New York Giants offensive preview

By Samuel Groshans  |   Monday, August 07, 2006  |  Comments( 3 )

New York Giants
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Fourth. Third. Sixth. Eleventh. Those numbers are the respective rankings of total offense, total touchdowns, rushing offense and passing offense of the New York Giants' previous season. Those numbers should improve, as long as everything goes the way the organization expects. Eli Manning is supposed to come into his own, Tiki Barber is expected to carry most of the workload and Jeremy Shockey, Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress create a very dangerous trio on pass patterns. Add to the fact that the offensive line returns intact, and the team has picked up another dangerous talent at receiver in Sinorice Moss, a second-round pick.

Breaking down the Giants position by position provides a preview of what may be happen this season.

Quarterback

Manning is entering his third year as a Giant, and second as a full-time starter. Last year he proved that he is a capable quarterback, tossing for 3,762 yards and 24 touchdowns. However, on the flip side, he completed only 52.8 percent of his passes and threw 17 interceptions, good for second-most in football. While that is expected from a young quarterback, many of the incompletions and interceptions were from forced throws. If he can improve his completion percentage and his touchdown to interception ratio, while maintaining his ability to provide in tight situations, the Giants will have a very scary air-attack.

Running back

Once again, the Giants will more than likely dump most of the rushing load on Tiki Barber, a player who apparently gets better with age. He has improved his ground numbers for the past few years, having rushed for a career and franchise-best 1,860 yards last year. That number was only 20 yards behind Shaun Alexander for the NFL's rushing title. In the event that Barber gets hurt, the G-men would rely on Derrick Ward and Brandon Jacobs to split the load, unless one of them proves they're better than the other. Expect Jacobs to have improved significantly from last year and get more carries on short-yardage and goal-line situations. Jacobs will be on a short leash, but if he holds onto the ball and runs people over, you can guarantee seeing him more often.

Wide receiver/Tight end

The receiving corps should be one of the strongest in the league. Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer and Jeremy Shockey combined to catch 21 of Manning's 24 touchdown passes in 2005. The attack was balanced, considering each player had seven scores apiece. Burress had 76 receptions for 1,214 yards, Toomer had 60 for 684, and Shockey had 65 for 891. While teams could concentrate on stopping the "Big Three" last year, they will be hard- pressed to do the same this coming season. Tim Carter and David Tyree should improve by leaps and bounds, and if they don't, then there's always Sinorice Moss waiting in the wings.

Offensive line

The Giants return every starter from last year's squad. That in itself is one heck of an achievement for a team that is regularly riddled by injuries up front. Luke Petitgout, although penalty-prone, and Kareem McKenzie are two of the best tackles in the league; Chris Snee is already a force at guard and can only get better, while David Diehl is versatile and gets the job done. There have been no complaints about 29-year-old center Shaun O'Hara, either. As long as the starters stay healthy, the Giants should be fine. If any of them go down for a prolonged period of time, however, there will be chaos. Aside from Rich Seubert and Bob Whitfield, the backups are a ragtag group of no-names and rookies. Coaches and fans alike should be nervous if any members of the o-line go down, especially if it's Snee, McKenzie or Petitgout.

The New York Giants have the talent, depth and expectations to be one of the scariest offenses in the league in 2006. They have a near perfect mix of youth and experience, of brashness and humility, and of talent and precision. Watch for the "G-Men" to land in the top five of all major offensive categories again this season. If they fall short, or stumble early on, you can bet on hearing about it faster than they can score touchdowns.

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