Kevin Gilbride, Tom Quinn, and Micah Johnson.
Because of atrocious play by last year’s defensive unit, during the offseason, much of the focus has been on the defense. Nevertheless, this has allowed offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride to lurk in the shadows. However, here at UltimateNYG, we will keep Gilbride honest. Over the weekend, Gilbride spoke with the local media. Unfortunately, there was no poignant questions. Like, why the Giants offense stunk in short yardage? Or why the Giants cannot improve their red zone touchdown percentage? Despite mostly vapid questions, here is a salient one on newly drafted offensive lineman Mitch Petrus.
Q: Your lone draft choice, what do you like about him and what do you see as a timetable for him?
KG: What we liked about him is that the guy is extremely aggressive. He has great speed. He pulls – he does a great job in open space. He cut blocks; he is very, very aggressive. I think he can get better in the sense of incorporating his leg strength. He has tremendous upper body strength. I think he had the all time bench press record at the Combine. Once he learns that technique ………….i think what we have gotten is – Richie will be insulted when I say this – but he reminds me of a Seubert. He has that kind of tenacity; that kind of attitude. He will be feisty, he will be aggressive. When will he contribute? That is contingent on so many factors. How fast does he develop? Right now if I have my way and things go the way we hope, there will be no injuries and the offensive line will stay in tact and he won’t contribute much at all. Those guys will stay there. But the reality of it is, right now over the last year we have lost a lot of time between the guards and the tackles with Kareem and then with Richie and what have you. They are very prideful, they are very tough physically; tough mentally – tough guys. So I know they will do everything they can not to have that happen. But who knows with time – they are getting older. And they are fighting Father Time as valiantly as they can. But we need as many young – that is one of those positions – we needed some young bodies in there so that if something did happen we have some guys that maybe potentially could go in and play.We still expect William Beatty to become a very, very good football player. I’m not sure we really were thinking that he would have to play as a starter for four or five games last year. And he did. So fortunately he has the physical abilities to do those things. And so when he went in we didn’t fall off the ………… but need as many young guys – some infusion of young blood for that reason more than anything else.
I liked this selection. As Gilbride points out, for now, Petrus is going to be a quality backup.
Special Teams Coordinator Tom Quinn also spoke with the media.
Apparently, according to Quinn, they will use punters Matt Dodge and Jy Bond on kickoffs. In 2009, placekicker Lawrence Tynes had only 6 touchbacks. Therefore, whichever punter wins the starting job, look for one of them to takeover the kickoff duties.
Tomorrow, the Giants will sign linebacker Micah Johnson. Nine months ago, Gil Brandt had Johnson rated as the second best inside linebacker in the country.
What are your thoughts on Petrus, one of our punters taking over the kickoff duties, the retirement of Jeff Feagles, and Micah Johnson?
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