here is a letter to the editor I recently sent in to insidefootball.com

I think too many people are focused on what the Giants don't have, rather than focusing on what we do have and what we do well. The starting point is last year’s 12-4 season. We have most of our starters back and have plenty of talented depth at almost every position. We have the same starters and improved depth at QB, TE, OL and CB plus and we have brought in good young depth at RB and S.

The two biggest areas for concern on the roster have been WR and LB. It is no coincidence that these two spots have the most talent and wide open competition with a blend of young guys with guys who are established in the system. The Giants have great depth at every position, we pretty much have all the same pieces from last year back to build on with three notable exceptions.

WR where we don't have Burress and Toomer; but we do have a lot of very talented youngsters many of whom have genuine speed. In addition to our talented youngsters we brought in Nicks and Barden, both of whom have tons of ability. In addition to our recievers getting deep, Eli has mentioned that the biggest adjustment is that he now needs to get the ball out a lot quicker; so teams covering us now need to be deeper and will have less time to read and react. Lets not forget that unlike most of the pass happy NFL, we are a balanced offense system with a very good power running game. Teams are going to need to play deep to cover the WRs or play up to combat the physical power running game; either way there will be opportunities for our offense. The variety of players we have will enable us to mix up our passing game depending on the situation.

At LB we have all the players back from last year and have added two potential starters in Boley and Sintim (who led all college LBs in sacks last year). Pierce is extremely motivated and looks to bounce back plus we have plenty of good young talent mixed with experience. The most under rated guy is Wilkinson, whom the front office really likes, but has been slowed by injury in previous years.

Defensive Line will be this team’s strength. We have three starting caliber DEs all capable of double digit sacks, Sintim will also be a situational pass rusher at DE and probably a talented youngester. Lets not overlook the fact that this is Kiwanuka’s first complete offseason program at DE without flirting with playing LB. At DT we have both starters from the last few years, Alford and brought in two more starting caliber guys in Canty and Bernard. This defensive line will mean whoever you don’t double team will leave quality guys open to make plays. Plus the rotation will keep guys fresh and allow for injuries; more over it allows our d-line to team up and physically work over the offensive line -- this will pay big dividends late in games.

Sure there are positions we would like to upgrade, but the nature of free agency and the salary cap is that you can't have stars everywhere. We are a stronger team than last year and we are a stronger team than the one which won SB42. I find it very interesting that rather than being a leading favorite for success this season, many fans and media have found ways to make us an underdog to some degree.

Let’s see how things unfold on the turf.

Nice write up Pete.

I agree to some extent that we are a stronger team if all are healthy.

Robbins and Boley being a big question mark could potentially hurt. Luckily the Giants have a back-up plan by signing 2 other quality DT's. Let's see how they can mesh with the rest of the line. Let's also see if Wilkinson takes advantage of his situation?

I still have to wonder how the receivers step up? Nobody will really know this until the games begin.
I think our biggest advantage may be trying to spread the ball out to multiple receivers. I think Manning got caught bird dogging Plax a few too many times in the past, (sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't) so spreading the ball around may work to the teams advantage.

Perhaps we should be a little concerned at DT with Cofield coming back from Knee Surgery and Bernard on the Non Football Injury list in addition to Robbins coming back from microfracture surgery. But I don't think it will be a major problem.

I am not too worried about WRs actually, we will mix it up using alot of them at times and taking advantage of different abilities. I am confident they will get the job done and I think they will surprised people.

Alot of people are being far too critical regarding what the Giants dont have. So what we are a very very good team wuth lots of genuine talent and a history of young guys stepping up and getting the job done when needed (eg Diehl, Tuck, Jacobs, Cofield, Boss etc etc). Lets see what this team can do.