Arrington to line up on the STRONG SIDE

[keggerz]

LINK

 

May 1, 2006 -- THIS WAS no Tom, Dick and Harry draft for the Giants, who during this past weekend added a Mathias, a Sinorice, a Gerris, a Gerrick and one Guy. As spell checks groaned, the Giants cheered their good fortune.

 

Picking down near the bottom of every round, the Giants knew this would be no blockbuster, but if their best-laid plans work out, they added a pass rusher now and for the future in Mathias Kiwanuka, a tiny matchup nightmare in receiver Sinorice Moss, depth at linebacker in Gerris Wilkinson and a possible left tackle for the future in Guy Whimper.

 

Trading down got them an extra pick, trading up got them Moss, who figures to excite the fans more than any other rookie newcomer. They waited until the seventh round to take a flier on a cornerback (Gerrick McPhearson) and did not get a stud nose tackle, unless Barry Cofield out of Northwestern turns out to be a fourth-round gem.

 

This draft, in conjunction with another busy off-season of free agency that landed cornerback Sam Madison and linebacker LaVar Arrington, no doubt leaves the Giants much different and at least marginally better on defense.

 

The laboratory is now open and it's defensive coordinator Tim Lewis' job to mix and match and come up with the right formula.

 

The Giants studied tapes of Arrington in Washington and determined the Redskins didn't always use him to compliment his strengths. Lewis will turn him loose, but not always in a traditional sense. Arrington will line up as the strong side linebacker and Carlos Emmons will work the weak side, a reversal of what was initially expected. When the Giants are in a regular 4-3 front, Arrington will line up the way Lawrence Taylor did in the 3-4 scheme Bill Parcells used in years gone by. In effect, Arrington at times will be the only outside linebacker, allowing him to be the playmaker the Giants need him to be.

 

Kiwanuka, of course, will not supplant either of the Pro Bowl defensive ends and it will be up to Lewis to find a way to have him augment the pass-rushing exploits of Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora.

 

There's a fundamental truth that not long after a player arrives, his team begins planning for his replacement. The Giants believe Kiwanuka can contribute in some fashion right away but they also view him as a full-time end in the not-too-distant future. He is 265 pounds but "he is going to be 275 pounds in a second," according to Jerry Reese, the director of player personnel.

 

Strahan is 34 and entering his 14th NFL season and while he's leaner than ever and shows no sign of a decline, he won't last forever. "I can't express to you," Reese gushed, "how good [Kiwanuka] has a chance to be for us."

 

Given his diminutive size, it would be a longshot if Moss - Santana's younger brother - in the coming years supplants Amani Toomer as a starting receiver, but the Giants think he has that ability. The one element missing from the offensive attack is a speed receiver who can stretch defenses. Tim Carter was supposed to fill that role but thus far has not. All Moss has to do as a rookie is make himself enough of a threat to force opponents to respect his big-play ability. The other playmakers can do the rest.

 

"He gives us a nice jolt there," coach Tom Coughlin said of Moss. "The guy gives us another dimension as terms of his quickness."

 

The additions to an 11-5 team make the Giants bigger, meaner and more imposing. Coughlin has enough players to make this work.

Edited May 2, 2006 by keggerz

[Swiss Cheezhead]

Excellent stuff on Arrington -- great find, Keg.

 

As far as the Giants draft goes, it was VERY underrated.

 

I love Kiwanuka and he fell WAAAAY farther than he should have. He's a former ACC Defensive Player of the Year. So what if D'Brick dominated him at the Senior Bowl? D'Brick dominates everybody.

 

They needed a slot WR badly and they got a very good one.

 

I liked McPhearson a lot, too -- I had him going in the 3rd in at least one of my mocks. Not sure why he fell all the way to the 7th. Coefield is one of the fastest DTs in the class (replaced Castillo's play at N'Western). Wilkinson is underrated as well, and he'll be great depth behind Arrington.

Edited May 3, 2006 by Swiss Cheezhead

[Los Gigantes]

Excellent stuff on Arrington -- great find, Keg.

 

As far as the Giants draft goes, it was VERY underrated.

 

I love Kiwanuka and he fell WAAAAY farther than he should have. He's a former ACC Defensive Player of the Year. So what if D'Brick dominated him at the Senior Bowl? D'Brick dominates everybody.

 

They needed a slot WR badly and they got a very good one.

 

I liked McPhearson a lot, too -- I had him going in the 3rd in at least one of my mocks. Not sure why he fell all the way to the 7th. Coefield is one of the fastest DTs in the class (replaced Castillo's play at N'Western). Wilkinson is underrated as well, and he'll be great depth behind Arrington.

 

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wilkinson has a shot to ebat out emmons at wlb. Emmons never impressed me much last year.

[TecmoBeast]

Something tells me Sinorice Moss is going to create havoc in this offense. They already have Tiki and Shockey who are matchup problems. Moss is a great pick

[Sgt. Ryan]

If they use him like the Gnats used Taylor, it wont matter where he lines up. He will put up nice stats. Much the same way MWash does for Washington, and Simmons did for Seattle a few yrs back.

[Swiss Cheezhead]

wilkinson has a shot to ebat out emmons at wlb.  Emmons never impressed me much last year.

 

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I doubt that. Short is the backup to Emmons right now and Torbor has a better chance at being the 3rd WLB, given his (limited) experience there last year. Wilkinson is more of a DE/MLB/SLB type -- not really a WLB at all.

[Los Gigantes]

I doubt that. Short is the backup to Emmons right now and Torbor has a better chance at being the 3rd WLB, given his (limited) experience there last year. Wilkinson is more of a DE/MLB/SLB type -- not really a WLB at all.

 

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how can someone be an MLB/SLB type but not a WLB type? The WLB skill set seems in between the extremes of MLB and SLB. Dpending on scheme of course. WLB don't need the same pass coverage skills in some schemes, but having those skills doesn't make someone a bad fit at WLB. I've seen nothing from Wilkinson to suggest that he wouldn't be a fit at WLB, and think he could play any of the three positions.

 

from giants.com

 

The Giants have added three linebackers in the last two weeks: veterans Brandon Short and LaVar Arrington and Wilkinson. Coughlin said the present alignment has Carlos Emmons, Short and Wilkinson on the weak side; Arrington and Reggie Torbor on strong side; and Pro Bowl alternate Antonio Pierce, Chase Blackburn and Marcus Lawrence in the middle.

[Swiss Cheezhead]

how can someone be an MLB/SLB type but not a WLB type?  The WLB skill set seems in between the extremes of MLB and SLB.  Dpending on scheme of course.  WLB don't need the same pass coverage skills in some schemes, but having those skills doesn't make someone a bad fit at WLB.  I've seen nothing from Wilkinson to suggest that he wouldn't be a fit at WLB, and think he could play any of the three positions.

 

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I didn't say he'd be a "bad fit"; I just said his skill set is better suited to play MLB or SLB. Basically, if they used him at WLB, they'd be wasting his other abilities -- namely coverage & pass-rushing. To me, for the team to do that, they'd have to have NOBODY who could be an effective WLB, and I don't think that's the case.

 

With Emmons, Short, and Torbor all having experience at WLB and Wilkinson having no experience at WLB in college, I can't see a reason why the team would allow the rookie to compete for the starting job this year. From everything I've read, the Giants have already handed the WLB job to Emmons and they're perfectly fine with that.