New York Giants
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NFL Team Column By Randall Ferraro 2009 NFL Draft Review |
Finally, This Time It’s For Real
After months of midsummer sweat, gripes, hyperbolic accolades, criticism, and idiotic media speculation, the New York Giants’ 53 man roster is set for Week 1 of the 2009 National Football League season. It is (according to Giants.com) as follows:
QB -- Eli Manning, David Carr
RB -- Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Danny Ware
FB -- Madison Hedgecock
WR -- Domenik Hixon, Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss, Hakeem Nicks, Ramses Barden, Derek Hagan
TB -- Kevin Boss, Darcy Johnson, Travis Beckum
OL -- Shaun O'Hara, Chris Snee, Rich Seubert, Kareem McKenzie, David Diehl, Kevin Boothe, Tutan Reyes, Guy Whimper, Adam Koets, Will Beatty
K -- Lawrence Tynes
P -- Jeff Feagles
DL -- Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield, Mathias Kiwanuka, Chris Canty, Rocky Bernard, Dave Tollefson, Leger Douzable
LB -- Antonio Pierce, Danny Clark, Chase Blackburn, Gerris Wilkinson, Clint Sintim, Zak DeOssie, Jonathan Goff, Bryan Kehl
DB -- Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Michael Johnson, Kenny Phillips, Kevin Dockery, Terrell Thomas, C.C. Brown, Bruce Johnson
Whether or not there are any real surprises in the roster depends upon your point of view. Here’s mine…
Offense
The overriding concern of most Giant fans during the preseason was which member of the receiving corps would step up and replace the departed Plaxico Burris as the Giants’ #1 wide receiver. If you value the opinion of most of the local NY/NJ media, no one did. Don’t believe them. I’m not sure what games these folks were watching, but #1 draft pick Hakeem Nicks (North Carolina) is clearly the best receiver in this bunch. He may prove to be the best receiver of the 2009 draft class. He does not have blazing speed, but neither did Don Maynard, Lynn Swan, Fred Biletnikoff, Michael Irvin, Steve Largent, Charlie Taylor, Marvin Harrison, Charlie Joiner or some others who are either already in, or will eventually be inducted into, the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Am I saying that Nicks can be as good as these all-time greats? Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. He is disciplined, precise in his routes, has acrobatic body control and at 6-1, 215 has huge hands covered in glue. What else do you want? Four receivers were picked ahead of him in this year’s draft. All but Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree, who is also a complete package and whom the 49ers have yet to sign, were selected before him, based solely on their faster times in the 40 yard dash. Tell me how much a player with blazing speed helps his offense if he rarely gets open and can’t make the tough catch when he does. How many NFL 1st round draft picks have been wasted on ’receivers’ who were in actuality no more than track stars in borrowed helmets? Lam Jones, anybody? Peter Warrick, anyone? Charles Johnson? Troy Williamson?
Did anyone who’s reading this ever see Fred Biletnikoff play for the Oakland Raiders in the 60’s? (Probably not). There’s an award given out every year to “the nation's outstanding college football receiver.” It’s called the Fred Biletnikoff Award. The name is no coincidence. You want to talk 40 yd. dash times? You could have timed Fred with an egg timer. Later in his career, you could have used a sundial. But when the ball was thrown to his side of the field, it was usually Biletnikoff who came down with it--not the defensive back, who usually could have beaten Fred in a footrace with one leg tied behind his back. Nicks has the same kind of hands that Biletnikoff had. And he’s a hell of a lot faster than Freddie ever was. I am predicting great things for Mr. Nicks.
Despite some awful drops in the preseason games, Steve Smith is the best bet to take over as the Giants’ possession receiver, a role he shared with Amani Toomer in 2008. He does not have Hakeem’s highlight reel abilities, but like Toomer he is solid, dependable and not afraid to catch a football in traffic.
On the flip side from Nicks is Domenik Hixon, who was anointed heir apparent to Burris by most of the New York writers. Hixon is the anti-Biletnikoff, anti-Nicks. He’s got great timed speed, but runs lousy routes and never seems to get much separation And when he does, he has an uncanny ability to drop the ball, especially in big spots. I was hoping New York would trade him at the start of training camp, when the hype about his being #1 might have fetched a mid-round draft pick. They did not. I suspect that by season’s end Hixon will be spending most of his playing time trying to field punts and kickoffs and missing tackles on special teams.
