For the fourth time in franchise history, The New York Giants are Super Bowl Champions. For quarterback Eli Manning’s career, this is the team’s
second championship and I don’t think that they are done. The key
pieces to this championship will be back next season to help The Giants
defend their Super Bowl crown as Big Blue’s goal will be making it to
New Orleans and Super Bowl 47. Manning who is 31-years old is in the
prime of his career. Manning’s two most important targets, wide
receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz are in their mid 20s and the sky
is the limit for both. Nicks and Cruz combined for 14 receptions in The
Super Bowl victory over The New England Patriots. Running back Ahmad
Bradshaw is only 25-years old as he has become The Giants feature back
in the last few seasons. Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is only
23-years old and he has become an overnight sensation. In his second
season in The National Football League, JPP recorded 16.5 sacks and at
times appeared unblockable.
General manager Jerry Reese will have some tough decisions to make about
some Giant veterans. Running back Brandon Jacobs might not be back with
the team next season. Jacobs has seen his production decline in the
last three seasons. In 2007 and 2008, Jacobs averaged five yards per
carry and went over 1,000 yards rushing in both seasons. The big
bruising running back appears to have slowed down a little as he is not
hitting the hole with the same authority that he did in past seasons.
Jacobs was the ultimate team player as he restructured his contract in
the off-season to allow The Giants to have the ability to re-sign
Bradshaw. You wonder if Reese and co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch
will reward his loyalty to the organization or will they make the best
football decision and go forward in a new direction.
Defensive end Osi Umenyiora came into this season hoping to receive a
new contract that never came to fruition. Umenyiora was one of the
plantiffs in Brady v. The NFL last spring during the lockout. Umenyiora
also signed a sworn affidavit arguing that Reese agreed to re-negotiate
his contract after the 2010 season. Umenyiora held out at the beginning
of training camp hoping to work out a deal in which The Giants would
have traded him to a team that was willing to pay him. In limited action
this season, Umenyiora amassed 9 sacks and seemed to make the key play
at the right time. In The Giants week 4 victory over The Arizona
Cardinals, Umenyiora recorded a sack and forced fumble on Cardinals
quarterback Kevin Kolb to preserve the 31-27 win. In week 17, Umenyiora
came up with a key sack of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo which
stopped Dallas’ momentum as The Giants won 31-14. Umenyiora has stated
his worth and deserves to be paid, but it is not clear if that will be
with The Giants.
It is safe to say that head coach Tom Coughlin is officially off of the
hot seat and he will be coaching this team for as long as he chooses.
Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell had received some consideration for
various head coaching positions in The NFL, but with The Giants Super
Bowl run all of those vacancies have been filled. Offensive coordinator
Kevin Gilbride has been in charge since late 2006 and he will remain in
that position.
Reese has the uncanny knack of evaluating talent which allows The Giants
to keep a valuable support system around Manning. Since Reese took
over in 2007, he has drafted players such as Nicks and Pierre-Paul.
Because of Reese’s ability, The Giants now go into The NFL Draft with
the idea of drafting the best athlete available as opposed to drafting
for a specific need. This is a luxury that most teams do not have. There
is a huge difference when a team can draft the best athlete over need.
In 2010, The Giants did not need to draft Pierre-Paul in the first round
as they already had Umenyiora and Justin Tuck at defensive end. Last
year cornerback Prince Amukamara was the team’s first selection as The
Giants had Terrell Thomas, Corey Webster, and Aaron Ross on the depth
chart at cornerback.
Going forward Reese may have to sway a little bit from his philosophy as
The Giants will have to address the tight end position. Tight end
Travis Beckum suffered a torn ACL in the first quarter of Super Bowl 46
while tight end Jake Ballard was injured in the second half with a torn
MCL. Both players will need time to recover and The Giants can’t rely on
them to have an immediate impact for next season.
Offensively The Giants have leadership in the form of Manning. Manning
leads by example as he is a student of the game and he is a true
competitor. Manning never gets rattled, he never complains to the media,
and he never throws any of his teammates under the bus. This is evident
in his teammates as they are ready to scrap and claw with him every
Sunday. The offensive line makes sure to hold those blocks for as long
as possible to allow Manning to get the football to his talented
receivers. The defense always tries to make that big play to get the
ball back to the offense as they know that Manning will bring them back
in the fourth quarter.
Defensively safety Antrel Rolle has emerged as the leader on that side
of the ball. Rolle came to The Giants in 2010 after The Arizona
Cardinals surprisingly released him. Rolle at times has appeared to be
outspoken, but his message is clear, he wants to win. Prior to The
Giants week 16 clash with The New York Jets, Rolle made it clear that
everyone on the team needed to stop worrying about the little aches and
pains and get on the gridiron and play. Leaders lead by example and
Rolle did that all season. The Giants brought Rolle in to play the
safety position, but when injuries decimated the secondary, Rolle played
nickel corner which is one of the toughest spots to play in football.
The Giants will go into next season with a wealth of confidence after
this Super Bowl Championship. The NFL has been waiting to get behind a
team to become another dynasty. The last team to win consecutive Super
Bowls was The Patriots in 2003 and 2004. Most expected The Green Bay
Packers to achieve the feat this year until The Giants destroyed “the
discount double check” in the playoffs. The NFL needs another dynasty so
why not have one in the media capital of the world? The Giants more
than likely would have repeated as Super Bowl Champions in 2008 if wide
receiver Plaxico Burress hadn’t shot himself in the leg that November.
The Giants should come back more focused than ever in 2012 as they will
look for their fifth Lombardi trophy in New Orleans.
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