SB Nation - Andre Brown

Fantasy Football Friday: Giants Preview

cjmulrain — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:00:39 -0000

by Bill Kostroun - AP

4 months ago: New York Giants' Ahmad Bradshaw, left, breaks a tackle by Carolina Panthers' Chris Harris to score a touchdown in the first quarter of a preseason NFL football game at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Monday, Aug. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

View full size photo »

I would give you all an update on the Big Blue View League, but there's nothing to update yet - the draft is scheduled for Monday night. In lieu of that (and at the risk of giving away part of my draft strategy), I figured I'd give you guys my own personal preview of the fantasy implications for our 2009 New York Giants.

Players To Target:

Ahmad Bradshaw - I wrote a piece back in July about my optimism over the running backs not named Brandon Jacobs, and the injury to Andre Brown hasn't dampened my enthusiasm. While I also like Danny Ware, he's a third stringer who isn't going to make much of a fantasy impact. Bradshaw, on the other hand, figures to get most of the playing time that Derek Ward got a year ago, with which Ward racked up 1,000+ yards rushing and 384 yards receiving. I think Bradshaw is a more talented running back than Ward, both out of the backfield and catching the ball. Couple that with the fact that Brandon Jacobs always gets nicked up and is no guarantee to make it through 16 games, and I think #44 is one of the best fantasy sleepers in the whole NFL.

Hakeem Nicks - If you've been paying attention the past two weeks, this shouldn't surprise you. Nicks has looked like the real deal, catching 3 impressive touchdown's against the Jets and Patriots. Nicks is going undrafted in a lot of leagues, and would be a great waiver wire pickup to replace the Isaac Bruce's of the world - especially in keeper leagues. Nicks has the potential to step up and have a big year right off the bat, and it probably wouldn't hurt to have him at the back of your bench.

Kevin Boss - I've said a few times this offseason that I wouldn't be at all surprised if Boss leads the team in receptions this year, and I fully expect him to lead the team in receiving touchdowns, as he did last year. Boss has solid hands, is a good route runner, and is more athletic than people give him credit for. He's not in the Jason Witten/Tony Gonzalez/Antonio Gates group of tight ends, but I don't think I'm being too big a homer to say he's already in the next group down (he was 3rd in TE touchdown's last year). If there's a run on tight ends and you miss out on the top guys, don't feel bad about waiting a few rounds and coming up with a steal in the Boss Man.

Players to Avoid

Eli Manning - You love the guy. I love the guy. Everyone else hates him. He's got a ring, a Super Bowl MVP, and a big payday. He just finds ways to win football games. All of the above is true. It's also irrelevant when it comes to fantasy football. The fact of the matter is that Eli is just not a top 12 fantasy quarterback. The Giants are a run first, run second, and if it's short enough, run third type of team (except in the playoffs in bad...never mind, I won't go there). Eli just doesn't rack up enough yards or touchdowns to justify making him your starter. As a backup he's not a bad choice, but don't pin your fantasy hopes on his shoulder.

Giants Defense - This one is going to be controversial, and in fact should probably go in the next category, but I've done a few mock drafts and one real one this year, and in every one the Giants defense was taken too high. Avoid the temptation. It's not that I think the Giants D will be bad - far from it. I just don't think they're worth taking in the 10th round, which is generally where they've been going. Last year they were the 10th best fantasy D, finishing behind some teams that are actually going undrafted in some leagues. My personal strategy is never to take a defense before the last two rounds, because I just don't think the value is high enough, and the Giants are no exception. I also usually try to avoid the Giants D for more selfish reasons - I already hate it when teams score against them in real life, why double my torture by having them on my fantasy team?

Players to Take If They Fall to You

Brandon Jacobs - Jacobs is quite possibly my favorite Giants running back ever, and there's nobody in the NFL I enjoy watching more. That said, I just don't feel comfortable taking him in the first round and basically pinning my fantasy hopes on the guy. He is injury prone, he is part of a running back platoon, and he's not exactly Marshall Faulk when it comes to the passing game. That's 3 pretty big strikes against a guy who's going in the 1st round of a lot of drafts. Now, if your second pick comes around and Jacobs is still on the board, by all means go ahead and take him. That's why he's in this category and not the one above.

