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.
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