Big Blue View mailbag: Evan Neal, roster-building, Daniel Jones, more

16/06/2024

Robert Biggerstaff asks: Anthony’s article today got me wondering why the team could not keep proven talent which I always hate to lose. What if the Giants paid Saquon, Xavier and Brian Burns and drafted Nabers and Nubin. What would they have to change on the rest of the roster? Wouldn’t they be better this year than they currently are? Long term view be damned?

Ed says: Robert, the Giants chose not to pay big money to Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney largely because of positional value. They did not want to pay big dollars to a 27-year-old back with a long injury history. McKinney’s position, safety, is one where many teams who paid big money for someone spent the offseason cutting bait.

Sign Barkley and McKinney there is no Jon Runyan Jr. There is no Jermaine Eluemunor. So, where would offensive line improvements come from? There might not be Brian Burns, because I’m not sure how the Giants would have paid him $141 million over five years and absorbed a $15.5 million 2024 cap hit.

GM Joe Schoen made the choice to re-allocate the team’s resources to the positions he valued.

James Stoll asks: Ed, heading into training camp it appears to me that on paper the Giants project most strongly on defense, with the offense still so suspect as to be potentially league-worst yet again. Still, do you think the defense will be any good this season given the apparent talent on the roster, or lack thereof? As I look at the roster, I see 5 starters who warrant the characterization as good to very good to better than very good - Lawrence, Burns, Thibodeaux, Okereke and Banks. The remaining six spots are manned by players who will either be rookies (Nubin and Phillips) or one’s with as yet unfulfilled potential (Flott, Belton, DT du jour). Two veterans, McFadden and Pinnock, look to be in that in-between category of sometimes good but not reliably so. Neither is a front-line guy that I think anyone would feel comfortable with if not paired with a still better player. McFadden was better than expected last year paired with Okereke, but his lack of athleticism was often on display even though his instincts were often on target. Pinnock next to McKinney was not terrible but not overwhelming. The defensive line looks entirely bereft of front-line talent save Dexy. Of course CB2 is probably the most uncertain position of all. Given all those assumptions - mine of course and maybe not yours - do you see the defense as primed to be really good this year as recently asserted by Bobby Okereke? I’m struggling to see how, even though I think it will be vastly superior to the offense.

Ed says: James, you are apparently entering the season wanting to cover your eyes and not look at the product the Giants put on the field. Maybe they will be bad. Maybe they won’t be. I’m going to reserve judgment until we actually see what happens.

What the Giants have in many spots, especially on defense, are young, unproven players. That doesn’t mean ‘bad’ players. It means they haven’t proven themselves yet. I think Jason Pinnock and Micah McFadden are better than you give them credit for. Both, incidentally, entered last season unproven and showed that they were capable of handling starting jobs.

The Giants drafted Tae Banks because they think he can be a No. 1 cornerback. Now, they will ask him to prove them right. They think Tyler Nubin will be a terrific player for a lot of years, but he has to prove it. They have a number of young players at cornerback and defensive line they like, but who have to prove they can play. Will they? We’ll find out.

It would be comforting if the Giants had another proven cornerback and defensive lineman, and maybe they will acquire those players before the season starts. Then again, young players can’t prove they can play until they are allowed to play. That’s not always a bad thing.

Bob Donnelly asks: The preseason games will be here soon. Given his recent injury and injury history how much, if any, playing time should Jones get?

Ed says: Bob, that’s a conundrum and I don’t really have the answer. There was a time when I thought there was no chance we would see Jones until Week 1 of the regular season. Now, the way he is moving around, I’m not so sure.

Jones and the starting offense barely played last offseason. Jones played one series, going 8 of 9 and leading a touchdown drive. I thought that was a mistake. In an ideal world, I would like to see Jones and the starting offense play two or three series in each of the first two preseason games.

I don’t, though, know what the Giants are going to believe is medically advisable. If they believe the safe play is to hold him out entirely, they will do that. Maybe they will feel like getting out there in game action and testing the knee in live competition will be helpful.

I think the Giants will see how well he reacts to 11-on-11 in training camp, when there are pass rushers buzzing around him, and go from there.

Joseph Galiszewski asks: I think with the addition of Burns and staying away from injuries, the Giants could have one of the best pass rushing teams. Could you see the Giants using Dex, Thibs, Ojulari and Burns on the D line together quite a bit on pass rushing downs?

Ed says: Joseph, of course that’s possible. I’m not sure it’s advisable, because I’m not sure who would rush from inside other than Dexter Lawrence. If Azeez Ojulari stays healthy and earns his way onto the field, that is one potential way to get him useful snaps.

Wally P. asks: With the new kickoff rule, how does the play clock work on kickoffs, timing-wise? Does it start after a certain time passes post scoring play? Could there be some way to game the system? For example: do a last second substitution of say a “heavy” package featuring lineman to block for RB types handling a squib kicker? Or a hands group if you’re facing a kicker with a good pooch kick? When do substitutions become illegal on kickoffs?