Domenik Hixon - I honestly don't know what to expect from Hixon this year. I wouldn't be surprised if Nicks became the go-to guy before long, but I also wouldn't be surprised if Hixon ends up having a breakout year. In a lot of ways, his dropped pass against the Eagles last year is sorta representative of how I feel about Hixon this year: I loved that he was able to get so open, but I hated that he dropped the ball. Similarly, for fantasy purposes, I love that Hixon is the #1 receiver with unquestionable physical skills, but I hate that he's been inconsistent on the field and hasn't had a "blow me away" type of preseason. If Hixon is still available as you're picking your final wide receiver in the 12th or 13th round, go for it. If you're taking him before that, I'd pass. I'm not going to write another paragraph, but I feel pretty much the same way about Steve Smith, who I think will have more receptions but less yards than Hixon, and who's role on the team is less in jeapordy if Nicks really does break out.

Who will be the first to go?

Ed Valentine — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:00:11 -0000

More photos » by Mike Groll - AP

Is today David Tyree's last day as a New York Giant?

Browse more photos »

The Giants have to trim their roster from 80 to 75 by Tuesday, as do all of the other teams in the NFL. The first move will be to put running back Andre Brown on injured reserve, meaning they have to drop four players.

Who will go? These are the guys I would cut right now if I was making the decisions -- which, of course, I'm not.

David Tyree -- I still don't see any way this classy hero of the Super Bowl 42 makes this team. Tyree still wants to play, and perhaps the best thing the Giants could do for him is to let go now. That way he has a legitimate shot to hook on somewhere else before teams finalize their rosters.
Orrin Thompson -- The 6-foot-6, 320-pound rookie guard from Duke has zero shot at making the team. Actually, he is one of several backup offensive lineman about whom that could be said. Actually, you could cut several of them rght now and be done with it. The only problem there is you want to get through Thursday's pre-season finale against New England without having to use the starters very much. So, you need to keep some of these guys. Thompson, though, can go now.
Robert Henderson -- The 2008 7th-round pick is a spare defensive end on a team loaded with spare defensive ends. Another guy who has no chance to make the team, and has really done nothing in camp. Time to cut ties.
Shaun Bodiford -- The Giants have 10 receivers on the roster, and Bodiford is No. 10 on the list. He has no shot at making the 53-man roster, and the Giants still have a lot of other guys they need to look at Thursday night. Bodiford is expendable, even if the Giants also release Tyree.

So, what do you think of my list? Let me know what four players you would cut -- and why.

Mining your way to fantasy gold - NFC East RBs edition

Andrew Davidson — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:58:06 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Browse more photos »

Now that the quarterbacks are out of the way, I'll stay in the backfield and focus on the running backs of the NFC East. Each team in the division has had some success running the ball in recent years, and 2009 looks to provide much of the same. There is some uncertainty in the division, regarding the health of a certain fantasy stud's ankle and the impact of running back committees. Let's take a look and see how the RBs shake down.

NFC East RBs

After the jump, walk with me as I breakdown the RBs of the East...

Brian Westbrook

A lot of people may disagree with me on this one, but I still think Westbrook is the best fantasy option in the East at RB. Yes, he had offseason ankle surgery, and yes, the Eagles drafted LeSean McCoy; however, Westbrook has done nothing but score TDs and rack up all-purpose yards. Westbrook has just recently begun practicing with the team, appearing fully recovered from offseason ankle surgery. Another alarming fact is that Westbrook is turning the dreaded 30 in September, an age in which RBs decline noticeably. With the all the new toys in the Philadelphia offense, I just cannot envision Westbrook having a poor season. He's always been nicked up and battling injuries, so I expect good things in 2009. Westbrook is still a top 10 pick in most leagues, and he'll produce like it. Fantasy Forecast: 1600 total yards, 12 total TDs

