Barden's dad believes now

by Ed Valentine on Jun 22, 2009 7:41 AM EDT in New York Giants News

Great piece in the New York Daily News Sunday about Ramses Barden. Seems his dad, a former basketball player, didn't think Barden was tough enough for the gridiron.

"When he asked me to play football, I said 'No,'" Al recalls. "But he kept begging me. 'They think I'm afraid to play, Dad.' You know, California has the reputation of being laid back, and I thought he didn't have that New York street toughness about him. And I said, 'Well, if he went and played football, maybe he'd be a little tougher.'

"The first time I went to a game, I see him coming down the field, and the ball's up in the air coming toward him, and these two defensive backs are coming toward him. I didn't even want to look. I said 'Oh, they're going to kill my kid.' Then he leaps up, grabs the ball with one hand, comes down, knocks both guys down and takes off and scores a touchdown."

That's a scenario I would love to see Barden repeat over and over as a Giant for the next 10 years or so.

Pat Kirwan of NFL.com has a look at the importance of third-down defense. He expects the 2009 Giants to be among the league's best in this important category due to their volume of pass rushers.

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I can’t wait to see Barden in action, I have a good feeling about him

And according to the stats, this is the 30,000th comment on Big Blue View, nice!!!

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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Jun 22, 2009 9:44 AM EDT reply actions

Awesome

Ramses is gonna be money once he adapts to the pro game. Everyone here knows how i feel about him though haha

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by Hoyadestroya85 on Jun 22, 2009 2:37 PM EDT reply actions

I'm not surprised the Giants didn't make the Top 10 in 3rd down defense in 2008

For many years it has seemed like we are monsters on 1st and 2nd down, causing more than our share of “3rd and longs”, and then we get too “un-aggressive” on 3rd down, and other teams put together long drives on us. No conincidence that the top 3 listed for 2008 are known for their agressive play, especially when they have an advantage of a lot of 3rd and longs, and some quality pressure-causing personnel. Let’s hope we recognize the fortunate situation our quality defensive depth puts us in, and that we act accordingly. No excuse not to be Top 5 in this category in 2009.

by Shofner85 on Jun 22, 2009 2:47 PM EDT reply actions

I've seen that a lot too

and it drives me insane the last few years when teams are converting 3rd and 14s on us

You play to win the game!

by Simms-McConkey on Jun 23, 2009 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions

3rd Down D efficiency, needs to be cleaned up?

I don’t know if would like to think that the Giant’s D had dodged a bullet (perhaps the wrong choice of words, lol) last year, but i really can’t pinpoint their sucess?

We were 5th in total D, but looking into it even further:
We were 8th in fewer 3rd downs attempted against.
-But, some of the other top-10 D’s were near the bottom.
We were 13th in 3rd downs made which translated into a ranking of 21 @ 41%.
-But, some or most of the top-10 D’s were near the top with a lower percentage.
But, we were 2nd in T.O.P that the D was on the field with 27:24 minutes!
We were 6th in total sacks and 9th in total picks.

Now i can’t say that i remembered every play, and i know the Giants personnel an all, but it appears that the D was more opportunistic on 1st and 2nd downs? Which leads me to this. The Giants O, was 2nd in T.O.P and most of the top-10 D’s too. I’m just trying to figure out why a top-10 D with a poor efficiency rating can be so successful given the extra downs to play?

Perhaps i answered my own question with the T.O.’s?

I really have never looked too deep into these kind of numbers before, but something isn’t adding up for one reason or another?! A top-10 D allowing the O with more plays, but your 2nd in T.O.P?

by Hootman on Jun 22, 2009 2:52 PM EDT reply actions

Ouch, Hoot ... my head hurts !!

You’re right, it’s tough to sort through stats to get the best sense of how good a D is, but I think the Steelers, Eagles and Ravens are clearly top defenses, and occupy the top 3 spots in that ranking. Me, I go with two primary stats:

1. % of third downs allowed to convert, because a low # means your defense is getting off the field, and not just for the first few quarters, but they won’t be as warn down in Q4.

2. # of times my “Giants Tourette’s” is activated in a game/season. These “outbursts” almost always come from allowing the conversion of a 3rd and long, while running a passive defensive scheme. It’s those 3rd and long conversions that are killers, and at least it seems like that is a chronic issue with our D, after seemingly forcing more 3rd and longs than any team I can think of (meaning we do a great job on 1st and 2nd downs).

by Shofner85 on Jun 22, 2009 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Lol, sorry, my head was hurting too

It’s just that when you start looking at several stats and how they co-relate to one another for sucess and comparing them to other teams (which, in some cases were opposite) you start scratching your head. You start asking more questions with few to no answers. I’ll take it for what it is (D rankings) but the D does have to work on that 3rd%.

“Giants Tourette’s”, lol, i know this syndrome all to well. I mean really, it’s a 3rd and a mile and they converted?!!! Enter the “outbursts”, and generally, that’s when i leave the room for a moment! lol

by Hootman on Jun 23, 2009 8:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Hell even in the 2007 playoffs

The Cowboys put together that (double digit) in minutes drive where they converted a lot of 3rd downs (eight in a row I think it was). We know the Giants won, but watching that drive (and I have watched it a few times courtesy of the DVDs I bought), I shake my ahead in total amazement that the Giants D had any energy left after getting drilled like that.

Last year, it was more of the same, often giving up long, drawn out drives to the opposition, and there would often be those 3rd and 8 (or worse) scenarios, and you could just feel the the first down coming. Very frustrating, and hard to understand why such a good defense struggles so bad on 3rd down at such crucial times.

by brisulph on Jun 23, 2009 8:40 AM EDT reply actions

heck

remember the Super Bowl? Of course, we pulled out a long, drawn out drive with a few 3rd (and even a 4th) down conversions of our own.

by cjmulrain on Jun 23, 2009 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions

The key is staying aggressive ...

Better to bring pressure and give up a 20-yard play on one 3rd and 8, and get off the field on the next one, than give up two consecutive 10-yarders playing “soft” and the drive continues.

by Shofner85 on Jun 23, 2009 8:55 AM EDT reply actions