NEW YORK GIANTS 2009 PREVIEW
NEW YORK GIANTS 2009 PREVIEW
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said it: “If we had Plax on our team, we go 15-1 and we win the Super Bowl.” Jacobs was referring to New York’s disappointing 2008 season, in which they began the year 11-1, only to lose star receiver Plaxico Burress and four of their final five games after that (including a home Divisional Round playoff contest to the hated Philadelphia Eagles). Ignore the part about 15-1 and a second Super Bowl title––those debatable details really aren’t relevant. What is relevant is Jacobs’s general message: the Giants were a weaker team without Burress. That is absolutely true.
What’s awkward is that Burress flies in the face of everything that Tom Coughlin and the Mara and Tisch families stand for. He is selfish and notoriously unpunctual. His work ethic would be snickered at even in France. Off the field, Burress is a menace who relies on deep pockets to overcome society’s rigorous demands of common decency. His on-field character can be equally as deplorable when he doesn’t get the ball early in games. And yet, the Giants need him. Or, someone like him.
Burress’s 1,000-yard type production is not what makes him valuable. Rather, like an armed security guard, it’s his mere presence that’s important. Burress is by no means the game’s best wideout. But because he’s 6’5”, 232, lanky as a giraffe and strong as an ox, he has an uncanny blend of skills that makes him impossible to contain one-on-one. Defenses must play Burress underneath and over the top.
The trickle down effect of this is staggering. For starters, double Burress compromises a defense’s ability to be deceptive. This enables quarterback Eli Manning and all his receivers to easily diagnose coverages. Two men on Burress also means, most likely, just one man on everyone else. In a spread offense, this creates huge throwing lanes. Furthermore, the second defender on Burress often would have been the eighth defender in the box. Unable to sneak a safety down, defenses become limited in their blitz packages and overmatched by New York’s three-headed rushing attack (which ranked No. 1 in the league last year). This makes life simpler on Giants the offensive line. All these factors combine to give the Giants enough offensive firepower to build leads that allow their defense to pin its ears back and attack. And there’s your trickle-down effect.
It seems overly simplistic to say that New York just needs another Burress-like receiving weapon in order to recapture its Super Bowl contender status. But it might be true. Every other caveat with this team was nullified by what Michael Strahan called the Ten Table Ring. The erratic Eli Manning became a leader and star under pressure. The volatile Tom Coughlin became a player-friendly disciplinarian. The makeshift offensive line became the game’s most cohesive five-man unit. The defensive front seven was recognized as the best in football. The inexperienced secondary became a bright young secondary. Untried GM Jerry Reese became one of the league’s shrewdest front office execs. It’s amazing how diamond rings can change an image.
This year, every potential dimple of cellulite in the Giants’ firm, golden thigh has been obfuscated. Running back Derrick Ward, who gained 1,025 yards backing up 1,089-yard starter Brandon Jacobs, left in free agency but was replaced by shifty third-year pro Ahmad Bradshaw. Ingenious defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo took the head coaching job in St. Louis, but most observers are confident in his understudy, former linebackers coach Bill Sheridan.
It helps that Sheridan will have a more mature secondary––with third-year corner Aaron Ross ready to fully sprout and second-year safety Kenny Phillips ready to erupt––and a more athletic linebacking core featuring agile ex-Falcon Michael Boley and second-round rookie Clint Sintim. Oh, and did we mention that Jerry Reese reloaded what was already a dynamic front four? Pro Bowl end Osi Umenyiora returns from ACL surgery and will play alongside free agent pickups Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty, two powerful 300-plus-pounders who have enough quickness to consistently fire through gaps.
Every issue is covered. Except the one about replacing Burress. Reese probably could have filled the gaping hole at wide receiver by trading for Arizona’s Anquan Boldin or Cleveland’s Braylon Edwards. But instead of paying a premium for sure-things, he rolled the dice on Draft Day, selecting North Carolina’s Hakeem Nicks at the end of Round One and Cal-Poly’s Ramses Barden in Round Three. It’s a questionable risk for a team that’s ready to win now. But Reese has that glittering ring. So instead of saying what?!, we can only say hmmmm…..
