As New York Giants fans I want you to do something for me and for you. Lets get caught up in the hype because as loyal Giants fans this season seems like a sort of déjà vu. This feels like the Giants are going to make a Super bowl run.

I know this just sounds like the ramblings of a super fan but lets look at the similarities to our recent Super Bowl appearances.

1. The Giants were not given much of a chance to do anything this season such as most of ESPN predicting a 6 win season. But now that we are on a winning streak they are hopping on the bandwagon. (let them know we don’t need them) Just like the Giants were not meant to do much in ’07 and ’11. We know how that turned out.
2. They lost the first 2 games then went on a winning streak just like 2007.
3. Eli is still here. It seems like every time that people starting doubting how good he is, he proves them wrong in a big way. (like a Super Bowl MVP maybe?!) (Stop burning your Eli jersey and go Buy a new one)
4. Tom Coughlin. Old, reliable is still our coach. Yes he is oldest coach in the league but as he did in our Super Bowl runs, he was willing to change for the betterment of the team. The offense was changed and we are starting to see the pay off but we haven’t reached its potential yet, which is exciting and should be scary for the rest of the NFC east.
5. The Defense has the same make up as the Giants like to have: A solid front 4 that can cause havoc in the backfield. Linebackers are better than we have had in years. Great Secondary play. Again this whole squad is just getting used to each other and has not yet reached its potential. (This is awesome to know that they will get better)
6. What is that? Do the Giants have a running game again. (thank you OL for getting it together) As we know Eli is one of the best play action Qbs in the league. This all equals an offense to be dealt with.
7. There are more similarities but come on people its still just about week 6.

Now you have followed me down this road so far lets imagine that I am right. (which would be awesome) Giants Win another Super Bowl. Eli is a 3 time Super Bowl MVP.

What would that mean:

1. New York Giants will be a 5 time Super Bowl Champion which would put them in an elite class of teams (San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers: the only team with 6)
2. Eli would be a 3 time Super bowl Champion/ MVP which would mean he would be only the 2nd person to do it and the other is Joe Montana. I would have to say it should guarantee him the Hall of Fame and allow him to take his rightful place in being considered elite. He would be the unquestioned best Giants QB ever. (which you could argue that now)
3. Now I am going to say something sac-religious to a Giants fans so just send your complaints to my twitter account because I have no problem arguing with you. If Tom Coughlin wins another Super Bowl he passes Bill Parcells as the best Giants coach ever. (one thing Tom was willing to do was change was Bill?, he just moved on)
4. We would all have another year as Giants fans to be able to talk shit to other fans which is really one of the best parts of the team you root for winning the Super Bowl.

Ssshhhhhhh I know you are happy in this dream. But…….

WAKE UP.

It is week 6 and Giants are going to Philly. This is going to be a big test these next two weeks of divisional games. We will see if the Giants are following my, I mean our dream.

I am predicting a big W. how about you?

I dream this way because I bleed Big Blue. What do you bleed?

The post Dream A Little NY Giants Dream With Me first appeared on Bleedbigblue.com.

Would the Giants be a better team with Ryan Nassib running this offense?   What if I told you the 17 million we would save by buying out Eli’s contract at seasons end was used to rebuild an offensive line and shore up some other areas of concern on this roster?  Would you consider it?

While it seems far-fetched now, this is a realistic possibility if our beloved G-men fall flat on their Big Blue faces again this season.

Take you heart out of the equation and think with your head for a sec.  The fact remains that this season can be the end of a Big Blue Era unless certain parties step up to the plate.  Faces Change, Expectations Don’t!  That is the mantra for this season, is it not?

“James, Coughlin just changed it to “Burn the Boats!”

“Burn, the Boats? What the fuck does that even mean?”

