New York Giants
HISTORY
Joined the NFL in 1925 and have never relocated.
CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY
League Championships: 6 – 1927 (NFL), 1934 (NFL), 1938 (NFL), 1956 (NFL), 1986 (Super Bowl), 1990 (Super Bowl)
Conference Championships: 9 – 1956 (EFC), 1958 (EFC), 1959 (EFC), 1961 (EFC), 1962 (EFC), 1963 (EFC), 1986 (NFC), 1990 (NFC), 2000 (NFC)
Division Championships: 14 – 1933 (NFL East), 1934 (NFL East), 1935 (NFL East), 1938 (NFL East), 1939 (NFL East), 1941 (NFL East), 1944 (NFL East), 1946 (NFL East), 1986 (NFC East), 1989 (NFC East), 1990 (NFC East), 1997 (NFC East), 2000 (NFC East), 2005 (NFC East)
Playoff Appearances: 26 – 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1950, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2005
2005 Finish: 11-5, 1 st Place NFC East
Recent Records:
2004: 6-10 2005: 11-5 2006: 8-8
2008 NFL DRAFT GRADES
New York Giants: B+
I have to admit, the Giants know how to get value. I wouldn’t say that I love their draft picks, but they seemed to get the most bang for their buck. I didn’t like Phillips as a top 15 pick, but the last pick in Round 1 – great.
Terrell Thomas is just a good player. He’s got great size for a corner, and has the versatility to help at safety if the Giants need it. He’s just a good football player, and with the last pick of Round 2 is a good pick.
I didn’t like Mario Manningham as a 1st round pick, not even before he ran such a poor 40 time, but as the 95th pick overall, he’s an absolute steal. This kid was a force in college, even against the best defenses. He knows how to get the ball and is just a play maker. 95th, are you kidding me? Thievery.
Bryan Kehl did it all for BYU. He has nice speed and just makes plays. He rarely takes a misstep and really focuses in on doing everything the right way on the football field. At the very least, he’s going to be a stud on special teams.
Jonathan Goff was the 4th defensive player taken in the first 5 rounds (and picks) for the Giants. Goff is a much improved player and a two time team captain. Watching him, he might struggle at the next level if he continues to play around with blockers. He needs to learn to chuck them and not get caught up at the point of attack. He’s a nice player though, especially in Round 5.
Andre Woodson is being compared to Byron Leftwich, but I don’t know if that’s fair. He doesn’t have a missile arm like Lefty, and while he does have a similar size and long delivery, his touch is much better than the former Jaguar. Woodson was great in college, even against the best defenses in the land. He could be a steal this late. The Bears definitely should have given this kid a chance.
Robert Henderson was a great player at a lower level, and could turn into a steal this late. He dominated his competition and has solid size and overall ability. With Strahan retiring, Henderson will get a chance. I still think he’s a year or two away though.
2007 New York Giants
The Giants made the post season in 2006, but it had to be a complete accident. They nearly made out with a win in the first round, but the 8-8 record they got in with was much more pathetic than .500 usually is. Eli Manning struggled mightily, despite his 24 touchdown passes. Eli was so inconsistent, he took two steps behind his draft class mates, Ben Roethlisberger and Phillip Rivers. 2007 gives Eli another chance to prove he’s not just Peyton’s little brother, so it should be fun. Plaxico Burress played well for the Giants, but Eli’s inconsistency had Plax showing his frustration on the field, letting up a little, in turn getting a bad lazy tag by his teammates. And I haven’t even talked about Tiki yet. Barber had a great season for the Giants, but also was labeled a distraction by many for his retirement announcement halfway through the season. What a gong-show. And with all that, coach Tom Coughlin will be back at the helm, trying to get this very talented team back on top of the NFC East, a very competitive league to be fighting for your job in, that’s for sure.
2007 Off-Season Plans:
I’m not sure what the Giants are trying to do, but I believe they have built a three headed tank in the backfield. Everyone knows how Brandon Jacobs runs, and if signing fullback crushing blocker Vonta Leach wasn’t enough to add power in the backfield, New York also traded Tim Carter to the Browns for Reuben Droughns. Reuben was Cleveland’s best offensive player in 2005, but ‘06 was another story as Droughns struggled throughout the season. I don’t know how any of these three will help with the loss of the multi-talented Tiki, but they should cause a stinger or two to opposing linebackers. After that, the Giants haven’t done much aside from lose key players. LaVar Arrington was cut after having yet another knee injury. Carlos Emmons was also let go, as were the following players; Jay Feely, Chad morton, Luke Petitgout, Visanthe Shiancoe, Frank Walker, and Bob Whitfield. It will be interesting to see what the Giants do to fill all their holes. Overall, the Giants definitely have some work to do on draft day. After letting Arrington and Emmons go, the Giants need help at linebacker now. I’m not in to picking strictly based on need, but there are a few stud linebackers that are first round worthy, surely the Giants would love to pick one. In my first mock I have Lawrence Timmons getting plucked by New York with the 20th pick, but some late movers, Paul Posluszny, Brandon Siler, or if they’re lucky maybe even Patrick Willis. It’ll be interesting to see what the Giants do to assure they’ll improve defensively this season.
