With the addition of a former MVP quarterback it appears the New York Giants are trying to bridge the gap between a team on the decline and one completely immersed in rebuilding. But in the process, have they done little more than place a band-aid on a fully hemorrhaging head wound?
With questions up and down the roster, it appears GM Ernie Accorsi is hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with a quick fix at QB that will help mask many of the other shortcomings on this roster. Obviously, with the No.1 overall draft selection sitting on the bench, this is nothing more than a temporary fix. And unless several questions are answered in training camp, this might be no fix at all.
Quarterback
The Giants paid a steep price to land their quarterback of the future, Eli Manning, while also allowing incumbent starter Kerry Collins to move on to the Oakland Raiders. The lack of experience at the position prompted Accorsi to bring in former two-time league MVP Kurt Warner to bridge the gap until Manning is ready to start.
Warner is hoping to rejuvenate a once-spectacular career while in the Big Apple, but if you take a look at the reasons he failed in his final seasons in St. Louis, I think it’s obvious New York is not the ideal situation for him to rebound. As he rose to stardom with the Rams, he was surrounded by a very talented receiving corps, a running back that was a tremendous threat to catch the ball out of the backfield, and an offensive line that allowed him the time to make decisions in the passing game.
The Giants have nowhere near the talent at wide out that the Rams had in their Super Bowl years, but the biggest concern has to be the play of the offensive line, which struggled mightily in 2003. As the play of the Rams offensive line diminished in St. Louis, so did the play and the health of Warner. And unless the G-Men see a marked improvement in the trenches, I see more of the same for a quarterback that has proven to be turnover- and injury-prone over the last couple years.
Jesse Palmer, aka “The Bachelor” is penciled in as the No.3 behind Warner and Manning, but he could be released before the season in favor of a younger developmental prospect like the overweight and inconsistent Jared Lorenzen or NFL Europe prospect Ryan Van Dyke.
Running Backs
Tiki Barber is a very talented runner, but he lacks size and continues to put the ball on the ground on a consistent basis. But the biggest problem facing the Giants at the running back position is a lack of depth. Ron Dayne is strictly a between-the-tackles type of runner with little burst through the hole or ability to make defenders miss.
Delvin Joyce offers some versatility and is a good special teams player, but I think he and Antwoine Womack would struggle to make the roster of just about any other team based solely on their ability as running backs.
Wide Receiver
The Giants have a solid one-two punch at wide receiver with Amani Toomer and Ike Hilliard, but they must stay healthy. With a lack of depth at the position, the Giants have to be concerned about Hilliard’s past injury problems. The team is counting on Tim Carter as the third receiver in multiple-receiver sets, but he has also struggled to stay healthy in his first two seasons, missing 15 of 32 games.
Should injury strike again, the Giants will be forced to turn to ’03 sixth-round draft choices Willie Ponder, David Tyree, or rookie Jamaar Taylor, another sixth-rounder. Veteran journeymen JuJaun Dawson and James McKnight are also in the mix for the No. 4 and No. 5 slots.
Tight End
The return of a healthy Jeremy Shockey should do wonders for the passing game, but after off-season foot surgery, it appears he will miss part of training camp. Should his latest health issue drag into the season, the Giants will again lack a presence in the middle of the field that can stretch defenses. Should he come back fully healthy, I would expect him to return to an elite status and cause defenses match-up problems with his speed and size.
Developmental prospect Visanthe Shiancoe showed enough last season to be penciled in as the No. 2 tight end, and despite the fact that he is still very raw, he has enough athletic ability to make the offense very dangerous in two-tight end formations.
Offensive Line
The biggest key for the Giants in ’04 is going to be the play of their offensive line. The resurgence of Warner and the development of Eli Manning depend completely on the performance of the starting unit. Injuries decimated this squad in 2003, but that allowed the Giants to develop a little depth by allowing some of their youngsters to play.