Clinton Portis

Portis had some ups and downs in 2008, clashing with head coach Jim Zorn at times. However, the former Miami Hurricane still had a fantastic season which say him rush for over 100 yards in 5 straight contests (week 4 - week 8). Through weeks 9 - 14, Portis only rushed for 100 yards once, and had just 20+ carries once. Prior to that, Portis had at least 20 carries in each game; luckily he finished the final 3 games of 2008 with 20+ carries in each contest. Another downer about Portis' season was his smallish TD total of 9, and Portis has yet to top 11 total TDs since joining Washington (in Denver he scored 31 TDs in 2 seasons). The recent news of Ladell Betts stealing third down opportunities doesn't necessarily take away from Portis' TD opportunities, but it doesn't help him either. Portis is notorious for being a workhorse, and won't be 30 until 2011. Therefore, taking Portis in the top 20 isn't a shame at all. Fantasy Forecast: 1500 total yards, 10 total TDs

Brandon Jacobs

Earth, Wind and Fire officially broke up when Derrick Ward went to Tampa Bay, potentially creating more carries for the bruising Brandon Jacobs. I wouldn't bet the farm on Jacobs getting much more than the 219 carries he saw last season, only because his style of running isn't really recommended in 300 carry-doses. Jacobs averages around 5 yards per carry, and is a load to bring down; anything north of 250 carries is asking for trouble. The Giants still have a capable RB stable with Ahmad Bradshaw, but Andre Brown's ruptured Achilles' Tendon almost boost Jacobs value. In 2008, the beast had five multi-TD games en route to a career high 15 TDs. Jacobs should see 200+ carries in 2009, and it will take an injury to keep this monster from scoring at least 10 TDs. Taking Jacobs in the top 20 isn't a bad plan, just keep in mind he may miss a few games during the season because of his punishing running style. Fantasy Forecast: 1100 total yards, 16 total TDs

Marion Barber

I'll get this out of the way quick: a friend tells me Felix Jones is going to unseat Marion the Barbarian as Dallas' number 1 RB by season's end. To be quite honest, I don't see Dallas as a team that will have a clear cut #1 runner. Barber has been successful in Dallas when he's in a committee, having scored 42 Total TDs in his four seasons with Dallas (which includes just 5 in his rookie year). The Dallas RB dipped in production in the later part of 2008, netting just 13 carries (18 total touches) in the season's final four games (he missed one). I still believe Barber is an effective NFL runner, but I'm doubting his reliability as a weekly fantasy starter. I would wait until after pick 30 to select Barber. Fantasy Forecast: 1100 total yards, 8 total TDs

The Back-Ups

Felix Jones

It will be likely that you'll need to invest a pick in the 80s to land Felix Jones in your draft, if not higher. Jones only played in 6 games during 2008, but scored 3 TDs and had 266 yards rushing. Not the most impressive numbers in the world, but considering his workload was shared with Barber, it's certainly not terrible. In most drafts, I would try to land Felix Jones before Marion Barber's owner can. Like McCoy, Jones makes an excellent hand-cuff to Barber, but he comes at a higher price. His potential to receive a fair amount of carries in 2009 make him an intriguing selection. Jones will most likely have the best fantasy numbers out of all the "back"-ups, making him a reasonable choice on draft day. Fantasy Forecast: 900 total yards, 6 total TDs

LeSean McCoy

I've got McCoy ranked as one of the highest "back"-up in this division because of his potential, not because I expect him to explode. Brian Westbrook is the man, but should he go down to injury, McCoy is a similar style all-purpose back, and the Eagles likely would use him the same. In other words, McCoy could produce like Westbrook produces, should he be given the rock on a steady basis. Expecting Westbrook to miss a few games isn't unrealistic, so if you've got Westbrook, I would try to land McCoy as a hand-cuff. Certainly a pick in the 120s would be ideal, but don't rule out having to spend a pick in the lower 100s on the rookie. Fantasy Forecast: Games Started 3

Ahmad Bradshaw

Bradshaw stands to see a few more carries in 2009, due to Ward's departure and Brown's injury. Considering Brandon Jacobs likely won't start in all 16 games also makes Bradshaw an intriguing option. Investing a draft selection in the Giants RB after pick 120 isn't a huge risk at all. In 2008, Derrick Ward had 182 carries for the Giants, while Bradshaw had 67. I don't expect Bradshaw to get a guaranteed 182 carries, but I expect at least 130. Like McCoy, Bradshaw stands to start some games if Jacobs' healthy can't hold up for a full slate of games. Fantasy Forecast: 140 carries, 2 games started

Ladell Betts

Betts is the Washington Redskins third down back heading into 2009, but I don't expect him to be much value for fantasy purposes unless Portis gets injured. It's almost a guarantee that you'll be able to find Betts undrafted or after pick 150 in your fantasy leagues. I don't expect much production from soon-to-be 30 year old, even as the Redskins third down specialist. Betts has shown the ability in the past to be a good all-purpose back (see: 2006), but with a healthy Portis hogging carries, Betts is going to need a huge amount of receptions to be of any value. Fantasy Forecast: Undrafted Free Agent at best

* all fantasy stats are based on 2007-2008 Yahoo! Standard Public league scoring

Giants Notebook: Smith out Monday, Andre Brown

Jim Schmiedeberg — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:08:55 -0000

More photos » by Mike Groll - AP

Browse more photos »

Mike Garafolo says Steve Smith is sitting out Monday night's game against the Panthers

John Carney, who earned a Pro Bowl nod playing for the Giants last year, is going back to New Orleans.

The Giants cannot put RB Andre Brown on IR yet, he would have to clear waivers, which would never happen.

NorthJersey.com has some notes from Saturday practice.

Giants News: RB Andre Brown out for the year

Jim Schmiedeberg — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:16:01 -0000

View full size photo »

Giants VP of Communications Pat Hanlon just sent this out on the Twitter:

Rookie RB Andrew Brown sufferes ruptured Achilles near end of practice; surgery on Tue; out for yr...tough break for rook who was doing well

Wow, too bad, the 4th round pick out of NC State was getting good reviews.

New York Giants training camp: Friday morning practice report

Ed Valentine — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:56:51 -0000

More photos » by Mike Groll - AP

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning talks to reporters during NFL football training camp in Albany on Friday. Manning finally signed the six-year extension that will make him the NFL's highest paid player with an average salary of roughly $15.3 million. The Giants announced the signing on Friday morning after spending more than a week completing the deal that will keep Manning with the team through the 2015 season.

Browse more photos »

Here is your Friday morning practice report from New York Giants training camp. Sorry it is a little late, but it has been a busy morning here in Albany.

The 'Wildcat' offense made an appearance this morning, mostly with rookie running back Andre Brown running it. Never fear, though, the Giants don't plan on using it. They were simply working on defending it, using second and third-team offensive players against the first team defense. Coach Tom Coughlin said, incidentally, that the timing of the work against the Wildcat had nothing to do with the Eagles signing Michael Vick.

We’ve been planning this all spring," Coughlin said. "It’s just (a matter of) when you introduce this because you know you’re going to see it this year. We really didn’t see it last year. We planned to do this and it just so happens that it was inserted for this morning. We’ll continue to do it as we can. As we go along here, we do have reduced practice time once we start playing. But we’ll continue to do that to try to make sure that our guys are ready for it when it occurs.

Brown, incidentally, threw an interception that got drew a very funny comment from Coughlin.

I saw him out here throwing the ball one day, but I’ll give you the rest of that. He said "I’m going to throw the ball" and I said, "Yeah, throw it to the guy in the flat." Did you see where he threw it? Down field and got it picked. Who’s he working for? He could be colorblind, I don’t know.

Eli Manning did finally sign his contract extension this morning. I will have more on that later if the Giants issue a release.
Discussing the Vick signing by Philadelphia, safeties coach Dave Merritt called Vick "the ultimate Wildcat quarterback."

With both Steve Smith (knee) and Sinorice Moss (hamstring) not practicing, Mario Manningham had a nice morning. His best catch was a leaping grab over Terrell Thomas, who had excellent coverage, on a lob from Manning.
I mentioned Andre Brown before. He seems to have moved ahead of Danny Ware for the third running back slot. He is getting many more reps.
Best throw of the day was a gorgeous floater from Andre Woodson to Travis Beckum, which dropped beautifully out of the sky into Beckum's arms in between a linebacker and a safety. Might be the best throw I have seen in the entire camp.
Interesting stuff going on with the linebackers. Coughlin says not to read anything into it, but Danny Clark has been working with the second team, Clint Sintim with the first group, Gerris Wilkinson has been taking some snaps at middle linebacker and Chase Blackburn has been outside lately.
One interception today, by Bruce Johnson on a ball Manning tried to squeeze inside to Manningham. Also, one bad snap -- zipped a mile over Brown's head by Adam Koets during the 'Wildcat' work.
Ramses Barden got to take a few snaps today matched up against Terrell Thomas, the biggest and most physical of the Giants' corners. He could not hang on to a beautifully thrown corner route on one play with Thomas draped all over him. On the second play, Thomas jammed him and he never really got into a pass route.
Domenik Hixon made a tremendous leaping catch on a back shoulder throw by Manning at one point.
NOTE: Check the 'Transcripts' page. A bit later I will have Coughlin's daily press briefing, a perhaps some other interviews for you.

New York Giants training camp: Thursday morning practice report

Ed Valentine — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:00:07 -0000

More photos » by Mike Groll - AP

New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree (85) blocks teammate DeAndre Wright during NFL football training camp in Albany Thursday.

Browse more photos »

The intensity was turned up -- way up -- during Thursday morning's practice session at New York Giants training camp.

The Giants went with shoulder pads for the first time, and there was some intense hitting.

Coach Tom Coughlin was still not happy with his offense, even though it looked a little better.

"The defense played well this morning. The quickness of our front was obvious ... saw some strong penetrating moves on the part of three or four different guys.

I'm disappointed in the fact that when we put the pads on it's time to put the pads on and you don't expect people to come clean ... but, it'll pick up. It's always that way early. Defense has been playing well, and the offense has gotta get in tune with it and catch up."

Here are some highlights.

Linebacker Kenny Ingram laid the first big hit of camp on rookie running back Andre Brown, most definitely signaling that things were getting serious. Ingram introduced himself to Brown again later in the camp with another nasty open-field hit.
Brown had a nice practice, popping through a couple of holes, including a nice bounce outside on one run. Not to be outdone, Danny Ware also ran the ball well this morning, including a nifty cut back run on a pitch out. NIce little competition between the two of them developing.

Here are some other defensive highlights.

Kenny Phillips made a couple of excellent run stops.
Chris Canty stuffed Ahmad Bradshaw on a run up the middle.
Aaron Ross came clean on a corner blitz and would have destroyed Eli Manning in live action.
Zak DeOssie had a couple of nice plays, including a highlight stop when he straightened up tackle Cliff Louis, and stopped Brown in the backfield.

Here are a few other offensive highlights.

Sinorice Moss caught the one long ball of the day from Manning, getting behind Aaron Ross. The Giants also ran a reverse to Moss that looked like it could have gained a good chunk of yardage. Someone on the sidelines yelled 'Mr. August' when Moss hauled in the ball.
Pretty good morning for Hakeem Nicks, who made a couple of good catches over the middle in traffic. Nicks missed a chance for a couple of big plays downfield, though. On one, he was behind his defender and Andre Woodson overthrew him. On another, Woodson badly underthrew him and Nicks attempted to adjust but could not haul in the ball. That one was in the end zone.
The other rookie receivers -- Ramses Barden and Travis Beckum -- each caught a handful of balls this morning.

Couple of lowlights.

These would, of course, involved center to quarterback exchanges. Kevin Boothe and Andre Woodson messed up one, it looked like Adam Koets and David Carr messed up another. There was also a third, but I couldn't see who snapped it. Veteran Tutan Reyes ended up taking a few turns at center. Who woulda thought Grey Reugamer would be the biggest off-season loss on this team? My guess is the backup center is someone who is not currently on the roster because right now if Shaun O'Hara is injured the Giants are in a world of hurt.
The other lowlight was a dropped pass by Brandon Jacobs. Please, please Kevin Gilbride -- do not call plays where Jacobs has to catch the ball.

An off-beat note.

Ever wonder what a placekicker does to keep himself busy during practice? Well, both Tuesday and today Lawrence Tynes took turns running pass routes during some defensive positioning drills. Tynes also took some turns playing quarterback during another set of cornerback drills. He can throw a little bit, by the way. Oh, the one disconcerting thing? The assistant coaches call Tynes 'LT.' Umm ... fellas, that's wrong.

