which players should the Giants look at cutting/upgrading?

and why?

This will take me a little bit. It just took me over an hour to type that coaching list. lol. If I have time tonight I'd like to give my opinion on it.

here is my opinion

Here is my ideal roster for 2011. This is based off my ideal coaching staff (previously posted)

Quarterbacks
With Eli and Sage, there is no need here.

Wide Receivers
Steve Smith is a priority to resign (and will be a substantial contract)

Domenik Hixon should be resigned to a relatively cheap contract. He is a reliable receiver and quality returner.

Derek Hagan should be resigned cheaply to compete with Devin Thomas and Victor Cruz for the final roster spot.

Tight End
Upgrading Tight End should be a priority in my opinion. Getting the tight ends more involved in the passing game will help Eli. We also need to improve the blocking from Tight End, Boss is decent, but Beckum is a pure H-Back.

Sign Zach Miller (Oakland) to a substantial contract - Miller is a quality all round TE, although not the receiving TE so much in vogue in the NFL, he is reliable receiver and a dependable blocker. This fits the style of TE that Sparano likes. This also allows us to use more two tight end sets.

Kevin Boss should be resigned to a moderate contract, but he is more of a good number two in my opinion.
Bear Pascoe will make the roster in some capacity. He will either be the full back, or he could be the third tight end (and blocking specialist)

Trade Travis Beckum, there is no doubt that Beckum has ability, but is purely a H-Back in my opinion. The Giants want to get back to a more physical brand of football and Beckum is better suited to Gilbride's spread offense rather than a true power game. The good thing is that the TE draft class is extremely thin, Beckum's trade value is probably around a third round pick.

Running Back
This is the hardest position to project. The Giants could return the guys we have, or we could completely start over. Much will depend on who is available and who is coaching, but here is my current thoughts. I think the preferred option is to start over, Bradshaw's fumbling issues is a problem and Jacobs' attitude is not helpful (complaints about not starting, the helmet incident, comments about playing for packers and lashing out at media after the season), I think it is time for Jacobs to start fresh elsewhere. I also think that DJ Ware will be allowed to leave, he hasn't shown enough at this point. I think the front office want to get some genuine power and explosion at RB

Sign DeAngelo Williams (Carolina) to a substantial contract. Williams is a quality RB, but owner Jerry Richardson is cutting costs in a big way; that on top of a relatively ineffective 2010 for Williams, means there is a good chance he hits the open market. He is an ideal fit for Coughlin's team and Sparano's system, plus he knows Fox and Skipper.

Sign Ronnie Brown (Miami) to a moderate contract. Brown is a powerful, productive RB who rarely fumbles and knows Sparano's system. Injuries and age mean Brown comes cheaper than he should.

Sign Leon Washington (Seattle) to a moderate contract. Washington is an ideal complement to Brown and Williams. He is a quality 3rd down RB. Washington is also the quality return guy we badly need.

This is investing quite a bit at RB, but this is in my opinion one of our biggest needs.

Full Back
The Giants need better blocking from Fullback, which means it is time for Hedgecock's departure.
Pascoe has been adequate at FB, but he isn't the real Bulldozer we need to pave the way for our power running game.

Sign Vonta Leach (Houston) to a moderate contract. Leach is the smash mouth bulldozer that suits our preferred power running game. The Giants wanted this guy as an RFA and finally get their guy.

Offensive Line
The Giants have a good core of line with good depth.
O'Hara and Seubert should be healthy, with McKenzie, Snee, Beatty, Koets and Petrus. I do think the Giants will be looking to upgrade depth , but mostly through the draft.

Andrews will at least make training camp, but with his back situation he may be a backup at best.

Defensive Line
The Dline is the strength of the defense
Tuck, Osi, Canty and Cofield will be healthier, JPP and Joseph will be better next year and Bernard offers experienced depth (though I expect we will add some young talent in the draft to compete with him for a roster spot).

Resign Barry Cofield to a moderate contract. Cofield has been a huge factor this year (despite playing with a shoulder injury. Resigning him will be a priority.

Resign Matthias Kiwanuka to a 1 year moderate contract. Coming off his serious injury he won't have a huge value.This will give Kiwi a year to regain his value.

Resign Dave Tollefson to a cheap 1 year deal. This gives
decent insurance for Kiwanuka's health.

Linebackers
This is the position in most need of talent. Bulluck won't be back (he want to play full time). Gerris Wilkinson will be allowed to leave for a starting job elsewhere. Goff has emerged as a starter, but it is time to look to upgrade the LB Corps. Boley has regressed somewhat and hasn't been that much of a playmaker this year, I am not sure he is a full time starter at this point (but definately has value). Dillard has been a non-factor so far. It would be nice to add talent through the draft, but frankly that hasn't work out yet (ie Wilkinson, Kehl, Sintim and Dillard); we need immediate help and experienced veterans are the best option in my opinion.

