2010 team profiles: New York Giants

Horton By Gary Horton

Scouts Inc. takes a look at all 32 NFL teams headed toward the 2010 season: the decision-makers, the offensive philosophy, the defensive outlook and three main team needs.

Decision-Makers: Sr. VP and GM Jerry Reese has done a great job of acquiring talent in his two years at the helm and he learned his craft well under former mentor Ernie Accorsi. This is a very stable front office with well-defined roles and a very clear philosophy on the acquisition of players.

There is little turnover in this group, which makes for a scenario that keeps everybody on the same page. Reese leans on VP of Player Evaluation Chris Mara, assistant GM Kevin Abrams, scouting directors Mark Ross (college) and Dave Gettleman (pro), and a veteran scouting staff. Head coach Tom Coughlin takes a keen interest in the draft and he has a legitimate voice with Reese. More than any other team the Giants are "true" to their board and they don't take a lot of chances or care about what other teams are doing. They are a conservative, but efficient, front office. This may be the most experienced scouting staff in the NFL and they rarely make mistakes and maybe more than any other organization they know what they are doing and they make decisions with one voice.


Offensive Philosophy: This is a power run-oriented offense designed to wear down defenses and establish ball control. Give coordinator Kevin Gilbride credit for knowing his personnel. He is a coach who earned his reputation as a "run and shoot" guy, but he has adapted well to the talent around him. The Giants use the run to set up the pass and QB Eli Manning is excellent on play-action versus defenses that are stacked against the run. The Giants prefer size and physicality up front and they even extend that to their skill players. They will man block with their offensive line and they will try to wear a defense down with the run before they attack with the pass. This is a physical, low-risk offense with some big-strike capabilities, but we may see more vertical throws in 2010 to take advantage of one of Manning's best skills.

Defensive Philosophy: Coordinator Bill Sheridan has moved on to Miami after struggling with a proud defense a year ago and coordinator Perry Fewell comes from Buffalo to take over, but not much will change -- which is the Giants' way.

Fewell has a Tampa 2 background, but his personnel with the Giants is not a perfect fit for that scheme. They want the pass rush pressure to come from their front four, but they will design a lot of creative blitzes to not only bring pressure, but also to prevent offenses from double-teaming the defensive line and that leads to a lot of one-on-one matchups -- which favors the Giants. They will mix up zone and man coverages in the secondary and they play a very physical style on the back end. They are at times unorthodox, but they have more discipline than you might think and they play this defense with intelligence. Fewell's biggest challenge may be to get his players to "buy into" his system and recapture their once-proud swagger.

Team Needs

1. MLB: Starter Antonio Pierce is gone and even though his production faded in 2009, the Giants lost their defensive enforcer and leader and a solid two-down run defender. Stopping the run is nice, but they need a "three down" guy who doesn't have to come off the field in pass situations -- and a guy who could run this defense. They have numerous contenders, but who is their guy?

2. DT: Fred Robbins is gone (St. Louis) and Chris Canty makes too much money for marginal production and durability. Rocky Bernard is over 30 years old with shoulder problems, and Jay Alford has a nice upside if he is healthy (knee). The Giants need a dominating inside space eater and penetrator -- along with quality depth to go along with Barry Cofield. Alford may be the guy. There are injury/durability questions here.

3. OL: This once-proud group did not play well in 2009 and there are legitimate needs to fill at ROT and OC. Will Beatty could beat out Kareem McKenzie at ROT, but that leaves a hole, in terms of depth, and a successor for Shaun O'Hara at OC needs to be groomed. This unit needs a couple of new big bodies to prepare for the future.

Gary Horton is the founder of Scouts Inc. and has spent over two decades around the game of football.