GIANTS - What My Rivals Should Do (or what I wish they would)

Posted by Chris

Going into this season I have a lot of hope in the Giants. I feel like both the offense and defense were really clicking at the end of last season. On offense, Eli Manning started to play really well and maybe is on his way to being the franchise quarterback I always believed he was, plus Carr now gives us a good backup. We have 2 great running backs (Bradshaw and Jacobs) and Ward will be returning from injury giving us a good 1, 2, 3 punch. Hedgecock is a solid fullback. Not to mention Burress, who is playing like a top 5-10 receiver, Toomer, a very good possession receiver, Shockey and Boss, good receiving tight ends, and Steve Smith who has begun to develop. We just need Sinorice Moss to become a quality fourth receiver.

I was one of the few Giants fans or anyone for that matter who still believed in Eli Manning, which led to me getting tons of crap from my Homer roommates. But I remember the day of Dave Brown, Kent Graham, Danny Kannell, and even though he was a huge upgrade from the latter 3, Kerry Collins. Eli, even when he was playing poorly was better than all 3 (plenty of scoring, and 3 straight playoff appearances). But now he is really showing what he can do.

I don't even need to get into the defense which played phenomenally in the playoffs, and were the major reason we won the Super Bowl. All we lost was Reggie Torbor, a solid backup LB. We also lost Gibril Wilson, a good safety, but frankly there are only a handful of safeties in the league (Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins, the late Sean Taylor, LaRon Landry, Bob Sanders, and a few others) that really make a difference. Gibril Wilson was not one of them. I mean, Roy Williams made the Pro Bowl, and frankly his pass coverage ability was a huge liability for the Cowboys. My point is basically that Wilson is replaceable. We also lost Mitchell who as a good starter, but we do have others like Gerris Wilkinson, Kiwanuka, and a draft pick that could replace him. So besides Strahan's possible retirement, our defense will be just as good if not better next year.

I am not going to get into who we should draft because frankly, I lack the knowledge on each of the college players listed in mock drafts to speak intelligently for the Giants. The main guys I have seen are Jerod Mayo (if he falls to us), Kenny Phillips, Tyrell Johnson, Dan Connor, and others. You can go to another blog, Giants 101, where Rich O'Callaghan's latest post states that the Giants should pick Tyrell Johnson over Phillips and possibly even consider trading down. Sean O'Sullivan is the only one I have seen suggest Reggie Smith. Or you could go to ESPN's Safety Rankings , which ranks Phillips over Johnson (Connor is an ILB and not ranked against Mayo). Or you could go to Mel Kiper's and Todd McShay's Side by Side Mock Drafts, where they have picked Tyrell Johnson and Kenny Phillips respectively. Or there's Nfl.com's Vic Carucci , who has the Giants selecting Jerod Mayo (though I don't believe this draft because I don't think Keith Rivers will get picked 30, or Mayo 31), and Nfl.Com's Kirwan , who has us picking Kenny Phillips, or Sportsnation, Sports Nation vs. Kiper and McShay, who has us picking Dan Connor.

My point is that I can't add much to the debate; I haven't watched film or seen these people play. So I will not decide which Pick the Giants should make (I just hope they pick a Safety or LB), or mock analysts (too much) who decide what the Giants need. I think making a pick adds nothing, and I also trust Jerry Reese, who had all but one draft pick play in the Super Bowl (7 of 8), 4 of which who were serious contributors (Bradshaw, Boss, Smith, and Ross). I won't be one of those bloggers (there are tons for every team) who think they know better than these "experts" and post how Kiper or McShay are idiots and they know better because they saw a few games or film of a few players. Of course they get things wrong, but I bet if any of these bloggers or posters in ESPN.com's comment area had to make the amount of picks these guys make, they would be just as wrong, if not more so. The key is they bring support to their arguments and put in the necessary research. I will not be one of those people. I respect the "experts" and I believe that they offer valuable insight.

So after my long rants, I will go on to my point: my Top 10 list (in no particular order) of what stupid mistakes I hope the NFC East Rivals make:

1) The Redskins do what they have done every year: throw lots of money at over-priced free agents, even though year-after-year it hasn't done jack.
2) The Eagles draft another Quarterback.
3) The Cowboys waste a high draft pick to get Pacman Jones (who will hopefully not be reinstated till at least mid-season), and then have a locker room with Tank Johnson, T.O., and Pacman Jones; exactly the kind of locker room I want!
4) The Redskins give up on their franchise quarterback, Jason Campbell; he may not be that good, but when you don't have a set quarterback, things do not work out well.
5) The Eagles trade Donovan McNabb (he is a very good quarterback and they would be foolish to get rid of him).
6) The Cowboys keep letting Jessica Simpson (or fill-in-the-blank high-profile Romo girlfriend), come to the stadium with camera shots of her twice a quarter.
7) The Cowboys add more firepower to their offense and ignore their main weakness, their crappy defense
8) The Eagles don't draft a WR, a position where they're in desperate need of a #1.
9) The Cowboys don't draft a WR. I know this contradicts #7, but I think they need to address this at some point later in the draft, as T.O. is getting old (in more ways than one), Glenn never returned to form after injury, and Crayton is a #3 receiver at best.
10) The Patriots let their team get older and older, especially on defense. I know the Patriots are not an NFC East Rival, but I dislike them as much, if not more, than the other East Rivals. As a Yankee fan in Boston, I obtained a real dislike for Boston sports, especially New England, where most fans are not true fans as they only rely on the Pats to feel good when the Sox were not good, and whom they expect to win. It is trull obnoxious. My dislike increases when the Red Sox play and the traffic around Kenmore Square (vehicular, pedestrian, not to mention the crowded T) becomes unbearable.