Loading ...Training camp is over, preseason has come and gone, and the New York Giants are now just days away from kicking off their 2010 NFL season, after a disappointing 2009 campaign that left a bitter taste in their mouths.
The Giants come into 2010 with a new defensive coordinator in Perry Fewell, along with some new additions on the defensive side of the ball in safety Antrel Rolle and veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck. New York’s defensive backfield is healthier than it’s been at any point over the past two seasons, with Kenny Phillips, Aaron Ross, and Corey Webster all expected to be ready for the first week of the season.
On offense, New York goes into the season with 10 of its 11 starters from a year ago, with the lone exception being Ahmad Bradshaw taking over the starting running back role, with Brandon Jacobs now becoming the “change of pace” back for the offense.
On paper, this looks to be one of the more talented rosters in the NFC, and arguably the most talented Giants roster since the start of the Tom Coughlin-Eli Manning era in New York. The question is – how well will the Giants handle a schedule that features seven games against 2009 playoff teams.
PROJECTED 2010 RECORD: 10-6
PROJECTED NFC EAST STANDINGS
1- New York Giants 10-6
2 – Dallas Cowboys 10-6
3 – Washington Redskins 7-9
4 – Philadelphia Eagles 6-10
OFFENSIVE MVP : RB Ahmad Bradshaw
One of the most dynamic runners in the NFL when healthy, Ahmad Bradshaw has taken over the starting running back role for the G-Men and the team expects a very productive season if #44 can play a full 16 game slate. Bradshaw has a terrorizing combination of quickness, vision, and power and will provide the Giants with a big play threat out of the backfield. But he’s not just a homerun threat. Bradshaw has shown that as long as he’s in the game, he can consistently run well between the tackles and has improved in his blitz pickup ability as a pass blocker. Expect big, big things from the fourth-year back as a lead runner in 2010.
DEFENSIVE MVP: DE Justin Tuck
Who else? This guy is one of the most complete and dominant defensive players in the league, and yet is probably one of the more under-the-radar defensive superstars in the league because he just goes to work and does his job week in and week out, year in and year out. But don’t expect a quiet year for Tuck in 2010, who seems anxious to put his injury-plagued 2009 behind him. Size, strength, athleticism, and an extremely active motor will make Tuck a headache for opposing offenses, and the foundation of the Giants front seven this season.
BREAKOUT PLAYER: WR Hakeem Nicks
After an impressive rookie campaign, expect Hakeem Nicks to be recognized as one of the league’s top wideouts at the end of the 2010 season. Nicks is a strong, physical receiver with very good hands that will consistently make plays for extra yardage after the catch. Nicks will be in position to do plenty of damage on slants, screens, and underneath crossing routes for the Giants passing game this season. The dynamic second-year receiver could easily finish with upwards of 1000 yards receiving and 8 scores in 2010.
THREE BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR 2010
Ahmad Bradshaw will be a candidate for the NFL MVP Award
Yes, the former seventh-round pick out of Marshall is that talented. Bradshaw’s excellent vision and rare combination of elusiveness and power in the open field make him the Giants most devastating offensive weapon going into this season, and this certainly looks to be the year that Bradshaw breaks out as a superstar in the league. Taking over the leading back role for the Giants, Bradshaw will see the most touches of his career both as a runner and receiver out of the backfield. Expect those increased touches to turn into a special season for the Giants starting back.
The Giants will boast a top-5 rated NFL Offense
Eli Manning is at the prime of his career, and he’s just been handed the keys to a brand-new Ferrari. Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham are arguably the most talented young receiving trio in football, and running back Ahmad Bradshaw is one of the most dynamic offensive weapons in the game when he’s healthy. Don’t forget about Brandon Jacobs playing the complementary back role for the Giants running game, and Kevin Boss providing consistency, dependability, and toughness at tight end.
