Post by GordonG on Jun 8, 2018 19:42:46 GMT -5
Disclaimer: As I (Patricia) write these answers, I’ve seen TWO OTA practices (I had to miss one due to illness.) I can probably offer more detail after a few training camp practices when pads go on and contact is permitted and the media is allowed to move around to the sidelines instead of being confined to the patio where often times we have a wall of players partially obstructing our view.
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Q: Please provide feedback on how Flowers has looked. Do his feet appear more natural moving from left to right against a pass rusher on the outside shoulder? What do you see from him? Has his balanced improved. His right foot being so far back seems to put him off balance. At times he also seems to lunge at defenders rather than maintaining a solid foundation with feet under his feet under his shoulders.
A: What I have been able to see from Flowers has been a mixed bag. He is still getting used to playing on the other side so on those few occasions when I’ve had a clear view of the offensive line, I’ve seen inconsistency. But Flowers does seem to be taking well to feedback from the coaches and he’s especially taken to feedback from Nate Solder after practice when the two do drill work together. I’ll try to keep a closer eye on Flowers during the minicamp, but remember: there is no contact allowed and we might not have the ideal vantage point if we get stuck on the patio and the players either block our view or are brought to the far end of the field where it becomes extremely difficult to hone in on the little details.
Q: How are they using Ellison in the formations? He really was underutilized last season and is a talented blocker and receiver. I hoped to see him on the right side chipping to help our rt situation.
A: The Giants have been using a lot more two-TE sets than I can recall. Ellison has mainly been the in-line guy, but he’s also done some H-back work and, on occasion, some work from the fullback spot. I do think he’s going to have a larger role in the offense this year. and I love what they’re doing with moving Evan Engram all over the place.
Q: Does Jon Halapio have a legit shot at winning the starting center job? He is getting a lot of reps with the 1's at Center.
A: Sure, why not? Shurmur doesn’t strike me as the kind of coach who gives away first-team reps just on a whim. Halapio actually put together some good film last year, and if you think about it, Jones isn’t signed for the long-term. I do think the winner of that competition will get a long-term deal.
Q: Is it too early to make an assessment of the Giants special teams? The past few years (under Quinn), Giants special teams have transitioned from terrible to awful.
A: Yes, it is. Need to see this group in a game. And right now, the drills have been run at not even half speed, so I wouldn’t draw any conclusions about special teams at the moment, especially as they adjust to the new kickoff rules.
Q: I really want to know what formations they are lining up the most on offense and defense Is the offense running more 12 personnel or this still a 11 personnel team I’m hoping for more 12 personnel using Engram as a joker moving him out or in depending on the defense giving this team options from running 11 or 12 personnel with an audible.
A: I can say there has been way less 11 personnel so far and a lot of two-TE sets on offense. I truly believe the tight end is going to play a HUGE role in this offense. we’ve also seen a few two-RB sets that have been intriguing.
Q: I’m just wondering how this defense will look in a base Nickle etc. and how many linebackers we see on a regular basis.
A: I wrote something for Inside Football about this, but to answer your question about how many linebackers to expect, the most common personnel grouping he used with the Cardinals was the 2-4-5 on 48% of the team’s defensive snaps (more than the league average of 15% for this formation). Without getting too deep into the article’s detail, most of his go-to formations had at least four linebackers and no less than three, but again, that was with the Cardinals, who had different personnel.
Q: How would you compare the Coaching staff approach towards the OTA practice for McAdoo compared to Coach Shurmur?
A: I think the biggest thing about Shurmur that stands out to me is that he’s much more involved with coaching. I’ve also seen tweaks to the practices that I like such as doing fewer sessions and spending more time on what they do cover. Now I don’t know if that’s going to change, but what I mean by that is that based on the loudspeaker announcements from the past announcing the next session, McAdoo would cram anywhere from 15+ sessions and sub-sessions in one practice, spending maybe up to five minutes on each. For example, I once timed a session on ball security and it came to under five minutes on that critical skill which I found fascinating. Shurmur, so far, has mapped out fewer sessions and has spent up to 10 minutes on each. So it’s a more condensed practice but they spend much more time per session. Again, we’ll see if that changes in the summer but my guess is it won’t.
Q: I read your OBJ contract structure which I think is in the ballpark. I do not see OBJ risking injury in camp. Do you think that once OBJ is cleared medically, the contract will get done before camp starts.
A: I’m sticking by what I wrote as being the most likely scenario and that is the contract gets done before the start of the season rather than before training camp. If I’m the Giants, I want to see him do football moves to know that he’s 100% back to where he was before I backup the Brinks truck with $65 million guaranteed.
Beckham is already doing some individual drills in the OTAs when he’s been there and it’s just as easy to suffer a non-contact injury (think ACL) in individuals as it is in team work. If you have seen his rehab videos, well let’s just say there’s always a chance of something happening there as well so it’s not exactly like Beckham is staying totally away from the football field as had been reported (which I never believed was going to be the case). There has to be a give-and-take here and while I’d hold him out of the games, I need some assurance that he still has that breakaway speed that makes him an exceptional receiver.
