Top Ten Preseason Watch List

Things that are on my mind as Giants open training camp today:

1. Brandon Jacobs
Every Giants fan – hell, every NFL fan – has seen Brandon Jacobs instill the fear of God in defenders. Yet, Brandon Jacobs heads my list as the single most important issue for the Giants season this year. It seems Giants fans everywhere do not expect any drop off in the running game with Tiki Barber’s retirement. That is quite an expectation. Not only is Tiki Barber the Giant’s all time leading rusher, he tops the list as all time leading receiver – and contended for the NFL rushing title the last three years of his career. But fans have seen what Jacobs can do and seemingly believe that what they have seen from Jacobs the past two seasons will automatically carry over into his full time, feature back role.

I’m excited about that prospect – but I’m a realist and understand it is likely that Jacobs will find that life as a feature back in the NFL is quite different than life as a back up role player. It is one thing to stand on the sidelines and be called in, fresh, to periodically run the ball some 5-10 carries a game. It is quite another to pound the ball 20-25 times a game… to have the stamina to handle the ball 6 times on a drive, break off a 30 yard run on the 7th carry, run back to the huddle, and hear your number called yet again for an 8th carry – and still have fresh legs. And then have the long time stamina to still be doing that in December, when his body is beat up and hurt more than he has ever experienced before. And the biggest difference of all? This year NFL defensive coordinators will be spending all week long developing game plans for their entire defense to stop Brandon Jacobs – something he has never faced before.

And, let us not forget that the Giants lost more than Tiki Barber, they lost Jim Finn. It is unknown who will be the fullback this year, or even if they will have a traditional fullback at all. Either way, that will make it more difficult for the feature back because a great blocking fullback is a running back’s best friend. And right now Jacobs is without one.

So, while everyone is very excited (and I include myself in that statement), let’s not get carried away with the expectations that there will not be any drop off from the last three years of Tiki Barber’s career. It is asking a bit much to expect Brandon Jacobs to compete for the NFL rushing title this year.

2. Mathias Kiwanuka
This young man is going to be fun to watch, regardless of the position he plays. As I posted back in May, I hated the move to LB, primarily because the reason behind the move was not because LB was his more natural position, but rather to compensate for the weakness at linebacker and a way to get Kiwanuka on the field rather than sitting behind Strahan. My objection was (and is), that while that thinking might provide short term benefits in 2007, it ignored the long term cost – Kiwanuka was drafted to be a DE – he proved in his rookie season that he had god gifted DE talent and had future pro-bowl written all over him. Moving him away from DE, if temporary, would only serve to retard his long term development as a DE. If permanent, would be “making a bet” that he could turn out to be as good at LB as DE. In my book you “gamble” with a player who isn’t going to make it at the NFL level in his drafted position – but you don’t gamble with a future star to meet some short term need.

Now, of course, we have Mr. Strahan injecting himself into this entire scenario. Strahan, the oldest veteran presumed leader of the team, decides at 11:30 on the night before the team is to report to camp, that he wants to retire. It isn’t clear as I write this whether he is trying to leverage himself for more money or whether he simply can’t face another season of football. And it doesn’t matter. If he announced his retirement in February, it is very unlikely the Giants would have moved Kiwanuka and it is likely they would have drafted a second linebacker, probably during day one. To wait until the last minute – until 11:30 on the night before camp opens, speaks volumes about Strahan as a person, as a teammate, and as a member of the Giants organization.

I strongly believe the Giants organization must grab the opportunity Mr. Strahan has handed them. They need to send a message that will be heard by players for years to come. They should totally ignore Strahan and refuse to return any of his phone calls or those from his agent. They should immediately move Kiwanuka back to DE. And if and when Strahan shows up at camp, they should keep him on the roster, pay him his salary, and make certain he never steps on a football field during a regular or preseason game ever again. Message sent and received: You want to treat the New York Giants as your personal dumping ground – this is how you will end your Hall of Fame career.

Add to this drama two other players who are impacted. With Kiwanuka moving to LB, the status of Tuck’s physical health was critically important. With Strahan’s “retirement” announcement, it moves off the charts in importance. And if Strahan doesn’t play this year, William Josephs stock has suddenly gone up because of his value at DE. Go figure.

3. Amani Toomer
With so many needs heading into the draft, it was telling that the Giants used their second round pick on a WR for the second year in a row. And from what I’ve been hearing it seems they made a solid choice. I am really excited to watch Steve Smith this year. Of course, if I’m not willing to anoint Brandon Jacobs as the second coming, how can I possibly even suggest Smith can make any contribution when we haven’t even seen him in pads? And, of course, I can’t. But I’m more excited about Smith than I am about Sinorice Moss. Smith seems more likely to be a starting receiver some day. Moss, I’m afraid, is more destined to be a part time specialist. Don’t get me wrong – a specialist who breaks some home run screen plays or crossing patterns can have a huge impact on game outcomes. My objection is that second round picks are valuable commodities (and let’s not forget the Giants traded up in the second round to select Moss), and in my book you better get a full time starter with your second round selection.

Anyway, enough with the digression. It was (and remains) my interpretation that the Steve Smith second round selection was an indication of the Giants concerns about Toomer in 2007. And, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I have a soft spot for Toomer, especially in comparison with the ulcerating angst generated by the Barber Strahan show these past 12 months. Amani, in my heart, has been a true and loyal soldier, moving over gracefully to make way for Burress and then proceeding to become the primary clutch “go to” guy anyway. So, a good portion of my “eye time” this preseason will be on Toomer, Smith and Moss.

