New York Giants mailbag: Bye week edition

With this being a bye week, and basically corresponding to midseason, let’s open up the Big Blue View mailbag and see what questions you have about the New York Giants.

Dave Baker asks: Will any trades happen before the deadline?

Ed says: I doubt it. The NFL trade deadline is almost always a bunch of talk with very little happening. We have written about many of the rumors, but the price tag for offensive tackles is prohibitive. So, no, I would be surprised to see the Giants make any moves.

Jose Mendez asks: Do you think Bobby Hart has solidified himself as the new RT or do you think the Giants go back to Newhouse after he gets healthy?

Ed says: Hart has been up and down, to be honest. I continue to believe, as do most talent evaluators, that he is not the long-term answer at right tackle. He would be better served to be inside at guard. That said, I don’t know what the Giants will do when Marshall Newhouse gets healthy.

Scott Okusko asks: Am I the only one who thinks we don't have enough offensive diversity. Our three wide receivers are all small quick guys is there any thought we need a big xfactor type that can win one on ones like plax and nicks used to.

Ed says: We have talked about the offense quite a bit. It’s not the size of the three wide receivers. In our opinion at BBV, the Giants need to use some different personnel groupings and dig a little deeper into the playbook. What they are doing has not been working.

Luca Boyd asks: Do you think Roger Lewis will see an increased role the second half of the season?

Ed says: That’s possible. His playing time has been going up a little bit at a time. Don’t expect to see him replace one of the three wide receivers, but if the Giants go four wide receivers on occasion he could play more.

Kevin Lafaso asks: Why don't the Giants sign a real FB like a Marcel Reece? He is what Will Johnson was supposed to be.

Ed says: Reece’s name keeps coming up more and more. I agree that, on paper, he seems similar to Johnson. I wonder why someone hasn’t signed him already. He’s 31 and after seven years with the Oakland Raiders does he really want to play somewhere else? If he was still a solid player, why did the Raiders dump him in the first place? Question I don’t have answers to, but I do understand why fans mention his name.

Deron Douglass Brown asks: Why are the Giants not giving Perkins more carries? He deserves more carries.

Ed says: That is a question that also keeps coming up. His playing time has been on the rise, and I would expect that to continue during the second half of the season.

Dryan Bavis asks: I want to ask using the old aphorism about not quitting your job until you've already found a new one: Eli won't be done for a couple of years but the team needs to have something substantial in line behind him for when that time comes.

Should the Giants draft a high ceiling guy like the Pack did with Rodgers behind Favre? Or could the Giants look to use FA and nab an established but expensive QB whose already been put through the NFL roller coaster and brickabrack (A guy like Luck or Carr) ?

Ed says: I do not think it’s time for the Giants to panic about finding an Eli replacement. With all of the needs they currently have they can’t afford to go and use a first-round draft pick on a quarterback who won’t play. That said, it is time to seriously begin to consider finding whoever will come next. If you can find a guy in the middle of the draft this year or next I’d be OK with that. Those guys don’t always pan out, but once in a while you get Russell Wilson or Dak Prescott. A fourth-round pick, for example, doesn’t hamstring you for years if he doesn’t work out. As for free agency, you aren’t going to get a top-tier guy. Geno Smith, maybe, but not Andrew Luck.

Bill Garcia asks: Ed ... with Week 8 coming up, are the Giants planning on having a player return from I.R? I know Vereen was mentioned as the possible player designated to return (although that wouldn't be for another month if at all), but what about Will Johnson and his burner?

Ed says: Right now there’s no way to know what will happen with Vereen. We don’t know when, or if, he will be healthy enough to return. Johnson is not eligible to return. He was placed on IR before the 53-man roster was set, so he can’t be brought back.

Chris Davison asks: Understanding that the Giants offensive struggles come from many factors (lack of personnel, predictable play calling, sticking to 11 personnel), Eli seems to be more comfortable in the hurry up offense, where he has control of the tempo and calls. Going back in his career, he seems to play better when he is in charge and commanding the offense. Is there any reason why they aren't letting him dictate play more often?

Ed says: Wait? What? You think Eli doesn’t have control of the offense? You do notice that the Giants are in no-huddle quite a bit, right? You do notice that he is always moving guys around, making adjustments and changing plays, right? Eli has full control of the offense once the Giants get to the line of scrimmage to change whatever he wants.