How bad will the Giants suck in 2007-08?
This New York Times article is pretty critical of the Giants offseason: “It could be argued that the Giants have not been improved at any position.”
I suppose we could argue that. Kawika Mitchell may be an improvement on the strong side (Brandon Short and Carlos Emmons are gone). I had no problem with Short, but if Mitchell can do an equal job, he is younger than Short so that’s an improvement.
Otherwise any improvements need to come organically. Will Eli Manning show some consistency? Will Barry Cofield grow or trail off the way Gibril Wilson seemd to his second year? Will Demps played better toward the end of last season – does he continue to improve? Can Wilkinson step at at WLB?
The Giants need some yes answers to those questions. Will Diehl be a better LT than Petigout? Doubtful. Will Whimper be a better backup than Whitfield? Possibly but not likely. Who will replace Jay Feeley?
But it’s not all bad. Can Tim Carter be replaced? Definitely. Are we excited about Jacobs and Droughns bruising the opponents defenses? Definitely.
So while the article paints a bleak picture, if the Giants can grow some of the current players on the roster things might look better real soon. If they can’t then we could be in for another tough season, especially if Eli Manning doesn’t deliver more consistent performances than last season.
March 28th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
the giants should win far more then lose, the defense failed in a lot of games that the giants were winning.but you need better than 1st play hand-off to barbar/2nd pass to ?/3rd hand-off to barber.
March 28th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I don’t expect much this year. We may resemble the Bengals of last year who put up a lot of points but couldn’t stop the good teams from scoring. If the team starts to go south most of the attention will shift to “Who’s going to coach next year?” The Giants may struggle to match last years record.
March 28th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Well, let’s look at the different units and rate their improvement:
Offense:
QB: Eli hopefully will be more consistent. Who knows?
Same as last year.
RB: I like Jacobs. He’s no Tiki. No RB can be. And now we have no blocking FB.
Worse than last year.
WR: Thankfully, Carter’s gone. BFD. Maybe Moss will start to emerge. Maybe. Toomer’s back, but it was a major injury, he’s a year older and he’s going thru a really nasty divorce, which can be distracting. All we have is Plax to rely on.
Same as last year.
TE: Can Shockey stay healthy? Shiancoe’s gone. Again, BFD. He couldn’t catch a cold.
Same as last year.
OL: Petitgout is gone. That’s in no way a positive.
Worse than last year.
Defense:
DL: Maybe they can all stay healthy. Strahan’s a year older but Kiwi is the real deal.
Slightly Better than last year.
LB: Pierce is back. He’s the only one I trust. This unit needs help.
Worse than last year.
DB: Wilson is decent. Demps showed flashes. Webster was toast all season. Is he officially a bust, yet? Who’s the other corner?
Same as last year (i.e.: Bad).
So aside from the DL, which only gets better if they can stay healthy, I see no improvement in any unit.
Sigh. At least we have the draft to look forward to. Hopefully Reece will draft by best talent available rather than for need, which always seems to burn teams.
My Prediction: 8-8. Only because I think the Cowgirls are overrated and the Skins suck as much as the Giants so they’re all going to beat on each other. Jeez, why don’t we just give the Eagles the division now?
March 29th, 2007 at 1:41 am
Eli Manning has been getting alot of criticism. For a young player, he has alot of potential. I believe that in the 07-08 season, Eli will step up as much as needed. The combination of Jacobs and Droughns will bruise defenses and though there are big shoes to fill (Tiki Barber)I believe the correct choise was made. In the linebacker position, with Kawika and Pierce and some well done training, we will be set. In the cornerback position, I belive RW Mcquarters will lead us to a successful season. Mixed with Strahan, Osi, Pierce, Kawika, and RW, the defense should make a huge leap up. With WR’s such as Toomer and Burress, Mixed with the Bam n’ Slam style of TE Jeremy Shockey, a healthy team sticking together, should mean a successful season. Injuries were a major factor in the 06-07 season, as long as all the players work to there limits, I believe the Giants will have there 3rd Play-off birth in a row, and be ready to move past a 1st round KO.
