They enter the 2008 season as a relatively unfancied team in the fiercely competitive NFC East. Many will see this as something of rebuilding season for the Giants having lost some key players, but have no doubt that they will continue to surprise, and will fully expect to still be in action come January.
Tom Coughlin
Rather unbelievably, Coughlin was almost sacked after 2 games of last season. The Giants were 0-2 and playing poorly, and amidst criticism that he was too hard on his players, many felt that a change of direction was needed. The Giants ownership felt differently, giving Coughlin one more chance to prove himself. He changed his ways, adapting his style of dictatorial rule to one where the senior players had more of a say, and the response was phenomenal.
Coughlin has helped mould several young players into established stars with New York, not least Eli Manning, who has constantly improved since his rookie season, and Osi Umenyiora, who was remarkable in 2007 and is now expected to take up the mantle left by the retiring Michael Strahan. Coughlin signed a 4-year, $21m contract extension in the summer, making him one of the highest paid coaches in the league.
Draft Class of 2008
- Kenny Phillips, Safety, Miami
- Terrell Thomas, Cornerback, Southern Cal
- Mario Manningham, Wide Receiver, Michican
- Bryan Kehl, Linebacker, BYU
- Jonathan Goff, Linebacker, Vanderbilt
- Andre Woodson, Quarterback, Kentucky
- Robert Henderson, Defensive End, Southern Miss
ESPN.com analyst John Clayton called the Giants, “first day losers,” following the draft, but many fans disagree. Kenny Phillips addresses weakness at safety (even if he doesn’t start this season), and was certainly the most NFL-ready safety available in the draft. Thomas provides versatility that could see him move to safety if needed, and Manningham put up impressive stats in college and would likely have gone higher had it not been for a poor combine and a questionable personality.
The general opinion seems to be that the Giants succeeded by taking Phillips, and also taking players who performed well during their time at college, but may have been overlooked due to a disappointing combine. Question marks were raised by the need for a Linebacker not being dealt with until the fourth round, as well as a total neglect for the Offensive Line.
Strong Side
On paper the strongest component in the Giants’ locker will be the Manning-Burress axis that caused so many problems for defences last season, but as ever the press enter the season worrying about whether or not Manning has the ability to make it as a true franchise quarterback, and whether Burress will actually be fully fit for the season. In the wake of that, it will be up to emerging players to deliver once again. Kevin Boss, Mario Manningham, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora will be the names to look out for. Whilst Umenyiora is expected to have another solid season, much will depend on how well Tuck steps into the void left by Michael Strahan on the left hand side of the defensive line. Boss will have the chance to be the number one TE following the departure of Jeremy Shockey, and Manningham will fight it out with David Tyree and Steve Smith for the 3rd receiver role.
A big key will be the performance of their experienced offensive line in protecting Eli Manning who has shown an ability to panic under pressure in the past, as well as the performance of Antonio Pierce at Linebacker, who will need to build upon a career year in 2007. The fact that the only free agent signing that is currently first string is Sammy Knight speaks volumes of Coach Coughlin’s in his current crop of players, which bodes well.
Weak Side
Without a doubt the weakness of the Giants is their lack of experience in key positions. Whilst they have two receivers in their 30s, no others have real experience in the number 3 role. Plaxico Burress’ fitness is a question mark, and there are doubts over the Giants’ ability to provide a deep threat (they ranked 25th in the league for 20+ yard completions last season), but this is an issue that clearly did not affect them in 2007 too much. Tight End Boss has played only a handful of NFL games, and there are obvious question marks about how well Justin Tuck will perform replacing Michael Strahan. But this is a team that appear to like adversity, and they showed that losing a potential Hall-of-Famer and team leader doesn’t always mean doom and gloom, following the retirement of Tiki Barber in 2006.
Major Transactions
In
QB David Carr (Car)
DE Renaldo Wynn (NO)
LB Danny Clark (Hou)
S Sammy Knight (Jax)
WR Craphonso Thorpe (Ind)
Out
FB Jim Finn
DT William Joseph (Oak)
LB Kawika Mitchell (Buf)
TE Jeremy Shockey (NO)
DE Michael Strahan (retired)
LB Reggie Torbor (Mia)
S Gibril Wilson (Oak)
DT Manny Wright
Schedule
1 Thu, Sep 4 Washington 7:00 PM Giants Stadium
2 Sun, Sep 14 @ St. Louis 1:00 PM Edward Jones Dome
3 Sun, Sep 21 Cincinnati 1:00 PM Giants Stadium
4 BYE WEEK
5 Sun, Oct 5 Seattle 1:00 PM Giants Stadium
6 Mon, Oct 13 @ Cleveland 8:30 PM Cleveland Browns Stadium
7 Sun, Oct 19 San Francisco 1:00 PM Giants Stadium
8 Sun, Oct 26 @ Pittsburgh 4:15 PM Heinz Field
9 Sun, Nov 2 Dallas 4:15 PM Giants Stadium
10 Sun, Nov 9 @ Philadelphia 8:15 PM Lincoln Financial Field
11 Sun, Nov 16 Baltimore 1:00 PM Giants Stadium
12 Sun, Nov 23 @ Arizona 4:15 PM U of Phoenix Stadium
13 Sun, Nov 30 @ Washington 1:00 PM FedEx Field
14 Sun, Dec 7 Philadelphia 1:00 PM Giants Stadium
15 Sun, Dec 14 @ Dallas 8:15 PM Texas Stadium
16 Sun, Dec 21 Carolina 1:00 PM Giants Stadium
17 Sun, Dec 28 @ Minnesota 1:00 PM Metrodome
Wide-Right’s View
It seems near impossible for the Giants to repeat their successes of 2007, but the lesson learnt from last year is to not write off Tom Coughlin’s team. Their schedule is not particularly kind for 2008, not least because they are in a division with two teams that are expected to challenge for the Superbowl in Dallas and Washington. Even the Philadelphia Eagles are expected to enter 2008 a stronger outfit – making the NFC East arguably the toughest division in the league.
Enough of the core team remains from last season to give Giants’ fans hope for the year ahead, and they are the sort of team that seems to find a way to win from apparently impossible situations, and they will need good fortune to win the division. And they hope to not replicate the fortunes of the last Wild Card Superbowl champions – the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers who went 8-8 and failed to reach the postseason in 2006.
Much will depend on the MVP Eli Manning. This year will mark a turning point in his career as to whether or not he can take the next step to becoming a great quarterback, as opposed to merely a good one who has had some great moments. In that respect there is a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders – but surely no more than comes with being a quarterback in New York anyway. Manning, in fact, could prove to benefit immensely by the arrival of Brett Favre to New York, who may attract more headlines throughout the season and thus keep Manning-mania to a minimum.
Prediction for 2008
The Giants are certainly not the strongest team to defend the Superbowl, but it would be foolish to write them off before the season starts. They will need to continue their prolific road form if they are to have any chance of the play-offs, as well as perform well in their divisional match-ups which could see them go from a 6-10 team to a 10-6 contender again. As long as they hold in the race going into Week 13 (when a run of 3 consecutive divisional match ups, two on the road, takes place) then they should have every hope of playing in January – although it seems safe to say that those 3 games will make or break the season.
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1 comment:
Only real disappointment for me has been the loss of Kawika Mitchell and Gibril Wilson, otherwise I'm fairly happy with the off season.
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