Eli Apple

The culture is changing fast for the Giants, and it starts with Landon Collins:

The biggest promise that new general manager for the New York Giants Dave Gettleman made once being introduced to the fan-base is as follows. He ensured that the culture would change and that only players that wanted to win would be utilized on the team moving forward.

This sentiment flows parallel with how star safety Landon Collins feels after watching the Philadelphia Eagles win their first ever Super Bowl.

According to "The Post Game" Collins said:

“Most of us are not just really doing this for the money. Most of us really want a ring. Most of us really want to be great and have our names known for the rest of our life."

Notice how Collins said ‘most,’ which we can assume he’s talking about our favorite New York Giant, Eli (bad)Apple. Collins did however express his want to be a leader and instill greatness in his fellow teammates.

“I’m not a follower. I’ve always been a leader. I’m always a person who’s in front. That’s how I am. I never want to be a part of a team or something that’s not trying to be great. That’s what I’m trying to propose and put into this team."

“If it’s more of an understanding and we’re trying to get someone to understand a point of view and where a person’s coming from and understand the game and the business of what we’re in, that’s different than when we’re going to battle and it’s going nowhere. That’s when I step in and make them understand, man, we’re here for a reason.”

If the Giants want to be the Eagles reincarnated next season they will surely have to change their wits, as the motivation and want to succeed was at an all-time low in 2017. Several Giants including Odell Beckham Jr, Damon Harrison and Collins have been at the head of motivational duties, portraying their enthusiasm to acquire a fifth Lombardi Trophy for Big Blue.

Tyler Bashlor is a new addition to the Mets 40-man roster. He is a right handed reliever and was drafted by the Mets in the 11th round of the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft from South Georgia College.

Bashlor was added after the 2017 season to avoid being an eligible rule-5 selection. He is a hard thrower and looks to be a part of the Mets bullpen this season.

After his selection in 2013, the Mets assigned him to the Kingsport Mets where he pitched 15.2 and had a 5.74 ERA. Tommy John Surgery sidelined Bashlor for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

In his return in 2016, he spent time with the St. Lucie Mets and Columbia Fireflies where he pitched to a 2.75 ERA in 55.2 innings with an impressive 73 strikeouts. Bashlor followed up in 2017 with a 3.44 ERA in 49.2 innings with an even more impressive 84 strikeouts with the Binghamton and St. Lucie Mets. Upon his call up to the Bing Mets, he pitched 14.2 scoreless innings with a 23 to 4 strikeout to walk ratio.

Bashlor looks to be a reliever with electric stuff, he throws a high 90’s fastball with a good breaking curveball and a change up he is continuing to find confidence in. Keith Law has Bashlor listed as the 15th best prospect in the Mets organization. Entering his age 25 season, the Mets look for Bashlor to have a breakout season, gain full command of his three pitches and hopefully work his way into a middle relief role this season with the MLB team.

Here’s what the experts had to say:

When the experts aren’t even sure what to do with your teams draft pick, that’s when you should start to be concerned, or not?

The New York Giants hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and they could go many different directions with the selection.

Expert Todd McShay of ESPN chose UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen for the Giants at No. 2, but after new head coach Pat Shurmur insisted that Eli Manning would be the starting quarterback, McShay changed his mind a bit.

Here’s what he had to say:

“New head coach Pat Shurmur has publicly supported 37-year old Eli Manning as New York’s starting QB next season, so this pick remains the same as my last mock,” McShay expressed in his mock draft 2.0 released Tuesday morning. “The Giants could take Rosen as the heir apparent, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a team traded with the New York to get ahead of the Jets and Broncos to try to grab Rosen. Drafting Saquon Barkley to pair with Odell Beckham Jr. could be a possibility as well. The Giants have a lot of options.”

The overall consensus between draft experts is that Rosen will be the man for the Giants, but a handful of analysts believe Penn State running back Saquon Barkley will go to the Giants at No.2. Not a single expert have the Giants trading back and stockpiling picks for later rounds or even 2019.

The bottom line, Big Blue can’t go wrong with their pick whether they decide to take Rosen, Barkley or trade back to stockpile picks. Of course, one could be better than another in the future, but there’s a high probability of success with each option.

The New York Mets have rounded out their infield by signing third baseman Todd Frazier to a two year, $17 million deal.

Last year the veteran third baseman hit .213 with 27 home runs and 76 RBIs playing with the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. The Mets look at Frazier to bring more of his veteran leadership and big bat to a lineup that already had Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce.

