GM Joe Schoen\u2019s contract extension length revealed<\/a><\/p>\nMichael Schack asks: Same age and Giant fan as long as you (and a BBV addict), so I have seen the worst and the best. Last week BBV considered the best and worst decisions of the Off-season. Only you mentioned Joe Schoen, and only as worst decision prospect, while not choosing him. The media and fanbase has portrayed Schoen as subordinate to Harbaugh in decision making because draft picks and free agents appear to be Harbaugh choices. Let me try to make the case for keeping Schoen as best decision of off-season and tell me if I am crazy. Harbaugh was a no-brainer decision. There were no better options and not getting him as head coach would have been worst decision. The Maras decided to keep Schoen (granted it was during the season) when they let go of Daboll. I was a fan of both until Daboll ran into the tent to check on Dart. That is when I knew he needed to go because he could not control himself and had not gotten rid of Bowen. Schoen has been steady in face of adversity, and I do not think he has changed because of the Harbaugh hire. Schoen brought on players Daboll and Martindale wanted. Some worked, some not. His high pick \u201cbusts\u201d were considered great choices at the time. He has hit on later-round picks. He had a plan to upgrade the systems as you have discussed. That plan has seemed to be working. Harbaugh did not go elsewhere because Schoen was staying through at least the draft (a telltale sign?). Schoen has brought in players that his coaches wanted (isn\u2019t that what they are supposed to do?). Schoen brought in Dawn Aponte with whom HE had the prior connection (both hired by Parcells who knows a bit about talent). Schoen negotiated the #10 pick for Dexter Lawrence \u2013 could anyone have done better. He has brought stability to the salary cap for the Giants and flexibility for the future instead of mortgaging it (Howie will pay some day). Players will come and go, but a good GM can set a franchise up for long runs of success beyond one group of good players. I see keeping Schoen as akin to keeping Accorsi when Tom Coughlin was hired following a 4-12 season. That combination worked well, and I see a repeat with this combo. So, am I crazy?<\/p>\n
Ed says: Michael, the best move of the offseason was the hiring of John Harbaugh. Full stop. In the pre-Harbaugh days, Joe Schoen did some good things. He also made too many mistakes. The record is a reflection of that, and it wasn\u2019t all Brian Daboll\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n
Still, the Daboll era is over. What matters is whatever happens going forward. Harbaugh has the ultimate authority on personnel decisions, that is real. If Harbaugh and Schoen could not work together, Schoen would have paid the price. They have found common ground. They seem to like each other. They had a productive offseason working together where a lot of big decisions were made. Harbaugh was hopeful they would learn to \u201cagree to agree\u201d, and it seems they have done so. Harbaugh seems happy with the front office, the scouting staff, and the processes the Giants have in place.<\/p>\n
As long as those things continue, there is no reason for Schoen to be shown the door. I have pointed to Les Snead of the Rams, George Paton of the Broncos, and Ryan Poles of the Bears before as examples of why the Schoen-Harbaugh pairing can work. Go look at the records of those three general managers before and after their current head coaches were hired.<\/p>\n
K\u00f6lnerbigblue asks: Ed, back in the day, we called LT an outside linebacker. Now we seem to call that position Edge and people adamantly say it isn\u2019t a LB position. So, are people getting stuck on semantics or is there a real difference between Edge and the \u201cold\u201d time OLB?<\/p>\n
Ed says: In the old days, there were pure 4-3 and 3-4 defenses. Now, teams mix and match. You see 3-4, 4-3, 2-4-5, even 3-3-5. And, you will see all of that from one team during the course of one game. Notice that many times you will see Giants \u201cedge defenders\u201d in an upright stance. At other times, you will see them in a three- or even four-point stance based on the alignment called and the technique required on that play.<\/p>\n
Because of the hybrid nature of the position the term \u201cedge\u201d came into vogue. Because these players are quite often asked to do both.<\/p>\n
For what it\u2019s worth, I hate the term \u201cedge rusher.\u201d These players don\u2019t just rush the passer. They cover. They defend the run. My staff knows, but doesn\u2019t always remember, that the preferred term here is \u201cedge defender.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug Mollin asks: Interesting feed post about being a Giant fan, had some good feedback from the young and older fans here at BBV.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a pretty unusual stretch for those of us north of 60:<\/p>\n
