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Reader Mailbag | Personnel Plans, Giants Success Criteria and More

Let's see what's in this week's mailbag.
Patricia Traina|

What’s up, Oscar? I have said this before, and I haven’t changed my mind. If I’m the Giants, I put Andrew Thomas at left tackle where he has played most of his college career. 

I get what you’re saying, and I think it’s a valid point, but as I’ve said so many times before, given that the off-season has been wiped out and with it, the on-field work, now is not the time to experiment with position switches.

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Thanks for the question, Ronald. I can’t sit here and say for sure who might make the roster, but I did ask Nick Falato and Gene Clemons, our site’s two film guys, to do a breakdown on the UDFAs. 

(Nick did two different entries on offense and defense whereas Gene did one.) I haven’t been able to do much work on those guys—I usually like to watch them in drills to form opinions, so if I get that chance down the line, I’ll be able to give you a better answer.

Hi Robby. That’s a great question. I’m going to go with the lack of on-field drills. I firmly believe that mental reps will only take a team so far and that at some point, you need to get out there and do it. 

The good news is that all the teams are in the same boat. Also, I don’t put much stock in the strength of schedule stat as teams do improve and change from year to year.

Hi Joe. I think Golden makes the Giants a better defense—and I say that not knowing exactly what Patrick Graham has planned. With that said, I don’t think that’s the issue. The issue, from what I understand, was cost. 

My guess is that Golden was looking for the type of payday the Giants weren’t willing to commit to. And if you think about it, it makes sense. 

The Giants are looking to generate a pass rush by committee, so does it make sense to overspend on a guy who might not fit their definition as a true No. 1 pass rusher?

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In a nutshell, for me, I think a disappointing season would be a lack of growth. What I want to see from this team this year is simple. I want to see this team make progress as it goes along. 

I don’t want to see the same mistakes being made in December made at the start of the season. I don’t want to see them start strong and fizzle off. I’m not even concerned about playoffs this year (though it would be nice). 

I want to see this team competitive—I can live with them losing if they’re competitive, which at times they weren’t the last few years. I can’t sit here and tell you how many wins I’d be happy with, but I want to see the Giants' arrow trending upward.

Pretty much for the reasons I mentioned above. They show progress and growth as a unit across the board. I don’t think anyone is expecting them to make a Super Bowl run this year, but I do believe it’s important under the new coaching staff that this team establish a baseline off of which they can build.

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What’s up, guys? There are a few things I like about Judge. One, I love this staff he put together. Some coaches tend to rush the process or let egos get in the way, but I think Judge has a solid staff, one of the most solid staffs I can recall in years. 

Two, Judge has a vision and an idea of how to get there. He’s not making it up as he goes along. Three, he doesn’t sling the B.S. you might not like the answer he gives you, but I genuinely believe he gives it to you straight and tells you what he can without giving up state secrets. 

Four, as a pet parent, anyone who loves and shelters a domesticated animal is okay in my book.

I’m sure the Giants were aware of Judge and all the coaches they faced in the past, and not just the head coaches.

Hi Eric. Yes, I do see Darrius Slayton taking the next step forward. I don’t know if you remember, but there were a couple of knocks against him last year coming out of college about his route running and his hands. 

To his credit, he kid took to coaching, worked his butt off, and was a pleasant surprise. So I have no reason not to think that in Year 2, he won’t come in focused on cleaning up some more of the rough edges in his game.

Hi Ethan. All’s been quiet on the Golden front. I don’t want to speak for Markus, obviously, but I can’t see why he’d be upset with the UFA tender. 

He can still shop his services around, and if he doesn’t land a deal, he has a job waiting for him that includes a 10% raise.

That’s certainly a possibility, but I think another, more likely reason is they desperately needed to add depth to the position. 

One thing that irked me about the Giants in the past is they wait until it’s too late to add depth to develop—the biggest example of that was the offensive line. 

Dave Gettleman seems to be better at that, and I believe that if you have guys waiting in the wings, you’ll be best prepared in the event of injury or if you end up losing someone in free agency.

Hi Andrew. This is an easy one. Teams invest a lot of money into players, so they want doctors who are familiar with sports injuries, not necessarily those who base their opinions on everyday living. 

There is also the danger of a doctor downplaying a condition that might otherwise end up being more significant. So teams tend to put more trust in the physicians they’ve worked with because of these factors.

Also, doctors can have varying opinions regarding physical ailments. So who’s to say that a player won’t find a third party doctor who is a family friend or is someone who will downplay an issue that might be minor

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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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