Clint Sintim isn't a fit for a 4-3, it is time to move on. I do think he will be a good fit as a 3-4 OLB and with two years left on his deal he has definate value. He is probably worth around a 4th round pick at the moment.

Resign Chase Blackburn cheaply, although he isn't really in the mix at LB anymore, he is a quality special teamer and provides valuable leadership.


It does depend on what style of scheme we are looking at, but I expect a mix of Fewell's existing scheme and Fox's system, I do think we need to bring in two starting caliber linebackers.

Sign Rocky McIntosh (Washington) to a moderate contract. McIntosh isn't a good fit at ILB for the Redskins 3-4, but he is a good option at OLB.

Trade Beckum and Sintim to Denver for DJ Williams. Williams is on the outer in Denver, but is an experienced playmaker who can play any of the LB spots for us.

More speed and athleticism at LB will really help our special teams

Cornerback
Corner is one position I think we need to upgrade, I think with the emphasis on passing, we need three starting caliber corners. Ross gives solid depth, and we will likely bring in talent in the draft to compete for the fifth CB spot with Joe Burnett and Bruce Johnson.

Sign Richard Marshall (Panthers) to a moderate contract. Marshall is a physical CB with good speed and coverage. He isn't a shutdown corner or a ballhawk, but he is a good addition. He also knows Fox's system.

Safety
Much will depend on the system we use, but I expect we will feature three safety sets a reasonable amount.
resign Deon Grant to a Moderate contract. Grant gives us a third starting caliber corner for our three safety s
ets.

Sign George Wilson (Buffalo) to a cheap contract. Depth behind the starters is an issue. Wilson can play either spot. He knows Fewell's system, he had a career year in 2009 under Fewell and will know the system well. Wilson will be a good value pick up. With three safety sets, a good fourth safety is important.

Resign Michael Johnson cheaply to compete for the fifth safety spot.

Kicker / Long Snapper
With Tynes and DeOssie we are fine.

Punter
At the very least we need to bring in a Punter to compete with Dodge, but I think we will look to upgrade.
Sign Shane Lechler (Oakland) to a moderate contract. Lechler is reportedly on the way out in Oakland. If he is available, he will be a priority signing, we need consistency in our punting.

Please note that all contract estimates are relative to positional value.




Draft

19. T Nate Solder, Colorado - The only top quality left tackle in the draft. He is raw, be he has elite tools.

52. C Stefan Wisniewski, Penn State - quality Center to groom for the future

83. CB Curtis Brown, Texas - a good corner to upgrade our CB depth

116. RB Roy Helu, Nebraska

180. DT Ian Allen, Notre Dame

211. RS Leon Berry, Mississippi State - A good return specialist to compete for a roster spot.

Ideal Roster
QB - Eli Manning, Sage Rosenfels

RB - DeAngelo Williams, Ronnie Brown, Leon Washington, Roy Helu

FB - Vonta Leach

WR - Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, Ramsees Barden, Domenik Hixon, Devin Thomas / Derek Hagan / Victor Cruz

TE - Zack Miller, Kevin Boss, Bear Pascoe

T - Kareem McKenzie, Will Beatty, Nate Solder

G - Chris Snee, David Diehl, Rich Seubert / Shawn Andrews, Mitch Petrus

C - Shaun O'Hara, Adam Koets, Stefan Wisniewski

DE - Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul, Matthias Kiwanuka / Dave Tollefson

DT - Barry Cofield, Chris Canty, Linval Joseph, Rocky Bernard / Ian Allen

LB - DJ Williams, Rocky McIntosh, Jon Goff, Michael Boley, Phillip Dillard, Adrian Tracy / Chase Blackburn

CB - Corey Webster, Terrell Thomas, Richard Marshall, Aaron Ross, Curtis Brown / Bruce Johnson / Joe Burnett

S - Antrel Rolle, Kenny Phillips, Deon Grant, George Wilson, Michael Johnson / Chad Jones

K - Lawrence Tynes

P - Shane Lechler / Matt Dodge

LS - Zak DeOssie

QB- Eli and Sage are good enough but I think we should consider drafting one at some point.

RB- Its a tough decision but I think moving on and cleaning house at RB is for the better. Jacobs doesn't want to be here and Bradshaws fumbling and ankle problems are not worth a contract he'll want. What makes this easy is our great line up front and RBs are the easiest position to find in the draft.

WR- We just need them to get healthy. Definitely resign Steve Smith. Thats a no brainer. Smith, Nicks, Manningham, Barden, Cruz is a very good unit at WR. Hixon will probably get the edge for the last spot just because of his return abilities.

