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New York Giants Mailbag: Roster Comparison, Lack of Giants Respect, More

Let's see what's on the readers' minds.

Patricia Traina

New York Giants Mailbag
New York Giants Mailbag / Patricia Traina | New York Giants on SI

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Ed, that's a very interesting question, but I am not ready to go there. Too soon–the 53-man rosters aren’t set, who knows how injuries this summer will affect teams, and so forth. I’d rather not make any definitive judgements of teams based on how they look on paper right now.   

Hi Bill. Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial hadn't decided about that when we spoke to him last month at the mandatory minicamp. 

I don't think they've ruled it out, and I think it makes sense to maybe go in that direction, especially since Gano is coming off knee surgery and is getting up there in age (not to mention we saw what happened when he was missing from the lineup). 

I'll keep an eye on that during training camp to see how they might be planning to approach that.

Have you ever heard of the expression kicking a man when he's down? That's what you're seeing right now when it comes to the Giants. I think the "analysts" know that their negative opinions toward the Giants will trigger Giants fan's reactions, which in turn leads to interest in what they're putting out there. So if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

What we have tried to do with these negative reports is set the record straight and issue counterarguments disproving the theories put forth. 

At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I think it's safe to say that some of the opinions put forth of late have been way out there. 

Now do you see why I say I can't wait for training camp to start? Once it starts, we'll have all new material to write about and won't have to cover the opinions of others.

I don't understand the hate that Saquon Barkley is getting. He wasn't tagged; he went to a team that was willing to pay him, and will likely maximize his production and extend his career. He gave his all for the Giants. The Giants weren't going to pay him that type of money. Also, who are the starters on the offensive line? -- Pat L.

Pat, it's way too early to say for sure who the offensive line starters will be. We can project, however, and I think from left to right it will be Andrew Thomas, Jermanine Eluemunor, John Michael Schmitz, Jon Runyan, Jr, and Evan Neal.

As for the Saquon Barkley hate, the guy signed for $1 million more in guaranteed money with the Eagles than what the Giants offered him last year. 

He spoke up and down about wanting to be a Giant for life and about his legacy and how important that was to him, yet for $1 million, he went to another team. I think that’s why he’s drawing a lot of ire from the fan base.  

I've read reports that the Giants never offered Saquon Barkley a contract. Is that true? -- Kyle R.

Kyle, Saquon said that was the case, but I think we're talking semantics. Did the Giants put a structured deal on the table this past offseason (forget about last year when they did put a couple of deals on the table he rejected)? 

No, the Giants never gave Barkley a structured deal so that’s accurate. But what they did do–and here’s where the semantics come into play, is provide a ballpark figure to his agent.

Ed Berry (Barkley's agent) and Joe Schoen had discussions at the combine, and if Berry does he job right, he would have had to have a ballpark figure for what the Giants were willing to pay from last year’s negotiations when Berry joined Barkley’s negotiating team last summer.

When Schoen told Berry he was going to let Barkley test the market, it was quite possible that Berry knew the Giants weren’t going to come close to matching the wheat Barley got from the Eagles, and they ran with it. I’m sure we’ll see how this turns out in an upcoming Hard Knocks episode, but that’s how I believe things went down.  

In Episode 2, the Giants staff talked about whether the potential quarterbacks they were evaluating could handle the New York market and media. Given all the various websites that now write content about each team, is there a difference between, say, the media in Buffalo as opposed to New York?

In some ways, I think there is more pressure on players in a small city like Buffalo or Green Bay than in New York/New Jersey. Those cities literally live and die football. I don't see that in New York/New Jersey. -- Mike W.

Hi Mike. The New York market is considered the largest in the country, with Los Angeles right behind it. I have seen days when as many as 50 reporters and camera people are at a Giants practice/press conference.

I highly doubt there are as many credentialed media members in Buffalo who show up on any given day. In fact, during training camp, the Giants often have to provide a trailer for the overflow of media since the workroom is too small. And forget about it when there are playoffs to cover

I also wonder how many NFL teams have media outlets that send multiple reporters on a daily basis to cover the team. On the Giants beat, we have three such outlets that send at least two people daily. So yeah, Mike, this can be a challenging media market.

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Patricia Traina

PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over three decades for various media outlets. She is the host of the Locked On Giants podcast and the author of "The Big 50: New York Giants: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants" (Triumph Books, September 2020). View Patricia's full bio.