Friday Fan Day Mailbag

Welcome to our Friday Fan Day Mailbag. Each week I'll pick a few reader-submitted questions to answer on the site.

Want to participate in our Friday Fan Day mailbag? Send your questions to us at nygiantsmaven@gmail.com.

From Ted M:

Do you have an update on the status of Julian Love? He was highly praised in the preseason but seems to have no role now.

What's up Ted? I've spoken to Julian quite a bit and he is keeping his nose to the grindstone and his spirits up. You have to remember that he's learning a new position--free safety--which was one I don't believe he played much of in college.

While he had his moments in the preseason, remember a lot of those moments came against competition that's no longer on NFL rosters and in games where there was no game planning.

I fully anticipate that Love will see his role expand as the season goes on. He's a really intelligent young man who works at it and I think once he gets out there, he'll be able to play at the speed they need him to play at.

From Seth F:

Gettleman's drafts in both 2018 and 2019 look like a major success for NYG. The accepted wisdom is that it takes 3 years to properly evaluate a draft. With that in mind, what changes were made to the manner in which NYG evaluates and values college talent compared to the Reese era?

Hi Seth. I think there were a few changes made to the organization's drafting philosophy.

The first is they no longer draft "athletes;" they draft football players. So no more of these "underwear Olympic heroes; rather, they go for guys who have the production in football-related activities.

Another is they pay closer attention to the medical reports. Earlier in Reese's career, I believe he took some chances on players who were coming off injuries. The Giants do a better job of vetting those players now.

Character is also a big change. Whereas some teams put talent above all else, the Giants look for guys who have talent AND character because they know that a harmonious locker room is how you build a winning program.

Gettleman has spoken about wanting guys who hate to lose, and I think if you were to survey the players after a loss, you'd see just how much losing eats away at a vast majority of them and how hard-pressed you'd have to be to find guys who are just glad to collect a paycheck. of them.

Then there are some other minor (to me) changes like how they scout players. But I think the biggest difference--and this is only my opinion here--is that I sense Gettleman and the coaching staff are much more on the same page than Reese and Coughlin/McAdoo ever were.

From Jeff C:

What is your opinion of DC/ James Bettcher?. You talk about discipline/ smarts how much that falls on coaching?

Hi Jeff. As far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out on Bettcher. There are certain things I've seen that I still don't care for, but with that said, I do like the tweaks he made last week, which I think helped a depleted linebacker corps.

As far as discipline/smarts, I think those are two-way streets. Coaches have to be good teachers and find ways to resonate with the players. If they're not, then you can't expect the players to be good.

It reminds me of a high school math teacher I once had for pre-calculus. This man walked in on the first day and started drawing an equation on the chalkboard and gave no explanation as to how to solve it.

Not being very good at anything beyond basic math to begin with, I was lost the entire semester. When I got to college and took pre-calculus my freshman year, I had an outstanding teacher and I was getting As on tests. The difference was the teacher.

It's the same thing with coaching. If you take the time to find ways to resonate with those you're teaching, that will pay dividends on game day.

So yes, I do believe discipline and smarts falls on coaching, but with that said, if you have the best teacher int he world and you don't study or work at your craft, then you're not going to excel in whatever it is you're' trying to do.

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