Scouting the Giants

COACHING STAFF

Tom Coughlin is 64, has one year left on his contract, and is coming off a stinker of a season. Is his job in trouble? Giants brass says no, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll stick around if 2010 ends anywhere close to the way 2009 did. He’s brought in Perry Fewell to revive the defense that fell into a coma under Bill Sheridan. Mike Sullivan moves from coaching the receivers to quarterbacks coach, which should theoretically help the chem- istry between the two positions. The Giants have also doubled up on their Kevin Gilbrides. The offensive coordinator is back and his son, Kevin Jr., is an offensive quality control coach.

QUARTERBACKS

Eli Manning had the best statistical season of his career in 2009 . . . and it’s a season he’d no doubt like to forget. The key this year is for him to put up similar numbers and boost the team’s win total so the Giants get back to the playoffs. Manning showed that he’s not made of granite when he bled like a bluefish in the preseason opener against the Jets, but the Giants seem confident enough in his durability to bring in 10-year veteran Sage Rosenfels as his one and only backup a little more than a week before the opener.

RUNNING BACKS

This year, the lightning will come before the thunder. Ahmad Bradshaw will be the “starting” running back and will split time with Brandon Jacobs. The change in batting order may or may not be reflected in the number of carries. The Giants spent their free time last January marveling at how the Saints used their running backs, so look for a lot of balance in the workload and perhaps the development of a third go-to guy. That could be D.J. Ware. Both Bradshaw and Jacobs have looked good after offseason surgeries, which will undoubtedly help a group that was limping through most of the 2009 season.

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks will make a very good 1-2 combination of targets for Eli Manning. They burst out last year and are both young enough to expect that they’ll just get better. The Giants also have Mario Manningham as a third receiver, and he can create plays in space. The Giants lost Domenik Hixon (knee in- jury), but a combination of undrafted rookies Victor Cruz and Duke Calhoun should be able to fill his role. Kevin Boss is coming around after ankle surgery. Be concerned about the depth at tight end, especially with Travis Beckum’s injury history.

OFFENSIVE LINE

The old guard held off a push from Will Beatty and other up-and-comers to head into the season relatively intact. That means David Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O’Hara (if healthy), Chris Snee and Kareem McKenzie across the front. But keep an eye on the de- velopment of Shawn Andrews, the former Eagles Pro Bowler. He could be sliding in at left guard, which would mean Seubert would become a backup at either guard or center. If O’Hara misses the start of the season, don’t be sur- prised if Seubert starts at center right away with Andrews at guard.Tom Coughlin is 64, has one year left on his contract, and is coming off a stinker of a season. Is his job in trouble? Giants brass says no, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll stick around if 2010 ends anywhere close to the way 2009 did. He’s brought in Perry Fewell to revive the defense that fell into a coma under Bill Sheridan. Mike Sullivan moves from coaching the receivers to quarterbacks coach, which should theoretically help the chem- istry between the two positions. The Giants have also doubled up on their Kevin Gilbrides. The off- ensive coordinator is back and his son, Kevin Jr., is an offensive quality control coach.

DEFENSIVE LINE

The good news is this seems to be the strength of the team. The bad news is it looked to be the strength of last year’s team and flopped. Justin Tuck’s shoulder is all healed up and he’s looked sharp in the preseason. It will be interesting to see how the Giants rotate their ends with Osi Umenyiora, Mathias Kiwanuka and rookie Jason Pierre-Paul all seemingly deserving of playing time. Inside Chris Canty seems to have shaken the injury bug, Barry Cofield has fully healed from offseason knee surgery two years ago, and Rocky Bernard has shown flashes of the quickness the Giants thought they were getting in 2009.

LINEBACKERS

The Giants have only one returning starter in Michael Boley (he’s switched his number from 52 to 59 this season), and he’ll be their every-down linebacker who stays on the field in sub packages. Jonathan Goff inherited the middle linebacker job but is untested. He’ll have a lot to prove with many doubters watching every snap of his. Clint Sintim was penciled in as a starter outside but veteran Keith Bulluck moved back to that position just a few weeks ago after being brought in to compete in the middle. Bulluck also plays the middle in nickel looks, something Sintim does not.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Corey Webster thrived when the Giants defense started using him as a press corner. How will he react to Perry Fewell’s off coverages? Terrell Thomas took advantage of injuries to become a starter last year and he hasn’t let go of the job. He was probably one of the most consistent defenders in ’09, which may not be saying much. Aaron Ross looked terrific in training camp as the nickelback, but his foot injury could derail that progress. After serious lapses at safety last year the Giants brought in Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant and also have Kenny Phillips back from knee surgery.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Tom Coughlin knew he’d have to have patience with a rookie punter, but how many 45-yard line drives will he be willing to tolerate? Matt Dodge has a very strong leg but shaky fundamentals that Jeff Feagles has been working on improving all summer. He’s also the holder for Lawrence Tynes and has done a respectable job at it considering it’s a new task for him. As for Tynes, he’s been kicking well, putting kickoffs at the goal line and showing consistency on his field goals. The addition of Darius Reynaud gives the Giants a speedster in both punt and kickoff returns.