Linebacker Issue Casts a Cloud Over Giants High Hopes

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

With the steady departure of some of the most flamboyant personalities in Giants' history, the months of June and July have been eerily quiet.

There have been no anonymous sources chomping at the bit to alert the media of a certain tight end’s outcries against the front office. No messages from ex-teammates that criticize the team’s trophy quarterback on national television. It may be dull for the tabloids, but Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin wouldn’t have it any other way.

However, the termination of off-the-field issues has not prevented a slew of questions stemming from the events that transpire within a 60-minute game clock.

Namely, the linebacker position.

Largely ignored in favor of the ineptitude of the offense down the stretch, the Giants linebacker corps came up staggeringly small during the stretch run. Antonio Pierce was missing tackles, Chase Blackburn reverted back to the career backup that he was, and Danny Clark simply wore down after being a pleasant surprise through the first half of the season.

And the defensive performance suffered mightily because of it. The entire starting front was battling through injuries but was still supplying adequate pressure. However, there were countless occasions in which the quarterback was able to avoid the initial pressure, bounce outside, and either scramble or shovel it to the running back for a chunk of yardage.

What could that be attributed to? Lack of speed from the linebackers.

If the quarterback was able to escape the clutches of Mathias Kiwanuka or Justin Tuck, he was able to attain breathing room and take advantage of a defense that had been scrambling for six or seven seconds already. Pierce, Clark, and Blackburn simply could not catch the quarterback or the running back.

This resulted in an inability for the Giants defense to stymie the opposing offenses on third down. The Giants allowed the Eagles to move the chains seven times in 14 third down opportunities.

It was no secret the Giants would have to alleviate the sudden speed deprivation within the linebacker corps. Within the first week of free agency, the Giants lured 26 year old Falcons linebacker Michael Boley to move up north by signing him to a five-year deal worth up to $25 million.

They continued their youth and speed movement by drafting Clint Sintim from the University of Virginia on day one.

Both linebackers possess an overabundance of speed, and will be placed into separate roles. Boley is extremely efficient in covering running backs and tight ends due to his savvy and speed and will be asked to do exactly that to prevent another Westbrook or Witten nightmare scenario from emerging in these crucial divisional battles.

On the other hand, Clint Sintim caught the attention of the Giants by being a menace to opposing quarterbacks. He led the NCAA in sacks by a linebacker in his final year at Virginia, and gives the Giants even more flexibility in rushing the passer.

Suddenly, a position that was exposed during the late season collapse appeared to be a position of strength. However, problems have recently emerged. Shortly after the completion of mini-camp, Boley had arthroscopic hip surgery to repair a torn labrum. His period of recovery is projected to be 8-10 weeks, which will place him on a schedule to return by opening day.

Regardless, due to a suspension enforced today due to a 2008 domestic battery case against Boley, he will not play the season opener against Washington.

More importantly, the hip surgery will hinder his ability to master the playbook. Due to this roadblock, Boley may have to learn the playbook while trying to cover the likes of Felix Jones and Reggie Bush in the first months of the season.

Meanwhile, Sintim has been experiencing some injury difficulties too. He hurt his hamstring in the initial rookie workouts, which held him out of mini-camps. If this injury protrudes up through training camp, the learning curve for the rookie linebacker may become even steeper.

This year’s Giants defense has a chance to be special. A devastating rotation in the front four, coupled with the development of an extremely talented secondary gives this unit a chance to be one of the league’s elite. However, if the linebackers crumble as they did to finish off the 2008 campaign, all this talent may go for naught.

Chalk Talk: Get Jacobs The Ball Early And Often

Sunday, July 5, 2009

by Michael Schlossberg

With the Giants' 2008 season ending unceremoniously with a home playoff loss to the rival Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants will need to find new ways to move the football for 2009. After Plaxico Burress was suspended, the Giants' offense struggled.

My solution to this? Give the football to Brandon Jacobs early, and give it to him often.

With Jacobs, it's not about the yards per carry (even though that number has consistently been around 5.0 for his career), but rather about him tiring out opposing defenses.

Everyone has seen Jacob's size enable him to fall forward for three yards, and make a positive gain out of a seemingly dead play.

When December came around (think Week 16 against Carolina) no one wanted to tackle Brandon Jacobs, which helped pave way for Derrick Ward to rush for 216 yards on only 15 carries.

With Jacobs bull-dozing would-be tacklers, opposing teams will have to try and stack eight defenders in the box. This will then open up the deep ball for Eli Manning to the WR playing on the perimeter.

Ultimately, the Giants will be able to make morebig plays down the football field, and teams will respect Eli Manning a little more.

If the Giants are able to get consistent production out of Jacobs, it would help their time of possession. This means that other teams will have to try and throw the ball a lot to get quick scores.

When the Giants' defense can single in on a passing game, the pass rush will be relentless by sending Justin Tuck, Osi Umeyiora and Mathias Kiwianuka.

The point being, giving the ball to Brandon Jacobs early and often will bring about great success for New York in 2009.

5 Questions Going Into Camp

Thursday, July 2, 2009

The Giants will convene in Albany in a few weeks and although they seemed to have tied up many of their off-season loose ends, there will always be questions that need to be asked......

1. Linebackers - what is the plan should Michael Boley be slow in recovering from hip surgery?

Boley's recovery time frame is 8-10 weeks. The clock is one week in motion on this already so if you do the math, Boley will not be on the field opening day. The Giants will most likely be forced to put Boley on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, which will preserve a roster spot for someone else.

The reality is that he will probably need to rehab past that 8-10 weeks. We've seen baseball players make it back within the time frame but football is different. It's obviously more demanding. The thought here is that he might go from PUP to IR, meaning he's lost until week 9.

