More Evidence That Dominik Outfoxed The Giants
September 14th, 2012
Probably still reeling from the Bucs hurdling his Giants at the end of the first round of the 2012 draft to snag Doug Martin, Giants general manager Jerry Reese hinted back then that the Giants really wanted Martin instead of crying running back David Wilson.
But then Reese ran to the WFAN-AM airwaves on May 1 to backpedal.
“There’s been some conjecture that Tampa had moved up in front of us and took Martin,” Reese said. “That’s not true … Martin would not have been our pick.”
Well, now there’s even more evidence that Reese was caught with his pants down and Bucs rockstar general manager Mark Dominik outfoxed the Giants by moving up out of the second round to snag the No. 30 pick and Martin.
Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride all but told NJ.com yesterday that Martin was a better player coming out of college compared to weepy David Wilson.
Kevin Gilbride gave a frank appraisal when asked to compare Doug Martin, the rookie running back drafted 31st overall by the Buccaneers, and David Wilson, the rookie running back drafted 32nd overall by the Giants.
“Different styles. I think David has great explosion and great speed,” the Giants offensive coordinator said today. “I think Doug Martin looked more — what’s the word I want to say? — versatile. Ready to do all aspects: pass protection, pass catching as well as running. What they did offensively and what Virginia Tech asked of David are two completely different things. In some respects, (Martin) is a little further along in those aspects at playing the position.”
Martin and Wilson were the second and third running backs drafted, respectively, after Alabama’s Trent Richardson. The Buccaneers traded up to get Martin, a Boise State product, leaving some wondering if the Giants would have selected him instead of Wilson at No. 32 if he were available.
Gilbride’s answer about Martin being further along than Wilson raised that question, but he deferred to the front office when asked.
“Oh, I’ve got no say,” Gilbride said. “You have to talk to the general manager about that one. I have zero say.”
Yes, Joe realizes Reese has Super Bowl rings on his fingers, but he was humiliated by Dominik in April, a move that could lead to a Bucs win Sunday.
September 14th, 2012 at 9:24 am
I know that there are a lot of Dominik-bashers out there, but I love what the guy is doing. I think he’s crafty, has a solid plan and is very clever in making his moves, and I think we’ll see the fruits of his labor in the coming years.
September 14th, 2012 at 9:42 am
I agree Teddy. There have been some questionable moves over the year but he’s done a lot better than many othe GM’s and you can’t really blame draft busts on him. I mean I don’t think it’s possible to think he’s not an upgrade from Bruce Allen.
September 14th, 2012 at 9:50 am
Funny, Bruce Allen was one of his mentors, along with Rich McKay. I guess understudies can be better than their teachers.
September 14th, 2012 at 9:55 am
I find it hard to compare Bruce Allen with any “Real” GM, his sole skill is Salary Cap management, he has never been a talent evaluator type of GM, thats just not what he does. Look at the last 3 teams he was GM of, Oakland, team built by Al Davis and Chucky, Tampa, Chucky had complete control over personel, Allen’s only job was SC management, now in Washington, you know Shannahan (sic) has complete control there.
September 14th, 2012 at 10:43 am
Giants already have a veteran version of Martin in Ahmad Bradshaw. They really needed a playmaker out of backfield and Wilson is that. I find it hard to believe that Giants, who usually pick BPA instead of need (like JPP in 2010) picked a RB they did not want as much to fill a hole.
September 14th, 2012 at 11:13 am
Jonny 3.3: I think Wilson was their second choice after Martin, and since Martin was off the board, he became their first choice. I don’t think the Giants reached or settled on Wilson, and of course the GM would never knock his own player over someone on another team.
Remember, all the teams have draft boards, and those boards contain every top prospect. Every team had Andrew Luck and RG3 somewhere on their board, regardless of need. Sometimes a guy slips and other times a team trades up, it happens.
Bottomline: I’m happy the Bucs traded up for Martin, because he would have been drafted by New York for just about every reason Gilbride listed in his comments – Doug Martin is a complete back and has a chance to be really good. I hope he stays healthy and keeps producing, he’s quickly becoming one of my favorite players.
September 14th, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Yo yo Joe, the Bucs jumped up to the 31st pick to nab Martin not the 30th.
Yes folks, it’s painfully obvious Martin was the Giants first choice over Wilson. They were stunned when the Bucs leaped them. Giants are one of the best drafting teams in the NFL, so clearly they wanted Martin.
September 14th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Jbrooks-you can’t blame draft busts on the GM?!?! Since when? Dominik’s drafts to date have been bad, he’s making the picks which makes him responsible.
September 14th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
A lot of the so call bust were due to injuries and bad coaching. This year the first round picks of Dominik as been showing why they were first round picks.
2nd rounds not so much until this year with Lavonte David. Brian Price and Da’quan Bowers have just been injury concerns coming out of college, but Bowers had a freak Achilles incident. Rejus shows flashes but can’t stay healthy long enough to show anything.
September 14th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
I agree with Teddy.
OAR, Bruce Allen was not bad in performing his assigned duties. The lack of spending was likely due to order from the Glazers. Rich McKay was great at shifting things around and extending contracts so that the cap hits were delayed. I firmly believe he really left because he could not longer hide the cap situation.
I will say this though…I believe Allen was as dishonest as Gruden where the players were concerned…so in that aspect he was bad.
September 14th, 2012 at 4:08 pm
@Joe
“humiliated”?? Seriously? Put the beers down.
Reality Check time.
Martin and Wilson were the next best two RBs after Richardson. And actually Wilson rated higher on the NFL Draft Combine projections by a far margin. Martin does more things now, but Wilson has a higher potential ceiling (86 to 74).
What you do not know about Wilson is he was the one of the few draft prospects at the Combines to go on his team interviews in a 3 piece suit and always wore a dress shirt and tie to classes. He speaks Coughlinese. And even before the draft he had posted a video of him challenging JPP’s backflipping… falling 1 short. He was destined to be a Giant.
And the Giants do not draft for need or target a player generally (with the exception of Eli) but take the Best Player Available. Rookies aren’t expected to start. They are developed. Wilson is the #2 RB on the depth chart. Randle the #4 WR. Hosley the #5 CB (although #1 nickleback). Will Hill the #3 Safety.
The Giants didn’t need a DE a few years back, but still took JPP.
Tampa has a more dominant power rushing OL which suits Martin’s skillset. The Giants had the worst OL last year, having the last place rushing attack and giving up the most QB pressures by a wide margin. (Which is why Eli is the best QB there is – he carried the offense.) The Giants needed more speed out of their RB to hit the holes faster and be more nimble to get outside when needed.
Both teams got the RB they needed. Could they work out if swapped? Definitely. But both teams did well.
And judging draftpicks after 1 game is actually quite ridiculous.
September 14th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Just one person’s opinion but I don’t believe giving up a 4th round pick was humiliating the Giants in order to get Martin. If you believe this then one could say that Dallas humiliated the bucs when they took the CB and left us to take a saftety high in the first round.
September 15th, 2012 at 12:44 am
No way you can say that Marky D humiliated the Giants on draft day. I believe with the post from Facts Matter and feel that both teams ultimately got the back they desired. I also agree that Wilson’s upside is certainly much higher then Martin’s.
Martin is a great addition, no doubt about it. But to say that Dom has humiliated anyone is plain asinine.