Strahan is gone and there are very big shoes to fill.

Alot of people want to simply plug Tuck into LDE and jobs's done. I am not sure I agree.

The Giants relied on exceptional passrushing from our DEs, that was the core of our dominant DL last year which was such a crucial part of the Championship; we need to keep a dominant DL, particularly at DE. With Strahan gone, I don't think that Tuck, Osi, Wynn and Henderson would be able to generate the kind of pressure that was generated last year and is needed for our defense. Wynn is primarily a run stopper and Henderson is a developmental player who will take time to develop.

I think we need to move Kiwanuka back to DE. A rotation of Osi, Kiwanuka and Tuck give us three genuine pass rushers; with Wynn and Henderson providing depth.

Tuck did an excellent job at DE/DT last year; I would like to keep him in a similar role rotating in at both DE (with a decent amount of playing time) and playing DT in passing situations.


I would like to see:

Osi Umenyiora move from RDE to LDE; Osi certainly has the strength and technique to make the switch. Much like Strahan who made the smae switch years ago, I think Osi could excell at LDE.

Matthias Kiwanuka move from SLB to RDE. Kiwanuka is great playing in space, but plays better close to the line of scrimmage; but doesn't have the strength to hold up at LDE.

Gerris Wilkinson move to SLB; he has played both MLB and DE in college. He plays better in space than Kiwanuka and is a decent pash rusher in his own right. I think Wilkinson is better suited to SLB for us than WLB.

Danny Clark start at WLB; Kawika Mitchell has shown that we can use a MLB style WLB rather than the traditionally athletic 4-3 WLB. Clark can play all of our positions well. Brian Kehl will give him serious competition at WLB though and I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting WLB by mid season.

I guess I would like our Defensive front seven to look something like.

(please remember Spags moves players around alot)

LDE: Osi Umenyiora, Renaldo Wynn

LDT: Barry Cofield, Robert Henderson

RDT: Fred Robbins, Jay Alford

RDE: Matthias Kiwanuka, Justin Tuck

SLB: Gerris Wilkinson, Zak DeOssie

MLB: Antonio Pierce, Jonathan Goff, Chase Blackburn

WLB: Danny Clark, Brian Kehl

it is interesting to see Strahan's opinion of Osi, Tuck and Kiwanuka

from http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8362182/Strahan-answers-all-the-tough-questions?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=5

Q: Advice for Osi Umenyiora as he begins Life After Michael Strahan?

A: Don't worry about it. As long as he knows he's doing his best, that's all he can do. And don't get frustrated by getting double-teamed, don't get frustrated by getting triple-teamed, 'cause I've gone through that stage where it had me in the dumps. But, it's a compliment to you. Just continue to fight, continue to work through it, and eventually, you'll learn how to defeat those things.
Osi should be fine without Michael. (Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images)



Q: Should Mathias Kiwanuka be moved back to defensive end?

A: I think he's a natural end. I think he picked up linebacker pretty well for a guy who never played it in his life, but I think you can find guys who can play linebacker who always play linebacker. Kiwanuka is a natural, explosive defensive end. (Justin) Tuck is a hybrid, and I think Tuck is probably better served rushing from the inside. They can't stop him on the inside, whereas on the outside, he's not as natural as Kiwanuka is. I think that would just be a much better setup.