Position Preview: DT (where's the beef?)

Our final defensive position preview takes a look at the large Americans that anchor the inside of the defensive line.  Ah yes, the D-tackles.  My kind of athletes.  In fact, the only Giants jersey I own is a #64 Jim Burt (see left).

Not unlike the rest of the defensive units, the Giants' D-tackles were very disappointing in '09.  Although no one should be excused for their play, injuries did play a part.   Chris Canty was never fully healthy, Fred Robbins seemed to have nothing left in the tank, Cofield didn't seem to be fully recovered from his knee surgery (same surgery Kenny Phillips had by the way), Rocky Bernard was banged up (and generally worthless) all year, and Jay Alford was lost for the year during camp.  In other words, it was ugly.

In 2010, the Giants return all of their DT's from a year ago with the exception of Robbins who has rejoined Steve Spagnuolo in St. Louis.  They've also added second round draft choice Linval Joseph--a very large (6'4" 328 lbs) and very agile DT out of East Carolina.  The additional big bodies headed into camp are rookie free-agent Nate Collins and second year man Dwayne Hendricks (2009 practice squad).  The Giants had 4 DT's on their active roster a year ago, so barring injuries they are likely to part ways with 3 of these players.

Assuming Hendricks and Collins are cut or placed on the practice squad, and that Cofield, Canty, and Joseph are locks, Jay Alford and Rocky Bernard could be fighting it out for the last roster spot.  Alford is coming off a knee surgery while Bernard looked to be well past his prime (then again he never really had a prime) last season.  I think the Giants are still high on Alford, who is an excellent pass rushing DT.  His youth and athleticism should be enough to beat out Bernard.  

I think it's safe to say that barring injury or just a ridiculous preseason by Joseph, Cofield and Canty will be the week 1 starters.  It will be interesting to see how the Giants will deploy those two.  Canty--a converted 3-4 DE--is best suited as a 3-technique player.  Problem is, so is Cofield, and one will have to shade on the center.  It will be very interesting to watch how Perry Fewell utilizes all of his big boys as the preseason unfolds.

Additional Thoughts on Bulluck Signing

I was away over the weekend so I was not able to really put my two cents in on the Bulluck signing.  In a word, I'm "intrigued."  First though, let's be realistic.  He's 33 and he suffered a torn ACL a mere 7 months ago.  Even at his best, he was a very good, but not great player, and he's never been a 3-down middle linebacker (last year he played OLB for the Titans, but moved to the middle on passing downs).  But the Giants are really risking nothing here.  A one year deal worth $2.5 million in an uncapped season.  I'm pretty sure the PSL's from section 101 alone could cover that.  If he his healthy (or even close to it), he's better than what they have.  If he's got nothing left, so what, what have they got to lose?

The Giants weren't the only team looking at Bulluck either.  According to Tom Friend of ESPN, as many as 6 teams wanted to bring Bulluck in for inspection, but he accepted the invite of only the Giants and Cardinals.  Both team's were impressed with his progress, and both reportedly were willing to bring him on to compete for their vacant starting MLB spots.  The Giants not only worked him through drills, but had him come in for a physical with their trainers the following day.  The lack of swelling convinced Reese that Bulluck was a worthwhile risk, and fortunately for the Giants, Bulluck decided he wanted to come home (he grew up a Giants' fan in New City, NY).

I don't believe Bulluck is being handed the starting job, but everyone in the organization knows he will easily win it if his knee holds up.  He can fill the void until someone steps up (or is brought in) to be a "long-term solution"--as if such a thing even exists in sports today.  At the very least, his presence should help the young linebacker corps. 

And your starting linebacker is: Keith Bulluck

The Giants have signed veteran LB Keith Bulluck to a one year deal.  According to Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News, the former Tenessee Titan was brought in to start at MLB.  I'm sure the Giants' brass will say the competition is still open, but it's clear that the team was not satisfied with their options.  Bulluck is coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL, an injury he suffered only about 7 months ago.  That seems awfully fast to return from such an injury, but he passed a physical and the Giants seem willing to roll the dice.  If he can still play, Bulluck will not only provide a veteran option in the middle, but also be a solid back-up for the strong and weaksides.  It will be interesting to see how he looks in preseason.

Position Preview: CB (Where did this depth come from?)

Despite a horrific performance by the defense in general, the Giants found a few bright spots at the corner position in '09.  Terrell Thomas filled in for the injured Aaron Ross, and played well enough to potentially permanently keep the starting job, and rookie free agent Bruce Johnson showed flashes of play making ability filling in at the nickel.  Corey Webster, who emerged during the 2007 playoff run, did not have as good of a year as he had in 2008, but still didn't play bad.  Ross's injury woes and ill-fated temporary move to safety made 2009 a wash for him.  Good news is he's back and healthy (for the time being).  Rounding out the roster headed to camp are DJ Johnson and Courtney Brown.  DJ Johnson, who was signed off the Broncos practice squad last November, probably does have a shot at making the roster, but Brown--who was drafted in 2007 by the Cowboys and spent all of 2009 out of football--is likely nothing more than a training camp practice dummy.

