2009 NFL Draft Grades: New York Giants

The Giants - surprise Super Bowl Champions after the 2007 season - were considered one of the elite teams entering 2008. They backed that up with a 12-4 record and NFC East Division title. Of course they ran into a team that was hotter than them in the divisional playoffs - the Eagles - which ruined their chance at being the first club since the 1998 Broncos to repeat as Super Bowl champs. But what about 2009? Questions are swirling that Plaxico Burress was the reason for Eli Manning's success. Can the club win without the erstwhile receiver?

INTRODUCTION
Manning and Burress, for most of the season, helped lead an offense that finished 3rd in points scored, 1st in rushing yards, and 7th in total yards. They were only 18th in passing yards per game. Is the notion that Burress was the reason for success absurd? Still probably not. Despite the team ranking in the lower half of the league is passing offense, the threat of Burress was still there. Once Burress was gone teams could stack the box to stop the Giants amazing rushing attack, which lost one of its contributors. The rushing game could suffer if a WR doesn't step into the role vacated by Plaxico. Of course the defense may be even stronger. After finishing in the Top 10 in the four major statistical categories, the Giants get Osi Umenyiora back plus added Chris Canty. The rich get richer. The team was 5th in total yards and points allowed per game. I underestimated the Giants last year. Even with the loss of Burress, I don't think I'll do that again.

Tom Coughlin is the man in charge in New York for a sixth season in 2009. Can he live up to lofty expectations? Unless this team completely bombs, Coughlin will be back in 2010. However, if the Giants capture another title it isn't out of the question for him to go out on top. The Giants are loaded and should be right there with Philadelphia as favorites in the NFC.

DRAFT RECAP
Round/Pick/Overall
1/29/29 - Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina
2/13/45 - Clint Sintim, OLB, Virginia
2/28/60 - William Beatty, OT, Connecticut
3/21/85 - Ramses Barden, WR, Cal Poly
3/36/100 - Travis Beckum, TE, Wisconsin
4/29/129 - Andre Brown, RB, North Carolina State
5/15/151 - Rhett Bomar, QB, Sam Houston State
6/27/200 - DeAndre Wright, CB/S, New Mexico
7/29/238 - Stoney Woodson, CB/S, South Carolina


BASED ON NEEDS

• WR - Check!
• LB - Check!
• TE - Check!
• OL - Check!
• QB - Check!
• RB - Check!

Yep that's a clean sweep for their needs. It's what good teams do, fill holes with the right players. Jerry Reese knows what he is doing. He has a perfect view of areas that need improvement and works to fill those needs without reaching. I can't really say "it would have been nice to get..." because, frankly, they got everything and assured that they should be competitive for some time.

GRADE: 100/100


BASED ON TALENT
Pick 1 - The Giants needed a bigger WR that could evolve into a feature guy. They believe that's Nicks. Nicks had a phenomenal season at North Carolina which sent him soaring up draft boards. He has great hands and could eventually replace the production lost with the release of Burress. However it does take WRs a long time to adjust to the NFL so expecting Nicks to be a savior is too much. He was a nice selection for need and value at the end of round one. Grade: 9

Pick 2 - The Ginats have a great defense but the one thing they were lacking is a strongside LB capable of disrupting plays in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage. Sintim should not have fallen this far. While it was a surprise to see him go to a 4-3 team - he'd played exclusively in a 3-4 at Virginia - he is more than capable of being the strongside LB the Giants needed. Whether or not he'll start from day one is up in the air but I'd bet he has a strong chance to do so. Grade: 10

Pick 3 - Again, how did this person fall here? Beatty was considered a late first round pick, no later than the early second. Here he is at the end of round two. Why? He was probably the last OT capable of developing into a LT. Did the Giants absolutely need a young OT to groom? Not especially though depth there is always a plus. The value was just to big to pass up. Plus they had already filled two big needs with their first two picks. Grade: 9

Pick 4 - They hedged their bets and went with another big WR; perhaps one of them will work out? Barden was taken right around where expected, though maybe a shade early. Again, he is a huge target but needs some work. He played at Cal Poly so his opponents weren't as strong as the ones Nicks competed against. He'll need time but has the physical tools to succeed. Grade: 7

Pick 5 - The Giants round out the first 100 with Wisconsin's Beckum. The Giants have been looking for a more reliable TE since jettisoning Jeremy Shockey last year. Kevin Boss is nice but is more suited as a #2, where he can excel. Beckum, who suffered through injuries in 2008, is more of a pass catcher than blocker; that's certainly an area that needs to be refined. Grade: 9

Pick 6 - Meet the new Derrick Ward. Andre Brown, who could have easily gone at the end of round two, falls to the Giants who take him to complete their new trio. Just wow. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw now have a guy to share more of the load with. Grade: 9

Pick 7 - Did they really need a QB? That's up for debate. David Carr is the backup for Manning and that isn't changing soon. Bomar will be fighting with Andre Woodson and Anthony Wright for the third spot. Bomar could develop into a solid #2, fringe starter such as Billy Volek and Matt Schaub. In New York he'll get that chance. And the Giants will be the one to benefit from it. Grade: 6

Pick 8 - It is really hard to rip on late round picks and Wright isn't a bad one. He may not be ideal at CB but that's probably where he'll start. He may have to move to safety. There were better options available to fill their need in the secondary, such as Captain Munnerlyn, Ellis Lankster, and Mike Mickens. Grade: 4

Pick 9 - Almost the exact thing said for Wright can be said for Woodson. He may become a safety and there were better prospects left at 238. Did they need another DB? If they did, safety Courtney Greene would have been better. Or OG Trevor Canfield would have added even more quality depth along the OL. Grade: 3

GRADE: 66/90


OVERALL
The top of this class, really 66% of it, was amazing. Sintim may start from Day One, Nicks will see some time this season, as will Beckum. Beatty is great insurance and eventual starter. Barden needs some development but can become an adequate #2. Brown will fil Derrick Ward's position nicely. They even have insurance at QB or a future bargaining chip. They added developmental guys in the secondary. All needs were filled.

FINAL GRADE: A

WHY: Because of what I just said. All needs were filled and they were filled with arguably the best player available at their position. You don't get much better than that. This class could have been an A+ if the final two DB picks had gone a different way.

NOTE: My "final grade" is weighted and is not a simple combination of "needs" and "talent".


SUPERLATIVES
Best Pick: Beatty
Worst Pick: Woodosn (if I have to pick one)
Sleeper: Beckum
Instant Impact: Sintim
Developmental: Barden


OTHER DRAFT GRADES - New York Giants
CBS Sports (Prisco): B-
CBS Sports (Rang): A+
ESPN (Kiper): B
NFL.com (Brooks): B+
NFL.com (Fan's): B
Walter: A+

UP NEXT ON DECK

Super Bowl III v. Super Bowl XLII

So apparently people think this past Super Bowl was the biggest upset. While I do agree that this was an upset of near epic proportions, it pales in comparison to what the New York Jets did to the Baltimore Colts 39 years ago. Yes, that event happened more than 15 years before any of the bloggers here were born, but that shouldn’t make the event any less than what it was.

Let’s begin with a little comparison of the regular seasons the favorites (New England and Baltimore) had before they crashed and burned in the Super Bowl…

As we all know, the Pats went 16-0. Through 8 weeks, they were on a torrid pace, beating their opponents by an average of 26.5 points. They obviously proceeded to win all of their games, but not as convincingly as they did prior to escaping Indianapolis with a win. They had multiple close calls, winning by only a FG against the Eagles (at home), Giants, and the horrifically bad Ravens. In the playoffs, they were solid, but just weren’t bowling through people like they had to start the year. Regardless, they just kept on winning and lighting up the scoreboard, finishing the season with the NFL single season record for TDs (75) and points (589). Don’t get me wrong, New England had a regular season for the record books.

The Baltimore Colts went 13-1 the season they played the Jets in the Super Bowl. Their one loss came against a Cleveland Browns team that finished the regular season a respectable 10-4. The Colts ended up avenging this loss by annihilating the Browns in Cleveland 34-0 in the NFL Championship Game. Outside of the regular season loss to the Browns, all of their wins in the regular season were by at least 11 points outside of a 28-24 win against the 10-3-1 LA Rams in the season finale. They also posted 4 shutouts (including the playoff game). Keep in mind, the Colts were doing this with Earl Morrall, a journeyman quarterback who was filling in for Johnny Unitas, who was knocked out with a season ending injury early. He did a more than adequate job, winning the NFL MVP just as Tom Brady did with the Pats this year. While they had the #2 scoring offense in the league, they won with defense as they only gave up 144 points throughout the season, tying the NFL record at the time.

Fast forwarding to the main event, the Super Bowls, both the Patriots and Colts came in as enormous favorites. The Patriots were favored by 12 points over the Giants (10-6), while Baltimore was favored to beat the Jets (11-3) by 18. Only Super Bowl XXIX (where the 49ers crushed the Chargers) had a larger spread (18.5 points) than Super Bowl III. One reason for the difference in the spread was that the Jets came from an inferior league. The AFL was widely regarded to almost be somewhat of a ‘minor league’ to the NFL. They still got some top notch players but not nearly as many as the NFL. Many members of the Jets that year were rejects from various NFL teams, including the Colts. That’s one glaring difference between the two Super Bowls. Today, you know that all of the best players are in the NFL as there is no other league to really compete with it. In reality, if the Jets were in the NFL for the ’68-’69 season, they more than likely would have a record very similar to, if not worse than the ’07-’08 Giants.

