Here are my expectations for 2010




Defensive Line

Fewell and the defense will rebound big time. We Giants arguably have the best defensive front in football and they will be attacking a lot. They have a chip on their shoulder from last year, and they all have strong competition for playing time, a lot of players are also in their contract year. Robert Nunn will also shake things up . Also we will be a lot stouter up the middle inside.

I think we will see a dominant front seven that will get a lot of heat on QBs. Seriously I think 50+ sacks for this unit is very possible.


Secondary

This is the other big change I see this season. Firstly we have a lot of talent this year, and there is excellent competition at corner, with three starting calibre CBs. At safety, it will depend to some degree on how well Phillips returns from injury. The signs are promising, I am confident, he will contribute, particularly over the back half of the season. With Grant we have a proven veteran starting calibre backup, plus we have last year's starter in Johnson, there is very good depth here.

Fewell will be able to mix things up a lot, disguising his packages, plus the emphasis on going for the ball and flowing to the play is a big plus. Particularly with the pass rush we should have, this unit will generate turnovers. I expect we will generate 20+ interceptions from this unit.




Linebackers

This is the unit that is most under pressure to perform.
There will be a ton of competition in camp and, almost certainly some familiar faces will not make the final roster. I don't expect this unit to be exceptional. But I think we will get solid play across the board. The biggest
change will be speed, all over our linebackers have the ability to get round
the field. Whilst individually our LBs will be solid, Fewell's philosophy of flowing to the ball combined with a quality defensive line and secondary should be good enough for a very solid defense.


Offensive Line

This is the other unit I expect to rebound big time. These guys have a chip on their shoulder. It is likely there will be a new starting combination this year, but no-one is going to give up their spot without a fight. I expect Beatty will earn a starting spot at LT, which means Diehl is likely to move; most likely to LG, but RT could be a wildcard. Petrus will also be in the mix for playing time sooner rather than later.

I think this unit will be nasty unit this year. Which will have a big impact, particularly on the ground game.


Runningbacks

I expect the ground game to rebound this year. Jacobs and Bradshaw should be healthy which is huge. The Oline being dominant, and better blocking from FB and TE will help Jacobs get over the advantage line. I am not sure that Jacobs will get back to the 5+ yards a carry, but he should be able to keep the chains moving. Bradshaw should also get a larger share of the workload. Depth behind these two is something of a concern. The third down RB is perhaps the biggest issue going into camp. We really need someone to step up. Andre Brown may emerge as the best option, if he fully recovers from his injury. Hedgecock needs to get back to his 2008 form where he acted like an extra lineman, the good news is that he is healthy and should be able to return to being the bulldozer for the ground
game.

If we can get a consistent ground game, we can control the flow of the game, which will take additional pressure off the defense.


Tight End

Tight End is an evolving position. Boss was asked to block a little more than we wanted last year. Pascoe is a throwback style TE who will likely emerge as the best blocking TE we have had in some time (perhaps since Dan Campbell). Travis Beckum will be perhaps the key to the growth of this offense and the key will be how he emerges as a blocker (I think he will be ok).
Beckum isn't a traditional In-line style TE, he is more the Chris Cooley/Dallas Clark style, who excels in space. I expect we will use a higher ration of two TE sets and less of the traditional FB. If Beckum can emerge as a blocker, our passing attack could have a higher top gear.


Receivers
The receivers will improve, the players are all established in the system and familiar with the offense. Nicks should emerge as the starter opposite Smith with Manningham in the mix. Barden should emerge as the 4th WR and should be a weapon in the red zone.


Quarterback

Eli is quietly emerging as one of the top QBs in the NFL, depth behind him is questionable, but Eli has proven to be very durable. With all his receivers, tight ends and receivers returning and well established in the system, plus a solid ground game, Eli could seriously have an MVP calibre season.


Specialists

Tynes should be solid and Dodge should emerge as a solid punter. Long snapping will be fine, but kick returning looms as a real problem. Ross
could emerge as the PR, but kick returner is wide open. Special teams coverage should be good, but it also should have been good the last couple of years. I have to be honest, I am not sure of our special teams
schemes, coaching could be a problem. There is no excuse for the level of poor performances in recent years.


Coaches

Generally our coaching staff is excellent, I think Fewell and Nunn are great additions. I do have two reservations.

1. Tom Quinn, I am not sure he should have been brought back this year. I am not confident with him. The special teams units have been poor in recent years, despite having plenty of decent young talent. This year he certainly has better talent and really there are no excuses.

2. Tom Coughlin - I am somewhat surprised, but Coughlin doesn't seem to me to have quite the same level of fire in his belly this year. I think we will be ok, the infusion of Fewell for example is a great pickup and will make up for any missing passion. But I think this is Coughlin's last year as coach, I expect he will retire at the end of the season and take up a front office role somewhere.


Record
I think we will be a 10-6 team, and in the wild-card mix at least. However, by the performances of the team, we will have a few key let downs. I expect at this stage, we should be a 12-4 team at least.

Nice write-up Pete.

It's hard to argue any of your points written there.

I continue to wonder why Tynes is still here and our line backers still have questions but this isn't a bad team to go into the season with.

TD wrote:Nice write-up Pete.

It's hard to argue any of your points written there.

I continue to wonder why Tynes is still here and our line backers still have questions but this isn't a bad team to go into the season with.

There is a lot of positives, and I am really liking what I hear about Fewell and Nunn. I think both are moves that needed to happen.

Tynes is solid for all the bad press he has and he does perform consistently.

The key areas of concern for me are special teams and health of our RBs.

I posted my thoughts now and will come back to them after training camp and the preseason.

I really like what I am hearing from the players, they certainly seem to be highly motivated.

The signing of Keith Bulluck does change my projection.

Bulluck adds much needed leadership and experience to the linebacking unit.

Unlike Pierce, Bulluck has range and mobility and excellent coverage skills, which will be important as Fewell's scheme will likely have major coverage responsibilities for the MLB. Don't overlook the fact that Bulluck played in the AFC south with a lot of very high powered offenses with some of the league's best skill position players.

Suddenly with Bulluck, Boley and Sintim as the likely starters, this LB unit it looking formidable in its own right, adding another dimension to the defense.

It does mean an additional familiar face will not make the final roster, but the unit as a whole will be much better. I think Bulluck takes this defense to the next level.

I have had to revise my expectations for this year. I think we will be at least a 12-4 team, with potential for much more.

The one area of concern is the running game, but if it can get back to the form of a couple of years ago (and with healthy RBs, this should be the case), this team is going to be really nasty.

What I really like is the fact that no-one is talking about the Giants and the Cowboys are shouldering all the expectation and hype. This team performs well when the chips are down and people right them off.
Remember when this happened in 2007, well this year's Giants are a much better team.