Month: March 2019

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March 18, 2019 – Another NY Giants rant.

So, on Saturday we gave Eli his $5M, which essentially locks us into another year with him at starting QB…or does it?

The fact is, there is another perfectly viable explanation. If we are going to want to make any trades before the upcoming NFL draft next month, it was imperative that we keep Eli. We obviously have no one else on the roster that we are ready to go into 2019 with at the helm. So, if we had cut/released Eli, everyone else in the league would know that we were desperate, which would give us no leverage at all in making a trade with, say, Arizona for Josh Rosen, or the Jets for the #3 pick. That would mean that we would likely have had to give Arizona one of our 1st round picks instead of the 2nd or maybe even 3rd rounder that the rest of the league seems to have valued Rosen at. That’s not in the best interests of our team. But by keeping Eli (and, not asking him to restructure his deal), we send the message that we are fine with having him back again, so, no, Arizona, et al, we don’t need your draft pick all that badly. So, aside from the fact that I actually think Eli’ll be just fine now that we have a real RG (& especially if we get a real RT, too), this was the move to make even if you want to draft or trade for a QB this year.

By comparison, look at what the Jets did last year to trade up 3 spots to draft Sam Darnold (who, btw, I am far from convinced about): they gave up three 2nd round picks and their own #6 overall pick in order to move up three spots to draft him. Two of those picks turned out to be Quenton Nelson, who will arguably be the best LG in all of football for the next 10 years (and is as good a bet as anyone from last year’s draft to be a HOFer); and Braden Smith, another outstanding O-lineman at RT (he moved there from RG to fill a team need, and excelled at it). They also got a pass-rushing DE, Kemoko Turay (5 sacks), and backup RB (Jordan Wilkins). As a result, the Colts gave up the fewest sacks in the NFL last year and made the playoffs, while Gang Green was 3 & 13 and has the #3 pick again this year. Oh, and the Colts get to use that final 2nd-round pick in the 2nd round of this year’s draft. Had the Jets simply drafted those same players themselves, and kept Teddy B at QB, what are the chances that they would be worse off now? Next to zero, since they only won 3 games as it is. Teddy and that improved O-line would’ve easily been good for 4 wins, and likely a few more, no? Oh, and btw, Darnold has already missed more games due to injury (3) than Eli has missed in his entire career (0), so, the whole, “we need a mobile QB” trope…um, not so much. Stay your ass in the pocket, fall when the sack is unavoidable, and live to see another play. Because the most important ability for a QB is AVAIL-ability, and Eli has been the role model for that for 15 years! (Speaking of which, Odell missed 21 of the 80 games in his 5 years with us. That’s more than 25% of his games. And Olivier missed 9 of his 48 games as a Giant—all of which were in the last two years/32 games. Just sayin’…)

From where I sit, there are four possible explanations as to what the Gettleman/the Giants are planning:

1) We have no plan, and are just incompetent. I know that a lot of Giants fans seem to believe that this is the case. I’m not one of them. Last year’s draft was arguably one of the best in Giants history: Saquon and Hernandez are excellent, Carter has the physical tools to be a beast, Hill is already a solid starter on the D-line, and we haven’t really seen what we can get from McIntosh or Beal yet (not to mention Lauletta). We also added Grant Haley, Tae Davis and Sean Chandler as rookies last year. When’s the last time that many rookies made the team, much less contributed? Two years from now we may be looking back on that draft as the turning point in our success. Thanks, Dave!

2) We trade for Josh Rosen. Ideally, with the 3rd round pick we just got from Cleveland (now, wouldn’t that make the Beckham/Vernon trade feel a little different?) But even if we get him with our 2nd round pick, that’s not bad…if Rosen turns out okay. And would it shock you if, 3 years from now, Rosen is better than Darnold, and has taken us to the playoffs once or twice? It wouldn’t shock me at all.

3) We draft Haskins with the #6 pick, and use the #17 on a RT (e.g. Dillard, Risner, Cajuste, or Taylor), and the 2nd round pick on Defense (a CB or an ILB?). Yes, our defense may still be mediocre, but the O-line will be outstanding, and we’ll have our next QB, ready to sit and learn from the master for at least a half-year or so. We can fix the defense *next year, or at least later in the draft this year. (We do have 12 picks this year, after all.)

