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New York Giants Mailbag: "Heating Up" Edition

Let's check in with the readers to see what's on their minds this week as we get ready for the combine.
Patricia Traina|
New York Giants Mailbag: "Heating Up" Edition
New York Giants Mailbag: "Heating Up" Edition

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New York Giants

If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please use this link to avoid having your question land in spam. You may also post your questions on X (formerly known as Twitter) to @Patricia_Traina, hashtag #askPTrain. Please note that letters may be edited for clarity/length.

(From James S.) Why aren't tackles drafted directly? You always hear he played guard, and we can convert him.

Good question, James. I think it's because, in college, many tackles don't have pro-level qualities to play the position at the next level. Those qualities include footwork to get oneself into proper position in both the run and passing game (and having a good kick-slide helps against speed rushers), hand placement, hand punch (necessary to jar a defender backward), leverage and balance (you don't want your tackles on the ground every play).

Some college tackles do have these qualities. Still, for the most part, between these qualities and size considerations--ideally, you want your tackles to have a long wingspan--these are just some reasons college tackles get moved inside to guard when they reach the NFL.

(From Jerry P.) What 2-3 key things will change with the new D and Special Teams coordinators? Also, what changes will the new O-line coach, Carmen Bricillo, bring?

Jerry, it's probably too soon to say what will change as we haven't seen the spring workouts yet. My guess is with the new defensive coordinator, you'll see a little less blitzing and a lot less emphasis on man coverage. Hopefully, with the new special teams coordinator, we will see better lane integrity and a more seamless transition if guys have to be pulled from the unit for offense or defense due to injuries. And as far as Bricillo goes, I hope we can get close enough to watch him work with his pupils because I want to see how he's coaching them regarding pass block angles and footwork. 

(From Joe G.) Don't see drafting a QB. DJ is a good quarterback who has played behind bad offensive linemen his whole career. Has never had a # 1 WR. Last season, in his six games, he was sacked 30 times. Hurts was sacked 39 times in 17 games. Hurts has two # 1 WRs; we have none. DJ was pressured over 45 % of the time. His O Lineman got hurt early and missed games he played. The OC play calling was not good running or passing. They played slow, lacked creativity, and did little for in-game adjustments. They kept running the RBs into the middle of the defense behind a bad OL. Mostly ignored quick passes and waited for WR to open instead of developing quick-timing passes. Played slow.

The starting offense hardly played together in preseason games and wasn't ready to play in real games at the beginning of the year.

The two SB teams had two of the top three defense teams in 2023. The Giants defense did DJ no favors also. In the five games DJ lost, the team lost by an AVERAGE of 23.6 points per game, with the closest loss being by 15 points, a high of 40 including 18, 21, and 24 points. Tough to win under those circumstances. However, the defense played better, mostly in the latter half of the season.

The Giants have to stop taking the same old approach of waiting till the next year to see how our existing OL will develop. It doesn't. They have to draft to fix the O Line, NOW. Success demands it. Without O Line improvement, without an upgrade in D talent, it doesn't matter who the QB is; the Giants will always be losers.

Want A new QB? WAIT! Let's fix the talent level, get better O Line players with the new OL coaching, get a # 1 WR, get creative, play faster with the play calling, and we'll see IF we need a new QB. If the Giants waste a chance to get a good player and draft a QB and they keep losing, Daboll and maybe even Schoen will probably be on the hot seat and may not be around to see when or IF a new QB would develop. With the possibility of losing their jobs, it would be foolish to draft a QB to sit on the bench without first fixing their ACTUAL weaknesses. Draft to fill actual holes, not perceived ones. The Giants have the quarterback of the future now, and his name is Daniel Jones.

Joe, I appreciate the contribution, but you're not changing my mind on this. I'm tired of all the excuses for why Jones hasn't worked out. You keep ignoring his injury history and the flaws in his game, such as a reluctance to attack defenses deep (which DeVito and Taylor both did with success). Read this article, which does a great job of summarizing the situation. The bottom line is that you can think whatever you want, but you're not changing my mind. Let's agree to disagree and move on to another topic moving forward.

(From Mark W.) Would it not be prudent for the Giants to use the Transition Tag on Barkley or McKinney? This way, the Giants get some type of return on their investment.

Mark, the Giants wouldn't get a return on their investment if they used the transition tag. I explained it all in this article. And while I know that's been reported as a possibility, I am not sure the Giants would want to tie up $13 million for one year in a safety.

(From Ed C.) Most people are complaining about the downseason the Giants had in 2023. 6-11 is awful, but in 2022, they were 9-7-1, and it was a great year. The only difference in the records were the three games the Giants lost in 2023 that they should have won (Jets, Bills, and Rams) and the games they were lucky to win in 2022. Maybe a healthy Jones would have won those three games. What's your take on the difference between the two seasons?

