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Without Michael Strahan, road to repeat will be tougher for Giants
Gary Myers
NY Daily News
Tom Coughlin wanted it to be a day to celebrate Michael Strahan, but the reality is training camp opens in six weeks and the Giants will begin the road to repeating as Super Bowl champs without a Hall of Fame player to guide them over the speed bumps.
Even if the Giants had Strahan, it's not likely they finish the season in Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII. Can they possibly do it without him?
"It's going to be hard," Giants co-owner John Mara said Tuesday. "It's going to be hard to repeat, period.... There is no way we win the Super Bowl last year without him. In fact, I would say we probably don't even make the playoffs without him.'"
It's more difficult to maintain success than achieve it the first time. The three previous times the Giants made it to the Super Bowl they not only failed to get into the playoffs the following season, but they didn't have a winning record. If that happens again, the Giants will not even be remembered as one-year wonders. They will be one-month wonders.
No Strahan just makes it much tougher. "Well, there is an outstanding football player who is no longer a part of our team," Coughlin said. "So anytime a player of that magnitude moves on and makes the choice to retire, no question there is a void to be filled."
In the last two offseasons, the Giants have lost a huge chunk of their identity. First Tiki Barber, the franchise's all-time leading rusher. Now Strahan, their all-time sack leader. Strahan might have been moody and a pain to management, but no doubt his teammates loved him and looked to him for leadership.
The Giants are well-positioned to replace Strahan piecemeal: Justin Tuck takes over at left end and has the personality to assume some of Strahan's leadership. Antonio Pierce, already the quarterback of the defense, will have no problem becoming even more vocal than he's been.
But you just don't delete Strahan and assume everything will be all right. His absence creates a trickle-down effect. Will Osi Umenyiora get the double-teams that went to Strahan? Can Tuck be as effective as a starter? Who takes over Tuck's ability to play all four spots on the line? And who gives the fiery pregame speech on the field, urging his teammates to "stomp out" the other team?
This is now Eli Manning's team. He is the face of the franchise. When Barber retired and then went the scorched Earth route on his way out the door, it solidified Manning's ascension to leader of the offense. But Strahan was still the unquestioned leader of the team. Even after Strahan didn't report until less than a week before the opener, his teammates voted him a captain for the season. Now that Strahan is also gone, Manning becomes the leader of the entire team. The Super Bowl MVP trophy gives him the leverage to lead and not follow.
"We're the New York Giants. That's who our identity is," GM Jerry Reese said.
They survived Barber's exit. Reese thinks they will survive Strahan's as well. He says the Giants put a premium on leadership when they assess talent and he thinks some players will start to emerge.
"The leadership, we may have to do that by committee," he said. "Like last year with Tiki, we said we probably can't replace Tiki. He's one of the greatest backs in Giants history. We probably can do it by committee and we kind of did that. So this time it's Stray who is leaving, one of the greatest players. We'll probably have to do that by committee."
The next speed bump potentially comes today for the start of a mandatory three-day minicamp. If Jeremy Shockey is a no-show, then it's time for the Giants to revisit trade talks with the Saints. Shockey is not yet ready to practice, but if he's not around today, then he's made a statement to Coughlin and management that he intends to make himself a focal point and be a problem. They don't need that. The Giants are better with Shockey, but not if he intends to be all about himself. They did win a Super Bowl without him.
Strahan said he even "shocked" himself when he made the calls to management on Monday to inform the team he was retiring. But he seemed totally at ease with his decision to go out a Super Bowl champion without looking back.
"Usually in sports you go out when they tell you to go out," Strahan said. "And I have an opportunity to leave when I want to leave. That is the best thing about this. I'm not retiring because I'm injured. I'm not retiring because they said 'Leave the building.' I'm volunteering to leave the building. To me, that is one of the sweetest things that you can ask for as a professional athlete."
Winning the Super Bowl made it easier to walk away, but he said he would have retired anyway. Now he will watch as the Giants try to repeat.
"It will be a challenge," Reese said. "You're on top and you are kind of like a target when you are on top. This league is not built for teams to stay on top every year. It will be a great challenge for us. I think we will do okay."
The Giants will fight their own post-Super Bowl history without their Hall of Famer.