In the interim, the Giants will have to hope to get production out of either one or more from the group of Gerris Wilkerson, Bryan Kehl and Chase Blackburn. Not the worst of scenarios, but certainly not Plan A, that's for sure.

2. Travis Beckum - how will he be used?

Right now, the H-back is in the offense, although Kevin Gilbride has avoided many questions about its utilization. It is what they are calling it for now. Beckum did not get a full mini camp in because of a hamstring injury and Gilbride still does not know what role Beckum will play.

The H-back is a limited formation and the Giants do not want to use it just to get Beckum on the field. Gilbride referred to the Colts' B-back situation with Dallas Clark as being a possible role for Beckum.

The downside of using an H-back or B-back is that they take the place of the fullback. Most teams do not have a solid fullback like the Giants do in Madison Hedgecock. By going to this type of formation, the Giants will limit their options plus lose the aggressiveness that Hedgecock brings to the offense, especially in the running game.

Also, by lining Beckum up in the backfield, they will be advertising 'pass'. The defense will usually sniff out - and snuff out- that play.

The thought here is that Beckum will not be used as an H or B-back. He will be a slot receiver. The Giants need to get big bodies into opposing secondaries and that is where Beckum will be able to assist. He is not a traditional, full-service TE so he's best suited as a receiver.

3. Eli's contract - when will he sign - and for how much?

Eli Manning isn't talking contract and neither are the Giants. Everyone knows it is a foregone conclusion that he will sign back with the team rather than wait until he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Money does not motivate Eli and he doesn't have a shark like Drew Rosenhaus whispering bad advice in his ear. The Giants will move quickly to close the window to put an end to the speculation. By the end of camp, this thing might be all done, even if conventional thinking is telling both sides to wait for a new CBA.

Eli's current salary is $9.4 million. The new contract will probably be for seven years at $15 mil per year. The completed deal may end up being worth about $120 million. The contract would keep Eli in blue until age 35.

2. Wide Receivers - who will start?

Currently Domenik Hixon and Steve Smith are the starters. Sinorice Moss is the third receiver with Mario Manningham getting some serious consideration.

It's early and the Giants do not want to pencil in or annoint an unsigned player (Hakeem Nicks) as a starter to prolong or complicate his signing. It is beleived that Nicks will be a starter at some point early on and his rookie teammate, Ramses Barden, will get lots of playing time as well.

Hixon is more valuable on special teams and if Moss gets hurt one more time, he's going to plummet down the depth chart. That leaves Smith, Manningham, Nicks, Barden and David Tyree in the main offense. Of course, Hixon will be used often early on in the season to smooth over the transition.

Don't forget Travis Beckum's role may end up being more in the WR group than in the TE group.

The starters will end up being Smith and Nicks.

1. What are the expectations for the Giants this season?

The Super Bowl is not an unrealistic goal. They could have made it last season. We've covered that ad nauseum, so lets move on.....

The defense has been bolstered up front and the secondary is young and hungry. Only the linebackers pose questions - as as illustrated above not many.

The offense is finally devoid of ballhogs and characters. A new receiving corp to go with a solid line, good TEs and a maturing QB spells big things for NYG.

The prediction is 11-5 which gets them a wild card. The Eagles will be the favorites and finally live up to it with a 13-3 record. The Giants will have to deal with Philly in the playoffs. Keep in mind the Eagles do not fare well as favorites....

Can The Giants Bring Calm To Chaotic Albany?

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Big Blue's Presence Could End Stalemate

The last place any non-elected New Yorker wants to go these days is Albany, the capital of the great Empire State, which is in the throes of one of the most chaotic periods of political unrest in the state's history.

But, that is where the New York Football Giants, their entourage and their accompanying media pool will be heading in a few weeks.

The state senate is in a hopeless deadlock which has virtually shut the government down during a session that has massive tax, education, labor, health and budget bills waiting to be acted upon.

The story up there these days is another one of those that you just cannot make up. The Democrats had a majority until a few weeks ago when two of their senators switched allegiances to the Republicans. They deposed the sitting speaker and claimed their coup was legal.

Before anyone could formally challenge, one of the defectors, Hiram Monserratte - who is under indictment for slashing his girlfriend with a glass bottle - changed his mind and crossed back over to his side of the aisle. But the damage was already done.

Now the two sides are both claiming possession of the senate. The governor, David Patterson, who is legally blind and an admitted drug abuser and adulterer, is attempting to mediate the situation to no avail.

The state government is in a stalemate. Every downstate news agency has set up camp in Albany awaiting any sign of a detente or solution. In the meanwhile, state and local governments are sitting on their hands, becoming more and more impatient as funds in their respective coffers dissipate by the minute.

Enter the New York Football Giants, the unsuspecting dupes driving into this nightmare.

The Giants are in the final year of their commitment to the University of Albany and will open their camp there on July 25th. The question is, will the state senate have come to its senses and gotten back to work? Or will they still be playing musical chairs while the rest of us sit and marvel at the selfishness and ineptitude of our elected officials?

Hopefully, all will be resolved by then, but you never know with this crew. Sometimes they need a show of force to drive home a point.

Thousands of Giant fans make the trek from all over to visit them at camp every year. Last year, over 44,000 Big Blue fans made the trip.

The senate must know the Giants are coming. If they don't, they'll know soon enough that the team is there. The extra media presence and the the additional protesters will be in front of the Capitol letting their sentiments be known. The idiocy that has throttled progress in Albany will suddenly spill over onto the sports pages.

These bungling boobs will have to put their best foot forward, bite the bullet and get the job done.

The Giants may be the catalyst that gets the state's business rolling again.