By Matthew Frank 

The New York Giants return a lot of that same personnel from last year to this years offensive unit.  Led by Eli Manning, the team has become more pass dependent as the running game has been run down mainly due to injuries and an aging line.

The big singing this year was the late acquisition of Shawn Andrews who was a former pro-bowler with the Eagles.  While Andrews will not see a lot of time to start with, this could be a big time signing as Andrews is one of the best linemen in football.  David Dehl will resume his play at left tackle.  He was actually very capable last year, but really is more of a fill in then a true tackle type.  You would like to see him move over to guard to fill in for Rich Seubert.  Chris Snee continues to be one of the best guards in the game and rarely makes any mistakes in both run or pass protection.  At center, Shaun O’Hara returns for another season.  I like O’Hara as you can certainly do worse, but I think he is starting to slow down and is not getting enough push on run blocking.  That being said, he has an excellent synergy with Eli Manning, and tends to make good line calls for picking up the blitz.  Finally, we have Kareem McKenzie at the other tackle spot.  McKenzie is one of those guys that you don’t hear a lot about and that means he is doing a good job.  He isn’t the greatest run blocker in the world, but he certainly gets the job done and really stablizes the line.  As a backup, Will Beatty will be filling in again.  The former 2nd round pick played very well last year in the spurts he filled in, and he may be counted on doing a lot more should injuries come around.

The running backs are a big concern this year.  Brandon Jacobs is heading into a due or die year after a miserable 2009 season.  As many people pointed out, he was way too tentative at the line and needs to regain the slashing form he had two years ago.  Amhad Bradshaw can be a dynamic back, but he is coming off of multiple foot and ankle surgeries.   He really can be a great player, but you have to wonder if all of those surgeries are going to take their toll.  Finally, Andre Brown will be backing them up after coming back from Achillies surgery.  I was thrilled when they took Brown last year in the draft as I felt he was going to be a great pick up.  That injury was one of those under-the-radar issues that came about last year.  When Bradshaw and Jacobs wore down last year, nobody was there to pick up the slack.  Of course, counting on a rookie running back coming off of major surgery might not be the best idea, but the Giants don’t have much of a choice as they didn’t draft anyone else.

At tight end we have Kevin Boss and Travis Beckum.  Boss has greatly refined his game these past couple of years.  While he isn’t an elite level catching talent, he is certainly the best of the second tier of players.  Boss has also shown to be a capable blocker, though he does have some issues clearing out more physical teams.  We have to hope that Boss avoids the concussions he has tended to have to far in his career.  Beckum is a second year player who has shown so far to be a good route runner, but maybe not the best blocker in the world.

For the first time I think ever, the Giants have some elite talent at the wide receiver spot.  Pro-bowler Steve Smith returns as the teams’ main target.  Smith caught an outrageous amount of passes last year; especially amazing consider the rest of the receiving corp were rookies or largely untested.  He’ll continue to be Manning’s security blanket.   For the big play threat, Hakeem Nicks will fill in that role.  Nicks certainly showed some great moments last year, but he has to cut down on the drops and work on refining his route running a bit.  Mario Manningham is a capable wide receiver and can make the big play, but route running is a big issue with him.  We should all remember how Chris Collinsworth consistently berated him on air for running poor routes last year.

Finally, we have Eli Manning who played really well last year, even through injury.  You can tell that Manning is starting to gain a lot of trust with all of his receivers and getting into a big time groove.  It would not surprise me if Manning has a huge year and is consistently one of the big players week in and week out.  You have to especially consider the dynamic players the Giants have at the receiver position and the issues they seem to have at running back when looking forward to this year.  The Giants are probably going to ask Manning to throw a lot more in the past and it seems like the entire unit may be up for the task.

http://www.bigbluefootballreview.com/

Guard

David Diehl really struggled in his first season at left guard, though he also played some left tackle. He was rated as one of the worst pass blocking guards in the league and allowed 13 sacks, 61 pressures, and 6 penalties over their Super Bowl run. He could be moving to right tackle next year because Kareem McKenzie, who also struggled this year, is a free agent and is not expected back. They’ll need a new left guard.

Middle Linebacker

Chase Blackburn may have made the game altering pick in the Super Bowl, but he was unsigned as late as November (cut to Patriots fans grimacing). Blackburn played well down the stretch, but he’s a free agent and there’s a reason why he was available in November. He’s never been a consistent starter in this league. They could use a long term solution at the position.

Offensive Tackle

David Diehl could be moving to right tackle in place of Kareem McKenzie, but given how bad Diehl was last year, I don’t think that’s the answer. 2011 4^th rounder James Brewer might be, but they also might want some competition.

Running Back

Brandon Jacobs will not be back unless he takes a major paycut and he may opt to be released instead. That will leave them needing another running back to pair with Ahmad Bradshaw, who is injury prone and not capable of carrying the load.

Tight End

The Giants lost both Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum to major injuries in the Super Bowl and needed tight end help anyway. Now they really need tight end help, especially short term, but also long term possibly as well.

Safety

Antrel Rolle is a big name, but no safety allowed more completions or yards than him last season and it wasn’t even that close. Rolle allowed opposing quarterbacks to go 57 of 76 for 642 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 picks last year. He’s been overrated for years. There’s a reason the Cardinals cut him loose for nothing. The Giants should do the same, though they probably won’t. Competition would be nice here.

Cornerback

Along with their offensive line, their pass coverage was their biggest weakness last year. Their pass rush masked it on their Super Bowl run, but it was bad at times. They were ravaged by injury back there and could really use some more depth.

() FA Rank 

QB Jim Sorgi

RB Ahmad Bradshaw (#27)

Bradshaw had 1549 total yards and 8 total touchdowns this year, but there are major concerns about his ability to hold onto the football (7 fumbles this year) and about his ability to carry the load and stay healthy.

RB DJ Ware- resigned  

WR Steve Smith (#38) 

He’s got injury problems, but he caught 100 passes in 2009 and he’s only 26 this offseason so he’s worth a good amount of money.

WR Domenik Hixon- resigned

WR Darius Reynaud- resigned

WR Derek Hagan 

TE Kevin Boss

G Kevin Boothe

DT Barry Cofield (#26)

A dominating run stuffer, Cofield had a career sack 4 sacks this year as well. He’s only 27 this offseason and has a fine future ahead of him.

DE Mathias Kiwanuka (#39)

Injury prone, but extremely athletic. I think his potential would be best maximized in a 3-4, but he has 23.5 sacks in 5 years with the Giants, as a former first round pick.

DE Dave Tollefson 

OLB Keith Bulluck

MLB Chase Blackburn

MLB Gerris Wilkinson

S Deon Grant

S Michael Johnson

Offseason moves:

Resigned Domenik Hixon

Resigned DJ Ware

Resigned Darius Reynaud

Draft

The Giants gave Kiwanuka a 2 year “prove it” deal last offseason after a nasty neck injury and he certainly proved it last year. He played a hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end spot and was above average in both spots. ProFootballFocus graded him out as the 5^th best run stuffing outside linebacker (and 7^th best overall) and he managed 5 sacks, 8 hits, and 22 pressures in 328 snaps rushing the passer. He was a big part of the Giants’ 4 defensive end set in nickel, dime, and quarter packages with Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre Paul, and Osi Umenyiora that played a big role in the Giants winning the Super Bowl.

They did right by him giving him a new deal after giving him the prove it deal last offseason and, barring another major injury, he should prove to be well worth the 16.5 million over 3 years (with 10.95 million guaranteed) he was given, which is a good deal when you compare it to what similar players got, like Jarret Johnson (4 years 19 million at age 31 in August) and Kamerion Wimbley (5 years 35 million heading into his age 29 season). Kiwanuka is heading into his age 29 season as well. This deal also clears some cap for the Giants this season, so it was an all around good deal. The only issue is it’ll probably piss Osi Umenyiora off more, but that’s his problem.

