32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #5: The New York Giants

The Super Bowl Champs. They are returning to the gridiron this year with thoughts of repeating. They want to defend their title and prove to the world that beating the 18-0 New England Patriots was no fluke. The New York Giants shocked the world when they pulled off that miraculous upset. It seemed as though in one game, Eli Manning grew up, jumped out of the shadow of older brother Peyton, and suddenly became a great Quarterback. You have got to be kidding me. Yeah they were good last year at the right time, but the New York Giants in no way earn my respect. They are a team that got lucky. End of story.

The Giants defense, the best thing they have is going to be without their inspirational leader and their leading pass rusher. Michael Strahan has finally hung up the cleats and is in retirement. I don’t think we will see Strahan pull a Brett Favre either. Also in the off-season, they lost another pass rusher in Kawika Mitchell. The Giants will have to suffice with the breakout star Osi Umenyiora and 2005 Draft pick, Justin Tuck. Their pass rushing will not be the beast that it was last year. If Aaron Ross and Sam Madison can stay healthy, I believe that they can cause havoc for opposing quarterbacks. They are two talented cornerbacks that can hang in there with the best in the league. The defense will be good this year, but I don’t think we will see the same stoutness as we did last year.

I am tired of the attitude that a receiver can not practice with his quarterback, but still get the job done on Sunday. Considering that the Giants won the Superbowl, I should probably shut my mouth, but Plaxico Burress aggravates me. I will never consider him an elite receiver until he does the things that those same elite recievers do every week. I will chose consistency over flash any day. If Plaxico can prove me wrong and produce every Sunday this year, he will have earned my respect. Amani Toomer will be a pass catcher on the opposite of Burress and although Amani is a talented receiver, he’s getting up there in age. He will still see the ball, but I think that we will see the offense start to open up a bit with more with passes to David Tyree, the Superbowl star that caught the improbable pass in the last two minutes of the game, & rookie Mario Manningham out of Michigan. The tight end situation is another that aggravates me about the New York Giants. Is Jeremy Shockey talented? Yes, no doubt. However, he gets in the way of the offense and he is too much of a hot head. This is not Shockey’s team. This is Eli’s team, however young Eli may be. Eli needs to be able to run the offense without Shockey getting in his head. If I were the Giants, I would trade Shockey and continue with Kevin Boss at tight end. They were a better team last year with Shockey injured and Boss at tight end.

Lets talk about the backfield. It’s a committee. A power running committee. You will either see Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, or Ahmed Bradshaw taking the hand-offs. No other team in the league has gone to a 3 back system. You may see more committees this year, but most teams will stop at a time share with 2 backs. The Giants don’t care. They have their 3 headed monster and they are gonna ride that monster until it can’t go anymore. All three were productive last year and I don’t see that changing this year. The backfield is set. They may not be Tiki Barber, but they get the job done.

And now we come to the Quarterback position. Oh boy. The lovable Eli Manning. Peyton’s little brother can now be called Superbowl Champion. He played great during the Superbowl, but as I said earlier, Eli has not proven to me that he can be consistent every week. Eli is going to have more pressure then ever this year and if he can’t deliver, the fans are gonna let him have it worse then ever. I don’t know if he can compete at the level that he needs to throughout an entire year, but I’m already hearing the one hit wonder chants beginning. However, it is not like Eli is going to lose his starting job. I mean David Carr is his backup. David Carr shouldn’t even be in the league, but he will be backing up Eli Manning. The only way Carr plays is if Eli gets hurt. Its possible, but remember, Eli suffered a bad injury to his shoulder last year and refused to miss a game. The Manning family is consistent and durable. I don’t see Manning missing a game next year. The Giants did draft Quarterback Andre’ Woodson out of Kentucky, which puzzles me a bit. Other then possibly developing him for a few years, I don’t really see a reason for the pick. Eli is the quarterback with no doubts. Eli will lead the team either to another Superbowl or a disappointing season. There’s no other alternative.

When you win the Superbowl the expectations are so high for the next season that it can crush even the best of teams. The New York Giants are going to have to play better then they have ever played and I just don’t think they can do that. Anything other then making it back to the Superbowl this year will be a disappointment to the fans, so they are in a bind that they can’t get out of. I said earlier that the Giants are nothing, but a lucky team. I still believe thats true. I don’t think the idea of the Patriots losing that game was beyond the realm of reality, but I do believe that the Giants simply got lucky. Any given Sunday, a team can be better then they really are and the Giants simply had their Sunday. Good luck for the season G-Men. You’re gonna need it.