Who they did trade, in a minor surprise, was tight end Michael Matthews. Matthews and Darcy Johnson shared backup duties behind Kevin Boss last year and while less of a receiving threat than Johnson, he is a far better blocker. This led some (including me) to believe that this added value as an emergency backup to fullback Madison Hedgecock would earn him the nod over Johnson. As is often the case, Coughlin and Reese disagreed with me, and with the arrival of 2nd round pick Travis Beckham (TE, Wisconsin) Matthews was the odd man out. [Update: New York signed FB Nehemiah Broughton (6-0, 260) who was waived by Minnesota].
The other surprise regarding Matthews is that before Saturday’s deadline he was traded to New England for a conditional draft pick in 2011. Why is that a surprise? It’s a surprise mainly in the context that the Oakland Raiders cut QB Jeff Garcia on the same day that the Giants traded Matthews. If the Giants got a draft pick for a player they regarded as their fourth best TE, couldn’t the Raiders have gotten something for one of the most effective and reliable backup QB’s in the league? Of course they could have. But that would have been a rational, intelligent move. And the Raiders do not have a rational, intelligent front office. They have Al Davis. I’m sorry, Raider fans. I just can’t help it.
I have no complaint with the running back trio that the Giants kept. But I will say this--someone should pick up Allen Patrick (Oklahoma) who New York signed as a free agent. Patrick is a tough, slashing runner and looked like a keeper in the preseason games. [Update: Allen cleared waivers and was signed to the practice squad].
William Beatty (offensive tackle, Connecticut) looks like a great 2nd round draft pickup, and with the stars in proper alignment, in a year or two may push left tackle David Diehl back to his natural guard position, making current right guard Rich Seubert the best backup guard in the NFL. I do have complaints with some of the current offensive line backups. Last year Grey Ruegamer was a capable veteran backup plugging holes and giving breathers at all three spots between the tackles. His experience and versatility will be missed. It’s hard for me to believe that the Giants can’t find one or two similar veteran bodies on the waiver wire to replace Guy Whimper (OT) and/or Kevin Boothe (OG). It’s unlikely either of these players will ever become a solid starter. Boothe looks and moves like a man who has spent the last 6 months of his life strapped in a chair in front of an all-you-can-eat buffet table. Whimper plays the game as his name suggests he would. Of even more concern to me is that, as of this writing, the Giants have but one true center on the roster. Shaun O’Hara’s primary backup at center this preseason has been Adam Koets.
In 2007 Koets (Oregon) was drafted in the 6th round as a tackle. As a center, that’s exactly what he looks like. A 6th round tackle. It’s hard to criticize Koets’ blocking, as he’s usually too busy looking for his muffed snaps to worry about such secondary issues as blocking. Although I’ve as yet been unable to confirm it, I’m told that one of his shotgun snaps during a practice session in July (that sailed well over the head of QB David Carr) had more hang time than most of Lawrence Tynes’ kickoffs. There has to be an unemployed, ex major college center out there somewhere who could use an extra $300,000 a year, wouldn‘t you think? Will someone please go find him?
At quarterback, the Giants took a chance by keeping only starter Eli Manning and veteran backup David Carr while releasing Andre Woodson and rookie Rhett Bomar. Woodson, who the Giants no longer wanted was claimed by the Redskins, while Bomar who they did want, cleared waivers and was signed to the practice squad.
Defense
“Hey baby, let’s go out there like a bunch of crazed dogs!”
Lawrence Taylor
By necessity, defense is the life blood of teams that play in cold winter weather. New York spent considerable time and money in the off season reloading their already formidable defensive group. With Steve Spagnuolo in as the new head coach in St. Louis, the Giants defense will be run by former linebackers coach Bill Sheridan. Whether the final product is an improvement over last year’s model remains to be seen. The defensive line looked sluggish and worn out at the end of 2008 and Reese and Coughlin were aggressive in seeing that this would not be repeated in 2009.