“It’s a mentality … the idea of coming into something with no turning back,” Coughlin told The New York Post. “The whole theme is, there’s no turning back. If you’re here for the right reason, all right? And you share with us the goals. And you’ve put the time and the effort into it, there is no turning back. Once this thing starts, it’s a full commitment, and we have to have everybody in that circle to get it done. And that story just illustrates the way in which the Grecian warriors were treated when they attacked another nation. As they landed onshore, the commanders told them, ‘Burn the boats. Well burning the boats symbolized what? It symbolized that if you survive, you’re gonna defeat the opponent, take his boats, and you will have a chance to return home. But if you don’t do it, you’re not ever going home. So, the idea of that type of commitment, the idea of no turning back, is just an illustration, a story, a parable, which drives home a good message, and that’s what I was after.”

Thanks for clearing that up coach, and I fully agree with you.  Burn the Boats!…Faces Change, Expectations Don’t!…All In!…Talk Is Cheap Play The Game!…it all applies in terms of where this franchise is and why this season can be it for some key Giants figures when all is said and done.

We don’t operate in the past tense in terms of running this franchise.  This is the franchise that cut Phil Simms, the franchise that dismissed Kerri Collins, the franchise that waved good-bye to Justin Tuck.  It is about the future…and the future is on the line for four key Giants this season.   Two players, one head coach and one general manager.

1. Jason Pierre Paul – Defensive End – Hey JPP…Talk is Cheap, Play the Game.  We’ve heard all training camp long how you’re back.  How the old JPP is back. That you are 100% healthy.  That you’re ready to shut people up.  How you were pissed you weren’t named to the NFL’s top 100 players. ENOUGH!!

Talk is cheap JPP, play the game.  It’s a contract year and all of our Big Blue eyes are on you and your every move.  You seem 100% healthy on all those FaceBook and Instragram videos you post.  Now show us on the field on Monday night.  Stop talking and start leading with your actions.

No one cares about 2011 anymore and the freak of nature you were…the plays you made, how you were by far the most talented player on the field for the latter part of that season.  That won’t get you a new contract.  Returning to form will.  They are going to block you with one, two and maybe three guys at once, we don’t give a shit.  Call Strahan and ask how he did it…he was relentless.  Now it’s your turn.  You want a new deal, we want the old JPP.

Find him or it may cost you your job….and millions.

2. Eli Manning – QB – Hey Eli…Faces Change, Expectations Don’t. No more Gilbride.  No more Plaxico.  No more Nicks.  And for that matter, no offensive line.  We don’t give a shit, especially not for 19 million a year. The faces have changed Eli, but the expectations have not.

Listen, we love you. We will always love you.   From the play-off run in ’07, to the throw to Tyree that helped us beat the undefeated Patriots.  From the championship game in 2011 in San Francisco when you took the beating of your life, to the throw to Manningham in the Super Bowl.  We will never forget those memories and the way you have carried yourself in the face of adversity and criticism.  You will forever live in the hollowed halls of Giants lore…but all those memories are in the past.

You are at a Big Blue crossroads my friend.  You fail this season, with this team, and you leave the Giants with a tough decision to make going into next season.  Are we better off without you? Are we better off with the money it will cost to retain your services?

Only you can answer that question.  Only you can rally the troops and coach up this offensive line…only you can carry your franchise on your shoulders.  No one wants excuses anymore.  New offensive with McAdoo got you down?  Fix it. Randle is running the wrong routes again?  Fix it.  Offensive linemen not blocking?  Fix it. Ask yourself Eli…what would Peyton do?

Two years with no play-offs and 27 interceptions later we don’t care anymore.  We want results.  Many offenses change coaches and systems, and not all of them look as horrendous as we have this entire preseason.  The NFL rules cater to the offense now more than ever and you need to start exploiting them.  We don’t need the greatest show on turf, we simply need some more progress and competency and a lot less ineptitude.

Faces Change, Expectations Don’t Eli.  No more Aw Schuks Eli..its time for some Awwwww Shit! To quote my man Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers…”Rule 76 – No excuses, Play like a champion.”

3. Tom Coughlin – Head Coach – Hey Tom, Burn The Boats! Honestly, I LOVE IT!  BURN THE BOATS!  No turning back! No retreat, no surrender! Pain does not exist in this dojo, does it? NO SENSEI!!!  Sorry, I got all fired up for a second.

