra time.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of DT battles are we looking at? Canty has one spot locked down based on his contract alone and Tuck will float from DE to DT, but after that....? Cofield, Alford, Bernard, Joseph...who gets the edge?
ReplyDeleteDT will be a rotation and all will be used. If Matt Dodge wasn't kicking well late in camp, id LUVVVVVVVVVVVV Feags to do the right thing.
ReplyDeleteThat would mean the rotation of DT uses 6 roster spots if you put Tuck in this group, the rotation at DE could be as many as 4?
ReplyDelete(Kiwi, Osi, JPP, Tollefson) that's 10. If you keep 6 Lbs and 4 safeties and possibly 5 corners, that's 25 spots right there.
8 oline, 4 rb, 6 wr, 3 TE, 1 FB, 3 qb, 1k, 1 p, 1 long snapper...that's the 53 man roster right there. You can almost fill in the blanks and you get the impression that camp is meaningless for most of these invitees.
Anon - normally you would be right. But remember, since this is an uncapped year, it is different from ANY other year. This is the one year any veteran can be cut and the Giants will not have to take a salary cap hit for the duration of the contract. Normally, a fat contract protects these guys at camp. This year, that protection is gone. We MAY see a player or two get cut that we never expected. Camp may be more open than any of us expect.
ReplyDeleteDweez
ReplyDeletegood point and reason to believe that this year will be different from last, complacency is the root of all evil