Veteran free agent defensive tackles Rocky Bernard ( Seattle) and Chris Canty (Dallas) were brought in to add depth to the already talented line. Canty’s size (6-7, 304) suggests he will be used at defensive end as well. If all of New York’s down linemen (with the exception of Jay Alford, who is already lost for the season) can stay healthy and play at their past levels, this will be one scary, scary, group. Michael Boley, a talented starter at linebacker for the Redskins, was also signed and will add both speed and experience to his position. Like Boley, rookie Clint Sintim (Virginia) will have plenty of opportunities to rush the passer if the Giants under Sheridan stay true to the aggressive, blitzing style of play previously installed by Spagnuolo.
Which brings us to the area the area of biggest concern in this year’s defensive lineup. The defensive backfield….
"Everybody grabbin'...nobody tacklin'...grab...grab..grab..."
Vince Lombardi
“Can't anybody here play this game“
Casey Stengel
Last year’s squad carried 10 defensive backs--this year the Giants go into the home open against the Redskins with eight. Aside from the simple subtraction of warm bodies, years of experience are gone as well. R.W. McQuarters, Sammy Knight, and Sam Madison were all released, and they took their total of 35 years in the NFL with them. Corey Webster, taken in the 2nd round of the 2005 draft is now the senior member of the current cast. Due to various injuries among the presumptive starting quartet of cornerbacks Webster and Aaron Ross and safeties Kenny Phillips and Michael Johnson, the group has seen very little playing time as a unit during the preseason . The starting unit that has been cobbled together in their stead has looked, frankly, putrid. The missed tackles, blown assignments and general mass confusion that has been witnessed throughout August should give any Giants fan pause before dreaming of a return to the Super Bowl.
The 2008 version of New York’s defense was 8th in the league against the pass; 9th against the run. But what happens if the defense--now run by the mild mannered Sheridan as opposed to the fiery Spags--no longer mounts the maniacal pass rush of last years’ group? Without that blistering heat on the opposing quarterback, will the DBs be able to maintain their coverage deep downfield? To a man, the defense seemed to absolutely love Spagnuolo. There has already been a preseason blow-up between new coordinator Sheridan and All Pro defensive end Osi Umenyiora. As is usually the case with Camp Coughlin, no details have been released. Nor will they ever be. For the record, Umenyiora apologized and returned to the fold. But was this nothing more than a momentary clash between two high paid egos? Or is it the first sign of a fissure developing between players and their replacement coach?
But let’s not end on a downer. I don’t want to be stereotyped as a typically cynical New York writer (which, I guess, sometimes I am). Lest we forget, in the first two games of the 2007 season, the defense, with the now canonized Spagnuolo manning the rudder, absolutely stunk up the joint. First they stunk up Cowboy Stadium, losing 45-35 in the opener in Dallas, then came home to the Meadowlands only to further embarrass themselves in front of their own fans, 35-13. (Believe me, stinking up the Meadowlands is a pretty neat trick, but they managed it). As you may recall, that same defense ended their season on February 3rd, 2008 in the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona, where they blitzed the living daylights out of the unbeaten and unbeatable New England Patriots and beat New England’s matinee idol quarterback Tom Brady to a bloody pulp.
Could it happen again this year? Who knows? But defensive schemes and old experienced veterans aside for the moment, this group probably has more talent than even that Super Bowl winning group. If I were a betting man (and sometimes I am) I probably wouldn’t bet the farm on it. But I wouldn’t bet against it, either. And of course there’s really only one way to find out. So cross your fingers and hope for the best.
And let the games begin.
