Even though I did my own grades following the New York Giants' 2011 NFL Draft, I have to agree with Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News when he writes that he has "never really understood" the rush to judgment.
What it comes down to is that fans love football. They love to study it, they love to talk about, they love to argue about and dissect every move their team makes -- or doesn't make. So, silly or not, mostly meaningless or not, sometimes we give you things for one simple reason. We know you want them.
After his little commentary on draft grades, my friend Ralph did offer a nice breakdown of the Giants' draft. We have done a lot of that here, of course, but please check out Ralph's take. We all know you can never get enough.
Kevin Boss, who could leave the Giants as a free agent, is working out with the Giants' receivers and quarterbacks at Hoboken (N.J.) High School. Boss says he is not yet 100 percent after off-season hip surgery.
"I'm still not cleared to go 100% yet, but I’m out there doing what I can," Boss said. "I'm just a couple weeks away from being able to go full speed." Boss was able to work out with his teammates on Tuesday and should be a full-go for training camp."
Over at Giants101 they are speculating about the possibility of bringing linebacker Kawika MItchell back to the Giants whenever teams are allowed to begin signing free agents. Mitchell played well for the Giants in his only season in New York, which happened to be the year the Giants won the Super Bowl, and there might be an opening with the Giants seemingly unlikely to bring back veteran Keith Bulluck.
But, Mitchell? Why? At 31, he missed all but one game last season with a knee injury and, in fact, has played just six games in the past two seasons. If you are going to bring in a guy like Mitchell, you might as well just keep Bulluck who is at least one year farther removed from his own major knee injury. Or, just let Clint Sintim play and find out what you have. Maybe you bring in a guy like this as insurance, but you certainly don't bring him in and expect him to be an impact player -- something he hasn't been in three seasons.
Interesting note in a post-draft analysis by Andrew Perloff of SI.com:
The Eagles need to find a consistent starter at cornerback across from Asante Samuel. Some Philly fans believe the Giants took Prince Amukamara at No. 19 just so Philly couldn't fit that hole with the 23rd pick. The Eagles also need to bolster their defensive line, and ignored all the highly touted defensive ends to take guard Danny Watkins in the first round. The Eagles had the worst red-zone defense in the league last year and need to improve their personnel to help new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo succeed.
I really don't believe the Giants would do that -- that is sort of a silly Yankees-Red Sox thing. Still, an interesting critique of what the Eagles did -- and did not do -- in the draft.