Jerry Reese Defends Drafting Performance; OBJ Picks Eli

Jerry Reese and Ben McAdoo – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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NEW YORK POST ARTICLE ON GENERAL MANAGER JERRY REESE…
Paul Schwartz of The New York Post caught up with New York Giants General Manager Jerry Reese at Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama on Wednesday. The heavily-criticized Reese indicated that the Giants will not be making any immediate personnel department changes. He also defended the team’s poor drafting performance in recent years.

“We’re right in the middle of the process right now, so it’s hard to make a lot of changes,’’ Reese said. “We have guys who’ve watched these guys all year long and know them better than anybody. We always look at the process and see if we can do things differently or better. We’ll continue to do that. Scouting is scouting.”

Reese also repeated what team president and CEO John Mara has said in recent weeks, that is, everyone – including coaches – have had a role in deciding which players were acquired by the team.

“Ever since I’ve been here with the Giants, everybody has been part of the process, we come to a consensus on who we like and ultimately if we don’t pick a guy that works out it’s my fault, it’s the general manager’s fault,” said Reese. “But everybody is part of the process and I’m not going to back off that, it’s the truth.

“One of the favorite guys people like to throw at us is (2011 2nd round draft pick defensive tackle) Marvin Austin, a guy everybody says we spent a high pick on and we missed on him. There’s plenty of Marvin Austins around the National Football League. I can give you an example of how we talked about him. Marvin Austin, we’re kind of like, ‘This guy’s going to be a hit or this guy’s going to be a miss.’ We missed on him. We said ‘It’s probably not going to be anything in-between.’ Take (2008 3rd round draft pick wide receiver) Mario Manningham, we said, ‘This guy is going to be a hit or a miss. Nothing in between.’ We hit on him.

“How can you call a guy a bust when (2012 1st round draft pick David Wilson) breaks his neck? If that sells papers or whatever you guys do, but for you guys to say things like that, it’s not fair. His name gets thrown right into the pot when you guys are trying to say how bullshit the Giants’ personnel is.

“One thing for sure, I’m going to give the New York Giants everything I have. That’s never going to change.”

MCADOO MAY CREATE ANOTHER ASSISTANT COACHING POSITION…
NJ.com is reporting that new Giants’ Head Coach Ben McAdoo may hire an assistant defensive line coach in addition to a defensive line coach. Former Head Coach Tom Coughlin only had one coach for the defensive line, although he did have two coaches each for the offensive line, secondary, and special teams. The current defensive line positions remain vacant although the Giants have reportedly recently interviewed ex-Texans defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni and ex-Chargers defensive line coach Don Johnson.

PRO BOWL TEAMS SET…
Under the guidance of team captain wide receiver Odell Beckham, “Team Rice” selected quarterback Eli Manning with their first pick in the 2016 Pro Bowl draft. As a kicking specialist, place kicker Josh Brown was also assigned to “Team Rice” before the actual draft process. “Team Irvin” selected cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the draft.

Beckham was voted to the Pro Bowl by coaches, players, and fans. Manning, Rodgers-Cromartie, and Brown were selected as alternates when injured players dropped out of the game. The Pro Bowl airs on Sunday on ESPN at 7:00 PM eastern time.