The next team up on our Gridiron Blitz is the New York Giants
Music to listen to: My Philosophy by Boogie Down Productions or The River by Bruce Springsteen
I needed to have a song from a New York and New Jersey artist each. The Giants used to play in Yankee Stadium in The Bronx in the NYC so I had to have a resident from that area, hence KRS One. The Giants currently play in Jersey and Bruce is Jersey music so there you go.
Current State: After winning the Super Bowl in 2007, the Giants have had some transitions on the field. First defensive lineman Michael Strahan retired, than wide receiver Plaxico Burress is arrested and cut from the squad during the 2008 season. Oh, star defensive end Osi Umenyiora tears his knee ligaments in at preseason contest and missed all of 2008 as well. In that same season the Giants finish the regular season 12-4 but suffer and embarrassing home playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Last season, the Giants started 5-0 but finished 3-8 and missed the playoffs.
How will the Giants respond when everyone else in its division has improved in some form the last three years since their Super Bowl victory?
Biggest Offseason Change: Following last season’s collapse, some expected major changes for the Giants, including the release of head coach Tom Coughlin. However, he kept his job.
The Giants do have a new defensive coordinator in Perry Fewell, who worked with Coughlin back with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
New York is hoping that the injuries that happened last year don’t take place this year and the offseason gave many players health. Running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, defensive ends Justin Tuck and Umenyiora all had their 2009 seasons affected by injury.
There were some offseason free agent signings, especially on defense. The Giants got defensive tackle Chris Canty and safety Antrel Rolle to improve the underwhelming unit.
Uniform Grade: I like the home uniforms. The red jerseys have to go though, they are hideous. The road outfits are ok, even though the white jerseys with the grey pants looks mismatched. I was very happy when they upgraded the team logo from the underlined word “Giants” to the “NY” logo you can see above. Grade: B without the red jerseys, C with the red jerseys.
Best Player: This mantle has gone to different guys the past three years. Jacobs, Bradshaw, Tuck and Osi have held this title.
Right now, I would have to say that on pure talent it’s Tuck because his rushing ability along with run defense keys the defensive line which is the strength of the Giants.
Also up for consideration is wide receiver Steve Smith, who leads an underrated receiving unit with Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham.
Most Important Player: When I don’t name Eli Manning in the list of best players for the Giants, that’s a problem. There is little doubt that he is the most important player on the team for reaching its goals.
Manning showed some of the promise during last regular season that he had during the 2007 playoffs.
An outsider looks at Manning and sees a Super Bowl-winning quarterback who has had a nice career. An observant fan who has seen him play every season of his career sees someone who has the talent to be a top-five NFL quarterback but plays inconsistently, especially with long balls, and that hinders the growth of the offense overall.
To be fair to Manning, the running backs and offensive line underachieved as units last season, placing more pressure on him than normal. Those two units look to be back to normal this year.
So why isn’t Bradshaw or Jacobs the most important player on the team because the Giants’ running attack must be effective for the offense to work at all?
If you want to win a Super Bowl and the Giants have an outside shot of doing that this year, you have to receive top play from your quarterback. The days of Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer winning Super Bowls are few and far between in 2010.
Manning has to reach his maximum potential for the Giants to reach its goals.
Best Case: Manning plays like he did in the end of 2007. The offensive and defensive lines along with the running backs get healthy. The secondary fixes its holes from last season.
Worst Case: The end of the 2009 season.
Coaching: Coughlin has been with the Giants since 2004 and he has changed along with the times to winning results. He was known for his overbearing disciplinary tone of coaching, often in conflict with veteran players such as Strahan and former running back Tiki Barber.
However, before the 2007 season, Coughlin loosened his reins on the team, put more trust on the veterans and rode it all the way to a Super Bowl title.
Now that the Giants have taken a downturn, fans and analysts alike are wondering what direction the franchise is going. There should be no argument if a collapse takes place in 2010 similar to 2009, New York will be looking for a new head coach.
The problems of 2009 weren’t completely on Coughlin. Injuries happen and while the defense did struggle mightily, he has hired a new defensive coordinator and brought in players to hopefully improve on that.
All of this is to say that the verdict on Coughlin is still out but by the end of this upcoming season, it will be clear.
First memory of team: So many but I’ll keep it simple.
When you’re a young buck growing up in the NYC, you have some choices to make. You’re either a Mets or Yankees fan. You will support completely or have no alliance to the Knicks. You decide if you are going to be a hockey fan and if so, it’s the Rangers or Islanders.
For football, you’re either a Jets or Giants fan.
I can’t be legit about hating on frontrunners when I practiced it when I became a Giants fan. If I’m going to talk crap about Cowboys fans, I have to take my own medicine. The Giants were good and the Jets were borderline terrible.
I liked the whole vibe of the Giants from LT to Mark Bavaro to my other favorite player Carl Banks. Parcells had that northeastern swagger that I gravitated to as a New Yorker. Even the colors of blue and red got me excited.
Watching Super Bowl 25 as a nine-year old got me hooked and its been a love affair ever since.
Schedule: The Giants will have to deal with Washington, Dallas and Philadelphia in the division.
The home games are against Carolina, Tennessee, Chicago, Detroit and Jacksonville The away games are at Indianapolis, Houston, Seattle, Minnesota and Green Bay. They can be a favorite in each non-division home game and an underdog in each road game of the same distinction this season accept for Seattle.
City Nicknames: I’ve always like Gotham City or The NYC. Only tourists use “The Big Apple.”
Fantasy Focus: I would be weary of taking a Giants’ receiver because an extra emphasis is going to go into the running backs on offense.
Overall Outlook: The schedule has the potential makings of a 10-win season which will get the Giants back into the playoffs. However, they must improve its defensive holes, especially at linebacker, for this to happen.
Final Record: 10-6
Gridiron Blitz 2010 Season Previews:
AFC East:
AFC North:
AFC South:
AFC West
NFC East
The Sports Inquirer 
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