Big Blue View
The mail’s here!
George Sucato asks: My question is this. Do you think the Giants should try to sign Brandon Scherff? I think he would be a good pick up, especially with the killer schedule the Giants have this year.
Ed says: George, I think you will find your answer in here. I would have no problem with that move.
Bob Brodman asks: The Giants have less than $2M in cap space and need to clear $22M (according to Spotrac) to sign their draft picks, practice squad, and transition from the top 51 salaries to the full 53 + IR. People are still talking about which free agents to sign but no one is talking about what they can clear from contract restructures and who might be released to save cap space. Some of this has to be done before summer training camp. Who do you think that they will let go?
Ed says: Bob, the Giants don’t necessarily have to let anyone go to save cap space. Yes, as I answer this they are last in the league with $1.103 million in cap space, but it can — and will — be dealt with.
The Giants have a number of contracts they can restructure. I did some of that here. Andrew Thomas, Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Bobby Okereke and a few others have contracts that can be re-structured.
If the Giants want or need to cut a couple of players, placekicker Graham Gano and defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches are still possible. Maybe even Okereke, if the prior reports that they have mixed feelings about him are true.
Jeffrey Jacobs asks: When reading about defensive players, particularly edge rushers, you and other writers often talk about their “bend”. What exactly does that mean?
Ed says: “Bend” is how quickly and sharply a defensive player, usually a defensive end or edge defender, can turn a corner in his effort to rush the passer. Here is the definition from our Glossary of Terms:
“A pass rusher’s ability to contort his body, lower his center of gravity, and maintain speed while cornering sharply around an offensive tackle and into the pocket.”
Jonas Estrada asks: Going to preface this by saying that I think we all know that Schoen and Daboll clearly felt a certain way about Sanders and so this question is likely moot. Also, I understand that there was no way they would know that Sanders would fall to the 5th round.
That said, as a thought exercise:
Do you think that the Giants would have created more value if they had not traded into the 1st round for Dart and instead picked BPA/filled other needs through the 1st 4 rounds of the draft and then selected Sanders at the top of the 5th?
*At the risk of answering my own question, I understand that that this probably boils down to a “Is Dart in Round 1 better than Sanders in Round 5” type of question - which is...
