Giants camp has officially opened, Tiki Barber has retired and now the offense falls squarely on the shoulders of the man the Giants mortgaged the future for, #10 Eli Manning.
Over the previous 3 seasons, I, as well as all Giants fans, have seen flashes of greatness out of Manning, but in the same breath, we have seen plays where we shake our heads and say "what" to ourselves? Making everyone think, is he the second coming of, ugh, Dave Brown, instead of Phil Simms.
No one will forget the game against Denver, two seasons ago, when Eli lead a 4th quarter game winning drive, or the miraculous come from behind victory against division rival Philadelphia, last season. Then again, no one wants to remember the debacle that was the Titans game of a year ago, or the playoff disaster against Carolina, where the offense couldn't even get a field goal.
Fast forward to 2007, with new hope, dreams and ambitions by the players, New York media, and the fans. So called experts are not giving this year's Giants team much of a chance, but lets not forget, one year's disaster, could be next year's Saints. This is the NFL afterall, a league that prides itself of parity and where only one thing is for sure, and that is the Colts and Patriots are powerhouses, and everyone else is up in the air as, who knows how good they will really be.
Eli Manning has taken a step further in this offseason, calling out superstar tight end Jeremy Shockey for not showing up on time to the OTAs, or standing in front of the NY media, which is never an easy thing to do, and in not so many many words, saying, 'this is my team and I am ready to be the leader'. Obviously I am paraphrasing, but you get the point.
GM Jerry Reese has done an excellent job in the offseason. He's put together some pieces, however this team still needs more, and is more than likely a year or two away from being considered a Superbowl contender. Regardless of what pieces Reese brings in, there is one main peice that needs to rise above the play of the past three seasons, and that is Eli Manning. If he continues to play the way he has, it would mean Ernie Accorsi made the biggest blunder in draft history, trading away the farm for young Eli, and will set this franchise back for many years. If Eli turns out to be an excellent QB, win some playoff games, and maybe just maybe a Superbowl? Then EA will go down as a genious, no one in NY will remember the trade that could have landed them LB Shawn Merriman, and no one will certainly remember the game against Carolina or Tennesee.
About the Author:
Mike Podlesny co-hosts the Big Blue Review. A weekly podcast covering the NY Giants. You can listen to the podcast by visiting http://big-blue-review.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment