Normally, we like to say that “Football is back!” once the New York Giants training camp open in late July, but, there is football being played in America this summer.
Well, the rest of the world calls it football.
The US Men’s National Team took down Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to the round of 16, where they’ll face Belgium.
(I assume this was a dominant defensive performance to not only shut out the other team, but to win with a safety.)
No, Big Blue View isn’t suddenly becoming a soccer site. But Bill Barnwell ESPN released a fun exercise in which he divides the country into eight regions (California, Northeast, South Atlantic, Florida, Southeast, Southwest, Texas, Midwest), and built teams with the best NFL players to come from those regions.
He calls it the “Domestic Cup of American Football”
He also uses some specific guidelines you can read here.
1. We’re using 30-man lineups under specific constraints.
2. We’re building rosters to play in September 2026.
3. Eligibility is determined by where each player played high school football.
4. No trades allowed.
5. Not every area is represented.
Overall, Barnwell has five Giants making the cut to represent their regions.
Abdul Carter (EDGE, Northeast Region) – Carter makes the squad because Micah Parsons isn’t expected to be ready for the start of the season due to ACL and meniscus surgery.
Barnwell writes,
Unlike Canada in the World Cup, the Northeast won’t be carrying its injured top star as a decoy, opening up a spot in the lineup for Carter and his wild pressure numbers from 2025 as a result.
Fans are seemingly down on Carter because not only did he not explode onto the scene like Parsons or Von Miller, but he had to be benched twice for his conduct during the week (the two are probably related). However, Carter’s explosiveness, bend, and power are off the charts, and the foundation is there for a monster season. He led the NFL in quick pressures (66 pressures in less than 3.0 seconds) and average time to pressure (2.39 seconds), he was 6th in quarterback hits, 10th in pressure rate, and 11th in pass rush win rate against true pass sets.
Carter won’t be an alternate for long if he can fully apply himself when doing the little things during the week.
Tremaine Edmunds (Linebacker, South Atlantic Region) – The second player from the Giants’ defensive front to make a regional team. Edmunds is a long and highly athletic linebacker who has been consistently good at both defending the run and generating interceptions.
Barnwell writes,
This is an athletic but undersized pair of starting linebackers. They wouldn’t be a great fit in some places, but they’ll be solid behind our trio of elite defensive tackles, who will keep linemen from getting to the second level.
Um Bill… In what universe is Tremaine Edmunds “undersized”? I mean, take a look at this spider chart:
Edmunds is behind former Giants’ defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence on this squad, and Barnwell is right that the big DTs up front should allow the athletic linebackers to make full use of their traits at the second level. And that’s also what the Giants are hoping to accomplish with the hyper-athletic trio of Edmunds, Arvell Reese, and Micah McFadden.
Whether by necessity or design, the Giants have built a defensive tackle rotation that will largely specialize in occupying blockers and clogging interior lanes. That, if it works, will give the Giants’ linebackers the freedom to make full use of their athletic traits, flowing to the ball or attacking into the backfield.
Jordan Stout (Punter, South Atlantic Region) – Barnwell doesn’t have much to say about Stout beyond that the region has “strong specialists.”
Stout was one of the players who followed John Harbaugh from the Baltimore Ravens to the Giants, and is one of the best punters in the NFL. He was a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro last year, and promises to be a real upgrade for the Giants’ special teams. Interestingly, Stout was Edmunds’ teammate for two years at Virginia Tech, before he transferred to Penn State.
Stout tied the Ravens’ franchise record with a 74-yard punt, and holds the sixth-highest single game average in NFL history (61.5). While most Giants fans remember Eli Manning absorbing the beating delivered by Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers in the 2011 NFC Championship game, punter Steve Weatherford consistently pinning the 9ers’ offense deep was almost as important to winning that game.
While the Giants hope to not need his services often, it’s a real weapon to have a punter who can consistently flip the field for your defense.
Andrew Thomas (Offensive tackle, Southeast region) – It would have been a travesty if Barnwell left Thomas off the list. The Giants’ left tackle hasn’t been able to be consistently healthy since he reached his potential, but he has consistently been one of the NFL’s best tackles when he’s been on the field.
This is a different caliber of offensive line, with Pro Bowl-level players throughout the lineup.
There are a lot of really good left tackles in the NFL, but I would count Thomas as one of the most complete. Not only is he capable of holding his own on an island against anyone not named “Myles Garrett”, he is also a great and versatile run blocker. The Giants’ offense is just better with Thomas on the field, and we should probably thank Jason Garrett for pounding the table for Thomas back in 2020.
Honorable mentions
Brian Burns (EDGE, Florida region) – Burns misses out to the trio of Nick Bosa, Trey Hendrickson and Nik Bonitto. Personally, I’d give Burns the edge over Bonitto after their respective 2025 campaigns. Not only did Burns have more production than Bonitto, he did so without the rest of that rabid Denver defense around him.
Jaxson Dart (Quarterback, Southwest region) – Dart and Tyler Shough both miss out to Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy in this region. Dart might ascend past them at some point, but he isn’t there yet. No arguments here.
Cam Skattebo (Running back, California region) – Skattebo is currently injured and therefore not eligible. If he were healthy, however, I think I’d rather have him over Tyler Algeier, who is the California region’s running back.
