AB1 - Diehl - Hixon

[dave56dj]

Trying to get a real understanding of who goes where when everyone gets a healthy - not from a fans perspective but from the good of the team and based on the Giants tendencies.

Diehl - David has been a warrior for the giants for years and years. Missing a game is as rare as a blue moon for this guy. His health and ability to play through pain is a trait fans have often looked past. His versatility yet another trait fans overlook. Diehl has been asked to play guard, left tacklr and right and done each job serviceably. For a 5th rounder he has been an absolute steal. That said we all know Diehl has started to decline. Pff has ranked him among the worst tackles in the league for a couple of years now. The giants have been very loyal to him and his contract was almost impossible to come off th ebooks this year. Beatty is a draft pick the gmen have been coaching up since 09 and have tried to get him ready for the left tackle spot. Last year he got his feet wet and it seemed he'd be the guy. Injuries have been a factor but beatty has looked good for a game and a half and locklear has been another great find by Reese via the scrap heap FA list. Locklear is more of a natural right tackle. Diehl is needed for depth and as a swing but it looks like he is about to be wally pipped.

Hixon - He has been a great Specials player as a giant. He has nice speed and fairly reliable in route running. Excellent experience with playbook, and can still stretch the field. That said he does not have the upside of barden or randle, and randle has looked very smooth as a punt returner. I think hixon stays in the slot if he comes back this week - otherwise another good effort by barden and randle and he too may get pipped. That said barden plays the x more then the slot so there is also the chance on third down's or 3 wide sets they simply go with barden on the outside and cruz in the slot and hixon gets relegated to punt return duty alone.

AB1 - I love bradshaw - pound for pound he is one of the strongest giants. He is an excellent pass protector (actually one of the best in the league) and is a good receiver as well. Still AB1 has started to develop some bad habits due to a porous oline. He has looked to cut back away from blocks to often and has started to dance/ cut away from blocks a little to early. Still he ain't going anywhere just yet. While AB2 has hit holes decisively its nice problem to have extra backs. AB1 starts and AB2 see's plenty of carries as the number 2 and of one is having more success then the hot hand. Wilson still sees his small package of plays and one day the backfield will be his, for now he continues to do well as a returner - he's gonna break one soon.

[giantsfan420]

DD will be a quality swing tackle/depth guy imo.

With Hixon, just let him focus on ST. I dont think the plan ever was for Hixon to be the 3 long term. He was more the stop gap/emergency plan in case Barden/Randle/JJ all proved they could not step up. Now that Barden has proven he's a player with legit game, and Randle has gotten on the field more n more and has progressed nicely imo, theres just not enough snaps for Hixon to be a consistent contributor as a WR. As a kick return specialist tho, he could have 10x the impact on games.

With AB1 (nicely done with the abbrev.), I fear he may have Carr syndrome where he is just so used to the OL failing him, that he can't do things as scripted consistently. it seems he's always trying to account for a lack of a hole, even if one exists. with brown, he just followed the design of the play and pressed the holes hard. if bradshaw can get back to running like brown did, then feature him. if not, split the carries and use brown as the workhorse with bradshaw as the situational guy (redzones, hurry up drills, shotgun, etc)

[Rat_bastich]

I think like alot of folks do that you have to ride the hot hand. I have never been totally on the 'cannot lose your job to injury' bandwagon, especially when the guy that replaces you is more successful. I do think that Bradshaw and Brown both get their carries, but I think the Giants don't rush Bradshaw back to the field after his neck injury. With Brown doing what he did they have that convenience. Also, don't count Wilson out yet. With Bradshaw being out, Wilson will be splitting carries and will get to improve. Eventually when Bradshaw pops back in you may have a pretty good three headed monster.


As for the coaches:

I think the coaches would like to see a little more of Hixon and Barden before they decide who gets the nod there. Hixon has made some pretty good plays when he has played. They probably want to see some consistency in both the running game and receiving game from the guys that just stepped in before they decide anything.

It comes down to who gives the team the best chance of winning and finding the right combinations. Right now, if the guys that showed up Thursday can cotinue to do what they did then I think you'll see the same guys, except with the addition of Nicks in there.


As 420 said about Diehl. I like what the guy has done for the Giants. He has helped them win the big game and has done everything asked of him, but the day eventually comes for everyone. I think he would serve better, ala' Seubert, as a fill in.

[dave56dj]

Well actually wilson is not splitting carries at all - even though he is the second back. The giants have put in a limited amount of plays for him and theats been it. The guy has shows some great flashes and its clear he has the ability but he needs to gain the trust of the coaches. He will have his time, but splitting the carries hasn't happened yet.

As for barden/ hixon i think we will simply see more sets with barden as the X and cruz inside. I think if they are looking to keep cruz on the outside in a certain set we will see hixon as the slot.

[Captain Chaos]

I think Diehl if and when he comes back should go to back up duties. That said I like that they are starting to get Brewer on the field in those short yardage sets and getting his feet wet, he is the future on the right side. Diehl should be the swing backup guy, although they pay him too much money for that. Petrus and Cordell are not doing it for me....

As far as Hixon, I don't think you can pull Barden out after what he has shown. After his big day he will demand attention and the way he is playing he could be a real bonus. I think that Randel for all his "being NFL ready" will need a little time and will and should get his opportunities. Hixon will likely be relegated to special teams.

Bradshaw is the starter period. The line is starting to solidify and he will start cranking things up.

[miked1958]

DD will be a quality swing tackle/depth guy imo.With Hixon, just let him focus on ST. I dont think the plan ever was for Hixon to be the 3 long term. He was more the stop gap/emergency plan in case Barden/Randle/JJ all proved they could not step up. Now that Barden has proven he's a player with legit game, and Randle has gotten on the field more n more and has progressed nicely imo, theres just not enough snaps for Hixon to be a consistent contributor as a WR. As a kick return specialist tho, he could have 10x the impact on games.With AB1 (nicely done with the abbrev.), I fear he may have Carr syndrome where he is just so used to the OL failing him, that he can't do things as scripted consistently. it seems he's always trying to account for a lack of a hole, even if one exists. with brown, he just followed the design of the play and pressed the holes hard. if bradshaw can get back to running like brown did, then feature him. if not, split the carries and use brown as the workhorse with bradshaw as the situational guy (redzones, hurry up drills, shotgun, etc)

yea that's already been done by me and others in other threads. Weird that it just hits me the other day that they had same initials. Lol