Brennan Lyons asks: After reading your recent article on Paulson Adebo, in which you attribute his down year to, basically, two main possibilities (an opinion shared by several other writers). One is the style of play – aggressive man vs. zone. The other is following the best WR across both sides of the line. You point out that he predominantly played LCB in NO when he posted two very good years. This begs the question – what are the “preferences” of our other CBs, especially the other big three
starting candidates (Newsome, Banks & Hood)? In short, which one do you think is the best “RCB” to pair with Adebo? How much do you think they are affected by playing the “wrong “ side of the field?
I am also interested in what you think of Zacch Pickens? He hasn’t garnered much press after joining us. I liked him coming out of college several years ago. Do you think he can be a good complement to Reader & Alexander? Could you also please include a link to Chris’ or Nick’s predraft analysis of him?
Ed says: Brennan, some players adapt better to switching sides than others. Offensive linemen talk about how everything is different when you switch sides of the line because everything you doing with your left foot or moving left on one side you do with your right foot or moving right on the other side.
I have never discussed it with a cornerback, but it would seem to be the same. Footwork on one side is the exact opposite of footwork on the other side.
Banks’ best season was 2023, his rookie year. He played 600 snaps at right cornerback and just 123 at left cornerback. In 2024, 444 on the right and 261 on the left. Last season, 207 on the right and 183 on the left. If memory serves, he was almost exclusively a right corner at Maryland. Clearly, he is more comfortable on the right.
Greg Newsome has played both, but last season played 669 snaps on the right and just 62 on the left. Colton Hood can, as far as I know, go back-and-forth.
It seems pretty apparant that the best thing to do is leave Paulso Adebo on the left side where he is most comfortable and let Newsome-Banks-Hood play the other side.
As for Zacch Pickens, I know little about him other than he has started only three games in three seasons. Here is Chris’s scouting report.
Jay B asks: Eli Manning is one of my favorite Giants of all time after Taylor and oddly enough Brandon Jacobs. I simply cannot understand why he gets so much hate and is not a Hall Famer Yet? What gives Ed? I understand the record and playoff appearances but I watched Eli’s entire career and if you look up and down the rosters he played with compared to to some of the other elite QBs of his time he had by far one of the least amount of talent around him than other QBs that had multiple pro bowl level players. Eli didn’t even play with a Pro Bowl WR until late his career. He routinely had bad OLines. Why does Eli get all the blame for poor GMing? He didn’t play in dome for half his games or in San Diego. Why doesn’t he get credit for these feats?
Ed says: Jay, you and I feel the same way about Eli Manning. However, most Hall of Fame voters didn’t watch his career the way you and I did and don’t care about the nuance. They care about the .500 record. They care about the lack of Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. They care about all the losing seasons. They care about his high interception total. They don’t care about who he was throwing to. They don’t care that the back half of his career was on Jerry Reese and ownership, not him. They don’t, like I do, believe those two Super Bowl runs that culminated in victories over the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick New England Patriots should outweigh the regular seasons.
I don’t understand it, but that’s how it is.
Michael Schack asks: Same age and Giant fan as long as you (and a BBV addict), so I have seen the worst and the best. Last week BBV considered the best and worst decisions of the Off-season. Only you mentioned Joe Schoen, and only as worst decision prospect, while not choosing him. The media and fanbase has portrayed Schoen as subordinate to Harbaugh in decision making because draft picks and free agents appear to be Harbaugh choices. Let me try to make the case for keeping Schoen as best decision of off-season and tell me if I am crazy. Harbaugh was a no-brainer decision. There were no better options and not getting him as head coach would have been worst decision. The Maras decided to keep Schoen (granted it was during the season) when they let go of Daboll. I was a fan of both until Daboll ran into the tent to check on Dart. That is when I knew he needed to go because he could not control himself and had not gotten rid of Bowen. Schoen has been steady in face of adversity, and I do not think he has changed because of the Harbaugh hire. Schoen brought on players Daboll and Martindale wanted. Some worked, some not. His high pick “busts” were considered great choices at the time. He has hit on later-round picks. He had a plan to upgrade the systems as you have discussed. That plan has seemed to be working. Harbaugh did not go elsewhere because Schoen was staying through at least the draft (a telltale sign?). Schoen has brought in players that his coaches wanted (isn’t that what they are supposed to do?). Schoen brought in Dawn Aponte with whom HE had the prior connection (both hired by Parcells who knows a bit about talent). Schoen negotiated the #10 pick for Dexter Lawrence – could anyone have done better. He has brought stability to the salary cap for the Giants and flexibility for the future instead of mortgaging it (Howie will pay some day). Players will come and go, but a good GM can set a franchise up for long runs of success beyond one group of good players. I see keeping Schoen as akin to keeping Accorsi when Tom Coughlin was hired following a 4-12 season. That combination worked well, and I see a repeat with this combo. So, am I crazy?
Ed says: Michael, the best move of the offseason was the hiring of John Harbaugh. Full stop. In the pre-Harbaugh days, Joe Schoen did some good things. He also made too many mistakes. The record is a reflection of that, and it wasn’t all Brian Daboll’s fault.
