New York Giants Roster Battles: Linebacker
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
All right folks, we’ve been covering some of the most important roster battles for the New York Giants 2014 season, and even though some of the players involved in those battles – say for the tight end or safety positions – might not seem too impressive, there is one position we can all sigh in relief and allow ourselves to get our hopes a little high – Linebacker.
The team has a pretty deep roster at the moment but we are not going to talk about them all, in fact we will only cover the big three that will probably bring much satisfaction to us all when it comes to defensive efforts.
Ok, just for science, here are all the listed LB’s on the roster: Justin Anderson, Spencer Adkins, Dan Fox, Mark Herzlich, Devon Kennard, Jacquian Williams, Jameel McClain, Spencer Paysinger, Jon Beason.
The last three names are the ones that really matter to us at this point.
Spencer Paysinger has always been a Giant since being signed as a rookie free agent in 2011. He has accumulated 125 total tackles in his three year tenure but only last year acquired the starter status. He started in 10 games in 2013 and will probably be one of the three in the field to start the 2014 season. At 6 foot 2 he is the tallest of the three but not necessarily the strongest link in the position.
The next two are the ones set to bring it all together.
Jon Beason and Jameel McClain are two veterans that came to New York in 2013 and 2014 respectively from the Carolina Panthers and the Baltimore Ravens. The two have had respectable careers so far, bringing great accomplishments in their baggage – Bason is a three time Pro Bowl player and McClain won the SuperBowl XLVII. Fortunately for the Giants, it is not just the titles they bring to this season, but also a big sense of urgency to perform at a high level and a much needed leadership.
As reported by John Schmeelk of Giants.com, both players have shown in these OTA’s that they are ready to start the season and make the Giants one of the toughest defenses to play against. According to the reports, both backers have performed incredibly well besides having taken the role of leaders to their teammates. The new defense is able to execute the plays very well, but most importantly they are also able adjust to the offensive changes on the go and make quick decisions to counter it. Considering that the whole offensive system is in a major changing project, it is even more impressive that the D can adjust and battle so well for position. It seems that, at least from the Linebacker standpoint, this year’s Giants defense will be much more competent – and we are still in the OTAs! Antonio Pierce, Giants former LB, also commented on the competence shown by these guys and is confident that everything is going to work out all right for them against all different kinds of offenses and QBs.
Hopefully this will translate well to the training camp and these three can carry much of the weight in terms of defensive efforts.
Keep in mind we are not talking about Lawrence Taylor’s Big Blue Wrecking Crew here, but it is nice to finally see a defense of which we can be proud and look to watching this season after years of weakness and lack of confidence.
Go Giants!