New York Giants Preview

This is my take on the current Giants roster and the prospects for the upcoming season:

Quarterback:
Eli Manning comes into this season looking to have a big rebound year. Last year Eli threw for 4002 yards and 31 TD's which are pretty good numbers, however it was his 25 interceptions that made fans want his head. Sound familiar? In 2006-07 Eli threw 20 picks and fans wanted this guy run out of town. What happened the next year? He won the Super Bowl. So while he is not in the class of Tom Brady (although Eli would disagree) he is still a servicable NFL quarterback and with the right tools around him could have a solid season for Big Blue. The problem is that Jerry Reese, the Giants GM, has taken more players away than he has added and that signals trouble for #10.

Backfield:
The Giants backfield is the team's biggest strength on offense. Although they don't have a veteran fullback on the team, TE Bear Pascoe is used to provide lead blocking for their one-two punch of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Bradshaw came out of nowhere in recent years to win the starting job away from Jacobs. Last season he racked up 1,235 yards with 8 scores but he does suffer from fumblitis. He fumbled 7 times (lost 6) last season and that was a real question mark during his free agency this summer. The Giants decided to bring him back anyway to become their feature back. Jacobs, who restructured his deal to bring Bradshaw back, has not lived up to the big money Reese threw at him but can be an effective short yardage, goal line type rusher - proof is his 9 TD's on only 147 carries. His 6'4" 264 lb frame makes for him to be a powerful short yardage rusher but he was earning everydown back kind of money, something Bradshaw is now making. D.J. Ware is also in the mix and will be used mostly on third downs and in case of injury.

Wideouts:
This is one of the biggest areas of concern for the offense. With the departures of #1 WR Steve Smith and #1 TE Kevin Boss, the Giants are in dire need of someone to step up and fill those shoes. They believe Hakeem Nicks can be the guy to assume the role of go-to pass catcher and Mario Manningham will be looked at as the #2 WR. Their depth is seriously thin at both WR and TE. While Nicks is a star in the making and Manningham has been dependable, there is not much after them. There is a plethera of unproven players: Victor Cruz, the preseason phenom of last season has no regular season experience. Ramses Barden, the 6'6" receiver has not been able to get on the field. Darius Reynaud, Domenik Hixon and rookie Jerrel Jernigan are viewed more as return men than WR's. It is probable that one these 5 will step into the slot role but if not, the Giants will rely heavily on the running game. You may ask why doesn't Eli throw to the tight end. Good question because even Eli doesn't know who his tight end is. Travis Beckum is in line to be the starter but the 3rd year player out of Wisconsin has never been more than a backup in his first 2 seasons in the NFL. Pascoe could see some time at TE along with some other candidates but none of these players can do what Kevin Boss did for the offense. The passing game is really going to suffer for Big Blue this season.

O-Line:
This is one of the most serious problems for the Giants. With veteran C Shaun O'Hara and veteran G/C Rich Seubert being released, the once dependable line is suddenly depleted. Former LT David Diehl will slide in to play LG and unproven player Will Beatty will be the starting LT. That signals trouble for Manning's blindside. The right side stays the same with Chris Snee manning RG and Kareem McKenzie at RT. McKenzie is coming toward the end and there are concerns if he can be the player he once was. Besides Beatty, the biggest question is new C David Baas. Baas is a guy no one has ever heard of. He was stuck on the San Francisco 49ers and finally gets a chance to be a starting center with Big Blue. He will need to fill the shoes of O'Hara, which is not an easy thing to do. If Baas can develop a rapport with Eli and Beatty doesn't get him killed then the line will have done it's job - unfortunately those 2 things are easier said than done.

D-Line:
Okay Giants fans, we can finally talk about something good! The Giants defensive line is the strongest part of the team. With Pro Bowlers Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora and 2nd year phenom Jason Pierre-Paul, the Giants' pass rush is a force to be reckoned with. Tuck came out from Michael Strahan's shadow and become one of the league's top pass rushers. Osi, who has had double digit sacks numerous times, finally seems content with his contract and will hopefully not be a distraction during the season. JPP has such a bright future. This kid, who only starting playing football his Junior year of high school, has all of the natural ability to get to the quarterback; pair that with a great motor and the sky is the limit. The question however lies in the interior. With Barry Cofield signing with the Redskins, that leaves seasoned veteran Rocky Bernard and youngster Linval Joseph and rookie Marvin Austin to stop the run. I believe they will be fine due to the fact that their DE's are so dominant there is no way that line can struggle.

Linebackers:
This group poses a lot of uncertainty for the G-Men. The linebackers as a whole haven't been a strength for this team in years. This year is no different. However, I think this group could surprise a lot of people. Michael Boley, Jonathan Goff and Mathias Kiwanuka are slated to be the starting three come Week 1. Boley was injured a lot last season and never really showed what he can do. Goff is not the greatest MLB in the game but he will be given a shot to get the job done. The biggest question out of these 3 is Kiwanuka. Aside from his health, there are questions asking if he can be a starting OLB in the NFL. His pass rushing abilities are outstanding but he notoriously struggles in pass coverage. This is a serious problem seeing as in their division alone there are very talented tight ends in Chris Cooley, Brent Celek and Jason Witten. The wild cards of the group are rookies Greg Jones and Mark Herzlich. Jones was an animal at Michigan State and could make a real impact at OLB. Herzlich was also a monster at Boston College. He was able to beat bone cancer and fulfill his dream of being in the NFL. If there is anyone to never bet against, it's him.

Defensivebacks:
The Giants suffered a pair of big blows already. First with 1st round pick CB Prince Amukamara being lost for at least 2 months with a broken foot. Amukamara was believed to be battling for a starting role but guaranteed at least a nickel spot in the lineup. He'll at least be back during the season. Then during their second preseason game, starting corner Terrell Thomas tore his ACL while rushing the passer and will miss the entire season. This means disgruntled Aaron Ross will need to step up and fill their shoes being the #2 corner. Easier said than done. The former 1st round pick out of Texas has not lived up to expectations and has constantly insisted he does not want to play Safety like the Giants want him to. He should now get one last shot at corner; what he does with it is yet to be seen. The other starting corners is Corey Webster. He is not the greatest corner in the NFL but he is a solid corner and will need to play out of his mind to make up for the losses Amukamara and Thomas. The brightest part of the secondary is the Safety position. A pair of former Miami Hurricanes, Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle man the back of the defense. It doesn't get much better than this pair, as long as Nevin Shapiro doesn't ruin things that is...

Special Teams:
This was, by far, the Giants worst facet of their game. Their offense and defense had their moments but Special Teams was atrocious. From kicking field goals, to kick returns, to punt coverage, to punting. Nothing seemed to go right. To be honest, I can't see this season being much different. The 2 areas they should improve on are returns and coverage. With the drafting of Jerrel Jernigan, they hope they have found their kick/punt returner of the future. He was effective in college and hopefully can continue his elusiveness in the NFL. As far as coverage, LB's Jones and Herzlich and fellow rookie S Tyler Sash hope to make an impact making some big tackles and impressing the coaches even more. The 2 areas that will not improve are field goal kicking and punting. As long as Lawrence Tynes is on the team, they will suffer. You may say, "But they won a Super Bowl with him!" And yes that is true, but it was no thanks to him (I go into detail further in another article). To address punting, they signed former Jet Steve Weatherford. He will be in a competition with incumbent Matt Dodge. Dodge is infamous for the punt that Eagles WR DeSean Jackson returned in the final seconds for the GW TD in their gigantic comeback victory. Sadly, whoever wins, the Giants are still stuck with a below average boot. Can Jeff Feagles come back?