NFC East: greg jones
Greg Jones wins a ring and gives a ring
February, 6, 2012
Feb 6
2:06
PM ET
By
Ohm Youngmisuk | ESPN.com
John Korpics/ESPN
Greg Jones proposes to his girlfriend, Mandy Piechowski, right after the Giants won the Super Bowl.
Shortly after the Giants beat the Patriots, 21-17, Jones proposed to his girlfriend, Mandy Piechowski, on the confetti-covered Lucas Oil Stadium field as the celebration was under way.
Click here to view a photo gallery of the proposal.
An emotionally overwhelmed Piechowski said yes.
“She was bawling,” Jones said Monday morning before hopping on the team bus to head to the airport. “Just everything we have been through together ... she has been there since day one.”
Jones, a rookie drafted in the sixth round out of Michigan State, has known Piechowski for three years. She played basketball at Michigan State, and the two became friends first but did not start dating until a year and a half ago. He purchased the engagement ring -- a brilliant round cut diamond ring with several smaller diamonds on the band -- recently and had been waiting for the right moment to pop the question.
When Piechowski ran onto the field looking for Jones to celebrate the Giants' win, she was already emotional. She began crying as soon as she found him and embraced him.
"But then he put me down pretty fast and I was like, 'Oh, OK,'" she said. "And then he is digging in his pants and I am like, 'What are you doing?'"
Piechowski had no idea what was coming.
"He pulls out a box and I am still not comprehending what he was about to do," she said. "First thing I thought of was their ring and that doesn't make sense. Then he opens it.
"We had talked about wanting to get married next year possibly but in terms of this happening last night, no not at all. I didn't know he had a ring."
Jones got down on one knee on the field and said, "Amanda Piechowski, will you spend the rest of your life with me?"
Despite a chaotic celebration going on all around them, Piechowski heard Jones as if they were the only two on the field.
"It honestly felt quiet for a second," she said. "I didn't even know what they were doing with the trophy [celebration]."
What a night it was for Jones, who decided to make the best night of his football career the best night of his life. He had tight end Christian Hopkins, who is on the Giants’ practice squad, hold onto the ring until he proposed.
Jones said he didn't have a speech prepared for his proposal.
“She already knows how I feel,” Jones said. “A speech wasn’t needed.”
The New York Giants you see before you -- a team that has made it to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs -- are not the same New York Giants we watched for most of this season. Their enthusiasm and effectiveness bear little, if any, resemblance to that of the team that lost five of six games from mid-November to mid-December. What's the difference? Well, there are many. And each day this week, leading up to the playoff game Sunday in Green Bay, we'll take a look at a player or players who have helped turn these Giants from a mid-pack pretender to a Final Eight contender.
Today: LB Chase Blackburn
Blackburn The Giants decided not to bring back Blackburn last offseason opting instead to go with a rookie corps at linebacker even once Jonathan Goff and Clint Sintim went down with preseason injuries. But the November injuries to Michael Boley and Mark Herzlich were too much, and so the Giants called their old friend and brought him back Nov. 29. He started the very next game -- the one against the Packers on Dec. 4 -- and came up with an interception of Aaron Rodgers. He wasn't even on the flip card yet, and he wasn't wearing his old uniform number. A week earlier, he was working out the details of a substitute math teaching gig in Ohio. It's possible his was the most surprising interception Rodgers threw all season.
"I think he'll know who No. 93 is this time," Blackburn said earlier this week.
Blackburn's return has brought stability to the Giants' middle linebacker position, which never attained that following the Goff injury. Rookies Greg Jones, Jacquian Williams and Herzlich all took their turns in the middle, but things remained unsettled, as they often do with rookies, and the Giants suffered for it. Had Herzlich not injured his ankle, they might have continued to roll with the rookies. They take the middle linebacker off the field on passing downs anyway, and they don't view it as the most essential position in their defensive scheme.
But having Blackburn back and manning the middle has helped in ways the Giants didn't foresee. The most important element he brings is familiarity. He's played here before. He knows the scheme, the system, the terminology.
"Think about it," Boley said. "You bring in a guy in Week 13 and he's never been here before, he has to spend a lot of time just learning what things are called. He's catching up. But with Chase, there was no catching up. The stuff we do is exactly the same as it was when he was here before. So he just slid right in."
The Giants' defense still runs off the big guys up front -- the four-man pass rush. And the play of the secondary is likely to matter more and get more attention this week in the playoff game in Green Bay. But Blackburn's contribution since he arrived Week 13 has been quietly significant, if for no other reason that it's allowed the Giants to stop moving pieces around as much as they were before he returned. He's made plays. He's fit in. He's been everything the Giants needed when they went out looking for a substitute linebacker in late November. And more, almost certainly, than they expected.
