Cobalt Curtain: Ready to wreak havoc

By Samuel Groshans  |   Wednesday, August 16, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

New York Giants
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Last year, the New York Giants were not a very solid defensive football team. They were ranked 26th in both passing defense and red-zone defense, good for near bottom of the league. That is not the place a playoff hopeful should be, obviously. That being said, it's quite obvious that the New York brass took the necessary steps to get better in the offseason

Defensive line

The line was one of the stronger points for the G-men last year. At least, the ends were. Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora proved to the league that they are, and probably will be again this year, the best combination of defensive ends in the NFL right now, as they combined for 26 sacks in 2005. With second-year man Justin Tuck and rookie Mathias Kiwanuka--who turned a lot of heads in their preseason opener-behind them, the defensive end platoon is the best in the game, hands down.

And since we know the starters can play, it'd be wise to look at their backups and how they performed in the preseason opener. Tuck didn't make too much noise, but he played solidly. His counterpart, on the other hand, made enough noise to wake the dead. It may have only been one series, but it was an important one when he made an impact. Three plays in a row, Kiwanuka hit the quarterback, recording 1 ½ sacks. Expect both young players to get extra time this coming week, with a keen eye on the rookie. If he continues to perform like that, you can expect to see him sooner than later. However, the middle of the line is a completely different story.

With a key player leaving from last year (Kendrick Clancy), a perennial underachiever in William Joseph, and a doghouse player named Fred Robbins, the Giants will be hard-pressed to find solid middle play. While Joseph has proven he can play, the knock on him is laziness. Robbins can play, but there were many times he was not on the best side of the head coach. Aside from those two, there doesn't appear to be too much depth to step in and step up, unless you count rookie Jonas Seawright, who has impressed many. The first real game action wasn't a good barometer on any of the players, at least not to the untrained eye, so expect there to be more pressure on the incumbents to prove themselves throughout the rest of the preseason.

Either way, watch for the Giants to have a middle-of-the-road line, with outstanding ends but underachieving tackles.

Linebackers

If the Giants' linebackers get run over or outplayed this year, expect a great many people to be very angry. With the signing of LaVar Arrington and the return of Antonio Pierce and Carlos Emmons, fans of the G-men should be excited. Those three players are capable of striking more than enough fear into any opposing offense, running or passing. Pierce, last year, was having a heck of a season before an ankle injury ended it. While Emmons has been injured lately, he's quite talented and provides a spark. Arrington may have been in the doghouse in Washington, but that doesn't mean he isn't a Pro Bowl-caliber player. And the best news is, the Giants have depth.

If any of the starters go down, there is Brandon Short, Reggie Torbor and Chase Blackburn ready to step in. Torbor is a fast, young linebacker who never gives up on a play, and Blackburn has an engine that just doesn't quit. Short is a proven competitor who can bring a veteran's passion to the young backups. It's extremely hard to measure the play of the starters in preseason, since they play so little. There is bad news in the fact that Arrington didn't play, but that could be more a precaution than anything.

The backups did play very well, however, if holding the Ravens to little offensive production in the second half is any indication. Expect to see much of the same in the second game, perhaps with more playbook thrown in to see how they handle it. The linebackers have more depth, talent and experience than the Giants have had for a long time. Look for them to make an immediate impact. And if they don't, expect there to be a great deal of complaining.

Secondary

This is where the New Yorkers were burned all last season. Any time an opposing quarterback would drop back to pass, the heart of every Giants fan watching dropped. They just knew that, somehow, someway, the secondary would mess up. That being said, they did play well now and again--just not well enough to be reassuring. That should not be the case this year.

With the signing of R.W. McQuarters, Sam Madison and Will Demps, along with the return of impressive youngsters Corey Webster and Gibril Wilson, the Giants should no longer fear when the opposing receivers run out on routes. Webster proved last season that he can play, and Wilson is one of the top safeties in the league, regardless of his size.

The starting secondary, as with most of the defense, was another solid piece to the puzzle last week. There were no real game-breaking plays through the air, and Steve McNair's touchdown run was the only real marring facet to the game. They covered receivers like blankets and, while not killing the attack, stifled the passing game well.

As long as the Giants' defense performs reasonably well and stays healthy in 2006, there's no reason to believe this team won't at least duplicate its 11-5 playoff campaign from a year ago. With a top-notch offense intact, the G-Men look like the real deal.

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