nfreeman

All of the top 4 are going to be gone by pick #5 at the latest.

Southern Spain -- I took that photo today in Ronda, a great little town that spans an incredible gorge. We're going to travel around to a couple of other towns this week and end up in Madrid. So far, so bueno.

Vacation in Spain.

Awesome Josie.

I don’t think there can be any conclusion other than it being a major disappointment if they aren’t able to get one of the big 4 QBs.

Not a-tall. My point is simply that no one should assume the Giants are going to take a RB and not a QB, esp since the Eli era appears to be over.

This is pretty much my view as well.

FWIW, I have a good friend who is a lifelong Giants fan and he is certain the Giants are going to stay at #2 and draft a QB.

For those blaming ownership: does the state of the Bills, who appear to be finally improving and a real NFL franchise, affect your thinking?

They didn’t make the playoffs in 2013. They made the playoffs in 2010 and 2011. They were beating Philly 3-2 in 2011, with the chance to close out the series in game 6 at home, and were leading in the 3rd period, but lost that game in OT on a goal by Ville Freaking Leino and then went to pieces in game 7 and the entire next season. That reaction in crunch time was emblematic of that team post Black Sunday and is why there is some truth to Robvy’s assertions about that team and how most fans felt about them — ie no heart. But that team didn’t need a tear down IMHO. It needed more guts in the top 6. But they hid under the bed in 2012 and missed the playoffs, then started poorly in 2013, Darcy and/or TP panicked and fired Lindy, and then they decided to tank.

I think the claim is that they not only take it into account but weigh it as a critical factor in their decisions — ie he asserted that the Bills would take whichever QB was the most religious.

What about McCarron? Or any of the FAs they just brought in?

Is any of the top QBs in this draft religious?

I didn't say that you were being anti-religious. I said that you incessantly claim that McD and BB make their personnel decisions based on the religiousness of the players, and that the frequency with which you make that claim is tiresome. I also said that the theory itself is belied by them jettisoning TT. You have also put forward zero evidence to support your theory, which is another reason it is tiresome.

OK. If they are bottom 5 in the NHL next year, would you think the tank was a failure? What if it's both next year and the following year? As for the comparison with the Bills -- I think that's a straw man. The Bills weren't trying to win. They didn't spend to the cap and they hired one bargain-bin loser after another at GM and coach.

This is such a stupid and tiresome theme that you continue to bang on in a distressingly high percentage of your posts. TT is a religious guy -- did they keep him?

Well, the purpose of the tank wasn't to land Eichel. It was to become a cup contender, with the logic being that having Eichel would facilitate becoming a cup contender. Those of us who opposed the tank argued (correctly) that even with Eichel, it was much more likely that the team would continue to languish at the bottom than rise to the top. I agree that getting Babcock -- one of the best coaches in NHL history -- would've made for a better team. Your other 2 changes would also have helped, although I think the improvements there would've been marginal (greater improvements would've resulted if Lehner had become what GMTM was hoping for, instead of a bottom-5 NHL starter). But if the plan relies on getting Babcock -- it's a stupid and desperate plan.

In answer to the OP: the tank failed exactly as much as everyone should've expected -- i.e. it has been a complete debacle and has resulted in the team sinking to the bottom and staying there for an as-yet-indeterminate period. The fan base is alienated and shrinking, the games aren't fun to attend, the team isn't particularly likeable and there's not much hope for real improvement any time soon. If your plan for paying your mortgage is to pawn all your stuff and buy a bunch of powerball tickets -- don't be surprised when you find yourself sleeping under a bridge.

It seems increasingly likely to me that their plan is to move up, draft a QB and throw him in as the starter on day 1.

I have heard this too, but not from an official source, and I am a bit skeptical. Why would the NHLPA care about this (or more accurately, care enough to make it a priority in negotiating with the NHL)? In any case I like the suggestion about the drafting team having the right to offer more $$. Also a good suggestion. And good data here.

Yes indeed, and this gives me some hope that TP may have hired the right guy for the Sabres as well.

There is certainly plenty of data to support this view. However, it seems clear that McD and BB have been targeting at least one of the QBs in this class for a while now and therefore that they believe that they can get a true franchise QB. So it comes down to whether you trust McD and BB to get this right.

I don't think we can evaluate this until we have the contract deets. There are certainly contract structures that result in little to no cap hit if they cut him before the end of the contract. There's no way to be sure. I agree with you that I don't want McD and BB to give away all of their picks to move up -- and their trades last year at the draft indicate that they aren't shy about doing so -- but at the same time I think they've earned the right to go after the guy they like best. If it crashes and burns -- that will be an important factor in how we evaluate them.

Lotulelei is 6'2", 315 lbs. He'll turn 29 at the end of this coming season. He was the 14th pick in the draft in 2013. He's played 5 seasons, 3 of which he played all 16 games, and played 14 games in the other 2 seasons. He's from Tonga and played college football at Utah. Obviously McD and BB know him well and like him. Good enough for me.

At this point we have to think they are going to keep moving up and are prepared to throw their 2nd- and 3rd-rounders at the situation as needed. In for a penny, in for a pound. It's risky but I'm prepared to give McD and Beano the benefit of the doubt, unlike the series of bozos that preceded them.