I am a huge supporter of Tom Coughlin.

Ok, maybe 'huge supporter' is a bit of an exaggeration. I just find the need to stand up for him whenever the Internet GMs want him fired after all the great things he has done for the franchise.

He turned a losing team into a winner.
Allow me to repeat that...
He turned a losing team into a winner.

I'm honestly not a member of the 'Tom Coughlin Fan Club' (I did not get my application in by the deadline).
However, I do have a television set. I got myself a fancy AM/FM radio. I also happen to have access to the internet. In fact, I could Wiki 'NY Giants', and guess what I would find- a team that hasn't had a losing record since 2004. A team that won a Superbowl in 2007. A team that earned double-digit wins 4 out of the last 6 years.

But Coughlin-haters rejoice- I am going to bum a ride on your 'Fire Coughlin' bandwagon (scoot over please). I'll hitch a ride, if only for the length of this Fanpost.

I had a startling realization today. Forgive me if this seems oddly personal, and potentially irrelevant, but it is true:

After teaching a piano lesson (a get-rich quick scheme I conceived), I became increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress from the student I was working with. It became apparent to me that over the course of the summer, this student tuned me out.

In my overwhelming frustration, I did what any other Giants fan would do- I went home and checked out this great website called BigBlueView.com

I stumbled upon quite a few comments disparaging Tom Coughlin. To summarize the comments, I'll make one of my own:
"Coughlin preaches discipline, good decision making, and hard work. This message is clearly not resonating with the team."

My defenses kicked in. I immediately wanted to point out Coughlin's record with the team. I wanted to mention the Superbowl. I also wanted to eat a bowl of pasta, but there was no more pasta in the cupboard.

Truth be told, this observation about Coughlin couldn't be more accurate. Put aside Coughlin's track record. Put aside his Superbowl. Think about what he preaches as a coach. Ball control? Penalties? Decision making? I'm not so sure his message is resonating with his team.

This brings be back to my 'get-rich quick scheme' of teaching piano lessons. It is up to me, not the student, to adjust the delivery of my message. My message can remain the same, but as a teacher, can I really blame a student for not meeting my demands? Isn't it my challenge to find some way of connecting with this student? Sometimes I need to be creative, think on my feet, adjust on the fly, but under no circumstances should a teacher ever say "I said what needs to be done, it's not my fault that the student isn't executing."
I have heard that excuse from Coughlin. There are 1600 players in the NFL. Why is it that the players on the NY Giants aren't executing?
Ball control? Penalties? Decision making?

Have at it, Coughlin-haters. And thanks for the ride.

[Note by Ed Valentine, 08/08/11 7:51 AM EDT: I bumped this to the main page only because of the fascination with Bomar around some corners of the Big Blue View community. ]

Minnesota Vikings quarterback and Giants cult hero Rhett Bomar was arrested Sunday in Mankato, Minn., accused of drunken driving, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

I figured you guys would have a blast with this one... Let the jokes begin.

This furthers the case for the Vikings to cut ties with Bomar. He is currently buried on a depth chart with newly acquired Donovan McNabb, first round pick Christian Ponder, as well as Joe Webb.

Would anyone like to see Bomar back in Blue?

A list of potential 'surprises' for the 2011 NY Giants:

Shawn Andrews
He is unlikely to be back. He most certainly won't be back at the salary he is due. And if he is back, it's doubtful he will be back and healthy for all 16 games.

So I guess 'back' is the key word here.

Travis Beckum
JR likes to draft potential. In the third round of the 2009 draft, he selected Travis Beckum. It was far fetched to expect a project like Beckum to come in and be a difference maker right away. However, it's 2011. This year, expectations won't be so far-fetched.

Matt Dodge

Without a doubt, my choice for surprise player of the year. If he punts the ball out of bounds when asked to, we will all be surprised.

Jonathan Goff
Played well last year, and largely justified Jerry Reese's seemingly odd LB drafting habits. If he can further elevate his game in his fourth season, we might get some respite from the tiring 'LBzzers' talk.

Clint Sintim

The 'LBzzeers' talk would be much less tiring if players like Clint Sintim stepped up and lived up to their expectations. He may or may not be healthy this year.

Dave Tollefson
A bit of a long shot, but don't forget about this guy. With all the hype surrounding the Giants' high profile DE's, it's easy to overlook Tollefson. Maybe for good reason? I guess we'll find out.

Mitch Petrus

This would be a huge surprise, as the Giants typically don't ask much out of their young players. the 2010 fifth round pick (who is a potential center) is only in his second year.

However, he seems like a bad ass. Who questions a bad ass? You best not answer that.

Linval Joseph
Someone is going to play DT for this team, and my gut tells me they're going to look good in the process. It's not a bad group to line up with, and this might be the 2nd rounders' chance to shine.

D.J. Ware
Will Jacobs be back? Will Bradshaw be back? Can DJ Ware be the next Derrick Ward? Can he amass 1,000 yards? Will he sign a exorbitant FA contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the year 2013?  Anything is possible.