The season starts Monday, and as we sail into Detroit to tame some Lions, boats shall indeed be burned.  Coughlin has rallied many of teams in the past dating back to his days in Jacksonville.  More recently, he has rallied two Super Bowl Championship teams in a decade under the bright lights of the Big Blue city.  But there was that word again…past.

You have been given one more chance Coach.  One more chance to show what you can do to lead this team to the play-offs and make a run.  One more time to start a season and have it end in the Canyon of Heroes.  One more time to coach the franchise you restored Giants Pride to.  However, if you fall short this year Tommy, your resume will not be enough to keep your day job.

We are behind you 110% Coach.  You deserve to go out on a much higher note than the mess that was last year…and this year is your opportunity.  Without a play-off appearance and maybe even a win or two in said play-offs, this maybe the end of not only your tenure as the coach of the New York Football Giants, but your NFL career.

Burn the Boats Coach Coughlin…you either lead this team to greatness and take the other guys boats, or you may never be seen on the Giants sideline again.

4. Jerry Reese – General Manager – Hey Jerry, you’re ALL IN!!!  We have defended your name for seven seasons, In Reese We Trust has been our mantra as Giants fans.  No linebackers? In Reese We Trust.  No guards or centers? In Reese We Trust.  Gamble in the draft? In Reese We Trust.

Fail this season, and we don’t trust no more.  Matter of fact, if this offensive line falls apart, or the linebackers don’t pan out, and if no tight end emerges, I may call Jack Burns from Meet the Parents myself and have you removed from the “circle of trust” and “take you down to Chinatown.”

You spent like a Kardashian this off season, and I’m not mad at you for that.  We needed it.  Roster upheaval was more then necessary after last year, and I for one was thrilled you were aggressive in free agency.  I was thrilled with the picks like Hankins, Beckham, Robinson, Moore, Nassib, Richburg and Williams.  But it’s not my job on the line Jerry,  it’s yours.  If the players you have selected to wear the blue uniforms, the same blue that we as fans bleed, if they fail this season Jerry…it is all on you.  If the interior of that line turns into a saloon door from an old western movie, it’s your fault.  If Adrien Robinson or Larry Donnell don’t turn into legitimate weapons for your quarterback, it’s your fault.  If the linebackers are the same problem they have been in the past, your fault.

We can’t defend you any longer Jerry.  We will always have a fond place in our hearts for you, but we can’t turn a blind eye anymore based on 2007 and 2011.  It is time to carry you’re own weight.

ALL IN Jerry.  This off-season we watched you pull a Jim Fassel and “push your chips to the center of the table.” And on Monday night against Ndamukong Suh, Matt Stafford and Megatron, we see the hand you dealt us.  There is no folding this hand though Jerry, no bluffing…no “all night long with this check check check“…this hand gets played to the end.  And if this hand breaks the Big Blue bank, it is you Jerry who will be busted  worse than Teddy KGB in Rounders.

The post Drive For Five Comes Down To Four Key Giants first appeared on Bleedbigblue.com.

Hello Bleed Big Bluers…

We are weeks away from the start of training camp. OTA’s are under way and Big Blue is in the process of getting acclimated to a new offensive system, incorporating the new players acquired through free agency and the draft on offense and defense and basically putting a God awful 2013 behind them.

I read recently something that left me scratching my head. This is the reason I enjoy reading and discussing with fans in the know as opposed to beat writers with their heads up their ass.

I read this week that because Coach Coughlin is 68, God bless, and since Eli is 33, that the Giant’s window is closing on what would be our 5^th Lombardi trophy.

To quote the great Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction…”Well allow me to retort!”

After seeing how the Giants attacked this off season I have a hard time accepting the window is closing on our #DriveFor5. In my humble opinion, the moves ownership and the front office made this year has busted the window and the wall it resides on wide open, and they redecorated with a bright and beautiful sunroom. We should all be enjoying the view and the breeze as we bask in the Big Blue sunlight.