Justin Tuck will have the best season of his NFL career
Tuck is the anchor of the defensive front seven for the Giants, and he’s surrounded with considerable talent on defense. He struggled through a shoulder injury in 2009, but Tuck is committed to having a bounce-back year for New York, and has looked up to the task in training camp. With Antonio Pierce no longer with the football team, Justin Tuck is being looked to as the leader of this Giants defense. Tuck is the type of player who likes to lead by example – with his play on the field. Expect the example to be something like 70 tackles and 14 sacks.
Closing Thoughts:
When you look at the NFC East this year – you see quite a bit of turnover. The Giants have undergone significant changes on the defensive side of the football, Philadelphia has a new starting duo at quarterback and running back, and the Washington Redskins are operating under a new head coach and new quarterback in Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb. But when you look for a winning formula – the teams that fits the description seems to be New York. The Giants have one of the league’s top young quarterbacks, in the prime of his career, along with an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, and a veteran defense led by a veteran defensive coordinator Perry Fewell – who knows how to get the best of his personnel. The Cowboys have significant issues along their offensive line, but have so many weapons that they should still be one of the league’s top 10-12 offensive units – and the team also boasts a top 10 defense with an explosive pass rush.
At the end of the day, New York looks poised to make a strong playoff push this season if they are able to come together quickly under Perry Fewell’s defense. The offense is stacked, the players are familiar with eachother and the scheme, and the unit is led by one of the league’s elite quarterbacks. The Giants addressed some of their issues on special teams with the acquisition of return-specialist Darius Reynaud, and the defense is loaded with talent and experience – led by one of the league’s most successful defensive coordinators.
The Giants are a darkhorse in the NFC this season, overshadowed by last year’s NFC powerhouses – Minnesota and New Orleans, and this year’s sexy pick – the Green Bay Packers. But the G-Men are right up there with those teams in terms of talent, and the upside is considerable with the 2010 edition of the New York Giants.
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Dan has set the gloom and doom on full blast pretty early on.
It usually works pretty well ;)
Yeah Dan, stay negative. I’m gonna use the “P” word on you.
Oh, the “P” word is PESSIMIST.
lol ooo i was trying to figure out what P word it was lol
How bout AB actually makes it through one season without gettin injured. Id take that.
Word
If you get that, you’ll get one of the most productive offensive players in the league. That’s what it will come down to – staying on the field.
Mos def.
The Giants have made the postseason in 4 of the past 5 years. Last year was an injury-riddled disaster on defense, yet they were still a handful of plays away from their fifth straight postseason appearance.
They’ve been one of the better teams in the league for quite some time now, and this is probably the strongest roster they’ve had going into a season since Tom Coughlin got here.
I don’t think winning the NFC East is a stretch by any means.
The most important player on this team in 2010…
Kenny Phillips!
Write that down. NFL MVP 2010, jk, but he will make this D scary, and he is our LAST line of defense. There are 10 other guys to crush you before you even have to deal with our best defender!
Haz – I agree with almost in full with your whole view of the division. I have us at 11 wins and Philly at 7 but that’s splitting hairs. I think you are slighly overrating Bradshaw. I see a Ray Rice type break out year not quite NFL MVP. We were 8th in PPG & YPG with green WRs and beat up RBs. So rising to top 5 seems to be very reasonable to me.
9/12 Carolina at New York Giants: Sec. 115C. Lower level, 30 yard line. $725.00 each
http://thefootballgirl.com/tfg-community/melissas-blog/2010/sept/plenty-of-tickets-available-for-week-one-at-jaw-dropping-prices.html
Jaw dropping.
sick.
Jay Alford joins the Oakland Raiders. Their defensive line coach is Mike Waufle, formerly of the Giants, who was constantly praised by Strahan and Osi.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/09/08/jay-alford-joins-the-raiders/
The old Giants Stadium, demolished to make way for New Meadowlands Stadium, still carries about $110 million in debt, or nearly $13 for every New Jersey resident, even though it is now a parking lot.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/sports/08stadium.html?_r=1&ref=sports
I think Haz is pretty “on the mark” with his analysis, which is relatively consistent with a lot of what I’ve been saying.
