Giants in 2006 (1 Viewer)

[MLBrandow]

I looked up at the offseason thread and noticed the Giants didn't have one.

Anyway, I'd like to hear some thoughts. I was pretty confident about the Giants and their prospects this year to win the NFC East, but lately, for whatever reasons, I'm beginning to sour on them.

I have a few questions for the NYG and out there:

1) Plax/Eli rift - Real or Media hype?

TO and McNabb didn't even speak to each other, and he was averaging career highs across the board through 7 weeks.

2) Will Manning's accuracy continue to be an issues this year?

50% completion percentage is nothing to brag about. I expect that number to improve, but by how much? 5? 10? Can you see him cracking 60% this season?

3) How is the defense (specifically the secondary) looking?

Sam Madison should surely help... can this defense as a whole reach the middle of the pack? Or are they doomed for a "score a lot of points on offense and hope for turnovers on defense" kind of approach again?

4) Can you see this team imploding?

I've been very high on the Redskins, but I'm just suddenly liking the Eagles to surprise and beat the Giants out, and in thinking about it... I just really wouldn't be surprised if the Giants tanked the NFC East, although I have them slotted for a playoff push again this year (as I did last year).

Get out your stat books and opinionator. Lets .

 

[nygiants56]

The Eagles have an early schedule during the first half of the season,then it gets significantly harder, so I have them going 8-8. they'll be the hottest team in sept/oct, and then coolest team in nov/dec.

as for Sam Madison, he's washed up, but still better that the 'Wills' ( Peterson/Allen)thank god that experiment is over with , finally..

Arrington + Pierce form one of the NFL's best run-stuffing LB duo, so it'll be hard to run on the G-men..Will Demps provides a much needed shot in the arm to the secondary, but RW McQuarters has played on , what, 1300 different teams so far in his young NFL career? he stinks..I think we're looking at shades of Elvis 'toast' Patterson with McQuarters.. the D-line is solid!

Plax will have his ups and downs, but its obvious Shockey is the main receiving threat in this offense. He and Eli have a good thing going. Barber will again be a top RB.

the only thing that bothers me, is that in 2005, everyone was saying the G-men would go 8-8 or 7-9..a good year for a starting QB with only a few games under his belt..now, the expectations are MUCH higher, and I'm not sure the Giants are up for it..they'll still find ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory..

10-6 seems about right, perhaps 11-5 if things fall their way..but the NFC East is tough this year..

 

[Yenrub]

I am a Giants fan so keep that in mind when reading this.

1) I don’t put too much into the Plax/Eli rift. I am pretty sure Plax was upset about not getting the rock thrown his way in the playoff loss but I trust that they can put that game behind them and move on. Remember that Plax was targeted by Eli more than anyone else on the Giants.

2) I think/hope Eli will improve on his accuracy this year. I don’t expect him to get up to 60% but I think he will end up right around 57% or 58%. Supposedly the Giants are adding a lot of short hitch type passes to take advantage of S.Moss’ quickness and run after catch ability. Those short passes should help Eli raise his %.

3) The defense is solid. While Madison isn’t what he use to be he is an improvement over Will Allen. Webster just might be a star at the other CB spot. I know he is young but I really like his potential. I am not crazy about RW but I guess he is ok for a nickel back. I am pleased with the safeties. The pass rush from the front 7 should help protect the flaws in the secondary. I am a little concerned with the DL as far as stopping the run. Our tackles have a lot to prove. Signing Arrington was very nice and I look forward to Tim Lewis turning him loose. If Pierce is healthy the LB unit is rock solid.

4) I don’t think the team will explode. It is possible this team could end up with a worse record than last year but be a better team than last years team. The division is loaded! Dallas’ defense is very good and adding T.O. will improve the offense. They do have questions on the offensive line but if that unit can gel Dallas will be tough to beat. Philly should return to being a tough team to beat. Everyone talks about TO, but IMO the bigger problem in Philly was injuries. They went to 2 or 3 NFC championships without TO. Washington has an above average defense and they have added Saunders as the OC. They went to the playoffs last year and on paper they got better in the offseason.