A Summary of the 2009 NFL Draft
Best to be Lucky AND Good
I turn on the TV after a long day’s battle in the real estate wars and can still hear the echoes of boos cascading from the mezzanine and upper balcony of Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan. Seems that some of the Jets’ fans (J-E-T-S…Jets, Jets, Jets!) are unhappy with the package they surrendered for the privilege of moving up to draft Southern Cal QB Mark Sanchez. Jet fans. Is there anyone more obnoxious? Oh, right--Cowboy fans. And Charger fans. And of course Eagle fans. Actually, I shouldn’t say that about Eagle fans. One of my best friend’s is an Eagle fan. But then again, he didn’t return any of the calls I made to him today trying to get updates on the early picks. Forget it, Johnny. I retract my retraction. Eagle fans are the most obnoxious of all. But I digress…
As I mentioned in an earlier column, I’m worried that Hakeem Nicks (WR, North Carolina) won’t be around when the Giants pick at #29. He’s probably the best fit for New York after Michael Crabtree--and I don’t see GM Jerry Reese or Coach Tom Coughlin giving up what it would take to climb high enough to snag Crabtree. So what I’m really hoping to hear is that the G-men are moving up a bit to ensure getting Nicks, or have traded a pick or picks to Arizona for Anquan Boldin or to Cleveland for Braylon Edwards.
“With the 29th pick in the NFL Draft, the New York Giants select…Hakeem Nicks, wide receiver, North Carolina.”
Great. But how did that happen? Well, first of all, I was wrong. Apparently not everyone thought as highly of Nicks as did I and the Giants. Many of the New York media had soured on Nicks, citing his weight gain after a pre-draft injury as cause for concern, and guessed the Giants would take WR Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland instead. Ah, but they didn’t count on the twisted circuitry within the mind of Mr. Al Davis of Oakland, Ca. Davis could have had Crabtree at #7, but he could not resist the blazing (4.3, 40) speed of the hard-handed, inconsistent Bey who was, by consensus, no better than the fourth best WR in the draft. So a confluence of events began which ended with the player the Giants coveted most falling directly into their laps, in much the same way that Miami safety Kenny Phillips fell to them last year. Someone once said, “I’d rather be lucky than good.” Jerry Reese is both. If you see him walking up to your poker table, cash in your chips and go home. At 6-1, 210 lbs,, Nicks is not only big and physical but has great hands and is a polished route runner, and should make an immediate impact at the Meadowlands.
With their two picks in the 2nd round, New York selects OLB Clint Sintim (Virginia) at #45 and LT William Beatty (Uconn) at #60.
Sintim, 6-3, 245 lbs., had 27 sacks in 49 games in the ACC, with 20 of those coming in his junior and senior years. He will fit nicely into their passing rushing rotation, which is getting scary deep.
Beatty is an imposing 6-6, 307 lbs. physical specimen with long arms, and a frame that looks like it can easily carry another 15-30 lbs. He looks like the player who will allow LT David Diehl to move back to his natural guard position in a year or two. Hopefully, the Guy Whimper experiment is over.
Round 3 brings more offensive depth to the team including their most intriguing pick of the weekend.
Trading spots with the Eagles (for a fifth rounder) New York moves up to #85 and selects the closest thing they can find in the draft to recently departed Plaxico Burress. Ramses Barden, WR (Cal-Poly) is 6-6, 229 lbs. Watching his highlight reel, you can’t help but feel sorry for the comparatively tiny DBs trying in vain to keep the football out of his hands, (and Barden out of the end zone). Barden made several of this year’s ‘sleeper’ lists and it was no secret that the Giants were looking at him. And while no one confuses the Great West Conference with the NFL, (nor the weather in San Luis Obispo with the weather in New Jersey), his physical attributes are such that on potential alone, there is a chance that this may turn out to be one of the steals of the 2009 Draft. And another inside straight for Reese & Co.
Pick #100 brings Travis Beckum, (6-3, 243 lbs.), an athletic and highly productive pass catching tight end out of Wisconsin. As part of a rotation with Kevin Boss or as a bookend in two tight ends sets, Beckum will be a big target for QB Eli Manning and a matchup nightmare for defenses and should be a definite upgrade in passing situations over current TE’s Darcy Johnson and Michael Matthews, one of whom he will likely replace on the active roster.
After stockpiling their defense with free agent signing in the off season, the Giants have clearly targeted offensive players in the draft. That makes 5 picks in the first 3 rounds, and 4 new weapons for Eli and Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride. And more to come.
