Semi OT: Michael Cox to start for Giants tonight/MNF Open thread

Submitted by Rather be on BA on

Per Rotoworld.

Not sure if this is news or not, but I was not aware.  Hope he does well.

I suppose this can serve as a MNF thread as well.

samsoccer7

October 21st, 2013 at 6:23 PM ^

Came here to post this, staying for the gang-bang.  What???

Good for him though.  If he plays well he may stick.  Andre Brown doesn't come back for a few weeks and Jacobs is basically a week-to-week player depending on matchups.  Hope Cox plays well though, great opportunity.

Creedence Tapes

October 21st, 2013 at 6:29 PM ^

This makes me change my opinion on Magnus scouting skills. I remember a few years ago he thought Cox would be the starter, but ended up burried deep on the depth chart. Looks like Magnus knew what he was talking about when he thought Cox was the best RB on the depth chart.

Magnus

October 21st, 2013 at 10:38 PM ^

Word is that Cox struggled with the playbook, but I have a hard time buying that as a reason to keep a guy off the field almost entirely. I mean, Dennis Norfleet apparently "can't grasp the playbook" or "isn't the best option" but the coaches still find packages in which to use him. There's no reason the coaches couldn't have put together at least a small group of plays in which to use Cox and then expand that as he got more comfortable. Something else had to be going on there, but I don't know what.

Sllepy81

October 21st, 2013 at 6:47 PM ^

no order
Michael Cox
BJ Askew(hb turned FB)
Ian Gold(HB turned LB)
Woodson(duh)

First time I saw Michael in a game I thought he should get the ball more and would start, total shame he never did.

SysMark

October 21st, 2013 at 8:11 PM ^

He did make the team when they were at full strength - that in and of itself was a surprise.

The Giants have a tendency to go back to schools where they've had success.  Victor Cruz probably helped Cox's chances.  There was a time when they were on a roll with Michigan backs - Woolfolk, Bunch, Wheatley.

Yeoman

October 22nd, 2013 at 11:38 AM ^

I don't think it applies so much to Cox, who for the moment is RB-by-attrition, but I think starting multiple years in college is probably a disadvantage. Backs only have so many carries in them and the RBs getting heavy usage in college don't fare as well in the pros, it seems to me. I don't think it's an accident that among the great Michgan backs the one that had the most successful  NFL career (cut short, sadly, by an injury that had nothing to do with wear-and-tear) was the one who had the fewest carries at Michigan.

 

triangle_M

October 21st, 2013 at 7:51 PM ^

Fred is a better RB coach than I could ever aspire to be but this is a serious ding on his evaluation skills.  Cox is starting in the NFL . . . and was ignored out the door 

HipsterCat

October 21st, 2013 at 8:14 PM ^

he had every chance to succeed at michigan just never put it all together. also its not like he was the giants choice to start they have had like billions running back injuries and cox is last man standing basically since he was playing special teams i think, maybe practice squad. hopefully he will take this chance and run with it.

triangle_M

October 21st, 2013 at 9:09 PM ^

Ok, to the numbers . . . .

Michigan has had one 1000 yard rusher at the position Jackson coaches since 2007.

Other teams that have more 1000 yard rushing from running backs during that same time frame:

Nebraska (2), Wisconsin (5), Ohio State (2), Penn State (6), MSU (3)

These numbers of course are in a bit of a vacuum because of Robinson, but that's still pretty unimpressive and we are in the company of Purdue, Illinois, Iowa and Northwestern during the same duration.

Honestly, who here can say that they are content with RB production in the last 5 years?  Anyone?  Jackson has been a good coach for Michigan but his status as a sacred cow here ignores the numbers.

 

Reader71

October 21st, 2013 at 9:24 PM ^

Yes we do ignore the numbers. Our team is better for it. Fred Jackson is an excellent running backs coach. Wheatley, Biakabutuka, Thomas, Perry, Hart. Think he just forgot how to coach? How do we explain Touissant in 2011, then? Is it possible that his backs haven't been very good since 2007? McGuffie has still never broken a tackle, Vincent Smith had a nice career but was never going to be a feature back.

You could make the argument that he isn't good at coaching backs in the spread, but that won't be a problem for long.

B1G_Fan

October 22nd, 2013 at 4:55 AM ^

 Well that would be entrely different if you watched the product he helped produce every saturday for 20 years. i heard Coach Jackson was thinking about retiring after Jeremy graduated anyways who knows if it's true but i guess we'll find out after this year. Reader71 I'm not saying this is the same case but no guys don't forget how to coach but the game does pass coaches by ( see Bobby Bowden and a few hundred others who coached too long). I'm not saying that about Coach Jackson at all but i just wanted to make that point

Reader71

October 22nd, 2013 at 11:58 AM ^

That's a fine point. I don't believe the game has passed him up, as running the ball and blocking as a back haven't changed much. Like I said, you could say he's not good at coaching the spread, and id probably agree.

The problem is the "Fire X" movements kind of ignore the fact that the people that the uninformed desire to see fired are people. They have families. They aren't just a part of the team you root for. Calling for ones termination should be backed by some strong evidence, which is impossible for a fan to have in the case of a position coach.