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| Kiwi moving to LB; SAM, to be exact | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 29 2007, 08:25 PM (110 Views) | |
| BlueSunday | Apr 29 2007, 08:25 PM Post #1 |
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Adios Muchachos
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Mathias Kiwanuka is changing positions and moving into the New York Giants' starting lineup at linebacker. Coach Tom Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese confirmed Sunday that the Giants No. 1 draft pick in 2006 would move from defensive end to strongside linebacker next season. Reese said the move had been planned for months and it had nothing to do with the draft, which the Giants wrapped up Sunday with four more picks. "There is no question that he can make the transition to outside linebacker, that he can play SAM linebacker," Reese said, noting that the 6-foot-5, 265-pound Kiwanuka is athletic and dropped into some zone pass coverages last season while playing end. Reese also said that Kiwanuka can be an every down player. The linebacker spot has been a concern since Reese waived veterans Carlos Emmons and LaVar Arrington in a salary cap move earlier this year. New York signed former Kansas City Chief Kawika Mitchell in the offseason. It was thought that he would be the strongside linebacker and Antonio Pierce would be the middle linebacker. The weakside position seemed up for grabs with Gerris Wilkinson, Chase Blackburn and Reggie Torbor in the mix. Reese repeatedly said the Giants had enough linebackers, but he never told anyone Kiwanuka might move. Kiwanuka was asked about such a move during the offseason workouts, but he indicated no one had talked to him about it. He started nine regular season games at defensive end and one in the playoffs, finishing with 55 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. "We have him penciled in as our SAM linebacker, so linebacker wasn't a pressing need for us," Reese said about an hour after the draft finished. "You probably thought it was, but it wasn't for us." Moving Kiwanuka is an attempt to get another good player on the field. Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora both went to the Pro Bowl in 2005, but missed considerable action last season with injuries. Kiwanuka played well replacing them, although he is best remembered to letting go of Tennessee quarterback Vince Young on a fourth-down, fourth-quarter play because he was afraid of being called for a roughing penalty. The mistake was magnified when the Titans rallied to win. "We want our best players on the field, so we penciled the guy in a long time ago," Reese said. Coughlin said the experiment with Kiwanuka will pick up steam this spring. Reese said Mitchell and Wilkinson are on the depth chart on at weakside linebacker, and not necessarily in that order. The Giants addressed the linebacker position Sunday in the draft, taking Zak DeOssie of Brown on the fourth round. He is the son of former Giant Steve DeOssie, who played linebacker here from 1989-93 and was a member of the 1990 Super Bowl champions. Reese expects the younger DeOssie to be a backup and special teams player. He can also long snap. I had a feeling this might happen at some point. He's definitely got the speed and the power for it, so I don't think it's a bad move |
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| InsightToRiot | Apr 30 2007, 03:06 AM Post #2 |
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Keeper of Real
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Honestly, watching him drop into zone coverage last year, he seemed a more natural fit for SAM than Torbor who was another converted DE. Then again, new DC. New system. I had mentioned before that I thought Torbor would be in the mix because of his pass rushing ability, but why not Kiwi who can rush and seems to have the prototype frame for a SAM? Questions might be, how are Strahan and Tuck rehabbing? Is it that Kiwi just can't add the weight? Is he still an option at DE should Strahan or Tuck go down again? If not, where's the depth at DE? |
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| 27Hampton | Apr 30 2007, 07:46 AM Post #3 |
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Hall of Famer
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I like it, it immediately upgrades our LB core, but I think Reese is jumping the gun in saying he's already penciled in at that position. Do you really think it's that easy to just switch positions like that when you've had your hand on the ground ever since you started playing serious football? How could he be so sure Kiwi can immediately make such a move? I think he has way too much confidence in any guy making such a move so quickly. We'll see. |
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| Ryan | Apr 30 2007, 11:42 AM Post #4 |
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Rookie
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^True, but if any of our defensive ends are fitting to move to linebacker, it's Kiwi. Sure, it will take some time to adjust, but one of his biggest assets is his speed for being so big, which makes a good combo for linebacker. We'll just see how it plays out, I can't believe this never even crossed my mind. |
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| 27Hampton | Apr 30 2007, 01:08 PM Post #5 |
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Hall of Famer
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Oh, no doubt about it..if anybody could make that move on our team, it's far and away Kiwi. But Reese is talking about it as if it's a done deal and he's the answer. It just sounded a little warped. But I'm happy with it. Instant upgrade to our LBs. |
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| cyberstorm | Apr 30 2007, 03:06 PM Post #6 |
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Most Metal Giants fan
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IMO,looks like they are going to use Kiwi like Adaleus Thomas,a jack of all trades LB/DE hybrid(IMO,why sign A.T for big bucks when we can have our very own version for like 6 years at a good price,and Kiwi IMO can be very close to Thomas) I'm beginning to see Reese's vision here,and if what he is doing is what I think he is trying to acomplish,we could have a very Patriot like team sitting here for when Bellicheck possibly comes here next year |
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| 27Hampton | Apr 30 2007, 03:11 PM Post #7 |
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Hall of Famer
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I was waiting for you to make your 2007 "exotic defense" comment. *snicker, snicker, snicker.* |
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| G1.. | Apr 30 2007, 03:16 PM Post #8 |
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G1
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So we let one of the best LBers in the History of Penn Sate LBers to go by so we could run and experiment. :wacko: "Coughlin said the experiment with Kiwanuka will pick up steam this spring. " This is fucking stupid! :puke:
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| InsightToRiot | May 1 2007, 12:45 AM Post #9 |
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Keeper of Real
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Everytime you draft a player, it's an "experiment." Some hypotheses on which "experiments" should be run are just better than others. And if he was drafted, would he play Mike for us? If not, then isn't his move to the outside and adjustment to the NFL level of competition just as much of an experiment as moving Kiwi to Sam? Not to mention, taking Poz would have required a big trade up in the second or reach and loss of a corner in the first. And honestly, with all the holes we had to fill, is it really a bad thing to take a chance on a productive athlete already on the team rather than losing picks to try to move (or "experiment" with moving) an undersized MLB to the outside? IMO, that would have been "fucking stupid!" |
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| G1.. | May 1 2007, 03:22 PM Post #10 |
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G1
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Now this is stupid,Poz should have been our #1 no trade up required and we could have gotten a CB later. |
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| BlueSunday | May 1 2007, 04:15 PM Post #11 |
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Adios Muchachos
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Trent Cole came to mind when I read this. Sick pass rusher |
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| BlueHeart | May 1 2007, 05:20 PM Post #12 |
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Gifted, But, Twisted Fearless Leader
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I love it. I don't mind going out on a limb and saying this "experiment" will work. I foresee him rocking the LB spot. :yes: |
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:wacko:
:puke:

9:18 AM Jul 11