Posted: July 27, 2007 @ 2:09 pm
Camp reports start tomorrow.
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Welcome back!
welcome back…
ESPN is reporting that Michael Strahan has not come to camp yet and is considering retirement. I didn’t see the Giants D holding up this year and even more so if Strahan retires.
Good to have you back, Raf–I’m looking forward to really knowing what’s going on at camp!
If Strahan really does retire, that means that the Giants are finished for this year. Not just because they would miss him, but because that would mean that he really didn’t see their team taking a run at the playoffs. Few people retire when they think their team is going to be a winner. On the field, I don’t know that they’d miss Strahan too much since they’d probably move Kiwanuka back to DE to take his spot. And yeah, Raul, we know that he’s part of the catch-and-release fishing program…
The Strahan thing strikes me as a veteran who doesnt want to go to training camp. Lets see if he has a “change of heart” come a week or two before the season starts.
Also, on the DE front:
Simeon Rice was just cut by the Bucs. They said the 12 year vet (second in sacs on active players only to Strahan) failed his physical, noting he was on IR last season with shoulder problems. Coincidentally, this cut happened hours after Tampa Bay signed first round draft pick DE Gaines Adams…Hmmm.
“The Strahan thing strikes me as a veteran who doesnt want to go to training camp”
I think he wants more cash.
Welcome back. Sorry about your loss
birdness:
I think he’s hoping for more cash to make up for the money he lost in his divorce.
From the DMN Training Camp blog:
“3:30 — While the Cowboys are warming up, I’ll address a couple comments. Don’t hold your breath waiting on Bobby Carpenter or Kevin Burnett to compete for playing time at OLB. Wade Phillips said this morning that the plan is to keep both those guys inside. He thinks they can make an impact there with the speed, especially on passing downs.”
Sounds pretty much exactly like what Raf predicted a month or so ago, huh?
The only way they go to the outside is if we fail to get pressure from Ellis, Spencer and company.
If you keep reading on the DMN blog, you’ll see that Carpenter was indeed getting reps on the outside today, though. I think that he and Burnett are going to be used all over the place back there, at least in camp and preseason, just looking to get the right guys on the field in the right place.
Sounds like Bigg Davis is a beast against the run and a liability against the pass. Not good enough for a $49-million man. I hope Raf will be keeping an eye on him to see just what and how big the problem is.
Where did you read he is a liabilty in the pass? That article said nothing like that.
Raf, Thank goodness your coming back. We got one guy giving us updates that Spears hasnt done after the second practice ( the first with no pads) and now greatwhite telling us based on an article that LD is a liability in pass blocking (which of course wasnt covered). Please dont start stupidity.
Question: With hindsight, would you still take Carpenter?
Hey Squid, what’s with the hostility? Tim MacMahon from the DMN practice blog wrote this: “Obviously, I didn’t like what I saw from Bigg Davis in pass protection. Jay Ratliff made him look bad.” He mentioned several times that Ratliff was giving him a hard time. I’m not endorsing MacMahon’s reporting or “starting stupidity,” just asking Raf to verify. Chill out.
jay ratliff was beating davis a couple times in passing downs
Was it one on one or was it line against line. Greatwhite missed that article. I apoligize. I read another talking about LD. Its just the 3rd day of practice and it is bit early to nitpick. The players are not even warmed up on hitting yet.
If Chunk got beat without pads, why does he even bother playing. Definitely Camp fodder.
IT’S THE FIRST PRACTICE!
I stand corrected - 3rd day.
I would draft Carp again although, Maroney, Addai DeAngelo Williams are looking good. Mangold could have cleared up Andre the Giants cap space.
Ratliff was apparently beating Davis regularly during full team drills, to the point where MacMahon suggested that Davis could require double-team help even as a guard. I have no idea if it was conditioning, or just the type of protection, or even if Ratliff is just rapidly improving. It’s still not what you want to hear, even on the third day of camp.
And I know it’s early to nitpick, but hey, what else are we going to do at this point? If only they’d offer a live webcast or something!
No way I’d pick Carpenter again if I had a do-over and I was running the Cowboys draft. I’d trade the pick for Detroit’s 2007 first rounder, and we’d have Calvin Johnson to drool over. Of course, if I had a do-over, I’d also take Colston instead of Skyler Green…
Welcome back, Raf, sorry about the loss of your grandfather.
If Ellis has trouble coming back and moving enough to play OLB consistently, then Burnett/Carpenter will have to be ready to play out there.
Remember, Spencer’s a rokie, and he isn’t Ware or Merriman. He’s probably good for 3-5 sacks or so, and isn’t the kind of pick that’s going to a game-changer, or even a starter, right away. He was available at #26 after all.
But as you found out, GreatWhite, any kind of realistic questioning of the team is not responded to well on this site right now. Only wide-eyed innocents ready to declare all is perfect are wanted by some!
