Rueben Randle - © USA TODAY Sports Images

by Eric from BigBlueInteractive.com

May 24, 2013

Everyone knows that the Giants two studs at wide receiver are Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. But there has been a changing of the guard behind these two each of the last two seasons. In 2011, the #3 receiver on this team was Mario Manningham. That season, Manningham had 39 receptions behind Cruz (82 catches) and Nicks (76 catches). In 2012, Cruz (86 catches) and Nicks (53 catches) still led the way again despite Nicks’ injury woes. Interestingly, Domenik Hixon had the same number of receptions as the #3 receiver as did Manningham the year before with 39.

Manningham (free agent to 49ers in 2012) and Hixon (free agent to Panthers in 2013) are gone. The leading contenders to replace Hixon as the #3 wideout are Rueben Randle, Jerrel Jernigan, and Louis Murphy.

Rueben Randle:

Randle, the team’s second-round draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, is probably the favorite to win the job. Randle had only 19 receptions for 298 yards and three touchdowns his rookie season. His best games were against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5 (six catches for 82 yards) and the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17 (four catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns). But Randle, who just turned 22 in May, has an excellent combination of size, athletic ability, and hands. Randle is not a burner, but he is fluid and smooth with just enough speed to threaten a defense vertically down the field. In that regard, he’s similar to Nicks. Like most young players, Randle needs to continue to improve his route-running and realize that professional football is indeed a serious business that requires a heightened level of commitment.

With Nicks recovering from offseason arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Randle has been getting work with the first team.

“It’s a lot better to get a feel for how things are going to be,” Randle said of lining up with the first team. “You get on the same page with Eli, so it’s a fun thing. But also it’s work. You’ve got to continue to go out there and get better and just do the best you can. I’m a lot better than where I was last year. I’m a lot more comfortable with what I have to do and understanding the offense. I’m out there playing a lot faster and making a lot more plays.”

Jerrel Jernigan:

With Cruz still unsigned, Jerrel Jernigan has also been getting reps with the first team. Jernigan was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Giants. Because Jernigan is diminutive in size (5-8, 189lbs) and has been unproductive in his first two seasons (three catches total), he has drawn unfavorable comparisons by Giants fans to a previous draft bust, Sinorice Moss. Jernigan does lack size, but he is a quick, fluid athlete. In college, Jernigan was an extremely productive receiver who was dangerous with the football after the catch.

Jerngian’s development may have been hampered by his college offense at Troy. Receivers in spread offenses usually do not run the full route tree so it was a much bigger mental jump for Jerngian than it was for Randle. Regardless, the Giants are expecting Jernigan to step it up in 2013. Right now, he’s the number one back-up in the slot position behind Cruz.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Jerrel Jernigan and what he can do inside,” said Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride this month. “I think it’s about time that he steps up and I think we feel he has enough ability and he’s been here now long enough. Until Victor (Cruz) gets back, he’ll be the main guy inside at the slot position. It’s a chance for him to shine and step forward and do the things that we believe he can do…It’s going to be a great opportunity for him.”

“Jerrel’s also got to be able to help us,” said QB Eli Manning. “He has speed, he has skills, been in the system now a number of years so hopefully he can step up and fill a role for us.”

“I’ve been here three years,” said Jernigan. “I know the offense and it’s time for me to go out there and make some plays and contribute to my team… My confidence is always high. I never get down on myself. No matter what any article says, I still know what I can do.”

Louis Murphy:

Louis Murphy was signed by the Giants as an unrestricted free agent from the Carolina Panthers in March 2013. Murphy was originally drafted in the 4th round of the NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders traded Murphy to the Panthers in July 2012. In four NFL seasons, Murphy has played in 57 games with 24 starts. In 2012, Murphy played in all 16 games with five starts with the Panthers. He finished the season with 25 catches for 336 yards and one touchdown.

Murphy has good size for a receiver (6-2, 200lbs) and he is a deep threat with very good speed. The knock on him has been his inconsistent hands.

“I think he’s gonna add another dimension to our offense,” said General Manager Jerry Reese back in March. “We have a scout named Jeremiah Davis and he talks about guys being a knife. This guy is a knife. This guy can take the top off your defense. He’s an interesting guy. He gives us a different dimension in our offense. If we have the same guys, if we have Nicks back healthy and we have Cruz back this guy gives you a deep threat that we haven’t had. We haven’t had a guy who can run like this guy.”

In the first Organized Team Activity (OTA) practice, Murphy showed off that speed by getting behind the defense and catching a 50-yard touchdown pass from Manning. “That’s what I like to do,” said Murphy. “I can do a lot of things. I can go inside, play outside. I can do it all. But they do like to stretch the field and I like doing that.”