Grade: A

CB Omar Bolden (Arizona State)

OLB Matt Broha (Louisiana Tech)

TE Jake Byrne (Wisconsin)

DT Ronnie Cameron (Old Dominion)

G James Carmon (Mississippi State)

QB Austin Davis (Southern Mississippi)

S Matt Daniels (Duke)

OLB Ryan Davis (Bethune-Cookman)

RB Cyrus Gray (Texas A&M)

MLB Dont’a Hightower (Alabama)

S Jerron McMillian (Maine)

TE Adam Nissley (UCF)

DE Josue Ortiz (Harvard)

TE Adrien Robinson (Cincinnati)

WR Mohamed Sanu (Rutgers)

QB Matt Simms (Tennessee)

RB Michael Smith (Utah State)

OT Donald Stephenson (Oklahoma)

OLB Korey Toomer (Idaho)

OLB Tahir Whitehead (Temple)

WR Devon Wylie (Fresno State)

19. CB Prince Amukamara A

How did Amukamara fall all the way to New York? Well, teams reaching for quarterbacks early had a lot to do with that. The Giants aren’t complaining as they get a top 10 talent at 19 and it’s not as if he doesn’t fill a need. They got burned deep by Green Bay late and they don’t have a true #1 shutdown cornerback like Amukamara can become. Besides, in a pass heavy league, there’s no such thing as too much cornerback depth.

52. DT Marvin Austin B

Another pick hailed as a steal, I’m not so sold that is the case. I was never sold on Austin as a first round pick. I had a high 2^nd round grade on him, so this is still a good value, but defensive tackle wasn’t a huge need. They’ll still find a role for him because he can get after the quarterback.

83. WR Jerrel Jernigan C-

Some people had a 2^nd round grade on Jernigan. I had a 4^th. Given that, I see this as a reach at a position that wasn’t a huge need. Even if Steve Smith leaves, they still have Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham as starters with sold depth behind them.

117. OT James Brewer A

Everyone expected them to take an offensive lineman at 19, but when Amukamara fell to them, they had no choice but to pull the trigger. That was obviously the right move and, even better, they were able to get a steal on a tackle here in the 4^th.

185. OLB Greg Jones A

How the hell was Greg Jones still around in the 6^th? He was my highest rated prospect for several rounds. This is the steal of the draft and Jones also fills a need for the Giants and can play inside and outside. I think they got an above average starter in the 6^th round. That’s pretty good.

198. S Tyler Sash A

Even though they added 3 safeties last offseason (Chad Jones, Deon Grant, Antrel Rolle), they still gave up a bunch of big plays. Chad Jones got hurt and his career is in jeopardy. Deon Grant is old. Antrel Rolle is overpaid and could actually be cut in a cost cutting move. Sash is a great value at this point.

202. OLB Jacquain Williams C

I didn’t have Williams in my top 300, but he does fill a need.

221. RB Da’Rel Scott A

Another major steal. I had a 4^th or 5^th round grade on Da’Rel Scott and he also fills a need for the Giants. Ahmad Bradshaw is an injury prone, fumble prone free agent. Brandon Jacobs doesn’t have much left. Scott could end up being the next late round/undrafted running back to have a major impact down the road.

Overall:

Every pick of theirs wasn’t perfect, but they got at least three major steals with Amukamara at 19, Greg Jones at 185, the steal of the draft, and Da’Rel Scott at 221. They also got nice steals with Tyler Sash at 198 and James Brewer at 117 and all 5 of those picks filled needs. They also didn’t have any bad picks and they got an excellent haul of talent out of draft weekend. That’s what an A draft looks like.