Ed, I talked about this with Osi Umenyiora on my latest podcast, but in a nutshell, the Giants had a perfect storm to sabotage them. I didn't, for example, like how the team was prepared for the start of the season--I thought it was a mistake not to get the starters more playing time, and when Dallas punched them in the mouth, they never recovered from that.

I think being asked to play three games in ten days was a killer, as were several injuries that exposed a significant lack of depth in certain positions. And I think Daniel Jones's regression, even before the injuries started piling up, was a big red flag, as was Wink Martindale's refusal to adapt.

I hope that Schoen and Daboll took some valuable lessons from last year and won't make the same mistakes again this year.

(From Michael B.) Personally, I don't think the Giants defense gets enough credit, when you watch the games they play really good D until the fourth quarter (unless it's a close game, which they still play well), they just get gassed by our atrocious offense. What's your opinion there?

Also, seeing as Bowen runs a decently similar defense, With a focus on safeties and LBs over Wink's CBs and DEs (please correct me if I'm wrong), I'm expecting us to improve (and not need an overhaul) especially if we can keep McKinney (which I doubt) or draft/sign a good replacement, do you agree?

Michael, as I see it, you have to play four quarters. To say that the Giant's defense played "really good defense until the fourth quarter" says the defense was lacking. I don't think you can even say that the defense was getting worn out thanks to the offense's ineptness, as according to the NFL's official stats, the Giants offense averaged 29:27 in time of possession.

From what I understand, Bowen doesn't play as much man coverage as Martindale did (though, to be frank here, I'm not sure how much of what the Titans ran was purely his doing versus Mike Vrabel's.)

(From Matthew C.) In 2020, the Steelers chose to try to "build the team up" before taking a QB, trading their 1st rd pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick, and taking WR Chase Claypool with their early 2nd rounder.

It was widely known that the 2020 draft class was strong at QB, and the projected 2021 class was very weak. They ended up waiting until 2021 and taking Kenny Pickett, which led them to search again for a QB only three years later. If the Giants take a WR or OL early in this draft and wait until later rounds or next year for a QB in a draft class projected to be bad at QB, do you see the Giants in the same boat? Should we trade up or take one at 6?

What's good, Matthew? Thank you for being a Locked On Giants everydayer (are you also a member of the "Blue Crew"? If so, thank you for that as well!) and, of course, for all you do to ensure public safety.

I have been screaming about how the Giants didn't ensure a solid foundation when they drafted Daniel Jones and that they can't make the same mistake again. Alas, given how their record has turned out since drafting Jones, I don't think they're in a position now to ensure that everything is perfect for the next quarterback because they have to start producing. I think they have a good enough coaching staff to optimize the talent, which, while not necessarily perfect, should at least be more than serviceable.

I also think with the Giants being in a position to draft a quarterback and with there being question marks about the long-term health and productivity of Daniel Jones, they should look to draft a quarterback in the first round. Right now, I'm not convinced they will--I think they go receiver--but once we get through the combine and new information comes out, I will take a stance.

Anyway, to my point about taking a quarterback, the goal is not to pick this high again next year, so you strike while you have the chance if you have a need (and again, I think the Giants have a need).

Two early indications are that next year's quarterback class won't be as strong--that's something Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com mentioned during his conference call yesterday with the media.

Third, if Daboll and Schoen want to succeed, I believe they have to do so with their guy at quarterback. Daniel Jones tried to make a go of it, and I applaud him for all the hard work he's put in, but the fact that we're still debating if he's the guy moving forward after five seasons combined with the escape catch Schoen put into the contract speaks volumes.

That all being said, if I'm the Giants, I don't trade up unless the guy I am convinced will be the guy is there. And if the Patriots insist on including the 2025 first-round pick, then I think twice about doing that (though I'd have no issue giving up a second-round pick.

I don't have an exact count, but I think they'd have most of their scouts, medical, and personnel folks there. Now, whether they all stay there for the entire combine is another story--there have been years where I've been on the same flight back as some of their brass after just a few days there.

Interesting question. As much as I like him, I want to move on from Darren Waller. Maybe this year, he stays healthy--I hope so. But if he continues to get banged up as he has, I just don't see any logic in keeping his $14,083,750 cap hit on the books.

Probably because they're on the hook for his salary this year, and they want to try to make this work so that if they do add a rookie, maybe Jones has some trade value after this year.

All of the above, as it should be. :)

The media hasn't been in the building since the day after the season ends, so I can't answer this right now. 

Dexter Lawrence, and it's not even close in my mind. He's missed one game in his career due to injury and brings the goods every week. 

You combine better coaching with adding a veteran to that starting unit with position flexibility, and the hope is that they finally get to be a serviceable unit.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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