Here are the players on the roster at the age of 30 and over…

Josh Brown, 35. Eli Manning, 33. Cullen Jenkins, 33. Chris Snee, 32. Mathias, Kiwinuka, 31. Antrel Rolle, 31. Steve Weatherford, 31. Mike Patterson, 30. Dallas Reynolds, 30. Zak Deossie, 30 and Daniel Fells, 30.

Let’s discuss this real quick. Weatherford and Brown’s age I don’t think we should be concerned about at all, considering the positions they play, their age at this point is not a factor.

Deossie, Reynolds, Fells? Nice role players at this point but losing anyone of these guys wouldn’t exactly call for a red alert.

Jenkins and Patterson? They both played well last year after leaving the Eagles for Big Blue, and both will play important roles on the defensive line this upcoming season, but the odds of both of them returning in 2015 is farfetched, and the prospect of losing both of these players shouldn’t get our Big Blue knickers in a bunch.

Kiwi and Snee? Well, I like most Giants fans am rooting for Snee to comeback this year and find the fountain of youth. If Snee is healthy and can contribute anywhere close to what he was before his injury, this offensive line becomes a huge strength. If he can stay healthy this season, and considering the pay cut he took, we may be looking at a couple of one year salary cap friendly deals for Snee until he can retire a Giant.

Kiwi? I’m actually shocked he didn’t get cut. Per PFF (Pro Football Focus), Kiwi was the worst 4-3 defensive end in league last year. I understand keeping Kiwi for depth purposes and because he isn’t a big hit against the cap. Let’s hope Kiwi, who will be a free agent going into 2015 can provide some punch on the D-line this season, but odds are this is his last year in Giants blue.

That leaves us with, Rolle and Eli, arguably the two most important players on the team.

Rolle? Well, as a Giants fans, how can’t we love this guy? Vocal leader, accountable, motivates, speaks his mind and apparently one hell of a recruiter if you were paying attention to the Dominique Rodgers Cromartie negotiations.

“He just hit me up and said a couple things that hit home,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “He was like, ‘I think you can be this and that in our system, and the coaches and everybody else will help you get to it, just buy into it.‘” Cromartie continued… “Whenever you’ve got somebody that believes in you, you want to go out there and just go that much harder, kind of not be a letdown and hold up your end of the bargain.”

And leave it to Antrel not to sugar coat things for DRC….

“I still don’t feel like [Rodgers-Cromartie] has shown what he can truly be in this league, which is one of the best corners in the NFL,” Rolle said.

Rolle has no problem putting players on 21 Front Street. He will call them out and challenge players to play at the same level and with the same intensity he does every game. Rolle will be a free agent next year, but you have to think the Giants find a way to bring him back with a contract to satisfy their defensive captain to be with a cap smart deal.

That leads us to Eli Manning…

My childhood hero, Phil Simms, gave his opinion on Eli and Bob McAdoo’s version of the west coast offense coming to Big Blue this season.

“I don’t think it’s going to be tough for him,” Simms told Newsday’s Bob Glauber. “It’s going to be new information, a new way to do things, but there will be a lot of the same plays that every offense runs, and there will be a new voice telling him and different ways of running those plays.”

Simms remembered he dealt with a similar transition when Dan Reeves was his new head coach in 1993 after the Ray Handley debacle. Simms made it to the Pro Bowl that season and even received a few votes in the MVP balloting.

“It will be for Eli like it was for me. You have to win the new coach over. He’s going to have to do things faster than everybody else [on the team], and he’s going to have to prove himself all over again,” Simms said. “I have great respect for [former offensive coordinator] Kevin Gilbride winning two Super Bowls. He was worried about hitting four of those big passes every game, and I love that about the Giants’ offense. It wasn’t 17 screens every game, but I would think the West Coast offense and some of the thinking will help the quarterback. It’s not always putting the pressure on the quarterback, which I am a big believer of in today’s game. Give the quarterback 50 percent of his completions as ‘gimmies.’ There are other times you want to make those four or five special throws.“

The jury remains out on this subject.

