In 2004, the Giants started 4-1 before finishing 6-10. In 2006, they started 6-2 before finishing 8-8. They still made the playoffs and lost to the Eagles in the first. In 2007, they started 6-2 before finishing 10-6. They eventually got their act together and won the Super Bowl, but their 2nd half struggles were still there. In 2008, they started 11-1 before finishing 12-4 and losing in the first round of the playoffs. In 2009, they started 5-0 before finishing 8-8.
Last year was more of the same for the Giants. They started 6-2, but finished 4-4 down the stretch and missed the playoffs at 10-6. Along the way, they blew a 31-10 4th quarter lead to the Eagles and got shelled by the Packers for 500+ yards in Lambeau. In the Tom Coughlin/Eli Manning era, they have always started strong, struggled in the 2nd half, and only one year have they won a playoff game, that being their Super Bowl winning year of 2007.
The 2010 Giants had the #10 passing offense, the #6 rushing offense, the #8 rushing defense, and the #9 passing defense. They also had the #7 total defense and the #5 total defense. However, they were 1st in the league in turnovers turning the ball over 42 times, 5 more than 2nd place Carolina and Minnesota. That’s what did them in.
Unfortunately, the offseason was not too kind to the Giants. While the Eagles signed a ton of free agents and the Cowboys figure to be better this season, the Giants lost Barry Cofield, Steve Smith, Kevin Boss as free agents and had to cut veteran interior linemen Rich Seubert and Shaun O’Hara. They also lost rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara indefinitely with a broken foot.
Steve Smith’s loss will be felt at wide receiver. Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham are both very talented receivers as the starters, but Smith was their best possession receiver out of the slot. Now, career backup Domenik Hixon and 2010 preseason standout Victor Cruz will compete for the slot receiver job with rookie 3rd round pick Jerrel Jernigan possibly coming on late.
Kevin Boss’ presence will also be missed in both the passing game and the running game. Boss is one of the better blocking tight ends in the league and he was a great end zone target for Eli Manning. He is replaced by 2009 3rd round pick, the inexperienced Travis Beckum. Beckum has caught 21 passes in 2 seasons as a pro as Boss’ backup.
Filling the voids of Seubert and O’Hara up front, free agent acquisition David Baas will start at center, in place of O’Hara, while David Diehl, who struggled on the left side, allowing 8 sacks in 2010, moves to left guard. 2009 2nd round pick William Beatty will be the new blindside protector. Baas is a marginal starter who the Giants overpaid to come over from San Francisco. Meanwhile, Beatty has not impressed in limited action in 2 seasons since being drafted.
If Beatty struggles, they don’t have many other options. They don’t want to move stud right tackle Kareem McKenzie and backup left tackle Shawn Andrews is terrible. Rookie 4th round pick James Brewer is in the mix, but the Giants have said they don’t plan to play him much as a rookie. McKenzie and Chris Snee do a solid job on the right side at tackle and guard respectively, but gone are the days of the Giants having one of the league’s best offensive lines.
When the Giants were at their best, Plaxico Burress was one of the best goal line threats in the league, their offensive line was one of the best in the league, and they had a fearful running game, helped by, again, an amazing line upfront. While Hakeem Nicks has done a nice job of replacing Burress, their offensive line is not as good as it once was and also gone are the days of Earth, Wind, and Fire wreaking havoc in the backfield (also, sadly, gone are the days of running back committees having cool names, what’s up with that!?).
Earth (Brandon Jacobs) is 29 and has lost his lead back job. Wind (Derrick Ward) is gone. Actually I don’t know where he went. Fire (Ahmad Bradshaw) is their best running back. Bradshaw rushed for 1235 yards and 8 touchdowns on 276 carries last year, his first year after taking the lead back job from Jacobs. He also caught 47 passes for 314 yards. He was rewarded this offseason with a 4 year deal, but he’s injury prone and fumble prone. His 7 fumbles in 2010 were a huge part of the reason why the Giants led the league in turnovers. We could see some of 3rd string running back Da’Rel Scott, a rookie 7th rounder, this year.
