New York Giants: Preseason Position Battles

The Giants are set to open up a 3-day mandatory mini-camp.  This will be the first mandatory OTA for Tom Coughlin and his troops.

This winter and spring brought about joy and excitement for BIG BLUE with the Super Bowl win and also with the drafting of players from football powerhouses.

Last season saw rookies Steve Smith, Ahmad Bradshaw and Kevin Boss on the offensive end, along with Jay Alford and Aaron Ross on the defensive side.  There will now be a lot of position battles for the Giants coaching staff to evaluate.

The Defensive Tackle position is one of depth for the Giants, which includes Barry Cofield, Fred Robbins and Jay Alford.  On third down, Justin Tuck will usually line up inside and rush the passer.  All three of the other tackles have talent, are still on the upside and can rush the passer in Spagnuolo's high-pressure defense.

Alford had his glory in the Super Bowl and sacked Tom Brady to close the coffin on any comeback bid the Patriots had.  I think that the starters will be Cofield and Robbins. Alford will wait his turn, but they will all rotate in and out. 

Having fresh defensive lineman is a good idea to give the defense a look consisting of different players and also each player can give it their all because they will be well rested.

Today in the NFL, you need a two-running back system to be successful.  The "problem" for the Giants is that they have four running backs who could play probably for any other NFL team. 

Jacobs will absolutely, mark my word, will be one of those guys barring injury.  That leaves my favorite player in the NFL, Ahmad Bradshaw, Derek Ward and Rueben Droughns to compete for one of those spots.

Ward is the best pass catcher, Bradshaw is the quickest and has the most upside and Droughns is the most experienced and also has been a feature back.

I think the second-most used running back will be Bradshaw, because he just provides the home run ability. If you turn on the Super Bowl, you will see that he runs really hard and can break tackles.

Ward, though, could see some action on third down and also occasionally can spell Jacobs or Bradshaw. Droughns will play special teams and could see carries in goal line and short yardage situation.

Recently in an NFL article on ESPN, they ranked the top 64 running backs and Ahmad Bradshaw was left off, yet Ward was ranked 58th, so maybe the Giants do like Ward. 

Besides the Defensive line, what else helped propel the G-Men to their third all-time Super Bowl win?  The answer is David Tyree, who could see some action although he is out until training camp.

Hopefully, the Giants will exercise loyalty and play him, because he made possibly the greatest play in sports history and also scored a touchdown in that quarter. 

The Giants like a lot of these receivers, but really only four of them will play on a consistent basis.  Plaxico Burress will be in there, everyone knows that.  Plax is tough, big, physical and Eli's go-to guy.

Amani Toomer has been on the team since 1996 and is a tough-nosed receiver. He has lost a step but still provides veteran poise and leadership.

Steve Smith made big catch after big catch in the Super Bowl; four of the five were on third down. The two left are Sinorice Moss who at times looks lost, and  third-round pick Mario Manningham. 

Moss was supposed to be a big-play threat, but at times he drops easy passes, doesn't always run forward with the ball after the catch but rather tries to make big plays when they aren't there.

Manningham has some baggage but many believe he was a first-round talent.  It will be tough to see who gets the playing time behind Plax, Toomer and Smith but I would say that the GMEN will look to get Manningham involved.

The tight end battle will not be so much involved, because there are only two candidates and eventually could only be one.  Jeremy Shockey has been disgruntled this off-season about how some suggest the Giants are better with Kevin Boss. 

Shockey is the best all-around tight end in football. He possesses great hands, speed but most of all a passion for the game which really is reflected in his blocking ability.  Shockey has made it no secret that he wants out of New York.

Kevin Boss could be a future star at tight end. He has great size at nearly 6-foot-7, decent speed and good hands.  He also is much more quiet and Eli feels no pressure to get him the ball because Boss lets the offense come to him.  If the Giants keep Shockey, which I see them doing, they could feature some 2 tight end sets, or rotate them in and out. 

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