I think the team than can avoid the injury bug will win the division. If they all stay healthy I pick the Giants to win the division.

 

[Snotbubbles]

I don't have the Giants as boom or bust. They should get about 8 or 9 wins which is respectable in the NFC East.

A couple things that scare me about the Giants:

1. Eli Manning. He was way too inconsistent for my liking. He needs to make major improvement in that area. But can you really expect it? Tiki Barber had a career year last year, I can't imagine any team not trying to stop Tiki first. Once a RB hits 31 history is against him. I expect Tiki to put up good numbers this year, but nothing like 2005. Can Manning handle the additional pressure?

2. Offensive line. The NYG offensive line is average at best.

3. Defensive unit. The NYG defensive unit is good not great. The secondary is below average which doesn't bode will in the NFC East. The Giants last year didn't have to face McNabb in either game they played, and McNabb is something like 7-2 vs. NY in the regular season. The Cowboys and Redskins both improved their receiving corp.

4. Schedule: Games at SEA, at ATL, at CAR, at JAX, INDY, TB, CHI. Plus 6 games vs. PHI, WAS and DAL. Ouch. Like I said, 8 or 9 wins would be a good year for NY.

 

[Z-Dog]

At first glance, the Giants have an awful schedule, and play in a very difficult division. However, they certainly have all weapons to be an explosive offense. The defense is suspect in the backfield, but that's largely compensated for by a superb pass-rush. I have every reason to believe that Manning will continue to improve, so assuming that Shockey really did figure it out last year and will not revert to his dropsey ways, I think the Giants are for real.

 

[Bri]

If Lavar can freelance(and it seems he will be able to) then The Giants front 7 could be the best in the NFL and seem next to impossible to block. Their rook DE has played some rush backer in the spring to find him time. I just imagine teams having found it "impossible" to stop Osi and Strahan now struggling with the idea of added pass rushers.

I'm a big fan of Pierce. He's(of course) a step below future HOFer Urlacher but otherwise he's one of the top MLB in the league at stuffing the run IMO.

I think their secondary will surprise as everyone always misjudges how a good pass rush can make a secondary look good.

Jacobs struggled at times last year after much love in the summer here. I think he was just an ordinary rook struggling. Now he's got a year under his belt and we'll see what everyone was talking about last summer. As much as I don't care for Ron Dayne, "Thunder and lightning" was very effective. Jacobs could easily be a better Giant than Dayne ever was. Tiki is just so crafty when running outside and he's got a step on the D. If Jacobs can pound the D some that would play right into Tiki's hands and prolong his career IMO. (BTW I think Westbrook would rock in such a role but the Iggles never use a pound it up the middle type back enough)

Plax and Shockey are too big or too fast every week. Many don't like their attitudes or persona but it's hard to cover them both. Amani is better than he played last year and seemed to look out of place as the 2nd WR +3rd or 4th option. The guy's made the pro bowl I'm not really stretching saying he's better than that.

Tim Carter will wreck NFC East teams schemes til he gets hurt. Game speed, he's one of the fastest guys in the NFL and an opposing D just can't worry about a deep threat with all their other weapons. Not many nickel CBs have the speed to keep in stride with him BUT he'll get hurt and it'll be cool while it lasted for the G-men. His speed is something that has to be seen to be appreciated though.

Giants OL coach is underrated and they'll be fine.

Coughlin is a disciplinarian that doesn't produce a disciplinned team. He had the same probs with the Jags when they were good and whipped Marino like 62-0 or somesuch. If it's close they don't do the little things like run out of bounds every time to stop the clock and work field position battles well and get many stupid false start penalties or rushed passes INTs or maybe it's screaming at the TV for such a dopey play call....a top coach could win with these guys, he's not a top coach.