Today: LB Chase Blackburn
"I think he'll know who No. 93 is this time," Blackburn said earlier this week.
Blackburn's return has brought stability to the Giants' middle linebacker position, which never attained that following the Goff injury. Rookies Greg Jones, Jacquian Williams and Herzlich all took their turns in the middle, but things remained unsettled, as they often do with rookies, and the Giants suffered for it. Had Herzlich not injured his ankle, they might have continued to roll with the rookies. They take the middle linebacker off the field on passing downs anyway, and they don't view it as the most essential position in their defensive scheme.
But having Blackburn back and manning the middle has helped in ways the Giants didn't foresee. The most important element he brings is familiarity. He's played here before. He knows the scheme, the system, the terminology.
"Think about it," Boley said. "You bring in a guy in Week 13 and he's never been here before, he has to spend a lot of time just learning what things are called. He's catching up. But with Chase, there was no catching up. The stuff we do is exactly the same as it was when he was here before. So he just slid right in."
The Giants' defense still runs off the big guys up front -- the four-man pass rush. And the play of the secondary is likely to matter more and get more attention this week in the playoff game in Green Bay. But Blackburn's contribution since he arrived Week 13 has been quietly significant, if for no other reason that it's allowed the Giants to stop moving pieces around as much as they were before he returned. He's made plays. He's fit in. He's been everything the Giants needed when they went out looking for a substitute linebacker in late November. And more, almost certainly, than they expected.
A big chance for Giants' young LBs
November, 19, 2011
11/19/11
10:46
AM ET
By
Dan Graziano | ESPN.com
The New York Giants may have to play Sunday night's game against the Eagles in Philadelphia without linebacker Michael Boley, who's been a vital veteran playmaker on their defense all year. Boley has a hamstring injury, has not been able to practice this week and is officially listed as doubtful for the game. Should he miss the game, the Giants will look to someone -- possibly everyone -- from their group of four rookie linebackers to fill in for him. Ohm Youngmisuk has the story on ESPNNewYork.com:
Boley has had the headset in his helmet all year as he's been charged with relaying the defensive calls in place of injured middle linebacker Jonathan Goff. The only remaining veteran in the linebacking corps is Mathias Kiwanuka, who plays defensive end on passing downs and likely has enough about which to worry. So I wonder if the veteran who gets the headset might be a safety. The Giants have been successfully mixing and matching since the early part of training camp and believe they can figure it out.
But someone still has to play, and while rookies Greg Jones, Spencer Paysinger and Jacquian Williams have seen some playing time this year, the Giants are cognizant of not trying to give them too much responsibility too quickly. That's why they're likely to rotate snaps along with fellow rookie Mark Herzlich, whose playing time so far this year has come entirely on special teams.
Herzlich was a dominating college player in 2008 before his illness, and the Giants signed him as an undrafted rookie in the hopes that he might someday be able to flash that ability again once he was back to full strength. It appears that Boley's injury might offer Herzlich a chance to show what he's got sooner rather than later. It's been a next-man-up kind of year for the Giants, and at 6-3 and with a depleted Eagles team coming to town Sunday night, there's no reason for them to think one or more of their rookies can't continue the trend.
The Giants have spent the week prepping their rookie linebackers for more playing time, which they say will help. Fewell also says he will have a veteran wear the helmet with a headset to relay plays into the huddle so that the rookies won't be overloaded.
Boley has had the headset in his helmet all year as he's been charged with relaying the defensive calls in place of injured middle linebacker Jonathan Goff. The only remaining veteran in the linebacking corps is Mathias Kiwanuka, who plays defensive end on passing downs and likely has enough about which to worry. So I wonder if the veteran who gets the headset might be a safety. The Giants have been successfully mixing and matching since the early part of training camp and believe they can figure it out.
But someone still has to play, and while rookies Greg Jones, Spencer Paysinger and Jacquian Williams have seen some playing time this year, the Giants are cognizant of not trying to give them too much responsibility too quickly. That's why they're likely to rotate snaps along with fellow rookie Mark Herzlich, whose playing time so far this year has come entirely on special teams.
If Herzlich plays at linebacker, it would be another milestone moment in his comeback from Ewing's sarcoma, a rare bone cancer he beat after missing all of the 2009 season at BC. "They are rotating a lot of guys in right now," Herzlich said. "I'm eager. It is all about getting that one shot and seizing it. Whenever that occurs for me -- I'm confident that will occur at some point -- I will be ready."