Q: How upset is Snacks?
A: I have not spoken to Damon Harrison directly nor has he been made available to the media to ask if he is upset about something.
….
Q: Please provide feedback on how Flowers has looked. Do his feet appear more natural moving from left to right against a pass rusher on the outside shoulder? What do you see from him? Has his balanced improved. His right foot being so far back seems to put him off balance. At times he also seems to lunge at defenders rather than maintaining a solid foundation with feet under his feet under his shoulders.
A: What I have been able to see from Flowers has been a mixed bag. He is still getting used to playing on the other side so on those few occasions when I’ve had a clear view of the offensive line, I’ve seen inconsistency. But Flowers does seem to be taking well to feedback from the coaches and he’s especially taken to feedback from Nate Solder after practice when the two do drill work together. I’ll try to keep a closer eye on Flowers during the minicamp, but remember: there is no contact allowed and we might not have the ideal vantage point if we get stuck on the patio and the players either block our view or are brought to the far end of the field where it becomes extremely difficult to hone in on the little details.
Q: How are they using Ellison in the formations? He really was underutilized last season and is a talented blocker and receiver. I hoped to see him on the right side chipping to help our rt situation.
A: The Giants have been using a lot more two-TE sets than I can recall. Ellison has mainly been the in-line guy, but he’s also done some H-back work and, on occasion, some work from the fullback spot. I do think he’s going to have a larger role in the offense this year. and I love what they’re doing with moving Evan Engram all over the place.
Q: Does Jon Halapio have a legit shot at winning the starting center job? He is getting a lot of reps with the 1's at Center.
A: Sure, why not? Shurmur doesn’t strike me as the kind of coach who gives away first-team reps just on a whim. Halapio actually put together some good film last year, and if you think about it, Jones isn’t signed for the long-term. I do think the winner of that competition will get a long-term deal.
Q: Is it too early to make an assessment of the Giants special teams? The past few years (under Quinn), Giants special teams have transitioned from terrible to awful.
A: Yes, it is. Need to see this group in a game. And right now, the drills have been run at not even half speed, so I wouldn’t draw any conclusions about special teams at the moment, especially as they adjust to the new kickoff rules.
Q: I really want to know what formations they are lining up the most on offense and defense Is the offense running more 12 personnel or this still a 11 personnel team I’m hoping for more 12 personnel using Engram as a joker moving him out or in depending on the defense giving this team options from running 11 or 12 personnel with an audible.
A: I can say there has been way less 11 personnel so far and a lot of two-TE sets on offense. I truly believe the tight end is going to play a HUGE role in this offense. we’ve also seen a few two-RB sets that have been intriguing.
Q: I’m just wondering how this defense will look in a base Nickle etc. and how many linebackers we see on a regular basis.
A: I wrote something for Inside Football about this, but to answer your question about how many linebackers to expect, the most common personnel grouping he used with the Cardinals was the 2-4-5 on 48% of the team’s defensive snaps (more than the league average of 15% for this formation). Without getting too deep into the article’s detail, most of his go-to formations had at least four linebackers and no less than three, but again, that was with the Cardinals, who had different personnel.
Q: How would you compare the Coaching staff approach towards the OTA practice for McAdoo compared to Coach Shurmur?
A: I think the biggest thing about Shurmur that stands out to me is that he’s much more involved with coaching. I’ve also seen tweaks to the practices that I like such as doing fewer sessions and spending more time on what they do cover. Now I don’t know if that’s going to change, but what I mean by that is that based on the loudspeaker announcements from the past announcing the next session, McAdoo would cram anywhere from 15+ sessions and sub-sessions in one practice, spending maybe up to five minutes on each. For example, I once timed a session on ball security and it came to under five minutes on that critical skill which I found fascinating. Shurmur, so far, has mapped out fewer sessions and has spent up to 10 minutes on each. So it’s a more condensed practice but they spend much more time per session. Again, we’ll see if that changes in the summer but my guess is it won’t.
Q: I read your OBJ contract structure which I think is in the ballpark. I do not see OBJ risking injury in camp. Do you think that once OBJ is cleared medically, the contract will get done before camp starts.
A: I’m sticking by what I wrote as being the most likely scenario and that is the contract gets done before the start of the season rather than before training camp. If I’m the Giants, I want to see him do football moves to know that he’s 100% back to where he was before I backup the Brinks truck with $65 million guaranteed.
Beckham is already doing some individual drills in the OTAs when he’s been there and it’s just as easy to suffer a non-contact injury (think ACL) in individuals as it is in team work. If you have seen his rehab videos, well let’s just say there’s always a chance of something happening there as well so it’s not exactly like Beckham is staying totally away from the football field as had been reported (which I never believed was going to be the case). There has to be a give-and-take here and while I’d hold him out of the games, I need some assurance that he still has that breakaway speed that makes him an exceptional receiver.
Q: How upset is Snacks?
A: I have not spoken to Damon Harrison directly nor has he been made available to the media to ask if he is upset about something.