With their 4th round pick, (#129 overall), the Giants select RB Andre Brown (NC State). Listed at 6-0, 224 lbs., Brown is a faster (4.37 40), version of RB Danny Ware (6-0, 225 lbs.; 4.57 40) who mostly rode the bench last year as a backup for New York’s “Earth, Wind & Fire” trio of running backs, (Jacobs, Ward & Bradshaw), despite being their most productive runner in the 2008 preseason. Brown is primarily a slashing, north/south runner who can catch the ball and who was rated as high as #3 among this years draft-eligible running backs. A steal.
In round 5, with pick #151, Big Blue tabs QB Rhett Bomar, a 6-2, 214 lbs., strong-armed QB out of Sam Houston State. Despite some off-field issues, Bomar was considered by many to be the 5th rated QB in the draft, after West Virginia’s Patrick White. Hold on…
Allow me to pause here for just a minute. How does Reese pull this stuff off? Talk about patience. Talk about smarts. Talk about the guts of a burglar. He seems to know exactly how long he can wait for the players he wants. He moves up when he needs to and sits back calmly when he doesn’t. New York gets the 3rd (or 4th, whatever) running back in the entire draft with the 129th pick in the 4th round. They pick up the 5th best QB at #151, in the 5th round. By comparison, do you know what Oakland’s Al Davis did back in the 2nd round? In between the Giants hauling in the 6th highest rated OLB (Sintim: rated 48th overall), and the 6th (or 7th) rated offensive tackle (Beatty; rated 38th overall)? I’ll tell you what he did.
“With the 47th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders select…(drum roll, please)…Michael Mitchell, safety, University of Ohio.”
Michael who? Out of where? Did he mean Ohio State? (No, he didn’t). Michael Mitchell? I’d never heard of him. Most of ESPN’s analysts didn’t know he was either They didn’t even have a video clip of him. Mel Kiper knew who he was. He had him projected as an undrafted free agent. CBS Sports’ NFL Draft Scout (.com) had a much higher opinion of Michael. They saw him as the 7th best SS in the draft. #204 overall. But he was the 1st safety off the board, thanks to Big Al. I swear, I don’t know how my son (the Raider fan) can take it any more. I don’t think he can. As for me, just let me say--to paraphrase Joe DiMaggio:
“I’d like to thank the good lord for making me a (Giants fan).”
And not a Raider fan.
The Giants finished their business this draft weekend by selecting two CB’s in the 6th and 7th rounds; DeAndre White, 5-10½, 198 lbs., (New Mexico) at #200, and Stoney Woodson, 5-11, 190 lbs., (South Carolina) at #238. As is usually the case with late selections, both are considered projects. Wright is not particularly strong; Woodson not particularly fast. I’d say that neither one has a good shot at making a roster as deep as the Giants’ but I’ll bite my tongue instead. In the last two rounds of 2007, New York selected T Adam Koets; S Michael Johnson; and RB Ahmad Bradshaw. All three contributed to the Giants Super Bowl run. So let me just say this instead:
“I’d like to thank the good lord, etc…”
Goodbye Plaxico
Unwilling to wait any longer for the tangled saga of WR Plaxico Burress to unravel itself, the New York Giants released their troubled wide receiver this past Friday. Contrary to the image held by most outside the New York City area, Burress can be soft spoken and thoughtful and is generally well liked by his teammates. In 2006 he was given the “Good Guy” Award by the Giants’ chapter of the Football Writers of America. But he is also often exasperatingly self absorbed, immature and irresponsible to a degree not usually seen in a 31 year old man. As the main focus of the Giants passing attack, his 6’ 5” frame, impressive leaping ability, and condor-like wingspan gave fits to defenders and turned many an errant throw by QB Eli Manning into a drive-sustaining completion. In recent interviews, GM Jerry Reese expressed a (hopeful) desire to reunite Burress with his Big Blue teammates if and when he could see himself clear of his legal problems. But in the final assessment perhaps just too much had gone wrong too many times between Burress and Giant management in his four year stay with the team. Finally, maybe inevitably, they simply gave up.
"Jerry has said all along that if everything works out and Plax demonstrates he wants to be here with a desire to be part of this thing, (then) yes, we want him back," an unnamed Giants’ source told the New York Daily News. "Well, the fact is that we've been given no reason to think things will be any different in the future than they have been in the past."
