Kevin Gilbride Speaks!
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Who does OC Kevin Gilbride think the Giants will draft first? Now we know!
via ESPN NY:
"Gilbride told a group of high school coaches at an awards ceremony last night that the Giants are looking at Florida’s center/guard Mike Pouncey"
Nothing we couldn’t have already guessed with the state of injuries with Shaun O’hara, Rich Seubert, and Adam Koets… plus the Giants haven’t drafted an OL since 1999. They’re due!
Plus Gilbride, like Tom Coughlin before him, also mentioned that Eli Manning should take more sacks instead of forcing throws into bad situations.
"“Where he’s under duress a couple of times and you see him with the poor judgment, he’s spinning around and trying to make a play. You have to sometimes accept the sack. He protects the line and there’s not as many sacks statistically. But would you rather have a sack or would you rather have a turnover? That’s the way you have to look at it.”“When you think about what we accomplished, with the turnovers, with the injuries, it’s almost incredible to be the fifth-best offense in that league and set an all-time record for offensive production in the history of this organization. We did a lot of great things.”"
I still think Eli should not develop a habit for taking sacks — injuries, becoming gun shy, and fumbling issues aren’t exactly what I want to look forward to when the 2011 Giants season finally roles around. Instead, let’s hear some talk about reading the defense more quickly, developing a bail out strategy quicker with his receivers, running backs, full backs, and tight ends — and getting the ball out quicker when there’s a player open to advance the ball down the field. Drew Brees of all people had a similar year with INTs, and he too seemed to be trying to force too many throws into bad situations. But at the end of the season, Brees starting checking down a lot more often and taking the 5 yard gains instead of the sack or turnover… and the Saints were able to control the flow of the game much better and win some critical games. Atlanta comes to mind at the moment.
But Eli has the tools and the talent to get back on track this year, I just look for better ways then taking sacks more often to get the job done.