Eli Manning is getting a little bit better each season but he won’t have the safety net of Tiki Barber on the offense this season so he will have to play much better this season.  Manning looks like a statue in the pocket and he throws a lot of interceptions so the Giants must hope that they have an efficient running game.  Manning is excellent off of play action and he still has a decent set of WRs to work with.  He started all 16 games last season for the Giants and he completed 301 of 522 passes (57.7%) for 3,244 yards with 24 TD passes and 18 interceptions (77.0 QB Rating).  He also ran the ball 25 times for 21 yards (0.8 ypc).  Manning will never be as good of a QB as his brother but the Giants don’t have those lofty goals for him.  They just need him to be efficient and protect the football.  Manning has played in 41 games in his career (39 starts) and he’s completed 690 of 1,276 passes (54.1%) for 8,049 yards with 54 TDs and 44 INTs (73.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 60 times for 136 yards (2.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.

The Giants didn’t feel comfortable with their backup QBs from last season so they signed veteran Anthony Wright in the off season.  Wright is not a great QB but he can manage a game which is more than can be said for last year’s backups.  Wright played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Bengals last season and he completed 3 of 3 passes (100%) for 31 yards (109.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for -12 yards (-3.0 ypc) but they were all kneel downs at the end of a win for the Bengals.  Over his NFL career, Wright has played in 28 games (19 starts) and he has completed 331 of 598 passes (55.4%) for 3,578 yards with 20 TD passes and 25 interceptions (66.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 79 times for 222 yards (2.8 ypc).

The battle for the 3rd string QB job will be between last season’s backups.  Jared Lorenzen vs. Tim Hasselbeck.  Hasselbeck is the better QB despite not getting on the field last season for the Giants.  He has played in 11 games (5 starts) and he’s completed 95 of 177 passes (53.7%) for 1,012 yards with 5 TD passes and 7 interceptions (63.6 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 17 times for 38 yards (2.2 ypc).  Jared Lorenzen is a huge lefty passer as he’s 6’4″, 285 pounds.   The Giants let him play in a couple of short yardage situations to take advantage of his size.  He played in 2 games for the Giants last season and he had 1 carry for two yards.

Ahmad Bradshaw was another guy that slid in the draft right into the Giants lap in the 7th round.  Bradshaw is a little on the small side at 5’9″, 198 pounds but he runs like a much bigger back as he attacks the defense and always seems to get positive yards.  Bradshaw is also a good receiver out of the backfield and he’s a good special teams player.  The only thing Bradshaw lacks is a gear to run away from defenders as he runs a 4.66 40.  In 32 games at Marshall, Bradshaw carried the football 552 times for 2,987 yards (5.4 ypc) with 31 TD runs.  Bradshaw also caught 86 passes for 696 yards (8.1 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Bradshaw also returned some kicks and he might get a chance to do some of that in New York.  He returned 11 punts for 108 yards (10.7 avg) and he returned 10 kickoffs for 225 yards (22.5 avg).

Imagine the Giants surprise to see Michael Johnson available in the 7th round as many had him projected to go in the 2nd or 3rd round.  Johnson is a great pass defender as he’s really hard to throw over as he’s 6’2″, 211 pounds and he’s fast enough (4.5 40) to run down the field with WRs and TEs.  But, he’s softer than a role of Charmin against the run and that will need to improve if he’s going to get on the field.  Look for the Giants coaches to work on Johnson’s weakness in his rookie season.  Johnson played in 21 games (14 starts) at Arizona and he made 107 tackles, broke up 8 passes, had 5 interceptions (45 return yards) and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Look for Johnson to help the Giants on passing downs and on special teams as a rookie.  If the coaches can toughen him up against the run, Johnson could be a starter in the future.

Adam Koets is a guy that could be a starter eventually if he’s properly motivated.  He is a good pass blocker because he is a solid athlete for an offensive tackle.  He’s soft in the running game though due to a lack of power.  He will need to hit the weight room hard and add a few pounds of muscle to his frame as he’s 6’5″ but only weighs 291 pounds.  Koets played 42 games and he started 37 of them so he has played against good competition.  It will be interesting to see if he gets tougher and develops a mean streak because that is the key to his future in the NFL.

The Giants felt the need to get a solid backup for Jeremy Shockey at tight end and they think they got one in Kevin Boss.  Boss was a 4-year starter at tiny Western Oregon and it could take him some time to adjust to the speed of the NFL game.  He is a good receiver that has soft hands and isn’t scared to go for a high pass over the middle of the field.  He’s a big guy at 6’6″, 256 pounds but he’s not the best run blocker around so that’s something the Giants’ coaches will have to work with him on.  He runs a 4.9 40 so he likely will be a possession receiver in the pros.  In 33 games (25 starts) at Western Oregon, Boss caught 134 passes for 1,590 yards (11.9 avg) with 19 TD grabs. 

The Giants have placed starting fullback Jim Finn on the Injured Reserve list after he suffered a serious injury to his shoulder.  He played in all 16 games (11 starts) last season for the Giants and he carried the ball 2 times for 14 yards (7.0 ypc) and he caught 8 passes for 54 yards (6.8 avg).  This will hurt the Giants running game as Finn is a good lead blocker.  Look for the Giants to make a move to add a fullback to their roster.  That’s because Robert Douglas will be the starter by default as he’s the only FB on the roster right now.  Douglas was signed away from the Houston Texans’ practice squad last December.  He hasn’t appeared in an NFL game but he has nice size at 6’1″, 237 pounds so he might get his big chance this season.

The New York Giants have signed OG Zach Piller to a 1-year contract.  He only played in 3 games last season (all starts) for the Tennessee Titans because of injury.  Piller will iikely be a backup for the Giants but he has a lot of starting experience (58 games) over his career so he should provide quality depth.

Zak DeOssie is an impressive physical specimen at 6’4″, 248 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40 which is very fast for a man his size.  Still, he doesn’t drive through his tackles and he wasn’t near as dominating as a player with his skills should have been in college.  The step up in competition will also likely take him a while to adjust to as he played college at Brown.  He is however a great special teams player and that’s probably the main reason the Giants drafted him.  He likely will play on all of the special teams units as a rookie and he’s a good long snapper which is a bonus.  At Brown, DeOssie played in 36 games (29 starts) and he made 315 tackles, 36.5 tackles for a loss, had 10.5 sacks, broke up 11 passes and had 4 interceptions.