The state of the Giants a fan's perspective...

[beaugestus]

Like most here, I am still in a state of euphoria over our team's SB victory. And just when we start coming down from our initial high we had the Draft 15 days ago. Last years crop was like nothing that I can remember since guys like Pepper Johnson, Mark Collins, Eric Dorsey and Erik Howard in 86. And that year we had 4 #2s. Contributions by the rookies were made by everyone with the exception of OT Koets. Leaving us with the promise of a bright future. Don't get me wrong, they still have to improve and stay healthy to qualify as one of the best drafts in the history of the franchise.

This year's harvest brings in a S, CB, WR, 2 LBs and a relatively unknown DE. Without getting to ahead of ourselves here, potentially Reese has solidfied the DB, infusing it with youth and athletic ability. Take into account Ross, Webster and Dockery(I must admit, I like this kid) you are talking about what could be a very good unit down the road.

At LB, another perceived weak spot, when the two new additions have time from their MENSA(sp?) meetings, will try to make the roster. From what I have read both are also gifted athletically and were very productive in college. Adding them to Kiwi, Pierce, Wilkinson, Clark, Blackburn, DeOssie and Daniels. If the unit has one thing going for it, it will be youth and possiblities.

MS's retirement unfortunately will be sooner rather than later if not this year, more probably next. Osi, Tuck, Kiwi?, Robbins, Cofield, Alford and Tollefson, Leisle and maybe the rookie Henderson. A good unit, IMO could use more depth at DT. It wouldn't surprise me if they acquire a vet before the season.

The OL. DD signs a new contract, with stipulations on what position he plays. A clear signal that although he did a decent job last year(Hey, they won the SB with him there), they want more out of the LT spot. It was nice to read "something" about Whimper! Not that we got a quote from within the Giant circle, but the idea that he will be able to compete for the position was encouraging. Snee is due for a new contract after this year, O'Hara is locked up, McKenzie, Suebert, Ruegamer and a cast of what seems like a 1000 rookie FAs and last year PS players, will vie for a spot.

A tribute to the OL was the effectiveness of the running game, without Tiki. Not taking for granted the talent of Jacobs, Ward, Bradshaw and Droughns, many said that going into last season, the loss of Barber would be a big hurt on the O.(I must admit, I took great pleasure of them winning it all, without him. Great player, but talk about self-absorbed.) The trading of Grant last year and his contributions to the Pack O gave us sign of the depth at the position and from what I read Danny Ware is also a player.

WR, Plax had IMO his best season and was incredible against the Pack in the playoffs. Hopefully he will be fully recovered from his assortment of injuries. Our friend Grizz, has a nice thread about Burress. Check it out, I agree with a lot he says in his post.

Toomer! What can you say about statistically the greatest WR in Giant history. I laughed when I read on one thread the possiblity he would be a CAP casualty this season. NO WAY! When they needed a clutch catch, he was the man last year. Smith, finally got healthy at the end and it was worth the wait, another thing bantered about was the idea the kid could only play the slot?! Let's see him for a few years, first. Before you make judgements. Great route runner and good hands. Better speed than he is given credit for, a bright future. Sinorice, "the enigma" Ross, I have seen many calling him a bust, again I refuse to judge a young player without seeing him play. From the little I have seen, he has incredible quickness and good hands. Somebody pointed out(I thought I was the only one that noticed), that they thought he had no idea of the room the CBs give him out of repect for his speed. Maybe he will realize this and make him more effective.

Manningham joins the squad of Hixon, London, Tyree, Jennings and rookie FA Hall(who excited a few in the minicamp). From what I have read and seen if Mario has his head on straight, an absolute steal in the 3rd round. The kid made plays at Michigan.

TE, the Shockey soap opera continues, we won't know for sure if a he will be with the team until the opening bell. The latest I read that the trade to N.O. is still an ongoing venture. With Peyton, still salivating with the idea of JS in his lineup. I think the Giants are handling this correctly. IMHO, the think they are a better team with him but if he doesn't want to be here they will accomodate him, but on their terms. Boss, looks like he has the potential to be a starting receiving TE in the league.

QB, Eli, Eli, Eli. After the Viking game last year, it was the worst I felt about his future here. Now, he's the toast of the town. The best thing I can say about him or any player, is he is a big money player, the man you want in there when the game is on the line. He demonstrated this pretty much from the getgo in his short career. He may never complete 60% for a season, but I think we all feel that he is a leader and will be more so as the seasons goes by.