Estimating the rookie contracts- Collie, Taylor

shake n bake — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:57:14 -0000

Moving backwards from the first installment to the two fourth round picks, Austin Collie (#127 overall) and Terrence Taylor (#136 overall)

Recapping, the Colts have been allotted just over 4mil for signing rookes of 7.5 to 8 million in cap room. They are unlikely to need very much of that space to sign the rookies. The biggest reason being that every rookie signed bumps a minimum salary player out of the top 51 of the roster, meaning that 310K comes off the cap at the same time as the signed rookie's hit goes on.

To the fourth rounders,

Austin Collie (#127 overall)

via media.lvrj.com

Last years' 4th rounder Jacob Tamme's (also #127 overall) contract details are only partially out there. He signed for 4 years and Coltscap has his 2009 cap charge (which allows for finding his signing bonus of 442K), but not a total cash number.

The picks directly before and after Collie remain unsigned, but Lawrence Sidbury (#125) and Andre Brown (#129)provide brackets 2 away from Collie in both directions. Sidbury signed with the Falcons for 4 years, worth 2.91mil, 441K of it signing bonus. Brown was inked by the Giants for 2.18mil over 4 years with 433K in bonus. Sidbury's agent seems to have done a very good job finding Sidbury 600K more than two earlier picks got in their four year contracts. Rich Ohrnberger (2.20mil) and Anthony Hill (2.21mil). Collies' deal will probably slot in with the earlier contracts rather than the outlier, Sidbury.

Like the Powers deal, contract total should slot in between the surronding players, but Collie will likely be getting a larger than usual chunk of real cash upfront, spreading the cap cash out more evenly across the deal.

My estimate- 4 years, 2.19mil, 450K bonus, 423K '09 cap hit

Running total (2 picks) 907K

Terrence Taylor (#136 overall)

via i90.photobucket.com

All four of the players around Taylor are signed, 3 of them to 4 year deals, giving pretty solid slotting for Taylor's deal. Troy Kropog and Gartrell Johnson, the two picks before Taylor both signed for 2.15mil contracts with 400k signing bonii. On the other side of Terrence Taylor, Jason Phillps signed a 3 year deal and William Middleton signed for 4 years, 1.96mil, with a 206K signing bonus. Why the big drop? Both the pre-Taylor picks and post-Taylor picks match up pretty well with the picks near them. The drop seems to show there is a significant difference (more than just a normal pick or two drop) between the end of the 4th round and the start of the 5th. Taylor was the final pick of the 4th round so should fit more in with the 4th rounders.

My estimate- 4 years, 2.10mil, 415K bonus, 414K '09 cap hit

Running total (3 picks) 1.3mil

2009 Schedule Preview: Week 5 vs. NY Giants

Saintsational — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:00:10 -0000

The Saints finally finish up their run of three straight New York-based opponents when they take on the Giants in the Superdome during week five of the season. Since last facing each other, the Giants went and won themselves a Super Bowl and became a perennial contender. To be sure, the G-Men will provide a tough test for the Saints, in particular, their agressive defense. Hopefully, the results of this years clash will closely mirror those of the last meeting between these two teams. Something tells me it won't.

Giants Offense

New Orleans native Eli Manning is still running the show in New York but the team around him has seen some change. To offset the loss of their two big receivers, Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, the Giants used their first round pick to take Hakeem Nicks in this years draft. They also selected receiver Ramses Barden and tight end Travis Beckum for added depth. Steve Smith (not that one), who led the team in receptions last year, will remain one of Manning's favorite targets while Domenik Hixon should develop quite nicely this season.

On the ground, Brandon Jacobs will certainly continue to be the main man for the G-Men, who led the league in rushing last season, but they've lost Derrick Ward, their 1,000-yard backup. Yes, that's right...backup. Ahmad Bradshaw should step up and fill that role in 2009 while a slew of other young backs like Danny Ware, Andre Brown, Allen Patrick and Dwayne Wright all fight for a spot in camp.

This is going to be a tough challenge for the Saints defense but certainly not impossible, especially if improvement really has been made.

