John-Mara.jpg

Owner John Mara and the Giants put their scouting process on display in 'Finding Giants.'

((John Munson/NJ Advance Media))

EAST RUTHERFORD — Two Super Bowls in the past seven years. Four since the 1986 season. The team that shares a building with the New York Giants would simply take one. Most of the other 31 NFL organizations would likely surrender their next decade for any of the Lombardi Trophies that sit side by side in the lobby at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

The Giants have enjoyed an incredible amount of overall success over the past three decades. So why open the doors for the rest of the world to see how they go about identifying, scouting and selecting players in a four-part series that aired on NFL Network called "Finding Giants"? Isn't their any concern about giving away the secrets to their successes?

Those Lombardi Trophies didn't arrive there by accident. They weren't shipped to the wrong address. There was a lot of quality work done over the years that helped accumulate the hardware; a lot of hard work gone publicly unnoticed.

The Giants admittedly took this opportunity to showcase and reward some of that lower-level grinding from the team's scouts and personnel department, many of whom have been with the organization for years, yet have publicly been given very little credit. They were followed from most of 2013 up until this year's NFL Draft, which produced wide receiver Odell Beckham, offensive lineman Weston Richburg, running back Andre Williams and more.

"The goal of the show from the beginning was to show what [the scouts] do, and how they do it well," said producer Phil Michelson, who worked in conjunction with NFL Films on the project.

Owner John Mara liked the idea of Michelson, who wanted to showcase the process of scouting and drafting players after a chance meeting at a park with a former personnel executive with the Boston Red Sox. It got him thinking: What is it about winning organizations in the NFL that made them ... winning organizations? It was as simple as that.

Michelson called the Patriots. No response. He cold-called Mara and the Giants. Mara responded several days later. It was the beginning of a process that would produce the series "Finding Giants," that ran this fall on NFL Network with the series finale airing earlier this week.

Not everyone is as willing. Michelson is is looking to do a second season with a different team. He's waiting for another one bold enough to bite.

THE RULES

There are obvious questions when watching the series and seeing the footage inside the Giants' facility and draft War Room. How accurate is the depiction? How much is being held back? Are they really so singularly focused on the goal at hand, as portrayed in the series?

"The yelling and screaming, the Kevin Costner 'Draft Day' thing is not real," Michelson said.

The original guidelines provided the Giants final editorial control, no surprise given the sensitive nature of the topic. All the footage would be locked in a vault at NFL Films. Michelson and NFL Films producer Jay Jackson would put together the episodes after the draft and send them to the Giants for approval.

Michelson said the Giants did not restrict them at all leading up to the draft. They only offered "minor, minor" edits, most of which involved comments that could be construed as negative about prospects. He insisted that was the Giants' primary concern with the final product.

"That was not going to help anyone in the long run," Mara said.

The Giants did have some restrictions come draft day. They only allowed audio in their War Room on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. The first two days were off limits.

THE RESULTS

Not everyone was so enthusiastic about the project from the beginning. Given his druthers, general manager Jerry Reese would have likely passed on the series.

It's typically Reese, an unassuming man who would rather avoid the spotlight whenever possible. He's more interested in doing his job than being lauded in the press.

"He was reluctant, but he finally accepted the fact that I wanted to do it," Mara said.

FindingGiants Teaser 090914 H264 from Moondog Films on Vimeo.

Reese is a major part of the final product, but he only did one on-camera interview for the entire project, while vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross, who is in charge of the draft, was much more amenable. Their personalities lend themselves to that result.

Ross comes off as the well-organized draft conductor. Reese appears to be the process's overseer.

Mara conceded this was also in the back of his mind when deciding whether or not to do the series. This kind of project would showcase the quality work of Ross, who has been a candidate for several general manager positions in recent years. It could help him professionally.

The stars of the series, however, were the scouts (Joe Collins, Steve Verderosa, Chris Petit, Steve Malin, Jeremy Breit, Chris Watts and Ryan Jones). This was the intention from the beginning. The project was supposed to highlight their hard work and integral part in the draft process.

Everybody was given the freedom to talk and be a part of the project. The Giants encouraged it. The scouts couldn't get enough camera time, according to Mara. And there seemed to be very little concern about giving away the special sauce that has helped them cook up recent championships.

"I don't know if there are any secrets to give away. Everybody is looking for big players, with size that can run. There is no secret about that," Mara said. "Some teams have different standards than others. I think you saw how much we look at character and all the other different characteristics about players, but I don't know if that is a heck of a lot different than other teams."

Other than that the Giants scouts are in the room during draft day. Not every team operates that way.

"I for one want to hear what the scouts have to say," Mara said. "That carries a great deal of influence on the final decision."

It's worked over the years. The Giants have four championships over the past 28 seasons to show for the way they conduct business. And they put it out there for the rest of the NFL to see.

Jordan Raanan may be reached at jraanan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanRaanan. Find NJ.com Giants on Facebook.