Oops-that should read “even necessarily a starter”
He may end up starting, but I think he’ll need a year or two to develop, if he does.
And he’s a rookie, not a rokie
I still dont know enough about Carp to make a decision if it was good or bad. I dont want to say We should have pick so and so because thats hindsight for the most part. If LD was getting beat in full line drills than Im not happy. I expect the D to be a little ahead at this point but I expect some domination from a big signing. Its still a little early for us to go slashing our wrists though.
The good news on Bigg Davis was that apparently he was flattening people in the run game. That’s something Rivera couldn’t bring. I’m not worried about the line unless there’s an injury.
If you’re going to take do-overs on draft picks, I’d like one on Fasano. Decent as a receiver, but unless he gets better as a blocker, he’s not going to see the field except when Witten needs a breather. The two-TE offense looked great on paper, but it just never panned out. Too bad.
Greatwhitenorth, The Giants ARE finished this year, w/ or w/o Strahan.
Context, people, context.
Ratliff was making Rivera look foolish at the same point last year. To the point where Rivera took a swing at him in one session and started a fight.
It’s possible that Ratliff may be taking the next step, which would be great, since he’s teased as an inside rusher but has never translated it into regular season games *consistently*.
I’ll have to see if anybody else is beating Davis and if Ratliff is also making Kosier and Gurode whiff.
Yeah, for some time I’ve been saying that Ratliff has a real big upside, his problem is the same problem that plagged him through College, an inhability to stay healthy and being consistent.
I wouldn’t read too much out of the struggles of a player facing him…
Oh, BTW, yesterday Davis also faced Ratliff and as far as I remember Ratliff was humilliated by Davis, even once pushing him to the ground.
larry:
Strong opinion, but you also have to realize that what we think is also a strong opinion, opinion backed up by recent history. Looking up at our team, what do you see at OLB? Ware jumps up inmediately, a College DE turned to OLB that in his first season notched 8 sacks and all around played really good. Our attention then travels to Greg Ellis, veteran DE that last season moved to a standing stance and actually did more than just holding his own before going down. And then our attention moves to the coaching staff and of course we all know of the importance of our HC in the development of Merriman and Phillips and I know that Phillips was only able to get 4 sacks in his rookie season, but I also know that Spencer is a much better prospect than what Phillips was in his due time.
We have reasons to believe that Spencer could be capable of a Ware or Merriman rookie kind of production, just like you have your reasons to believe what you think.
It can happen both ways.
Rafael, if you happen to swing by the crowded river walk, go to Durty Nellies for a black and tan and say hello to the piano man for me….Ahh it’s been a long time…
Greatwhitenorth,
Seems a bit early to write Bigg off as a liability in pass protection this year, based off of two or three one-line entries by a DMN blogger who has watched a total of 6 hours of pass rush drills.
Odd, but I am hearing Davis has been one of our better players thus far in camp??
Raf,
Good to hear you are back. Hope all is well with your family.
Did anyone’s eye pop a bit while looking over the RBs pictures on DC.com? The guy standing to MB III’s right is huge!! I believe its Deon Anderson. Damn his biceps are larger than my whole body. Less us hope he can use them to lead the way for Marion and Julius!
Chandus AHh, another thoughtful response.
Of course, Spencer is an unknown. Anything can happen. It’s a cup half-full/half empty proposition.
But none of us know what’s coming, sp predictions/opinions is what we’re here for, right?
In a way, talking about Ellis’ prospects or Spencer’s (the whole team at this point) provides a ‘tabla rasa’ for how we want to think about our team. Some are ‘optimists’ who see everything as ‘half-full’ right now.
I’m not a pessimist-I’m a ‘realist’, and to me the cup is half-empty right now, cause the way this D fell apart at the end means a lot more than how they did the first 11 games last year in predicting this year!
And “Ellis was hurt”? People who use that as an excuse are ignoring the fact that it’s always going to be Someone-what if it’s Ferguson, Newman, or Ware??? We’ll wish it was Ellis again!
Ware’s awesome, but listen, these are not opinions, but Facts: Ellis is old/injured; Spencer’s a rookie; and none of the othe LB’s have done much in real games (James and Oyedele are solid, but nothing spectacular).
Neither have any of our DLinemen except Fergie.
So all the things you said are true, but a Lot has to go right for this coach to get this Def. to work.
I’d feel a lot better about Ellis if he were a DE instead of having to move around in space. No one else has said this, I’ve repeated it over and over, but my Opinion is that Ellis’ injury was in part CAUSED by being moved to OLB, esp. at his age. His body was used to one thing, and Parcells forced him to do a lot more movement.
To think he’s going to be able to cover guys well this season is unrealistic. He wasn’t the quickest/most fluid OLB to begin with.