Still, the Daboll era is over. What matters is whatever happens going forward. Harbaugh has the ultimate authority on personnel decisions, that is real. If Harbaugh and Schoen could not work together, Schoen would have paid the price. They have found common ground. They seem to like each other. They had a productive offseason working together where a lot of big decisions were made. Harbaugh was hopeful they would learn to “agree to agree”, and it seems they have done so. Harbaugh seems happy with the front office, the scouting staff, and the processes the Giants have in place.
As long as those things continue, there is no reason for Schoen to be shown the door. I have pointed to Les Snead of the Rams, George Paton of the Broncos, and Ryan Poles of the Bears before as examples of why the Schoen-Harbaugh pairing can work. Go look at the records of those three general managers before and after their current head coaches were hired.
Kölnerbigblue asks: Ed, back in the day, we called LT an outside linebacker. Now we seem to call that position Edge and people adamantly say it isn’t a LB position. So, are people getting stuck on semantics or is there a real difference between Edge and the “old” time OLB?
Ed says: In the old days, there were pure 4-3 and 3-4 defenses. Now, teams mix and match. You see 3-4, 4-3, 2-4-5, even 3-3-5. And, you will see all of that from one team during the course of one game. Notice that many times you will see Giants “edge defenders” in an upright stance. At other times, you will see them in a three- or even four-point stance based on the alignment called and the technique required on that play.
Because of the hybrid nature of the position the term “edge” came into vogue. Because these players are quite often asked to do both.
For what it’s worth, I hate the term “edge rusher.” These players don’t just rush the passer. They cover. They defend the run. My staff knows, but doesn’t always remember, that the preferred term here is “edge defender.”
Doug Mollin asks: Interesting feed post about being a Giant fan, had some good feedback from the young and older fans here at BBV.
It’s been a pretty unusual stretch for those of us north of 60:
- Wilderness 1.0 — 17 seasons from 1964-1980. Two winning seasons, zero playoffs.
- Competitive — 31 seasons from 1981-2011. 15 playoffs, 4 SB wins, 1 SB loss, 17 winning seasons.
- Wilderness 2.0 — 14 seasons from 2012-2025. 2 playoffs, 3 winning seasons.
I wonder if coaching was the key during that long competitive stretch. Most of those 31 years were covered by Parcells then Fassel and then Coughlin. Or maybe the QBs? Simms, Hoss, Collins, Eli covered a lot of those competitive 31 seasons.
How do you feel about your own Giant fandom? Two long stretches of really bad football bracketing a long stretch of competitive football with a remarkable 4 SB wins (and another appearance).
Ed says: Doug, it is difficult for me to discuss fandom. I have written about the Giants almost every day, often several times a day, since February of 2007. I am a journalist and old newspaper person at heart, and the only way to do what I do successfully is to put the fan card away. I have to be professional around the team, I can’t “fan boy.” To write credibly, I have to put away any emotions and write as objectively and analytically as I possibly can.
Am I always perfect in that endeavor probably not. When it comes to players, coaches and GMs, some I have liked personally and others I have not. Again, you try not to let that cloud your work. We’re human, though, and it is virtually impossible for those feelings not to impact the work.
That said, I grew up as a Giants fan watching bad football in the late 1960s and most of the 1970s. I used to sit on the couch with my dad on Sundays — at least until he got so frustrated he went out in the garage and found something to hammer on.
I have celebrated Super Bowls. I still enjoy watching the Giants win more than watching them lose, but it’s different now. Winning makes my job easier.
To win takes a combination of all of the things you talked about. You have to have the right coach. You need the right GM to work with that coach. You need a good front office and scouting staff to get the right players. You need that head coach, hi staff, and the players to be able to come together for a common goal. You need some luck along the way, too.
The Giants can be bewildering. There have been long dark stretches that have been largely self-inflicted. Yet, there are four Super Bowl trophies in the case at 1925 Giants Drive. The franchise has won eight total championships going back before the Super Bowl era.
The Giants get it wrong. A lot. But, they also get it right — really right — more often than other franchises. They just have a hard time finding the middle ground. Nobody is giving back the highs of those titles, though, and a lot of fan bases would trade places with Giants fans.
Christopher Scanlon asks: Still hoping against hope for a little more juice on the D line. Just read an article about Arik Armstead and his salary. Think it would be worth trying to shake him loose from the Jags? What, in addition to us learning how to use void years, do you think it would take?
Ed says: Chris, by “shake him loose” you obviously mean trade for him. Armstead is still a good player entering his age 33 season, but I don’t think the Giants will be giving up draft capital of any sort — even a sixth- or seventh-round pick — for a 33-year-old headed to free agency after the season. That just doesn’t seem smart considering no one believes the Giants are in a “win now” Super Bowl window.
Now, I have said before that I question the Giants’ defensive line depth. DJ Reader was a good signing. Shelby Harris has had a good career, but at 35 I wonder what’s left in the tank. The Giants not only lost Dexter Lawrence, but Roy Robertson-Harris is gone for most — if not all — of the season. The other veteran players they added have a lot to prove to be considered quality options. So do Bobby Jamison-Travis and Darius Alexander.
I think you are looking at a situation where the Giants will watch the waiver wire when teams cut their rosters to 53 players before the beginning of the regular season. There are always a few useful veteran defensive tackles who hit the market at that point. To me, that is when you might see the Giants add somebody.
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