CCBoy
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Weaknesses for the 2016 New York Giants
http://profootballtalkline.com/nfl/news/23202/weaknesses-for-the-2016-new-york-giants.html/
A lot of resources have been allocated to upgrade the Giants 2016 roster. First, millions of dollars were used to upgrade a defense that struggled in 2015 and draft picks were used to fill needs in other locations. Yet with all of this spending, there are still weaknesses with the 2016 New York Giants roster.
The one unit of Big Blue that was not addressed in the offseason was the New York Giants offensive line. In the 2013, 2014, and 2015 NFL draft an offensive lineman was taken in one of the first two rounds by the Big Blue brain trust. Those picks have provided three pieces in Justin Pugh, Weston Richburg, and Ereck Flowers. Richburg was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2015 but as a complete unit, the offensive line struggled in 2015. Now Jerry Reese and his staff could believe that with Pugh, Richburg, and Flowers will have the chemistry and have the intangibles to help stabilize protection for Eli Manning and have a respectable running game. Yet many followers of the G-Men still feel uneasy about how the offensive line will perform in 2016.
There could also have been a social media incident that prevented the Giants from addressing both the offensive line need. In the first 24 hours of free agency the defensive line and secondary was addressed by Giants management. It could have been a plan to fill the linebacker or offensive line need in the 2016 Draft but Laremy Tunsil’s tweet with Tunsil smoking marijuana sent Tunsil’s draft stock plummeting. With that developing story occurring during the draft many franchises would not take Tunsil and went elsewhere to fill their offensive line need. Therefore when the Giants first pick came there was no desirable offensive lineman available on the board.
The second issue that was not addressed in the 2016 offseason was the linebacker position. Jon Beason was a solid signing during the 2013 season but Beason only played in 9 of the 32 games during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. While there was some speculation that the Giants would draft a linebacker in the first round for the first time since they selected Carl Banks in 1984 but that did not occur. The franchise that was home to the Crunch Bunch and Lawrence Taylor has started placing more focus on the defensive line than linebackers. While Taylor, Banks, and Pepper Johnson were a driving force in the Giants first two Super Bowl victories, Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Jason Pierre-Paul terrorized quarterbacks in the last two Giants Super Bowl victories.
This is where caution needs to come in as this is an interpretation of how the Giants look on paper. Games are won and lost on the field,not by projections or predictions. The offensive line could play better than expected and help improve the Giants running game. The linebacking core could bring chaos on the opposition. And all we can do for now is sit back and see how the 2016 season unfolds.
http://profootballtalkline.com/nfl/news/23202/weaknesses-for-the-2016-new-york-giants.html/
A lot of resources have been allocated to upgrade the Giants 2016 roster. First, millions of dollars were used to upgrade a defense that struggled in 2015 and draft picks were used to fill needs in other locations. Yet with all of this spending, there are still weaknesses with the 2016 New York Giants roster.
The one unit of Big Blue that was not addressed in the offseason was the New York Giants offensive line. In the 2013, 2014, and 2015 NFL draft an offensive lineman was taken in one of the first two rounds by the Big Blue brain trust. Those picks have provided three pieces in Justin Pugh, Weston Richburg, and Ereck Flowers. Richburg was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2015 but as a complete unit, the offensive line struggled in 2015. Now Jerry Reese and his staff could believe that with Pugh, Richburg, and Flowers will have the chemistry and have the intangibles to help stabilize protection for Eli Manning and have a respectable running game. Yet many followers of the G-Men still feel uneasy about how the offensive line will perform in 2016.
There could also have been a social media incident that prevented the Giants from addressing both the offensive line need. In the first 24 hours of free agency the defensive line and secondary was addressed by Giants management. It could have been a plan to fill the linebacker or offensive line need in the 2016 Draft but Laremy Tunsil’s tweet with Tunsil smoking marijuana sent Tunsil’s draft stock plummeting. With that developing story occurring during the draft many franchises would not take Tunsil and went elsewhere to fill their offensive line need. Therefore when the Giants first pick came there was no desirable offensive lineman available on the board.
The second issue that was not addressed in the 2016 offseason was the linebacker position. Jon Beason was a solid signing during the 2013 season but Beason only played in 9 of the 32 games during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. While there was some speculation that the Giants would draft a linebacker in the first round for the first time since they selected Carl Banks in 1984 but that did not occur. The franchise that was home to the Crunch Bunch and Lawrence Taylor has started placing more focus on the defensive line than linebackers. While Taylor, Banks, and Pepper Johnson were a driving force in the Giants first two Super Bowl victories, Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Jason Pierre-Paul terrorized quarterbacks in the last two Giants Super Bowl victories.
This is where caution needs to come in as this is an interpretation of how the Giants look on paper. Games are won and lost on the field,not by projections or predictions. The offensive line could play better than expected and help improve the Giants running game. The linebacking core could bring chaos on the opposition. And all we can do for now is sit back and see how the 2016 season unfolds.