Larry, tell me whats realistic about making claims based on the 3rd day of TC.
Lary-
How much $$ you makn to throw that all knowing informatin to the experts? Man, being that smart, you must be loade. Wish I knew it all.
Larry no one has commented on the position change as cause of the injury because its silly. If Ellis doesnt comment on it as he is trying to pry more money from JJ then that confirms its a non issue. I also believe your a pessimist. If your such a realist then why did last season bother you so much. Im an optimist but I felt we finished more or less where they should have last year. Maybe they should have won a playoff game but our youth grew and got lots of reps. We got a taste of playoff atmoshere and intensity. We have many questions going into TC but so does the big 3, SD, NE, and Indy as does our NFC teams of Chi, Seattle, and Philly. What we do have in our favor is talented youth that should be on the verge of cutting loose. As far as over the top optimism, isnt this the one time of year all teams are even and we should be overly optimistic. The only joy I can see from reading your posts is complaining makes you happy.
Larry I will agree with your point that one person shouldnt make that much of a difference but unfortunately it does if its a key position. Look no further than the SB champions D. They were awful against the run and not good against the pass and Bob Sanders gets healthy and they were the top team in D in the playoffs. They could stop the run and pass. One guy, and his ass was a safety and it was the difference. Im of the opinion last year that had we lost Tnew, DWare, or Fergie results would have been simular. Depth is usually a problem with all young teams. You can blame the collapse on the D and they are worthy but they had lots of help. Zimmer’s crappy play calling, offensive miscues and special team blunders. It also didnt help that Philly and NO were matchup night mares for us. Again if your the realist you claim to be you would realize that we were young and that means a tendency to be inconsistent. That means again we finished about where we should have.
I’m trying to connect to the dc.com lunchbreak, and WP presser, but nothing is happening. Anyone else having trouble? Its supposed to be going on right now.
i had a problem with it yesterday …i waited like 20 mins ..and then it was fine …
by the way …If i had a RE-DO…i would have taken stephen jax instead of JJ….i would have also taken colston instead of green
Like I said, it’s a reflection of your personality at this point.
None of us know what the heck is going to happen this year. It’s all about predictions/opinions, everyone’s are as valuable as others’. I back mine up with facts.
If unfettered optimism makes you happy, go for it! No prob.
I prefer realistic discussions of our team’s strengths and weaknesses.
I finially connected. I guess they’re just not big on sticking to schedule. They were on long enough to interview T-new, but then it stopped again. Still waiting for the presser. I e-mailed them a question about how Leonard Davis looks. T-new is a fun interview. He cracks on everyone. Said he has to slap Roy around every once in a while. I’ll bet! Predicted he would lead the league in interceptions this year, and that we would dominate The eagles and giants. I like this guy!
They are doing 2 a days today right? I’m anxoius for some info!
Iron man, I think I may agree with you about S.Jackson. JJ seems to be happy about the changes that are being made to emphasize his strengths. My I guess I don’t understand what they are going to do differetly. What kind of plays would accomplish this that are different from before? Also, If they use him mostly for plays that fit his ability, would’nt that telegraph the play to the opposing D?
Larry,
Not to pile on the one questioning the optimism regarding the defense, but why does the way the Defense fell apart at the end means a lot more than how they did the first 11 games last year in predicting this year?
If no one had a clue as to why the wheels fell off then it might be true. If the reason was there was a lack of talent that was covered up by some trick or scheme that finally got figured out that would bode poorly for this year. The fact is it is well understood what caused the collapse and there are reasons to think many of the causes have been addressed.
The common perception among the players, the current coaches, the media and players and coaches around the league is:
1) The scheme was bland and the coaches did not adjust once it was exposed by N.O.
2) Ellis injury hurt the team more then it should because it added to the predictability of a fairly predictable defense.
3) The scheme was very physically demanding on the players and their legs wore down at the end of the year. The front seven and Roy Williams all played at weights higher then they had the rest of their careers.
4) Romo’s performance dropped off after defenses had more film to work with and the turnovers put more pressure on the defense. That, along with the first three reasons and poor interior run blocking caused the Cowboys to abandon the run.
Those reasons provide reason to believe in the talent that played well the first 11 games. Wades track record provides reason to believe he will get the most out of the talent.
1) The new scheme will be anything but bland.
2) The players will be playing at lower weights which be easier on their legs at the end of the year.
3) Historically, Wade defenses have performed well late in the year.
I agree with you that Ellis is likely to not be fully back and you’re right that Spenser is more likely to be pedestrian as a rookie OLB then he to be an immediate pro-bowler. But the reason that the loss of Ellis was so impactfull was it removed one of the few unpredictable aspects of the defense. There is 30 years of reasons to believe Wades defense will not be predictable regardless the personnel.
I like our chances to build on last year and improve.