Loading ...The 2012 NFL Draft is officially here. One of the two most talked about picks, Robert Griffin III, went to the Washington Redskins with the second overall pick. As such, that means RG3 will be squaring off with the New York Giants defense, twice a year.
Does that worry Griffin at all? Per the man himself, he is not afraid of the Giants pass rush.
As reported by Anthony Sulla-Heffinger of the New York Daily News, Griffin claims that he does not approach the game with fear, saying:
“I’m not going to play with fear … I’m a talented guy and I respect talent. I respect Pierre-Paul, I respect Tuck, Umenyiora all of those guys, but I am not going to go out and play as if I’m scared they are going to sack me."
It would be wise to "respect" the likes of Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Osi Umenyiora (as well as the rest of the Giants D-line that he neglected to mention), who were dubbed the NASCAR defensive line due to their speed and fierce pass rush last season. For his sake, hopefully Chris Canty and Mathias Kiwanuka didn't catch wind of this story.
However, Griffin went on to explain that his comments were more about his overall outlook on how he plays the game on a fundamental level. If you have ever played football, the one thing you heard, starting in Pop Warner, was to never try to protect yourself. Go out there and hit hard because when you play to protect yourself, that's when you get hurt.
It seems RG3 has made that something of a personal mantra, explaining:
“That’s the one thing I’ve never done as a player,” Griffin III said. “Never play with fear, always play fearless but respect your opponent. Those guys are great so use your strengths against them."
Griffin also took a moment to elaborate on the continued emergence of the mobile quarterback due to the increased athleticism of defensive linemen, starting back with the likes of former Giants great, Michael Strahan, and legend, Reggie White. Griffin noted:
“First and foremost you have to blame guys like Michael Strahan, Reggie White, Justin Tuck for making quarterbacks have to be mobile,” Griffin III said. “The game always evolves, because defensive linemen are so athletic now, quarterbacks have to be able to move a little bit. They don’t have to be world-class speed guys but they have to be able to move."
Whether he's afraid or not, Griffin will be getting a healthy dose of a lethal New York Giants pass rush this season. It will be interesting to see how much he "respects" them after his first two outings against them.
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Hey, the kid is right. He shouldn’t play scared. I like him in our Division. Should be fun to watch his evolution and as a fan I’m happy to see the return of the NFC Beast. We’re going to see a lot of great football.
When does Round 2 commence?
7pm your time FF55. 9am my time
Where the heck are you ?
Wilson has run a 4.29 40 … for the record. There was some small med issue at the Combine that held him to a still blazing 4.49. He was disappointed in it.
We’re talking unreal speed here.
I fvukin hate Griffin
A little surprised by the Wilson pick, but only because its a 1. Like everyone, I thought RB an obvious need that likely would be filled in the first 3 rounds. So its the first.
Reese and Ross love the kid and his highlight reel certainly gives one hope.
He looks like an immediate contributor on special teams and likely will get some touches by mid-season.
Now off to rounds 2 and 3. How many picks do we have? Just one in each round or do we have a 2d 3?
It’s the speed thing. One of the fastest guys in the draft … and the faster big time RB. That’s the new NFL. Wide open and quick.
One in each
I mean, what is the kid supposed to say? He shouldn’t be scared so good for him.
Anyway, I have to say that I really liked the signing of Shaun Rogers. After all the times he’s wreaked havoc against us, it will be nice to have him our side for once, even if he is on the downside of his career. He was once a force in this league and near unblockable at times due to his immense size and quickness for that size. He’s the new Rocky Bernard and I’m pretty excited about that. This should allow Marvin Austin a little more time to learn the ropes since he is essentiall a rookie as well.
That’s another thing we have to remember. With Prince out most of the year and playing hurt when he came back and Austin on IR all year, we have basically 3 1st round picks this year. Remember, Reese had Austin as a 1st round talent, as did a lot of other people and the only reason he fell was due to character concerns which were overblown IMO.
Those character concerns are exactly why I see Alshon Jeffery slipping all the way to our pick at the end of the 2nd, especially with Hill and Randle still on the board as well. And if he doesn’t make it that far, I could see him dropping close enough where JR doesn’t have to give up too much to move up for him. This would allow Cruz to stay in the slot, but we’ll see. Can’t wait for tonight!
I like the Rogers signing too. Reese said last night that it’s a situation where they’ll only ask him to go 18-20 snaps a game as hard as he can. Sounds about right.
On an unrelated note (because I’m too lazy to post and post again), I’m kinda getting agitated seeing elsewhere on the internets that this was a need pick and not BPA. As if these muppets know the Giants board.
A guy who led the country in yards after contact and was the offensive player of the year in his conference and with the speed purported by Krow juuuust might be a decent player.
And, if your argument is Reese never drafts backs so he obviously reached for obvious need, consider that we’re in a whole new world with the CBA, where you don’t have to set your franchise back 5 years for a bust running back.
While I was surprised by the Wilson pick (and didn’t really know much about him), I’m happy with it. He looks to have tremendous upside. Hopefully he can catch it, doesn’t seem like he was given much opportunity to do so in college.
On my phone so can’t copy and paste it but according to a tweet that Schefter retweeted, David Wilson had 990 yards after contact which was the best in college football. Speed and power.
Good for RGIII for being confident. He seems like a great kid, and if he weren’t on the Redskins I would definitely be rooting for succeed. The NFC East should be a dogfight once again this year. Washington and Dallas probably shored up their biggest weaknesses (QB and secondary respectively) and the Eagles added possibly the best defensive tackle in the draft.
I’m definitely excited to see what Wilson can do. He has great speed, but also combines it with the toughness to break tackles and some shiftiness in the open field. If the Giants can get their run blocking sorted out, he could have a big future. Whether he was BPA or not is an interesting question, but without a doubt he filled pa major need with a potential impact player.
Round 2 should be a very interesting one for the Giants. There is a ton of O-line depth left (Glenn, Adams, Martin, Silatolu, Massie, Konz, Osemele off the top of my head were all considered possible 1st-rounders at some point), and it’s possible that one or more of these guys could be available when the Giants pick at 63 (or within trade-up range).
There are some good wideout options as well (Hill, Jeffery, Randle, Sanu, Jones) who would be great value at the Giants’ pick, though I’m don’t think the first two will be on the board at #63. As for TE, Fleener’s probably going at the top of the round (maybe 34 to Indy to reunite with Luck), but Dwayne Allen could make it to the Giants’ pick (he’s a better blocker than Fleener, and still has decent receiving skill). I’m not sure if DE’s Vinny Curry or Andre Branch will be there at 63, but they would be decent values there. Janoris Jenkins would obviously be a huge steal, but I don’t think he falls far enough.
Based on who is likely to be available Allen or an O-lineman (maybe Massie or Osemele) seem like probable outcomes who would fill needs while representing good value. I can’t pretend to be inside the head of Jerry Reese or the other GM’s, so of course there’s a chance I’m completely off here.
answering my own question above, we have left a 2, a 3, 2 4′s, a 6 and a 7
Keep in mind that Wilson is only 20 yrs old. Has unique abilities, i talked about them before. His leaping ability is off the charts. I like him much better than than the other backs, including Martin. I’m looking forward to watching him play.