Found August 25, 2008 on Hot Stove New York: Yardbarker Blogger Network
The fat bellies and big heads of defending champions. The loss of Michael Strahan to retirement. The likelihood of David Tyree catching another pass with his helmet. The New York Giants were going to have a hard enough time defending their Super Bowl crown as it was. Now Big Blue has lost arguably its best player to a knee injury. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora is gone for the season, and with it, so are the hopes of the Giants repeating. To win a Super Bowl, a team must be dominant in at least one regard. For the Giants, the pass rush was their only dominant unit last year ? and Umenyiora was at the center of it. The 26-year-old had a team-best 13 sacks on a squad that led the league with 53. Take those away, along with Strahan (nine sacks last season), and the sack attack starts to look very average. The Giants also lost Kawika Mitchell (4.5 sacks in 2007) to free agency. Justin Tuck (10 sacks in 2007) now becomes the team's top pass rusher, though his success is sure to decline with the loss of two of the game's best ends, creating a trickle-down effect through the entire defense that will expose New York's sub-par secondary. The options for Umenyiora's replacement ? veteran free agents Renaldo Wynn and second-year pro Dave Tollefson ? are certainly nothing to get excited about. The most sensible move would be to shift strongside linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka back to end, his natural position. Don't hold your breath for Strahan to return, either. The guy has his ring and a new broadcasting deal with Fox. It seems the Giants used up all their positive juju during their amazing Super Bowl run last year. Without Umenyiora, it's hard to see the 2008 Giants as much more than a .500 ballclub.

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Comments (8)
  • 2007 Giants - Strahan - Shockey - Osi = a 5-11 season
  • gmastamort
    They weren't going to repeat anyway. 5-11 is a little harsh, but I am seeing 8-8. Eli is going to show just how average he is.
    • Y2kbug
      I agree that they weren't gonna repeat, cause after all lighting doesn't strike the same spot twice and what they had was a complete FLUKE!!. Everyone talking how Elli has confidence from getting married and wining the superbowl....Please!!!! he sucks, and its just a matter of time before any team's Defense knocks him on his ass and Humbles him down.

      He is never gonna me like Peyton, and there is nothing he can do about it cause that's a big shadow to get out off. The only thing the giants had to keep them in the game was defense and even now that's gone. i can easily see them going 6-10 realistically
  • natesparks
    I agree with the above post. The Giants were flukes last year and the Pats were over-confident in their game. I think the stars aligned, but agree that Eli is not his brother, at least not yet. I do think they will represent well in the NFC East and go beyond .500, but another super appearance is way out.
  • Spotella
    Placard_complete_small
    And don't forget, the Giants were able to beet the Pat's because they were smart enough to change their plays, a hint the learned fron Andy Reid. I was happy to see the Giants win, because the Pats aren't as good as they looked, when that story broke Andy Reid was smart enough to change around some plays and come within 3 of the Pats. I think that says a lot about how the Pats ever made it to the sb let alone won so many of them. They should be stripped of their rings, the team should be dismantled and the coaching staff should be barred from the NFL..
  • Justwannawinna
    Placard_complete_small
    they werent going to repeat anyways.... but they'll probablly end up 7-9 or 6-10
  • Spotella,

    Your just an idiot! How could you say they weren't as good as they looked? Argue all you want about the past seasons with the Patriots, but you can not argue what the Patriots did last seasons. There is NO CHANCE they were not monitored more heavily than any other team in the league so there is ZERO chance they could even 'cheat' as you were insinuating and they made NFL defenses look like a division 1-AA team.

    Look at their offensive display the first half of the season which was nothing short of amazing but expecting a team to do that for 16 weeks is very unrealistic especially being in the Northeast, where weather becomes an issue.

    Is it really a coincidence that Sammy Morris went down with injury in week 6 and the Pats offense had a steady decline after that. The importance of the 2 RB rotation was very important to them just as it is to most teams in the league now. Also, the Eagles did a hell of a job slowing down the Patriots as Tom Brady threw for close to 400 yards on them. and only scored 31!!!

    I love fair-weather fans more than any other in sports. It absolutely amazes me how ignorant a person can be by twisting facts and how one single thing can supposedly change the history of the game.

    Perhaps, you wouldn;t be so biased if Donovan McNabb could of been more like Tom Brady and not choked errr Threw up in the huddle.. Damn pressure just kills people and makes others very bitter!!!

    One more thing before I go, I think the SF 49ers should be banned from the NFL for all their wrongdoings in the past and admitting that stealing signals was more common than most people even can fathom! Also the Dolphin players who admitted to stealing the Patriots line signals in 2006...
  • I guess there going to go 1 and 11 from here on out,, cause there 4-0 and rolling
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