Barring injury or the unforeseen, Randle, Jernigan, and Murphy should all make the 53-man roster. But which of the three is going to see the most playing time during the 2013 regular season? The competition for the #3 spot has already begun and will reach its climax in training camp and the preseason in August.

(Part II of the wide receiver preview will focus on Ramses Barden, Brandon Collins, Kevin Hardy, Kris Adams, and Jeremy Horne).

TE Brandon Myers - © USA TODAY Sports Images

New BBI Salary Cap Article: Potential Issues Signing the Giants’ Remaining Unsigned Draft Picks by Optimus-NY of BigBlueInteractive.com

Surgery for Hynoski: As previously reported, FB Henry Hynoski was carted off of the practice field on Wednesday after injuring his left knee. The Giants revealed yesterday that Hynoski suffered an injury to his medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a chip fracture to the lateral plateau. Hynoski will undergo surgery on Friday to repair the ligament and the fracture.

“I am going to set my mind to being ready for the first game of the regular season,” said Hynoski. “They said that is not an unrealistic goal, and I will do everything in my power to be ready for the start of the season.”

Hynoski later tweeted, “Thank you everyone for all the tremendous support…just a bump in the road…I will come back stronger than ever from this!”

Nicks’ Absence from OTAs Not Tied to Contract: According to Yahoo! Sports, the absence of WR Hakeem Nicks from the Organized Team Activity (OTA) practice on Wednesday was not due the receiver’s desire to receive a higher-paying contract from the Giants.

Nicks’ agent declined to explain Nicks’ absence from the OTA practice on Wednesday. But he did strongly deny that Nicks was not there because of his current rookie contract, which is set to expire after the 2013 season. The agent told Yahoo! Sports that “Nicks takes his place in the community very seriously and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that reputation.”

Yahoo! Sports initially caused the commotion on Wednesday by reporting that Nicks did not attend the OTA practice as part of a contract negotiating tactic. That erroneous report was apparently based on a Giants team source who said Nicks may be unhappy with his contract situation. That unidentified team source told Yahoo! Sports that Nicks was sending “the team a little message by not showing up for practice Wednesday.”

Aside from his absence this week, Nicks has been participating in the Giants’ offseason program although he has been limited due to an offseason arthroscopic procedure on his left knee.

Giants Re-Sign WR Ramses Barden: The Giants have officially re-signed unrestricted free agent WR Ramses Barden. The contract is reportedly a 1-year deal.

“I’m happy to be back,” Barden said. “This is where I wanted to be and now I’m here. I was out there listening to the calls, getting back into the rhythm of the cadence, enjoying the camaraderie and absorbing everything. I remember everything; I’ve had four years to soak it all up. I’m happy to be back on the field. I feel great. I expect the best.”

Because of this move, we have updated the Transactions, Free Agent Signings (with scouting report), Free Agent Scorecard, Roster, and Depth Chart sections of the website.

Giants Complete Second OTA: Although it was not open to the media, the Giants completed their second Organized Team Activity (OTA) practice yesterday. The Giants have eight remaining OTAs: May 29-31 and June 3-7.

OTA practices are voluntary but participation is encouraged. The Giants are currently in the final phase of their offseason workout program. During this final phase, no live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permissible.

QB Ryan Nassib - © USA TODAY Sports Images

by Optimus-NY for BigBlueInteractive.com
May 23, 2013

As a precursor to this article, I recommend reading A Primer on Some Rookie Contract Negotiating Sticking Points, by Jason Fitzgerald at overthecap.com. Jason’s site is in my opinion the premier source for information on the salary cap.

*****

Now, on to Giants business. Five of the Giants’ seven draft picks from last month’s draft have signed contracts with the Giants. They are as follows:

2nd round pick, Johnathan Hankins, DT (Ohio State)
3rd round pick, Damontre Moore , DE (Texas A&M)
5th round pick, Cooper Taylor, S (Richmond)
7th round pick, Michael Cox, RB (Massachusetts)
7th round pick, Eric Herman, OG (Ohio)

The players who remain unsigned are as follows:

1st round pick, Justin Pugh, OT/OG (Syracuse)
4th round pick, Ryan Nassib, QB (Syracuse)

What are the issues with the Giants?

We should see a relatively quick resolution for the remaining unsigned players since their salaries are basically slotted. Jason Fitzgerald points out in the article above that picks 17 to 22 will have only a partially guaranteed salary in the 4th year of their deals. This is applicable to Justin Pugh since he was the 19th overall pick in the first round.

The issue with 4th round pick Ryan Nassib will be salary splits. Salary splits are essentially protection for the club if the player in question winds up on Injured Reserve. What happens is that players get paid less than their base salary of $405,000 if they get hurt. It applies differently to players in rounds 3 through 7. The players drafted in round 3 will have less of an issue to deal with regarding splits than their counterparts drafted in round 7.