Grade: A

By Matthew Frank

For the first time in memory, the Giants defense was a complete mess last year.  The entire unit played poorly for most of the year and was an utter disaster.  Perry Fewell was brought in to coach this underachieving unit into shape.  To show you what type of urgency the Giants gave the defense, all of their draft picks except for one (which was in the later rounds) was for defense.  Also, the big off season signings were both to bolster a secondary and linebacking corp that needed drastic help.

However, not of this will help if the Giants defensive line, which is supposed to be its strength, plays like they did last year.  Justin Tuck is a true stud, but was never the same after getting tripped and injured by the Cowboys.  He is supposedly back to fully strength and is excellent against both the pass and run.  Osi Umineyora will hopefully be back at full strength after knee surgery a couple of years ago.  It usually takes players two years to come back from that type of injury, so a dominant Umineyora may be in the cards.  And hopefully so because last year he was really pushed around; especially on running plays.  Teams would consistently target Umineyora and push him back several yards on each play.  Mathias Kiwanuka is actually projected to be a starter, but I don’t think anybody knows what to make of him at this point.  The one time (and briefly thank God) linebacker definitely has some skills getting to the quarterback, but you have to wonder about his overall play.  First round draft choice Jason Pierre-Paul was brought in to possibly replace these players due to injury and contract situations (for next year), but for now don’t expect him to see a lot of playing time on a team with a lot of defensive ends.

The tackles were the major source of concern last year, and were routinely pushed back and battered.  Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty must play like their contracts demand it if this unit has a chance.  Teams routinely pushed up the middle on running plays, and just pushed the ends to the outside on passing plays.  Bernard and Canty have to put their injury history behind them and really get some push up the middle.  Linval Joseph was a very smart draft choice and is another big body to clog up the middle.  Expect to see him a lot on the rotation.

The linebacking corp is still a major source of concern.  The Giants did go out and sign Keith Bulluck, but I’m not sure how much you can count on a player in a new system, that is 33 and coming off of knee surgery.  Michael Boley returns to the team after a disappointing first year with the team.  If he can play like he did in Atlanta, this will be a major coup for the team.  Clint Sintim had a good rookie year, but is going to be counted on a lot more for making big plays.  Let’s see if he can make the major transition up.  Chase Blackburn should start at MLB which is why Bulluck was signed.  Blackburn is an ok-enough player, but I don’t think the Giants feel he is a consistent starter as he can be thrown around.  Phillip Dilliard was drafted as a potential backup, but nobody seems to know if he is a good enough player moving forward.

While the secondary was a disaster last year, a lot of it had to do with Kenny Phillips injury and the defensive line applying no pressure to opposing teams quarterback.  Phillips is back this year and all reports are that he is back to full strength.  Just in case, Antrel Rolle was signed to start this year.  Rolle was a great, if not slightly overpriced, signing for a team that drastically needed depth to this unit.  He’s a bit undersized, but a good ball hawk.  Deon Grant also brings a lot of stability to this unit.  The cornerbacks are again a major source of concern.  Aaron Ross is already battling injuries and Corey Webster can have issues from game to game.

The Giants definitely upgraded the secondary over the year, but it still comes down to the dominance of the defensive line.  If the line can get consistent pressure and push, this unit should be ok.   The Giants had a maddening tendency to get a team into a third and long last season, only to give up an easy pass while the opposing quarterback had all the time in the world to scan the field.  Hopefully this year, with a refreshed team and defensive scheme, the unit will play cohesively again.

http://www.bigbluefootballreview.com/

By Matthew Frank

The New York Giants take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday night.  While all the commentators are concentrating on the Manning v. Manning matchup, this game boils down to another three things:

1) The Giants Pass Rush

The Giants need to get pressure on Peyton Manning all night.  And by pressure I mean without big, sell-out blitzing pressure.  3rd and longs killed this team last year and that was largely due to the lack of push by the front four leading to massive blitzes.  If Kiwanuka, Tuck, Umeniyora, and company get in that backfield often, the rest of the defense should be able to neutralize the passing game.  The Indianapolis offensive line is also really beat up with several players coming back early from injury.   Expect the defense to come out in a lot of nickel looks and really put a lot of pressure on the receivers.  The Giants can’t count on Peyton Manning throwing several red-zone interceptions like they got last week.

