First Entry (Sat Nov 11, 2005 - Pre Vikings Game)

Ok, this is my first stab at a blog... 5:45 am on a Sat morning (Nov 11, 2005)... I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't sleep, so i found myself online and exploring yahoo... remembered hearing something about yahoo-blogs... decided to check it out and voila - here's my first entry
thought it might be fun to track my private thoughts on the Giants (not public) which I could go back in time later on to read what my earlier thoughts had been...

This is clearly the best Giants' offense since I've followed the Giants closely (1970). In fact, it isn't even close - if this Giants' offense is a 9... the next closest Giants' offense in the past would is a 4.5... and the scary thing is that this offense will be around a long time and do nothing but get better... Toomer is in his last year as a Giant and will be replaced with another stud receiver... the only real issue for the future is replacing Tiki.

At the same time... this is the worst Giants' defense since 1970 - and as a Giants die-hard, that is a difficult thing to swallow (only thing that makes it even slightly palatable is the offense). This defense needs a complete overhaul - top to bottom. Strahan is done after this year (whether he stays or not, his years as a dominant force are over), and he is the only stud on this defense (ok, i like Pierce too - but Pierce isn't Harry Carson). The first thing Giants need to do is to restore the linebacker tradition - this Giants' defense won't satisfy me until we have two all pro linebackers at the same time... then throw in a great defensive line. In my book cornerbacks/safeties are a dime a dozen... they are great only because of the front 7... and for the few who are great on their own, what good are they without a great front 7? Truly great teams are built with dominant defenses and dominant defenses are built with the front 7. The Giants have a weak front 7 that must be restored.

What has surprised me is the play of the defense the past two games... but that must be considered suspect in view of any frank analysis of the players - as proven by what we have seen (borne out by the statistics) in the first 6 games.

So, what do we have? A great offense and a suspect defense. With cold windy weather coming and tough inner-divisional games, it isn't going to be pretty... Giants beat Minn... lose both games to Phil... lose remaining game to Dallas... beat Washington... lose to Seattle... lose to Oakland... beat KC. Prediction: 9-7

Postscript... ok... I forgot to mention several critical things:
(1) a huge reason for the Giants' success this season is the play of special teams... from top to bottom the best special teams the Giants have ever had (so this team is the best offense and the best special teams)... both kickers... both returners... and the coverage teams... all around great special teams contributions
(2) the free agent signings... only 4 players signed during the off season... and all 4 were critical, fabulous additions at critical spots on the roster - all 4 home runs (Burris, Pierce, Feely, & McKenzie) - and throw in what appears to be a strong draft (again only 4 players but all four look like they could stick - Brandon Jacobs... Eric Moore... Justin Tuck... Corey Webster)
(3) I don't see any NFC team that is clearly better than the Giants the rest of this year... what I do see, however, is that the most dangerous threats to the Giants are from within their own division - the Eagles who have a 50/50 shot of having a great 2nd half - and if they do it will be at the expense of the Giants - and the Cowboys who are having a great season and are more balanced than the Giants - a weaker offense but their defense is much stronger - with both the Eagles and Cowboys being the primary threats, the Giants could have a terrible second half record.