The Sports Guru

Projected Record

8-8, 4th Place NFC East

Projected Schedule W/L
Indianapolis           (W)
@Philadelphia         (L)
@Seattle                (L)
Washington            (W)
@Atlanta                (L)
@Dallas                 (L)
Tampa Bay            (W)
Houston                 (W)
Chicago                  (W)
@Jacksonville         (L)
@Tennessee           (L)
Dallas                     (W)
@Carolina               (L)
Philadelphia            (W)
New Orleans           (W)
@Washington          (L)

How long does it take a predominately verteran football team to grow tired of the antics of a military-style head coach?  Apparently about 2 years, because as Tom Coughlin heads into season three in New York the Giants appear to be right at that point.  It started after the playoff loss at home to Carolina.  Tiki Barber, a veteran teamleader, insinuated that the Giants had been “outcoached”, among other things, which caught Coughlin off-guard.  He was visibly shaken when asked about it, and talked to Tiki to clear the air.  Right now everyone is saying the right things, but how long is it going to take the Giants’ players to totally tune Coughlin out?  We may find out this season.

Team Strengths – Barber is still highly productive, even after hitting his 30’s, usually a death sentence to running backs.  Michael Strahan is still getting to the quarterback, and coupled with Osi Umeniyoora make up the best DE bookends in the League.  LaVar Arrington was added to a linebacker corp that was devestated by injuries late last season.  Former Baltimore Raven Will Demps was brought in to shore up a secondary exposed by Carolina in the playoffs.  The Giants have some playmakers at receiver, with Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey leading the way, and a quarterback that should be primed for a breakout season in Eli Manning.

Team Weaknesses - Team chemistry is a big issue on the Giants.  It is well documented that Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress have a rocky relationship to say the least.  Shockey has also criticized Manning, so how this all plays out will be something to watch.  Manning is not the vocal leader his brother is and his demeanor is starting to create problems in the locker room.  Even with the addition of Demps, the DB’s are a concern.  Steve Smith and Co. smoked the Giants during the playoffs and the DB play will have to improve for the Giants to have success in the East.  The Giants totally confused me and everyone else drafting a D-Lineman, Mathias Kiwanuka, in the draft.  D-Line is a position of strength and the Giants failed to upgrade he areaas that need it, like the O-Line.


Best Case Scenario – Winning can cure alot of ills.  If Eli breaks out and has a huge season then alot of the issues described above will be Non-issues.  Based on history, Tiki is playing on borrowed time but may have 1 more 2200+ yards combined season in him.  Burress and Shockey stay healthy and are consistent big play threats.  LaVar Arrington needs to play up to the potential everyone thinks he has. Some injuries to key players on the Cowboys, Redskins and Eagles wouldn’t hurt as well.

Worst Case Scenario – If the chemistry issues continue to fester and the Manning/Burress/Shockey love trianlge continues to worsen things could get bad in a hurry.  Most “experst” think the NFC East is the toughest division in football.  I agree, with the Giants finishing in last place with an 8-8 record.  The record could be worse if the Coughlin dynamic doesn’t improve.  

My Opinion – The Giants are a ticking timebomb.  Coughlin can wear out a welcome quickly and it is only a matter of time before the team leaders tune him out.  Eli Manning has yet to prove he is going to be anything close to his brother.  Unlike Peyton, Eli has a bad relationship with his big guns and that can’t make for a good huddle.  It is hard for a quarterback to be a team leader when he doesn’t have the respect of his teammates.  Winning can cure all but this division is too good, and the Giants too mediocre, for it to keep these issuues under wraps for long.  If the Giants don’t make the playoffs, Coughlin couold be gone.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 11th, 2006 at 12:43 pm and is filed under Broncos/NFL, 2006 NFL Preview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.