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New York Giants Mailbag: "The Closing Days of Summer Break" Edition
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From Henry J. -- I've seen where several "EXPERTS" are alluding to the possibility of trading Engram, as more and more are WOKE to his shortcomings. How about you?
What's up, Henry? I don't quite see it that way, to be honest. I mean, what makes people think that a player's shortcomings are going to magically disappear if he's traded? Sure he can benefit from a new scheme, but the fundamental problems just don't' go away like that.
Anyway, I see the speculation of trading Engram more along the lines of if the Giants don't plan on re-signing him--and quite honestly, I don't know if they'd even be able to next year, given how squeezed against the salary cap they appear to be--then why not get something for him rather than let him walk out the door?
From Tristan A. -- Not enough time and could not reserve tickets for Giants fan fest. I hope you guys consider doing another event for fans for free who could not get tickets for fan fest--why not have 1 or 2 single practices for fans?
What's up, Tristan? I understand your frustration. I also sympathize with those who couldn't get tickets. That said, I try to look at both sides of the story rather than rush to judgment, and this is just my guess here with the Giants--it's not a defense, and it's not an excuse, but rather a theory as to why things worked out the way they did by looking at the calendar.
Camp opens July 27. There is a five-day acclimation period with no pads or live contact, follow by the sixth day off.
So let's look at the calendar. The team reports July 27. The first practice is July 28, and August 1 ends the five-day acclimation period. August 2 is the day off (per the CBA, teams must give their players the sixth day off). So now that brings us to August 3, which means there are conceivably ten days left before the first preseason game--and there's no way they're practicing all ten days as I believe they are due a day off every fifth day or so.
(And from experience, watching pad-less practices isn't very interesting for most casual fans.)
August 5, there's a Guns N' Roses concert at MetLife, so as is the custom, practice would have been closed to the public anyway. August 7 is the Jets' annual Green and White scrimmage at the stadium, so again, with an influx of traffic, Giants practice would have likely been closed that day to the public.
So, where does this leave everything? By my count, that leaves eight days t. Given the costs of renting bleachers (and for all we know, maybe there is a minimum rental requirement), concession stands, extra porta-potties, hiring additional staff, etc., perhaps the feeling was it wasn't worth the expense.
Remember, the team is hitting the road for joint practices with the Browns the week of the 16th and then the Patriots the following week. Had the Giants been at home, I genuinely believe they would have opened more practices to the fans.
Again, this is just me using logic. People can think what they want, but I wouldn't be shocked if what I just outlined is the reason why there is only one event scheduled.
P.S. I'm not part of the organization. I don't decide what they do.
From Joseph S. -- Besides Patrick GRaham, which assistant coach do you think is the one head coach Joe Judge would least like to lose?
Great question, Joseph, and way to go removing the obvious answer from my choices. I don't like to speak for anyone else. Still, my guess is that while Judge would like to retain all his assistants, one I suspect he might not want to go anywhere is senior offensive assistant Freddie Kitchens (how's that for a surprising answer?).
Why Kitchens? I suspect that Jason Garrett isn't going to be the offensive coordinator here for the long term--Garrett, I think, may want to be a head coach again. And if Garrett leaves, I think Kitchens will be named the new offensive coordinator.
I thought it spoke loud volumes how this off-season, when the Jets were trying to court Patrick Graham as their head coach, the Giants thwarted that courtship by giving Graham a raise to stay. In contrast, when the Chargers came sniffing around Garrett for their head coaching vacancy, the same steps weren't reported.
So just a gut feeling on my part, but I think if Garrett leaves for another job, Kitchens gets the promotion.
From James T. -- Hi Pat. What's your biggest concern on this Giants team?
What's up, James? Offensive line. Yup, I said it. I think they have the talent to be good, but I need to see it. And until I see it, that unit is going to be my biggest concern.
From Martin L. -- Do you think Saquon Barkley will be ready for training camp?
What's good, Martin? Nope, I can't say I get that feeling. The Giants seem intent on bringing Barkley back slowly to avoid a potential setback (a smart strategy, if you ask me). So I could see a scenario where he starts camp on the Active/PUP list (which would NOT mean he's automatically lost for six weeks as would be the case if he's on the INACTIVE/PUP list at the start of the season).
The way I see it, the Giants are planning for a long season that hopefully leads to a postseason berth. It is better to have Barkley at full speed around Week 5 when they start facing division rivals than to push him out there if he's not 100% back.
From Charles M. -- Please finish the following two sentences with your thoughts: The Giants' 2021 season will be a success if_____ and The Giants 2021 season will be a disaster if ______. Thank you.
Thanks, Charles. I love the question. to the first one, about the success, I'll say "if the offensive line clicks." I'm cautiously optimistic, but as I said above and much like when I go for my post-cancer screenings when deep down I know I'm okay, but I still need to see the official results to know I'm still okay, I need to see the offensive line deliver the goods.
I'm inclined to say, "if the offensive line doesn't click" for the second question, but that wouldn't be much fun, now would it? So let's go with "if Daniel Jones doesn't take the big leap forward everyone is expecting him to take."
I don't know about you, but I don't want to go through another reboot year with this team so soon, so I'm hoping Jones proves once and for all he is the franchise quarterback and starts showing that he can win those tight games that thus far he's struggled to win.
James T -- Pat, I read your book, and I loved it! Great job. I was wondering what your top personal Giants moments are?
Thanks so much, James. I appreciate your support (and if you left a review on Amazon, it's appreciated!) I'm approaching 30 years covering this franchise in some capacity, and I'm sure I could come up with a list of favorite moments--not sure if I hit 50 as I did in the book, but I'd come close.
But I'll give you a few that stand out to me for one reason or another. The first is the 2007 postseason. Yup, all of it. I remember being on the road every weekend in January, but man was that a fun month and was it ever worth it.
And with that, I remember the dinner we (the writers) had the night before the Wild Card game in Tampa. Without going into too many details, at first, I wasn't going to attend. My dear friend, Ernie Palladino, who organized the dinner, insisted I go, and I'm delighted I did as the ice was broken further and it was just a special time. (Ernie sadly passed away a few years ago; I still miss--and can hear--his "Howya doin' kiddo?" greeting to me.)
Another moment that stands out to me was my first day allowed in the locker room. At the time, I was working with the original founding editor of Inside Football, and I remember being slightly intimidated about going into the locker room for the media session.
The first player I remember speaking with was defensive end Chad Bratzke, and after that first interview was in the books, words can't begin to describe the relief I felt.
I have many others, but I don't want to fill this entire column with them. Maybe one off-season, I'll write them all down and put out an article, but then again, I wonder if they'd mean much to anyone besides me?
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