Post by GordonG on Oct 7, 2020 17:45:42 GMT -5
I posted the following as part of a discussion in another thread. I am thinking it will get buried and that some of our younger members will find it interesting.
It certainly feels like the '70s. Let's take a look at the Giants record from 1979-1986. I am starting with 1979 because that is when Simms was drafted and that was when George Young took over. It should be noted that in addition to Simms, Harry Carson, Brad Van Pelt, Brian Kelley, Brad Benson (LT), George Martin and Gary Jeter were on the team prior to 1979.
1979 6-10
1980 4-12
1981 9-7 (LT was a rookie joining Carson, Van Pelt and Kelley on the LB corp)
1982 4-5 (Strike shortened season)
1983 3-13 (Almost got Bill Parcells fired. Created poor relationship between Young and Parcells)
1984 9-7
1985 10-6
1986 14-2
So we are looking at 8 years plus 2 HOF players plus some key trades plus solid in depth drafting from 1984-1986 plus key OL players coming over from the USFL plus no CAP to deal with to end up with a Super Bowl winner. That is what it took to get the Giants out of the wilderness.
Other than the great feeling I get reminiscing about the 1980s Giants, a key point I want to make is the number of elements that contribute to a team's success. A team's record is the last element that falls into place. My take at this point in time is that the defense is making progress. Until the OL is squared away, assessing the offense for me is essentially a waste of time. It is not as if Gettleman is ignoring the OL.
Going back to the 1980's the 1986 OL consisted of LT Benson (pro bowler), LG Ard, C Oates, RG Godfrey and RT Nelson. By 1989 the OL consisted of LT Elliot, LG Roberts, C Oates, RG Moore and RT Riesenberg (6th round pick). Obviously a key aspect of the successful transition was the presence of Oates throughout the process. It is important to note that Roberts and Moore were drafted in the first round to be the LT. Elliott was drafted in the second round in 1987 and took over LT in 1988 with Roberts moving to LG. In 1990 Elliott played in only 8 games and Moore took over LT. Bob Kratch a 3rd round pick took over RG when Moore moved to LT. The ability to effectively replace Elliott at LT played a huge role in the Giants winning their 2nd SB. I strongly suspect that the presence of Oates at center was a major factor in the OL maintaining its cohesion. Both Roberts and Oates made the pro bowl in 1990. With all of that said and recognizing that the Giants had a domineering defense, it still took wide right to get that second SB win. Oh, and there was Simms going down and Hostetler filling in after game 14.
An additional interesting aspect of the above OL transition is that the 1991 SB OL consisted of 2 round 1 picks (Moore and Roberts), a 3rd round pick (Kratch), a 6th round pick (Riesenberg) and an undrafted center from the USFL (Oates).
It certainly feels like the '70s. Let's take a look at the Giants record from 1979-1986. I am starting with 1979 because that is when Simms was drafted and that was when George Young took over. It should be noted that in addition to Simms, Harry Carson, Brad Van Pelt, Brian Kelley, Brad Benson (LT), George Martin and Gary Jeter were on the team prior to 1979.
1979 6-10
1980 4-12
1981 9-7 (LT was a rookie joining Carson, Van Pelt and Kelley on the LB corp)
1982 4-5 (Strike shortened season)
1983 3-13 (Almost got Bill Parcells fired. Created poor relationship between Young and Parcells)
1984 9-7
1985 10-6
1986 14-2
So we are looking at 8 years plus 2 HOF players plus some key trades plus solid in depth drafting from 1984-1986 plus key OL players coming over from the USFL plus no CAP to deal with to end up with a Super Bowl winner. That is what it took to get the Giants out of the wilderness.
Other than the great feeling I get reminiscing about the 1980s Giants, a key point I want to make is the number of elements that contribute to a team's success. A team's record is the last element that falls into place. My take at this point in time is that the defense is making progress. Until the OL is squared away, assessing the offense for me is essentially a waste of time. It is not as if Gettleman is ignoring the OL.
Going back to the 1980's the 1986 OL consisted of LT Benson (pro bowler), LG Ard, C Oates, RG Godfrey and RT Nelson. By 1989 the OL consisted of LT Elliot, LG Roberts, C Oates, RG Moore and RT Riesenberg (6th round pick). Obviously a key aspect of the successful transition was the presence of Oates throughout the process. It is important to note that Roberts and Moore were drafted in the first round to be the LT. Elliott was drafted in the second round in 1987 and took over LT in 1988 with Roberts moving to LG. In 1990 Elliott played in only 8 games and Moore took over LT. Bob Kratch a 3rd round pick took over RG when Moore moved to LT. The ability to effectively replace Elliott at LT played a huge role in the Giants winning their 2nd SB. I strongly suspect that the presence of Oates at center was a major factor in the OL maintaining its cohesion. Both Roberts and Oates made the pro bowl in 1990. With all of that said and recognizing that the Giants had a domineering defense, it still took wide right to get that second SB win. Oh, and there was Simms going down and Hostetler filling in after game 14.
An additional interesting aspect of the above OL transition is that the 1991 SB OL consisted of 2 round 1 picks (Moore and Roberts), a 3rd round pick (Kratch), a 6th round pick (Riesenberg) and an undrafted center from the USFL (Oates).