Bethea will be 35 before the season begins"WhiteFanposts F

anshots Sections New York Giants NewsGiants Training Camp 2016Giants vs. Eagles 2015 Ray-Ray Armstrong Color Rush Jersey , Week 17New York Giants NewsGiants’ 90-man roster: How much longer can Antoine Bethea outrun Father Time?New,49commentsBethea will be 35 before the season beginsEDTShareTweetShareShareGiants’ 90-man roster: How much longer can Antoine Bethea outrun Father Time?Antoine BetheaMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsAntoine Bethea has been a very good player in the NFL for a very long time — 13 years, to be exact. The New York Giants, having signed Bethea to be their free safety, are banking on the idea that the soon-to-be 35-year-old Bethea has at least one good year left.Let’s take a look at Bethea as we continue breaking down the 90-man roster the Giants will bring to training camp.The basicsHeight: 5-foot-11Weight: 206Age: 34Position: SafetyExperience: 132018 season in reviewBethea started and played in all 16 games for the Arizona Cardinals, the ninth time in 13 years he has played 16 games. He played more than 1,000 snaps (1,111) for the ninth time. He made 121 tackles, the seventh time in his career he had made more than 100. The fact that 100 of those — a career high — were solo tackles is probably not a good thing. The Cardinals won just three games.Bethea might no longer be able to match the 4.39 40-yard dash he ran coming out of Howard in 2006, but he still showed the range to play free safety for Arizona. He gave up 6.9 yards per reception, per Pro Football Focus, a career low.“It’s all about being consistent, taking care of your body as far as that longevity,” Bethea said when he signed with the Giants. “Coming into the league, I was fortunate to walk in the locker room and be around some greats. (Pro Football Hall of Famer WR) Marvin Harrison, (Former Colts/Broncos QB) Peyton Manning, (Former Colts TE) Dallas Clark, (Former Colts WR) Reggie Wayne. Those guys taught me how to be a pro. I think that’s one of the things I hang my hat on, of being a pro’s pro -- coming to work, and being where my feet are. “Obviously, having some longevity in this league is something a lot of people can’t say, and I hold that close to my heart, but as far as myself https://www.giantsfanshop.com , I still feel good. If I didn’t feel good, I wouldn’t put myself in a situation to go out there and put bad film out there. I still believe in my play, I still believe in myself, I still believe I can go out there and play at a high level. So, that’s what I expect to do, that’s what I expect out of myself.”2019 outlookTruthfully, the bar isn’t all that high for Bethea to be an improvement over what the Giants had at free safety a season ago. Curtis Riley missed a tackle once every 3.9 attempts last season. Only ex-Giant Andrew Adams (one every 3.6 attempts) was worse among players who played 300 or more snaps. Riley led NFL safeties with 23 total missed tackles. Riley was also last in the league among 64 qualifying safeties in run defense, with a 37.1 grade.Bethea missed a tackle once every 8.1 attempts.Defensive coordinator James Bettcher coached Bethea in Arizona, He said this:“One of the highest character players I have ever been around, smart, intelligent and an unbelievable leader. As you have an opportunity to wrap your hands around him and embrace him a little bit, you will see what I am talking about with him. I was talking to him the other day and I was joking with him telling him that as time goes on, I get more gray hair. As time goes on, he gets younger. That is just when you see his play, that is what it has been. The years in the league have progressed for him. He has played fast and played young. That what impresses me about him.”Bethea will be asked to stabilize the back of what will be a very young secondary. Jabrill Peppers is a third-year player. Grant Haley is a second-year player. DeAndre Baker, Julian Love, Corey Ballentine and 2018 supplemental draft selection Sam Beal will be taking the field for the first time as NFL players.Here is what GM Dave Gettleman said when he signed Bethea:“You need a guy in the back end that can get everybody lined up and make all the adjustment calls. If you don’t have that, you can’t function,” Gettleman said. “I’ve watched Antoine (Bethea) for years, you talk about a great sixth round pick. He is an adult, he’s a professional football player. He knows what he is doing, he can still play. I have this crazy idea that age doesn’t bother me. I better because my age doesn’t bother me. At the end of the day, it’s about a good football player. Antoine Bethea is still a hell of a football player.”At 35 Giants Customized Color Rush Jerseys , Bethea is obviously not a long-term solution for the Giants at free safety. The Giants are hoping he can stabilize their secondary in the short term, and help his young teammates learn the NFL ropes. The NFL playoffs are still in process but for most of the NFL draft season is in full swing. There is no clearer indication of that than the fact that ESPN’s draft expert, Mel Kiper Jr., has released his first mock draft of the year. As we have come to expect over the last year, the mock draft has the New York Giants landing who they hope is their future franchise quarterback. In Kipers’ first simulation, the Giants make Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins the first quarterback off the board. Raptor’s thoughts: Kiper must be reading Big Blue View, because it wasn’t all that long ago (Dec. 31st), that Mark Schofield laid down a plan for the future of the Giants’ quarterback position. If you missed that post — and you should absolutely go back and read it — the thrust of his argument was “Shut up and draft Haskins, you dopes!” Mark advocated making whatever moves necessary to acquire the Ohio State QB. And given the Giants’ uncertain future at the position and Haskins’ ability, it makes sense. Personally, Haskins’ age and inexperience gives me pause. I typically believe that the more experience a QB can have before he enters the NFL the better. To me, it’s better to develop on the field than on the bench, and seeing more defenses, being in more live situations, and getting more physical maturity before making the leap to the NFL. Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson are great and hit the ground running like few QBs ever do, but could they have done so if they hadn’t used every second of eligibility available to them? However, what’s done is done, and Haskins is the top prospect at a position of both need and with dire consequences for the future of the franchise. Even if it means passing on a talent like Ed Oliver (who is still on the board in this draft), the cap flexibility having a franchise quarterback on a rookie deal would give the Giants is a massive advantage.Haskins is one of three quarterbacks drafted in the first round, with Kyler Murray going 13th overall to the Miami Dolphins and Daniel Jones going 29th overall to the New England Patriots.