Friday, August 19, 2005

The New York Giants aka "The Brooklyn Brawler"




"The Brooklyn Brawler" wasn't the worst wrestler ever. He actually get to win a few matches in his career. However he is, and always will be, a jobber. He was never a threat to win anything. His gimmick was old and tired. He wasn't flashy. He wasn't good. In fact, there really was no reason for him to exist in the wrestling world.

That leads me to the New York Giants. The Giants are brutal to watch. Eli Manning wasn't very good last year and I honestly don't think he'll be much better this year. The Giants went out and signed the only wide receiver who causes more headaches than Randy Moss. Plaxicco Burress is an injury waiting to happen. Burress has already experienced two injuries in Giants' training camp this season alone. He's definitely a talented receiver but he has a grand total of 22 touchdowns in five years. When healthy, he's better than Tom Carter but a). he's not healthy, and b). that's not saying too much. Amani Toomer is a dependable wide receiver but he's not a game breaker by any means. Tiki Barber has to be the most underrated running back in the league. He had over 2,000 total yards last year and 15 touchdowns. I don't think I've ever seen him have a bad game. He's an above average pass receiver. He's quick. He can run people over. The Giants stay in games because of Barber. Jeremy Shockey is a difference maker. He's the Giants number one pass receiving threat. If you shut down Shockey then you shut down the passing game. The offensive line is pretty good but it'll have to be great to give Manning the protection he needs. The offense is boring and it will continue to be boring.

The defense is pretty much the same as the offense. They have some good players but they're not going to overwhelm anyone. Michael Strahan is solid. Justin Tuck could prove to be an excellent draft pick. The linebackers are mediocre. The secondary is slightly above average with Will Allen, Will Peterson, and Shaun Williams. The defense played well early on last season but they yielded a boat-load of points in the last six games.

The Giants look respectable on paper. Manning could improve greatly from his first season. Barber will be dependable as usual. However, the Giants don't have the firepower to beat Philly or Dallas in their own division. The Giants always seem to overachieve during the first half of the season before falling back to reality. In three of the last four seasons, the Giants have managed to play .500 football up until week 9. In those three seasons, the Giants went a combined 3-20 after week nine. That's a bigger collapse than Britney's Spears vow to remain celibate until marriage.

It would not shock me if the Giants made it to week nine this season with a .500 record as well. The schedule is manageable early with Arizona, Washington, and San Francisco. However, the second half is brutal. I would be surprised if the Giants won more than two games after week nine. They play Minnesota, Philly, Seattle, Dallas, Philly, KC, Washington, Oakland. I'll give them 3-5 up to week nine and 2-6 after week nine.

Predicted record: 5-11

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Remember that before he became the Brooklyn Brawler, he was a "ham and egger" known as Steve Lombardi.

 

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