I thought the signing of Carr, was a great addition. All the measurables coming out of college, a good athlete. He's played for one of the worst teams in the league, in the Texans. Don't know what the story was in Carolina, but a definite upgrade from Wright and Lorenzen. The thought of Eli getting hurt for an extended period now, IMO, would be much more palatable with Carr coming in. Andre Woodson, "productive, productive, productive", great stats with a less than stellar supporting cast at UK. At that price a no brainer in selecting him. You never know?!

Jerry Reese, what a start! Let's just hope the valleys that come after the peaks will not be too sharp or long in the future. A good eye for talent, and if you hadn't noticed, will not be bullied or rash. Honest, maybe to a fault, humble and gives credit where credit is due. There is nothing to dislike IMO about him and the job he has done in his short tenure. Kudos to ownership, EA for his recommendation. The ship, she ain't sinking.

TC, the valley that was just mentioned had the HC right at the bottom prior to last season. I will always think of him as a man of great character and fortitude. He has handled it all with class and he had the humility to change even if it was only, as you hear him tell it, in a small way. An unbelievable hire in Spags, at this point Tom's successor.

As for the state of the Giants, as you have gathered:

Ownership: Non-interfering, classy and have continued to foster that it is a privilege to belong to the organization.

FO: Reese and his staff, look like they have an idea on who and what they want and so far have been able to do it. I have a feeling he will be GM for many years to come. They have gotten away from the best athlete available to the best player available. Emphasizing production, competition and character, but yet willing to give a player a chance and understanding the cost in relation to the reward.

Without putting the horse before the wagon, I have the feeling or the hope he is building something here. The roster cannot and probably will never be, in this day of age, as solid as we would like. Every year we will perceive holes in the team and every year there will be only so many draft picks and available, fiscally acquirable FAs. The good news is, every team has the same problems, but from what I have seen, so far, JR can handle it.

[MightyGiants]

Well done beaugestus 

I hope you don't mind, but I turned this post into an article on the front page of the website.

http://giantsfans.net

[beaugestus]

Thank you Rich, I am honored that you thought enough of my post.

beau

[vette5573]

Nice job Beau.

[Webster29]

Yo beau:   I concur.  Great post.  Very well thought out.

Only 2 areas where I felt a bit different.  On Toomer I do not know what his contract situation calls for but I thought I had read that he is due a rather large payment for the up coming season.  It may come down to if he is willing to renegotiate it.  What ever his situation I sure hope they are able to work it out. Toomer has at least a couple more very productive years ahead of him baring injury in my opinion and he is one of my "all time" favorite Giants.

The other area is David Carr.  I thought it was a good signing by the Giants but I am not ready to just pencil him in as Eli's back up.  He was in a bad situation in Houston and Carolina and has shown flashes of good play in the past.  But I also had to wonder with so many other teams having qb issues why he ended up backing up in NY??  I know I am in the minority on this but I am not ready to write off J-Load.  I like the guy.  I think (hope) he has a place on this team.  I don't believe A-Wright will survive and as far as Woodson is concerned I want to see him on the field before I make a judgement on him.

But anyway beau a great post and thanks.

[beaugestus]

Thanks vette and Webster.

Webster, as far as Carr is concerned. My thinking on him was based on the admitted little I did see of him but primarily with the view he is coming to a very good team. As the years have gone by I have to come to believe that no matter how good the QB you have is, you don't surround him with enough talent, the team is going to go nowhere. If he gets the opportunity to play he will have a good OL, RBs, receivers and a D that can bail you out if there is a turnover with the Giants. Wright as far as I am concerned is a journeyman and to be honest I have a hard time with JLoad's weight issue. I find it difficult to believe that he wants it enough to get himself in better shape. I know, I remember Sonny Jurgensen too, ,but we are talking about a much younger man.

Toomer the last I read he wants to play at least a few more years. I believe his CAP # is 4 million and I don't remember but he has 1 or 2 more years left on his contract. I agree that there probably will be some renegotiation on his deal.

[Gunga Din]

Good Job Beau.
What about Special Teams??

[bigblueinclearbluenc]

What I like the most about the team is they finally look built to last. To be competitive every year. They a young, talented team with a lot of upside. They now have some room every year with the cap and have an established QB and coaches that will be here a little while. Stability. A GM who I believe every Giant fan loves and respects. No more questioning the FO's decisions (atleast for now).
I just want to see good games every week. I watch my team (win or lose) and expect a solid performance. If we lose a great game to a team that played great (not the Minny games where we give it away), I don't feel the loss as much. When we win those nail bitter great games, I feel even higher.
No major holes but there's always room to improve. Not a bad team going into the season.