Herzlich was a dominating college player in 2008 before his illness, and the Giants signed him as an undrafted rookie in the hopes that he might someday be able to flash that ability again once he was back to full strength. It appears that Boley's injury might offer Herzlich a chance to show what he's got sooner rather than later. It's been a next-man-up kind of year for the Giants, and at 6-3 and with a depleted Eagles team coming to town Sunday night, there's no reason for them to think one or more of their rookies can't continue the trend.
New York Giants linebacker Michael Boley has a hamstring injury and it could affect his status for Sunday's game against the Eagles. Mike Garafolo takes a look at what this might mean for a Giants defense that has counted heavily on Boley as its lone every-down linebacker this year:
Mike points out that the 49ers were able to take advantage of Boley's absence on both of their touchdowns Sunday, as rookie Greg Jones was an insufficient replacement in coverage. I also think it matters that Justin Tuck and other Giants are saying that Boley is the player they can least afford to lose on defense. Much of the Giants' success this year has come from their ability to mentally overcome the obstacles put in front of them by bad breaks and injuries. If it's in their heads that they can't get by without Boley, that could be a problem.
The Giants have been excellent about not letting injuries to key players affect them this season. Players such as Corey Webster, Aaron Ross and Brandon Jacobs have stepped up their games when called upon to replace injured players or assume larger roles because of injuries. Boley is another example, though, of a Giants player who has outperformed expectations in a year in which so many Giants have had to. If they lose him for any period of time, it just makes them that much thinner at a position where his performance was already helping overcome a lack of depth.
Statistically, Boley has proven vital to the Giants defense, which ranks in the bottom half of the NFL in both total defense (17th) and scoring defense (21st). He is second on the team in tackling with 59 total stops along with three fumble recoveries (one he returned for a touchdown), a forced fumble and a sack. Most importantly, he is the unit’s leader and one of only three players listed at linebacker who is not a rookie. The other two are Mathias Kiwanuka, a converted defensive end, and Zak DeOssie, who exclusively serves as the long-snapper.
Mike points out that the 49ers were able to take advantage of Boley's absence on both of their touchdowns Sunday, as rookie Greg Jones was an insufficient replacement in coverage. I also think it matters that Justin Tuck and other Giants are saying that Boley is the player they can least afford to lose on defense. Much of the Giants' success this year has come from their ability to mentally overcome the obstacles put in front of them by bad breaks and injuries. If it's in their heads that they can't get by without Boley, that could be a problem.
The Giants have been excellent about not letting injuries to key players affect them this season. Players such as Corey Webster, Aaron Ross and Brandon Jacobs have stepped up their games when called upon to replace injured players or assume larger roles because of injuries. Boley is another example, though, of a Giants player who has outperformed expectations in a year in which so many Giants have had to. If they lose him for any period of time, it just makes them that much thinner at a position where his performance was already helping overcome a lack of depth.
It's "Monday Night Football" here in New Jersey tonight, as I'll head down Route 17 to the Meadowlands to see the New York Giants take on the St. Louis Rams. We will be chatting live during the game right here on ESPN.com, and of course I'll be blogging and columnizing and Rapid Reacting and all of the things we do from games we attend in person. It's going to be a long, late night, so take a nap this afternoon if you need one to make sure you can keep up. I know I will.
You already know I think one of the keys for the Giants is to commit to the run more strongly than they did in the opener against the Redskins. But I also think the run game is the key when they're on defense. The Rams were able to run up the middle with some success in their opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Giants' defense has a similar weakness in the middle to the Eagles' defense -- i.e., a rookie middle linebacker who's likely to struggle if he has to make a one-on-one play against the running back. The Giants' Greg Jones looked better in his debut than the Eagles' Casey Matthews has looked in either of his games, but the rookie out of Michican State is still new at this, and even if Steven Jackson doesn't play, stopping Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood isn't exactly the same as stopping Indiana's run game. It will fall to defensive tackles Chris Canty and Linval Joseph to slow the Rams' backs at the line so they don't hit the soft middle of the Giants' defense with a head of steam.
On offense, the Giants should try to create those same mismatches with running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs against the Rams linebackers, especially if the Rams blitz as much as they did in their opener. It remains to be seen whether Steve Spagnuolo will blitz like that every week or whether that was just a plan to try and rattle (or eliminate) Michael Vick. Eli Manning gets rid of the ball very quickly, as Spagnuolo knows from his days coaching against him in practice when he was the Giants' defensive coordinator, and it's possible the Rams will choose to rush four and sit in coverage more than they did last week. If they do go blitz-heavy again, the run game is the Giants' best way to take advantage of that.
