Know thy Enemy: New York Giants - Sunday, October 21
by Fooch on Jul 2, 2007 10:07 PM PDT
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We're back in the NFC today after previewing the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints before that. Today we'll be looking at the New York Giants, represented at SB Nation by ETVal over at Big Blue View, a site even newer than Niners Nation, having set up shop in late February. As you may or may not have noticed, I've been throwing out the primary writer of the opposition blog. As we get into the season and are doing more in-depth previews, we'll hopefully be working with the specific blog. So feel free to swing by the various blogs to better acquaint yourself with the opposition.
Overview
The 2006 NY Giants managed to sneak into the playoffs after a very pedestrian 8-8 regular season. Eli Manning put together a solid, but unspectacular campaign in which he improved his completion percentage and improved his completion total while throwing for 500 fewer yards and the same amount of touchdowns. The real highlight on offense last season was seeing the thunder and lightning combo of Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs. The retirement of Tiki Barber certainly leaves a whole that several pieces will try and fill.
Subtractions
I think it makes a little more sense to look at the losses first, since many of a team's additions are predicated on the losses; something that is very true of the Giants. Tiki Barber, step right up. Barber was with the Giants for a decade, before hanging up his cleats to be the next Matt Lauer. The good news for the Giants is they've got the big boy Brandon Jacobs chomping at the bit. Throw in Reuben Droughns and while it might be a less profile running back tandem, I think they can make up for the loss of Tiki in the running game. The bigger question is the affect on the passing game, considering Tiki was second on the team in receptions and yards.
The Giants also lost Luke Petigout and will be moving David Diehl from guard to left tackle to try and replace Petigout. Considering this is Eli Manning's blind side, it will be very interesting to see how this affects Manning and the passing game.
While it won't have an affect in my opinion, I'm gonna miss Leapin Lavar Arrington this year. While he was a bit out of control on the field, he was definitely something to behold and brought some quality entertainment to the field.
Additions
The Giants did a good job in addressing some areas of need and areas of depth. While Brandon Jacobs is a big bull of a runner, signing Reuben Droughns allows them to continue to develop Jacobs and see what he really can do outside of the goal line. Considering the goal line punishment Jacobs can save Droughns from, I think this will end up being a successful platoon. Droughns is a bit bigger than Tiki, but I could see him in a similar rushing role (minus several hundred yards).
On the defensive side of the ball, the team picked up Kawika Mitchell from Kansas City. Mitchell was a middle linebacker in KC but will move to the strong side linebacker position in the Giants 4-3 due to the continued emergence of Antonio Pierce. Mitchell reminds of Derek Smith in his prime, a guy who can provide some energy and tackling ability while in his own prime (we'll save the missed Derek Smith tackles for a few years from now).
Draft-wise, the Giants addressed several needs with some quality picks. The Giants definitely need to develop talent at DB and taking Aaron Ross is a solid step in that direction. I particularly like the Steve Smith selection as he'll give Manning one more weapon....now we'll see if Eli actually improves with him.
2007 Questions & Answers
Will Droughns and Jacobs adequately replace Barber and Jacobs? While I highly doubt Droughns will reach 1600 yards I think he could crack the 1,000 yard mark. I'd expect to see Jacobs take a more active role in the running game, which could definitely help to offset the Droughns-Barber difference.
Will Eli Manning improve? Entering this season, Manning will have at his disposal: Jeremy Shockey, Amani Toomer, Plaxico Burress, Sinorice Moss and Steve Smith. If he can't improve on last year's 57.7% completion percentage, I don't know what else will improve it. In comparing Manning and Smith, I think it's entirely possible Smith could leap frog Manning, statistically speaking. There's a lot of time between now and the end of the season, but the talent and weapons are there for both of these youngsters.
vs. San Francisco
Coming off a bye week, the 49ers will have a very good idea of where they are in the playoff race, as they'll be once through their NFC West opponents. Considering that mini-gauntlet, a bye week could be quite useful then. If the Giants, and particularly Eli Manning are able to get their shit together, this is a very dangerous matchup for the 49ers. It will test the new and improved defense as well as many opponents. I'm thinking Giants 23 - 49ers 21. Mind you, my predictions change just about every day, so take it with a grain of salt.
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But I think they'll be close to the same quality of a team as the Steelers, although I think the Steelers might me a little better at least for this year.
I wish I had me some LaVar.
by methodrampage on Jul 3, 2007 11:10 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
this should be...
meanwhile, the giants will be coming off of a road, monday night game the week before...and they have to go to london the following week to play the dolphins...so that should all play into the niners favor as well.
the giants are one of those teams on the decline but this could still be a huge game at that point in the season because the giants could have a record close to last years again and be in contention for a wild card playoff spot.
a niners loss in this game could be the difference later in the season as to whom might secure a wild card birth...if the giants wind up being in contention at the end of the year.
(plus, the niners might really need this one after consecutive games against the steelers, seahawks, and ravens going into the bye week)
by coachAJ on Jul 3, 2007 3:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Nice write-up
Ultimately, I think more highly of Eli than I do of Big Ben, though I have serious doubts about Eli's composure, whereas it's hard to question the composure of Fathead.
Manning is going to get every conceivable chance to run his starting gig into the ground, if only for the pedigree and the continued flashes of that pedigree through the extended development period (I wouldn't say that Eli should be great right now by any means, but he just seems behind the curve somehow. And that "Oh, God I don't want to be here I just want to cry" look on his face that accompanies his undeveloped leadership skills just makes it seem like "Maybe this is the Manning who is destined to be a really good backup..."
I don't know, though. Sometimes he looks really good, and he has made consistent and continued strides, if at a slow pace (I mean, he's developed slower, but hasn't seemed to stall or to stop getting better so far).
That said, if he was ever going to figure it out, I think this would be the year. He might not get the "I should make my face look confident" part, and he might not ever become the vocal leader of any team, but this would be the year that he gets the arm part of the game more or less figured out.
It's going to be interesting. I really think that this team lives and dies on Eli's development. Part of that is my inherent lack of knowledge about the rest of the team, but the other part of that is recognizing that "The Stabilizing Force" Tiki Barber is g-o-n-e, and remembering that the reason Giants lst a number of key games (including playoff games) was Eli's unseasoned mistakes.
I believe the running game can probably recover to the point of being respectable, and why should I be worried about the defense? So the x-factor agains comes down to the QB (like with the Steelers).
Where is Eli Manning. What has he, and what will he become?
I'll hope that he's still unseasoned enough that our "best secondary in the league" can take serious advantage. But I also hope that he's figuring it out, and that something clicks this year to erase the question "Should Eli even be the guy here" from anybody's mind.
We'll see. But... should Eli even be the guy there? For the long haul? It's a good question. He seems capable, but fragile. And that's somewhat of a volatile mix.
by howtheyscored on Jul 3, 2007 10:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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