Doug Mollin asks: Not the most exciting SB but fun to see the Patriots take a beating.<\/p>\n
And fun to see a team like Seattle win it all. Not a pre-season favorite. Veteran QB signed as a free agent. Ferocious defense. Do you think this will set the NFL down a path away from focusing so much on just finding that QB messiah? And more on getting \u201cgood\u201d QB play and building a team?<\/p>\n
Or is this a one-off that will be hard to duplicate?<\/p>\n
Ed says: Doug, teams will always chase the best quarterback they can get. You don\u2019t need a top five quarterback, though it helps. You do need a quarterback playing at a high level to win. Sam Darnold did that for the Seahawks.<\/p>\n
Do I think what Seattle did was a \u201cone-off\u2019\u201d? No, I don\u2019t. Great defense, led by a ferocious pass rush often using just four rushers. A running game that allows the offense to control play and keeps the entire playbook open. Impeccable special teams play. Mistake-free quarterback play \u2014 and, yes, I know Darnold turned the ball over a lot during the season. He did not in the playoffs. Those things always work. They always will.<\/p>\n
Now, is that hard to duplicate? Absolutely.<\/p>\n
Wayne Mirsky asks: 1 \u2014 It looks like he took a gamble in thinking that Todd Monken would not get a HC job and would bring George Warhop with him to the Giants as DL coach, but he is going to the Browns with Monken. He then did not take his father\u2019s advice to keep Bricillo. He then had to look around for an OL coach and settles on Mike Bloomgren from the Browns. I have no idea if he will be good or not, but getting the Browns OL coach does not make my heart pound.<\/p>\n
2 \u2014 Why did it take so long to promote Chad Hall to WR coach? He initially only wanted to keep Bullen and Kelly so he obviously reviewed all the present Giant coaches and was only thrilled with two of them. It was rumored that he wanted Robert Prince from the Dolphins but Kevin Stefanski grabbed him first. Was this another Monken gamble?<\/p>\n
3 \u2014 Donald D\u2019Alesio was hired as the DB coach and then it was reported that Addison Lynch was hired as DB coach. I am confused. <\/p>\n
Ed says: Wayne, let me do the best I can to answer all three of your coaching staff questions\/concerns.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think John Harbaugh \u201ctook a gamble\u201d with Todd Monken. He wanted Monken to come with him as offensive coordinator, but always knew there was a chance he would get the Browns\u2019 head-coaching job. We have no idea what happened when Harbaugh and Bricillo met, but there was a belief Monken had an offensive line coach, probably Warhop, in mind. That\u2019s just how the business works. They weren\u2019t going to hold Bricillo hostage and not let him look for a new job. As for Bloomgren, few if any Giants fans knew his name before he got hired. As far as I can tell, his offensive line work has always been highly-regarded. Let\u2019s see how the man does and how it all work out. Harbaugh won\u2019t bat 1.000 on his hires, but I do think the man deserves to be trusted to be able to identify and hire good people.Does it really matter why it took a while to promote Hall? Yes, Harbaugh interviewed Prince. They had never worked together. Maybe they didn\u2019t hit it off when Prince interviewed. Harbaugh went through his process, and chose Hall. You are making it sound like Harbaugh got caught with his pants down and didn\u2019t get the coaches he wanted. There are 10 NFL teams with new coaches rebuilding staffs. Nobody is going to land every coach they hope to.The official announcement of the coaching staff<\/a> came out on Friday. Donald D\u2019Alesio will be the passing game coordinator. Addison Lynch will be the defensive backs coach.<\/p>\n Seth Weissman asks: My question this week is about the draft. I know it\u2019s early, but I read your article about Carnell Tate and it got me thinking about what Harbaugh said about building a team to beat the Eagles. He said (I\u2019m paraphrasing) that it requires winning in the trenches. Knowing that, do you think it\u2019s more feasible that the Giants take a top DT like Peter Woods or top OT like Spencer Fano before looking at a WR or another position?<\/p>\n Ed says: Seth, I think almost anything but taking a quarterback is possible at this point. I don\u2019t believe Woods is in play because he isn\u2019t rate highly enough to be considered at No. 5. Wide receiver, offensive line, linebacker, cornerback, maybe even edge if the Giants decide to move on from Kayvon Thibodeaux.<\/p>\n I do believe the Giants will put resources into the lines on both sides. To get a better handle on draft priorities, though, I think we have to see how they attack free agency.<\/p>\n Gregory DiDonato asks: While moving back at #5 may not be as good without a top QB to come up for, do you see the Giants maneuvering around the board to add picks? Do you have any info on if the Ravens often traded around the board with Harbaugh in charge? A good idea may be to trade #37 to the Steelers for #53 and #85 since they have two 3rd rounders. Can you see the Giants being active like this in Harbaugh\/Schoen\u2019s first draft?<\/p>\n Ed says: Greg, can we please dispense with the idea that Harbaugh was in charge in Baltimore? Harbaugh did not have personnel authority. Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta, the general managers while Harbaugh was Ravens\u2019 head coach, did. The longer he was there I\u2019m sure the more Harbaugh\u2019s opinion mattered, but he never had decision-making authority.<\/p>\n