TE- I like Boss. I think he fits our offense well and is an effective receiver and blocker. He isn't a difference maker by any means but he can come up big when needed and is rather inexpensive. Beckum is a talented player, as he grows as an NFL player they should be able to figure out more ways to get him involved. Bear is a good blocker and should figure in the mix as our blocking TE/Fullback.

FB- I think we should bring someone in from the outside. Owen Schmidt is one of my favorites who could become available and give Bear some competition.

OL- I'm happy with our oline. I feel we have a very deep unit there. With all the injuries this past season we still had the best line in the league. We let up a league best 16 sacks and rushed for over 2,000 yards at 4.6 a pop. I think we could be interested in bringing in a C to groom if we feel Petrus can't make the switch but for the most part the unit should stick in tact. I do like two of the top tackles in the draft though in Anthony Castonzo and Gabe Carimi. If we pull the right moves in FA we could have the luxury of drafting one of them in the first to groom behind Diehl and McKenzie.

K- Tynes Stays
P- We bring in competition for Dodge

DE- Kiwi could potentially make a good buck in FA. If he passes the necessary tests he's one of the best FAs available. I honestly think we may lose him being two cautious. Dave Tollefson is our best specials player and a great spark off the bench. Championship teams have players like him I hope he stays but he may be given a better opportunity elsewhere. If we lose both of them we will draft someone.

DT- Cofield is an interesting situation. Here we are talking about a guy who was almost traded but denied because he was asking too much. So whats his asking price? Benard should be gone, and Joseph should be playing much more significant time. I like Tank Tyler or Paul Soliai as a FA pick.

CB- I'm good with Thomas, Webster, and Ross. Behind them depth is needed. We can find this via FA and the draft

S- I would like Grant back but if Fewell leaves and we upgrade the LB position we shouldn't have the need for a guy like him. If Grant prices himself out of our range we just get another guy to fill in. Michael Johnson is out.

LB- I saved this for last because this position (if were up to me) would be overhauled. With quality players in FA and the draft there is no reason we don't have this position upgraded across the board. Pos, Greenway, would definitely top the wish list but guys like Barrett Rudd, D'Qwell Jackson, Kevin Burnett, Leroy Hill, Clint Session, Ernie Sims, Roger McIntosh would all upgrade the position. Even A.J. Hawk could be released.

Guys who would go (if it were up to me): EVERYONE. . . I think they should sign three and draft three. Although thats not very realistic thats what I would do.

I like your thinking.

I do think we need to turnover both RB and LB

You are dead right if Fewell leaves we won't need Grant.

Very intersting list

With Cofield, I think he will be back for a reasonable price, he certainly is a better playmaker than Canty. I don't want to see the Giants let a good starter leave unless we absolutely have to (I still regret letting Cornelius Griffin leave for the Skins).

I could also see Cofield franchised and if a long term deal isn't forth coming, traded.

Sure Cofield isn't in the same league as guys like Haloti Ngata and the like, but Cofield is a good, young, experienced starter at a premium position and has had a breakout year with how Fewell has used him despite having an injured shoulder all year.

I see Cofield as our top priority along with Steve Smith.

Positions imo that need to be upgraded.

Punter:
No big surprise here. You bring Dodge back for summer competition and the Giants need to go out and sign the best free agent availabe with real game experience.

Outside linebacker:
I think the Giants have a big need for speed. I don't see that player on the Giants roster right now other than Boley.

Inside Linebacker:
Jonathan Goff can easily be upgraded. Right now Blackburn has more value to the team imo. There should be plenty of mlb prospects available in free agency or trade.
The jury is still out on Phillip Dillard who seems a bit undersized to me.

Safety:
It's real thin back there now with Deon Grant a free agent to be.
Could really use Chad Jones right now but sadly, not holding my breath.

Kick/Punt returner:
Since the Giants refuse to use any key players with speed and talent for the position, they might better go find someone with speed that has no ability to do anything else Hopefully they can re-sign Hixon.

Runningback:
Re-sign Bradshaw or go find another talent without a fumbling history. Danny Ware isn't the "go to guy."

Tight End:
Boss is a good player but what will it take to keep him? Don't break the bank on him.

O-Lineman:
The Giants need to get younger and healthier here. Not a Will Beatty believer yet. I like Boothe though. Maybe Petrus can step up or find a gem through the draft perhaps.

D-Tackle: I want to say upgrade but really have no clue what we have in Linval Joseph.
I like Cofield but do think he gets a little too much praise sometimes. Same goes for Chris Canty.
Would like to see a tackle that can penetrate the pocket a little more.

The rest of the positions are pretty solid, other than maybe some depth and special teams players.