How the Giants Can Become a Contender Again in 2015

“We need to be a playoff team in 2015,” New York Giants president and CEO John Mara said on WFAN Wednesday, per the New York Post's Dan Martin. 

“It’s hard to convince anybody you’re close when you go 7-9 and then 6-10,” Mara added. “But I do think we have a nucleus to be successful”

Mara isn't being blindly optimistic; he has a point. Although this team has missed the playoffs five times in the last six years, it is also less than three years removed from a Super Bowl victory, and the window might remain a few cracks open for head coach Tom Coughlin and quarterback Eli Manning. 

Coughlin and Manning are a combined 102 years old. Time is running out. But it doesn't appear as though Coughlin, 68, has lost any of his energy, and it's important to remember that quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer and Tony Romo continue to be successful into their late 30s (Manning is 34). 

But back to that original point from Mara about this team needing to make the playoffs in 2015. It is indeed a must, which puts a lot of pressure on Coughlin, Manning and general manager Jerry Reese, especially with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles looking like playoff contenders in the NFC East. 

But Manning looked better last year in new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's system, which was supposed to take time. Early in the year, he didn't have rookie sensation Odell Beckham Jr., and when he finally started getting mega-production from Beckham, he lost Pro Bowl slot receiver Victor Cruz. 

With both Beckham and Cruz plus emerging running back Andre Williams surrounding Manning in 2015, the Giants do indeed have "a nucleus to be successful."

Plus, history is on their side. The Giants won their most recent two Super Bowls in 2007 and 2011, and the last four NFC East titles have gone to New York, Washington, Philadelphia and Dallas in that order. So based on patterns, this is Big Blue's year. 

But there's still work to be done. Some suggestions for the winter and spring:

1. Build around Beckham

There's little doubt that Beckham has already become the Giants' most dangerous weapon. During the second half of his rookie season, the No. 12 overall pick was by far the most productive and efficient receiver in the NFL. 

Receiver	REC	YDS	TD
1. Odell Beckham	81	1,199	9
2. Julio Jones	51	859	3
3. Demaryius Thomas	64	852	5
4. Antonio Brown	69	846	6
5. Jordy Nelson	48	782	7

The man missed the first four games of the season due to a hamstring injury, and yet he still finished in the top 10 in terms of catches, yards and touchdowns while becoming only the fourth player this century to go over 130 yards six times in one season (joining Calvin Johnson, Marvin Harrison and Andre Johnson). 

Receiver	Total
Odell Beckham	6
Antonio Brown	3
T.Y. Hilton	3
Calvin Johnson	3

Suffice it to say, Beckham now becomes the center of attention. 

How exactly do you "build around" a wide receiver? You support him by forcing defenses to divide their attention. Cruz's presence accomplishes that, but a better running game would help, as would stronger pass protection for Manning. 

If Manning is pressured early and often, the Giants are forced to run an offense with Beckham or Cruz as the primary reads virtually all of the time. But if the offensive line can buy Manning more time, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo can become more creative. And that could be the difference between this offense being good and this offense being great. 

What changes must be made? The Giants have three solid offensive linemen in left tackle Will Beatty, right tackle Justin Pugh and guard Geoff Schwartz, and they can be flexible because Pugh has the ability to move inside to guard. 

Regardless, the interior of the line has to be addressed. It's no coincidence that the three guys who started primarily at left and right guard and center in 2014 were graded by Pro Football Focus (subscription required) as the three worst offensive players on the team.

If Schwartz is able to stay healthy, the Giants won't have to worry about right guard John Jerry. But that's a big if, and rookie Weston Richburg had just as many problems as a run-blocker on the left side. They also need to upgrade on center J.D. Walton, who simply isn't a starting-caliber player. The man was cut by the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins for a reason. 

Over the Cap indicates that the Giants have about $17 million in salary-cap space, which will be plenty if they decide to let veteran defenders Antrel Rolle and Jason Pierre-Paul go (more on that in a moment). If they're going to splurge, it should be on a free-agent guard like Orlando Franklin, Mike Iupati or Clint Boling or maybe a right tackle like Bryan Bulaga. 

And while they've drafted five offensive linemen in the last three years, it'd be smart to invest in an NFL-ready center or guard early in this year's draft. The rest of the offense can be left relatively untouched, so prioritizing the line in the draft couldn't hurt. 

