Shockey shocker -- he's still a Giant

by Ed Valentine on Apr 26, 2008 10:50 PM EDT in News Comment 13 comments

Day 1 of the NFL Draft was a wacky day. Every time I looked up it seemed someone was trading spots in the draft.

The only trade that didn't happen was the one we were all expecting -- Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints.

So, at least for now, Shockey is still a Giant.

According to Ralph Vacchiano's Blue Screen blog, the Shockey trade was never as close to happening as many experts thought it was.

GM Jerry Reese didn't want to talk about Shockey.

Again from Vacchiano.

"Jeremy Shockey is our starting tight end, guys" he said. "I'm going to leave it at that. Let's talk about our draft pick. There's really nothing to talk about. Jeremy Shockey is our starting tight end and really that's the end of the story."

The Giants spent both of their picks bolstering their secondary. Kenny Phillips of Miami, a safety, was their first pick at No. 31. He is the guy the Giants seemed to target and it seems like an excellent choice. He was the best safety in the draft and fills a need.

The second pick, cornerback Terrell Thomas, comes with lots of questions. There are some questions about his durability and his speed. This selection addressed a definite need, but was still a bit of a surprise.

I will be back tomorrow with more on both of these guys.

0 recs | Comment 13 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Ed - thanks for the live blog

I was lurking - I don't follow college ball, so I really had nothing much to add, but I enjoyed the conversations

One quick comment on the round two selection. Early last year, one of the Philly fans posting on this board that the key to a "Spags style defense" was a secondary that could cover 1 on 1. Looking at the corps of young corners the giants have - Ross, Webster, Dockery, Pope, and now Thomas, and I think we have seen the last of Madison and McQuarters

Earth Friendly Shopping
Voting with our dollars for a cleaner, greener, better world

by NYERinSF on Apr 26, 2008 11:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I remember that

what bothers me about thomas is I keep reading that he is better in a zone scheme, though he is called a bump and run corner. We shall see. this is what Reese gets paid for.

by Ed Valentine on Apr 26, 2008 11:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Regarding Shockey

I think the Saints were testing the waters to see if the Giants were disgusted enough to dump him cheap. They aren't

I guess, if there is still someone on the board that the giants really really want when the saints are up tomorrow, it COULD happen, but I think it is unlikely

Earth Friendly Shopping
Voting with our dollars for a cleaner, greener, better world

by NYERinSF on Apr 26, 2008 11:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Study Break

Figured I'd check up on here. I loved the Kenny Phillips pick, not so sure how I feel about the cornerback. Considering how many injury problems the Giants always seem to have, I don't know how I feel about drafting a guy who has a major injury red flag. That said, I've learned to trust Jerry Reese, so I'm more than willing to give this guy a chance. Just kinda disappointing that Connor is STILL available and the Giants didn't take him.

I'm impressed with the Steelers draft so far. I think Mendenhall might end up being the best back out of this draft, especially with McFadden going to an awful situation in Oakland, and Sweed once again gives them a nice 3-man receiving attack like they had when they had Ward/Plax/Randle-El.

I'm really pissed at the Ravens, easily my least favorite non-NFC East team in the league. Why did they have to go and draft not just one, but BOTH of my favorite college players from this past year? Flacco from my Alma Mater and Ray Rice from Rutgers. Damn them. I'll just have to hope for them to be like the Bengals and have an awesome offense with an awful defense, as unlikely as that is. Oh well...

Anyway, good first day for the Giants, they got the guy they really needed. Hopefully he'll be the next Ed Reed/Shawn Taylor and the Giants will have a dominant defense again next year.

by cjmulrain on Apr 26, 2008 11:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Just to bug you

And to make you keep coming back here!

by Ed Valentine on Apr 26, 2008 11:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not happy so far

As I said several times during the live blog, I don't like the Phillips pick.

Look, I know that Reese & Co. get paid six-figure salaries to evaluate talent and that the Giants GM probably has more football knowledge in just one of his toenail clippings than I have in my entire overweight body, but still...

Here's how I see it: Reese hit a home run last year with a draft for the ages. He bought himself a lot of goodwill - enough so that he didn't have to swing for the fences again this year. He could afford to coast a little; play it safe. And that's exactly what he's appeared to have done - selecting the guy that just about every freakin' mock draft predicted the G-men would take; a pick that was a marginal first round talent at best, but the best player at a weak position in this year's draft - a position that the Giants desperately needed.

Now, of course, we're hearing all of the right things: We didn't draft for need. He was the top-rated guy on our board. Well, how convenient that their top-rated guy just happened to be the same player that everyone thought we would take and who also filled a glaring need. Nobody is going to bash the Giants for going the conventional route. Reese did just what he was expected to do and if it doesn't quite work out... well, there's always last year's draft! I hope to God I'm wrong, but it sure looks like Jerry mailed this one in.

