Douglas Furth asks: Ed, You did an article this week about realistic expectations and it seemed reasonable on its face. But it seems to me (without having done a scientific study on the subject) that teams don’t improve incrementally over several years. Rather what seems to happen more often is that bad teams reach a tipping point and get a lot better. So I have two questions, what do you think about the tipping point theory and does the addition of a top tier coach and a couple of impact players
push this Giants team towards a tipping point?
Ed says: Douglas, there is some truth to what you are saying. There are teams that occasionally do what the New England Patriots did last season, going from four wins to 14 and reaching the Super Bowl. It takes time, though, to build something sustainable. The Giants had the big 2022 season out of nowhere, and then went right back to their losing ways. The 2022 season was built on a house of straw, and was not sustainable.
It looks on paper like the Chicago Bears had that kind of fast turnaround a year ago. I would argue that beginning in 2022, GM Ryan Poles built what the Bears have become brick-by-brick. He accumulated 21 draft picks in 2022 and 2023 that helped lay the foundation. He got his quarterback, Caleb Williams, with a tremendous trade up to get the No. 1 overall pick in 2024. He got the right coach for Williams, Ben Johnson, the next year.
The Bears now appear to have something that should be sustainable while Williams and Johnson remain together. That is what teams want to build.
Gregg Wanlass asks: Ed, optimism springs eternal this time of year (as always) but while this might be the deepest roster we have had recently, to me it will mostly depend on how it is utilized, which brings me to my question. I realize situation and down as well as opponents tendencies will dictate who we have on the field but it seems like the amount of passing in the league would suggest we have five DBs on the field most of the time, including the slot corner. That adds up to six other positions. If we deploy big DTs as run stuffers to shore up our rush defense, how do we get the strength of our team on the field? I realize this is why we have coaches who know a lot more than I do, but doesn’t this remain an ongoing challenge?
Ed says: Gregg, this is the same challenge we talked about last season. The question was whether or not Shane Bowen was up to the task of figuring it out and maximizing the talent the Giants did have. He was not, and got fired.
I feel better about new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson being able to do this, especially with John Harbaugh being a coach who admittedly spends more time with the defense than the offense.
Getting the right players on the field, and putting them in the right positions to succeed, is always a challenge in the NFL. Sub-packages rule, and players are always coming on and off the field.
I believe you will see a lot of different packages from the Giants. Rarely, though, do I think you will see more than two of those big defensive tackles on the field at the same time. I am pretty sure you will see pass rush packages with one true defensive tackle and all three edge players — Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux — on the field. You might also see times when Thibodeaux, the best run defender of the group, functions as a defensive end.
Yes, there will be times when one of those players is standing on the sideline. Honestly, I think Thibodeaux might get the short straw, but we will have to see.
I can’t predict exactly how it will work out. It is a new coaching staff, so we haven’t seen it. Again, though, I feel better about this group’s chance of getting right.
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Bob Donnelly asks: It would appear that the days of the Giants O line being a pain point for the Big Blue community are over. Heading into training camp four of the five starting positions are set with some possible competition for the fifth one. The depth inside the room is deeper than we’ve seen in years.
Now that the angst is gone how about a more lighthearted O line question:
Generally speaking, which do you believe O linemen enjoy more, pass blocking or run blocking?
Ed says: Bob, if the line stinks this year or suffers a rash of injuries we are all going to blame you for jinxing it.
The answer to your question is that every offensive lineman I have ever spoken to about this will say run blocking is what they enjoy most. When offensive linemen run block, they are attacking. They get to go forward, to strike, to find smaller guys and smash them. They are dishing out punishment. When they pass block, they are backing up. They are mostly trying to survive while they take punishment from guys who are probably better athletes than they are.
Steven Schlein asks: Hey Ed, I like Jaxson as much as the next fan, especially his toughness and swagger. I do, however, think he is a middling passer, probably the reason most pundits thought he would be picked in the second round of the 2025 draft. However, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were also considered average in terms of accuracy when they were drafted. Obviously, they fixed that and have become superstars. What’s always perplexed me is, what is the fix? Is it as simple as NFL coaching on technique, better focus or simply practice, practice, practice?
Ed says: Steven, I don’t know that there is a one size fits all fix. Some guys can get better if they improve their footwork. Sometimes, it might be building rapoort with receivers over a number of years. Some guys work to tighten their throwing motion.
I spoke to Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic recently about Dart, and he would argue with your take that Dart is not accurate. That conversation is here:
I also need to say this. Sometimes, guys are what they are. If a player is a poor tackler in college, they aren’t going to improve that skill in the NFL. If a quarterback struggles with accuracy in college, that may not get better in the NFL.
Sometimes, the fix is a coach who really learns and understands a player, knows precisely what he can and cannot do, and builds a system that maximizes what he does well and — as much as possible — hides what he is not good at.
Mike Eversman asks: Enjoyed your piece on Harbaugh’s training camp plan. I agree the team needs to be better prepared but what’s the value of an arduous training camp? The players are more or less in shape and they don’t need pads and full contact to learn the plays and schemes. Also there are the risks of injuries and guys fighting. I do wonder if its mostly to set the culture and even weed out guys who aren’t intense the way Harbaugh wants. Your thoughts?
Ed says: Mike, I understand the concern about injuries. But, don’t you have to practice football in order to get ready to play football? The game is played in full pads, and it’s played with hitting. If you have not practiced in pads or done any hitting how can you be ready for it once the season starts? You can’t be.
To me, if your primary goal all spring and throughout training camp is to make sure your best players don’t get hurt, you are coaching scared. You can’t win that way.
From 2023 on, it was clear that Brian Daboll didn’t really have much interest in pushing players in the spring or summer. He just wanted them healthy. There were too many front-line players doing too little the past few years. That happened under Ben McAdoo, as well. McAdoo ran the softest training camp practices I have ever seen. The problem is, when you sit on the sideline and watch the third-team guys take reps you can’t be ready when the season starts.
Now, there is a line. There is a point when you can go overboard. That, though, is why the Collective Bargaining Agreement limits practice time, requires days off, and specifies how often players can be in pads.
To me, if you aren’t taking advantage of the limited opportunities you have to get players in pads, to get them practice reps, to get them conditioned to at least some contact, you are not preparing them and giving them the best chance to succeed.
Kölnerbigblue asks: I’m thinking about the KC game where Gano got hurt in warm-ups and we had to use Gillan. So my question is simple. Is there a deadline before kick-off (minutes, hours, etc) after which you cannot promote a player from the PS to the active squad in case of a warm-up injury? There are generally enough back-ups for most positions but K and P is not one of them.
While I have your attention, who do you believe would be the back up holder in case Stout gets injured?
Ed says: Kölner, decisions on elevating players from the practice squad or signing them to the 53-man roster have to be made the day before the game. I believe the official time is 4 p.m. ET, but I’m not 100% certain. A team cannot make roster moves the day of the game.
What teams do on game days is announce which of their 53 players will be inactive. That is done 90 minutes before kickoff.
So, if a team thinks on Saturday it may have an issue with injured players at a certain position that is the time to do something about it. If a kicker or punter gets injured in warm-ups, as happened with Graham Gano, there is no contingency for that.
As for your second question, that’s really impossible to know since we don’t know who will be on the roster. If I had to guess, if he makes the roster it would be Dalen Cambre. He did that in college, and I have seen him practice it some with the Giants.
Tony Tenore asks: It seems like the national media and PFF is fixated on Dart’s playing style as a reason he will not be a franchise quarterback. I certainly do not get that feeling when I read the articles from Big Blue View writers. It seems like nationally, they do not put much weight on his will to win, the way he leads, or the way he generates excitement from his teammates. I believe coaches and former players put their faith in many of these intangibles. Am I misreading the room or does Big Blue View see these intangibles as the key to Dart’s and the Giant’s success over the next couple of seasons.
Ed says: Tony, I wouldn’t necessarily say you are misreading the room. There is concern from all corners, including from with the Giants, about Dart’s propensity to put himself in harm’s way.
I think that what almost everyone is saying is that Dart has to protect himself better, has to take fewer risks with his body to give himself his best chance to be the quarterback his rookie season showed he might be able to become.
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