Players drafted in round 7, like Eric Herman (who signed on May 22nd), will have to deal with salary splits for both the full 2013 and 2014 seasons, whereas a player drafted in the 3rd round, like Damontre Moore, will probably only deal with the possibility of a salary split for the preseason of his rookie year, in 2013. Basically, a guy like Moore is in a better position to deal with getting his full salary if he’s injured than a guy like Herman. If a player like Herman gets hurt in the regular season of his rookie year, like last year’s 7th round pick did (Markus Kuhn), the salary split would be in effect. This would mean that he’d get less than his base salary. Jason points out the figure of $288,000 in the article above as the number that a salary would be reduced to if a split is in effect. This is cut and dry with a guy like Herman, which is why his deal didn’t take long to get reached. Herman really had no ground to stand on when it came to negotiating his rookie contract; however, 4th round pick Ryan Nassib, is another issue.

Jason points out in the subsection of the article above titled “Split Salaries” that players drafted in the 4th round, like Nassib “should fight hard for only having a split salary in 2013 rather than both years. This doesn’t mean it will happen but it’s worth an extra day or two of ‘fighting with the team.’” This is probably why he hasn’t signed yet. The idea that Nassib probably thinks that he should have been picked in a higher round might also play into his agent’s negotiating with the Giants’ Kevin Abrams regarding salary splits for 2013 and 2014. Nassib’s agent will probably only argue for 2013, whereas the Giants might argue for both 2013 and 2014, or something along those lines. Either way, none of this should linger. I’d be surprised if Nassib isn’t signed in the next couple of weeks, unless he has issues at school. Pugh’s agent might wait a little longer before his client signs on the dotted line (sometime in June at the latest), but that shouldn’t be an issue either, especially since he has a good chance to start on this year’s offensive line.

Optimus-NY is a self-taught student of the ins and outs of the NFL Salary cap. If you have any questions about New York Giants salary cap issues or the NFL salary cap in general, e-mail him at capguru@bigblueinteractive.com. Questions and responses may be published.

Henry Hynoski - © USA TODAY Sports Images

Henry Hynoski Injures Knee: During today’s first Organized Team Activity (OTA) practice, FB Henry Hynoski was carted off of the field after injuring his left knee. According to WFAN, Hynoski banged knees with RB Andre Brown. Hynoski will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.

He kind of got (his leg rolled up on) and so we are taking a look at that,” said Head Coach Tom Coughlin. “I said a few prayers and I’ll continue until I hear what it is.”

“I didn’t see it,” said QB Eli Manning. “I handed the ball off and just saw him on the ground after. I don’t know exactly what happened. I haven’t seen the film yet. I don’t know how severe the injury is, so hopefully it’s not too bad and he can be back either for the spring or at least for training camp. I don’t know the results yet.”

Injury Update: Aside from the injury to Hynoski, not practicing today due to rehabilitation from previous injuries and/or surgeries were TE Larry Donnell (lower leg), OC David Baas (elbow), OG Chris Snee (hip), DT Markus Kuhn (knee), and CB Terrell Thomas (knee).

“There’s no hurry. There’s no rush,” said Thomas. “There wasn’t one last year. I was just ahead of schedule last year. This year, we’re kind of just taking it a little bit slower as far as rehab, building the foundation. I’m doing everything already. It’s just doing it a little bit more slower and not in a rush to get out there for OTAs or mini-camp.”

LB Jacquian Williams (knee) was limited to individual drills.

“Just kind of taking my time with it,” Williams said who suffered a PCL injury last season. “It is a day to day thing. It is getting better. Definitely better than it was. That’s all…Right now my focus is just on getting back out there. We had some guys that got released, so older guys have an opportunity to step up. I just take it day by day and see how it goes when I am out there.”

Hakeem Nicks a No-Show for First OTA: Although he has been participating in the offseason program to date, WR Hakeem Nicks did not participate in today’s OTA practice. The OTA practices are “voluntary” but both Head Coach Tom Coughlin and QB Eli Manning sounded surprised that Nicks was not there.

When Coughlin was asked why Nicks was absent, Coughlin responded, “I don’t know. He should be here…Yeah, sure I (expected him to be here). I expect everybody here. We’re trying to get our team better.”

“There was no reason to think he wasn’t going to be here.” said Manning. “You’ve still got to work on your timing. You’ve still got to work on the basics and everybody needs it. I need the basics. How many times have I thrown a hitch in my life? Or a curl route? I’ve still got to do it. I’ve still got to get those things and work them, but it is good to have other guys in there running routes and getting your timing down with other guys. That’s how you look at it, but you’d still like to have all your guys out there. We all need to work. We all need to practice. We all need to improve on things.”

First OTA in the Books: The first Organized Team Activity (OTA) practice was held today. The second will be held tomorrow. For a good overview of today’s session, see Giants OTA #1 Practice Report by Patricia Traina of InsideFootball.com. Video highlights are also available at Giants.com.