Giants Defense

Two years ago the Giants defense was so good they were credited with taking down the almighty and undefeated New England Patriots. So good, in fact, that the Saints used them as a model for getting pressure on the quarterback last season. It didn't really work for the Saints but the Giants kept on rolling with 42 sacks and finished 2008 with the leagues fifth best defense. And all of this without Osi Umenyiora. Now Umenyiora is back and the team has also added defensive tackles Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty to further make their defensive line just scary good.

To help upgrade their linebacking corp, possibly the weakest aspect of their defense, the Giants have added Michael Boley and stole first round prospect Clint Sintim in the second round of this years draft to help veteran Antonio Pierce. This should definitely be an area of improvement in 2009.

In the pass defense department, New York has lost cornerbacks R.W. McQuarters and Sam Madison as well as safeties Sammy Knight and James Butler. The team is hoping that late round draft picks DeAndrew Wright and Stony Woodson along with safety C.C. Brown will offer depth behind Corey Webster, Kenny Phillips and Michael Johnson.

New Yorks defense definitely poses a legitimate threat to the Saints powerful offense. Not good.

Giants 2008 Season

12-4 Record

Last Meeting

December 24th, 2006

Week 16	1	2	3	4	OT	F
Saints	3	10	7	10	--	30
Giants	7	0	0	0	--	7

Why the Saints Can Win

They Saints have been known to shut down very talented running backs.

Why the Saints Can Lose

The Giants defense may be too much to handle.

Prediction

Saints 17 - Giants 15

Newly Acquired

TE George Wrighster

DT Chris Canty

DT Rocky Bernard

OLB Michael Boley

S C.C. Brown

2009 Draft Class

WR Hakeem Nicks

OLB Clint Sintim

OT William Beatty

WR Ramses Barden

TE Travis Beckum

RB Andre Brown

QB Rhett Bomar

CB DeAndre Wright

CB Stoney Woodson

Key Losses

RB Derrick Ward

RB Reuben Droughns

WR Plaxico Burress

WR Amani Toomer

TE Darcy Johnson

TE Martrez Milner

OT Shane Olivea

C Grey Ruegamer

DE Jerome McDougle

CB R.W. McQuarters

CB Sam Madison

S James Butler

S Sammy Knight

K John Carney

Linkage

Big Blue View

SB Nation Giants Coverage

Giants @ Saints Coverage

Giants Roster

Giants Transactions

Poll

What worries you more?

The Giants running game

38 votes

New York's defensive line

88 votes

Both of them

101 votes

Neither of them

38 votes

265 votes | Poll has closed

This year's useless try at predicting the Giants' season-opening 53-man roster

Ed Valentine — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:00:11 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, left, runs a drill with Rhett Bomar (5) and Andre Woodson during mini-camp last month. The competition for a roster spot between Bomar and Woodson will be one of training camp's most interesting.

Browse more photos »

OK, so with training camp only days away it is time to take a stab at predicting the season-opening 53-man roster. It's an exercise in complete futility. I mean, there is no way to predict injuries, and no guessing what veterans might get picked up right before the season starts.

But, I will take a stab at it anyway. Before Week 1 I will have to remember to look back and see how close I got.

Quarterbacks: Starter -- Eli Manning. Backup -- David Carr, Andre Woodson, Rhett Bomar.

The obvious fight here is between Bomar and Woodson for the third slot. Bomar, this year's fifth-round pick, was better than Woodson, last season's sixth-round pick, in the mini-camps. There is very little reason to think that won't still be the case in training camp. The Giants kept only two quarterbacks on the 53-man last season. Most teams keep three, and I am going to base this choice on Tom Coughlin keeping three.

The picks (3) -- Manning, Carr, Bomar

Running Backs: Starters -- RB Brandon Jacobs, FB Madison Hedgecock. Backup -- RB Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Danny Ware, RB Andre Brown, RB Allen Patrick, RB Dwayne Wright.

The roster spots here are easy to pick. The fight that will develop for carries behind Jacobs is not. I haven't got a clue who will emerge as the true backup behind Jacobs. I know, however, that between Bradshaw, Ware and the rookie Brown I'm not worried about it.

The picks (5) -- Jacobs, Hedgecock, Bradshaw, Ware, Brown.

Tight Ends: Starter -- Kevin Boss. Backup -- Michael Matthews, Darcy Johnson, Lee Vickers, Travis Beckum.

