The Giants should trade back in the draft order to acquire more picks.
MICHAEL EISEN: Fiction -With an asterisk. If you can tell me who the first 11 players off the board will be, I can decide whether the Giants should stay at 12 or make a trade for additional selections. But if, for example, the player with the fifth or sixth-highest grade on their draft board is available at No. 12, particularly if it's a position of need, then you keep the pick and select the player.
- JOHN SCHMEELK: Fact -It should be an option the Giants look at if the five or six top guys on the board at 12 all have similar rankings on their draft board. That way they can get the same quality of player and pick up another third round choice, which in this draft could be a starting caliber player.
- DAN SALOMONE: Fiction -The only good thing good about last season is the high draft pick. Use it. Fortunately for the Giants, they're not used to picking at No. 12, which is the highest they have drafted since holding the fourth overall selection in 2004. I understand it's a deep draft, but there are only a handful of franchise guys that can start day one. They need one of those, and they can make it happen at No. 12.
The NFL should switch to a centralized replay system like MLB and NHL.
- MICHAEL EISEN: Fiction -I think the final decision should be left to the referee on the field. If you give it to an anonymous person thousands of miles away, you compromise the authority of the game officials, which would be bad for the league.
- JOHN SCHMEELK: Fact -I believe it is much easier for someone in NY to make a logical decision on a call, than someone looking under a hood at the stadium. I think it would take out any subconscious or unintentional home team bias that might sneak in a little bit as well. I think it would also speed up the system. Sometimes it takes so long for the referee to get under the hood and coordinate with the replay official upstairs, by the time they start NY might have already come to a decision on the replay. There would also be a near zero chance of there being a misinterpretation of the rules.
- DAN SALOMONE: Fact -First, it would be quicker. The flow of the game wouldn't be as interrupted with a centralized system. Second, I believe a person in an isolated location -- and not in a stadium filled with 80,000 screaming or booing fans -- can make a better call without being in the middle the chaos.
Jadeveon Clowney deserves to be the No. 1 overall draft choice following his impressive 40-yard dash time at the combine.
- MICHAEL EISEN: Fiction -He might be the No. 1 overall selection, but I wouldn't make such a critical decision based on a 40-yard dash time. He's a defensive end – how often will he have to run 40 yards? I would look at his production, his mental makeup and his work in the drills he bypassed at the combine before his 40 time.
- JOHN SCHMEELK: Fiction -No one ever doubted Clowney's athletic ability. He didn't run any of the change of direction drills, and his motor has been questioned a bunch by college football analysts. Those questions have yet to be answered. There is, however, a premium on 4-3 pass rushers, and he fits that mold perfectly, making him a top target in this year's draft.
- DAN SALOMONE: Fiction -The combine merely bolsters what decision-makers were already thinking. If they went in thinking he's No. 1, then the combine confirmed it for them. But it's not solely based on his 40 time or any other drill. He'll have to overcome the questions of his drive on the field as well as his intangibles.
The NFL should expand the current playoff field.
- MICHAEL EISEN: Fiction -I like the system the way it is now. If you had two more teams, almost half the league would participate in the postseason and the likelihood of mediocre or sub-.500 teams participating in the postseason would increase.
- JOHN SCHMEELK: Fiction -I get the desire not to want a 10-win team to miss the playoffs, but that was the risk the NFL ran when they expanded to four divisions per conference. I think the system works great the way it is. A question few people are asking: do people really want to see the 7th best team in a conference play at the #2 seed on wild card weekend? Wouldn't that game often be a blowout?
- DAN SALOMONE: Fiction -I feel like this comes up a few times every year, and my answer remains the same: no, no, no. I'm a big believer in making the regular season count as much as possible, and you do that by not watering down the playoff field. I'm not even upset when a team with a better record has to go on the road in the postseason. Win your division. That's the goal.
