Giants Mailbag: Dexter Lawrence's Exit, Slayton's Release and OBJ's Milestone Chase

Welcome to the weekly New York Giants On SI mailbag! From offseason moves to game-day strategies, we'll do our best to answer your questions. (Some questions have been edited for brevity and clarity.)

From Jon Flagg: Any Giants franchise-specific milestones? How close is Odell Beckham Jr. to breaking team records?

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Thanks for the question, Jon. Disclaimer: I haven’t gotten the press box notes, which typically outline what records and milestones are imminent.

I did, however, consult the media release, and Beckham can move past Joe Morrison (1959-72) into third place on the franchise’s reception list with six more catches.

Beckham can also move past Morrison and into third place for most receiving touchdowns in franchise history if OBJ comes up with four this season.

From Andrew Bogdan: Do you think Dexter Lawrence left partially because he may not have wanted to put in the work that Harbaugh demanded? It seems odd to me that he would want to leave when you knew that, with Harbaugh as the head coach, the Giants would start to win.

Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Andrew, I can confidently say that is not the case. First, while Harbaugh has a strong history, there are no guarantees. Weren’t we all hoping the team would do better once Brian Daboll was hired? How did that turn out for the most part? Not good, right? Same with Joe Judge. How did that work out?

Lawrence wanted a change of scenery. He likely wasn’t happy with how the roster was being built, and can we be honest here? The defensive line morphed into a weakness.

I don’t want to speak for Lawrence, but perhaps he grew tired of having everything put on his shoulders, including having to speak for the team’s shortcomings every week, and he just wanted out.

I can understand if that was the case. But I don't believe for one second it was because he was lazy and didn’t want to put in the work.

From Pat Lam (via e-mail): It was surprising to hear that Darius Slayton was released after making the 53-man roster. There was rumored trade interest, but the Giants got nothing. Any insight into the reason? Was his contract too much for any interested team(s)?

Former New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hi Pat. Please see this Q&A that I wrote shortly after the move was made. It breaks down all the questions, cap hit, etc. and offers the answers you’re looking for.

From Kris Kauffeld: As fans, we hate teams like the Cowboys and the Eagles. But I'm curious: since this roster is so new, do the players feel that way about their rivals, or is it simply another game?

New York Giants face the Dallas Cowboys this weekend. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Kris, I believe every player is different, but my guess is the majority of them don’t “hate” their fellow brethren unless someone does them dirty. I suspect the players just see it as another game and let the better team win.

From Stogie Cereal: Why don't the Giants trade for an above-average defensive tackle? Use draft capital if they need to.

Stogie, if it were that easy, they would have done so by now. Let’s be real. Teams are not going to part with any player at any position just like that, especially this early in the season when everyone is still alive for a postseason berth.

And you really want the Giants giving up a Day 1 or Day 2 pick for a premium position when they can probably get a defensive tackle in next year’s draft?

And what about the cap? You think an “above-average” defensive tackle is going to come cheap?

I don’t disagree that the defensive line is a big question mark, but a knee-jerk reaction like a trade at this juncture isn't the answer.

From Kris Kauffeld: You mentioned a pre-write column. What does that process look like? How many columns do you pre-write, and do some never see the light of day?

Before there were laptop computers, beat writers used to work on typewriters and then had to fax stories to their editors. — Before there were laptop computers, beat writers used to work on typewriters and then had to fax their stories to their editors. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Kris, thanks for that question. I use hashes, e.g., “The New York Giants //beat lost to// the Dallas Cowboys //XX-XX// in Sunday Night Football.” This way, I can search the hashes and fill in whatever information I need to finalize an article.

I’ll also use color coding and create what looks like a movie script. For example, if a player is knocking on the door of a career milestone, I’ll write a graph for that. If he doesn’t hit the milestone, I’ll write another graph with hashes to show how close he came.

I only pre-write certain types of game-related content, usually when I’m on a tight deadline (translation: any games that start at 4 p.m. or later) or when I need to push something out quickly, which I’ll have to do this week once we learn Malik Nabers’ status. In that instance, I’ll have two stories ready to go.

Overall, I don’t recommend pre-writing, but sometimes it comes in handy. So next time you see an article by me that comes out quickly and covers significant news, chances are high that it was pre-written.

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