Big Blue View mailbag: Fourth of July weekend edition

The mail’s here

Mark Cicio asks: Here’s a question/opinion that might sound a bit conspiracy-ish.

What would you say if I told you I felt that Schoen/Daboll didn’t resign Barkley because they wanted to prove to John Mara that Daniel Jones was not the QB Mara thought he was, and were willing to throw away a season because they felt it was best for the future of the team? That Barkley was the reason DJ was thought to be a good QB, while knowing that Barkley can make any QB look good, and make good ones look great? Then once proven they began to rebuild/draft the QB room into the way they envisioned it should look like?

Aside from the fact that I also feel Barkley had enough of losing and wouldn’t mind playing for his home team the Eagles. I do think pressure was put on Schoen/Daboll to help the kid who Mara famously said “we did everything possible to screw up this kid since he got here” and felt at least partially responsible for that.

Is that thought too far out there in space to possibly be true?

Ed says: Mark, I think you have been reading too many spy novels. No coach or GM is going to throw away an entire season on purpose to prove a point. Those jobs are not easy to get — or keep — and no one goes out of his or her way to put their job in jeopardy.

Schoen and Daboll were tasked initially with finding out if Jones was a guy they could work with going forward. After the way the 2022 season unfolded, the organization was curious if there was still untapped upside.

The reality, as I understand it, is this. The Giants wanted to get Barkley’s name on a long-term contract, at their number. They tried multiple times, and Barkley and his reps weren’t feeling the deal the Giants were offering.

They had to get one of Jones and Barkley to sign a long-term deal since there is only one franchise tag. Unable to get a deal with Barkley, they pivoted to Jones.

I have a question for you, Mark. I know it is summer and there isn’t much going on, but why are we re-litigating Barkley-Jones? At this point, it’s been discussed until there isn’t anything new to say. It’s time to move on.

Bob Donnelly asks: Last year there were numerous instances where the Giants “unforced errors” contributed to the losing record.

Things like:

• Delay of game
• Illegal formation
• Illegal shift/motion
• Ineligible lineman down field
• False start

The defense had its share of mistakes including off the ball penalties that extended drives and allowing conversions on third-and-long.

Given that the Giants will be facing many of the NFL’s best this year they can ill afford these types of mistakes.

In your view are these errors a reflection on the coaching or the players?

What can be done to reduce them going forward?

Ed says: Bob, to me one of the big factors is youth and inexperience. By snap-weighted age, the Giants were the second-youngest team in the league a season ago.

Reality is, young players make more mistakes. The Giants had the third-most pre-snap penalties in the NFL last year (56), behind the Cleveland Browns (61) and Chicago Bears (59).

Malik Nabers had six pre-snap penalties (five illegal shifts, one false start).

How do you fix them? I don’t think there is a perfect answer. I do wonder if head coach Brian Daboll giving up play-calling, as it seems he is going to do, will allow him to focus more of his time and energy on fixing small details.

Honestly, there isn’t any excuse for players not being focused enough to get into the prper formation or get set quickly enough before the ball is snapped.

ctscan123 asks: Was generally very happy with the offseason and agree with most that the quality of our roster, both starters and depth is much improved across the board. The one thing that still really concerns me is stopping the run. Alexander was a good get and I’m excited about him, but he doesn’t really project as a run stuffer. Golston? Really wish we could find a large Marge not named Nacho to start next to Lawrence on non-passing downs. Anyone left in free agency? Any possible trade targets? Anyone on the roster you’d be willing to move for such a player?

Ed says: CT, I am not sure there is anything else the Giants can do right now. The list of free agent defensive linemen is not impressive. Maybe someone shakes free when rosters are trimmed to 53, but there is nobody now.

Besides, the Giants did quite a bit. Darius Alexander was fourth in the nation in run stops with 23, and his Pro Football Focus run defense grade of 86.0 was excellent. Roy Robertson-Harris and Jeremiah Ledbetter are accomplished players. Chauncey Golston will help. Abdul Carter will help.

The front seven is already considered by many to be one of the best in the league. I understand the worry about Rakeem Nunez-Roches, but he’s a good player when used in a limited role. The Giants, because they had no choice, played him far too much in 2024.

I am really not sure how much more the Giants could have done to improve the front seven.

Spencer Gross asks: I’m sure this won’t go over well after reading your most recent response on why the Giants shouldn’t trade Thibodeaux but after just seeing a report on ESPN about teams asking Pittsburgh about Watt’s availability after the recent trade with Miami, how about Thibs for Watt? Yes there’s an age gap and probably some draft compensation when the Giants are already light in that but the D line could be truly monstrous. Also I understand the compensation Watt would be looking for with the Giants limited cap space would be a headache but you can’t tell me that defensive line wouldn’t be epic.

Ed says: Spencer, let’s start with the reality that the Steelers have been clear that while teams are asking about T.J. Watt they have no interest in trading their best defensive player.

I understand that Watt is a tremendous player, but I can’t think of a good reason for making this trade from a Giants perspective.

Watt is a 31-year-old player in the final year of his contract. If you trade for him, you have to give him a rich long-term extension. The Giants are a young team looking toward the future, not a Super Bowl contender looking for one final piece to put them over the top.

Would it be smart to give Watt such an extension if you are the Giants? They wouldn’t give it to Saquon Barkley, and I still think that was the right call even if the way it was handled was messy. I don’t think giving Watt that kind of money would be a smart move for the Giants.

Thibodeaux’s cap hit this year is $9.971 million. Watt’s base salary is $21.05 million. That increases the need for the Giants to get a long-term deal done that would drive Watt’s 2025 cap hit down.

Thibodeaux is 24 years old and I have said again and again that I think his best football is stil ahead.

On top of that, you still have the three players for two spots issue if you trade Thibodeaux for Watt.

In my view, it isn’t as simple as “Watt is better than Thibodeaux.”

Walker Joyce asks: Re your analysis of Robinson’s game, the thing that has always frustrated me is how often—I’d say 90% of the time—he fails to run past the sticks on a 3rd down play.

This chronically leaves him a yard or so short of earning a first down.

I can’t imagine why this hasn’t been corrected, ‘cause it’s clearly a mental error, not a physical issue.

I also don’t like how Daboll has used his tight ends, who ought to be the real go-to guys on short yardage passing downs. They’re bigger targets and ought to routinely be able to haul in a 10-yard hook. They’ve wasted Bellinger since his promising rookie year.

Do you agree?

Ed says: Walker, why are we continuing to pick on the little guy?

I get that fans still think he wasn’t worth a second-round pick. But, I think we’re at the point of making up things that aren’t his fault.

I also get frustrated when players run routes that leave them a yard short of a first down, but this isn’t a Robinson problem. It happens with every team. Sometimes I think it’s a play calling problem. A route is practiced over and over and over and over at so many steps and so many yards, and that is what guys end up running no matter the situation.

All I can do here is look at receiver success rate. In 2022, 61.3% of Robinson’s catches were deemed “successes.” Meaning, per Pro Football Reference, 40% of needed yards on first down, 60% on second down and getting the first down on third or fourth down. That dropped to 53.8% in 2023 and 42.1% last season. You know what also fell off in those two seasons? The quality of the quarterback play.

So, is that a Robinson problem? Or, is it a quarterback problem?

I’m not here to tell anyone Robinson is an All-Pro. He’s not. It is entirely possible his role in the offense will be reduced this season because Russell Wilson has not historically thrown in the middle of the field a ton. I think, though, some of the Robinson criticism is going too far.

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