 

[MLBrandow]

bump for more replies. Really was hoping there would be more analysis on this subject, considering the Giants don't have their own "offseason" thread (unless you count this).

Analysis so far has been great though.

 

[RC94]

QB – Eli is still learning, but hopefully he will be more consistent this year. I like his upside and think he will continue to progress as he has worked hard all off-season. He has especially been working with Sinorice Moss, which could pay off sooner rather than later. It looks like Rob Johnson is going to be the #2 and Lorenzen will be the #3 QB as well as the #3 RT. He is versatile due to his size.

RB – Tiki is a workout warrior and should pick up where he left off. Jacobs will be the short yardage and goal line RB, unless he becomes ineffective, which he was at times last year. I think Ward is the sleeper in this group. If Tiki goes down, it could be Ward taking his place with Jacobs remaining in his original role.

TE – Shockey is great when healthy. We’ll see if he can stay healthy for an entire season. He hasn’t played a full 16 games yet and this season will be a dogfight in the NFC East, so the Giants are going to need him for every game. He is a big part of the offense, but if he does get injured, I think they will shift away a little from throwing to the TE. I think Boo Williams will wind up being the #2 TE, depending on health status.

WR – Burress is a pain in the neck, but has very good physical ability. I don’t know if he will ever be a happy player off the field and a consistent player on it, but he will still be good enough to be the #1 WR on the team. Moss is an intriguing addition and has been working out with the team this off-season, which is always good for a rookie. I like his potential and he could be a very good compliment to Burress’ size. Toomer is still the #2 WR for now and is a decent and reliable player, but no game-breaker. I wish Carter could stay healthy because he could be great. Good group as a whole.

O-Line – They are a solid unit, although I would like an upgrade over Petitgout. Snee is going to be a pro bowler for many years and the rest are good as a whole, including solid depth.

D-Line – The DTs are probably the biggest weakness on the team. Nobody in this group inspires much confidence, although Joseph still has the physical attributes of a top DT. He still needs to put it all together, though. I’m waiting… On the other hand, the DEs are one of the best, if not the best, group of DEs in the NFL. I am curious how Kiwanuka is going to develop.

LB – Arrington is a potential game-breaker and should be a significant upgrade at OLB. Pierce is also a very good LB, so this unit will be solid, provided these 2 stay healthy. The other players are average at best.

DB – Lots of turnover in this group. Madison and Webster should be upgrades over Peterson and Allen. Peterson was good when healthy, but he isn’t going to be healthy anytime soon. I think he even may have retired or may have to. Allen has speed, and hands of stone. Madison is slower, but otherwise better than Allen. Webster has great potential, but is inexperienced. Behind them, I am not all that thrilled with the depth at CB. Walker could be good, but has room for improvement right now. He may not even make the team if he doesn't improve. Demps will be an upgrade over Alexander at FS and Wilson can be one of the best SS in the NFL. I expect this group to be an upgrade over last year, but that isn’t saying much.

Special Teams – The Giants have solid special teams and should only be better with the addition of S. Moss. Tyree is an excellent special teams player as well. I don’t think this unit will lose games for the team as it has in some important games in past seasons.

Overall – The offense is going to be explosive and the defensive should be solid. They have tough competition in the NFC East and a tough schedule overall, so there is some concern, but if they make it to the playoffs I think they can cause some damage. I don’t think they have done anything to really separate themselves from the pack, but they are definitely part of the pack of the top NFC teams. In the end, this team will go as far as Eli takes it.

 

[MLBrandow]

I feel like what may lead to an implosion is the terrible DT strength here. Teams will be able to run the ball and eat up the clock, and then Manning and his improved, but still below average accuracy won't be able to lead them to enough scores.

I hate poking at NYG because I really like their potential, and they did make the playoffs last year, but I'm starting to see them as the odd team out of the NFC East.

Would you say that the interior is better or worse than last year (mitigating injuries), and do you think this defense will be trying to take away the big play this year or keep with the liberal philosophy that turned them into a nice fantasy pickup last year?