The remaining OTA practices will be held on May 29-31 and June 3-7. OTA practices are voluntary but participation is encouraged by Head Coach Tom Coughlin. The Giants are currently in the final phase of their offseason workout program. During this final phase, no live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permissible.

Giants Sign OG Eric Herman: The Giants have signed 7th round draft pick OG Eric Herman. The only unsigned draft picks now are OL Justin Pugh (1st round) and QB Ryan Nassib (4th round).

Giants May Re-Sign WR Ramses Barden: According to The Daily News, unrestricted free agent WR Ramses Barden will take a physical with the team today and if he passes the physical, the Giants may re-sign him before the end of the day.

The Daily News says the Giants had some interest in re-signing Barden earlier this offseason to a 1-year, veteran minimum-type deal, but Barden wanted to explore other options. With no other teams seriously pursuing him, Barden decided to come back home. The Daily News reports discussions between the Giants and Barden resumed sometime in the last week.

Head Coach Tom Coughlin’s Press Conference: The transcript and video of today’s press conference with Head Coach Tom Coughlin are available at Giants.com.

Player Media Q&As: Transcripts and video clips of today’s media Q&As with the following players are available at Giants.com:

• QB Eli Manning (Video)
• WR Jerrel Jernigan (Video)
• WR Louis Murphy (Video)
• OG Chris Snee (Video)
• DE Justin Tuck (Video)
• LB Aaron Curry (Video)
• CB Terrell Thomas (Video)

Article on the Wide Receiving Corps: Jernigan, Murphy Step Up to the Plate by Kieran Darcy of ESPNNewYork.com

Article on the Defensive Tackles: Giants Unveil New DT Rotation at OTA by Dan Salomone by Giants.com

Articles on the Linebacking Corps:

• LB Dan Connor Competes for Starting Spot by Dan Salomone by Giants.com
• Curry Candid About Disappointing Career Kieran Darcy of ESPNNewYork.com

Damontre Moore - © USA TODAY Sports Images

Today’s OTA Practice and Media Schedule: The Giants will be holding their first two Organized Team Activity (OTA) practices of the offseason today and tomorrow. Today’s schedule is as follows:

A video previewing the OTAs is available at Giants.com.

CB/S Charles Woodson Signs with Raiders: CB/S Charles Woodson (ex-Green Bay Packers), who the Giants reportedly had some interest in, has signed a 1-year, $4.3 million contract with the Oakland Raiders. As far is publicly known, Woodson never visited the Giants.

Articles on WR Hakeem Nicks:

• Nicks Ready to Be a Leader by Ebenezer Samuel of The Daily News
• Giants Will Not Rush Hakeem Nicks by Art Stapleton of The Bergen Record

Article on DE Justin Tuck: Hot Coals a Walk in the Park for Tuck by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com

Johnathan Hankins - © USA TODAY Sports Images

Giants Hold OTA Practices on Wednesday and Thursday: The Giants will hold their first Organized Team Activity (OTA) practices on Wednesday and Thursday this week. The remaining OTA practices will be held on May 29-31 and June 3-7. OTA practices are voluntary but participation is encouraged by Head Coach Tom Coughlin.

The Giants are currently in the final phase of their offseason workout program. This final “phase three” began this week and will culminate three weeks from now with the final OTA practices. No live contact is permitted during “phase three” practices, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permissible.

The Giants will hold a mandatory mini-camp from June 11-13. This will be the last team activity until players report to training camp on July 26.

Article on OL Justin Pugh: NY Giants OL Justin Pugh is Ready to Learn from Teammates by Patricia Traina of Yahoo! Sports

Article on Head Coach Tom Coughlin: Arizona State Coaches Study Coughlin by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com

Ahmad Bradshaw - Photo by USA Today Sports Images

RB Ahmad Bradshaw Voted BBI Giant of the Year: RB Ahmad Bradshaw has been voted “BBI Giant of the Year” by registered members of The Corner Forum for his performance during the 2012 NFL season.

In 14 games, Bradshaw rushed for 1,015 yards and six touchdowns on 221 carries (4.6 yards per carry). He also caught 23 passes for 245 yards. All of this despite chronic foot issues that caused him once again miss most regular-season practices. Because of the foot problems, Bradshaw was released by the Giants in February.

801 registered BBI members voted. The results of the voting were as follows:

• 265 – RB Ahmad Bradshaw
• 170 – S Stevie Brown
• 100 – Head Coach Tom Coughlin
• 57 – TE Coach Mike Pope
• 56 – QB Eli Manning
• 51 – S Antrel Rolle
• 40 – WR Victor Cruz
• 29 – PK Lawrence Tynes
• 17 – LT Will Beatty
• 8 – LG Kevin Boothe
• 8 – TE Martellus Bennett

For a listing of past winners, see the BBI Giant of the Year section of the website.