The Mets infield will likely have Frazier at third, Amed Rosario at shortstop, Asdrubal Cabrera at first and Adrian Gonzalez at first base. If Frazier produces the same way and even puts up a higher average, the Mets could have themselves a very productive lineup.

Some negatives fans may bring up is getting Frazier at $8.5 million a year may be too high for him, but in terms of what other third basemen are asking for a price, $6 million to $9 million is about what Frazier’s value is.

Other fans may complain about the low average and high strike out numbers but his walks increased and strikeouts decreased last season. If Frazier brings his 30 homer power and returns to the 25-30 doubles per year hitter he was with the Reds, the Mets have themselves a good signing. It is possible for Frazier to return to that form as Yankee Stadium is not as doubles friendly when compared to Citi Field.

The big question now is, are the Mets officially done with David Wright? The Mets have not forgotten about Wright but at age 35 and unable to play a full season anymore the team is moving on to a future where if Wright produces, it will have to come from a bench role.

Odell Beckham Jr. and Pat Shurmur are on the same page:

Coming off a devastating ankle injury in 2017, New York Giants’ Odell Beckham Jr. is keen on returning to the football field to work with new head coach Pat Shurmur.

Beckham Jr. expressed his excitement on ramping up the activity on his newly healed ankle, but sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Here’s what OBJ had to say about his injury, according to Giants.com:

“I don’t know a percentage, but I’m actually doing really good,” the Giants’ three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver said in a interview at the NFL Honors awards show at the University of Minnesota. “They tell me to slow down because I’ve been out for so long, and I’m ready to go, I’m ready to go. Now I can see where the mental part comes in as far as being patient, and knowing you can’t push too much right now, or you need to push more. It’s finding that balance. I’m actually doing really good.”

The Giants’ top receiver recently spoke with Shurmur, who are both excited to get onto the field to begin building the offense.

“I’ve spoken to him, and he’s really eager when we can get to doing football to get going,” said Shurmur, who also attended NFL Honors. “It was a good conversation. I remember him really well from the process when we were thinking of drafting him. It’s just a matter of getting reacquainted at some point and getting going.”

“It’s very good,” Beckham said. “I think we have an understanding of what we want to do. And just to talk to him and be with a guy who loves football. I watched what he did in Minnesota and it was exciting. I’m definitely looking forward to that.”

The consensus is that the entire culture of the organization is changing quickly, and come next season the old regime will be completely abolished. For the Giants, it’s important they take the overhaul one step at a time and to ensure that everything is perfect.

Dave Gettleman and Shurmur have yet to decide on a new offensive coordinator, which will likely come to fruition in the coming days.

Eli Manning gets booed by Eagles fans at Super Bowl:

When Eli Manning was presented as a past Walter Payton award winner at the Super Bowl on Sunday, Philadelphia Eagles fans booed the New York Giants quarterback…

Of course, everybody and their mother seems to be against Manning at the moment, but booing a player who dedicated so much time to helping others and giving people an opportunity to have a better life is low class.

As Giant’s fans, we all know that the Eagles have some of the most putrid fans on the face of the earth, but this is a new low. Now, you could make the argument that they were booing the player and not his philanthropic actions, but I digress. There comes a point in the NFL where humanity comes first, and then I remember, the NFL is basically a new age version of gladiators, and in war there’s no sympathy.

Personally, I wouldn’t boo anybody carrying out humanitarian activities, even if it was Tony Romo on the Cowboys.

Just another reason to hate the Eagles and focus on the new regime and coming out strong in 2018.

Get Eli Apple out of here already:

It’s common knowledge that New York Giants’ Eli Apple wanted to be on the Philadelphia Eagles coming into the NFL, but now, I think he should be sent their way.

After the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win in their history against the New England Patriots on Sunday, Apple sent out an interesting tweet, further pissing off Giants fans.

As you can probably imagine, this tweet did not go over well with some fans…

Here’s what they had to say:

After turning the Giants’ locker room into a band of misfit toys last season, Apple has received a boat-load of criticism for his actions. Reports of serious personal issues involving his mother and role-model stepdad have surfaced, leaving a sense of irresponsibility and immaturity in its wake.

The Giants have likely considered parting ways with the troubled corner, but ridding yourself of a first-round selection from only two-years ago is hard to do. If the Giants can find a suitor for Apple (maybe the Eagles), they should consider sending the locker room cancer on his way.

