Giants: Flip Flopping to 53
By aliconig
On Our Way to Giants Final Roster Cuts:
Okay, I can’t say that I have a ton of conviction about my picks for this year’s 53. With all of the injuries, I have changed my mind entirely too many times this preseason; and in last night’s pre-season finale, I must have flip-flopped 85 times between Carr and Painter. Frankly, they both stank (although as always, Carr was better to look at). In fact, all of our QBs stank this preseason. Even Easy E. I mean, we all know Coach Tom made the 1st team play last night to give everyone (players, coaches, and maybe even us) peace of mind that they could, in fact, execute. And thank goodness for one, 5-5 Eli Manning drive. (Okay, point made. Go sit. You’re done for the night Eli. God forbid something happens to you.)
But that wouldn’t be the case for someone we had high hopes for tis season: Andre Brown. Yep. A couple weeks ago, it was all about what Brown could do for us – on defense, offense and special teams. Today, with Stevie now on IR after an ACL last week, and Andre now likely out for a good while with a ‘leg fracture’, the only thing we can pray that Brown does for us is get the ball through the uprights every time.
One last comment before my picks. I did like what I saw from the latest new 1st OL configuration last night. Pugh is going to be a rock star if he keeps this up. He held his assignments with a great deal of toughness. Brewer – well, lets just say I liked him MUCH better yesterday than I did in the same preseason game last year. And I always like Boothe at Center.
Okay. Let me take a stab at this. A couple weeks ago I had the numbers like this:
QB (3), FB (1), TE (3), WR (5), RB (4), OL (9), DL (9), LB (7), CB (5), S (4), K (1), P (1), LS (1) = 53
I’m changing my mind for the 1st round of 53. I do believe that once we get our hands on the waiver wire, this could change:
QB (3), FB (1), TE (3), WR (5), RB (4), OL (9), DL (10), LB (6), CB (6), S (3), K (1), P (1), LS (1) = 53
QB: Manning, Carr, Nassib
Frankly, I am not happy about keeping 3 QBs, but I don’t see it happening any other way. There are players we will have no choice but to cut due to numbers, who have much more to give to this team. I have seen nothing from Ryan Nassib that says to me – ‘Wow! He is a project, but I can totally see the potential!’
FB: Hynoski
The easiest roster spot to fill.
TE: Pascoe, Myers, Donnell
Sort of tough. I am going with a gut more than anything. Adrien Robinson was hurt last night we don’t know the status. I haven’t seen much from him in games to make we get overly excited. Thank goodness Myers had a better game last night. I haven’t been overly impressed before last night. Donnell? Well, I watched him last year in preseason and just thought maybe there was something there. He showed real toughness this preseason out there. Coaches liked what they saw. I think he should be on the roster. Pascoe? Well, to me he had the best offensive preseason of anyone. He has become a Giants standard in my eyes. One last comment: Is Jake Ballard out there? Will he be next week?
WR: Nicks, Cruz, Randle, Murphy and…. uhhhhhh…. Am I going to really say this? Jernigan
If Barden had played at all in the last couple of weeks, it would be different. This could change after seeing the wires.
RB: Wilson, Cox, Scott, Andre Brown
Yep. Brown may go on 6 week IR, but we need to keep him. Scott won his (maybe temp) spot after Brown’s injury and a decent game last night, however, watch the waiver wire. This is likely to change in a week.
OL: Pugh, Snee, Baas, Boothe, Brewer, Beatty, Cordle, Diehl, Mosley
Here are my thoughts. And this is my opinion – not necessarily what the Giants will do. Look to see whom the Niners cut from their stacked Offensive Line. I’m sorry – stacked everything. But in this case, I would love to see who becomes available to get a little stronger in the depth chart here. Diehl has at least 4 more weeks before he can return, and we don’t know the true status for Baas’ return.
DT: Deep breathes here. The DL is not going to be a fun cut day for the coaches. Joseph, Jenkins, Hankins, Rogers, Patterson
A good friend of mine, who is very close to the Giants, makes a good case for Austin over Big Mike Patterson. And it’s a really logical case – Austin had a good preseason, and the Giants typically do like to finish a project into which they have invested so much energy. But my gut says Big Mike. He had a great preseason, was heavy-handed, and I seemed to always look up and there he was. By the way, Marcus Kuhn is still on the PUP.
DE: Hmph. Tuck, JPP, Moore, Kiwanuka…. and…. Someone whose name begins with the letter T… okay, okay… Trattou.
This one kills me. Too many good ones. It is such a toss up between Tracy and Trattou here. It could really go either way. Great preseason, Tracy had more early reps, Trattou just seemed to be able to get things done when he was in. I threw a dart here. In fact, I flip flopped typing it 10 times. I think it can go either way. Fan fave Ojomo, unfortunately won’t make the cut, and from I keep hearing, while he does show up in games, he doesn’t show up at camp, and we have to look at this holistically. Broha was absolutely in there last night, but it’s a numbers game. I hope a couple guys can make it to the Practice Squad.
Linebackers: Connor, Herzlich, Paysinger, Williams, Bosworth, Rivers
Ah yes. They made this easy too. They finished with cuts to this group last week. Question remains, who is the starting MLB? Herzlich has had quite a stellar last 2 weeks.
CB: Amukamara, Webster, Ross, Thomas, Hosley, McBride
Again, SOOOO close between McBride and Charles James, and the way James edges it out is if they see no other option for Punt Returns. Apparently McBride has been in the league too long to make the PS, and so I hope we can maintain James on the PS.
Safety: Grrrr…. Rolle, Mundy, Tyler Sash
We are depleted here with injuries. Hill is suspended for 4 games to start the season. Sash has a concussion and we have no idea what that means as far as time. Cooper Taylor only played in his first game last night. He had a good Special Teams tackle. He had a missed one too with a terrible angle. I hope there is some way to keep him going – I think he has more upside than Sash. I almost picked him in a wildcard over Sash.
Special Teams: Weatherford, Josh Brown, Zak DeOssie
Wonderful Weatherford – is there nothing this man can’t do? DeOssie – next time you’re watching a special teams play, look for 51. He is ALWAYS in the middle of things. ALWAYS. Most Valuable, Least Noticed. And I think I already commented on Brown. What can Brown do for me? Kick a 56-yard field goal to win the game next week against Dallas.
And there you have it. Those are my picks. Lets see what happens in the next 24. I think it’s only the beginning. Expect it to flip flop after other teams make their cuts.
ALL IN.
Ali
Follow me on Twitter @aliconig