For those of you who have read all year...first of all THANKS, and also take some time to look back and see how we predicted the year as it went along. We stated earlier that the Giants would need to win on the road this year to be successful (5-3 on road and home). We also stated they would finish 10-6 and that one team this year might miss the playoffs with 10 wins. We thought their would be changes at fullback and on the O-Line, and that the defense would again become dominant. I think we did pretty good this year describing the action and predicting what the organization would do.
Tom Coughlin is back thankfully, and I wouldn't look for any major coaching changes unless someone takes a job somewhere else and needs to be replaced. Tom Quinn the special teams coach would really be the only person in jeopardy, but he is young and will probably get a chance to improve his unit.
The needs of this team are obvious and not all that many. A lot will depend on how guys return from injury. Will Steve Smith be 100% healthy? Does Kiwi come back? Will Rich Seubert be able to overcome his knee injury? Is Shawn Andrews' back problem manageable? All these questions need to be answered before any moves would be made. Also with the Collective Bargaining Agreement still not settled, all free agency signings will be put on hold. The Giants won't address their own free agents or others before an agreement is in place. Also we have the 19th pick in the draft, but that might also be delayed until some understanding is in place as to a rookie salary cap, or at least max pay per draft slot.
This team needs: More Linebackers, better safety play, but the pieces seem to be on the team, and younger offensive linemen. A guy like Mitch Petrus will get every opportunity to win a job next year, along with the continued development of Adam Koets, Wil Beatty and Kevin Boothe. Free agency might be the way to go for the linebacker position (Chad Greenway, Ben Lieber), but time will tell and the timetable might be altered this year.
All in all a decent year...Nice new stadium that will continue to improve, continuity in the coaching staff, and a winning record. The defense showed why it is considered one of the best, and the offense showed that if it can hold on to the ball, it can be very productive.
Updates as things progress.........Have a good off-season, and again thanks for reading!
