The annual Jerry Reese pre-draft, say-nothing press conference was held today. No, I’m not complaining about Reese not giving any solid info on the draft process because I understand why he didn’t and frankly I wouldn’t give him anything if the roles were reversed.

My point is there weren’t a whole lot of revelations or insights on the players the Giants might select next week. But there was an interesting turn when Reese was asked about the linebackers the team has taken in the past few years – all of whom have yet to make an impact.

“We have a couple of guys we don’t really know a lot about. Phillip Dillard didn’t play a lot and Adrian Tracy dislocated his elbow,” Reese said of the fourth- and sixth-round picks last year. “We want to see what those guys can do. And Clint Sintim is a guy that we want to see what he can do. He hasn’t played a lot and he got injured, so that hampered our evaluation of him.”

Now, the Sintim part is where things got interesting. Reese has challenged the 2009 pick in the past, saying he needs to learn to make opposing players’ “teeth rattle,” and he did so again today.

“I think he can do all of that, but I think it’s about growing up for him,” Reese said, echoing a sentiment Sintim expressed before last season. “He needs to grow up and play like the second-round player we think he is and give us that value and step in there and show us he can be a starter for us and play quality football for us.

“We picked him in the second round so we expect him to be an impact player for us and right now he hasn’t been able to do that. He flashed a little bit as a rookie but last year he didn’t get to play a lot because he was injured. So we’re hoping he can come back from his injury and look like a second-round pick.”

That’s kind of a misleading statement because Sintim didn’t tear his ACL until the Dec. 13 game against the Vikings. Before that, he played 13 games, mostly as a special teamer. And frankly, he entered training camp as the starter on the strong side (or weak side, depending on one’s perspective) but left the preseason as a backup after the team determined Jonathan Goff in the middle was a better option than Sintim on the outside, with Keith Bulluck sliding to Sintim’s spot.

“Well, it is what it is,” Reese replied when told Sintim had a chance to win a starting job. “You say he had a shot but he wasn’t out there. I don’t know if he had a shot or not.”

Hmm, well it’s up to the coaches who plays on Sundays. Perhaps Reese thinks Sintim deserves more of a chance – if he “grows up.”

2010: Phillip Dillard (4th round), Adrian Tracy (6th)

2009: Clint Sintim (2nd)

2008: Bryan Kehl (4th), Jonathan Goff (5th)

2007: Zak DeOssie (4th)

2006: Gerris Wilkinson (3rd)

2005: None

2004: Reggie Torbor (3rd)

2003: None

2002: Nick Greisen (5th), Wes Mallard (6th), Quincy Monk (7th)

2001: None

2000: Brandon Short (4th), Dhani Jones (6th)

1999: O.J. Childress (7th)

1998: None

1997: Ryan Phillips (3rd), Pete Monty (4th)

1996: Doug Colman (6th), Scott Galyon (6th)

1995: Ben Talley (4th)

1994: None

1993: Marcus Buckley (3rd), Tommy Thigpen (5th), Jessie Armstead (8th)

1992: None

1991: Kanavis McGhee (2nd), Anthony Moss (5th), Corey Miller (6th)

Big_Pete wrote:I think part of our problem is that we didn't know what we wanted, we went for a lot of pass rushing hybrids or solid guys and not the stud natural LB.

A classic example is when we drafted Kiwanuka as a 4th DE over DeMeco Ryans who would have been the stud OLB we badly need.

56 Crazed Dogs wrote:

Big_Pete wrote:I think part of our problem is that we didn't know what we wanted, we went for a lot of pass rushing hybrids or solid guys and not the stud natural LB.

A classic example is when we drafted Kiwanuka as a 4th DE over DeMeco Ryans who would have been the stud OLB we badly need.

I agree with you here Pete. We have certainly had many opportunities. Sometimes you have to put need ahead of your talent board a little bit.

56 Crazed Dogs wrote:A few guys recently I wanted the giants to draft as linebackers.

AJ Hawk and Clay Mathews. Guess I should have been a Green Bay fan instead lol.

Pat Angerer last year in the later rounds.
Zak DeOssie in the later rounds. (which we got but for different reasons)

I had Zak Follet and Jason Philips in rd 3&5 in 2009. I went wrong there.

NYG Hampton 27 wrote:I wanted Thomas Howard a few years ago, if I recall correctly weren't you big on him Pete? And, is he a free agent this year?

Big_Pete wrote:

NYG Hampton 27 wrote:I wanted Thomas Howard a few years ago, if I recall correctly weren't you big on him Pete? And, is he a free agent this year?

Yeah I liked Thomas Howard.

I still think he would be a decent pick up as a cheap FA to backup and compete with Boley at WLB.

I think Howard is a good fit for Fewell's scheme

NYG Hampton 27 wrote:I'm holding out hope for Goff, Armstead didn't really hit his stride until his 4th year.

NYG Hampton 27 wrote:

Big_Pete wrote:

NYG Hampton 27 wrote:I wanted Thomas Howard a few years ago, if I recall correctly weren't you big on him Pete? And, is he a free agent this year?

Yeah I liked Thomas Howard.

I still think he would be a decent pick up as a cheap FA to backup and compete with Boley at WLB.

I think Howard is a good fit for Fewell's scheme

I agree, I think he'd be great. Are teams able to sign FAs yet, to be honest I don't know much about the holdout situation, but I heard a just temporarily stopped the holdout recently.