Why the Giants are built for long term success...

Fresh off their amazing victory in Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants future looks great to me. The Giants are one of the youngest teams in the NFL with an average age of around 28. They are also a  young team  of Championship caliber....very rare.  I truly feel, barring massive injuries or  some unforeseen  event, Giants fans could be in for a very special era.  I have several reasons for stating this;

First, when you talk about long term success in the NFL, you must start with the quarterback. The Giants are in great shape here. Eli Manning, in only his fourth season, not only won a Super Bowl, but was also the game's MVP. During the playoff run, Eli outperformed Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo, Brett Favre and Tom Brady. He is a young and very talented Quarterback who works extremely hard at perfecting his craft. Eli has put up big numbers in his short career as he threw for over 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns each full season. He also has shown a penchant for dramatic comebacks....think about the Broncos a few years back, the  Eagles game  in 2006  and  of  course  the Super  Bowl. The trouble  with  Eli Manning has come in terms of his throwing interceptions, which he seemed  to  solve down the stretch, probably the single biggest  reason  for  the  Giants  results. Turn overs are things that generally go down as QB's gain experience and I feel Eli is at that point. Starting his fifth season, Manning has 55 regular season games as well as 6 post season games under his belt.  That  experience will pay off. Manning is just now entering  his  prime.....a very  happy thought  for  Giants fans considering what he did before his prime. Eli Manning should be a star  for the  New  York  Giants for years to come.

Second, the Giants have locked up the guys protecting Eli Manning. What good is it to have a big time QB if he spends the game on his butt?? The Giants have a very talented (and under rated) Offensive Line. They are all in their prime as well. Sean O'hara is entering his 9th season, Rich Suebert and Kareem McKenzie are entering their 8th, David Diehl his 6th and Chris Snee his 5th. And even better news for Giants fans, they are all locked up through at least the 2012 season! O line may be the most important position in football in terms of maintaining stability.

The Giants also have young offensive talent at the skill positions. While Amani Toomer may be on the tail end of a great career, Burress figures to have three or four productive seasons left, and the Giants now have a wealth of talented, young receivers. Think about Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, and possibly even Sinorice Moss provided he can stay on the field.

At tight end, we have two outstanding young players in Jeremy Shockey (issues aside) and Kevin Boss.

Running back is almost ridiculous. Brandon Jacobs, Ahmed Bradshaw and Derrick Ward are all excellent and all very young.

On defense, it all centers around Antonio Pierce who is entering his 8th season and should be around for a while. Up  front it of course  hurt  to  lose  an all time great Giant in Michael Strahan, but he is replaced by pass rushing stud Justin Tuck in only his fourth year with pro bowler Osi Umenyiora in his sixth opposite him. The Giants pass rush should be solid for the foreseeable future because we can't forget Mathias Kiwanuka entering just his third year! Add to that a very talented young secondary with rookies Kenny Phillips and Terrill Thomas, second year rising star Aaron Ross, and a young but talented Corey Webster and you can plainly see that the Giants defense, already one of the fiercest in the NFL is also one of the youngest in football!      

Coaching is of course critical to any teams long term success and the Giants are in great shape here as well. While Tom Coughlin may be no spring chicken, he still has tons of passion for the game and energy, and now, with a Super Bowl title under his belt, tons of credibility. The Giants are considered to have one of the best (and young) coaching staffs in the NFL. The position coaches, in particular  Mike  Waufle, are  outstanding.  Just think about the   job these guys did getting all those rookies ready to play last season. The coordinators are top notch. On offense Kevin Gilbride did an unbelievable job and many feel he out coached the defensive super geniuses  for the  Patriots in the  Super Bowl. Of course  we also have rising star  Steve  Spagnolo who was at the top of the  list last season for teams  looking for a new head coach.  Luckily for Giants fans, he stayed here. The rumor is (and I hope it is true)  that  Spags  is the  Giants  "coach  in waiting" for when  Coughlin retires.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, GM Jerry Reese. His 2007 draft class will go down in Giants lore as all eight players made the team and several, Kevin Boss, Ahmed Bradshaw, Steve Smith, Jay Alford, made huge contributions during the playoff run. I am willing to bet that Reese knocked it out of the park with the 2008 draft class as well. The man knows talent!

Combine all these factors and, as a Giants fan I am thrilled with what the immediate future holds for us.  I honestly believe this group has a shot to surpass what the Bill Parcells Giants of the mid 80's did!

New York Giants news and notes:

• the Giants open camp in Albany this Friday, the 25th
• players report a day earlier
• teams this year are limited to only 80 players at training camp
• with Mario Manningham signing earlier this week, the only Giants rookies unsigned are Kenny Phillips and Terrill Thomas
• the Giants (due to the limited roster) will not have any one in camp to compete with Jeff Feagles or David Tynes
• the Giants first pre season game will be August 7 vs Detroit

Comments

[sam]

David Tynes???...is that our new kicker?? lol

[MartyD]

Still smiling my butt off with our superbowl win, Watch it at least every other week (god bless DVR) Yeah baby! Just saw the espys and JT's comment about Eli growing up and finally seeing a women naked killed me! His look was classic, I could see the comic balloon above his head stating "yuk yuk, I'll be banging her in 90 minutes." She's definately a hottie, With him happy, the poison who we all love in N'orlens, another 'SC player signed--not to mention Steve Smith having an incredible year upcoming, (yep, an 'SC homer) bigger and better things for 2008/2009 for big blue.