2) The Giants Running Game

In case anybody missed it, the Texans ran right over the Colts last week decimating them for 257 yards on the ground.  With Bob Sanders out, the Giants should be licking their chops over Bradshaw and Jacobs running over and through the Indy defense.  Last week the New York offensive line had a lot of issues getting blown back repeatedly.  The Giants don’t have to be as dominant as Houston was last week, but they certainly need to show marked improvement or rumors of their demise may start to get played up.

3) Special Teams

The Giants don’t need to be world beaters here; just merely competent.  Will Matt Dodge actually show up, or will we be shopping for a punter next week?

All in all a really tough game considering who they are playing, but this game is winnable.  If the defense can hold their own, the offense should be able to get going.   Let’s just hope the defensive line can introduce themselves to Peyton early and often.

http://www.bigbluefootballreview.com/

By Matthew Frank

In a somewhat strange game, the Giants defeated the Panthers 31-18 in a somewhat soggy debut for the new Giants Stadium (call it what you want, but I’m sticking to my guns here).  The Giants, and in particular the special teams, were very sloppy but pulled out a victory thanks to some big plays and the incompetent Matt Moore.

Eli Manning was good this game, but too many people are talking about what a great game he had.  Yes, two of the interceptions were not his fault at all.  But the third one, off the hands of Ramses Barden, was thrown way too high and behind him.  Also, he basically hung Kevin Boss out to dry in the first quarter.  Manning through the ball in such a position that he was basically begging BOTH safeties to come down and really hit Boss hard…and they sure did knocking him out for the rest of the game.  I realize that it was a free play due to a defensive offsides, but Eli has to make sure his players don’t get killed.  Of course, the passes he threw deep to Nicks and Manningham were some of the prettiest plays of the week so we have to keep those going.

The rest of the offense was decent, but the running game had some major problems.  The offensive line couldn’t get any penetration off the ball and the defense was constantly in the backfield.  Bradshaw actually had a very productive game squirting around the early pressure, but the line must do better on the initial push.  Steve Smith was basically doubled all game leaving Nicks open, and boy did he take advantage of that.  Nicks was dynamic constantly jumping over and around defenders making big plays on seem patterns over and over again.  Mario Manningham also had a great game showing a good pair of hands and making some nice plays.

The defense was ok, but I don’t know how many weeks you can count on making three interceptions in the endzone.  Kenny Phillips was outstanding making a huge, leaping interception and also catch the Carolina running back with a shoestring, touchdown saving tackle.  Rolle also played really well and was the ball-hawk we all expected him to be.  The line was very good against the run and late in the game really picked things up and got a lot of solid pressure eventually knocking Moore out of the game.  However, the same tendency to give up third and longs was maddening as well as Carolina’s last drive to end the first half.  Carolina easily drove down the length of the field to score a last second touchdown which, at the time, put them in the lead.  These types of drives and conversions have to stop as a good defense should consistently get the ball back in those situations.

Perry Fewell put the defense in a lot of strange looks including at one point having 4 defensive ends on the field.  I don’t know if this worked or not, but the mixing of packages from a formally predictible unit may be a good thing.

Finally, there were the special teams.  For which I can say: ugh.  Wow, they were really terrible.  Matt Dodge was awful as a punter.  Yes, the blocked punt wasn’t his fault, but when he actually did get the ball in the air there was almost no air time and the returner frequently took the low-line drives and got a lot of yardage.  Kick returns were an issue as well, as the returners frequently got to the 30 or so.  It got so bad that towards the end of the game, the fans were cheering “We want Feagles!”  Dodge better get his act together, or the fans may get their wish.

http://www.bigbluefootballreview.com/