Eli Manning
Yes, I went there. Eli Manning?! OK, I admit, the main reason I put his name up here is to piss people off. The odd thing is: if Eli threw for 4,000+ yards, 30+ touchdowns, and led the Giants to a Superbowl victory, many fans would be surprised. Never-mind that he has done it all before.

Other names to consider:
Phillip Dillard, William Beatty, Mario Manningham, Kenny Phillips, Ramses Barden, Jason Pierre-Paul, Darius Reynaud (oh, you're still reading?)

[side note- I tried to limit this list as best I could, thereby leaving off certain names such as Keith Bulluck (old), Antrel Rolle (highly paid), Prince Amukamara (young). Please add names as you see fit.]

Follow the jump for a few things of note in regards to the prospect of drafting a Running Back in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft:  

Note: This is a repost from a few months ago, so you may have already read it. For everyone else, I hope it's insightful, Enjoy the draft tonight!

Continue reading this post »

First 'FanPost'...   A few things of note, in regards to the prospect of drafting a Running Back in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft:  

1) A list of the running backs drafted in the 2007 draft after the Giants passed over them at pick #20... (this, of course, was the year the Giants selected Ahmad Bradshaw as the last RB taken in the draft):
Kenny Irons, Chris Henry, Brandon Jackson, Lorenzo Booker, Tony Hunt, Garrett Wolf, Michael Bush, Antonio Pittman, Dwayne Wright, Kolby Smith, Thomas Clayton, Justise Hairston, DeShawn Wynn, Nate Ilaoa, Kenneth Darby.

2) Here are the running backs they passed over in the 2005 draft, when they selected Brandon Jacobs in the fourth round (keep in mind, this year they also picked up Ryan Grant as an UDFA):
J.J. Arrington, Eric Shelton, Frank Gore, Vernand Morency, Ryan Moats, Maurice Clarett (remember him?!?), and Marion Barber III.

3) A list of Running backs taken in the second half of the first rounds from 2001-2010 (to give you an idea about what quality of back are typically available/taken in this situation):
2001- Deuce McAllister (23) and Michael Bennett (27)
2002- William Green (16), T.J. Duckett (18)
2003- Willis McGahee (23), Larry Johnson (27)... (not a bad list considering the Giants drafted William Joseph)
2004- Steven Jackson (24), Chris Perry (26), Kevin Jones (30)
2005- none
2006- Laurence Maroney (21), DeAngelo Williams(27), Joseph Addai (30) (followed by LenDale White and Maurice Jones Drew in the 2nd Round- DAMN!)
2007- none
2008- Felix Jones, Rashard Mendenhall (23), Chris Johnson (24)... (can you believe Johnson was drafted 24th?! Thank God Jerry Jones had a man-crush on speedy Felix that year!)
2009- Donald Brown (27), Chris "Beanie" Wells (31)
2010- Javid Best (30)  

4) In 2010 the top three running backs in terms of rushing yards were: Arian Foster (UDFA, 2009), Jamaal Charles (3rd rd., 2008), and Michael Turner (5th Rd., 2004)  

5) The top 15 rushing teams in 2010 were: KC, Oak, Jac, NYJ, Phi, NYG, Hou, TB, NE, Minn, Pitt, Atl, Car, Balt, SD. All but three of these teams were in the top 15 in terms of offensive line run blocking, including 9 of the top 10 (this information is from footballoutsiders.com, which has an 'Adjusted Line Yards' formula that they use to calculate the performance of an offensive line).  

 side note: Mark Ingram, Mikel LeShoure, and Ryan Williams are among the 2011 prospects projected to go in the early parts of the draft.  

Conclusion: Although I find this information very interesting, I'm not sure any definitive conclusions can be made about what the Giants should or shouldn't do at pick # 19.   I have made a few conclusions of my own, which may be disputed as they are not born out of any statistical analysis, but out of my casual observations:

1) No one here, including myself, know which player is the right choice at #19. Furthermore, most GMs clearly don't know who is the right choice.

2) It is possible to find a successful running back in the later rounds of a draft (or even as a UDFA).

3) The success rate of drafting a running back falls significantly through the later parts of the first round, and into the second round, where it becomes seemingly indistinguishable.

4) The success of a running back is so intricately tied to the performance of an offensive line, that you might as well focus on shoring up that area of the offense (which is, in itself, an inexact science), before drafting (and sacraficing) the next Javid Best (Detroit rated the worst offensive line in Run Blocking).

5) A running backs 'life-span' in the NFL is shorter than most, if not all positions, thus reducing the value of the pick.

6) Tom Quinn should be fired.  

 My take: The Giants should take a RB only if they feel very confident that they have a sure thing. Considering the Giants' first round drafting habits since they failed miserably on Ron Dayne, I'm sure this will be the case. If they are even remotely concerned about the Offensive Line, that should be as much of a priority.  

***UPDATE: 1/27/11*** Two selections are currently tied in the poll... As it stands 'Draft OL' and 'Fire Tom Quinn' are both tied at 32%. Share your thoughts, every vote counts!