The return of Ross (if it lasts) immediately bolsters the depth of the unit.  CB coach Peter Giunta said of Ross's return, "[It] forces guys to be at their top all the time because they can't say no one is behind me."  He added that "everyone is competing for jobs."  Still, it seems as though Webster's job is pretty safe, and I get the sense from interviews I've heard and articles I've read that the other starting CB job is Thomas' to lose.  However, Giunta did say that Ross and Thomas may be used interchangeably on the outside and at nickel back based on game-plan and match-ups.  Ross has been in my doghouse for a longtime, but he is definitely the most athletic CB on the roster, and his presence and health certainly makes this a better unit.  The good news is Ross hasn't pulled "an Osi" and seems to understand that he will have to earn his playing time.

The Giants certainly lack a shot-down corner but with Webster, Thomas, Ross, and Bruce Johnson they have 4 guys that you can feel comfortable being on the field at any one time.  If this unit stays healthy (and the safety play improves), I expect the Giants' secondary to be much better than it was a year ago.

Where are they now: Dave Brown

I don't think this will be a regular feature of this blog, but someone posted this link on "nj.com/giants," and I thought I should share.  It seems everyone's favorite Duke quarterback is now a "Principal" at Greenhill & Co's "Private Capital Advisory" group.  Let's hope Brown's investment strategy is better than his QB play.  Amazingly, the website lists both his phone number and his email address.  I can't imagine how many crank calls/emails he gets a day from drunk Giants fans.

Thanks to screen name "geeeeemen " on nj.com/giants for the link.

Position Preview: D-Ends ("you can never have too many pass-rushers")

I know things have been quiet here Fat-Giants-Fan, and I apologize, but it is July after all.  We jump right back in with the next stop in our position previews

Probably the greatest enigma of last season was the lack of production from the Giants' defensive ends.  That was the one position that the Giants were set at, had plenty of depth, could rotate 3 or 4 guys all day and keep the pressure on opposing quarterbacks.....  What the hell happened?  Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyora, Mathias Kiwanuka, and Dave Tollefson combined for a pedestrian 16 sacks last season.  And it wasn't exactly like they were freeing up other players, as the entire team managed a below league average 32 sacks for the season.  Well, injuries certainly played a part.  Coming off the knee injury in '08, Umenyora was never 100%, and Tuck was not the same following the shoulder injury he suffered when he was tripped by that dirty fat waste-of-space Flozell Adams.  Poor DT play didn't help matters any either, as QB's were able to step up in the pocket without any fear of an inside rush.  All that being said, I think the Giants' DE's have gotten complacent, still living off the glory of the Super Bowl XLII and the beating they put on Brady.  Worse, I think they're completely overrated.  Osi has certainly caught the ire of fans (more on that later), and has often been labeled "overrated."  But I'm going to blaspheme for a minute and say that Tuck and Kiwanuka are overrated as well.  Bottom line, Justin Tuck has 29 career sacks.  Not bad, not great either.  Kiwanuka has only 19.5 career sacks.  Disappointing I'd say for a first round pick.  I'm not saying that Tuck and Kiwanuka--or Osi for that matter--are bad players.   But none of them are the dominant players fans like to make them out to be.  In retrospect, perhaps 2009 wasn't much of an enigma after all.

Enter Jason Pierre-Paul.  The Giants' first round pick was certainly controversial, but that's only because most people are not very bright.  The guy is an absolute freak of nature (just look at that picture).  Forget about the back-flips, watch actual football video of this guy.  He's incredible.  Does he look bad at times?  No, actually he looks awful at times.  But man, when he is on, it is unbelievable.  He looks like LT in the original Tecmo Bowl Game.  He has absolutely no technique, he doesn't know how to use his hands, and gets too high at times and a result he can be made to look bad when an experienced lineman gets leverage on him.  But his motor is out of control, and when he does things right, he is un-blockable.  What gets overlooked, is his ability to play the run.  He's surprisingly very good at it--something Jerry Reese really emphasized following the selection.  Importantly, that means he can play the right side, giving Tuck a reasonable back-up this year and competition in the coming years.  Last year, Tollefson was really the only back-up Tuck had--and by seasons end Tuck was clearly worn out.   It's going to be a slow road for JPP, but the Giants didn't draft him to be a back-up DE forever.  If he lives up to his potentially, he could be the dominant defensive player the Giants have lacked.  In addition, I think the Giants are hoping the young freak will motivate the veterans--if for nothing else, just to keep their jobs.

That brings us to the Giants' major off-season headache:  Osi Umenyora.  Suprisingly, he did lead the Giants' in sacks last season with 7 (yes, that's right the Giants' sack leader only had 7 sacks).  But he really, really, really needs to shut up now.  He isn't half the player he thinks he is.  The drafting of JPP means Osi has no chips left to play his little game.  He either earns a starting job or doesn't.  He can either like it or not.  I hope he steps up.  In fact, I hope everyone I just called out steps up.  I also hope they never find out who I am and come kick the crap out of me.