Those tweaks to the interior of the line should help the Giants keep defenses more honest by enhancing a running game that averaged just 3.6 yards per carry in 2014. But Williams should also be better in his second season. He struggled early last year but went over 110 yards twice in the last four weeks and averaged a decent 4.0 yards per carry in December. 

And although he'll be 30, Rashad Jennings still has some tread on his tires and can continue to help if he can stay healthy. The key is to give those guys more support inside, which will in turn free up Beckham to do his superstar thing. 

2. Forget about Antrel Rolle and Jason Pierre-Paul

Per the Post, Mara says he's interested in bringing both impending unrestricted free agents back "at the right price," but history indicates the right price for the Giants won't match what the market inevitably allows those two former Pro Bowlers to get elsewhere. 

Pierre-Paul got hot near the end of a contract year, but the Giants don't usually fall into those traps. That's why Justin Tuck is an Oakland Raider.

Ever since recording 16.5 sacks in 2011, he's been hampered by injuries and a general lack of production. At this point, he's no longer trustworthy, which is why the Giants would be crazy to waste the lion's share of their cap space on a player who, according to ESPN.com's Dan Graziano, would command at least $12 million in free agency.  

Time period	Sacks	Games	Sacks/game
2011 season	16.5	16	1.0
2012/2013/first 11 weeks of 2014	12.0	38	0.3
Final five weeks of 2014	9.0	5	1.8

Rolle, meanwhile, is 32 and coming off a season in which he missed a team-high 17 tackles. His tackle, sack and interception totals dropped across the board, and he didn't look like the player he used to be.

Injuries to fellow defensive backs didn't help. But Rolle's name is also likely to make him extra money on the open market, and the Giants shouldn't be in the business of re-signing over-the-hill players to long-term contracts. 

This organization has become much better at cutting bait in recent years, and now it's time to let go of two players who helped it win the 2011 Super Bowl. It's not easy, but these are good business decisions. 

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

New York recently spent two high draft picks on Damontre Moore and Johnathan Hankins for a reason. Those two, second-year linebacker Devon Kennard and overachieving veteran pass-rusher Robert Ayers are all worthy of being built around, and it couldn't hurt to draft a pass-rusher in the first round for the first time since 2010. 

That takes care of the front seven, and it still has two solid cornerbacks in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Prince Amukamara. If those guys can stay relatively healthy, the defense will be in pretty good shape entering 2015. 

However, regardless of what the Giants do with Rolle, there's one position that has to be addressed in a major way...

3. Add two new starting-caliber safeties

If they gamble on Rolle, this changes. But he's aging anyway, and it's clear Quintin Demps and Stevie Brown aren't long-term answers at that position.

It's a shame they gave up on the troubled Will Hill, because he's becoming a strong starter in Baltimore. But it's also a shame they haven't drafted a safety early since taking Kenny Phillips in the first round in 2008.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

That's one way in which the Giants remain stuck in the past. In this pass-heavy era, you need reliable help over the top. New York was one of five teams to give up more than 60 20-yard passing plays in 2014. That can't happen again in 2015.

The good news is safeties usually come cheaper than pass-rushers, and solid starting-caliber safeties Devin McCourty, Louis Delmas, Rahim Moore and Tashaun Gipson are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents in March. 

As far as the draft goes, Alabama's Landon Collins would make a hell of a lot of sense with that No. 9 overall pick. But even if the Giants don't wind up with Collins in the first round, they have to make sure that, unless they've signed one or more of the guys above or have Rolle back for another year, they take a safety before Round 3 comes to an end on Friday. 

Notice I didn't mention the defensive coordinator opening?

I have trouble making grandiose statements about who teams should or shouldn't hire for coaching gigs, mainly because I think coordinators in particular should be capable of drawing up schemes that cater to the personnel in place. 

I'm not going to suggest that Steve Spagnuolo or Dennis Allen or Raheem Morris can get the Giants back to the playoffs because Perry Fewell wasn't the reason they were there in 2011. The key is being flexible and getting the most out of your personnel, and the Giants actually do have some players to build around on that side of the ball (even without JPP). 

They could use some help at all three levels, especially with Cullen Jenkins aging and Jacquian Williams, Spencer Paysinger, Stevie Brown, Walter Thurmond, Quintin Demps and Mike Patterson slated to become unrestricted free agents, but that nucleus Mara alluded to does exist on both sides of the ball. 

The Giants don't have to rebuild; they have to reload. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon