Mara's Giant Surprise

New York Football Giants COMM's

5/4/2022: Major Shakeup in Giants Front Office

The following have been fired from the Giants organization.

Ken Sternfeld     Pro Scouting Executive with the team since 2002
Matt Schauger    Senior Proscout/Football Systems analyst with the team since 2005
Chris Pettit         Director of College Scouting  with the team since 2005
Kyle O'Brien      Senior Personnel executive hired last year

Joe Schoen became the Giants General Manager at the end of January. He was smart enough to leave things as they were heading into the draft. There is enough work to be done just getting through a draft. 

When building an organization, corporation of Football team when new management takes over you would expect major personnel changes. But the New York Football Giants are rather unique. Employees become family. Sometimes firing family becomes difficult. These men with the exception of O'Brien have been with the Giants for 15-20 years and multiple General Managers. So true change has not really occurred for the Giants in over a decade. These firings are a good sign because they indicate the Mara family could finally have relinquished control of the team and realize change is truly needed. Joe Schoen would not have been able to incorporate his views and build the culture he envisions with the same people who have been running the show for the last 15+ years. This is a good sign that Joe Schoen is in charge and is indeed rebuilding the team. Fans just have to hope his vision is a winning one. 

Some sites are speculating players selected in the past are going to be released or shopped because they were not Joe Schoen players. To be successful Schoen cannot have this petty character. Although since this now appears to be Joe Schoen's team one can expect the players he selects and keeps are those who does fit into his vision.

All in all these firings are a good sign. Now lets hope Joe Schoen is a good General Manager. 

Key West A Necessary Escape

 Too much stress will kill you as fast as too many cigarettes. S

Diabetics should know that tress will also cause high blood sugars. I would not be surprised to find stress raising sugar levels as much as a bowl of ice cream. So here we begin a 5 day tip to Key West with Kelli, Tim, Allison and the grandkids Timmy and Nate. Sugars have been near 200s for nearly a month now due primarily to stress. Here we are at day 2 and sugars are back down averaging closer to 120. Unbelievable how that works.

How stress gets you or specifically how it gets me. The first thing that happens is my mind starts going into overdrive. This then makes it difficult to fall asleep. Staying up late exhausted leads to consuming unnecessary calories and usually a higher carb food snacks. Then metabolism starts to slow because you simply do not have the proper amount of energy due to the lack of sleep. Shows you how important sleep is to your body. Now weith your energy at a lower level it is more difficult leads to stay active. So you drag your ass around, working out or even just walking are thrown out the window and the downward spiral continues. Sugars continue to go up and remain up, this leads to an increase in insulin which increases weight fueling the downward spiral further. Higher sugars also lead to  depressed state of mind and that further increases your desire to be active. 

Last quarter A1C was 5.6 the next test is scheduled for next week so we will see the effect of this latest downward spiral. Since the A1C represents approx 3 months of sugar levels I expect the results this time will be sharply higher then the previous.

Getting away is one method to break up the downward spiral. And my first ever trip to the Keys seems to be working well.

The First Meal

 Upon landing in Key West we made our way to the realtor office to pick up the keys to the house. Unfortunately we would have t wait several hours for the house to be ready. But hey 'We're on Vacation' Its lunch time and we are on foot. The first place we came to also recommended by the realtor office was the Oasis Mediterranean Cuisine. This is a really cool place with outside seating surrounded by palms trees and tropical bushes. A very large iguana was perched above us for most of our meal. 

I had the Chicken Shawarma while Kelli had her go to Chicken Gyro. These were each 9.99 and well worth the price. 

The chicken was cooked perfectly and the flavor was incredible. Wrapped in pita that was out of this world. The water brought to the table was in a fancy bottle unfortunately it tasted like bad tap water. The service was not too good unless you wanted to be left alone. The order was taken quickly and food delivered promptly but that was it until we were done. I could have used something to drink but the server was no where to be found after he delivered the meal. Regardless the meal was delish. 

We were well satisfied and moved on with several hours before Tim, Allison and the boys were scheduled to land and the house would be ready. 

Giants 2020 Draft Day Speculation

The NFL is preparing for its first ever virtual draft. No big deal for Fantasy Football owners who have been doing this for decades. The question for all Giant fans is who will the team pick for with their first round fourth overall pick. There are big names out there. none bigger then Chase Young who is the top rated player this year. Unfortunately the Giants handed him to the Redskins when they came back from behind to defeat them on overtime on Dec 22. If the Gmen lost that game they would have secured the #2 pick which will likely be Chase Young. But as my Grandmother used to say "Ifs don't help you out in life after all If your Aunt had balls she'd be your Uncle or Bruce Jenner" So barring some crazy QB crazed, draft pick trading spree the Giants ain't getting Chase Young. So then who....