New Additions to BBI: BBI will be undergoing some new exciting changes over the course of the next few months, including a new look for the front page in the near future. But we would like to announce some changes that have already gone into effect:

• For the last few weeks, we have dramatically increased our use of social media (Twitter and Facebook) to disseminate breaking news and interact with fans. We recommend that you follow BBI on both or either of these social media sites.

• Because we are using social media sites more actively, we will start publishing and pushing out new content on BBI throughout the day, not just in our regular early morning front page updates. As new content is created, it will be announced on the BBI Twitter and Facebook pages. (This is another good reason to follow BBI on Twitter and/or Facebook). When the new BBI front page is available, the new content will also appear there immediately throughout the day as well.

• We are pleased to announce that BBI member Optimus-NY has joined the BBI team as our salary cap expert. Optimus-NY will be in charge of developing a new salary cap section on the site with a wealth of information on that important aspect of the NFL game.

BBI Article on the Salary Cap and the Giants: The Salary Cap & the Giants by Optimus-NY of BigBlueInteractive.com located in the Articles section of the website.

BBI Article on Giants’ Defensive Concerns: Defensive Concerns: The Short-Term and Medium-Term State of the Giants’ Defense by Eric from BBI of BigBlueInteractive.com located in the Articles section of the website.

Giants.com Q&A With DT Johnathan Hankins: The video of a recent Giants.com interview with DT Johnathan Hankins is available at Giants.com.

Articles on S Cooper Taylor:

• Rookie Safety Models Himself After Former Giant Sehorn by Paul Schwartz of The New York Post
• Heart of a Giant: Rare Illness Doesn’t Stop 5th-Round Pick Taylor by Ralph Vacchiano of The Daily News

DE Dwight Freeney Signs With the Chargers: Unrestricted free agent DE Dwight Freeney, who had expressed interest in playing for the Giants, has signed a 2-year contract with the San Diego Chargers. It was never reported that the Giants had mutual interest in Freeney.

May 20, 2013

Memories are often short for NFL fans. The long offseason, with excitement of numerous roster subtractions and additions, can overshadow recent failure. It’s an exciting time for fans, but it is important to remember that the ultimate goal is not to make noise in the offseason, but to make noise on the playing field when the games count.

USA Today Sports Images

Aside from a six-game stretch at the end of the 2011 season, the Giants’ defense has been putrid for the last two seasons. It was 27th in yards allowed in 2011 and 31st in yards allowed in 2012. It has had trouble stopping the run (25th in 2012) and the pass (28th in 2012). Indeed, if it were not for 35 takeaways (2nd in the NFL), the defensive stats, including scoring defense (12th in 2012), would surely have been much worse. Personally, I never think it is wise to count on being a league leader in takeaways. Too much luck is involved.

For better or worse, many of core defensive players are now gone: DE Osi Umenyiora, DT Chris Canty, LB Michael Boley, LB Chase Blackburn, and S Kenny Phillips. DT Rocky Bernard also will not be re-signed.

New faces include veteran free agents DT Cullen Jenkins, DT Mike Patterson, DT Frank Okam, LB Dan Connor, LB Aaron Curry, and S Ryan Mundy – all but Jenkins signed to only 1-year contracts. Also added to the mix were rookie draft picks DT Johnathan Hankins, DE Damontre Moore, and S Cooper Taylor.

There still may be a move or two, but the roster heading into camp is largely set. More tweaking could occur in late August and early September when teams make their final cuts.

Obviously, there has been a lot of change. But will change lead to improved results on the playing field both in the short-term and medium-term? Has the talent actually improved? Moving beyond 2013, key veteran holdovers such as DE Justin Tuck, CB Corey Webster, and S Antrel Rolle are aging and taking up too much salary cap space. DT Linval Joseph will be a free agent and DE Jason Pierre-Paul will want a new contract soon. Who will the front office and coaching staff determine to be the core defensive players to build around on this team moving forward? Who will be the defensive leaders? Can Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell restructure the various moving parts into an effective, cohesive unit in 2013 and beyond? Yes, there is change in every offseason, but there is a pretty significant changing of the guard on defense. Can it all come together quickly?

Defensive Line: Except for Pierre-Paul’s play in 2011 and late season flashes from everyone else that same season, this unit has largely lived off its reputation rather than consistent play on the football field. And because of that, gone are Umenyiora, Canty, and Bernard. Tuck could be next in 2014.