I think the Giants will win the game tonight, but to do so they must seek to control it, and the best way to do that is to control the ground game on both sides of the ball. If this turns into a shootout, neither quarterback has his full complement of receivers. But I don't think the Giants want to entrust this game to their banged-up secondary.
You already know I think one of the keys for the Giants is to commit to the run more strongly than they did in the opener against the Redskins. But I also think the run game is the key when they're on defense. The Rams were able to run up the middle with some success in their opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Giants' defense has a similar weakness in the middle to the Eagles' defense -- i.e., a rookie middle linebacker who's likely to struggle if he has to make a one-on-one play against the running back. The Giants' Greg Jones looked better in his debut than the Eagles' Casey Matthews has looked in either of his games, but the rookie out of Michican State is still new at this, and even if Steven Jackson doesn't play, stopping Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood isn't exactly the same as stopping Indiana's run game. It will fall to defensive tackles Chris Canty and Linval Joseph to slow the Rams' backs at the line so they don't hit the soft middle of the Giants' defense with a head of steam.
On offense, the Giants should try to create those same mismatches with running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs against the Rams linebackers, especially if the Rams blitz as much as they did in their opener. It remains to be seen whether Steve Spagnuolo will blitz like that every week or whether that was just a plan to try and rattle (or eliminate) Michael Vick. Eli Manning gets rid of the ball very quickly, as Spagnuolo knows from his days coaching against him in practice when he was the Giants' defensive coordinator, and it's possible the Rams will choose to rush four and sit in coverage more than they did last week. If they do go blitz-heavy again, the run game is the Giants' best way to take advantage of that.
I think the Giants will win the game tonight, but to do so they must seek to control it, and the best way to do that is to control the ground game on both sides of the ball. If this turns into a shootout, neither quarterback has his full complement of receivers. But I don't think the Giants want to entrust this game to their banged-up secondary.
Breakfast links: Practices are dangerous
September, 8, 2011
9/08/11
8:00
AM ET
By
Dan Graziano | ESPN.com
It's getting to the point where I'm worried I'm going to injure my knee just by writing about these teams. Every day, a new knee injury in this division. Wednesday brought two, both in Dallas. Fact, I'm going to go put a brace on before I finish writing today's links, just in case...
Dallas Cowboys
Cornerback Mike Jenkins and rookie right tackle Tyron Smith both suffered hyperextended knees in practice Wednesday, calling the status of both players into question for Sunday night's season opener against the Jets in New Jersey. Reports earlier in the day indicated that Smith could be out 2-to-4 weeks, but Calvin Watkins is saying now it's possible the injury wasn't as serious as originally thought and that Jenkins and Smith could practice Thursday. That'd be good news for the Cowboys, but it's also the kind of thing a team wouldn't mind having out there publicly if it were very thin at cornerback and offensive line and was trying to bring in some players to help offset fresh injuries to those positions. Just saying.
Mac Engel has a radical idea, and he says he's serious: Bench Tony Romo for Week 1 because the Jets' defense is so fearsome and the Cowboys are too banged up in too many spots to protect Romo from serious harm. Basically, Mac's saying sacrifice the first game of the season (and maybe Jon Kitna's health) to save the final 15. I can see his point. I just don't think things are that dire. And what kind of precedent would it set? (Hint: Bad one.)
New York Giants
Rookie Greg Jones was the most popular guy in the Giants' locker room when it opened for media access Wednesday. Jones appears to be in line to start at middle linebacker in the wake of the injury to Jonathan Goff. He says he's ready, his teammates express confidence in him and the Giants insist that, while the knee injuries that have wracked their defense this preseason have shaken them up, they believe they have enough depth on the roster to handle them. We'll see. My thought is that Greg Jones may be very talented and a very good middle linebacker someday, but that taking a rookie who had no offseason program and making him your starting middle linebacker four days before the season starts is a recipe for trouble.
Devin Thomas said he's looking forward to playing against the Redskins and Mike Shanahan on Sunday, but that he harbors no ill will toward Shanahan for cutting him last year. Shanahan and Thomas spoke highly of each other Wednesday, with Shanahan saying he believed Thomas had the talent to be a star and Thomas saying the speech Shanahan gave him while cutting him helped inspire him to work harder.
Philadelphia Eagles
High hopes are one thing, and maybe even justified. But John Smallwood writes that the Eagles aren't even the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl yet. John ranks them behind the two teams playing tonight.
Worried the team may not have enough quarters left in the piggy bank for a DeSean Jackson contract? Don't. Word is, the Eagles are still about $8 million under the salary cap, even after all of their offseason moves. I don't think that counts the new contract Joselio Hanson signed Wednesday, but there's no way he's eating up very much of it. Remarkable work Joe Banner does there in Philly with that cap.