Gary Myers
NY Daily News
Tom Coughlin wanted it to be a day to celebrate Michael Strahan, but the reality is training camp opens in six weeks and the Giants will begin the road to repeating as Super Bowl champs without a Hall of Fame player to guide them over the speed bumps.
Even if the Giants had Strahan, it's not likely they finish the season in Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII. Can they possibly do it without him?
"It's going to be hard," Giants co-owner John Mara said Tuesday. "It's going to be hard to repeat, period.... There is no way we win the Super Bowl last year without him. In fact, I would say we probably don't even make the playoffs without him.'"
It's more difficult to maintain success than achieve it the first time. The three previous times the Giants made it to the Super Bowl they not only failed to get into the playoffs the following season, but they didn't have a winning record. If that happens again, the Giants will not even be remembered as one-year wonders. They will be one-month wonders.
No Strahan just makes it much tougher. "Well, there is an outstanding football player who is no longer a part of our team," Coughlin said. "So anytime a player of that magnitude moves on and makes the choice to retire, no question there is a void to be filled."
In the last two offseasons, the Giants have lost a huge chunk of their identity. First Tiki Barber, the franchise's all-time leading rusher. Now Strahan, their all-time sack leader. Strahan might have been moody and a pain to management, but no doubt his teammates loved him and looked to him for leadership.
The Giants are well-positioned to replace Strahan piecemeal: Justin Tuck takes over at left end and has the personality to assume some of Strahan's leadership. Antonio Pierce, already the quarterback of the defense, will have no problem becoming even more vocal than he's been.
But you just don't delete Strahan and assume everything will be all right. His absence creates a trickle-down effect. Will Osi Umenyiora get the double-teams that went to Strahan? Can Tuck be as effective as a starter? Who takes over Tuck's ability to play all four spots on the line? And who gives the fiery pregame speech on the field, urging his teammates to "stomp out" the other team?
This is now Eli Manning's team. He is the face of the franchise. When Barber retired and then went the scorched Earth route on his way out the door, it solidified Manning's ascension to leader of the offense. But Strahan was still the unquestioned leader of the team. Even after Strahan didn't report until less than a week before the opener, his teammates voted him a captain for the season. Now that Strahan is also gone, Manning becomes the leader of the entire team. The Super Bowl MVP trophy gives him the leverage to lead and not follow.
"We're the New York Giants. That's who our identity is," GM Jerry Reese said.
They survived Barber's exit. Reese thinks they will survive Strahan's as well. He says the Giants put a premium on leadership when they assess talent and he thinks some players will start to emerge.
"The leadership, we may have to do that by committee," he said. "Like last year with Tiki, we said we probably can't replace Tiki. He's one of the greatest backs in Giants history. We probably can do it by committee and we kind of did that. So this time it's Stray who is leaving, one of the greatest players. We'll probably have to do that by committee."
The next speed bump potentially comes today for the start of a mandatory three-day minicamp. If Jeremy Shockey is a no-show, then it's time for the Giants to revisit trade talks with the Saints. Shockey is not yet ready to practice, but if he's not around today, then he's made a statement to Coughlin and management that he intends to make himself a focal point and be a problem. They don't need that. The Giants are better with Shockey, but not if he intends to be all about himself. They did win a Super Bowl without him.
Strahan said he even "shocked" himself when he made the calls to management on Monday to inform the team he was retiring. But he seemed totally at ease with his decision to go out a Super Bowl champion without looking back.
"Usually in sports you go out when they tell you to go out," Strahan said. "And I have an opportunity to leave when I want to leave. That is the best thing about this. I'm not retiring because I'm injured. I'm not retiring because they said 'Leave the building.' I'm volunteering to leave the building. To me, that is one of the sweetest things that you can ask for as a professional athlete."
Winning the Super Bowl made it easier to walk away, but he said he would have retired anyway. Now he will watch as the Giants try to repeat.
"It will be a challenge," Reese said. "You're on top and you are kind of like a target when you are on top. This league is not built for teams to stay on top every year. It will be a great challenge for us. I think we will do okay."
The Giants will fight their own post-Super Bowl history without their Hall of Famer.