Anyone who tuned into this afternoon's live Blog knows that I was lobbying heavily for Auburn's Quentin Groves. He played DE in college but projects as an OLB in the pros - another area of need for the Giants. I saw a few of his games last year and was really impressed with the kid's explosiveness. Also impressed were the savvy draft mavens at Big Blue Interactive

"Athleticism and pass rush skills compare to Dallas Pro Bowl LB DeMarcus Ware. If he's in that league, I'm sure Spags will get him on the field often and allow him to use his speed to get to the QB. The addition of a guy like Groves would take our defense to another level. Groves played DE at Auburn and was often times an unblockable force. He had close to 15 QB pressures in one game vs South Florida. He's could be the most explosive front 7 prospect in this draft. He won with speed at Auburn. He does a nice job of staying low while turning the corner put heat on the QB. His game will work in the NFL. In the right situation he'll be a consistent 10 sack guy."

Groves was certainly no slam dunk. He had some health issues and character questions that prevented almost all of the pundits from projecting him as a first rounder. But he has the kind of upside that could have made this another draft for the ages for the Giants. However. it would have meant rolling the dice with the #31 pick and taking a player that many would have considered a "reach." Groves eventually wound up going to the Jaguars with the 52nd pick.

At this point, I guess I'll just have to take Reese at his word that he had Phillips rated higher than Groves. I hope he's right. Nevertheless, I can't escape this nagging sensation that the G-Men let a real opportunity slip through their fingers. Guess we'll find out soon enough...

(BTW, don't know much about the 2nd rounder, but it seems Reese confounded quite a few expectations with that one. No one can accuse him of playing it safe there)

by knickfan on Apr 27, 2008 1:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I liked both picks.

We filled our greatest need with Phillips and added depth in the secondary, the weakest spot on the team. I know a lot of BBVers wanted more help at LB, but, with the addition of Clark, aren't we where we were last year after we moved Kiwi? That worked out.

I really think we're stacked at LB, at least for Spags's schemes. Another one early might have been a luxury we couldn't afford. For the rest of the way, I think Reese'll go for the best player available. I also feel we'll see some moves down the line after June 1.

This is starting to look like last year's draft with a lot of BBVers kvetching and Reese surprising.

by george cronin on Apr 27, 2008 7:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Kvetching

George, it is the nature of fans -- and bloggers -- to think they know more than the GM of their favorite team. The GM and scouts get paid for a reason. We need to trust Reese who -- as we know -- has shown he knows what he is doing. That does not means he will be right every time, but he does know how to evaluate talent.

by Ed Valentine on Apr 27, 2008 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hey, I have no problem with kvetching.

As you say, that's the nature of the beast. I've done more than my share, but not about draft picks last year or this (so far.) I really don't have opinions about which college players are better at specific positions, but I am opinionated re what positions the Giants should fill via the draft. So far Reese and I have been on the same page (lucky me.) I also think Reese consulted with Spags about yesterday's picks and went after what the coach wanted.

Today, I think Reese will look for DTs before LBs, although he might just take the best player available. Like most of us, for this year at least, whatever he chooses to do will be okay with me.

The Connor situation is interesting. Here we are finished with the second round and he's still undrafted. Maybe if he lasts until the Giants pick in the next round they'll take him. I doubt it, though.

by george cronin on Apr 27, 2008 11:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

John Clayton

on ESPN lists the Giants as one of the biggest losers of the first day, which annoyed me at first, but I actually don't totally disagree with his reasoning: it's not that he doesn't like their picks, it's because he thinks they got greedy with the Shockey demand, and should have traded him for the 2nd round pick, which I agree with. I think he's gonna cause problems this year. I hope I'm wrong, but we'll see.

And JJ, not sure I follow your logic: the fact that everyone knows that Phillips was the perfect pick for the Giants makes him a bad pick? He was the best safety in the draft, coming from a school with a long line of superstar safeties. The Giants biggest weakness is safety. The guy fell to them. Why would they pass that up? I HATE reach picks, they so rarely work out. Phillips was probably one of the top 3 or 4 players available, and he fits a position of need. Groves was neither of those things. Sure, he has upside, but so do a lot of players. Plus, maybe I'm mistaken, but my knowledge of Groves was that he's a 4-3 End or a 3-4 Linebacker, not a 4-3 LB, which is what we would need. We don't need to try to convert TWO 4-3 Ends into 4-3 LBs (see: Kiwanuka)

by cjmulrain on Apr 27, 2008 11:45 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Losers?

Remember this, all the 'EXPERTS' hated the Giants draft last year. They rated it among the worst. And, looking back you might say it was one of the best overall drafts in league history. Regardless, it led to a Super Bowl title. So, the 'experts' can take their opinions and ... well, you get the idea.

by Ed Valentine on Apr 27, 2008 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

reports were..

That the saints only wanted to give a 3rd rounder, not a 2nd.

We'll see at the Saints next pick if anything moves forward. My guess is that it does ONLY if someone the Giants really want (Conner?) is still on the board.

Earth Friendly Shopping
Voting with our dollars for a cleaner, greener, better world

by NYERinSF on Apr 27, 2008 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs