4 Encouraging Signs Heading into New York Giants' 2012 Season

This is a great time to be a New York Giants fan. Besides coming off a Super Bowl win, there are four more encouraging signs for all G-Men fans. 

Tom Coughlin being your head coach is always a good thing in the NFL, having Osi Umenyiora for another year doesn't hurt either. 

The Giants have a chance to do something really special next year, and these four things could very well lead to that. 

Tom Coughlin Is Under Contract

Tom Coughlin is under contract through 2014 for the New York Giants.

Yes.

Two Super Bowls in five years and we still get some more of Coughlin? Fine by me. 

He'll have this team in competing shape this coming season, and I wouldn't expect anything less from Coughlin at this point. 

The Osi Umenyiora Saga Is Solved

Osi Umenyiora is going to play out this coming season, and then he's a free man (h/t Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN).

There's been a lot of drama going on for a guy who has two functioning eyeballs and knew what he signed when he did, but it's finally over. 

He's obviously one of the top pass-rushers in the game. He recorded nine sacks last season and he only played in nine games!

And when it was money time, in the postseason, Umenyiora netted 3.5 sacks. 

The New York Giants Have Plenty of Targets on Offense

Eli Manning is going to have a lot of fun this season. 

Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, Rueben Randle, Jerrel Jernigan, Domenik Hixon, Martellus Bennett, Travis Beckum, Adrien Robinson and Chris Hopkins to name a few.

Give an elite quarterback like Eli Manning, who's just into his prime, these kind of toys and you're going to have a lot to look forward to come football season if you're a New York Giants fan. 

Their Defense Can Only Improve

We all know how bad their defense was during the majority of last season, but it'll improve this coming season.

Why? Because it can't get that much worse. But they have made some actual improvements to this defense.

Signing Keith Rivers was huge, so was getting Terrell Thomas to come back. Prince Amukamara will be back and ready to perform, and having a motivated Osi Umenyiora doesn't hurt either. 

Eli Manning Is Still Breathing

He is still breathing, right? Right? Okay, cool.