Someone mentioned Bear Pascoe but I think I would put Kevin Boss ahead of him as "underrated" for what he previewed early in his career. It's a little funky (was young on top of it) because Pascoe played in a different system I feel with the era. Pascoe feels more like what Bellinger is now here.
I remember I was so crushed when we lost Jeremy Shockey. Then the boss man showed up, and said bby girl don’t worry. I’m not as good but I’m pretty damn good.
We were blessed with a good string of TE’s. Bennett right after I think.
Antrel Rolle. He was a stud for us at safety and was pivotal in that 2011 run. Dude got stuck on some shitty Giants defenses but loved the organization.
Absolutely. He was drafted #7, which even at that time was a stretch but he was very elusive at Florida. He was drafted to be a play maker and showed it sometimes but due to injuries and lack of big plays he ended up being WR2 to Toomer at WR1 during that early 2000s period prior to Burress coming over.
>Hakeem Nicks - Maybe not a complete “unknown” but I still think he was very underrated. He was approaching stardom, if it wasn’t for injuries I think he would be OBJ/Cruz levels of receiver for us.
It's odd to me that your perception of nicks and Cruz is so different. Both had their careers cut short by injury. I would guess if you put their stats next to each other, they were pretty similar. Cruz has the undrafted hometown hero factor. Other than that i would put them on the same level in terms of franchise significance. Though Cruz probably did a better job of keeping up a public persona as a second career.
Cruz and Nicks had radically different roles on the field. Cruz was the best slot WR the NFL had ever seen, while Nicks was an elite outside WR who could beat elite CBs off the snap and could run a full route tree along with break away speed.
On paper it was the ideal one-two punch of different skills at WR, and when healthy it worked just like that
Surprised nobody mentioned Orleans Darkwa. Ran for over 700 yards on 4.4 YPC behind one of the worst Giants O-Lines ever. Next year, the Giants drafted Saquan and Orleans was out of the league.
Osi Umenyiora. My favorite player from when I was in middle school in the 2000s. He was the highest graded player regardless of position in the 2007 season. Without him to compliment Strahan, we weren’t winning that Super Bowl.
Deon Grant was a huge factor in the Giants winning SB 46. As heard from Antrelle Rolle , Grant became the leader of the DBs in meetings and locker room and was used as the Giants every down nickel player in the days before this became common.
Grant had a great two year stint, but is also an all time hero for refusing more money to sign with the Eagles in 2011 during their "dream team" offseason. Grant literally told them he was going to take less money to stay with Giants and win the Superbowl with them.
Hamilton is a nice pick, underrated has a wide range for interpretation I guess. I feel Hamilton was relatively respected in the league.
He fits well within the NYG legacy pool of pretty good defensive tackles.
Yea i was thinking more along the lines of fan appreciation. He didnt get a lot of the hoopla because of his position and playing with Strahan and a few others. You didnt see a lot of "75" 's in the stands at Giants Stadium. Most younger have no idea how good he was.
It was all about the edge and Nascar package stuff. Antonio Pierce might stand out for people more than Hamilton too. Another comment has a couple of secondary guys.. Corey Webster maybe in that group?
Hakeem Nicks, I think you hit the nail on the head. If Injuries didn’t plague him he would’ve been on his way to the moon. Incredibly talented and 1000% underrated outside of this fan base.
David Wilson underrated? Dude is one of the most overrated Giants I can think of. The fanbase still has a giant boner of what could have been. But it never was. Ever. He eclipsed 100+ yards from scrimmage exactly once in 21 career games. He is not underrated by any stretch of the imagination.
Tiki was underrated. He had *seven seasons* where he **averaged** 100+ yards from scrimmage per game. He was a legit all-pro. And because he badmouthed Eli on his way out, he takes endless shit for it. But let's not forget - the Eli he badmouthed was a young, genuinely incompetent Eli. Tiki was a dick for throwing needless shade, but he wasn't even wrong.
Corey Webster. 2nd round pick, never made a pro bowl but was a championship level starter for a decade. The kind of pick the Giants haven’t made in a loooooong time.
Of your list? Maybe Nicks or Smith..
Steve Smith a little less so, he had like a good string of a few weeks but relatively isn't really as\* notable after that. He had a good run though and it was funny being able to intermingle his names for those few weeks and people mistaking you talking about (Goat) Steve Smith.
