New York Giants Positional Battles: Recievers and The Defensive Line

These are the two biggest positional battles that will (hopefully) sort themselves out by the time the Giants kick off their season.  On one side, we have the wide receivers—young unproven, and generally considered the weakest point of the team and the biggest question mark. 

The complete counterpoint is the defensive line—stacked with an abundance of veteran talent, the question is: where is everyone going to fit in?  Two completely different situations, but both are probably the most important questions for the 2009 New York Giants.

The wide receiver group is a leap of faith, to say the least.  For the better part of the past four years, Eli Manning has had the potent, veteran savvy duo of Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer to throw to.  With those two gone, the average age for a Giants wide receiver has plummeted to 24 and a half years old (and that could still go down, as Super Bowl hero David Tyree is the oldest at 29, and not guaranteed a roster spot). 

The most reliable wide out left on the roster is Steve Smith, the third year vet out of Southern California who runs crisp routes and possesses great hands.  Still, he’s seemingly a lock for the slot receiver, leaving us two open ended starters and their backups.  So what do we have?

(Note: I am not covering Taye Biddle, Shaun Bodiford, and Derek Hagan.  At most, one will take up a spot on the practice squad—for the purpose of this article they will have no discernible impact on the 2009 NY Giants).

Domenik Hixon

Like most of these players, Hixon has shown flashes, but can be inconsistent at times.  To my surprise, he is listed at 6'2", since I always thought he was just about six feet.  He is entering his fourth year, and has enough experience and skill to be the No. 1 guy for now.  The question is, what happens to him in the return game? 

He is more dynamic than anyone else on the roster at returning kicks. But teams tend to limit the special teams work of their starters, so it will be interesting to see how they use him in the return game and the passing game.

Mario Manningham

Is it possible for a second year guy to be on thin ice?  If it is, Manningham has pulled off the feat with flying colors.  In and out of the lineup for most of the season, the third round pick and former Michigan standout stat line looked like this: no touchdowns, four receptions and 26-yards.  That is not acceptable in any sense of the word. 

According to special teams coach Tom Quinn: Manningham is working out in the return game[1], so maybe he can stick there.  The fact is, Super Mario still has to prove himself to get on the field this year.  Although I do not believe he will be cut, he will be way down on the depth chart, and will have to work for everything he gets.

Sinorice Moss

If Manningham is on thin ice, Moss is already flailing in the water. Personally, I loved the pick of Moss in 2006—I thought he could be dynamic, explosive, and add a wrinkle to the Giants offense. Unfortunately, injuries and a lack of production have hindered any results so far.  To be fair, Moss took a step in the right direction last year, catching 12 balls for 153 yards and two touchdowns—especially considering he was no better than fifth on the depth chart for most of the year. 

In fact, offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride stated that Moss is currently penciled in as a starter in three receiver sets1 (presumably along with Hixon and Smith) for the upcoming season. I disagree with Gilbride and do not think he will end up starting, but I don’t believe he will be cut, like some others have concluded.  The kid still has talent and might be ready to have a breakout season as the team’s fourth wide out.

Hakeem Nicks 

Mr. Nicks, the savior.  Okay, I am exaggerating a bit, but the G-Men are going to be expecting a lot from this early entry rookie receiver out of North Carolina.  I don’t think anybody is seriously expecting 80 catches, 1100 yards, and 12 touchdowns (although it would help a lot), but what the team really needs is a clutch wide receiver (a la Steve Smith in the 2007 playoffs). 

It is well documented that throughout the past four years, Eli’s best protection from the blitz wasn’t his line, but his ability to toss it up within a ten-foot radius of Burress.  Nicks needs to become that security blanket.  He doesn’t have the size, speed or strength (at least not yet) of Burress, but what he does have is a damn good pair of hands.  We have all seen the highlights from the UNC bowl game—the guy can catch anything that grazes a finger. 

By all accounts he has been quite impressive through the early workouts so far, and we can only hope that he can break the jinx of recent early round Giants wide receivers and help make an immediate impact.  If he does, this is the most complete team in the NFL.  If not, who knows.  Still, his talent is undeniable and I fully expect him to be starting right away.

Ramses Barden/Micah Rucker

I lump these two together because of their similarities—big tall receivers from small schools who have a ton of upside, but are still quite raw.  Barden is the more heralded of the two, with his endless Youtube compilation of fade routes giving him a cult following of sorts.  Still, Rucker technically has a year more in experience and is almost the exact same size (6'6" 220 to Barden’s 6'6" 227). 

The fact remains that Rucker was an undrafted free agent who in less than a year is with his third team, while the Giants made a bold move to move up and take Barden at the beginning of the third round.  I hope Rucker doesn’t have to latch on with a fourth team—as they say in the NBA, you can’t teach size—but I don’t expect him to make the 53 man roster, seeing him more as a practice squad player. 

Obviously the Giants have invested enough in Barden that he will be on the team and given plenty of chances to prove himself, especially in the red zone (or the green zone as Coach Coughlin likes to say). 

That said, I expect the Giants to open up the season with their stable of receivers in this order: Hixon, Smith, Nicks, Moss, Manningham, and Barden.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tyree take a spot, maybe from Moss or Manningham, but as much as it pains me to say it I think it would be better long term if those two youngsters stayed with the team. 

The best scenario would be to carry seven receivers so Tyree could resume his role as the ace special teams gunner, but we will have to see how it all plays out in training camp.

When it comes to the defensive line, it's not as necessary to go through each player’s strengths and weaknesses—these are all veterans, we know what they are capable of.  The question really is where does everyone fit? 

The defensive end rotation starts with Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka.  Dave Tollefson is a serviceable fourth guy, and native New Yorker Maurice Evans has surprised a lot of people in camp and could very well force Big Blue to award him a roster spot if he keeps it up. 

Most people would assume that the automatic starters are Umenyiora and Tuck.  I say not so fast.  Maybe it is a BC bias because half my family has gone to, and continues to go to the school, but I would like to see Umenyiora and Kiwanuka start, with Tuck resuming his role of the third guy who plays inside and outside and creates absolute havoc, as he did in 2007. 

Also, who doesn’t want to see Osi and Kiwi share a sack, and listen to the announcers stumble over themselves trying to say: “sack by Kiwanuka and Umenyiora”?  Although I don’t think it will happen, it would be interesting.  Either way though, Tuck and Kiwi will be all over the place as they can both play multiple positions—we will have to wait and see what Bill Sheridan has in store. 

The defensive tackles are a little more confusing.  There aren’t any established stars (like Tuck and Osi) but a lot of very good veterans, led by the new addition of Chris Canty.  I know he has played end in Dallas, but I think the majority of his snaps will come from the tackle position—there are already three guys ahead of him at the ends. 

So at tackle we have Canty, the other new guy, Rocky Bernard, and the rest of the crew—Barry Cofield, Fred Robbins (2008 Sports Illustrated All-Pro), and Jay Alford.  That’s five guys for two spots.  Each of them is deserving, and this is the problem that coaches dream of having—too many good players and not enough positions. 

The thinking, though, is that defensive tackle is arguably the most physical position on the field, and the facts don’t lie—the line wore down by the end of the year. 

With 10 players for four spots on the defensive line, you might not see a lot of pro bowl berths, but what you will see are fresh legs in week 17 and beyond, and that is what is most important.  I'll go out on a limb and start Umenyiora and Tuck, with Canty and Robbins starting inside—and a lot of substitutions to go along with it.