32 in 31: New York Giants

Another year of 32 in 31. Sports News on Tap takes the month of August to preview the National Football League. We spend every day of the month looking at a new team and how they will fare in 2013.

In case you are wondering about putting the New York Giants in the playoffs this season, you must know about the Super Bowl curse. New York is hosting the Super Bowl in the first cold weather Super Bowl in history and it is sure to be overblown to sky high levels.  But teams who host the Super Bowl, do not usually make the playoffs. In fact, the last team to even make the playoffs when they hosted the Super Bowl was the 2000 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Only two teams in the last 10 years have above .500 record as the chart will show you.

Year	Super Bowl Host	Record
2012	New Orleans	7-9
2011	Indianapolis	2-14
2010	Dallas	6-10
2009	Miami	7-9
2008	Tampa	9-7
2007	Phoenix	8-8
2006	Miami	6-10
2005	Detroit	5-11
2004	Jacksonville	9-7
2003	Houston	5-11
2002	San Diego	8-8

OFFENSE
I think Eli Manning will never get the credit that he probably deserves honestly. He is the younger brother of Peyton Manning and yes, he might never been the quarterback as his older bro, but Eli is a damn good quarterback. He is a good enough quarterback to pull his team to victory. The thing where people knock Manning is he can turn in some godawful performances throughout the year and his noted struggles with New York's weather. I am convinced if Manning leaves at some point late in his career and goes to a place where the home games are in a dome, he will have a huge year.

Manning's receiver corps have been good for the last couple years, but they also seem to have some sort of injury. Victor Cruz is currently battling a foot injury and if he misses some time, it will directly affect the Giants. Hakeem Nicks might be a player to watch this year as he is in a contract year.  Those words are not uttered as much in football as it is in baseball, but Nicks could turn in a huge payday if he plays well.  I also would not sleep on Reuben Randle as a vertical threat. He's a player I believe would be good when he came out of LSU. Brandon Myers is mentioned in our key addition posts.

There is some definite uncertainty about their running backs. They are young and pretty good, but they are still unproven. Andre Brown looked great until he went out for the season with an injury. David Wilson is a good player with explosive speed, but has had troubles with fumbling the football.  They did draft a running back in the 7th round, but who knows with him.

DEFENSE
Some of their established players are a long gone with Osi Umenyiora, Kenny Phillips, Michael Boley and Chris Canty all gone from the team. Justin Tuck is battling through injuries yet again for the third straight season and that seems to be a yearly concern now. Jason Pierre-Paul has an outside shot of making it for week one and Tom Coughlin is saying 'He's close to coming off the PUP list.'  I cannot help but think Pierre-Paul will struggle with his back for at least the part of the season.

Their linebackers do not look much better either with Mark Herzlich and Dan Connor who is coming over from the Dallas Cowboys. I mean they are both good players, but they are not making Pro Bowls anytime soon.  I also do not know if their defensive linemen will help pave the way for these linebackers to fill holes and also opposing tight ends could have an absolute field day.

The secondary might be the bright spot with the defense with Prince Amukamara who looked awesome last season and Stevie Brown had a surprising breakout year. If Antrel Rolle stays healthy and Corey Webster finds his groove again, this can be a great secondary.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Larry Tynes is no more and they had over the reigns to Josh Brown. He is a competent kicker, but it is not easy to kick at MetLife. Steve Weatherford is still doing the punting and he's a good one. David Wilson will probably not return punts if he ends up as the starting running back, but they have plenty replacements.

KEY ADDITIONS
DT/DE Cullen Jenkins, LB Dan Connor, S Ryan Mundy, WR Louis Murphy, TE Brandon Myers, CB Aaron Ross - Myers will be absolutely huge for the Giants. I feel like he is a shade better than Bennett and Manning has his best tight end for his career.

KEY SUBTRACTIONS
TE Martellus Bennett, LB Chase Blackburn, DE Osi Umenyiora, RB Ahmad Bradshaw, DE Chris Canty, OT Sean Locklear, DT Rocky Bernard, LB Michael Boley, S Kenny Phillips, K Lawrence Tynes,

GIANTS DRAFT PICKS
OT Justin Pugh, DT Jonathan Hankins, DE Damontre Moore, QB Ryan Nassib, S Cooper Taylor, OG Eric Herman, RB Michael Cox  - Let's remember Hankins and Moore were both players that could have been first round picks if the intangibles were right.

GAME TO WATCH
Sunday December 15th vs. Seattle 12 pm - My assumption is this will be one of the games that makes and breaks their season.  If the Giants win this game, they might be a playoff team and if not, they will be on the outside. Seriously though, the NFC is scary good this year.

WIN TOTAL
8-10 - The Super Bowl curse is one of the more surefire things in the world, but the Giants seem to defy odds. I do not think they will make the playoffs because I feel there are too many holes with this team

Charlie.

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Fantasy TE Rankings Reaction

Earlier in the offseason, I posted my 2013 Fantasy Football Ranks, so that everyone could get prepared for the fantasy football season. If you missed those rankings, they are posted here.I asked for a lot of feedback, so I knew how to look more in depth at each individual. I won’t be writing about each individual player, instead I will look to spend more time on players that might represent more points for discussion. Charlie and Mitch were more than happy to toss some thoughts about my ranks on the August 14 Tapping the Keg Podcast, if you missed that, the link is here.I’ll use some of the players they mentioned, some players SnoTap contributor Bryan Reynolds mentioned, and players I think are points of discussion this offseason. If you there is anyone you disagree with my rankings on, as always send them to SnoTap12@gmail.com, and I’ll make sure to address it in the next column.

QB Rankings Reaction

#6 Rob Gronkowski- Mitch said on the podcast that he thinks Gronk is a little too high because he is hurt. I agree with Mitch’s thought process, that it’ll be tough to own Gronk, while trying to deal with all of the injuries that are going to derail him at the start of the season, and then again injuries that will likely coming up once he returns. The fact of the matter is, when Gronkowski is playing, he is the number one or two fantasy option at tight end. If your league has an injured reserve slot, pick up Gronk, stash him on injured reserve, and either draft a tight end late, or pick one up in free agency. There are tons of tight ends that won’t be drafted in your league that can bridge the gap until Gronk plays, look for players like Jordan Cameron, Rob Housler, and Zach Sudfeld are going to be passed up for players with more name value, that aren’t likely to produce like those three will. Moral of the story, take the chance on Gronk, and sign one of those three to fill his spot.

#8 Kyle Rudolph- Rudolph was a fantasy savior last year for many owners who were looking for help at tight end when their draft picks working out. Christian Ponder clearly felt comfortable looking for Rudolph in the red zone, where his huge frame helped him get a lot of touchdowns. The problem for people that owned Rudolph was there was not a lot of fantasy value that he brought outside of touchdowns. As many owners know, predicting which week someone is going to score a touchdown is a maddening experience. So while Rudolph was able to rack up a lot of cumulative points last season, there is a good chance that many teams did not benefit from those points, due to the fact he was so inconsistent. Draft Rudolph at your own risk.

#11 Brandon Myers- Myers is moving to New York, to replace Martellus Bennett. Myers was a great in season pickup for fantasy players last season, as players were able to capitalize on the large number of targets Myers got from Carson Palmer. The Giants aren’t known for targeting their tight ends often, as Bennett found out after a few good weeks early in the season last year. While Myers did produce in Oakland, and is getting an upgrade at quarterback, I’m not sure he will produce to the same level in New York, where players such as Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, and Reuben Randle are going to be around for Eli Manning. If Tom Coughlin works Myers into the game plan often, he could be a steal in drafts, but he could also be a disappointment if he doesn’t get a high volume of passes thrown his way.

#13 Jared Cook-Cook has been a very popular “sleeper” this year, since he is moving to a new system that looks to use him more than his final season in Tennessee. Cook’s greatest season did come while playing for Jeff Fisher, and he could get some great opportunities to succeed in St. Louis. It is tough to but a lot of faith in him however, as it seems like he never fully becomes the player we expect him to be. If he is able to reach his potential, he could be a dominant tight end, but are we sure that he will do that with Sam Bradford as his quarterback?

#14 Martellus Bennett-Many are choosing Bennett to have a great season, based off of his potential and the Bears constant need for a tight end. I know the Bears are going to have a new coach and offensive scheme this year, but they have traditionally been a team that does not use the tight end often. It  seems like year after year we are waiting for Bennett to start producing, and year after year we are waiting for a Bears tight end to be a sleeper. In my mind, combining those to situations does not equal a starting tight end. He’s good to have as a backup in case he breaks out, but make sure you have other options. 

Check back tomorrow as we look at the wide receiver position.

Adam

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