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Big on Blue

Naysayers should take a closer look at Giants

Posted: Tuesday July 30, 2002 12:03 PM

Open any preview magazine, listen to talk radio or interview any Giants fan at practice in Albany, N.Y., and all you'll hear is that this team is bound for the basement in the NFC East. This negative sentiment is driven by three causes:

The club's 7-9 record last year;

the bill of goods being sold that the roster has been wiped out in the salary cap war and the players who remain are all fighting with each other;

and an offensive line in shambles.

Take a closer look at that 7-9 record last year and you will notice that the Giants lost three games by three points or less. Win two of those three and they would have been 9-7. The panic button would not have been punched so quickly. As one Giants player told me, "The team to beat in our division is Philadelphia, and we lost to the Eagles 10-9 and 24-21 last year -- they are not that far ahead of us."

What's more, the best team in the NFC is St. Louis, and New York lost to the Rams 15-14 on the road last season -- not bad defense against the NFL's top scoring machine. Speaking of the Giants' defense, at practice the other day it looked better than that of a team predicted to come in fourth in a four-team race. In fact, one personnel man asked me whether I would trade the Giants' defensive unit for the Redskins' or Cowboys' today? I wouldn't and neither would many NFL people

I studied three facets of the Giants' defense at work:

First, can the defense continue to play well without John Fox? New coordinator Johnnie Lynn is under the microscope, but what many don't see is that Lynn lost none of the assistants he served with last year under Fox. Plus, the addition of Rod Rust to mentor Lynn will pay dividends right away. Lynn checked his ego at the door and will take full benefit of what Rust sees at practice and on opponent game tapes.

Second, can the team replace the two free-agent losses, Sam Garnes and Jessie Armstead? Garnes was a popular player but replacing him will not be difficult. If young backup cornerbacks Will Peterson and Ralph Brown continue to progress, with Jason Sehorn at free safety and Shaun Williams at strong safety, the backfield would have a significant upgrade.

Armstead's departure was an emotional one but probably the right call in this cap era. The jury is still out on replacement Dhani Jones, but I spoke with Jones, who is very bright, and he realizes that every starter surrounding him is a quality NFL player, so I suspect this transition will go smoothly.

Lastly, will the rift involving Michael Strahan and Tiki Barber cause any problems? I asked a number of players about that subject and, as I suspected all along, it's old news. Until the media gets tired of asking about their relationship, this friction won't go away but we ought to let it die because no one in a Giants uniform cares about it anymore.

The salary cap has restricted the Giants' growth after their Super Bowl run two years ago, but it hasn't devastated them as it did the Ravens. Kerry Collins may be a middle-of-the-road quarterback, but the only starter better than Collins in the NFC East is Donovan McNabb. No team would swap Collins for Danny Wuerffel, Shane Matthews or Quincy Carter -- especially if it were trying to win in 2002. Collins has rarely been hurt but keeping him from getting killed while the offensive line is literally being rebuilt is a key issue for this team.

On the O-line, Lomas Brown and Glenn Parker had to be replaced. It's clear from last year's game tape that both were coming to the end of very fine careers. Losing guard Ron Stone was the single worst thing to happen to the Giants in the offseason and his departure will have a lasting effect on the 2002 season. But there are some positives during this transformation from old to new.

This season there will be more play-action pass and an increase in the quick throwing game. With a young line learning on the job, the idea is to get the ball out of Collins' hands before the defense can get to him. Also, expect to see two tight ends in the game more this season than in years past. Dan Campbell and first-round pick Jeremy Shockey can supply extra blocking when needed. Shockey should be particularly effective on the bootleg pass game off the zone-run scheme. I expect the Giants to run the ball more to their left because the strength of the line will be on the left. That will set up the bootleg to the right, which is good for the right-handed Collins.

It's a tall order for offensive line coach Jim McNally to get these youngsters ready, but he has convinced me he's up for the challenge. McNally is considered one of the elite NFL teachers who has always liked coaching his guys. He will be a candidate for coach of the year if he gets this job done. The 49ers, Broncos and Jets all relied on their offensive line coaches to revamp their units during their respective cap crises and most insiders think McNally can do the same. I caught up with McNally between drills and he said, "I like the challenge and so do my players."

Finally, while the Giants may not be one of the elite teams in the league this season, they're hardly the bottom of the barrel. New York will probably struggle early in the season against San Francisco and St. Louis on the first two weekends but that non-division experience will pay dividends later in the year.

I like the Giants to flip their record over from 7-9 to 9-7. They have a head coach with Super Bowl experience, a solid pass rush, depth in the secondary, a veteran QB, two good running backs, decent receivers and a young tight end who can be a difference maker. If the special teams improve, a winning record is more than attainable.

Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNNSI.com.

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