And so, the long, tall, sideways cap-wearing shadow of Burress, the last of the big name G-Men who openly locked horns with Head Coach Tom Coughlin, (see: Barber, Strahan, Shockey, Toomer, et al), is no longer cast over the New Jersey Meadowlands. And while his loss may well prove to be a net negative, on the positive side it crystallizes the G-men’s priority approaching the 2009 season. Above all else, The New York Football Giants need a #1 receiver.
It’s been rumored that the Giants have made trade overtures regarding both Braylon Edwards of the Browns and the Cardinals’ Anquan Boldin. I say “rumored” because nobody plays these thing tighter to the vest than the Giants. At 6-3, 215 lbs., Edwards was the 3rd overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft out of the University of Michigan. He had a breakout season in 2007, scoring 16 touchdowns for the Browns. Last season that number dropped to 3, and he led the league in dropped passes. His judgment and temperament have led to a strained relationship with the Cleveland organization. Considering what they’ve just gone through with Burress, I don’t see the Giants going down that road, even at a deep discount price.
Boldin, a tough, physical, 6-1, 217 lb., 2nd round draft pick out of Florida State has been one of the NFL’s top receivers since joining the league in 2003, and is at the top of his game. Boldin has told Arizona he wants a new contract and the Cardinals have told him they love him dearly, but he and the notoriously tight-fisted Mr Bidwell are at an impasse. The word through the grapevine is that he would love to play for the Giants and I believe the feeling is mutual. And the Giants have freed up a small boatload of cash with the release of Burress. New York has 10 picks in this year’s draft, including 5 in the first 3 rounds, and relatively few roster spots to fill. They also have several serviceable receivers that could be added to sweeten a trade offer.
So what about the Giants acquiring that go to receiver in the draft with their #29 pick? Not likely. The consensus is that there is only one true stud receiver this year. That, of course, is Texas’ Michael Crabtree, who will undoubtedly go with one of the first 6 picks and is therefore--even with a trade--all but unreachable for the G-Men. After Crabtree, according to the ‘experts,‘ the second tier consists of Jeremy Maclin (Missouri), Darrius Heyward-Bey (Maryland), Percy Harvin (Florida), Hakeem Nicks (North Carolina), and Brian Robiske (Ohio State), in that order. Many of the mock drafts have the Giants selecting Nicks, but I don’t see that happening. There are (by my count) 12 teams besides New York who would like to find a starting receiver in the first 2 rounds of this year’s draft, and one of those is their bitter rival, the Philadelphia Eagles who happen to have this year‘s 28th pick. That‘s right--the one just before the Giants. Nicks has great hands and is perhaps the most polished receiver in the field. If he were to fall that far, the Eagles would like nothing better than to snatch him away from the Giants just as New York was ready to get its man. It is more likely that Robiske will be available at #29, but could he step in and replace Plaxico any sooner than Sinorice Moss, Steve Smith or Mario Mannigham, all of whom are on the Giants roster after being drafted in the last 3 years? Maybe. But again, not very likely.
Whether they are sent to Arizona for Boldin, or to another team in order to move far enough up in the draft to assure themselves of getting Nicks, look for the Giants to shed some of their draft picks, (along with a player or two), in order to get that #1 receiver that they so desperately need. As of right now, my money’s on Boldin. Stay tuned.
Back to the Top
Season Ends
The New York Football Giants ended their 2008 season the way they began 2007, with a bitter loss against a hated long-time rival. And while last year’s opening loss to the Cowboys soon became a faded memory, Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles will gnaw at Giant fans for months to come.
Failing to take note of the disastrous effects of the blueprint followed the previous day by the Carolina Panthers, who abandoned the league’s 3rd ranked rushing offense and put the game largely in the hands of their often erratic, sometimes inept QB Jake Delhomme, the Giants ended their 2008 season with a 23-11 loss to their long time division foes Sunday at Giants stadium. A once again healthy RB Brandon Jacobs, despite gaining nearly 5 yards per carry, was handed the ball only 19 times against the quick but undersized Eagles defense as the Giants inexplicably relied time and again on the inaccurate arm of quarterback Eli Manning, who fought a losing battle against an opportunistic Philadelphia defensive backfield and the swirling winds of the Meadowlands.
