With the expected (my expectation) maturation of Clint Sintim and JPP, I was thinking about the rotations we could use for the defensive line and linebackers. 

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As we get closer to the return of football, I'd like to put my thoughts out there on record.  If I'm right, I'll get a table at the New Meadowlands Stadium where you can get signed copies of my "I told you so" list.  If I'm wrong, well... I'm sure you'll think of something.

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When Perry Fewell was hired last off-season, we thought that the Giants would be switching to a Tampa 2 defense.  Fewell and his assistants kept denying it though. 

NJ.com:

"I would label Coach Fewell as a multiple-front, multiple-, multiple-coverage defensive coordinator," Merritt said. "He is the furthest from a Tampa-2 guy."

A year later, I think we'd all agree that we run a Tampa 2 defense.  Of course, there are many blitzes, stunts, and coverages that make the defense "multiple" but everything is a wrinkle to the original Tampa 2 base defense.

The T2 defense is still new to most of us.  Nobody in our division besides us runs it.  In fact, the only team on the  2011 schedule that runs it is Chicago and the only teams on the 2010 schedule that ran it were Minnesota, Chicago, and Indianopolis.  That's not a great sampling.  If we're going to properly prescribe what we need in the draft and in free agency, we must first analyze the T2 defense. 

To help me do that, I will be using Monte Kiffin's 1999 Tampa Bay Buccaneers playbook.

Note: All of the photos have been scaled down.  Click on them for a larger and clearer view.  Unless otherwise specified, anything in a block quote comes directly from the playbook.  All rights reserved.

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CBS Sports had a feature detailing the best (they called it top) and worst draft picks of each team in each round since 2000.  Let's take a look at the choices.

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I keep hearing about 2007 when talking about this team.  It's a long way from Super Bowl no.4 but I decided to recount the similarities.

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As we approach training camp, let's take a look at some of the position battles.   Reply with the name of whom you expect to win the job heading into Week 1.  There are plenty from which to choose. Actually, I can't remember the last time this many spots were open for change.  Some of the 2009 incumbents won't be contested too much but I included them for the sake of posterity.

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Keith Bullock wanted to become a Giants and he got his wish. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/news/story?id=5407144

Just walking the streets of New York gave me my edge back," said Bulluck, 33, a former Pro Bowl player spent the last 10 seasons with the Tennessee Titans. "Some of those walks were tough, man. Like when it's raining or sleeting or it's just cold out. And your knee aches. I wasn't 100 percent at the time. But the energy of it all helped me. Just the people, the good attitudes, the bad attitudes, just the whole vibe of the metropolitan area. If you're from there or have ever been there, you definitely know what I'm talking about. I'd have to say this is a dream come true.

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If anything could be considered a bright spot from the 2009 season, then it would have to be the emergence of the Giants' wide receivers. 

Steve Smith established himself as a legitimate threat in the intermediate game, setting a single-season franchise record for receptions.  He has an uncanny knack for finding soft spots in the defense. 

Hakeem Nicks showed a big play-making ability.  He was tied for first in receiving yards by a rookie WR and was top 20 out of all WRs in AVG yards per reception.  That's not bad for a player who had only six starts, especially since Giants rookie WRs often don't fare well. 

As for Mario Manningham, his rookie year was stunted by missing training camp with an injury then missing various games with a sickness.  Despite his issues with the sidelines and dropped passes, Manningham still managed to be 2nd in total yards, yards per game, and TDs out of all 2nd-year WRs.  Out of all no. 2 WRs in the NFL, he was top-seven in yards and receptions.

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Brandon Jacobs.  That's what Pete Prisco of CBS Sports thinks.  Even when Jacobs was getting 1,000-yard seasons in 2007 and 2008, Prisco felt that he was overrated.  He thinks that "the Giants offense is significantly better when Ahmad Bradshaw, all 5-9 of him, is in the backfield."

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Mort seems to know something that no other news outlet or reporter knows: Osi Umenyiora is likely to be traded this off-season. We've discussed it at length but it was all conjecture. According to Mort, it's approaching reality.

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It's so hard to decipher fact from rumor from posturing.

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Mathias Kiwanuka talks about the defense and his future.  Kenny Phillips talks about his rehab. It's on the ESPN New York site here.

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As we all know, Andre Brown suffered from an Achilles injury in training camp last year.  He was doing very well prior to the injury and was giving the coaches confidence in his ability to replace Derrick Ward.  After the poor, injury-plagued  seasons by Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, the uncertainty of Brown's recovery is especially troublesome. It's been hard to find any definitive information on past NFL players' return to action - until now.

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The Giants cannot head into 2010 with both Mathias Kiwanuka and Osi Umenyiora.  They both want to start and circumstance revolving around each player dictate that the Giants must move one.

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I don't quite understand the love affair that my fellow Giants fans have with Osi Umenyiora.  What has he proven in his career?  He's had 2 big seasons.  One of them was skewed by having six sacks in one game.  Yes, you still count those six sacks but that was an aberration - not the norm. The other season was with a resurgent Strahan on the other side.  Tuck wasn't even a starter and he had just one less sack than Osi in that season.  I understand that Tuck benefited from Strahan as well but Tuck proved himself in 2008 when he was without both Osi and Strahan.

Some will point to Osi leading the 2009 team in sacks. Don't be fooled.  Anyone who followed the Giants this season knows that Osi sold out for the sack anytime defensive guru Bill Sheridan didn't have him dropping back into coverage.  Over the course of a 16-game schedule, you're bound to get some sacks if that's all you go for on virtually every snap.  Conversely, his numbers against the run were putrid.  According to Pro Football Focus, he was 114th out of 133 DEs against the run in 2009.  (Gaines Adams is counted twice - once with TB and once with CHI.)  If he were more controlled, he would've been better against the run and had fewer sacks, thus negating the flashy sack numbers to which fans point. 

For my Giants' sake, I hope Osi does indeed have a great 2010 campaign.  I don't think he's beyond being a productive player for the Giants but he's not an untouchable commodity either.   I wouldn't be adverse to trading him in an effort to get McClain or trading him just to move him and drafting Dunlap in his stead (pending the combine).  

What say ye?