Aside from losing to the Cowboys on opening day, the Giants got off to a fairly good start highlighted by beating up on the 49ers at their place. But they eventually fell back down to earth losing 5 out of their last 8 games. The secondary was horrendous and the offensive line didn’t perform very well during that final stretch of the 2012 season. It was also brought up that Eli Manning may have suffered from “dead arm”, which is common in baseball pitchers due to overworking the throwing arm. Manning played in a lot of games the past few years in completing two super bowl runs in the last 6 years. The Giants have some fairly obvious holes they need to fill, along with some that aren’t so obvious, if they plan on making another deep playoff push, as has become the standard for Big Blue.
Secondary
New York finished last season 28th in passing defense (yards) and 29th in yards per attempt, which means they got burnt deep regularly. They haven’t really had a great secondary for quite a while now, but it really showed last year because the pass rush wasn’t as dynamic as in years past. They could really use a safety who can play coverage as Antrel Rolle is now over age 30. Cornerback has also been a weakness in this defense, as the team has seemed to have had a revolving door at this position for years. No doubt Dez Bryant would love to see this trend continue, but the Giants really need to shore up the back end of the defense.
Wide Receiver
When I say wide receiver, it means one thing and one thing only: Victor Cruz. The Giants simply can not afford to let him slip away. Cruz apparently was offered a contract that would give him $7 million annually, but he rejected the offer. Since he is a restricted free agent, teams who would potentially sign him would have to fork over a first rounder, making it less likely he would be going anywhere. Eli Manning has hinted that he would restructure his deal in order to sign Cruz, thus showing how important he believes Cruz is to the team. Bottom line is the Giants have to get something worked out with him, or they will have a huge void to fill there.
Linebacker
The Giants signed former Cowboy Dan Conner recently in anticipation of possibly losing Chase Blackburn to free agency. The Giants were apparently thrilled to pick up the veteran, seemingly seeing something that no one else did in Conner. The Giants also have Mark Herzlich as an option, but he is seen as more of a depth player to the team. New York has also had problems at linebacker for some time, but it has also been masked by the play of their defensive line over the years.
Tight End
Martellus Bennett signed with New York last season despite the Cowboys all but labeling him a bust. We always heard how good he was in practice and in training camp, but for whatever reason it never showed up on game day. He would routinely drop critical passes and crucial times, but somehow overcame that and thrived with the Giants. But Bennett will look for a big raise this season, making it unlikely he returns to the team. The Giants and Eli Manning have been able to plug and play just about anyone at that position and find production. Just think of how dangerous the passing game could be if they actually found a playmaker at tight end. They could possibly be looking for one in the mid to late rounds in the draft.
Defensive Line
With Osi Umenyiora out, and Justin Tuck seeming to be aging before our eyes, the Giants need to make a move and find an edge rusher to keep the famed “Nascar Package” alive and well. Both Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul had down years to their standards, only combining for 10.5 sacks. And with so many other problems on the defense, it just makes it that much worse that they can’t rely on their bread and butter to bail them out. A nasty d-line has become their identity so you can expect them to bolster it this offseason for sure.
Despite the down year, expectations never have changed for the Giants. They are expected to finish high in the division and go on deep playoff runs just about every year, and this year is no different. I would imagine that they will solidify their defensive line and tweak their o-line and be right back in contention in 2013. As a Cowboy fan, I certainly hope they don’t but time will tell.