Washington Redskins
Rich Campbell wonders whether this flare-up LaRon Landry had with the team's training staff over the hamstring setback that will keep him out of Sunday's opener represents a trend with the Redskins. Rich cites a list of ill-timed muscle pulls over the past year and says it's something to keep in mind.
Rick Maese checks in to see how John Beck is coping with losing out to Rex Grossman for the Redskins' starting quarterback job. Not surprisingly, Beck is upbeat, positive, optimistic and eager to talk about it. He's also surely smart enough to know that he's likely to get his chance at some point this year if he shows any kind of improvement week-to-week in practice.
Dallas Cowboys
Cornerback Mike Jenkins and rookie right tackle Tyron Smith both suffered hyperextended knees in practice Wednesday, calling the status of both players into question for Sunday night's season opener against the Jets in New Jersey. Reports earlier in the day indicated that Smith could be out 2-to-4 weeks, but Calvin Watkins is saying now it's possible the injury wasn't as serious as originally thought and that Jenkins and Smith could practice Thursday. That'd be good news for the Cowboys, but it's also the kind of thing a team wouldn't mind having out there publicly if it were very thin at cornerback and offensive line and was trying to bring in some players to help offset fresh injuries to those positions. Just saying.
Mac Engel has a radical idea, and he says he's serious: Bench Tony Romo for Week 1 because the Jets' defense is so fearsome and the Cowboys are too banged up in too many spots to protect Romo from serious harm. Basically, Mac's saying sacrifice the first game of the season (and maybe Jon Kitna's health) to save the final 15. I can see his point. I just don't think things are that dire. And what kind of precedent would it set? (Hint: Bad one.)
New York Giants
Rookie Greg Jones was the most popular guy in the Giants' locker room when it opened for media access Wednesday. Jones appears to be in line to start at middle linebacker in the wake of the injury to Jonathan Goff. He says he's ready, his teammates express confidence in him and the Giants insist that, while the knee injuries that have wracked their defense this preseason have shaken them up, they believe they have enough depth on the roster to handle them. We'll see. My thought is that Greg Jones may be very talented and a very good middle linebacker someday, but that taking a rookie who had no offseason program and making him your starting middle linebacker four days before the season starts is a recipe for trouble.
Devin Thomas said he's looking forward to playing against the Redskins and Mike Shanahan on Sunday, but that he harbors no ill will toward Shanahan for cutting him last year. Shanahan and Thomas spoke highly of each other Wednesday, with Shanahan saying he believed Thomas had the talent to be a star and Thomas saying the speech Shanahan gave him while cutting him helped inspire him to work harder.
Philadelphia Eagles
High hopes are one thing, and maybe even justified. But John Smallwood writes that the Eagles aren't even the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl yet. John ranks them behind the two teams playing tonight.
Worried the team may not have enough quarters left in the piggy bank for a DeSean Jackson contract? Don't. Word is, the Eagles are still about $8 million under the salary cap, even after all of their offseason moves. I don't think that counts the new contract Joselio Hanson signed Wednesday, but there's no way he's eating up very much of it. Remarkable work Joe Banner does there in Philly with that cap.
Washington Redskins
Rich Campbell wonders whether this flare-up LaRon Landry had with the team's training staff over the hamstring setback that will keep him out of Sunday's opener represents a trend with the Redskins. Rich cites a list of ill-timed muscle pulls over the past year and says it's something to keep in mind.
Rick Maese checks in to see how John Beck is coping with losing out to Rex Grossman for the Redskins' starting quarterback job. Not surprisingly, Beck is upbeat, positive, optimistic and eager to talk about it. He's also surely smart enough to know that he's likely to get his chance at some point this year if he shows any kind of improvement week-to-week in practice.
Giants' Jonathan Goff out for season
September, 6, 2011
9/06/11
5:06
PM ET
By
Dan Graziano | ESPN.com
The New York Giants' injury situation may have reached the point of absurdity.
Multiple reports have surfaced Tuesday afternoon that Jonathan Goff, the Giants' starting middle linebacker, has a torn ACL and will miss the entire 2011-12 season. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports via Twitter that the team is planning to sign former Giants linebacker Kawika Mitchell to replace him.
This is really ridiculous now, and you have to wonder how much more of this the Giants can possibly take. They've already lost starting cornerback Terrell Thomas and backup linebacker Clint Sintim for the year with ACL injuries. Cornerback and first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara is out for the first month or so with a broken foot. Defensive tackle and second-round pick Marvin Austin is out for the year with a torn pectoral muscle. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora is coming off knee surgery and will miss at least the first week and probably more. And that's just the defensive damage report. On offense, they're reasonably healthy but did lose wide receiver Steve Smith and tight end Kevin Boss to free agency and didn't replace either one.
