You are in the market for a new car. You hop in for a test drive, buckle up, turn your neck as you back up and then you notice something that bothers you. This vehicle has a nasty blind spot. You cannot see an area you need to see. It’s not good.
Perhaps Jerry Reese has a blind spot when it comes to seeing linebackers who can make a difference for the Giants defense. The highly successful general manager came up through the ranks as a scout, and player evaluating still is in his blood. He’s been quite good at it, but when he turns to identify a quality linebacker, he often has a limited sight line.
The Giants would not have acquired Jon Beason if they had more hits and fewer swing-and-misses when it comes to finding linebackers. On Thursday night, the Panthers agreed to send Beason to the Giants for a conditional draft pick, and the deal was finalized Friday when Beason’s right knee passed muster with the Giants’ medical team.
There’s no doubt Reese has not prioritized the position of linebacker when building a defense. He has helped assemble two Super Bowl winners by putting a premium — and big money — on pass-rushing defensive ends and high draft picks at cornerback. There’s nothing wrong with that approach, but, once in a while, importing an impact player at linebacker helps.
Reese signed Kawika Mitchell in 2007. Mitchell was a key player in helping the Giants win the Super Bowl, then cashed in with the Bills when the Giants weren’t willing to spend big money to keep him as a free agent. Reese signed Michael Boley in 2009. Boley played very well in 2011, helping the Giants win another Super Bowl. Boley’s performance and health deteriorated and he was gone after the 2012 season.
Mainly, Reese has taken low-risk gambles on players who once were highly touted. It’s as if Reese looks back on his scouting reports, sees a player he liked coming out of college and says, “Hmm, this guy was good back then, maybe he can be good now — even though there’s no evidence to support that notion.’’
In 2010, Reese signed Keith Bulluck, a former first-round pick of the Titans who put together a solid 10-year career in Tennessee. Bulluck had nothing left in the tank, though, and was gone after one season, never to resurface in the NFL. In 2012, Reese traded a fifth-round draft pick to acquire Keith Rivers, who was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Rivers couldn’t stay healthy with the Bengals, and after four years they sent him to the Giants. Rivers could not shed his injury history last season in his new environs, and this season he hasn’t made any impact. He was on the field for only nine defensive snaps last week in Kansas City.
This summer, Reese made a no-risk move by signing Aaron Curry, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 draft, considered one of the sure things in the entire draft. Curry didn’t do much of anything with the Seahawks, who in 2011 traded Curry to the Raiders, who cut him during the 2012 season. Curry did not make the Giants’ final roster and soon after announced his retirement.
The draft has not been kind to Reese when it comes to linebackers. He hasn’t taken any the past two years. Reese took Greg Jones (Michigan State) and Jacquian Williams (South Florida) in the sixth round in 2011. Jones didn’t last, and Williams, despite athletic flashes, has yet to break through. In 2010, Reese took Phillip Dillard (Nebraska) in the fourth round and he did not pan out. In the sixth round of that draft, Reese took Adrian Tracy (William & Mary), who was converted to defensive end and is no longer with the team. The most damaging misfire came in 2009, when Reese took Clint Sintim (Virginia) in the second round. Sintim did not seem suited to play in a 4-3 scheme and suffered multiple knee injuries that forced him out of football.
In 2008, Reese took Bryan Kehl (BYU) in the fourth round and Jonathan Goff (Vanderbilt) in the fifth. Neither player developed into much, though Goff had some moments before tearing up his knee. The first linebacker Reese selected after he became GM, back in 2007, was Zak DeOssie (Brown) in the fourth round. DeOssie remains the Giants long-snapper, but he never played a down at linebacker.
Prior to this season, Reese signed Dan Connor, who played for the Panthers and Cowboys. He started at middle linebacker in the season opener, hurt his neck and was put on season-ending injured reserve. Two starting linebackers this season, Spencer Paysinger and Mark Herzlich, were added in 2011 as undrafted free agents.
That brings us to Beason, 28, who made the Pro Bowl in three of his first four seasons as a tackling-machine youngster with the Panthers. Beason, though, has played in just seven games the past three seasons. He tore his Achilles tendon in 2011 and last season underwent microfracture surgery on his right knee. He started the first two games this season before he was replaced, ironically, by Chase Blackburn, the former Giants linebacker whom Reese opted not to re-sign.