It will be interesting if not kind of dull this year during the draft without the fans present. There is nothing more entertaining then watching the faces of Giant Fans go from excitement to WTF expression instantly upon the Giants pick announcement. See the Giants are notorious for picking players nobody else sees. Look no further then last year when the Giants selected Daniel Jones with the 6th overall pick. Experts and fans both were shocked thinking the Duke QB would be available when they selected again in the first with their 16th overall pick. But the Gmen march to the tune of a different punter. The wanted Danny Dimes and felt he would not have been available when they selected again. Phil Simms agreed with that assessment and there have been some after the fact rumors other teams like Denver would have selected him before the Giants were back up on the podium again. Daniel Jones appears after his first season to indeed be the 5th Manning and has the perfect Eli personality for NY.

Chances are when the Giants are up the best rated player will be Isaiah Simmons from Clemson. The 6' 3" 238 pound is an extremely gifted atletic talent who can be placed just about anywhere on the field. He would be the Giants first linebacker with the ability to cover a TE in over a decade. Fans only have to remember both Eagle games from last season to recall what a joke this position has become. The Eagles pounded the Giants with simple screens and passes to TE and RB. Eagle fans and the rest of the nation were laughing at how miserable the Giants looked. Simmons speed and abiltiy to cover would put an end to that debacle. Coach Judge during his first interview as Giants head coach was asked if he would change the defense from its current 3-4 back to a 4-3.

Coach Judge stated “.. “We’re going to look at the best path, and that could change week by week. So, we want to build in versatility with our players and be able to use multiples on all sides of the ball,” 

With that quote in mind Isaiah Simmons is his man and combined with Safety Jabrill Peppers the schemes a creative and open minded coach could create would be legendary.

The Giants have used their last two first round picks on Sauqion Barkley,number 2 overall in 2018 and Daniel Jones number 6 overall -2019. Now they must protect these investments therefore they select one of the highly rated OT's. They can trade down pick up more picks and still grab one of the top rated tackles. I fear Giants GM David Gettlemen negotiating a deal would be like Barney Fife playing poker.

Monitoring the experts mock drafts
50% of them have the Giants selecting OL Tristan Wirf from Iowa another very athletic beast.
15% say Mekhi Becton from Louisville. A big man at 6'7" and weighing in at 364 pounds. He has a lot of work to do but of the top OT's he is considered to have the highest ceiling.
15% say Isiah Simmons
15% say the Giants will trade down then select Wirfs
1 person predicted a scenario where Redksins trade their pick QB's go leaving Giants with Chase Young ...IF

A classic Giants move would be to select DT Derrick Brown from Auburn who has been making a late run up the charts. Brown is one of the top interior linemen a worthy pick but the  Giants traded their stud DT Damoin 'Snacks' Harrison then selected Dexter Lawrence a younger faster version of Snacks last year in the first round. To pick et another would be redundant and with the glaring holes on both sides of the ball this would not b a productive move.

Two other OT have been being discussed quite a bit especially if a trade down is negotiated.
Andrew Thomas from Georgia who is considered the most pro ready of the group
Jedrick Wills from Alabama. Wills played for Joe Judges mentor Nick Saban and also Giants current RB coach Burton Burns who was on Saban's Alabama staff last year. In the year when personal visits can not happen because of Corona virus Wills might be the pick especially in a trade down situation.

This covers the field and I would bet a dollar the Giants who march to the beat of a different drummer at drat time will pick someone not even mentioned. We will find out in a few more hours.

Git Em Out of 'Ere

 This is the current 2021 odds Dey Aint Gonna Be Giants Soon. An ongoing tracking of odds the following players or coaches will not be with the Giants organization next year or sooner. There is no science to this in fact it is based on emotions, observations, common sense and more emotions. It is not posted after a game because at that time there are too many emotions involved and tend to distort the already distorted and complex calculations. The mob is forming, gaining in size and momentum. The players and coaches listed may not deserve the target on their backs but times like this frequently involve one or more scapegoats. 

Jason Garrett OC 65% up 30%

Fans are ready to burn the place down. They want blood and the mob has to be given someone. Jason Garrett is a big target. Although the offense has not been playing poorly they have not been winning games. And today if you can't win you suck. Sounds like a President Trump quote. Garrett is the easy scapegoat right now. Freddie Kitchens is on standby waiting for the call. The Mara’s are feeling the pressure, Joe Judge is feeling the heat. Giants swapped offensive line coaches last year swapping Garrett and Kitchens would provide an easy transition since the general strategies would not be drastically altered overnight. 

Evan Engram TE 65% up 47%

The promising and talented Engram has too many drops and too many injuries and yes we are including his recent fumble against the Falcons as a drop. First round talent must make game changing plays, Unfortunately Engrams game changing plays frequently benefit the opposition. The Giants had an opportunity to shop Engram last year after his selection to the Pro Bowl. This season his contract expires and after three games it does not look good that he will come close to repeating last season's performance. He is a hard worker with a positive attitude and he is playing for a payday. It would be a mistake and affect the team's ability to move the ball and his market value. The stars are lined up for him to have an impactful season, cutting his playtime after last week's performance or to be influenced by the mob would be a mistake. He should be a big part of the offense but the odds of the Giants signing him to a new contract in the offseason is about 35%. 

David Gettleman GM 35% up 10%

Gettleman showed impressive skills in the most recent draft. Too bad he wasn’t able to do that throughout his tenure with the Giants. In 2017 when he took over the reigns for the Giants he has stated the offensive line will be his priority yet the offensive line is a major contributor to the Giants offensive woes. This combined with multiple draft selections and free agency pickups that cost the team draft picks and salary money but did nothing to halt the losing will lead to his downfall.

Patrick Graham 20% Up 10%

His defense held pretty good for most of the game holding the last place Falcons. Allowing the Falcons to score as the first half was ending and then twice in the 4th quarter shows his Mother Theresa defense is not enough to win. The loss of Giants Captain and defensive signal caller Blake Martinez can be devastating to the team and will make Graham’s job that much more difficult. 

Joe Judge HC 20% up 10%

The offense plays scared. When it comes to crunch time Garrett deploys the classic prevent offense and the Giants offense goes nowhere. Show them your trust and give them something to make them proud. Get Daniel Jones moving, move Barkley into open field, let lose a deep receiver, something has to be done tol generate a spark. There were several opportunities in this game. At 4th and 4 at the Falcons 39 would have shown the faith and had they converted the crowd would have gone wild and the entire offensive unit may have instantly grown a set of much needed Giant sized balls. Joe opted to punt. It was perfectly executed giving the Falcons the ball on their own 5. The defense then did their job and held the Falcons forcing them to punt and the Giants next drive went for a touchdown. All in all a smart play. Right? Absolutely if you have been winning games and are playing for field position. Coach has to recognize his offense needs something more than field position. They need a shot of white lightning and the Coach has to inject it. This 3rd quarter 4th and 4 was the perfect time to do so. Or perhaps a fake field goal in the second quarter with 4th and 6 on the Falcons 13. You have room to gain the 1st down or even score. Come on Coach, you know the game,the strategies and you know how to communicate and teach but it's time to inspire and get your players to BELIEVE! Something is going to have to be done asap. This team is the best 0-3 team the league has seen in decades. Throw out the book and get into the mind and soul of your players. An easy start is to fire Garrett but regardless its time to find the opportunity in the next game to get your players to believe.  

Daniel Jones QB 10% down 5%

Jones has been playing very well. Putting up numbers minimizing mistakes and turnovers. He needs a set of balls as well. So when Garrett moves into his prevent offense Jones should balls up audible out of it and show everyone he is not only a leader but his teammates surrounding him can play. 

Saquon Barkley RB 5% Down 3%

Everytime Barkley gets the ball his mind becomes a little more relaxed and not thinking about his knee and all the what ifs. It is not fair to put too much on his shoulders. Give him more time so he knows he doesn’t have to sacrifice himself for the team, not just yet anyway. 

Chris Mara VP Player Personnel Part Owner 5% New to list

How do you get rid of an owner? You really don’t. But you can remove some of their authority. Chris Mara has been scouting talent for the Giants going back to 79. He did run Prorate Inc., a scouting service with several NFL teams as clients. He also managed an arena football team, the New Jersey Gladiators. As owner he is not going anywhere but if this season continues to show no hope his role with the team may change in the offseason to quiet the mob. And if his role changes then John Mara can change his title as well.

John Mara President; CEO Part Owner .05% New to List

John Mara spent his entire life working for the GIants in one way or another. He has done much to improve the NFL and is well respected throughout the league. The mob may be chanting his name but chances of him stepping down are slim. A reorg of the organization chart may shuffle names but John  and Chris for that matter will always be providing advice.

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