The Giants have maintained all along that their developmental depth was strong and they would be able to handle injuries, but the fact is their relatively inactive offseason and the injuries that have dogged them since the lockout ended have left them thin at several key spots, none more so now than linebacker. They believed they were set with Goff, Michael Boley and Mathias Kiwanuka as starters, and the four reserve linebackers they kept when they made their cuts Saturday were all rookies. Now, it looks as though they could bring in Mitchell, who played for the Giants in 2007 and for Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell in 2008-09 when both were in Buffalo, to add some veteran presence. But Mitchell isn't a middle linebacker. So if he's there to add depth and not to man the middle, you could see a rookie such as Greg Jones or Mark Herzlich get some time at that middle spot, or the Giants might look again to the waiver wire for someone like Keith Bulluck or Lofa Tatupu.
Regardless, five days from the regular-season opener in Washington, the Giants had hoped their rotten injury luck was behind them for this year. There is a lot of talent on their roster, and especially on their defense. But they're reaching the point where you have to wonder if this is too many injuries to overcome. I've never been big on Goff as a starting middle linebacker, but he was their starter. Without him, they will scramble, and likely be worse than they would have been with him. If this was the first of these injuries, it'd be easy to say sure, they can take it. But it's not. Far from it.
Multiple reports have surfaced Tuesday afternoon that Jonathan Goff, the Giants' starting middle linebacker, has a torn ACL and will miss the entire 2011-12 season. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports via Twitter that the team is planning to sign former Giants linebacker Kawika Mitchell to replace him.
[+] Enlarge
William Perlman/The Star-Ledger via US PresswireThe Giants reportedly lost Jonathan Goff for the season to a torn ACL.
William Perlman/The Star-Ledger via US PresswireThe Giants reportedly lost Jonathan Goff for the season to a torn ACL.The Giants have maintained all along that their developmental depth was strong and they would be able to handle injuries, but the fact is their relatively inactive offseason and the injuries that have dogged them since the lockout ended have left them thin at several key spots, none more so now than linebacker. They believed they were set with Goff, Michael Boley and Mathias Kiwanuka as starters, and the four reserve linebackers they kept when they made their cuts Saturday were all rookies. Now, it looks as though they could bring in Mitchell, who played for the Giants in 2007 and for Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell in 2008-09 when both were in Buffalo, to add some veteran presence. But Mitchell isn't a middle linebacker. So if he's there to add depth and not to man the middle, you could see a rookie such as Greg Jones or Mark Herzlich get some time at that middle spot, or the Giants might look again to the waiver wire for someone like Keith Bulluck or Lofa Tatupu.
Regardless, five days from the regular-season opener in Washington, the Giants had hoped their rotten injury luck was behind them for this year. There is a lot of talent on their roster, and especially on their defense. But they're reaching the point where you have to wonder if this is too many injuries to overcome. I've never been big on Goff as a starting middle linebacker, but he was their starter. Without him, they will scramble, and likely be worse than they would have been with him. If this was the first of these injuries, it'd be easy to say sure, they can take it. But it's not. Far from it.
Click here for a complete list of the New York Giants' roster moves.
Biggest surprise: Four rookie linebackers made the team. And yes, I know some of you were telling me that would happen Friday, but I expected Adrian Tracy to make the team and I was wrong. He was one of three 2010 draft picks -- including fellow linebacker Phillip Dillard and punter Matt Dodge -- among Saturday's cuts. But in part because of the way they played on special teams, rookies Mark Herzlich, Greg Jones, Jacquian Williams and Spencer Paysinger made the team. That's the corps of backup linebackers behind starters Jonathan Goff, Mathias Kiwanuka and Michael Boley.
Running backs D.J. Ware and Da'Rel Scott made the team while 2009 draft pick Andre Brown was cut. Devin Thomas made the team as a wide receiver over Michael Clayton based on a strong preseason showing. And the Giants basically keep three tight ends -- Travis Beckum, Jake Ballard and Bear Pascoe -- with rookie Henry Hynoski slated to be the starting fullback.
No-brainers: Dodge had a very good preseason, has a lot of talent and probably will find work somewhere. But once the Giants brought in Steve Weatherford, who has been one of the best punters in the league the past two years, Dodge's days were numbered. Weatherford will be the punter, and the bad memories of Dodge and DeSean Jackson can begin to fade. Health issues cost Sage Rosenfels the backup quarterback job, which goes back to David Carr.