This sounds interesting:

The New York Giants have a ton of holes to fill in free agency and through the 2018 NFL draft, but let’s have some fun and imagine what this exciting scenario might look like.

1,291 rushing-yards, 655 receiving-yards and 11 total touchdowns is what one special running back in the NFL recorded in 2017, and this man is one of Odell Beckham Jr.’s best friends.

Signing LeVeon Bell would cost the Giants a fortune, especially with Beckham Jr.’s mega-deal preparing to take shape. But how could the Giants open up enough cap-space to sign the two-time First-Team All-Pro running back?

New York would first have to drop Eli Manning and his $20 million per-season starting in 2019, and then make several other cuts including Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Harris.

This signing would also allow the Giants to address the offensive line extensively in the draft and provide the team with an influx of youth at pricey positions.

Of course, this entire scenario is a hypothetical, but an offense headlining Odell Beckham Jr., LeVeon Bell, Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram might be too enticing to pass up.

The 2018 Free Agent market has been one of the slowest in recent memory and there is still plenty of talent left for teams to acquire.

Starting Rotation: Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish, Lance Lynn, Alex Cobb, Andrew Cashner

This group includes one Cy Young award winner, six combined all-star appearances, and a 3.57 average ERA. Immediately Arrieta and Darvish jump out as pitchers who would move to the front of most team’s rotations. For the Mets, Lynn and Cobb have been discussed as two options the team could pursue before the spring training begins.

Bullpen: Greg Holland, Matt Belisle, Tony Watson, Bud Norris, Oliver Perez, Fernando Abad, Drew Storen

Outside of Holland, there are very little top tier relievers still on the market. In this years slow free agent market, the relievers seemed to thrive. Wade Davis, Brandon Morrow and Addison Reed are just a few examples of the big time relievers swooped up this offseason. With the back of their bullpen set, the Mets seem done with signing other relievers this offseason.

Lineup: C: Jonathan Lucroy, 1B: Eric Hosmer, 2B: Neil Walker, SS: Eduardo Nunez (I guess), 3B: Mike Moustakas, LF: Carlos Gonzalez, CF: Jon Jay, RF: J.D. Martinez

Bench: Logan Morrison, Todd Frazier, Brandon Phillips, Carlos Gomez, Carlos Ruiz (for the sake of having a backup catcher)

All of the players listed are very productive players and could be a huge last minute move for a team who has a need at a certain position. They all bring a veteran presence and some of them are not too far removed from dominant seasons. Frazier, Walker and Nunez have been the three most talked about candidates for the Mets but there has been a lot of noise for two weeks and the Mets still have not brought in another free agent.

They know more about Davis Webb than we know:

“I know nothing [about him], I know that he’s a double transfer. I’ve spent some time talking to him. He seems like a great kid. I know he followed Eli around and is learning how to be a pro. That’s what I know.”

This is what Dave Gettleman said about Davis Webb when asked of his opinion on the rookie quarterback.

Of course, there’s no way of knowing anything about Webb given the fact that Gettleman is new to the team and isn’t caught up on the standings of the players (he just recently spoke with Odell Beckham Jr. and Eli Manning).

But here’s a dilemma to consider:

Webb has been playing alongside professional athletes for an entire season, while the options available in college have yet to step onto an NFL field, let alone a practice one. So when people say, "there’s no tape on Webb; how can we possibly know what he brings to the table?"

Well, just ask any of the professional athletes that practice with him, and consider, well, he’s playing with better talent than what college offers, so why wouldn’t we take them seriously?

Here’s what Giants receiver Marquise Bundy, said:

"He’s a fun guy to work with. He’s a guy that likes to always keep getting better and elevate his game every day. He comes in and gives everybody that extra energy to continue to be good in practice. Right now, we’re only just practicing, so he really does take practice seriously. His seriousness radiates into us and then we become serious and it becomes a good practice overall."

Travis Rudolph states:

"He’s just got that ‘it’ factor to be a starting quarterback. He’s just a great leader overall."

My thoughts:

There are several professional athletes on the Giants that have been around talent their entire lives, yet we should assume that Webb doesn’t have what it takes?

In addition, that the front-office doesn’t have enough tape to break down how he plays? Webb’s fundamentals will be the same on the practice field as in the games, which is what practice is for, is it not? The only thing we cannot evaluate is his calmness and vision in an actual NFL game.

But would we have been able to evaluate that with a make-shift offensive line and no wide-receivers? Most likely not.