4. Eli Manning
What is there to say that hasn’t been said? Nothing. That doesn’t mean the Eli watch doesn’t continue, because it does. There just isn’t anything much to add to what has already been said (by just about everyone in the entire world, or so it seems). He isn’t going to get many more seasons to establish himself – and if he doesn’t take a big step forward this year, the number of defenders will drop off considerably. And don’t think for a minute that he doesn’t know that – so there will be considerable internal anxiety added to the mix this year. We can only hope and pray.

A related theme (and one that probably deserves its own “things to watch” point) is the offensive line. As goes the offensive line so goes Eli. Reese jettisoned Petitgout as the trash he obviously thought he was –leaving a gaping hole on the offensive line. A GM purportedly doesn’t make decisions regarding who should play where. But I see some gamesmanship here between Reese and Coughlin. Reese clearly wanted Petitgout gone and, from what I’ve been reading, wants Whimper to get a real shot at breaking into the lineup. If I had to put real money on the line, I’d be forced to put my money against Reese on this one. Absent injury, Whimper doesn’t start this year and the offensive line loses a huge amount of the invaluable flexibility we saw last year. Reese obviously didn’t like Petitgout - as we all learned from his unprofessional attack upon Petitgout this week. And I can live with letting Petitgout go. But I am not thrilled with his lack of plan for a replacement and continue to believe the Giants would be stronger today with Luke in camp competing with Diehl and Whimper for the starting job. On the entire subject of Petitgout I have to give Reese a big fat F which I will chalk up to rookie GM learning experience. But it may have huge consequences for Eli Manning who would have benefited from moves that clearly made the offensive line unquestionably stronger than 2006 – not moves that leave the offensive line on a preseason watch list (ok, I know, I didn’t put it on the watch list – so kill me for taking literary liberties).

5. Kicker
It’s on the list of unknowns and I don’t know more than that about the kickers – nor does anyone else – that’s the problem.

6. Return game
It’s on the list of unknowns and I don’t know more than that about the returners– nor does anyone else – and that’s another problem.

7. Backup Tight End
They added Boss in this year’s draft, allegedly a pass catching TE with soft hands. I’m really excited to watch him. But the Giants have no fullback. The offensive line is in flux, including the loss of Seubert as a blocking tight end. And Shiancoe is gone. So tight end makes my watch list primarily because I want to know who will be the road grading blocking TE when Brandon is running the ball, especially in goal line and short yardage situations?

8. Steve Spagnuolo
He makes my watch list because I am excited – really excited – about the change in defensive philosophy. Every defensive player in history loves a defensive scheme that allows him to simply follow his instincts to run to the ball – to attack, attack, attack. Yes, we may see some break downs and get burned for some (a lot? ) of big plays. But I don’t care. If my defense is going to get burned, then at least we’ll go down while we are going after the QB. As a fan, that’s what I want to see – pressure the QB in every way possible. I’m excited about Spags, can you tell?

9. The Rookies
Well, this is a real “duh” for a preseason watch list. I mean, what is preseason for if it isn’t to watch the rookies and hope for some surprises to see who may actually contribute this year. But hey, this is a things to watch list for the preseason and how can you not watch the rookies? So, it made my list and this year is no different than any of the other 40 preseasons I’ve lived through (ok, 37), watching the rookies is what the preseason is all about – and like always, I’m full of hope and excitement about this year’s rookie crop.

10. Team Coughlin
Coach Coughlin is an interesting subject. I’ve heard many express their views. My post at the end of last season – before ownership made their decision – basically called it lunacy to consider firing a head coach who had turned the team into a winner in very short order and taken the team to back to back playoff seasons. So I suppose I was a Coughlin defender. But I suspect that many such “defenders” are as uncomfortable with that label as I am – for I am not a Coughlin fan. I think he likes to think himself as a disciplinarian when in fact all he has are silly rules, displays no self discipline on the sidelines, and frankly has been a relative push over when it has come down to dealing with players whom a true disciplinarian like Lombardi would have benched in a heartbeat without losing a moment’s sleep over it. No, I don’t particularly care for Coughlin. But he should be judged by his record and, for me, based upon the record – especially where the Giants stood at the eve of the Bears game last year – it is hard to find fault with where he had brought this team.

But Coughlin is obviously a mixed bag. He rubs the players the wrong way and today’s “handle with kid gloves” babied players chaff under his silly rules. In many ways a Coughlin is good for these kids – some of them may actually gain some valuable life experience dealing with difficult people. Most, however, are too self centered to understand that life sometimes forces you to adapt and it is actually a valuable skill to know how to thrive under even the worst of circumstances. Sadly, the majority of young players today take the field believing they are god’s chosen few, that they are somehow “entitled” to fame and fortune – and that the rest of the world just better learn to adapt to them, not vice versa. Tiki Barber and Michael Strahan both represent exhibit one of this type of behavior. From the standpoint of talent, the team is worse off with the loss of Barber and Strahan. But from the standpoint of “team”, the organization is light years ahead with both gone. If Strahan keeps his word and retires (highly doubtful but I can always hope), maybe the Giants organization can finally put the last 15 years of "leadershipless" behind them and breathe some fresh air into the locker room - a place which, in the end, is where true championship teams are built.