Plaxico Burress' Replacements Will Decide The New York Giants' Fate

The 2009 Giants are built to win now at almost every position. The defense, led by DE stars, Justin Tuck and returning stud, Osi Umenyori, should be near the top of the league once again.

The offense, led by a maturing Eli Manning and the earth and fire duo of the bruising Brandon Jacobs and the speedy Ahmad Bradshaw should yield results similar to last year.

Once again, they will be protected by one of the most underrated but extremely efficient offensive line.

The real question mark for the Giants and all of their fans is at wide receiver. Everyone knows Plaxico Burress' off the field issues meant he was a goner, but we also knew his absence was THE reason our season ended early last year.

There is no denying that not only was he one of the most talented receiver in the league, he was Eli Manning and the Giants No. 1 weapon. Without him, Eli was clearly unable to stretch the field and take advantage of mismatches as Plaxico constantly demanded a double team.

We are starting 2009 with a team clearly ready to compete for a championship if, and it’s a big if, someone from the core of young receivers steps up big time. None of them necessarily has to fill Plax's shoes individual throughout the course of the season.

Quite frankly, none of the Giants wideouts possess the combo of skill and size to do so. However, collectively, one player or another must emerge game in and game out as a deep threat and someone must emerge as a new security blanket for Eli.

Remember, he no longer has the reliable Amani Toomer, especially effective on difficult 3rd downs. 

A look at the numbers is not promising.

Our new No. 1 receiver, Steve Smith, had a modest 57 catches last year and 2 TDs.  Our No. 2 Dominic Hixon, 43 catches, 2 TD, filled in admirable for Plaxico at times, made a few big drops that made us all remember he is NOT Plaxico.

Those number must double for the Giants to even win the division in the ever competitive NFC East. 

As for the rest of the gang of rookies and developing wideouts, we can hope that GM Jerry Reese has done it again in the draft and that they will be ready to contribute right away.

Realistically, without a stud number one receiver (unless this team pulls of an in season trade to get one) there will be no tickertape parade in downtown NY in February 2009.  They will more than likely be in the 10-11 win range and a playoff contender, but nothing more.