What's next: I think they need to sort through the Eagles' castoffs. In particular, tight end Donald Lee and nickel cornerback Joselio Hanson make a lot of sense for the Giants, as the former would fill a huge hole and the latter would allow them to keep Antrel Rolle at safety. Personally I always think they need linebacker help, but they disagree and they like their rookies, so I guess we'll see.
Biggest surprise: Four rookie linebackers made the team. And yes, I know some of you were telling me that would happen Friday, but I expected Adrian Tracy to make the team and I was wrong. He was one of three 2010 draft picks -- including fellow linebacker Phillip Dillard and punter Matt Dodge -- among Saturday's cuts. But in part because of the way they played on special teams, rookies Mark Herzlich, Greg Jones, Jacquian Williams and Spencer Paysinger made the team. That's the corps of backup linebackers behind starters Jonathan Goff, Mathias Kiwanuka and Michael Boley.
Running backs D.J. Ware and Da'Rel Scott made the team while 2009 draft pick Andre Brown was cut. Devin Thomas made the team as a wide receiver over Michael Clayton based on a strong preseason showing. And the Giants basically keep three tight ends -- Travis Beckum, Jake Ballard and Bear Pascoe -- with rookie Henry Hynoski slated to be the starting fullback.
No-brainers: Dodge had a very good preseason, has a lot of talent and probably will find work somewhere. But once the Giants brought in Steve Weatherford, who has been one of the best punters in the league the past two years, Dodge's days were numbered. Weatherford will be the punter, and the bad memories of Dodge and DeSean Jackson can begin to fade. Health issues cost Sage Rosenfels the backup quarterback job, which goes back to David Carr.
What's next: I think they need to sort through the Eagles' castoffs. In particular, tight end Donald Lee and nickel cornerback Joselio Hanson make a lot of sense for the Giants, as the former would fill a huge hole and the latter would allow them to keep Antrel Rolle at safety. Personally I always think they need linebacker help, but they disagree and they like their rookies, so I guess we'll see.
Breakfast links: Giants linebacker talk
July, 12, 2011
7/12/11
8:00
AM ET
By
Dan Graziano | ESPN.com
Excellent morning to you all. Busy Tuesday planned, what with the regular weekly chat scheduled and some work still to do for later in the week on the "Dream Team of Tomorrow," so let's get right on with the links:
Dallas Cowboys
The St. Louis Rams on Monday became the latest team to cancel their out-of-town training camp because of how long the lockout has dragged on. Matt Mosley says the Cowboys could be next, as they're getting close to the time by which they have to decide on whether to pull the plug on San Antonio. At this point, with the best-case scenario for the end of the lockout looking like sometime late next week, you have to wonder if anybody's going to hold training camp away from home. As you know from reading the blog, I don't think it matters at all. But I guess we'll see.
Blogging the Boys ponders John Phillips, and whether he can emerge as the kind of do-it-all fullback Daryl Johnston was for the glory years teams. This leads to an interesting question about Martellus Bennett's continued usefulness, though I imagine the fact that Bennett caught a career-high 33 passes last year, as BTB points out, indicates more multiple-tight-end sets (and perhaps less need for a fullback) to come. It is the trend, after all, in a copycat league.
New York Giants
Linebacker talk! Paul Posluszny said in a recent radio interview that he prefers to stay with the Buffalo Bills (perhaps a story unto itself), but that he enjoyed the time he spent with Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell while Fewell filled that same role (and, for a brief time, that of head coach) in Buffalo and that the Giants are an interesting potential destination for him as he becomes a free agent. Remains to be seen, of course, whether he's on the Giants' wish list. Remains to be seen whether the always-stubborn Giants actually do anything at linebacker this year. But his name's been mentioned more than once in connection with the Giants, and he bears watching.
And Giants.com takes a look at sixth-round pick Greg Jones, the linebacker out of Michigan State. Michael Eisen writes that most expect Jones to begin as a special-teamer but that the college overachiever "likely hopes to get a shot to unseat Jonathan Goff as the Giants' starting middle linebacker." Hey, you never know, right?
Philadelphia Eagles
Brandon Graham's knee appears healthier than Tiger Woods' knee, since he can apparently play golf on it. But while Graham says the knee is coming along, he's not going to be ready to start the season, which is one of the reasons you keep hearing the Eagles connected with potential free-agent pass-rushers.
DeSean Jackson said in this radio interview that he and Plaxico Burress would be "a dangerous combination" if the former Giants wideout were to sign with the Eagles. But Jackson, like all of us, doesn't know how likely that is to happen. The Eagles would be good for Burress, there's no doubt. The question is whether they believe he'd be good for them.
