Big Blue fans should be excited about the Louis Riddick interview that was reportedly held on Thursday.
Overall, I believe that former Carolina Panthers GM Dave Gettleman may still be the frontrunner and brings stability to the franchise. New York Giants fans should not underestimate the importance of a stable and organized working environment. For the past two seasons that stability and organization did not exist in East Rutherford.
How so you ask?
For starters, can anyone define Jerry Reese’s player procurement philosophy? Be careful. If you say draft the best available athlete, then please explain left tackle Ereck Flowers and cornerback Eli Apple. Most draft boards did not have either player rated as highly as they were drafted. With the results that both have shown thus far, the New York Giants draft board was the one that was incorrect.
When ownership elevated Ben McAdoo to head coach, that decision doubled-down on a disorganized framework. For example, who can forget McAdoo opining about his physical offensive line forcing its will on an overmatched opponent? Based upon the personnel grouping, McAdoo was either delusional or lying to everyone.
Reese and McAdoo seem to have brought out the worst traits of the organization. Reese seems to think that any player who put on Giants blue was bound to improve. McAdoo thought whatever players Reese handed him, he could mold into NFL caliber.
When Tom Coughlin was around, surely there was some healthy pushback about player procurement. With Coughlin gone, Reese went about his business unchecked. McAdoo was simply content being one of 32 NFL head coaches.
New York Giants
Contrast that with the aura that Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay exudes in his first season in Tinseltown.
Out with the old
Current interim general manager Kevin Abrams has been classified as a salary cap expert. Unfortunately, I am not excited about him potentially taking over the operation. Managing the salary cap remains a very narrow focus of what it takes to be general manager. We all remember what a disaster that John Idzik was as GM of the New York Jets. He supposedly was a salary cap expert too.
According to Over The Cap, the New York Giants have $1,146,071 in available cap space this season. That ranks 28th in the NFL. Generally teams in the Giants position, as far as cap space goes, are reaching for a Super Bowl title. A 2-12 team with so little cap space shows poor cap management.
In other words, you may have a bunch of overpaid players.
The teams hoping for a rebound, along with the New York Giants, are the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. The Browns have $58,088,823 in available cap space. The Niners have $56,881,898 in available cap space. Those numbers are not misprints. Bad teams generally have a lot of cap space as they rebuild.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, the New York Giants have a mess on their hands.
If you want to wow me, then be like the playoff-bound Jacksonville Jaguars with $31,992,484 in available cap space. That seems like a good situation, where they can lock up some of their home grown talent. I would trust Tom Coughlin, not to screw that up.
As far as Abrams, thanks but no thanks. Ditto for another interviewee, Marc Ross, current vice president of player evaluation. What have these guys proven except the ability to survive in an organization that seems paralyzed by the idea of change?
Gettleman – Riddick team
My dream scenario would be Dave Gettleman as general manager, with Louis Riddick as vice president of player evaluation. If you listen to Riddick on ESPN, he articulates a linear thought process. For too long, the Giants have operated by the seat of their pants in terms of player procurement.
For example – how on earth could this front office go into this season thinking that this offensive line would work effectively?
The poster child for everything that is wrong with the Giants is Bobby Hart. Hart cannot be considered a starter based upon his performance. But here with the G-Men, he starts. After ignoring andrew Andrew Whitworth in free agency, New York absolutely needed to draft tackle Ryan Ramczyk.
Instead, they grabbed tight end Evan Engram. We were told this was done because Hart and Flowers would grow by leaps and bounds this season. It hasn’t happened, nor is it likely to ever happen.
As far as Engram, does he bring this team closer to relevancy? Not at all, because he does not address its most pressing need. Clearly, it’s time for the adults to take back control of the franchise. The era of “nothing to see here” is over. You cannot change what you won’t acknowledge.
Both Abrams and Ross had an opportunity to show that they belong. The results simply do not exist to make a case for either guy. The drafts have been poor, and there has usually been a salary cap cash flow crisis affecting this team.
It’s time for ownership to rid themselves of these security blankets. Seniority should not be the sole measurement by which these gentlemen are evaluated. Results matter, and hiring Gettleman and Riddick will get this franchise results.