It was no secret back in 2003 that the Giants were in the market for a defensive lineman and there were a slew of them available in the NFL Draft. With the 25th pick, the Giants figured they could stay where they were and land a quality player.
They did not figure the run on defensive linemen would be fast and furious, starting with the Jets at No. 4 taking Dewayne Robertson. Nine of them came off the board before the Giants made a selection, with the Eagles trading up 15 spots all the way to No. 8 to eagerly land Miami’s Jerome McDougle. With nowhere else to turn, the Giants stood pat and took McDougle’s college teammate, William Joseph, and weren’t especially excited about it.
As it turns out, Joseph never panned out and after five unproductive seasons was finally waived not long after the Super Bowl. McDougle did not fare much better, as he battled through injuries and misfortune, never establishing anything on the field. This past Saturday, he was cut by the Eagles.
Later that night, he was visiting with the Giants and today he signed a one-year, $1 million contract, the newest member of a championship team and a player who could be an interesting piece to the ever-changing defensive puzzle.
“We think this is going to be a real good investment for us,” Tom Coughlin said.
“I look good in blue,” McDougle, 29, said. “I feel good to be here, staying in the division, so not really much of a difference as far as guys you are going against, and I just feel good to be here, to be wanted.”
To make room on the roster, defensive tackle Rodney Leisle was cut one day after being told he made the team.
This addition is in keeping with the Giants fascination with accumulating as many pass-rushing ends as possible. Even with the retirement of Michael Strahan, the Giants believed they were well-fortified at defensive end. With Justin Tuck moving in as a full-time starter on the left side, Osi Umenyiora a fixture at right end, strong side linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka sliding up to end in the nickel package and the signing of Renaldo Wynn.
Those plans went awry when Umenyiora was lost to the season following knee surgery. Kiwanuka was immediately moved back to end and will start. Wynn isn’t much of a pass rusher and second-year Dave Tollefson lacks experience. The third player for the rotation did not exist on the roster.
Enter McDougle.
“He certainly was a guy who created great interest for us,” Coughlin said.
Despite leading the team with 2 1/ 2 sacks in the preseason, McDougle didn’t make it out of the last round of cuts with the Eagles, even though during training camp Andy Reid said “he looks strong and fast and quick.”
So why did they dump him? The Eagles tired of waiting. McDougle has been hurt far more than he’s been healthy and in 33 games has three sacks. He’s had injuries to his knees and ankle, an irregular heartbeat, fractured ribs. In 2005, he was shot in the stomach while he was a bystander during a robbery in Miami and missed the entire season. He sat out all of last season with a triceps tear.
“It hasn’t been frustrating,” McDougle said. “Some guys wonder why people go crazy and start losing it, they don t have anything to believe in, they don’t have anything to trust in. If you believe in God and you trust in him, he will always deliver you.”
Reputed to be a pass-rushing end at 6-2 and 264 pounds, McDougle was with the Eagles when Steve Spagnuolo was in Philly as the linebackers coach and that connection had plenty to do with this signing. He is supposedly fully healthy and once he gets in the swing of things, it’s not a stretch to assume McDougle will play a significant role on third downs and whenever extra pressure on the opposing quarterback is needed.