A Giant Monday to you all!
Rookie mini-camp (and free agent tryouts) concluded yesterday, May 2, 2010 and we know about as much as we knew before about this year’s Giants rookie class: young, raw, upside, potential, fast, athletic…that’s about it, really hard to gauge who is going to contribute and in what role come the beginning of the season in 2010.
Minicamp Notes: JPP needs a little work on his conditioning, ditto for Chad Jones (not uncommon as many of the rookies have just spent the better part of the past two months, post-combine, being wined and dined by various teams across the country. JPP has a minor back issue (is any back issue minor?) that slowed him down a bit but the size, speed, and athleticism are there. Linval Joseph is a large, powerful man who is surprisingly quick off the snap and moves real nice for a guy his size (already thinking Joseph will have a large and instant impact on the Giants defensive front). Chad Jones has a lot to learn, but is coachable and has natural talents you don’t see with a 3rd round draft choice. Middle linebacker Philip Dillard impressed Coughlin and the coaches with his speed, intelligence, and his quick pickup of terminology and the scheme.
Looking at it from a pure numbers perspective, Joseph and Dillard look like the two guys most ready to earn playing time right away and make a big impact on the Giants defensive renewal (not counting out JPP just yet of course, lots of time to go). Also encouraging is Perry Fewell, new Giants defensive coordinator. Fewell is loud, in-your-face, and is going to bring some intensity to this defense. any defensive coordinator who preaches turnovers and physicality is okay in my book.
And, yes, the Giants have apparently inked the former middle linebacker standout from Kentucky, Micah Johnson, after this weekend’s mini-camp (leak of the Micah Johnson signing comes directly from Micah Johnson and has yet to be officially announced, we’ll try to confirm soon). Micah Johnson was thought to be a solid mid-round to late-round pick after starring at Kentucky in the SEC, but Johnson went undrafted and appears to perhaps have a future with the G-men. Can’t hurt, not a guy who is going to wow you with speed, but he plays hard, hits hard, and is a good football player. Welcome Micah Johnson to the competition at middle linebacker.
Stay Blue!