Click here to continue reading, or visit http://www.nfltouchdown.com/ny-giants-2009-preview/
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said it: “If we had Plax on our team, we go 15-1 and we win the Super Bowl.” Jacobs was referring to New York’s disappointing 2008 season, in which they began the year 11-1, only to lose star receiver Plaxico Burress and four of their final five games after that (including a home Divisional Round playoff contest to the hated Philadelphia Eagles). Ignore the part about 15-1 and a second Super Bowl title––those debatable details really aren’t relevant. What is relevant is Jacobs’s general message: the Giants were a weaker team without Burress. That is absolutely true.
What’s awkward is that Burress flies in the face of everything that Tom Coughlin and the Mara and Tisch families stand for. He is selfish and notoriously unpunctual. His work ethic would be snickered at even in France. Off the field, Burress is a menace who relies on deep pockets to overcome society’s rigorous demands of common decency. His on-field character can be equally as deplorable when he doesn’t get the ball early in games. And yet, the Giants need him. Or, someone like him.
Burress’s 1,000-yard type production is not what makes him valuable. Rather, like an armed security guard, it’s his mere presence that’s important. Burress is by no means the game’s best wideout. But because he’s 6’5”, 232, lanky as a giraffe and strong as an ox, he has an uncanny blend of skills that makes him impossible to contain one-on-one. Defenses must play Burress underneath and over the top.
The trickle down effect of this is staggering. For starters, double Burress compromises a defense’s ability to be deceptive. This enables quarterback Eli Manning and all his receivers to easily diagnose coverages. Two men on Burress also means, most likely, just one man on everyone else. In a spread offense, this creates huge throwing lanes. Furthermore, the second defender on Burress often would have been the eighth defender in the box. Unable to sneak a safety down, defenses become limited in their blitz packages and overmatched by New York’s three-headed rushing attack (which ranked No. 1 in the league last year). This makes life simpler on Giants the offensive line. All these factors combine to give the Giants enough offensive firepower to build leads that allow their defense to pin its ears back and attack. And there’s your trickle-down effect.
It seems overly simplistic to say that New York just needs another Burress-like receiving weapon in order to recapture its Super Bowl contender status. But it might be true. Every other caveat with this team was nullified by what Michael Strahan called the Ten Table Ring. The erratic Eli Manning became a leader and star under pressure. The volatile Tom Coughlin became a player-friendly disciplinarian. The makeshift offensive line became the game’s most cohesive five-man unit. The defensive front seven was recognized as the best in football. The inexperienced secondary became a bright young secondary. Untried GM Jerry Reese became one of the league’s shrewdest front office execs. It’s amazing how diamond rings can change an image.
This year, every potential dimple of cellulite in the Giants’ firm, golden thigh has been obfuscated. Running back Derrick Ward, who gained 1,025 yards backing up 1,089-yard starter Brandon Jacobs, left in free agency but was replaced by shifty third-year pro Ahmad Bradshaw. Ingenious defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo took the head coaching job in St. Louis, but most observers are confident in his understudy, former linebackers coach Bill Sheridan.
It helps that Sheridan will have a more mature secondary––with third-year corner Aaron Ross ready to fully sprout and second-year safety Kenny Phillips ready to erupt––and a more athletic linebacking core featuring agile ex-Falcon Michael Boley and second-round rookie Clint Sintim. Oh, and did we mention that Jerry Reese reloaded what was already a dynamic front four? Pro Bowl end Osi Umenyiora returns from ACL surgery and will play alongside free agent pickups Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty, two powerful 300-plus-pounders who have enough quickness to consistently fire through gaps.
Every issue is covered. Except the one about replacing Burress. Reese probably could have filled the gaping hole at wide receiver by trading for Arizona’s Anquan Boldin or Cleveland’s Braylon Edwards. But instead of paying a premium for sure-things, he rolled the dice on Draft Day, selecting North Carolina’s Hakeem Nicks at the end of Round One and Cal-Poly’s Ramses Barden in Round Three. It’s a questionable risk for a team that’s ready to win now. But Reese has that glittering ring. So instead of saying what?!, we can only say hmmmm…..
Click here to continue reading, or visit http://www.nfltouchdown.com/ny-giants-2009-preview/
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