On paper, the defensive line is still the strongest position on defense. There are 16 bodies present and all of them have talent. The Giants will probably keep five defensive ends and the sure bets are Tuck, Pierre-Paul, Mathias Kiwanuka, and Damontre Moore. But Adrian Tracy, Adewale Ojomo, Justin Trattou, and Matt Broha have all flashed as players. Based on early impressions, it appears that Tuck is reinvigorated to have a big season, if for no other reason than his next contract with the Giants or another team. But he has been physically beat-up and quite moody in recent years. JPP also needs to rebound from a sackless second half if he wants a big-money contract. Kiwanuka should move back to his more natural position with something to prove as well. Moore has exciting potential, but he needs a lot of work in the weight room. If the Giants think Tuck is likely to depart in 2014, can they find a way to hold onto six defensive ends this year?

The Giants added a lot of new bodies at defensive tackle. Due to injuries and declining play, this was necessary. Linval Joseph returns. He has a lot of talent but he needs to be more effectively consistent on the playing field. Cullen Jenkins should add veteran leadership and a pass rush presence. Johnathan Hankins is the type of stout, double team-eating nose tackle that this team has lacked. That leaves one or two spots for Mike Patterson, Shaun Rogers, Markus Kuhn, Marvin Austin, and Frank Okam. Austin is the three-technique, pass rusher of the group. Rogers and Okam are huge nose tackle types. Patterson and Kuhn offer flexibility and can play the run. Moving forward past 2013, if the Giants can re-sign Joseph (a big if), then the Giants will be in good shape with him and Hankins. The real wild card is Austin. Is he a bust or can he become the player the Giants hoped he would when they drafted him in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft?

Linebacker: Most Giants’ fans seemed to be more concerned with this position than any other. For quite some time, the Giants have rarely addressed this spot high in the draft (with the exception of Clint Sintim). The team has been more proactive in free agency with additions such as Michael Barrow, Antonio Pierce, and Michael Boley to name a few. The same pattern continued this offseason. The Giants did not draft a linebacker but added Dan Connor and Aaron Curry in free agency. They also re-signed Keith Rivers.

This position is the most unsettled on the team despite the fact there are only eight linebackers on the current roster and it is conceivable that the Giants could only carry six heading into the regular season. There is little stability right now. Not only is there no sure starter at any of the three spots, but five of the eight players will see their contracts expire after the 2013 season. Dan Connor is probably the favorite to start in the middle, but he could be challenged there by Aaron Curry or Mark Herzlich. Curry will also vie for one of the outside spots along with Rivers, Jacquian Williams, and Spencer Paysinger. Long shots include Jake Muasau who was with the Giants in camp last year and rookie free agent Etienne Sabino.

One wonders how much the Giants will actually use three linebackers on the field. Obviously, a three-linebacker set will be their base defense. And one would think that having more linebackers on the field would be a good thing against a run-centric team like the Washington Redskins. But Perry Fewell and many other defensive coordinators are using more nickel-type defenses in today’s passing league, and Fewell, in particular, favors the three-safety look.

Rivers has talent, but he can’t seem to stay healthy. Williams can run like a deer, but is he physical enough? Paysinger has been working like a dog this offseason to get his shot. But both he and Herzlich need to prove they are more than just special teams players. The real wild cards are Connor and Curry – two highly-touted collegiate prospects who have had their ups and downs in the NFL, each with two different teams.

Defensive Back: It’s not the linebacker position that worries me the most, but cornerback. This was the position I was more shocked the Giants did not address in the draft. On paper, the Giants look deep and talented with Corey Webster, Prince Amukamara, Terrell Thomas, Jayron Hosley, and Aaron Ross. But Webster and Ross are over 30 and obviously on the downside of their respective careers. Thomas is coming off his third ACL tear on the same knee. If Webster rebounds from a bad 2012, if Thomas’ knee holds up and his overall athleticism hasn’t suffered, and if Ross can serve as a steady backup, then the Giants should be in good shape. But those are all huge “ifs”. Things could get really ugly if the answers to those questions are negative. Moreover, the Giants need Prince Amukamara to build upon a decent 2012 with a better 2013. And they desperately need Jayron Hosley to improve; he struggled quite a bit as a nickel corner in 2012.

Is there any potential gem in the other unknown cornerback candidates? Terrence Frederick, Laron Scott, Trumaine McBride, Charles James, and Junior Mertile are all vying for a spot on the 53-man roster.

Safety is more settled, but the Giants will be without Kenny Phillips. It’s hard to envision Stevie Brown duplicating his 8-interception season again in 2013, but we shall see. Rolle is steady and athletic, but he does not make many plays on the football and his cap number may become untenable in 2014. Will Hill flashed a great deal of promise and the Giants drafted Cooper Taylor. Ryan Mundy is a veteran free agent addition, but he was often viewed as a liability in coverage in Pittsburgh. Tyler Sash has not demonstrated anything more than special teams ability and may be on the hot seat. Veteran David Cardwell and rookie free agents Alonzo Tweedy and John Stevenson are the long shots.