Here is the reality. This is a make a break year for Eli Manning.

I know what you’re saying….”he’s a two time Super Bowl MVP. He led us on those two incredible runs through the play-offs in 2007 and 2011, and he’s arguably the greatest QB in Giants history!”

I hear ya loud and clear, but heed this warning, if as a franchise we live in the past, the window will close on our fingers like that kid in Amityville horror, and that shit looked like it hurt.

Whether we want to accept it or not, the Giants not extending Eli’s contract this off season is a warning shot across the nose of the S.S. Manning.

So how does this relate to the proverbial window closing?

After the Giants June 1^st bump in cap space due to the cutting David Baas, the Giants are 7+ million under the cap, and that number can and will be carried into the next off season. The Giants may bring in another guy or two before the season starts, but no one that is going to make a significant dent in that 7 million.

So to quote Austin “Danger” Powers, “Whoopty Dooo…What does it all mean, Basil?”…

Especially in terms of the window being open or closing on a chance to win Lombardi trophy #5?

Here is what it means, the only two players on the roster over 30 that the Giants would miss is Rolle and Manning. That is it…period. End of sentence.

Everyone else on this roster is in their early to late 20’s. I personally can’t wait to see the progress of last year’s draft class. I have high hopes for Damontre Moore, who with a year of experience is still only 21. Johnathan Hankins, who per Pro Football Focus didn’t record a single negative grade in his 195 snaps last season. He finished with an 8.0 overall grade and a 9.5 grade against the run, he’s only 22. Cooper Taylor, who at 24 may be a sneaky pick to have a breakout season considering Will Hill went all Cheech and Chong on us.

And there are others, Justin Pugh, 23. Reuben Randle, 23. Odell Beckham Jr, 21. Weston Richburg, 22. Prince Amukamara, 25. Can you feel the Big Blue Breeze?

Look who Reese brought in this off season, Geoff Schwartz, 27. Walter Thurmond, 26. Robert Ayers, 28 and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, 28.

Hell, JPP is only 25 and Victor Cruz is only 27…the window is wide open.

As you can see Reese, Mara and Coughlin did everything in their power to get younger, more physical, faster and cheaper this off season, and they passed the test with flying colors.

But let’s get back to Eli for minute. There is one more player we need to consider when talking about the “window”…and his name is Ryan Nassib, 24.

During the NFL combine, Sporting News’ NFL Draft Expert, Former NFL Scout & Front Office Executive Russ Lande, said this: “This week, I had a higher up in NFL tell me none of this year’s QB’s are as good as (Ryan) Nassib” – via Ian O’Connor.

Why is this significant?…Cause Eli is scheduled to make 17 million next year and resigning him to retire in a Giants jersey is sure to take a huge piece of cap space for another 5-6 seasons.

Is it possible that Reese and the Mara’s are taking notes from the Seattle Seahawks on how to build a roster in today’s NFL. The landscape of the league is always changing and fast and if you are not ready to adapt, well, that’s when the windows closes so to speak.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller

If the Giants believe that Nassib is ready for primetime, and Eli doesn’t do as well as Phil Simms thinks he will, is it at all possible that this is Manning’s last year on the Giants sidelines? And would that be a bad thing? For as much I love and respect what Eli has done here and how he has carried himself as the face of this franchise, if he struggles in McAdoo’s offense, would it be a bad thing to buy out his contract for the $2.25 million he’d be owed and to move on with Nassib and a ton of cap space to add to the talent that has been brought in over the last 2 seasons? As the Seahawks showed us in our own stadium in February, the best team wins, not the best QB.

Of course, this all depends on Nassib’s progress and how Eli responds this season, but it is worth a thought. Let’s remember the 49ers said goodbye to Montana, the Colts said goodbye to Peyton and the Packers said tootles to that Brett Favre guy. To think the Giants aren’t at least keeping their options open is a bit naïve; no one in this league is untouchable, especially if your performance doesn’t match your cap number.