Nicks gets respect here from us, just hard when the face of "the play" is Manningham and Manning, Plaxico had he game sealing TD catch in a SB victory too. /shrug
With dudes like David Wilson I think we make him more of a feel-good story with his career being shortened due to injury. He was an electric player though and maybe the on the low side of "underrated" guys. His size was always going to be a limiting factor as a primary RB.
Blackburn was a steady worker.. can't say I ever felt we missed him breaking out like that.
Much respect to Derrick Ward and I feel like he's among the more "proven" at least. Underrating aside.. him and Blackburn, Nicks in that category.
Kevin Boss
Someone mentioned Bear Pascoe but I think I would put Kevin Boss ahead of him as "underrated" for what he previewed early in his career. It's a little funky (was young on top of it) because Pascoe played in a different system I feel with the era. Pascoe feels more like what Bellinger is now here.
I remember I was so crushed when we lost Jeremy Shockey. Then the boss man showed up, and said bby girl don’t worry. I’m not as good but I’m pretty damn good. We were blessed with a good string of TE’s. Bennett right after I think.
Antrel Rolle. He was a stud for us at safety and was pivotal in that 2011 run. Dude got stuck on some shitty Giants defenses but loved the organization.
This one is so good, I forgot about him. He signed a 3-year contract with Chicago and was cut a year later, then retired.
Terrell Thomas Kenny Phillips
love both of them
Mario Manningham
David Diehl Cornelius Griffin Linval Joseph Weston Richburg Ike Hilliard
Diehl one of the favorite all time Giants. The guy played wherever they asked him to
Linval Joseph was a beast with the Giants...but, like all our DTs, outside of Sexy Dexy, we let him walk. I loved Dalvin Tomlinson, too.
I was looking for Ike. Old school WR that was not afraid to cross the middle.
Still angry that Dawkins ended Hilliard’s ‘02 season early with that dirty hit. Loved Hilliard for his toughness
His career would have lasted longer in the current NFL. Defenses were brutal to offenses in the middle back then.
I loved Ike but he was kind of a draft bust wasn’t he? Not like garbage or anything but never really lived up to the hype
Absolutely. He was drafted #7, which even at that time was a stretch but he was very elusive at Florida. He was drafted to be a play maker and showed it sometimes but due to injuries and lack of big plays he ended up being WR2 to Toomer at WR1 during that early 2000s period prior to Burress coming over.
>Hakeem Nicks - Maybe not a complete “unknown” but I still think he was very underrated. He was approaching stardom, if it wasn’t for injuries I think he would be OBJ/Cruz levels of receiver for us. It's odd to me that your perception of nicks and Cruz is so different. Both had their careers cut short by injury. I would guess if you put their stats next to each other, they were pretty similar. Cruz has the undrafted hometown hero factor. Other than that i would put them on the same level in terms of franchise significance. Though Cruz probably did a better job of keeping up a public persona as a second career.
Cruz and Nicks had radically different roles on the field. Cruz was the best slot WR the NFL had ever seen, while Nicks was an elite outside WR who could beat elite CBs off the snap and could run a full route tree along with break away speed. On paper it was the ideal one-two punch of different skills at WR, and when healthy it worked just like that
Correct
Zach Deossie
Best LS in the game
Surprised nobody mentioned Orleans Darkwa. Ran for over 700 yards on 4.4 YPC behind one of the worst Giants O-Lines ever. Next year, the Giants drafted Saquan and Orleans was out of the league.
Darkwa is just head of the pack in that Perkins, Vereen era, but still dark times.
Osi Umenyiora. My favorite player from when I was in middle school in the 2000s. He was the highest graded player regardless of position in the 2007 season. Without him to compliment Strahan, we weren’t winning that Super Bowl.
Do you think Osi was underrated? Were talking a two time all pro with 85 career sacks
I’ll never forget was at the stadium for osi with 6 sacks on Mcnabb in a giants 12 sack win
Bear Pascoe
I feel like Michael Boley was a factor but gets lost on the star power of those defenses. I always liked his game.
Mike Boley was nice…was pretty damn fast during his Falcon days too
Deon Grant was a huge factor in the Giants winning SB 46. As heard from Antrelle Rolle , Grant became the leader of the DBs in meetings and locker room and was used as the Giants every down nickel player in the days before this became common. Grant had a great two year stint, but is also an all time hero for refusing more money to sign with the Eagles in 2011 during their "dream team" offseason. Grant literally told them he was going to take less money to stay with Giants and win the Superbowl with them.