Third-round pick Travis Beckum wasn't drafted to block. Kevin Boss can block, but he is a pass-catcher. That means the third tight end has to be a big-time blocker, and that's what Matthews is.

The picks (3) -- Boss, Beckum, Matthews.

Wide Receivers: Starters -- Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon. Backups -- Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Taye Biddle, Shaun Bodiford, Derek Hagan, Micah Rucker, Hakeem Nicks, Ramses Barden.

There are likely six roster spots to be had out of this group, and barring injury or trade it is pretty clear who will get them. That means a sad goodbye to Super Bowl 42 hero David Tyree. It also means cult hero Micah Rucker is likely playing for a spot on the practice squad.

The picks (6) -- Smith, Hixon, Manningham, Moss, Nicks, Barden.

Offensive Linemen: Starters -- LT David Diehl, LG Rich Seubert, C Shaun O’Hara, RG Chris Snee, RT Kareem McKenzie. Backups -- T Guy Whimper, T/C Adam Koets, T Andrew Carnahan, G/T Kevin Boothe, T Cliff Louis, G/T Terrance Pennington, G Tutan Reyes, G/T Orrin Thompson, T Will Beatty.

Each and every Giants' fan should pray that this starting offensive line, one of the league's best, continues to stay healthy. There isn't much in the way of dependable backups.

Second-round pick William Beatty should make the team. Veteran guard Tutan Reyes is likely in. The versatility of being able to play guard and tackle probably gets Kevin Boothe a slot. There has to be a backup center, so Adam Koets probably also sneaks onto the roster.

The picks (9) -- Diehl, Seubert, O'Hara, Snee, McKenzie, Beatty, Reyes, Boothe, Koets.

Defensive Linemen: Starters -- LE Justin Tuck, LT Barry Cofield, RT Fred Robbins, RE Osi Umenyiora. Backups -- DE Mathias Kiwanuka, DE/DT Chris Canty, DT Rocky Bernard, DT Jay Alford, DE Dave Tollefson, DE Maurice Evans, DT Anthony Bryant, DT Jeremy Clark, DT Leger Douzable, DE Robert Henderson, DE Tommie Hill.

If everyone gets through camp healthy, some very good football players will wind up being available to the NFL's other teams. I doubt there is another unit in the league that is this talented and this deep. The hardest cut out of this group will be Dave Tollefson, a popular player who has played well at times in sporadic opportunities. But with all this depth, with Jay Alford doubling as snapper on field goals and PATs, and with the talented Maurice Evans likely ending up on the practice squad I don't know how Tollefson sticks around.

The picks (8) -- Tuck, Cofield, Robbins, Umenyiora, Kiwanuka, Canty, Bernard, Alford.

Linebackers: Starter -- SLB Danny Clark , MLB Antonio Pierce , WLB Michael Boley. Backup -- MLB Chase Blackburn, MLB Jonathan Goff, WLB Bryan Kehl, WLB Gerris Wilkinson, SLB Zak DeOssie, SLB Kenny Ingram, SLB Clint Sintim, MLB Kelvin Smith.

The picks (8) -- Clark, Pierce, Boley, Blackburn, Goff, Kehl, DeOssie, Sintim

Defensive Backs: Starter -- LCB Aaron Ross, RCB Corey Webster, FS Michael Johnson, SS Kenny Phillips. Backup -- CB Vince Anderson, SS C.C. Brown, SS/FS Steve Cargile, CB Kevin Dockery, CB Bruce Johnson, CB Travonti Johnson, FS Sha’reff Rashad, CB Terrell Thomas, CB Stoney Woodson, CB DeAndre Wright.

The Giants are deep and talented at cornerback, a fact that is incredibly important in today's pass and blitz-happy NFL. They aren't so deep at safety, and I think that might leave room for undrafted free-agent Sha'reff Rashad to sneak onto the roster.

The picks (9) -- Ross, Webster, Johnson, Phillips, Brown, Dockery, Rashad, Thomas, Wright.

Kickers (2): P Jeff Feagles, K Lawrence Tynes

Feagles is the best in the business at what he does. Tynes makes many Giants' fans nervous, but he is a perfectly acceptable veteran kicker.

-- New York Giants schedule