4) Here’s the wildcard—we play Eli this year, don’t draft a QB, and sign then-free agent Russell Wilson next year! He’s an unrestricted free agent next season. What if he’s already made known that he wants to play here? (There have been rumors about that online already.) If you knew that you had a better-than-decent shot at Wilson next year, and that what he needed from you in order to agree to come here is: an improved O-line, less drama in the clubhouse (from, say, big-ego’d WRs and OLBs) and a decent defense, wouldn’t you try to make that happen? And would you, maybe, sign his all-time favorite target (Tate) as a WR now, to show him that you are working to make him happy? Just askin’…

So, there you have it—four plausible explanations for why we still have Eli. Oh, and btw, the “next year asterisk” above was to remind me to mention that we will likely have the most cap space in the NFL next year…roughly $100M! So yeah, we can afford Wilson next year, and a few other pieces as well. So, fixing the defense next year, via free agency, shouldn’t be too much to ask.

Salary Cap
(A link to the Over-the-cap.com page, where you can click on the NY Giants, and then on the year 2020.)

And again, we have 12 picks this year (in, essentially, an 8-round draft)—four of which are within the first three rounds. Maybe we can trade up with a few mid-to-late round picks (we have two 4th-rounders & three 5th-rounders) for another pick or 2 within the first 3 rounds? With 5 or 6 picks in the first 3 rounds, we should be able to shore up at least one or two more spots on both sides of the ball, no? I can see us drafting:

Round 1–Montez Sweat/OLB w/#6, Devin White-or-Bush/ILB w/#17; Round 2—Yodny Cajuste or Hjalte Froholdt/RT; then a trade up for Amari Oruwariye or Justin Layne/CB; Round 3—Andy Isabella, Emanuel Hall, or Hakeem Butler/WR; then another trade up for Charles Omenihu, Ben Banogu, or Anthony Nelson/DE. That still leaves us with several picks in the later rounds, where people like Drue Tranquill or Germaine Pratt/LB, and Jamel Dean, David Long, or Ken Webster/CB may still be available. And remember, we already improved this off-season at RG, slot WR, and FS at the very least. That’s not a bad start to a re-build!

Do/will I miss Odell?…Heck yeah! He was the most exciting WR in the league these past 5 years. Do I wish we had signed Daryl Williams &/or Teddy B this year (or Andrew Norwell last year)? Definitely. (And I still don’t understand why we didn’t. They each signed for less than we could’ve paid them, and, they all had seemed like shoo-ins.) But I’m not ready to throw in the towel on Dave Gettleman, just yet (much less on the Giants overall). Because I don’t think he deserves that…yet. So I’ll continue to root for him to sign another free agent (RT Mike Remmers?) and to have another great draft and put us back on the right path.

Plus, I root for the name on the helmet more so than the names on the jerseys.

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March 7, 2019 – YIKES!

So, today is my birthday, which, at my age, is more of an acknowledgement than a celebration. 🙂 But it does bring to mind how much has changed in my lifetime, so here are a few things that were different when I was born:

When I was born:

There were only 49 states, so, yes, I’m older than the flag.

Network TV was broadcast only in Black & White, and there had never been a televised Presidential debate. Radio was broadcast in “Mono” (as in, not in stereo).

Vince Lombardi hadn’t won an NFL championship yet, and the Boston Celtics had only won one. The greatest forward to ever play the game, Elgin Baylor, was just about to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award, but Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson were still in college. NYC only had one pro team in baseball, basketball, football and hockey. The single-season HR record was 60, set by Babe Ruth (in a season where HE hit more HRs than 12 of the other 15 TEAMS in major league baseball!) BTW, when I was born, there were only 8 teams in the NBA, 12 in the NFL, and 16 in baseball. Oh, and no Black man had ever won the college football Heisman Trophy when I was born. And the Olympic record for the 100 meters was Jesse Owens’ 10.3 seconds.

There was this new idea that hadn’t happened yet, but would in a few months, called…The Grammy’s. Another cool new idea had been born just six months before I was, called…NASA.

A young, 17-year-old amateur boxer from Kentucky (who no one had ever heard of…yet) named Cassius Clay was hoping to one day replace then-heavyweight champion…Floyd Patterson.

Inter-racial marriage was still illegal in all of America. But Whites Only and Colored Only public facilities were more than common (and perfectly legal). So was “Redlining” (Google it.) At birth, Robert Wagner was my Mayor, Nelson Rockefeller was my Governor, Jacob Javits and Kenneth Keating (both Republicans, btw) were my Senators.

And as of today, I am officially closer to 100 years old than to my teenage years!

So, as you can see, I’ve been through, and witnessed, a LOT. I’m tired! 🙂

But thanks, everyone, for the well-wishes!

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Mar 5, 2019 – Is RACISM > democracy?

So, it is very apparent that ~35 – 40% of the country is simply not wiling to even attempt to reign in 45. There have been SO many scandals that would, each individually, have brought down any (each/all) of the other 44 Administrations, that have done nothing to move the needle on the approval rating of 45, that the only logical conclusion is that: they’re all in with 45, no matter what.

