2008 New York Giants Preview
DJ Boyer |Sep 03,2008
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 2008 New York Giants Preview
2007 Record – 10-6
Head Coach – Tom Coughlin
2007 Review
If you call yourself a sports fan yet you have to read this section to remember how the Giants did a season ago then I have a newsflash for you….you aren’t a true sports fan but rather a casual one. The Giants got hot down the stretch and grabbed a wildcard spot in the playoffs with a 10-6 record. The Giants won on the road against Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay to advance to the Super Bowl where they pulled off an improbable upset against the undefeated Patriots.
Offense
Eli Manning came into his own down the stretch and was a huge reason why the Giants ended up Super Bowl Champions. Manning didn’t have a great TD/INT ratio at 23/20 but that number was 6/1 during the three playoff games and Super Bowl. Not only did Manning throw a lot of interceptions but the Giants lost a lost of fumbles and actually finished at -9 in turnover ratio, or 26th in the league. That was the lowest turnover ratio for a team wining the Super Bowl in over 20 years. Manning started showing better poise down the stretch and was throwing more balls away when he was under pressure vice trying to force a pass into coverage. What has improved his game the most is the ability to hit the hot receiver when being blitzed. Manning is recognizing pressure and where it is coming from much sooner and an extra second or two in the pocket is all a player with Manning’s ability needs. Gone is backup Jared Lorenzen who had been Manning’s backup during his entire tenure in New York. Anthony Wright and david Carr have battled back and forth for the right to be the #2 quarterback. While nobody in New York wants to see these quarterbacks for a long period of time they both have plenty of NFL starting experience.
The running game was just as important to the Giants success last season and the fact that they got help from a number of players. Tiki Barber has just retired and had led the Giants in rushing in every year since 2000. Big Brandon Jacobs was the starter and he rushed for over 1,000 yards but as has been his MO in NFL and college he spent part of the season injured or playing less than 100%. Derrick Ward started 5 games and had over 600 yards rushing and the late season emergence of rookie Ahmad Bradshaw was instrumental in giving the Giants more balance with their offensive attack. Bradshaw had 48 carries in the post season compared with 62 by Jacobs sop you can see how heavily the team relied upon him. Fullback Reuben Droughns even started a game at runback and had a 1,000 yard season to his credit as a starting running back. Droughns got the majority of the goal line carries and led the Giants in rushing touchdowns. While a star is not seen in the backfield there are a number of players who can pick up the slack if injuries set in as they did last season. The biggest problem with the Giant backs is fumbling and the fact that they don’t have a pure pass catching threat coming out of the backfield, the biggest part of Barber’s game that has essentially went unreplaced.
Plaxico Burress set a career high with 12 pass receiving touchdowns but none was more important than his game winning catch in the Super Bowl. Burress had contract issues early in camp but he should be ready to go for the opener against Washington and seeing Burress squabble with the coaching staff and front office is nothing new. Burress seems to be a player that thrives on controversy. While Amani Toomer is now listed as the other starting receiver look for Steve Smith to start getting moiré and more catches and he could eventually unseat Toomer as the starter at some point this season. Smith was another rookie who came up huge down the stretch for New York after he missed a large chunk of the regular season due to injury. Sinorice Moss could see his chances increase this year as the team is still waiting for the former first round pick to pay dividends. Another rookie who paid off for New York last season was Western Oregon big man Kevin Boss who stepped in as the starting tight end when Jeremy Shockey went down. Shockey is now in New Orleans via trade and Boss is the starter. While not nearly as athletic as Shockey he is a huge target with very reliable hands and the Giants will not miss Shockey and his off the field antics.
The Giants have an offensive line which balances a nice combination of experience and youth. Youngsters like David Diehl and Chris Snee have stepped in to become dependable lineman and the Giants have locked both up to long term deals in recent years. Sprinkle in veterans Kareem McKenzie, Shaun O’ Hara and Rich Seubert and you have a solid line, one that missed only one game due to injury last season. The depth has improved and the Giants have young players like Kevin Boothe and Adam Koets who look like they could be starters for the Giants or another team at some point in the near future.
Defense
The defensive line was just as instrumental in the Giants Super Bowl Championship last season as was the improved play of quarterback Eli Manning. With established ends like Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan leading the way you knew the Giants would get their share of sacks. But others like Mathias Kiwianuka and Justin Tuck started to step as well and soon the Giants were registering sacks in bunches, so much so that the Giants wound up leading the league in sacks in 2007. This was evident during the Super Bowl when even on completed passes or positive gains Tom Brady was getting hit for the Patriots. But now due to injury and retirement Tuck and Kiwanuka are the starters. The Giants are dangerously thin at end and have just signed Jerome McDougle, a player just cut by division rival Philadelphia. In the middle the Giants are much deeper but lack the star talent with Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield logging time as the starters. Jay Alford is back for his second season with the Giants and will be part of the regular rotation spelling both Cofield and Robbins in the middle of the line.
Kawika Mitchell is the player the Giants have to worry about replacing at linebacker. Players like Chase Blackburn and Zak DeOssie have been solid on special teams but they will be looked at to make more plays on the field as they rotate in with the starting defenders. Antonio Pierce is still the leader of the linebacking corps but all eyes will be on Gerris Wilkinson. Wilkinson will inherit the starting job at outside linebacker with Kiwanuka moving back to end after the injury to Umenyiora. While replacing the departed Mictchell seems like a daunting task it may be even harder to replace last years leading secondary tackler Gibril Wilson at the safety spot. Wilson was part of the annual cashing in after winning a Super Bowl in free agency splash and Michael Johnson the second year man out of Arizona will inherit his starting spot. Johnson is a capable player but not one who we expect to keep the job all season as first round pick Kenny Phillips is waiting in the wings. James Butler will be the other safety with the seemingly 50-year old Sammy Knight behind him. Aaron Ross and Corey Webster will be the corners with veteran Sam Madison acting as the third cornerback.
Special Teams
Jeff Feagles must have found the fountain of youth and while the 42-year old punter won’t lead the league in punting average he still punts the ball out of bounds and angles his kicks better than anyone in the game. Lawrence Tynes had a shaky season in New York last year but he made a few kicks and it was enough to keep him around but I have the feeling he is on a short leash. Domenik Hixon may be the best return man on kickoffs not named Devin Hester in the NFC. Expect Hixon to bring 2-3 kicoffs back to the house for scores during the season and who can forget the play of special teams giant David Tyree, he is hurt and on the PUP list but we will see him at some point this season.
Outlook
As great a story as the Giants Super Bowl was you would be lucky to find more than handful of people outside of New York that thinks they can do it again. Sure the Giants will be competitive but they seem to be playing in the toughest division in football and it should take its toll. I think the Giants will contend for and win one of the two wild card spots in the NFC but this is a team capable of winning 11 or 12 games and making some noise once again. It’s just very doubtful considering the division the Giants have to play in.
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