March 29th, 2007 at 1:59 am
Sure hope you’re right Shawn. A big step forward from Eli could be huge for us. If we have teams playing catchup our defense will get more sacks / turnovers.
March 29th, 2007 at 2:44 am
I think losing tiki was a huge lost for us! Yeah Jacobs, he is big and strong and a great bus rb,but his fumble was costly last year,his agility and other things about him needs to improve,i hope he does cause i want that running power that ney york needs to exceed,one to take pressure off of eli back, Plexico need to stop cring and catch the ball more than one on one situation,we need to get shoking more involve in the game and we should of traded coughlin! Hey guys just my opion, i love the giants but there are poor decesion being made in NEW YORK! I really hope i bite my words on all of this, cause i want us to win and be a well balabce power house team, which we had last year with Tike! we had a champion team last year,those key players who needed to step up they didn’t,just poor call and tackling. The injuries was killing us, back to back years like this, I wonder how poor is are conditioning coaches and staff,cause they succccccccccck! WELL jaws is out!
March 30th, 2007 at 12:25 am
If Spags can implement a close variant of his Philly defensive scheme that pressures offenses while recognizing and using his starters’ strengths, placing them in the best position to make the plays they’re capable of making, they’ll become comfortable and confident in their playmaking abilities and unlike last season start leaning forward instead of backward… and just maybe we’ll all be pleasantly surprised by a more potent defense (against a more forgiving schedule than last year). If somebody gets to Gilbride and Coughlin, changing their “balanced attack” mantra to “smash mouth run focused” offense, then just maybe Spags defense will see less playing time… less opportunities for injuries… and if we draft one of the two top OLBs… yeah… I am… one of those eternal optimist Giants fans. Year after year… this is our year.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:38 am
I like the idea of looking at the units…. but I have a slightly different take on it
QB: Eli hopefully will be more consistent. Who knows?
I’m starting to have my doubts about Eli. He’s shown he has the skill set but I think he’s either lacking the heart or the focus. It seems like the only time he shows his full ability is when he’s the underdog. too many games that we should have blown out were too close
BackField: Jacobs hasn’t had the kind of playing time I’d like to see to make a sound call on this one, but… with him and droughs working as equal partners… I think they have a good shot and putting up some solid numbers
Receivers: I’m feeling this is a shakey spot on offense. I’m not feeling too good about Plax, can he play, yes, but attitude can break a team, and he still doesn’t come up for off seasons. Same for Shockey, and he’s starting to seem accident prone. Toomer, another year older and coming off an injury. And, not much beyond that, at least nothing proven.
OL: Petitgout is gone. With all the time he’s been injured and all the false starts he’s had, I don’t see this as too big a loss. We do need a reliable anchor there though.
Defense:
DL: We’re solid at the ends, the DTs were shaping up, could be pretty good here, still need solid depth at DT though
LB: Pierce is back. This is where we need some solid reliable people. Injuries have been a plague here. Aside from that I’m waiting to see what the new schemes will be from the Def. Coordinator
DB: With Tim Lewis gone, this could be a suprise, the new schemes may play up to the players natural abilities. I don’t see either of the corners as solid cover 2 backs so this is a big TBD based on what they do coverage wise
Bottom line… A lot of upside, but I see more downside, starting with the man in charge, Coughlin. I think 9-7 may be overly optomistic, 7-9 may be more like it.
April 5th, 2007 at 5:17 am
I’m a Giant fan working in London, when the Giants come to Wembly staduim to play the Dolphins its not going to be a good site, I just have a bad feeling about this year I think this will be one of the worst Giant teams
February 4th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Eli Manning is the worst quarterback that I’ve ever seen be for some luck reason enter the super bowl and only because of the defense were they able to beat the new england. There was NO point during the game that because Eli made 3 out of 12 plays that he is suddenly good!!! It is an insult to Tom Brady for Eli Manning to be put into even the same category.