NFL New York Giants

New York Giants Are Really Missing Will Hill

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By @Bigwoolf5

Will Hill

Joe Camporeale-USA Today Sports

Coming into the 2014 season the New York Giants were going to be very strong in the secondary. They had just signed Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to a big deal, Prince Amukamara has improved every year and Antrel Rolle was coming off of a Pro Bowl season. But the best player in the secondary might have been Will Hill. Hill was coming off a banner year for the Giants in 2013 where he had a profound impact on the defense. The problem is that he kept getting suspended, and eventually the Giants had enough of it and waived the ultra talented safety.

During his tenure with New York, Hill was suspended three different times, once for Adderall and twice for marijuana. The Giants stood by him through the first two suspensions, and after last season they hoped his troubles were behind him. They weren’t, and Hill was suspended six games at the beginning of this year. When that suspension held up after he appealed, the Giants decided his off-field struggles outweighed his performance on the field. Nobody could blame the Giants for making this decision, because they gave him so many chances, but they are really missing him on the field right now.

Hill was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school who went on to play his college ball at Florida, but he went undrafted due to the off-field issues. The Giants signed him in 2012 and he really came into his own as a player. During the 2013 season Hill showed why he was the No. 2 college recruit coming out of high school, as he was regularly the best player on the field. Having him on the team this year would have made the Giants’ secondary very strong even with the injuries.

When the Giants did cut Hill over the summer, they still figured to be okay at the safety spot as they had Stevie Brown returning from a torn ACL in 2013. Brown had a breakout year in 2012 with eight interceptions, but he has not been the same player since returning and was benched in favor of Quintin Demps. Demps was signed to be a kick returner and bring depth to the safety spot. Even in their worst-case scenarios, the Giants couldn’t have imagined Demps starting at safety. But after cutting Hill, losing improving youngster Cooper Taylor for the year to injury and Brown underperforming, that scenario has become a reality.

Demps played a good game against the Washington Redskins, but against the Dallas Cowboys it was quite evident that the Giants were really missing Hill. Demps was regularly out of position, and it seemed like he was in no man’s land on a lot of the Cowboys’ big plays.

Hill has since signed on with the Baltimore Ravens and played his first game for them this past Sunday after serving his six-game suspension. He is already drawing rave reviews from his teammates and coaching staff for his play after one game, in which he played limited snaps. He is the type of player who, if he can stay on the field, can really improve a defense immensely.

The Ravens got themselves quite a player, and the Giants are really feeling the loss of the young, troubled safety. Not that the Giants made the wrong decision as a franchise, but you have to wonder how things would have been different against Dallas, and for the rest of the year, had they held on to Hill.

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