I’m not about to think Bradshaw will be in the MVP conversation, but I think he’s going to have a very good year. I also think Jacobs will surprise us on the upside. In general, I think the Giants’ running game is being given short shrift by a lot of pundits who don’t realize that our O-line, when healthy (and with the possible exception of O’Hara that is the case), is going to be very good and that we’ve got three excellent backs to run the ball (if any of you were at the game last Thursday you’ll know that DJ Ware looked awfully fast, quick, and powerful…I think his talent may finally show this season). I don’t think many outside the Giant family understand what a huge difference having Andrews could make.
I think we all agree the passing game should be as good as it gets. I knew a year ago that these receivers were going to be terrific, but I now think that Nicks is going to be really, really, special. And I’m even hopeful that Gilbride will remember he has an excellent tight end, just based upon what I saw against the Pats. If they get Boss in this mix I think defenses will have nightmares against the Giants. And that doesn’t even assume adding Beckum into the mix very much. If they do that I really think they’re nearly indefensible. It will be get to Eli or get beaten.
The defense will need time to jell. But if they get fully healthy in the backfield (meaning Ross can play with the plantar fasciitis and Phillips can get to 100% by Week 3-4) I think this is an elite defense. Vacchiano (the ****) can rant all he likes about Bulluck being hurt and Goff being untested. I’ve been saying for years that all the linebackers have to be is “good enough” and I believe that’s exactly what they will be. The people who critique them seem to think that we have to have great players everywhere. That’s not the way it works in the NFL. Just as an example, would you rather have our questions at linebacker or the Cowboys’ questions in their defensive backfield? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
The big, big, question mark for me remains the special teams. I have no idea what to expect, and what worries me is that I think the coaches feel exactly the same way. Could having DJ Johnson, Michael Johnson and Duke Calhoun getting down as gunners make a lot of problems go away? Could it turn out that we finally have a reliable return man to replace Domenik Hixon (I think Reynaud could be as good on punt returns, but he has to prove it, and I don’t think he’s the ideal returner on kickoffs…Hixon could be really missed).
I like a range of 9-12 wins but of course, that’s the easy way out. If forced to make a prediction when it is too early to really know what we’ve got on special teams and defense, I’d go with 10-11 wins, and with 11 if I have to give one number.
Lets remember how much Bradshaw was able to accomplish last year with two broken feet and a huge passing game. Imagine what the man is capable of healthy. If Gilbride can get a little creative this year on his play calling instead of his standard run, run, long third down pass routine we may have a chance. As I have said in the past if we as fans know what he is going to do our opponents most certainly do.
On defense I say it may take a game or two before they jell together and this year maybe very similar to the first year with Spags, but look where we ended up that year. I don’t think will drop the first two games thanks to our offense. I do however think it maybe a bit of a rocky start. If we can get the pass rush to work and get to the quarterback then we can rest easier with the questionable CB coverage we have. With Ross out with his foot we all know this is still a big question mark on D. Hopefully KP and Rolle will be the force to be reckoned with we are all anticipating.
I think Tuck (providing he stays healthy and now Flozal is out of Division) he is going to be hell on wheels for offensive lines to contend with. I wouldn’t be surprised it he starts putting up Strahan like numbers this season.
The best thing this team has going for them is everyone in NY has jumped on the Jets bandwagon and they think the Cowboys are still the NFC Easts gift to football. The Giants are once again flying under the radar. Some may say that the Giants are their underdog pick, but one or two losses and that song will change. I think if they can stay healthy and Fewells defensive schemes are as good as people say they are then we have an excellent chance of taking the NFC East and making another amazing Superbowl run.
Yes, I have jumped on the Blue Bus and I’m staying there.
CC put Dan in a cranky mood last night.
10-6 and yes I think that will be good enough to take division.