Big Blue View
Kölnerbigblue asks: Ed, if the Giants move on from Joe Schoen, is there any benefit to doing it later rather than sooner? Would we be permitted to talk to Assistant GMs during the season?
Ed says: Kolner, not really. As with coaches, the Giants could not talk to anyone who currently has a job with another team. When they fired Jerry Reese near the end of the 2017 season, the only candidates they spoke with were Dave Gettleman and Louis Riddick. Neither was working for an NFL team at the time.
Bob Donnelly asks: In your Kudos & Wet Willies summary of Sunday’s game against the Commanders you wrote:
“Game day roster management always seems to be a problem with the Giants. Kafka doesn’t seem to be immune.”
I suspect few if any of my fellow BBV readers would disagree with that statement.
What can you tell us about how the Giants go about making the weekly roster decisions and who is ultimately responsible for the game day roster?
Ed says: Bob, what I know is that the Giants don’t finalize these decisions until after their final practice of the week. They meet as a staff to discuss their needs, players available, players they are not certain about, etc. I believe the front office is involved in those meetings.
These decisions are not easy. A team only gets two practice squad elevations each week, and a player can only be elevated three times before he has to be added to the 53-man roster.
This past week, the Giants needed an elevation for punter Cameron Johnston with Jamie Gillan injured. They had to choose between an elevation for defensive tackle Elijah Chatman with Rakeem Nunez-Roches out and one for a return man with Gunner Olszewski still in the concussion protocol.
Personally, I would have chosen to elevate Ihmir Smith-Marsette to return punts and kickoffs. The Giants made the opposite choice. I don’t know the medical reports, but I also might have gone ahead and placed one of Nunez-Roches, Gillan, or Kayvon Thibodeaux on IR to open up some roster flexibility to make sure I had a real return man available.
The thing that I don’t understand is why the Giants seem to get burned over and over by refusing to place injured players on short-term IR. Paulson Adebo used up a roster spot for five games when he could have been on IR. Thibodeaux has now missed four games. Injured reserve requires missing a minimum of four games. Placing those players on IR would have increased the team’s roster flexibility. I don’t know why they keep making this mistake over and over. Just put the player on IR and stop handicapping yourself.
Pat Lam asks: I was wondering which current NY Giants coaches you would try to keep. I’m hoping that Andre Patterson and Carmen Bricillo somehow stay.
Ed says: Pat, Bricillo has done good work with the offensive line. Patterson has long been one of the best, most...