Washington Redskins
Hey, if we can spend a week speculating on who'll make the Pro Bowl in 2014-16, why can't Redskins.com talk about who'll make it this year? Looking at potential candidates who've never made it before, they highlight Lorenzo Alexander, Anthony Armstrong, O.J. Atogwe, LaRon Landry and return man Brandon Banks. One quibble: Isn't Alexander about to lose his job to the team's first-round pick?
Mike Jones takes a look at the final six picks the Redskins made in the draft and sizes up each one's chances of contributing this year. Of the group, sixth-round receiver Aldrick Robinson and seventh-round guard Maurice Hurt may have the best chances to see playing time in 2011, since those positions are positions of opportunity on the Redskins' roster. Though I did chuckle at Mike's characterization of Hurt as "rather fleshy" during the player-led workouts. Hey, we all let ourselves go a little in the offseason, don't we?
Breakfast time. More later. Be excellent to each other.
Dallas Cowboys
The St. Louis Rams on Monday became the latest team to cancel their out-of-town training camp because of how long the lockout has dragged on. Matt Mosley says the Cowboys could be next, as they're getting close to the time by which they have to decide on whether to pull the plug on San Antonio. At this point, with the best-case scenario for the end of the lockout looking like sometime late next week, you have to wonder if anybody's going to hold training camp away from home. As you know from reading the blog, I don't think it matters at all. But I guess we'll see.
Blogging the Boys ponders John Phillips, and whether he can emerge as the kind of do-it-all fullback Daryl Johnston was for the glory years teams. This leads to an interesting question about Martellus Bennett's continued usefulness, though I imagine the fact that Bennett caught a career-high 33 passes last year, as BTB points out, indicates more multiple-tight-end sets (and perhaps less need for a fullback) to come. It is the trend, after all, in a copycat league.
New York Giants
Linebacker talk! Paul Posluszny said in a recent radio interview that he prefers to stay with the Buffalo Bills (perhaps a story unto itself), but that he enjoyed the time he spent with Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell while Fewell filled that same role (and, for a brief time, that of head coach) in Buffalo and that the Giants are an interesting potential destination for him as he becomes a free agent. Remains to be seen, of course, whether he's on the Giants' wish list. Remains to be seen whether the always-stubborn Giants actually do anything at linebacker this year. But his name's been mentioned more than once in connection with the Giants, and he bears watching.
And Giants.com takes a look at sixth-round pick Greg Jones, the linebacker out of Michigan State. Michael Eisen writes that most expect Jones to begin as a special-teamer but that the college overachiever "likely hopes to get a shot to unseat Jonathan Goff as the Giants' starting middle linebacker." Hey, you never know, right?
Philadelphia Eagles
Brandon Graham's knee appears healthier than Tiger Woods' knee, since he can apparently play golf on it. But while Graham says the knee is coming along, he's not going to be ready to start the season, which is one of the reasons you keep hearing the Eagles connected with potential free-agent pass-rushers.
DeSean Jackson said in this radio interview that he and Plaxico Burress would be "a dangerous combination" if the former Giants wideout were to sign with the Eagles. But Jackson, like all of us, doesn't know how likely that is to happen. The Eagles would be good for Burress, there's no doubt. The question is whether they believe he'd be good for them.
Washington Redskins
Hey, if we can spend a week speculating on who'll make the Pro Bowl in 2014-16, why can't Redskins.com talk about who'll make it this year? Looking at potential candidates who've never made it before, they highlight Lorenzo Alexander, Anthony Armstrong, O.J. Atogwe, LaRon Landry and return man Brandon Banks. One quibble: Isn't Alexander about to lose his job to the team's first-round pick?
Mike Jones takes a look at the final six picks the Redskins made in the draft and sizes up each one's chances of contributing this year. Of the group, sixth-round receiver Aldrick Robinson and seventh-round guard Maurice Hurt may have the best chances to see playing time in 2011, since those positions are positions of opportunity on the Redskins' roster. Though I did chuckle at Mike's characterization of Hurt as "rather fleshy" during the player-led workouts. Hey, we all let ourselves go a little in the offseason, don't we?
Breakfast time. More later. Be excellent to each other.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Dan Graziano
Graziano joined ESPN.com in 2011 after two years as a Senior NFL Writer for AOL FanHouse. He covered Major League Baseball, the Olympics and various other sports during his time at the Star-Ledger and the Palm Beach Post. A New Jersey native and author of two published novels, he now lives in Ridgewood, N.J., with his wife and two sons.
