Perhaps more than any professional sports season in recent memory, the Giants' 2009 campaign has been a roller-coaster ride for the ages.

Starting the season 5-0 with impressive wins over Washington, Dallas, Oakland, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay, the Giants seemed to be destined for their second Super Bowl appearance in three years. 

New York's upcoming Week 6 matchup at the Superdome in New Orleans was viewed by many as a preview to the NFC Championship game, and widely considered a game-of-the-year candidate. Surely the two powerhouses, with potent offenses and stifling defenses, would provide a down-to-the-wire matchup that fans would remember for years to come.

It didn't quite turn out that way.

Feeding off of the energy of the hometown fans, New Orleans rode the coattails of Drew Brees and his 369 passing yards and four touchdowns to a blowout 48-27 win that would come to define the seasons of both franchises. The Saints posted an undefeated record through Week 14, while the Giants went on to lose four games in a row.

All hope was not lost, however. While four of Big Blue's five wins were against teams that had a combined 15 wins through Week 16, all four losses were against playoff contenders.

And when a crucial Week 11 matchup versus Atlanta resulted in a Giants victory, the season seemed headed back in the right direction. The spirits of Giants fans were lifted.

Not too fast, Giants faithful.

A theme throughout the entire season had been the Giants inability to get pressure on the quarterback. On Thanksgiving night, the problem once again reared its ugly head as the Giants plummeted back to earth with an embarrassing 26-6 loss to Denver.

The rest of the season continued to be a tease for Giants fans, as they alternated wins and losses for six weeks. Uplifting victories versus Dallas and Washington were followed by deflating losses to Philadelphia and Carolina.

In Week 16, with a humiliating 41-9 defeat at the hands of the Carolina Panthers and with the Cowboys' drubbing of the Redskins, the Giants were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since Eli Manning's rookie season in 2004.

And as Giants fans and Giants management look towards the offseason, change is definitely coming. It seems difficult, however, to pinpoint which areas of change to prioritize. It even is difficult to wonder if some areas even should be changed. For a more detailed look at what changes should be made, click here. 

The top of the ladder is the coaching staff, and that is where one must start when evaluating a team. And while Head Coach Tom Coughlin deserves a few years of leniency following his Super Bowl Victory, and Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride did a serviceable job, the performance by first-year Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan has been far less than impressive. 

The same defense that had been known for harassing quarterbacks and running backs alike was seen missing tackles and assignments on a regular basis. A team that had been ranked fifth in the NFL in scoring defense in 2008 found itself ranked twenty-eighth in 2009, despite the return of former Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora.

But can such a precipitous drop be purely attributed to one person? Such a claim seems far-fetched, and under further examination, there are many people to blame for the failure of the 2009 New York Giants. But nearly all of those in question have done things right in the past, and one wonders whether one season of failure means the doom of their careers.

General Manager Jerry Reese had a horrendous offseason in free agency, with all four of his major offseason acquisitions (Chris Canty, Rocky Bernard, CC Brown, and Michael Boley) failing in their first season in New York. But Reese is the same man who had one of the best drafts in the history of the NFL leading up to New York's Super Bowl XLII victory. He is also the same man who made the astute decision to not pursue wideout Braylon Edwards, who has faltered with the Jets.

Can you really fire a man who led your team to a Super Bowl victory just two years ago?

Then, there is the story of the Giants' two starting defensive ends, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck. Tuck, who was a Pro Bowler in 2008, has amassed just six sacks in 2009. Has the league caught up to Tuck? Or is he just a victim of several nagging injuries that have plagued him since the first few weeks of the season?

Umenyiora was a Pro Bowler in 2007, but missed the entire '08 campaign with a knee injury. Are his seven sacks and inability to defend against the run a direct result of the knee injury? Or will he recover and revert to his pre-injury, All-Pro form?

What about the offensive line? The same five lineman that set a record for consecutive starts and led the Giants to a top ranked running game in 2008 has been a liability most weeks for the '09 Giants. Are they over the hill? Or is poor performance a result of injury and poor coaching?

Then there is the perplexing case of second-year safety Kenny Phillips. Phillips seemed headed towards a Pro Bowl season in 2009, but developed arthritis in his knee and missed the rest of the season. The injury completely compromised the Giants' secondary, as well as their defense. A lack of depth at the safety position meant blitzing was a risky proposition, adding to the Giants difficulty of applying pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Is the promising young safety's career over? Or can he recover from this horrible injury and continue to progress towards Pro Bowl status?

These are the real question marks heading into the offseason. And while the obvious problems of a lack of talent at the defensive tackle and linebacker positions will surely be addressed, how GM Jerry Reese tackles these issues will define the success of future Giants teams.

My guesses are that Sheridan is mostly to blame, while injuries have led to the decline in production from the defensive ends. 

However, Phillips' injury may prove to be the most crucial predicament of the offseason. Because the Giants were so severely exploited by the deep pass in 2009, improving the safety positions is vital to success next year. 

If Phillips can come back healthy, the Giants secondary will be solidified and they will be able to shift their focus towards improving the interior of their defensive line and their linebacking corps. Without Phillips, the Giants offseason will likely prove to be a chaotic, and perhaps franchise-disintegrating affair.

New York would need to devote a high draft pick or a large sum of money towards acquiring a top-flight safety. If that acquisition failed, then the outlook for the 2010 season would not be promising.

The one thing that we do know however, is that change is coming. Jerry Reese is the same man who controversially cut veterans Carlos Emmons, LaVar Arrington and Luke Pettigout following his hiring in 2007. Eight months later, the Giants were riding down the Canyon of Heroes on parade floats.

Reese will not hesitate to institute change, and might do so in ways that are completely unforeseen. This offseason may prove to be one of the most important in Giants history, and if Jerry Reese is able to rectify the situation than he will truly show his worth.

So get to work, Jerry. Your future is on the line.