[Sam56]

"I know I am in the minority on this but I am not ready to write off J-Load.  I like the guy.  I think (hope) he has a place on this team. "

Bill,

Make that two of us with the same sentiments.

[bamagiantfan]

"I know I am in the minority on this but I am not ready to write off J-Load.  I like the guy.  I think (hope) he has a place on this team. "

Bill,

Make that two of us with the same sentiments.

....three.

[kartanoman]

Beau - a thoughtful post that certainly captures much of what we're feeling about the team right now.

I do have a question for you ... and this is not at all to pick on your post but just to satisfy my curiosity - if the Giants did NOT win the Super Bowl last season, would the content your post have looked the same?

Here is what I see and I'm pretty sure the Grizz-meister would concur with this ... the Giants have consistently been a contender during the Tom Coughlin era and it just so happened that all the pieces fell into the place at the right time last season which yielded a Super Bowl victory for the ages.

If you look at how the Giants performed, since Coughlin became the coach, the Giants have always had a winning record during the first half of the season (5-3 in 2004 ... 6-2 from 2005-07). Ultimately, injuries took their toll during those first three seasons and, of course, the Giants sacrificed any chance for a playoff spot in 2004 in order to break Eli Manning in and get him through the majority of his learning curve.

Since Coughlin came on board, one of his key objectives was to make the Giants a mentally tough team that would be able to turn up the heat and separate from the opponent in the fourth quarter. The Giants have been largely successful at this during Coughlin's four seasons with the team (of course, there's the notable exceptions such as the Music City Meltdown in 2006). In all, the Giants have been in a position to contend over the last four seasons. Again, injuries have been one of the key reasons their previous seasons ended prematurely. The impact of injuries during 2007 wasn't as bad as previous years and, because of this, the Giants were able to contend with the best in the business.

The team has a solid foundation and, more importantly, a charter & modus operandi that should enable them to remain as contenders for the foreseeable future. While it is unrealistic to expect the Giants to continue to have everything fall into place, as it did at the end of 2007, I believe the team is well-positioned to break the streak of poor post-Super Bowl letdowns and return to the playoffs for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season.

Peace!

[Kmed6000]

Excellent post, I enjoyed that.  It really is amazing looking at the Dline without Strahan.  With him there is just so much talent and so much depth with a guy like Tuck being a backup.  Without him you have a solid starting Dline without much depth.  It's amazing the luxury Strahan brings to this team.  We will sorely miss him when he is gone.

[beaugestus]

kartanoman, good question. I feel I can honestly say that no matter if they had lost or won last year's SB, I would feel the same. Like Grizz has pointed out in his posts, I like the direction the team is going. What were they last year? 2nd or 3rd youngest team in the league? And a good chance they will be younger this year and possibly the next. Granted, things came together for them in the playoffs last year. When they say it's a game of inches, IMO, it is very true. They could be a superior team next year and not win a playoff game and with injuries not make the playoffs.

I am glad you mentioned the mental aspect of the game. Although TC has preached being mentally tough and focused, last year is, IMO, in which they consistently did this. The road record is a prime example of mental fortitude. Last year they believed in themselves, now they have history to reinforce their beliefs. They did it.

I heartily agree with you on a solid foundation in which the team is being built. The kind of players they are drafting. I see an Aaron Ross making tackles after his shoulder was put in place. I love hearing about Tyree going to Eli before the SB, saying that he will be there for him, after he dropped pretty much every ball in practice prior to the game. In turn Eli, hugging him and saying he will be looking for him. Telling Peyton after the game "I told you he was a gamer". Young players who were captains of their college teams, concentrating on production in programs that played top competition, no more "athletes" in the higher rounds. Taking risk on a Bradshaw and now Manningham, but not without going the extra yard and doing their own investigating.

I don't know if anybody saw the article on NFL.com, where a reporter was in the rookie camp and came away impressed most with the coaches. How they went about their business teaching and communicating. A prime example of it was last year's contributions of Bradshaw, Ross, Johnson, Boss etc. and the coup de grace was Alford's sack of Brady late in the SB. Fitting wasn't it?! Where would they have been if it wasn't for the ability and preparedness of these kids to come into pressure situations and play like they did?

Obviously, like most here, I am biased, we see through our BigBlue eyes. But it doesn't have to mean, that we can overlook that there is really something good going on here.