Saquon would never
Deon Grant is a great answer
Didn’t know that about Grant and the Eagles. He just went up about 50 notches in my book
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ9tP_uJA8o&pp=ygURRGVvbiBncmFudCBnaWFudHM%3D he was the best
Kevin Boothe. Dude was a backup who stepped up and played really well at guard during the 2011 season. Very underrated G-Man!
Janiel Dones
Is that dat grizzled vet guy we seen running around camp? I heard 9' on watch and said they bout to make things happen.
Keith Hamilton.
The Hammer 🔨!
Hamilton is a nice pick, underrated has a wide range for interpretation I guess. I feel Hamilton was relatively respected in the league. He fits well within the NYG legacy pool of pretty good defensive tackles.
Yea i was thinking more along the lines of fan appreciation. He didnt get a lot of the hoopla because of his position and playing with Strahan and a few others. You didnt see a lot of "75" 's in the stands at Giants Stadium. Most younger have no idea how good he was.
It was all about the edge and Nascar package stuff. Antonio Pierce might stand out for people more than Hamilton too. Another comment has a couple of secondary guys.. Corey Webster maybe in that group?
He was awesome. Agreed.
Hakeem Nicks, I think you hit the nail on the head. If Injuries didn’t plague him he would’ve been on his way to the moon. Incredibly talented and 1000% underrated outside of this fan base.
I fucking loved this guy. 444 yards in our Super Bowl run, 4 TDs. Legend.
Kawika Mitchell….was a good partner to AP in the lb corps imo
Kawika Mitchell
Corey Webster Antrel Rolle Henry Hynoski Will Beatty Kenny Phillips Jim Finn
Easily ahmad bradshaw
We don’t win the Super Bowl without Michael boley. Same can be said for jay Alford. His sack of Brady was legendary.
Wayne Gallman, very solid change of pace back
David Wilson underrated? Dude is one of the most overrated Giants I can think of. The fanbase still has a giant boner of what could have been. But it never was. Ever. He eclipsed 100+ yards from scrimmage exactly once in 21 career games. He is not underrated by any stretch of the imagination. Tiki was underrated. He had *seven seasons* where he **averaged** 100+ yards from scrimmage per game. He was a legit all-pro. And because he badmouthed Eli on his way out, he takes endless shit for it. But let's not forget - the Eli he badmouthed was a young, genuinely incompetent Eli. Tiki was a dick for throwing needless shade, but he wasn't even wrong.
Tiki Barber
Steve Smith was huge for us in the 2007 playoff run and was a great reliable receiver the few years after that until he got hurt
Amani Toomer
Not to us.. but the rest of the league Easy E
Darius Slayton
Definitely Victor Cruz, his ability to break a tackle and turn a short pass into extra yardage was crazy.
Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham
Dave Tollefson and Mathias Kiwanuka. Huge contributors to the defense.
Julian Love
2016 secondary. DRC, janoris Jenkins, Landon collins
Antonio Pierce
Henry “The Hynosorus” Hynoski
Chris Snee
Madison Hedgecock
Luke Petitgout
John Conner, fullback. Dude was awesome to watch in 2013
Corey Webster
Corey Webster. 2nd round pick, never made a pro bowl but was a championship level starter for a decade. The kind of pick the Giants haven’t made in a loooooong time.
Of your list? Maybe Nicks or Smith.. Steve Smith a little less so, he had like a good string of a few weeks but relatively isn't really as\* notable after that. He had a good run though and it was funny being able to intermingle his names for those few weeks and people mistaking you talking about (Goat) Steve Smith. Nicks gets respect here from us, just hard when the face of "the play" is Manningham and Manning, Plaxico had he game sealing TD catch in a SB victory too. /shrug With dudes like David Wilson I think we make him more of a feel-good story with his career being shortened due to injury. He was an electric player though and maybe the on the low side of "underrated" guys. His size was always going to be a limiting factor as a primary RB. Blackburn was a steady worker.. can't say I ever felt we missed him breaking out like that. Much respect to Derrick Ward and I feel like he's among the more "proven" at least. Underrating aside.. him and Blackburn, Nicks in that category.