NFL Team Preview: New York Giants

Team --> New York Giants
Division --> NFC East
A Look Back --> 10-6 (Second in division, Super Bowl Champions)
Head Coach --> Tom Coughlin (Fifth year as Giants head coach)

Key Players
Plaxico Burress
Brandon Jacobs
Eli Manning
Osi Umenyiora

Draft (First Three Picks)
Kenny Phillips - First round (31st overall) - FS - Miami
Terrell Thomas - Second round (63rd overall) - CB - USC
Mario Manningham - Third round (95 overall) - WR - Michigan

2008 Schedule
Week - Opponent
1 - Washington Redskins
2 - at St. Louis Rams
3 - Cincinnati Bengals
4 - BYE
5 - Seattle Seahawks
6 - at Cleveland Browns
7 - San Francisco 49ers
8 - at Pittsburgh Steelers
9 - Dallas Cowboys
10 - at Philadelphia Eagles
11 - Baltimore Ravens
12 - at Arizona Cardinals
13 - at Washington Redskins
14 - Philadelphia Eagles
15 - at Dallas Cowboys
16 - Carolina Panthers
17 - at Minnesota Vikings

Fantasy Picks
The retirement of Michael Strahan this offseason is a big hit to this defense. Strahan accounted for nine of the Giants' sacks in 2007, and accounted for even more attention from the opposing offensive lines. Justin Tuck is a very good looking defensive end entering this third year in the NFL out of Notre Dame. Tuck actually had ten sacks last year, one more than Strahan, but won't be able to get as many rests this year, as he and Strahan often switched on and off. In the draft, the Giants sort of confused me. Though Kenny Phillips and Terrell Thomas are both good players, both weren't really necessities for this team and it's likely that neither will find the field this season. The Giants would go on my list of teams that you should look to if your starting defense is on a bye week, and are probably at the very top of that list, but this isn't a starting unit in my book.

Eli Manning played well in the playoffs - I feel sick for writing that. During the regular season though, his play was littered with interceptions and poor decision making tendencies. Add to the fact that he just lost his third leading receiver and this season isn't looking so good. Also add into the equation that his second leading receiver, Amani Toomer, is aging before our eyes and his top receiver, Plaxico Burress, still hasn't gotten his contract negotiations resolved (gotta love Drew Rosenhaus, right?). Bottom line is, Manning is a backup quarterback in all fantasy leagues. He passes a lot and throws a solid amount of touchdown passes each year, but also throws a large number of interceptions which knock his point totals down in fantasy (20 interceptions last year) and lost a great passing option in Jeremy Shockey. At receiver you can look at Burress, but not as a starter. The trade of Shockey to the New Orleans Saints means that Burress will get more attention from opponents' secondaries. Expect rookie Mario Manningham to get some looks this season, and for Toomer to take him under his wing to teach a fellow Michigan Wolverine the ropes. Manningham should be a solid receiver in a few years in the fantasy football world, but not this year. Brandon Jacobs looks like he could be a good fantasy running back if he can stay healthy. Last season Jacobs only played 11 games but averaged 91.7 yards a game in that time. Fantasy owners need to only hope that his four touchdowns in that same span increases. Kevin Boss is a really good blocking tight end but will be expected to open up down field more in '08 with Shockey gone. This could hurt Jacobs' numbers, but the way he runs he doesn't really even need blockers. If Jacobs is on the board late in the second round, snag him, otherwise let your opponents take the risk of drafting Jacobs. Leave Boss alone, by the way, he's not going to be a fantasy caliber tight end this year, possibly in the future though.

Outlook
I'm about as far away from this bandwagon as you can get. The Giants fans frustrate me how they absolutely hate their head coach Tom Coughlin, but when he directs his team to a four game win streak he's all of a sudden a genius coach. Ugh, anyway, this team isn't that good. I would go as far as to say that they were the third best team in their own division last year. With only one win last season against a team that finished with a winning record - a come from behind nail bitter against the Washington Redskins thanks to Mr. Conservative, Joe Gibbs - this team should come back to reality in 2008. The losses of Michael Strahan and Jeremy Shockey will be palpable, and this team will falter because of it. The offense lost a lot of plays with Shockey gone, and the depth at defensive end for the Giants is now minimal. If they hadn't gone on a little four game winning streak in the playoffs last year they would be regarded by every analyst as the third or fourth best team in the NFC East this season. Alas, they did go on that winning streak, but I'm not falling for it. Strahan provided leadership for this team throughout the entire season, something that I still don't think that Manning can deliver. His playoff performance was promising for all Giants fans, but was one filled with more luck than a leprechaun could shake a pot of gold at. The second half of the schedule shapes up favorably for the Giants but it could be to little too late at that point. Look for the Giants to win seven or eight games this season and finish in either third or fourth place in the best division in football, the NFC East.