He can: ignore Congress’s power of the purse; demonize the press; abandon our international allies/cozy up with Russia & N. Korea; refuse to EVER release his taxes; essentially/implicitly admit to paying off porn star affairs (oh yeah, a month before his election, btw); be the face of the “Alt-Right,”; find “Good and Bad people on both sides” of Charlottesville; separate infants from their parents–with no reasonable plan for ever reuniting them–for daring to seek asylum in America; and have more people from his campaign/Administration found/plead Guilty of crimes than all of the other non-Nixonian Administrations…combined! (etc, etc) And still, according to the polls at least, he’s consistently been at a pretty firm minimum of 35% approval.

So, what have we learned, grasshopper?

It seems that the only logical explanation (for this illogical set of circumstances) is that ~1/3 of the country fears the inevitability of our demographic future more than they fear a monarchy. In other words, they’d rather have a King of White America, than a Democracy that’s occasionally led by Black and Brown people. Think about that:

(Love of) RACISM > (love of) democracy!

I seriously don’t see any other explanation. So, what to do about it? Here are the two options that I can see as available to us:

  1. We re-investigate the Civil War, a la an NFL scoring review: “Upon further review, the ruling on the field is over-turned…the South can, indeed, secede!“
  2. We can try to remind those “45-supporters” of the stark evidence that they are wrong-headed in their worship of this Cult of Personality.

And here, simply, starkly, and I think, undeniably, is how we implement Option #2 (which I assume many of you will prefer…I’m not one of those who do, btw. Two countries is FINE with me):

George Wallace vs Nick Saban

The former stood on the steps of the University of Alabama and declared that Blacks were not, are not, and will not ever be welcomed at the U of A. (This, immediatley preceding/leading to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, and following the infamous words and deeds of “Bull Connor” in Birmingham.) Only under imminent threat of invasion by the US National Guard, did Wallace finally back down…only to later run for President, with the hope of returning things to the good ole days of segregation.

The latter, Nick Saban, on the other hand, has not only welcomed Blacks at the U of A, he has gotten the “Good Ole Boys” to cheer on “their Blacks” on the way to one national championships after another.

My point? That we might be able to point to this clear example of diametrically opposed mindsets and see which one worked out better–for the South! (Though, IMO, any elite Black athlete who enrolls in the U of A should have his behind beat…and so should his mama! But I digress…) Maybe this irrational fear of Blacks/Browns can be overcome, after all. Unless you seriously, truly, deeply still believe that Blacks and Whites are different/separate species, (in which case, I’m done witcha, btw) it must be clear from the Saban Approach, that Blacks can not only produce at a high level on a level playing field, but that it will become the “new normal” sooner than you might think. If Blacks and Whites can share a huddle, (and presumably, a classroom), why can’t we share a US Capitol, or a White House Administration, etc, etc? “We” (as in, those who support 45) can, we/y’all just have to overcome the entrenched fears/racism that blinds you to the obvious.

In other words, are you a Saban-Alabaman, or a Wallace-Trump Alabaman?

Frankly, my money is not on that happening any time soon, unfortunately…but one can hope for the best, I suppose. Why am I doubtful. Well, for one, Doug Jones just barely squeaked by Roy Moore, with all of Moore’s “baggage” for Senate. And in slightly older news, do you know which state was the last in America to “legalize” inter-racial marriage? Alabama…in the year 2000! And, by 59-41 “majority!” Yes, 19 years ago, Alabamans were asked to vote to affirm the Federal laws that allow inter-racial marriage. And over 40% of you said, “Um, not so much…” Seriously, I shit you not. So, no, I don’t have high hopes for the Death of Racism in the South. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/02/09/alabama-was-a-final-holdout-on-desegregation-and-interracial-marriage-it-could-happen-again-on-gay-marriage/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c05fa8017b69

From where I sit, what is clear (and should be to anyone who honestly evaluates the situation), is that US Democracy is on the brink of non-violent collapse (I think the technical term is a “coup”) at the hands, essentially, of racists. And it’s up to us to reign things in…or, to separate into two nations (again, I’m FINE with that latter option). But if we are to save the Democracy, there’s no more time for partisan politics–just the simple protection, and implementation, of the Constitution.

For those of you who believe in “signs,” the recent tornadoes in Alabama just might be a good example. There aren’t Black tornadoes or White tornadoes. Likewise, there aren’t (or shouldn’t be, anyway) any sense of Black or White tornade victims. We’re all in this together! (No, I won’t turn this into a climate change soap box speech…tempting as that is!) So, instead of focusing on the things that are different about us, why not focus on the commonalities?! A King is really not in our best interests. And if we agree on that, then we have to take the steps of protecting the Democracy. Many of you know a lot more than I do about exactly HOW we can/need to protect the Constitution/Democracy. I’m just here today to point out the need to…a la Saban, not Wallace.