Summary: So there has been a great deal of change. But will these changes improve their dreadful defensive rankings? There is talent on the defensive line, but it has to stop living off its reputation. Everything seems to be in a state of flux at linebacker. Are there three quality starters in that group? In the secondary, much depends on the questions surrounding the cornerback spot. Can Webster rebound? Can Thomas come back healthy and strong? Will Amukamara prove to be worthy of a #1 pick?

And can Perry Fewell and his defensive staff successfully mold together all of these changing and evolving parts into a cohesive, aggressive, and physical defense?

The Giants’ 2013 season probably depends on it.

USA TODAY Sports

by Optimus-NY for BigBlueInteractive.com

May 20, 2013

In today’s NFL, the salary cap rules all. The salary cap is an opponent that many front offices have simply dealt with on an intermediate level, a few have mastered, and a few more have fallen to ruin against as a result of mismanagement. It has risen $88.392 million over the course of 19 years from $34.608 million back in 1994 to $123 million in 2013. Over that time, we’ve seen the Giants deal with it to varying degrees. George Young clearly had issues dealing with it, when a bloodletting took place in its first year, when in the Spring of 1994 Giants fans experienced their first casualty of the cap era: the release of Phil Simms, who incidentally was coming off of the second Pro Bowl year of his career in 1993, which turned out to be the final season in his distinguished career (This Day in Football: Giants cut Phil Simms). Reality quickly sunk in for Giants fans with respect to the cap: “if Phil Simms could get cut, then anybody can.” The cap’s influence on free agency was a reason why players like Dave Meggett, Myron Guyton, and Mark Collins walked in free agency as well despite the Giants still wanting to retain them.

Once Ernie Accorsi took over as GM, things started to clear up cap-wise. That then carried over to this regime headed by GM Jerry Reese and Assistant GM (formerly titled cap analyst) Kevin Abrams. We now see a team that is shrewdly managed, with solid drafting and wisely signed free agent additions. What we also see as a result of the cap is the know-how that is required to keep a team with a franchise QB in his prime years competitively balanced when it comes to knowing when to let certain veteran players walk in free agency. The Giants did that this offseason with Kenny Phillips and Osi Umenyiora. The ins and outs of navigating the NFL salary cap are numerous though. The best thing to keep in mind when it comes to understanding the underlying motivation for people in NFL front offices is younger and cheaper. That is why it is important to find talent via the draft, rookie free agency, and through prudent veteran free agent acquisitions (something which is often overlooked by many fans). Keeping track of these ins and outs is something that is also key. Following these moves as they are made is not difficult. However, what can be difficult at times is understanding how these decisions are arrived at. This brings us to mapping out roster distribution and cap numbers.

There are several rules that teams – specifically cap analysts – must adhere to when it comes to assisting in team building and roster management. They revolve around the Top 51 rule, when it is in effect during the off-season (which is 7 to 8 months of a calendar year), and the regular season salary cap rules from a team’s first regular season game to its last regular season or post-season game of a given year. Here is an article for it that explains it well, along with some other basics:  Explaining The NFL’s Salary Cap” by Dan Durkin.

What is also important to understand, but from a fan’s standpoint, is the fact that cap numbers are not the same as salary. A cap number is calculation of how the money that a player earns counts towards the salary cap, and includes within it a portion of any number of bonuses, along with whatever guaranteed base salary a given player receives (a.k.a. “cap spending dollars” as opposed to “cash spending dollars”). A player’s salary has nothing to do with the calculations that are taken into account to come up with a given player’s cap number. Instead it has to do with a player’s “Paragraph 5” salary. I refer readers to this excellently written article by Jason Fitzgerlad from overthecap.com regarding the matter: A Guide to the NFL Salary Cap.

I’ll also provide a direct link to the Collective Bargaining Agreement agreed upon by the players and owners: 2011 NFL CBA (agreed upon on August 4, 2011). This latest CBA has been the source of much discussion since its ratification almost two years ago, and there has been a lot analysis regarding what the players gained (mostly lost) since it has been in effect. I’ll table an article on that though for some time in the future. What needs to be mentioned regarding the understanding of the cap itself is that it is not covered enough in the mainstream media. What we see regarding its implications is only touched upon very briefly at best. There’s nothing sexy about it to those who cover the team. It is indeed a shame that this is the case because in actuality there is no single more important factor in play when it comes to understanding how a team is built both in the short-term as well as the long-term, and what factors go into determining a team’s decision making regarding its personnel. It is for this reason that you see specialized websites specifically for the discussion and analysis of the salary cap with respect to the league as a whole and for specific teams.

One such website that stands out for the overall discussion of the league as a whole is overthecap.com. It includes both quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of the salary cap as it pertains to the entire league. I have a personal salary cap blog that I started up this month titled New York Giants Salary Cap Central which is my recent attempt to replicate this quantitative and qualitative approach that Jason Fitzgerald has done with his website, except it’s for a specific team, the Giants. There is also spotrac.com, but it lacks in any kind of qualitative discussion (at the least the free part anyway). It also directly lifted the numbers from overthecap.com, as per this article: Site News: Explaining my issues with another website.