Teamed with Jacobs, RB Derrick Ward gave the 2008 Giants only the fourth 1,000 yard tandem of running backs in league history. And while New York, which lead the NFL in rushing with 157 yards per game, will most certainly lose Ward to free agency this year, they should lose little else whether his replacement in the rotation is Ahmad Bradshaw (Fire, of the Earth, Wind and Fire trio) or second year pro Danny Ware, who was arguably the G-Men’s most effective runner in the 2008 preseason.
So with the 2009 NFL Draft on the horizon, where do the Giants need to look for improvement? This is a team stocked with quality players, thanks to the recent draft selections of current general manager Jerry Reese and his predecessor Ernie Accorsi. New York has three picks in the first two rounds of this year’s draft; #29, # 45, (from New Orleans as part of the trade for TE Jeremy Shockey), and #60. But what best to do with them?
The following are some areas where the Giants may look to improve:
Wide Receiver
Unless and until 2007 Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning regains the form that convinced the Giants to give up a package of draft picks to acquire him, when they could have kept their picks and QB Phillip Rivers or selected QB Ben Roethlisberger in the 2004 draft, New York had better replace WR Plaxico Burress, and quick. Since Burress’ arrival via free agency in 2005, Manning often frustrated Giant fans with his apparent fixation on the 6’-5” 232 lb receiver who towers over every cornerback and safety in the league. Until they saw what Eli’s performance was like without him. The easiest remedy to this problem would be for Burress, who was suspended by the team and is facing criminal weapons charges and jail time after accidentally shooting himself in the thigh at a New York City nightclub, to be cleared of the charges and for the team to subsequently welcome his return to the Giants family. That aside, a wideout with either a physical stature similar to Burress’ (a tall order) or the speed to create downfield separation would do wonders for Eli’s confidence and completion percentage, and would keep defenses from stacking the box to slow down the Giants running game.
Middle Linebacker
Antonio Pierce is fading. The Giants somewhat undersized MLB (6‘-1“ 238 lbs.), never had the bulk to be a premier run-stopper, and while he continues to be the team’s vocal leader on the field and in the clubhouse, he has lost the step that allowed him to cover receiving backs like Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook coming out of the backfield. During the Giant’s (1-4) finish this year, Pierce often looked lost and overmatched. The Giants have acquired enviable depth from recent years of drafting good linebackers. But no truly great ones appear to be on the current roster. If they can return Burress to the fold, and a stud middle linebacker falls to them early in the draft--one who could crack the starting lineup sometime in his rookie year--they should grab him. It’s been a long time since Harry Carson.
Offensive Lineman
The Giants O-line has received much praise this year, and rightly so. But they are an injury away from real trouble. Right guard Chris Snee and center Shaun O’Hara are Pro-Bowl quality players. Left tackle David Diehl, despite having the limited mobility of the converted guard that he is, has performed as well as (perhaps better than) could have been hoped for when he was switched from left guard to left tackle in 2007. Diehl is a powerful and tenacious run-blocker, but he has problems with speed rushers like the Cowboy LB DeMarcus Ware and Minnesota DE Jared Allen. RT Kareem McKenzie has been steady since joining the Giants in 2005, but has missed more than his share of snaps this season with recurring injuries. LG Rich Seubert is playing on a leg that was so badly fractured in 2003 that a doctor described what was left of much of the bone as “dust.” Grey Ruegamer is a solid backup at both guard and center, but backup tackles Adam Koets and Kevin Boothe have not shown that they have the skills to eventually take over as starters, especially at the more crucial left tackle spot. Should GM Jerry Reese find himself with the chance to draft a big, mean mobile left tackle, one that would permit Diehl to move back to his natural guard position and Seubert back to the bench as a high quality back-up, the Giants offensive line would be even more formidable than it already is, and could remain so for years to come. A highly unpleasant notion for the rest of the league’s defenses.