What we do know now is this is a team that is built to compete this season and for seasons to come. The Giants roster is full of proven talent as well as young up and comers, they are in great shape cap wise and for the first time in a long time, there is a back-up QB who can make Eli feel uncomfortable enough to wake him up and motivate him to get this Big Blue Bus back on track and drive it right through this wide open window.

We all are hoping that Eli thrives in the new offense and is rejuvenated this season much like Phillip Rivers was last year, but at least we can take solace in the fact that this is a win-win scenario.

If Eli can duplicate the season Simms had in his final year as Giant, he will get an extension, hopefully not for a number that will strangle the cap, but one he and the Giants can live with and continue to compete at a high level. If he doesn’t, and Nassib shows he’s ready, the Giants have options.

This off season reaffirmed the phrase IN REESE WE TRUST, and no matter what happens this season, the Giants have multiple options moving forward, money to spend and a 5^th Lombardi trophy in their sights for the foreseeable future.

The post Big Blue Window is Wide Open! first appeared on Bleedbigblue.com.

This is the Giants season

This is the Giants season right here Ladies and Gents. GMen win today and they’re one game behind the Eagles who they split the season with, they lose they’re 2 games out of first again with a 1-3 record in the division. As with the rest of this season, this is a must win game. Big Blue will have to win out in order to be a contender in this division. They have gone up against only back up and third string QB’s during their four game streak, so even though they’ve looked great, it’s pretty hard not to with those opponents.

The last time the Giants faced the Cowgirls it was an absolute debacle. Six turnovers, including three picks from Eli, and the defense was non-existent. Besides all that, the GMen were able to put up 31pts with 450 yards in the air and a breakout game from Randle. The Giants are looking to keep their streak going with most of the roster finally healthy, besides the obvious guys who are done for the season. Bold Prediction of the game, Andre doubles up his yards on the season today.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Cowboys are in a little bit of a free fall mode. They held sold possession of first place for most of the season while the rest of the NFC East flopped on the deck. Now, with a loss today, they’d be tied for second with just

their division record separating them from Big Blue. They have defensive players dropping like flies with injuries and they have two very injury prone players heading The Hollywood Mirror offense in Romo and Murray. Let’s hope the Big Blue Wrecking Crew keeps showing up with JPP and Tuck laying the smack down on Tony.

Win and the miracle ride continues, lose and we might as we start tanking for draft picks.
#DriveForFive #RideToTheMeadowlands

Let’s Go Giants!

PS- I am still amazed that JPP predicted his Pick, just unnatural football talent right there.

Source: https://thehollywoodmirror.com

The post This Is The Season first appeared on Bleedbigblue.com.

I know what you are saying. How is Eli, who is our best player 5th most important? It’s simple. We know exactly what we are getting from Eli. You don’t have to worry about the 2 time Super Bowl MVP anymore. We don’t need him to throw for 5,000 yards and 40 plus touchdowns. That’s not Giants football. We need Eli to do what he does, make the right reads and play calls at the line to put us in good situations to score points and he does that as well as anyone. He can make any throw we need him to make and who else would you rather have leading your team in the final minutes of the 4th quarter. He is going to make some bad throws and some great ones as we have seen over the last decade, but if we as a team can make it into the playoffs there is no other QB I’d rather have leading us into battle.

4. Prince Amukamara

I love Corey Webster and what he has done for us during the course of his career, but truth be told, he is not a number one corner anymore in this league. Enter the Prince, now in his 3rd year and finally starting to live up to the hype that surrounded him coming out of Nebraska. Prince has been one of the most improved players on the team in camp so far and he looks ready to make the jump from intriguing prospect to shut down corner this year. If Prince can be what the Giants fans and organization think he can be, a lock down number one corner, it will open up

a host of different options for Perry Fewell and this defense to be creative and wreak havoc on offenses this season.

3. David Wilson

Can you say game-breaker? This kid is electric and he is a big piece to this teams puzzle this year. Wilson is electric with the ball in his hands and can take it to the house from anywhere on the field. His vision, speed and agility are pure awesomeness but he also has the uncanny ability with his balance and power to both allude and break tackles.

