Hey there, folks. Today is a very exciting day because, for the first time since I debuted the "Matt-urday Mailbox" via the GMEN HQ newsletter, I have received so many submissions that I felt the need to debut the mailbag in article form.
Truly historic stuff. Thank you for being a part of history with me.
It's been a few Saturdays since I answered your questions -- I have been traveling around quite a bit and took some time off as the New York Giants are in the thick of their offseason lull. But just because the team wasn't necessarily busy doesn't mean I wasn't.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the privilege of covering the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. I had the honor of meeting and speaking with the best Special Olympics athletes the States have to offer. I learned more about myself during my five days there than I had over the past several years -- talk about a life-changing experience.
After I got back from Minnesota, it was off to England for a week for a wedding. Black tie was not optional, so a tuxedo and being on my best behavior were mandatory. Despite those very big obstacles, it was an unbelievable time. I even got to the pubs at 1:00 am for the England-Mexico World Cup game (which was absolutely electric).
But enough about me and my travels. Let's get down to business. For the past several weeks, I have been asking for your questions about the Giants via our GMENHQ newsletter (which you can sign up for on the site).
The GMENHQ Matt-urday Mailbox is open:
From Tom Ferry: I have been waiting years for NY to draft another Carl Banks and was excited when they drafted Reese. However, it looks like he will play Gary Reasons' spot. So now what? I guess Carter will be Banks. Thibo will be George Martin, and Burns will be LT. Who am I leaving out?
Tom, your mapping is dangerously accurate, but you left out some of the overlooked core of the defense. If Arvell Reese is taking the Gary Reasons spot, you are missing the veteran alpha next to him: Tremaine Edmunds, who will be playing the thumping, green-dot Harry Carson role.
More importantly, you forgot the interior monsters. Linebackers can’t run free if the middle gets pushed around, so you're missing D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris in the mix. Consider them your modern-day Jim Burt and Leonard Marshall, tasked with eating double-teams on the line so Burns, Carter, and Thibodeaux can create absolute chaos on the edges while Edmunds and Reese annihilate anything that makes its way out of the backfield.
Also from Tom: Since when and why were defensive designations changed? Off-ball LB? Edge rusher? What the hell? Why not stay with OLB, ILB, and DE?
Who's ready for a (I'll try to keep it short) history lesson?
Tom, I see where you're coming from. If you grew up on 4-3 and 3-4 base defensive alignments, looking at a modern depth chart feels like reading a foreign language. But there is a method to the madness.
The move away from classic labels like DE, OLB, and ILB gained heavy traction in the early 2010s because that's when the classic NFL defense went kaput.
In today's pass-heavy league, teams play over 70% of their snaps in Nickel or Dime sub-packages. The old names were strictly tied to outdated formations, which caused a lot of confusion, especially in contract talks. The new labels describe a player's role rather than where they stand on the field.
- Edge Rusher (EDGE): This killed the confusion between a 4-3 Defensive End and a 3-4 Outside Linebacker. Whether their hand is in the dirt or they're standing up, their only job is to contain the perimeter and hunt the quarterback.
- Off-Ball Linebacker (LB): This replaced Inside Linebackers and traditional 4-3 Outside Linebackers. It literally means the player lines up off the line of scrimmage in the second level. Their job is to read, react, play in space, and drop in coverage.
- Interior Defensive Lineman (IDL): This groups all the heavy defensive tackles and nose tackles in the trenches whose main job is to eat up space and command double-teams.
The league didn't try to change the names to make things complicated; they changed them because a 3-4 "outside linebacker" is a totally different animal than a 4-3 "outside linebacker."
From George Bocchieri: Why are we constantly reading articles about trading Thobodeaux??? While he has not lived up to his advertisement, he is still capable of putting some pressure on the QB. What happened to the theory that "You can't have too many pass rushers"?
Oh, George... you and I both, my friend. Every time I open up an article from somewhere that has some title similar to "bold trades before blah, blah, blah..." I immediately prepare myself for the Kayvon Thibodeaux trade that made the list, because of course he's on it.
I have been firmly entrenched in the camp that the Giants should not trade Kayvon Thibodeaux, especially with his value in the toilet. I, too, am part of the school of thought that a team can never have too many good pass-rushers. But I also understand that there is a business side that can't be ignored.
I recently wrote about this topic, and it's safe to say that no one can agree on what to do with the 25-year-old. Extend him, and fans will be upset. Trade him, and fans will be upset. Don't do anything, and let him walk for nothing in the offseason, and fans will be upset.
Any way you slice it, someone's red in the face.
Personally, I'd like to see Thibby figure it out in Giants blue and contribute to a defensive front that has the potential to be a Freddy Krueger-style nightmare for opposing offenses.
That being said, if the Giants could trade him for, say, a second-round pick, I think at that point, his looming extension and overall lack of consistency and health would make him all but gonezo.
From Bob Meyers (not a question, but Bob's here to get Big Blue Nation hyped for the 2026 season):
Well, it's almost July, and training camp is right around the corner! I am absolutely stoked to be a New York Football Giants fan. I just wish we had the chance to play those Ravens this season. Coach Harbaugh always made special teams a priority; just look at his special teams standings over the years. He always ensured his defense's number one goal was to rank in the top five or better, especially when it came to stopping the run. Now that we have our entire coaching staff together, it is going to feel like an All-Star staff. I cannot wait to see Skat running through defenses!
I'm looking at 10-plus wins this season. I watched the draft and saw what free agency brought to the Giants. This team will dominate on both sides of the ball. I hope everyone has a great summer! I will definitely be back when training camp starts.
Bob's a friend of the program and a lifelong Ravens fan who converted to the G-Men after John Harbaugh was fired and then hired by New York. Thank you for always gassing us up, Bob. Cheers!
From Joe Dahrea: I wonder if we are overlooking two season-changing factors: OC [Matt] Nagy, with no real proven track record for being a successful OC since he was pretty much a puppet for the Coach. The other significant concern is our offensive line coach. I believe he has only one year of experience. Are you concerned about these 2 positions?
It's easy to look at Kansas City and think Andy Reid did all the work, and it’s also fair to look at Nagy’s rocky past in Chicago and get a little squeamish. But let's put the panic meter away for now.
Nagy is an experienced coach who has won at the highest level. While he hasn't called plays since his Bears days, working with Reid and Mahomes and devising game plans has to count for something. Not only that, but Harbaugh has also given him Brian Callahan as a QB coach and Greg Roman as an offensive assistant.
His success with play-action, heavy personnel packages, and run-pass option plays is perfect for what this Giants offense is looking to do. It would have been nice had they gone after an up-and-coming offensive mind, but I'm not sure this team was ready for that. It might not be the sexiest hire, but it could be one of the smartest.
As for our new OL coach, Mike Bloomgren, I'm actually not too concerned. While last year with the Browns was his only recent season as an NFL position coach, he's a well-respected, longtime football coach who now gets a great opportunity to prove his worth with a potentially dangerous O-line in East Rutherford.
Losing Carmen Bricillo to Tennessee earlier this offseason wasn't ideal, but Bloomgren inherits a great situation. The unit is almost entirely intact from last year's top-10 squad (per Pro Football Focus). The only newcomer is rookie tackle-turned-guard Francis "Sisi" Mauigoa, taking over for Greg Van Roten. With the standard Harbs sets for his staff, this group is in very capable hands.
From Stephen Smith: It looks like Jameis Winston has found a home with the Giants and seems content backing up Jaxson Dart. Do you see him as a long-time backup similar to Gary Kubiak behind John Elway in Denver for so many years?
If it were up to me, Stephen, I'd try to get Famous Jameis to sign a 300-year contract that likely keeps him in Giants blue for the rest of his career. However, even though the Gary Kubiak/John Elway comparison is a beauty, the short answer is: Don't count on Winny staying in the shadows forever. His charisma cannot be caged.
While Jaboo has openly embraced being a high-energy backup to Jaxson Dart, his situation is very different from Kubiak's legendary nine-year run as Elway’s understudy.
Winston is a top-five backup in this league, but his stay in East Rutherford will likely be short-term for two reasons:
- His TV career is exploding: If you've turned on your television this summer, chances are you've seen Jameis acting as Fox Sports’ wildly entertaining correspondent for the World Cup. Media companies are falling in love with his infectious personality. He already has a tailor-made, highly lucrative media position once his contract runs up. That could be too much for him to pass up instead of being a backup QB.
- He still wants a ring: Jameis recently said he doesn't want to coast to the finish line, and the 32-year-old still really wants to win a Super Bowl as a major contributor, no less. He's happy enough right now under Harby, but if Dart takes a massive leap in Year 2 (fingers crossed), Winston will likely look for a starting bridge-quarterback opportunity somewhere else rather than staying a clipboard warrior for the next five-or-so seasons.
The Giants could find a better insurance policy for Dart right now -- especially with new quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan begging Dart to stop taking hits and finally slide -- but enjoy the "Jameis Experience" on the sidelines while it lasts, because his future belongs to the studio lights in due time.
From Dennis Gaudett: I do not want the Giants to pursue Stefon Diggs. He is a real "me" guy and could upset the locker room. With a young quarterback and other young players, you don't need Diggs to come in and upset the balance. His history has led me to this belief.
Put the pitchforks away Dennis! The Giants pursuing Stefon Diggs is about as close to a zero-percent possibility as you're going to get. Harbaugh and Joe Schoen are building around an exciting young core, and the last thing a developing Dart needs is a high-maintenance veteran demanding targets.
Flip it to Diggs' perspective: he turns 33 this November and likely wants to pursue winning more than anything else. I don't think he wants to join a rebuild when he can chase a proven superstar quarterback on a true Super Bowl contender.
Plus, the G-Men have already added their fair share of veteran receivers this offseason. Diggs has been on the market for most of the summer, and it'd have made infinitely more sense to get him in the fold during minicamp and OTAs to build a rapport with Dart.
It’s probably a hard pass from both sides.
From Gary Lacicer: My question is, when a player gets released from a team and then is picked up by another team, does he not take the playbook knowledge from his former team with him? How does he not tell new coaches this is what they do?!
Oh, they absolutely tell their new team everything they possibly can.
Espionage is one of the worst-kept secrets in football. The second a team signs a guy cut by an upcoming opponent, they put him in a room with a coordinator to pump him for info on hand signals, audibles, and player habits. There are no rules against it. The team just remotely wipes the player's physical playbook tablet the moment he is cut.
But there are a few reasons why this info show-and-tell doesn't mean as much as you might think:
- Coaches adjust: If a team knows their former player is across the sideline, they'll change up their pre-snap code words, dummy signals, and audibles for that week.
- The tape doesn't lie: Thanks to the ever-important film, coaches already know exactly what plays their opponents run. The only mystery is the specific vocabulary used to call it.
- Execution wins: Knowing a team wants to run a specific play doesn't matter if you can't actually stop them from executing it.
So yes, players act as double agents all the time. But by kickoff, it almost always still comes down to who blocks and tackles better.
Have a question for me? Send an email over to matt.sidney@fansided.com
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