Hopefully, a cap section on BBI can function to serve the purpose of gathering information from different places that serve to facilitate the increased understanding of how the cap works and its effect on the Giants’ overall decision making with respect to putting together their roster as whole. It’s one thing to list the order of the cap numbers on the team in such a section – which I intend to do – but it’s another thing to qualitatively break down and analyze patterns that are related to each player’s overall cap situation with respect to the Giants and their long-term and short-term plans for each player. Each year situations change, but teams try their best to control how players fit into the overall scheme of their plans. Hopefully, a cap section on BBI can serve to accumulate a decent enough amount of information so Giants fans who frequent the website can understand how the Giants’ cap situation reflects and determines the moves they make.

Personally, I look forward to spearheading the creation of such a section here on BBI. Currently, there is no other website on the internet which focuses on such a specific topic. In the coming weeks and months that will change for the better. Websites that focus on the cap for the other teams in the NFC East will be linked here, so that fans understand how the inter-divisional competition fares with respect to their respective cap situations. I encourage people to read and ask questions about the information contained herein; questions will serve to help to drive the content that is put out in this section, and make it a truly interactive experience for readers, rather than one which driven by individual whims alone (that’s what my cap blog linked above is for). It will be fun to integrate this new section on the cap here on BBI. My hope is that readers will find it equally fun and interesting to read.

Charles Woodson – Photo by USA Today Sports Images

Giants Make Three Roster Moves: The Giants made three roster moves yesterday. They waived/injured TE Michael Palmer and CB Antonio Dennard. They also signed TE Morgan Newton.

Palmer, an unrestricted free agent from the Falcons, was signed last week after impressing at the rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis. Dennard was signed to a reserve/future deal in January after spending most of 2012 on the Jaguars’ practice squad. Newton, a rookie from Kentucky, was at the mini-camp on a tryout basis.

Because of these moves, we have updated the Transactions, Roster Analysis, Roster, and Depth Chart sections of the website.

Giants Still Interested in CB/S Charles Woodson?: The agent for unrestricted free agent CB/S Charles Woodson said yesterday that the Giants are still interested in his client. “The Giants have just put their toe in the water again for Charles Woodson,” said Woodson’s agent.

In early March, ESPN reported that the Giants, Seahawks, Dolphins, and Jets were interested in Woodson. The Daily News is reporting that back in March, Woodson’s asking price was too high for the Giants. The paper is also now reporting that a Giants’ team source says that there is nothing imminent with Woodson and that no visit has been scheduled.

The 36-year old Woodson was released by the Green Bay Packers in February. He has played 15 seasons in the NFL, including eight with the Raiders and seven with the Packers. Recent reports say the 49ers, Broncos, Panthers, and Raiders have expressed some interest in Woodson.

Giants Still Interested in RB Tim Hightower?: The Washington Post is reporting that the Giants remain in the mix for unrestricted free agent RB Tim Hightower. The Giants have been flirting with Hightower since March and he reportedly visited the team in early May. The Post says the Giants are expected to meet with Hightower again “in a couple weeks.”

Hightower has not played in a regular-season game since tearing an ACL in his left knee in October 2011. The Redskins, who released Hightower in August 2012, are also still interested in him.

Freeney Still Interested in the Giants, But…: Back in late February, unrestricted free agent DE Dwight Freeney (Indianapolis Colts) expressed interest in playing for the Giants. “I grew up a Giants fan, actually,” said Freeney. “All my life. So that would be a dream.”

Freeney’s father indicated yesterday that Freeney would still like to play for the Giants. “Talking to him, he would love to be with the Giants,” said Freeney’s dad. “The Giants unfortunately don’t have the money for it. They’re broke.”

It is not known if the Giants are interested in Freeney.

Cribbs Signs with the Raiders: Unrestricted free agent WR/Returner Josh Cribbs has signed a 1-year contract with the Oakland Raiders. Per an earlier ProFootball.com report, Cribbs’ decision was down to the Raiders, Giants, Jets, or Lions. Cribbs visited the Giants last week.

After he visited Detroit and before he signed with the Raiders, Cribbs said, “I want a team that’s stable and a team that’s on the verge and missing a piece to become a Super Bowl-caliber team. I want to be with the a team that’s missing (a kick returner); that’s missing a piece of the puzzle to be great.”

Giants.com Q&A With S Cooper Taylor: The transcript of a recent Giants.com interview with S Cooper Taylor is available at Giants.com.

Article on LB Aaron Curry: Aaron Curry Optimistic About Giants Career by Michael Eisen of Giants.com

Article on DE Damontre Moore: Moore Ready to Heed Tuck’s Message by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com