I know the knock on Wilson, he can’t block in pass protection. Well allow me to retort. Why the hell do we want him blocking? In my opinion this falls on offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. It’s time to get creative and find ways to get this kid the ball…not block.

Here is what I mean by that. With Hynoski back off the PUP list and with Andre Brown on the roster the Giants have two guys whom they trust on pass protection in shotgun formations to protect Eli, but why must Wilson come out of the game in these situations?

Imagine this, Shotgun formation, 3 wide receivers, Nicks, Cruz and Randle split out. TWO RUNNING BACKS with Eli in the back field, either Wilson and Brown or Wilson and Hynoski. Wilson goes in motion to the slot and is now covered by the opposing defenses safety, 4th corner or a linebacker.

The NFL is about creating mismatches to your advantage and Wilson can cause fits for defenses if used properly. Does he need to get better in pass protection? Absolutely, but you don’t put a player with his ability on the sideline on 3rd and 4 cause your worried about him blocking. Use Brown and Hynoski to block and get this kid the ball early and often.

2. Hakeem Nicks

Is it me or are we a totally different team on offense when this man is healthy? We saw it last year. With Nicks hurt this is a pedestrian offense. I’m a Victor Cruz fan but I do not feel he is a number one wide receiver in this league. Nicks is the straw that stirs the drink. A healthy Nicks changes the game for this offense. His ability to get open against double teams, to be physical and to use his monster like hands to make insane catches was missed badly last year. If Nicks is 100%, and that is a big if considering he still looks a bit slow out there during preseason, this offense is down right scary. If Hakeem can regain the form he had two years ago and teams need to double team him again, think of the opportunities it creates for Cruz, Randle, Myers and Wilson. Nicks being in a contract year may help as well.

1. Jason Pierre Paul

If Hakeem Nicks is the straw that stirs the drink for the offense, than JPP no doubt is that and more to the defense. Two years ago, when he played with a reckless abandon I haven’t seen since Lawrence Taylor roamed the Meadowlands, he was dominating and his presence on the field made all around him better. Last year the nagging back injury and some extra weight to his massive frame held him back. He was not the same player, period.

This season, after the surgery and with a contract year looming expect to see the old JPP flying around the field once again. And that alone can help a defense that gave up a franchise record last year in yardage allowed.

Imagine a healthy JPP on the line with Jenkins, Kiwi and Damontre Moore and Tuck roaming, standing up at a linebacker position on 3rd downs. A healthy and ferocious JPP means those other guys are going to be blocked one on one and each one of them have the capability to beat offense linemen and get to the QB time and time again. I look for JPP to comeback this season with a vengeance and terrorize opposing offenses. And that alone can possibly lead to a Super season for the old head coach and our Big Blue Wrecking Crew.

The post 5 Key Giants For Our 5th Ring first appeared on Bleedbigblue.com.

New York Giants Drive For 5

For the Giants

The Fifth Lombardi Trophy would place the Giants in a tie with the Cowboys & 49ers who both have five Super Bowl wins. The Fifth Lombardi Trophy would also mean the Giants only trail the Steelers for all time Super Bowl wins.

For Tom Coughlin

This would be Tom Coughlin’s 3rd Lombardi Trophy. This will pass Giants coaching great Bill Parcels.
This 3rd Lombardi Trophy would tie Tom Coughlin with Bill Belichick. No inactive coach who has 3 Super Bowl rings is not elected into the Hall of Fame.

For Eli Manning

This would be Eli’s 3rd Lombardi Trophy. This will pass Giants great quarterback Phil Simms.
This 3rd 3rd Lombardi Trophy will tie him with both Tom Brady & Troy Aikman. No inactive QB who has 3 Super Bowl rings is not elected into the hall of fame.

For Justin Tuck

This would be Justin’s 3rd Lombardi Trophy. Passing LT, Carl Banks & other Giants greats.

The post Drive For 5 first appeared on Bleedbigblue.com.