Ed says: Wally, I’m not sure you understand how this works. There’s no kickoff play clock. The play starts on the official’s signal after the commercial break. There are no substitutions on kickoffs. You don’t see guys align and then players running on and off. There aren’t going to be ‘pooch’ or ‘squib’ kicks. There is a “landing area” between the 20-yard line and goal line that the ball has to be placed in.

If a team wants to do an onside kick, it has to “declare” that prior to the kick so the teams can align properly and get the right personnel in the game.

Here is the new rule.

Gregg Schneider asks: How do you think the new kickoff rule will impact how the final 53 is constructed since the play is more of a line of scrimmage play than it was in the past. More linemen tight ends linebackers and safeties than prior years? Also, what positions are maybe hurt due to not being able to keep as many this year? Does this favor the established teams more than teams that are in a rebuild?

Ed says: Gregg, I don’t think we know the answer to that yet. Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said the other day that what teams see in the preseason is going to impact a lot of decisions. It’s new for everybody. Ghobrial said the expectation is that the return looks more like a running play with some designed blocking schemes. Who does it favor? I think it is going to favor teams with good, creative special teams coordinators and returners with running back skills.

Robert Lumsdon asks: My question relates to roster building. Given the level of scouting, analytics and data that now goes into the draft and free agency, it must be getting harder for a GM to get an edge on their competition. If you were a GM and were tasked with building a roster with a left field approach, how would you go about it and why?

Ed says: Robert, I’m not sure there is a “left-field approach” to roster building in the NFL. The pure ‘Moneyball’ approach was tried a few years back by the Cleveland Browns, and didn’t produce results.

It’s really not rocket science. You have to use your draft picks well. You have to be right about when to trade back and collect picks, and when to trade up and chase a player. You have to manage the cap well. You have to get a quality quarterback. You have to build quality lines on both sides of the ball. You have to evaluate your own personnel correctly. You have to get lucky sometimes — like the Giants did with Victor Cruz and the San Francisco 49ers have with Brock Purdy.

None of it is easy. You will never get every decision correct. When you are trying to turn a bad team into a good one every decision that doesn’t work out makes it more difficult to climb that mountain.

The Evan Neal section

Casey Hamlin asks: Based on what I have read Evan Neal had offseason ankle surgery and was on the sideline during OTAs. With a new O Line coach and the poor season he had last year I feel this is a huge year for EN. What are you hearing around Giants camp on Neal? What would the O Line look like if he continues to struggle and they need to replace him?

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Ken Goldstein asks: Simple question that I know is on everyone’s mind and appears to be the Key to the Giants success this year.

It also happens to be the main reason it was so difficult to watch Giant games last year.

Evan Neal - When do we expect to see him practice and play right tackle this Year.

In addition, how long a leash will he have before the coach makes the move to replace him with Eluemunor.

Finally - If they make that decision - will they move him to left guard - before the season starts.

I am guessing it may take a while before he is really good at left guard.

Before they pay him for another season, he should be given time to reacquaint himself with playing on the left. To be fair to him.

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Spencer Gross asks: Do you see any similarities between Ereck Flowers and Evan Neal? After reading that quote from the Daily News about Neal “physically removed from the rest of the team.” Maybe this is just Ereck Flowers PTSD but as a fan I’m concerned.

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Doug Mollin asks: I’m admittedly getting ahead of myself, but Evan Neal’s injury is really limiting him in training camp so far. He may not be able to practice enough to win the RT job. And if he can’t win the RT job, how would he be able to learn to play guard in time to help this season either?

Perhaps he can train during the season and be ready as a backup guard or swing tackle. But depending on how this injury plays out, this could be another lost season for Neal.

And then jumping way ahead, do the Giants even bring him back in 2025 at $7.8M?

Ed says: I wrote about Neal twice during mandatory minicamp. I feel like I have answered this question again and again and again throughout the offseason.

Neal is rehabbing from ankle surgery and following the program his surgeon wants. The Giants expect him to be on the field when training camp starts. I don’t know how long the leash is, but the Giants do appear to have a plan for revamping the line if it becomes necessary. Jermaine Eluemunor would move to right tackle and the Giants would fill the left guard spot by choosing among several viable options.

As for Neal at left guard, no one should assume that Neal automatically becomes the team’s left guard if he fails at right tackle. He played the position for a single season several years ago at Alabama, has made it clear that he does not want to be a guard, and the Giants have other more experienced options at that spot. Aaron Stinnie played 850 left guard snaps last year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Josh Ezeudu was primarily a left guard at North Carolina. Marcus McKethan played there some last year. Neal won’t be handed the left guard job, and might not even end up competing there.

I understand the Ereck Flowers PTSD, and I also noted Neal’s separation from his teammates in my writing. I’m not sure what to make of it, to be honest. What I do know is that in my two years of dealing with Neal he has always been accountable for his failings, something that Flowers never was.

Here’s more on Neal from minicamp:

As to Neal’s future with the Giants, if he doesn’t win the right tackle job I have to believe there is a really good chance he isn’t a Giant in 2025. Maybe sooner.