Another reason why this running game is no longer feared is the sudden decline of Madison Hedgecock, one of the best fullbacks in the league a few years ago. Hedgecock was benched for Bear Pascoe last season, who didn’t do much better. Pascoe was replaced by undrafted free agent Henry Hynoski this offseason. Without an elite running game to supplement him, it’s very possible that Eli Manning has another season where he turns the ball over a lot. He’ll throw for a bunch of yards and a bunch of touchdowns given this receiving corps, but he will hurt you with the turnovers. He’ll also be hurt by the loss of Kevin Boss and Steve Smith, as well as what should be a weaker offensive front.
The Giants have always been known for their pass rush and after a bad year rushing the passer in 2009, they bounced back with 46 sacks in 2010. Unfortunately, top pass rusher Osi Umenyiora, who had 11.5 sacks in 2010, is not happy and wants out or a new deal. He has shut up, for now, but this is not the first time Umenyiora has expressed dissatisfaction with his team and his contract.
Umenyiora will start opposite Justin Tuck, who also had 11.5 sacks last year. 2010 1st round pick Jason Pierre Paul should play a little bit more this season, but there’s not a lot of playing time to go around unless something happens to Umenyiora or Tuck. Meanwhile, inside on their defensive line, the Giants will feel the loss of Barry Cofield, a stud run stuffer who offered some pass rush. He signed with the Redskins in free agency.
2010 2nd round pick Linval Joseph will step into the lineup for Cofield. They also have 2011 2nd round pick Marvin Austin in the mix. He could see playing time this year because their other starter at defensive tackle, Chris Canty, has disappointed with a mere 2 sacks in 2 seasons since signing a giant contract with the Giants.
Former defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka is reportedly fully recovered from what seemed like a potential career ending neck injury, which he suffered last year. They brought him back on a two year deal and will have him play strong side linebacker this year, a position he has some experience at. He will be an upgrade over Clint Sintim, the 2009 2nd round pick who was penciled into the starting lineup before Kiwanuka resigned.
On the weakside, Michael Boley is a decent player, as is Jonathan Goff inside. The Giants spent a 6th round pick on Greg Jones, which I felt was a steal. He could see a lot of action as a rookie if anything happens to Kiwanuka. He could also beat out Boley or Goff. Don’t be surprised if that happens at some point this season.
The safety position was a huge position of need for the Giants following the 2009 season. The Giants responded by drafting Chad Jones and signing Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant. They also got Kenny Phillips back from injury. However, safety was still a weakness for this team last year. Chad Jones got badly hurt in a car accident and is still nowhere near ready to return. Deon Grant sucked and didn’t play much down the stretch, but Antrel Rolle was even worse.
Rolle had the 7th worst quarterback rating against of any safety in the league. He will continue to start this year, opposite Kenny Phillips who had a nice bounce back year in 2010. It’s possible rookie Tyler Sash, a 6th round pick, could be the starter over Rolle at some point this season, if Rolle has another terrible year. He could, however, just as easily bounce back to his pre-2010 form when he was at least a decent safety.
At cornerback, the Giants have good depth, but lack a true #1. Corey Webster and Terrell Thomas are the starters and Aaron Ross provides good depth as a nickel cornerback. However, they were hoping Prince Amukamara could have an impact at the position this season and possibly even become that #1 cornerback. He is out indefinitely with a foot injury. On top of that, Aaron Ross is injury prone and they don’t have great depth behind him at the position.
The Giants could start off strong once again, as they always do. In their first 7, Philadelphia represents the biggest challenge and their only other two challenging games are against St. Louis and Arizona. However, they could finish rough once again. In fact, it seems like the schedulers set them up for another 2nd half collapse. From week 9 on, they have to play New England, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Green Bay, Dallas, the Jets, and then Dallas again. Philadelphia is definitely better than them and I think Dallas is better than them once again. They will really miss the players they lost in free agency and I think they finish in 3rd.
Quarterback: B
Running backs: B
Receiving corps: B
Offensive line: B-
Run defense: C+
Pass rush: A-
Pass coverage: C
Coaching: C
Projection: 7-9 3rd in NFC East
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