The actual manner in which the game was won also (in my eyes) proves that Super Bowl III was more of an upset. While the Giants played a fantastic game, they were losing for a nice chunk of the game. The Jets scored a TD early in the second quarter of Super Bowl III and never looked back. They shutout the high octane Baltimore offense until there were 3 minutes left in the game. The lone Baltimore TD was virtually scored in garbage time as the Jets were already up 16-0. The Jets were bigger underdogs than the Giants were, and they beat their opponent much more handily. The Giants needed an fluky (albeit amazing) play by Eli Manning and David Tyree to pull out this win.

Hear me out…remember how everyone was saying before the Super Bowl that the Patriots might be the best team of all time? From what I have found, the Colts are one of 5 teams in the Super Bowl era that have gone the regular season with 0 or 1 loss. That means they’re in the same club as the Patriots (if I’m wrong, tell me…I’m not 100% on that). Am I saying that the 1968 Colts are better than the 2007 Patriots? No, not necessarily. However, I feel that a lot of people forget about what the Colts did that year because of what they did in the Super Bowl. Today, people still talk about the historic seasons that 18-1 ’84 Niners and ’85 Bears had because they won the super bowl. I guarantee you that the ’68 Colts would be grouped in that discussion had they won Super Bowl III has they would have gone 16-1. Just seeing how many people say that Super Bowl XLII is the biggest upset, hands down, goes to show how that if a juggernaut goes into a Super Bowl and loses, time will erase them. Honestly, how many of you knew that the Colts were 15-1 heading into the Super Bowl? That’s one hell of a season and people just don’t remember because they didn’t get the ring and in time, the thing the Patriots will be remembered for is choking in the Super Bowl. Yeah, people will remember they were the first 16-0 team but what does it matter if you can’t win the big one?

In the end, the fact that an 13-3 team from what was considered an inferior league could come into the Super Bowl and handily defeat a 15-1 team from a superior league is astonishing and there is no question in my mind that the Jets winning Super Bowl III is easily a bigger upset than the Giants winning Super Bowl XLII.

Well ok...maybe Super Bowl III wasn't an upset to everybody.

A-friggin'-men

READ THIS NOW. Amazing.

Interesting ESPN fan comment

So I was reading the endless amount of Super Bowl articles on ESPN (as well as the thousands upon thousands of comments) and came across this gem:

Hopefully you could read that. I almost fell out of my chair. He was stopped? What was this person watching? Surely it wasn't XLII. Maybe it was a dog posing as Eli in Puppy Bowl IV on Animal Planet?

Oh look! Eli was stopped!

In case you want to see the Eli Manning-David Tyree play again, here it is:

And one more time, for good measure, CONGRATULATIONS NEW YORK GIANTS.

18-1 forever

17-0 > 18-1

The medias pretty boys crumbled. How does 18-1 feel fellas? Perhaps next year you can join the 1972 Dolphins. Sure, 16-0 is nice. And historic. Too bad you couldn't finish. A great end to an otherwise miserable football season. Cheers to Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, David Tyree, and a vast majority of the Giants defense. Also, congratulations to Penn State graduates Kareem McKenzie and Jay Alford (did you see that sack on Brady!?!?!). SUPER BOWL 42 CHAMPIONS!!!

And yes, I predicted the Giants would win. Suck on that New England. See what happens when you can't tape a teams walkthrough?

Next Guarantee

I don't know why I'm saying this, but the Jets are going to beat the Patriots next week. Call me insane, call me whatever you want. I don't care. I honestly don't even see any logical reason for predicting it. Heck, many Jet fans are predicting the Pats to set an NFL record for points in a game this upcoming Sunday cause Manginious ratted out Belichick as a spy (which I was always love Mangini for). When you line it all up, the Patriots should beat the absolute crap out of my Jets. But they won't. Deal.

The best thing about that guarantee is that if I end up being wrong, nobody cares. If I'm right, I'm the smartest guy alive. Not a bad deal, eh? In all seriousness though, I think they'll win for the mere fact that I think a little bit of this year's NCAA craziness will spill over into the NFL for a week and wreak havoc. Plus, what was up with everyone saying that if the Pats beat the Steelers, they'd go undefeated? Look at this infallible logic based on head to head meetings this year:

Giants > Jets > Steelers

(Sorry Steeler fans...had to do it). Looks like the Patriots have 2 more games that are more difficult than the Steelers this year. The Pats are going down.

-Your resident overzealous Jet fan

That blog probably made no sense. My apologies.