Wilderness 1.0 — 17 seasons from 1964-1980. Two winning seasons, zero playoffs.Competitive — 31 seasons from 1981-2011. 15 playoffs, 4 SB wins, 1 SB loss, 17 winning seasons.Wilderness 2.0 — 14 seasons from 2012-2025. 2 playoffs, 3 winning seasons.<\/p>\n
I wonder if coaching was the key during that long competitive stretch. Most of those 31 years were covered by Parcells then Fassel and then Coughlin. Or maybe the QBs? Simms, Hoss, Collins, Eli covered a lot of those competitive 31 seasons. <\/p>\n
How do you feel about your own Giant fandom? Two long stretches of really bad football bracketing a long stretch of competitive football with a remarkable 4 SB wins (and another appearance).<\/p>\n
Ed says: Doug, it is difficult for me to discuss fandom. I have written about the Giants almost every day, often several times a day, since February of 2007. I am a journalist and old newspaper person at heart, and the only way to do what I do successfully is to put the fan card away. I have to be professional around the team, I can\u2019t \u201cfan boy.\u201d To write credibly, I have to put away any emotions and write as objectively and analytically as I possibly can.<\/p>\n
Am I always perfect in that endeavor probably not. When it comes to players, coaches and GMs, some I have liked personally and others I have not. Again, you try not to let that cloud your work. We\u2019re human, though, and it is virtually impossible for those feelings not to impact the work.<\/p>\n
That said, I grew up as a Giants fan watching bad football in the late 1960s and most of the 1970s. I used to sit on the couch with my dad on Sundays \u2014 at least until he got so frustrated he went out in the garage and found something to hammer on.<\/p>\n
I have celebrated Super Bowls. I still enjoy watching the Giants win more than watching them lose, but it\u2019s different now. Winning makes my job easier.<\/p>\n
To win takes a combination of all of the things you talked about. You have to have the right coach. You need the right GM to work with that coach. You need a good front office and scouting staff to get the right players. You need that head coach, hi staff, and the players to be able to come together for a common goal. You need some luck along the way, too.<\/p>\n
The Giants can be bewildering. There have been long dark stretches that have been largely self-inflicted. Yet, there are four Super Bowl trophies in the case at 1925 Giants Drive. The franchise has won eight total championships going back before the Super Bowl era.<\/p>\n
The Giants get it wrong. A lot. But, they also get it right \u2014 really right \u2014 more often than other franchises. They just have a hard time finding the middle ground. Nobody is giving back the highs of those titles, though, and a lot of fan bases would trade places with Giants fans.<\/p>\n
Christopher Scanlon asks: Still hoping against hope for a little more juice on the D line. Just read an article about Arik Armstead and his salary. Think it would be worth trying to shake him loose from the Jags? What, in addition to us learning how to use void years, do you think it would take?<\/p>\n
Ed says: Chris, by \u201cshake him loose\u201d you obviously mean trade for him. Armstead is still a good player entering his age 33 season, but I don\u2019t think the Giants will be giving up draft capital of any sort \u2014 even a sixth- or seventh-round pick \u2014 for a 33-year-old headed to free agency after the season. That just doesn\u2019t seem smart considering no one believes the Giants are in a \u201cwin now\u201d Super Bowl window.<\/p>\n
Now, I have said before that I question the Giants\u2019 defensive line depth. DJ Reader was a good signing. Shelby Harris has had a good career, but at 35 I wonder what\u2019s left in the tank. The Giants not only lost Dexter Lawrence, but Roy Robertson-Harris is gone for most \u2014 if not all \u2014 of the season. The other veteran players they added have a lot to prove to be considered quality options. So do Bobby Jamison-Travis and Darius Alexander.<\/p>\n
I think you are looking at a situation where the Giants will watch the waiver wire when teams cut their rosters to 53 players before the beginning of the regular season. There are always a few useful veteran defensive tackles who hit the market at that point. To me, that is when you might see the Giants add somebody.<\/p>\n
Have a Giants-related question? E-mail it to bigblueview@gmail.com and it might be featured in our weekly mailbag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brennan Lyons asks: After reading your recent article on Paulson Adebo, in which you attribute his down year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":482342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[167478,94560,349,99],"class_list":["post-743068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-new-york-giants-discussion","tag-new-york-giants-mailbag","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/482342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}